Susie Garcia, Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist |
I Played "Hide the Zucchini" Last Night [Recipe]
Here's how you can too... and you're spouse will never find out!
SUSIE GARCIA
What? Oh come on! Let's get our minds out of the gutter, shall we? For any of you that have been reading my posts or have seen me speak you know that I am all about eating AND hiding vegetables. And I am a big advocate of including them in every single meal and especially hiding them - it makes preparing a meal so much fun!
Last night after I got home from my run I made spaghetti and was super stealth and put a whole bunch of ground zucchini in the sauce. The great thing is that zucchini is super low in calories - it adds a volume to the sauce but not additional calories like putting in extra pound of ground turkey.
As you can see I put in a pretty big amount - this was five mini zucchinis which would be the same as three regular size zucchini.
I typically use one can or jar of a good quality spaghetti sauce as a starter. I look for what has the lowest sugar content and then supplement with some additional Italian seasoning and red wine, Oh and a Bay Leaf, if I have one.
Keeping with the Easy Peasy theme - I'm going to give you approximate amounts of ingredients (with notes)...
DIRECTIONS
Chop up 2-3 zucchini in a food processor; set aside.
1 onion, chopped (I had 2/3 of an onion leftover from something else I made so that's what I used)
3 cloves garlic, chopped or minced (or a teaspoon of minced garlic from a jar - not the dehydrated kind)
- Saute onions and garlic in olive or avocado oil
Add 1 pound ground turkey or super lean ground beef and brown
I like to add a little red wine and some Italian seasoning to the meat for more flavor; it also will make the turkey a darker color so it looks more like beef. - Gosh, perhaps I'm a magician...
Drain.
Add 1 jar or can of Marinara or Spaghetti Sauce (less than 4g sugar per serving!)
1 or 2 cans diced tomatoes (drained)
1 or 2 cans tomato paste
and zucchini.
Stir well.
If using a jar of sauce pour red wine in the jar about half way full; put the lid back on and shake. This will get all of the sauce stuck on the side of the jar off; Add to sauce. Since you can't really shake a can, just pour in some wine.
Stir some more
Shake in a bunch of Italian seasoning, a little ground pepper and add a bay leaf.
Add 1 container of sliced mushrooms (buy them sliced or slice yourself)
PS - My Tank top says Evil Thirteen - hah! It's a clothing brand - souvenir from a motorcycle event with my husband.
Day 19 #NationalNutritionMonth
Simmer for at least one hour.
The more that the sauce cooks down the more the zucchini basically melts into the sauce because it has a high water content. You can't taste it and don't even notice that it's there! You end up with a lower calorie delicious spaghetti sauce. Mission Accomplished - Veggies are Hidden!
As you know sauce is usually better the next day to let flavors develop; however you can get the same result if you make the sauce at 3 in the afternoon; simmer for one hour; turn off the stove and then reheat at 6 for dinner.
Try this on a weekend when you are home! OR after cooking the onions, garlic and meat, put everything else in a slow cooker; cook on low for 4-5 hours.
Serve over pasta, or gluten free pasta, or spaghetti squash.
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