I’m trying to go wheat-free for a while, so the standard lunch of mushrooms on toast or salad wrap is off the cards for now. Searching around in the fridge and my rather sad winter vegetable garden today netted me half a block of tofu, 1 field mushroom and some winter greens. Yep, not looking great, until I remembered that scrambled tofu can be really tasty and a good vehicle for other flavours. Within 5 minutes I had a plateful of goodness which contained 5 servings of vegetables, plenty of protein and some powerful spices just to really get things going, although clearly not enough to excite the dog.

Here’s my recipe for a super-simple vegan and grain-free tofu scramble for one:

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

Half a block of tofu (about 150 grams), chopped into small dice or crumbled

A couple of handfuls of vegetables. I used a chopped field mushroom and a handful of frozen edamame beans, but courgette, bean sprouts, tomato or corn would be equally good.

Handful of spinach leaves, shredded

Handful of rocket leaves, shredded

2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves

Handful of my savoury seeds

1/2 a fresh lime or lemon

In a small frying pan, heat the coconut oil. Drop in the spices and cook until light brown and fragrant. Add the tofu and stir fry for 3-4 minutes until brown.

Stir in the vegetables and cook for another minute, then stir through the shredded spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted.

Serve the tofu scramble with a big handful of rocket leaves, chopped coriander, savoury seeds, a good squeeze of lime juice and salt and pepper.

I keep coming across recipes online which use this strange ingredient, so when I saw a spaghetti squash for the first time in my local supermarket I grabbed it! Then spent ages searching for tips on how the hell to cook the stuff.

It turns out that spaghetti squash is just like normal squash, but when cooked it shreds into these amazing spaghetti-like strings and the flavour mellows to a gentle nutty sort of pumpkin taste.

So, armed with this knowledge, I cut my newly purchased spaghetti squash into quarters, seasoned it with olive oil, salt and pepper, and baked it at 200 degrees for about 40 minutes. Once it had cooled down to a manageable temperature, I held my breath and dug into the flesh with a fork. And it really worked! Gorgeous pumpkin strings materialized and within minutes I had a bowl full of perfectly formed squash strands.

So what to cook with it? I guess any sauce that goes well with pasta would work with spaghetti squash-and I fully intend to test that theory! For tonight’s nervous debut though I played it safe with sauteed garlic and shallot, mushrooms, shredded spinach, fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, feta, kalamata olives and a good grating of parmesan to top it off. The verdict? Well, not everyone in the family was completely sold, but everyone’s bowl was licked clean at the end of the meal…so I’m going to give it a tick. Spaghetti squash is never going to pass for the real thing, but that’s not the point. It’s a tasty low calorie vegetable base for meals with such a low GI that it won’t give you cloudy brain half an hour after eating it. It’s full of great nutrients like folic acid, potassium, Vitamin A, and beta carotene, and is an easy way to get one of your 5+ servings of vegetables. It is perfect for vegans and people who eat gluten free. And it’s really filling! Are you sold yet?

I’d love to hear about other people’s experiences with spaghetti squash and welcome any recipe ideas. Sorry family, I think this ingredient is here to stay…