le's lean turkey spaghetti meat sauce
/friday is HERE. we have a super busy weekend and i'm ready to dive right on in. sooooo glad it's a long holiday weekend at that. here's the turkey spaghetti recipe, finally. nutritional stats included; pow. le's lean turkey spaghetti meat sauce
the stuff:
- 1 lb 97% or 99% lean ground turkey
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 1 med shallot (or garlic if you prefer)
- 2 med tomatoes
- 1 zucchini OR fresh/ 1 cup frozen spinach
- 1 cup mushrooms (white or portobello)
- couple sprigs of fresh cilantro
- couple sprigs of fresh parsley
- couple fresh basil leaves
- 1 can all natural tomato sauce of your choice
- 2-3 tbsp Liquid Aminos
- 1 1/2 tbsp Garlic & Herb no salt seasoning
*you can switch out the vegetables for your fav kinds just as long as you add them! fresh is always best. they make the sauce more filling so you're not just eating tons of meat (and/or pasta) in addition to providing their own special nutrients (various amounts of vitamins A,B,D, E, etc.)
do this:
in a med-high heated pot, throw in the chopped onions and shallots and let them simmer a moment, about 2 min. go ahead and throw in the meat so they can cook together.
completely cooked after about 10-15 min or so. i still drained off the liquid, but it wasn't that much of course since i used 99% lean meat.
while the meat and onions cooked, i chopped up all the veggies and fresh herbs, then added the aminos and seasonings.
i didn't even want to stir this- it was so pretty. (i only used half the red pepper cause it was pretty big.)
eventually, i combined everything.
i do have a recipe for my own sauce, but i use the canned stuff too. this giant can is less than a dollar and taste just as good if not better than the fancy jarred varieties. *all natural sauce is preferred though and can be found at any health food store. one down side to the canned and jarred stuff is the sodium content. and the low sodium sauces have ZERO flavor. this is where the liquid aminos come in handy.
i always forget to start boiling my water from the beginning! i made pasta for Sonny i let my sauce simmer on low for about 10 min while i waited...and waited.
a watched pot never boils, indeed.
pasta down first, then meat sauce. i have never liked them combined together initially! let me mix them myself on my own plate. any kind of cheese is cool (almond cheese, parmesan, shredded cheddar, etc.). i cut up 1 babybel cheese wheel and sprinkled it on top. oh and fresh basil as garnish.
this (and all other gumbo/ragu type dishes) tastes even better the next day and the day after that. after five or so though, smell it first.
Nutritional stats for the entire pot of meat sauce:
cals : 615
fat : 2g
carbs : 52g
protein : 30g
fiber : 15g
sodium : 450mg
i estimate the whole pot to be around 7-8 cups. so, 1 serving (1 cup) of sauce is approximately:
cals : 90
fat : 0.2g
carbs : 7g
protein: 4g
fiber: 2 g
sodium : 64mg
remember, the nutritional stats vary according to what you put in there. if you'd like to keep your meal stats nice and low, stick with spaghetti squash for 'pasta'. however, the meat sauce is so low cal, whole wheat pasta is still a great option.
enjoy your long holiday weekend- make some spaghetti while you're at it!
le
