Food Freedom, Volume and HSH Baked Ziti.

I know I know, on TikTok the video goes too fast and you never caught the ingredients for this dish, I’M SORRY!

HOWEVER, this recipe is one of the ones that has been most asked about in my DMs so we wrote it out for you! Actually Danielle did, everyone should thank her on IG and give her a follow: @daniellemusto.nutrition

It is definitely not summer themed, but it is totally and completely simple to make and delicious anytime of year in my opinion!

When I posted that this was a recipe that my fellow “volume” lovers would like as well, meaning the suggested portion size of the dish got quite large with the addition of spaghetti squash (which is a veggie not a carb!) I got a very interesting question in my DM about promoting volume and it being a mixed diet culture message. This person was just curious and I LOVED the question because I got to bring it to my IE mentor, the amazing Sam Previte of find.food.freedom - I had never thought about this before, because this has always been what I have preached, because personally I love a big meal and I love veggies, but she was right to question this, I mean one of the first books on diets out there was titled “Volumetrics” and was actually I believe written by a Penn State grad who studied this exact topic. Anyways, Sam and I had a great convo about it and she simply said to me…”what is the intention behind the food choice?” BOOM. My intention with this recipe and with volume in general is not trickery, it has always been a preference of mine to add more veggies into my dish, and increase my meal satisfaction.

I am not Intuitive Eating certified (yet!! signed up for a course this summer though and am VERY EXCITED to be a student!), but what I know is that in the practice of helping someone find food freedom, there is never a discussion on removing veggies from ones’ diet! Finding food freedom is always about what we add in, not take away! Vegetabales are a cornerstone of our diet, for great reasons and when you are not juicing them and actually incorporating them into delicious meals, such as this one, you may find that you actually ENJOY them!

When I make choice on what to fuel myself with I always think:

• Will this make me feel good?

• Do I enjoy this?

When you are making choices based on your HEALTH, that is where there will always be a difference between the intentions. If adding volume to meals makes you feel funny or diet culturey - don’t do it! But if you are looking to add more veggies into your diet and dont want to juice them or eat them raw and instead would want to try them in a new recipe, this could be a great option for you!

Would love to know your thoughts on this and any other questions you have on a topic like this one. I am learning alongside with you and this journey is a beautiful thing I would love to share with you as I take part in it!

BUT OK TIME FOR THE RECIPE, you’ve been so patient!

EEEK Realized we left out the egg in this recipe, HOWEVER, it’s optional, it will bake without it but may stick together better with it. Try it both ways and let us know what is better LOL. ENJOY!

PS this recipe makes for amazing leftovers the next day! I LOVED it cold on top of lettuce for a baked ziti salad! Look: TIKTOK

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Written by Jenna Werner

Hey there, I’m Jenna! I'm a Registered Dietitian, online nutrition coach and serious food lover. I'm ready to help you quit dieting forever and fall in love with the way food makes you feel.

Learn more about me and the HSH offerings here.