Improving spaghetti bolognese...

Sorry if this is already a topic somewhere, I did have a look.

I'm looking for ideas on how to make my favourite spaghetti bolognese more healthy and low-cal, if anyone has any please share (: I'd love a recipe for a healthy yummy sauce if anyone has one too. Thanks!

This is my Spaghetti Bolognese recipe.... Made healthier and lower in calories by pre-cooking and draining any fat off the minced beef first, using very little extra oil and a bigger quantity of tomatoes than normal.  The red wine is optional but adds flavour.

spaghetti bolognese used to be one of my favorite foods before i became health-conscious.

to make it low-cal, i'd use spaghetti squash instead of actual noodles. or if you just love noodles, you could split it - half squash, half noodles.

next, if you're using bolognese sauce from a jar, look for a vegetarian bolognese. i believe president's choice makes a brand that's only 70 calories per 1/2 cup. if you're making it from scratch, use ground turkey instead of ground beef, and try to drain any fat from the turkey if possible. try not to add alot of butter or oil either.

and lastly, don't use too much cheese ;)

What's wrong with spaghetti that you have to sub it for squash?...  

i use spicy italian sausage (pork) meat, because i find ground beef pretty bland, and i drain and rinse it under hot water after cooking.  i also use lots of mushrooms, which have a meaty texture but don't add fat & calories.  and, yes, lots and lots of tomato (i use tomato paste, because i don't like the texture of tomatoes), onions and garlic, basil and oregano, and just a little (1 tsp) of sugar to cut the acidity. 

if the sausage is mild (vs. hot), i'll put some crushed red peppers in, too.  for liquid, i use water or whatever i have on hand (vodka is great, and the alcohol evaporates, so it's low in calories).  use lots of liquid and let it simmer down to the right consistency.

it gets an A in the analyzer, and that doesn't even account for the fact that the meat is drained and rinsed.

jarred sauces tend to be high in sodium and sugar.  and they don't taste very good.

Here's my modified recipe

Bolognese Sauce  an authentic Italian recipe, modified to reduce the fat content.  Bolognese always has meat and a little carrot in it.

I use half extra lean (97%) beef and half ground turkey breast.  I also use portion control on both the spaghetti and the sauce. 

Thank you so much, all of those recipes sound great, making me hungry just thinking about it!

Yes I'm not too keen on jarred sauce or anything that comes out of a jar really.. except chocolate coated almonds (: so I will definitely be giving these ideas a try.

Just one question...what on earth is spaghetti squash?

Spaghetti squash is a squash you can cook that resembles spaghetti noodles.  I've never tried them, before, though, so I'm not sure how the taste is different, although a lot of people claim it tastes just like noodles.  You can refer to this article to make spaghetti squash into noodles:

http://homecooking.about.com/od/vegetablereci pes/ss/spagsquashsbs.htm

Spaghetti squash tastes like squash.  Nothing about it tastes or feels like pasta or noodles except it's in strands.  It's delicious!  I love the slight crunchiness of the strands.  Some people put spaghetti sauce on it, but the combination of tomato and squash is one I don't like - it's just my personal taste.  I fix it plain tossed with a sprinkle of salt and nutmeg. 

I think people say it tastes like spaghetti because they drown it in sauce and that completely overwhelms the squash taste.

yeah, spaghetti squash is yummy, but i've never thought of it as a substitute for pasta.

Wow, never heard of it. I wonder if I can even get it over here. If so I may have to try some!

Original Post by skippee:

Wow, never heard of it. I wonder if I can even get it over here. If so I may have to try some!

 Take a picture of it to your green grocer or produce manager and see if they can order it for you.  I think the great variety of vegetables and other ingredients we can get now is because people watched Julia Child, who inspired more TV chefs, and we started asking for those new ingredients. I remember when the only vegetables in the market were iceberg lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, onions, celery and carrots.  Once in a while there would be broccoli and spinach, and tomatoes and corn in the summer.  We never saw fresh herbs, or exotic lettuces.   

i would use whole wheat spaghetti or barilla plus, and ground turkey vs. beef in the sauce