Did you know I LOVE spaghetti and meatballs? And the thing I love the most is the marinara sauce. I could drink it, not kidding. Did you also know that sometimes I really don't feel like eating vegetables? I love my salads and stuff but sometimes I just want to eat them. I want them hidden in my meal so I don’t have to think about them.

Years ago, we started making zoodles (spiralized zucchini noodles) and now I can’t eat regular spaghetti anymore. This checks off two important things on my food checklist: lots of veggies and, even better, HIDDEN veggies. My kids love them too and they love helping me make them. 

Ingredients:

For the Zoodles:

• ~1-1.5 medium sized zucchinis per person

• Choose of fat to cook it in, I use grass-fed organic butter

• Spiralizer - Click here to Order one

For the Sauce:

• Choice of meat: Premade Meatballs, Ground beef, Ground Turkey, Vegan Meatballs, etc

• 2-3 Carrots

• 2-3 cloves of garlic

• 1/2 - 1 onion

• 2-3 Celery Sticks

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil

• 2-3 Cans of Organic Tomato Sauce

• Seasonings: Dry Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Parsley, Bay Leaf, Salt, Pepper

Directions:

For the Sauce:

1. Add Olive oil to saucepan on med/hi

2. Mince (or food processor) the Celery, Onions, Garlic and carrots separately.

3. Add Celery & Onion to saucepan once heated, when they begin to get translucent, add garlic.

4. Add meat, let brown

5. Add Tomato sauce, reduce heat if needed

6. Add Minced carrots 

7. Add all seasonings to taste

8. Let simmer then Zoodle some zuchinnis

For the Zoodles:

1. Read directions on Spiralizer. Choose a medium sized hole

2. Spiralize desired amount of zucchinis

3. Heat up large pan on high (I use a big cast iron pan) with choice of oil. I like to brown my butter before adding the zucchinis.

4. Add zoodles to hot pan, they should sizzle once they enter the pan or it’s not hot enough. Try not to put too many zoodles in the pan at once so they don’t overcrowd and get too soggy

5. Sauté for 3-6 minutes until just tender enough, try not to overcook them.

Put it together:

1. Add Zoodles to a pasta bowl, add sauce

2. Optional, top with parmesan

3. Enjoy!

Tips to make the cooking go faster:

• Use store bought pasta sauce. Yes, even I do this. READ the ingredients, go for organic when you can, make sure there’s no added sugars or preservatives. 

• Buy store bought meatballs (because I know I don’t have time to make meatballs). 

• Buy store bought zoodles BUT fresh ones are MUCH better. And more cost effective to buy a spiralizer if this is a meal you like to make often. And spiralizers can be used for so many other things. 

Did you try it? Let me know or share the recipe using the links below.