One of the keys to help keep spaghetti dinners from spiking your blood sugar (causing you to store fat) is to make your sauce is filled with protein, veggies and good EFAs. This “lazy Sunday” protein rich spaghetti sauce recipe uses lean ground turkey, plenty of vegetables and a perfect mix of spices. My recommendation for a wholesome meal is to use a gluten free protein rich, black or green bean spaghetti.
This recipe comes from 2 of our friends, Michael and Leanne . Every time we had a spaghetti dinner at their house I would enquire how they made their sauce because it was so lean and uniquely flavoured. The other day they invited us over to learn to make their sauce (and taste the rewards). It’s a bit of an afternoon project but well worth the effort and you’ll have lots left over.
This recipe makes enough for 12-14 servings so you will want to freeze some for other day’s easy meal.
Protein Rich Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
6-8 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp chopped garlic (10-12 cloves)
1 large chopped sweet onion
2 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
2 pounds lean ground turkey (or vegan turkey substitute)
4 small zucchini, chopped
12 medium white mushrooms
1 red pepper, chopped
1 orange pepper, chopped
1 can (or bottle) of whole tomatoes
4 fresh Roma tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 bottle organic tomato sauce
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ – 1 tbsp. Montreal steak spice
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp anise seed
½ tsp Himalayan Pink salt
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Method
In a large Dutch oven heat 6-8 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (1/4 cup). Chop 1 large sweet onion and 10-12 garlic cloves. Sauté in olive oil. Add oregano, thyme and basil. Stir until onion is clear and spices are fragrant. Add 2 pounds ground turkey (or vegan substitute) and brown for 2 minutes.
Chop zucchini and add to mixture. Cook on low until zucchini is translucent. Chop mushrooms and add to mixture. Sauté 5 minutes. Finely chop red and yellow peppers and add to mixture for an additional 2 minutes.
Now chop the 4 Roma tomatoes and add. Immediately add the canned tomatoes and tomato sauce and paste. Stir to mix. The tomato paste will thicken the entire sauce. Mix and cook for 2 minutes.
Add in cayenne pepper, Montreal steak spice, black pepper, anise and Himalayan pink salt.
Finally add chopped fresh parsley.
Leave on simmer for 2 hours to let all flavours congeal. Now, go have a long bath, read a book, watch a movie or get caught up on your bookkeeping (boring!) .
When ready to serve boil up some water in a Dutch oven or large pot and cook up your favourite gluten free (or regular) pasta to al dente. Rinse, drain and put in a pasta bowl or on individual plates. Serve with a generous portion of sauce. Sprinkle with fresh parmesan or Romano cheese.
Protein Rich Spaghetti Sauce Fancy Chef Trick:
For even tastier spaghetti noodles add a tbsp. or 2 of pesto sauce to the pasta and toss in a bowl before you serve. A few more calories here but the taste is so worth it! Besides life is not all about calories and neither is weight loss as you might have thought. Check out some of my past blogs to find out how to lose weight without calorie counting!!
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