A few weeks back, I started a series on how to eat your favorite foods and still fit into your skinny jeans. The first post in the series featured my favorite Mexican food. A simple recipe for Beefy Mexi “Cauli” Rice, where I substituted the carbohydrate dense rice, with nutrient dense cauliflower. This week we are slurping up Italian with a healthified ”Spaghetti” with Homemade Meat Sauce. Once again we are going to replace the unhealthy carbohydrate and wheat laden noodles with a nutrient dense potassium rich summer veggie, the zucchini.
I like to think I’m a straight shooter, so here’s the deal, these noodles do not “taste” like pasta. And you know what, that’s a-ok with me. And apparently more than okay with my teenage son as well as my handsome husband, as every time I make this dish I get four thumbs up. Listen to what my very wise friend Misty, a holistic nutrition educator, has to say about this very topic, “when beginning your new diet/lifestyle program, don’t try to emulate your old favorites. Try to re-train your taste buds to favor healthier alternatives.” Re-train your taste buds, I like that. This may not be pasta, but it most definitely is a healthy alternative.
Another thing I have also found helpful in this journey of healthy eating, is to re-train your brain about food. Once you understand why glutenous grains and processed carbohydrates are not figure friendly and actually detrimental to your health, they just become a non-option. No need to feel deprived though, as there is a plethora of low-carb, gluten-free REAL FOOD to be had. When you make and devour a delicious bowl of zoodles with whatever healthy sauce you dream up, you have my permission to feel more than a little bit smug. Smug, because you made it with fresh grown not factory made ingredients that don’t detract from your health, but actually lends to it. Food is medicine my friends, food is medicine.
There are a couple of different techniques used in making zoodles, some use a spiral slicer, some use a regular vegetable peeler, personally, I prefer a julienne peeler. There’s really nothing to it, when it comes to making the noodles. I like to peel the zucchini first, but you don’t have to. To prevent slipping though, on one side, make one run through with your peeler and then flip over. I have found this makes it a little easier to stabilize the zucchini. Peel, peel, peel all the way down to the center on one side and then make a quarter turn working your way around the zucchini.
If you are Italian and grew up with homemade sauce made from backyard tomatoes that stewed all day long, my apologies in advance. I am all about quick and easy in the kitchen and my version of healthy “Spaghetti” with Homemade Beef Sauce is both. Already prepared jarred sauce may be okay to use as well, but you have to be a label detective, most commercially prepared sauces contain lots of added sugar as well as soybean oil. I use one specialty ingredient in this recipe and that is the Penzey’s Italian Sausage Seasoning. It turns grass fed beef into an unbelievable tasting sausage. I promise this seasoning does not disappoint. If you don’t have a Penzey’s near you, feel free to season your beef with salt, pepper and crushed fennel seed. It’s okay to improvise, just taste as you go.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- (2) 14.5 oz. Cans Muir Glen Organic Diced Tomatoes with Basil and Garlic
- 5 Tbsp. Bionaturae Organic Tomato Paste
- 1 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
- 1 tsp. Dried Basil
- 1 Organic Garlic Clove
- 1/2 tsp. Oregano
- 1/4 c. Costco Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 c. Filtered Water
- 6 Medium Organic Zucchini
- 1 1/2 lbs. Grass Fed Ground Beef
- 2 Tbsp. Penzey’s Italian Sausage Seasoning
Directions
- In a high-powered blender add tomatoes through oregano and process on high until smooth.
- Pour sauce in deep pot, stir in water and olive oil and begin to warm over medium heat
- With julienne peeler make zoodles and add directly to sauce to soften.
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown and drain ground beef, season and add to sauce.
- Continue to cook sauce until heated through and zoodles are soft.
- Serve & enjoy!
