Since I was very young, in nursery in fact, Spaghetti Bolognese has been my favourite. I don’t remember much from when I was a kid, my memory seems to have wiped clear from the age of 10 and earlier, but one memory I do have is a day at nursery. We were given paper plates and asked to make our favouite food from lots of crafty bits, like tissue paper and wool. So off the kids went making chips and fish fingers. But not me. I made spaghetti bolognese! Lots of white wool glued to the paper plate, with scrunched up balls of brown tissue paper for the bolognese! Yum! (Writing this is making me realise how different Jaxson is to me, he would would probably have an empty plate as he doesn’t eat!)
As I’ve said in a previous post, I follow the Weight Watchers diet, so a lot of my meals have been adapted to their recipes, and now I try to cook healthy meals even if I’m not watching my weight. So here is my healthy spag bol – tasty and healthy! Enjoy!
Healthy Spaghetti Bolognese
Start by spraying your pan with low calorie cooking spray (this is important as 1 teaspoon of cooking oil is 1 point!) Then add 2 cloves of crushed garlic (if you are like me and love garlic, use 3 cloves).
Next finely chop 1 whole onion. I use a small onion as I don’t like too much, but this depends on how much mince you are using. If cooking for a family of four, I would use a large onion, but if it’s only for 2, use a small onion. Add to the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes until soft.
Add the mince to the onion and garlic and cook on a medium heat until brown. Remember this is a healthy recipe so make sure you use extra lean mince! If you can’t find extra lean, lean will do. Or if you want to be super healthy, why not try quorn mince? At this point you can add some seasoning, like salt and pepper, and a few mixed herbs if you like a bit of extra flavour.
Once the mince is cooked, I always drain off any excess fat, even with extra lean you will still need to do this. At the point I start cooking the spaghetti. To be super healthy I suggest using brown pasta. I don’t think enough people eat whole wheat products. Rice, pasta, even bread. It’s healthy and keeps you fuller for longer, so should hopefully prevent snacking between meals!
Next you need to add 1 can of chopped tomatoes. I cook these for a few minutes until they are soft and mushy so I can mix them into the mince better. Again, depending on how many people you are cooking for, you may need to add 2 cans, but it’s all down to your preference. If you haven’t added your seasoning yet. Now is the time.
I’m a massive fan of mushrooms. I will put them in anything. Love, love, love. So I will literally use a whole box of mushrooms in this recipe. Obviously that might be a bit excessive to other people. But in my opinion, you are bulking out your meal with a healthy ingredient! If you are super hungry (like I always am) you can eat more with little added calories! Perfect!
Once the mushrooms have been sliced and added to the mince, you can get out the tomato puree and beef stock. These are really important ingredients for this recipe. If you don’t add them you meal will just taste of beef. To add these you should use tablespoons. Probably 2 or 3 table spoons of tomato puree (again depends on your taste) and 2 tablespoons of beef stock.
This final ingredient is optional. Balsamic vinegar. YUM. I love it. Just add a splash for a bit of extra flavour, but like I said, it’s optional. The alternative to this, which might be more appealing is Worcestershire sauce. This gives the same affect to the dish. I use both depending what I’ve got in my cupboard.
Remember, this recipe is based on following a Weight Watchers diet, but I do not count points, so if you are following the points system you will need to measure your ingredients to how many points you want to eat. If you are following the Filling & Healthy diet, just serve and enjoy!
Alex x
