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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
Location:
Posts: 13710
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No-Deprivation Spaghetti & Meatballs
Dear Rest-of-People-on-Planet,
I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. Really, I'm not suffering at all.
Turning down your kindly offered free donut, not ordering dessert at the restaurant, subbing out the fries for broccoli, bringing my own snacks to the party, politely telling grandma I won't be having any apple pie... it's okay. I'm okay.
See, even though I've chosen to stay lean and eat healthfully, that doesn't mean I'm hurting or feeling deprived. I feel great actually. And the food I make taste really, really good, even better than most of the fattening stuff. It's true. I post a new recipe every week here or in my LiveSpill, then I move it over to the new HSM & Recipes section of our forums. Go check it out.
Still don't believe me? Okay, fine. Last night I had spaghetti and meatballs. It tasted amazing and I ate all I wanted. Thing is, the calories were lower and the carbs were virtually nonexistent. It was even packed with vegetables, which made me very full and satisfied.
Still don't believe me, huh? Okay, here's the recipe. Try it and tell me if you'll ever go to The Olive Garden again for a plate of their taste-bud shrinking, waist-expanding spaghetti.
V-Life Spaghetti & Meatballs
Ingredients
2 pounds of extra-lean ground beef
1/4 cup of finely chopped Canadian bacon or ham
1 tablespoon pink sea salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Hefty sprinkles of dried oregano and parsley
1 zucchini, grated
1/4 cup almond flour, blanched
1/2 cup skim ricotta cheese
2 omega-3 whole eggs or 4 egg whites (your choice)
Olive oil
1 large spaghetti squash
Instructions
For the "spaghetti," follow this recipe. Now let's make the meatballs.
1. Preheat your oven to a whopping 450 degrees.
2. Mix all the ingredients into a big bowl. Combine with your hands.
3. Form into golf ball-sized meatballs. You'll get around 30 of them.
4. Roast without turning for 15 to 20 minutes. Cut one in half to check for doneness.
5. Serve over spaghetti squash.
6. Eat. Feel full. Feel healthy. Feel absolutely zero deprivation.
Sincerely,
Chris
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
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Posts: 13710
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Shot of spaghetti squash... truly one of the miracles of nature.
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
Location:
Posts: 13710
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Before pic.
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
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Posts: 13710
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And after.
Feel free to sub in ground turkey if you want, but extra lean ground beef is almost as low in calories as turkey.
Same goes with egg whites vs. whole eggs. Nothing at all unhealthy or inherently fattening about whole eggs, but you can use whites or Egg Beaters to volumize and drop the calories a bit.
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Bulkington
Level 5
Join date: Apr 2005
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Posts: 83
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Just picked up the ingredients and will try it tonight!
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ViziVix
Level 4
Join date: Nov 2009
Location: California, USA
Posts: 63
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Oh, you slice your squash crosswise? I guess i've been doing it the hard way: lengthwise with a thin-blade cleaver and a hammer!
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corstijeir
Level 4
Join date: Mar 2010
Location: Tennessee, USA
Posts: 2096
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I slice my lengthwise ViziVix, I have a nice big sharp knife and muscle it :) But I am going to have to try the cross cut this weekend ( picked up some squashes and parsnips last night )
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u r bunk
Level 4
Join date: May 2008
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I've never really cared for pasta, but this looks pretty awesome. Is there a particular marinara sauce you'd recommend?
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
Location:
Posts: 13710
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ViziVix wrote:
Oh, you slice your squash crosswise? I guess i've been doing it the hard way: lengthwise with a thin-blade cleaver and a hammer!
Usually lengthwise.
It's like a bonus workout.
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
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Posts: 13710
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u r bunk wrote:
I've never really cared for pasta, but this looks pretty awesome. Is there a particular marinara sauce you'd recommend?
If buying jarred, just look for the one with the lowest sugar, or at least no added sugar. Ragu makes a "light" version but some are even lighter in sugar and overall cals, but they don't make any label claims about it.
Currently using Organics Roasted Garlic, 3g sugar per serving.
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
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Posts: 13710
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One more pic.
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u r bunk
Level 4
Join date: May 2008
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Chris Shugart wrote:
u r bunk wrote:
I've never really cared for pasta, but this looks pretty awesome. Is there a particular marinara sauce you'd recommend?
If buying jarred, just look for the one with the lowest sugar, or at least no added sugar. Ragu makes a "light" version but some are even lighter in sugar and overall cals, but they don't make any label claims about it.
Currently using Organics Roasted Garlic, 3g sugar per serving.
Great, thanks!
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jtrinsey
Level 2
Join date: Nov 2005
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Posts: 3072
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Awesome article Chris. I've been doing spaghetti squash and meat sauce for a while, but the meatballs will be a cool variation. I'm pretty sure I don't have a grater, so I'll just cut up the zucchini and throw it in my Slap Chop until it gets very fine. That should work, right?
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
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Posts: 13710
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jtrinsey wrote:
Awesome article Chris. I've been doing spaghetti squash and meat sauce for a while, but the meatballs will be a cool variation. I'm pretty sure I don't have a grater, so I'll just cut up the zucchini and throw it in my Slap Chop until it gets very fine. That should work, right?
That should do it. You just want the pieces small since the meatballs will be only about golfball sized. Though I suppose they could be made huge; just allow for more cooking time.
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
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Posts: 13710
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Leftovers warm up great, BTW.
I just paired mine with wine-roasted 'shrooms the next day.
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tmartinez
Level 5
Join date: May 2009
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Chris Shugart wrote:
I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. Really, I'm not suffering at all.
I have the same issue. Some of my friends simply cannot understand that I actually feel GOOD eating as the V-Diet taught me. After a meal I feel energized and ready to do something, anything. Meanwhile, after their carb-overload, they want to sleep and feel bloated.
Fortunately for me, I also have friends that are into "that fitness thing." We swap recipes and go for random sprint races while the meat's grilling. We look like a lite beer commercial, minus the body-wrecking liquid bread.
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mattrush13
Level 4
Join date: May 2009
Location: Texas, USA
Posts: 74
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This combination of recipes is currently making me wish I had two ovens lol. Squash baking, bowl of meat in the fridge waiting to become delicious meatballs. Pretty freakin' excited, looks great Chris!
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Reid23
Level 2
Join date: Jul 2010
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Made this tonight, soooooooo good! Very easy and the recipe yields A LOT and tons of tasty leftovers = BONUS!!! This one is a new favorite for sure, thanks Chris!
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
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Posts: 13710
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mattrush13 wrote:
This combination of recipes is currently making me wish I had two ovens lol. Squash baking, bowl of meat in the fridge waiting to become delicious meatballs. Pretty freakin' excited, looks great Chris!
Here's what works for me, also double-ovenless:
Cook the squash first, but don't gut it after cooking. Set aside. Cook meatballs, then shred squash. The squash will retain heat for a long time unshredded.
Sounds like you've figured that out too.
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seksikid
Level 0
Join date: Mar 2009
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Posts: 4
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This is awesome! I used to make my meatballs with oats but this sounds like it's going to be even better! One step closer to cutting out grains!
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
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Posts: 13710
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seksikid wrote:
This is awesome! I used to make my meatballs with oats but this sounds like it's going to be even better! One step closer to cutting out grains!
Ditto. I'm thinking the almond flour trick could also replace the breadcrumbs or oats used in meatloaf too.
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Chased1k
Level 1
Join date: Oct 2010
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Wow, made this last night for a very Happy Halloween. Seriously awesome. No food porn today though, cause my camera pooped out. I've got leftovers for lunch and I'm excited. BTW if you have a trader joes near you, check them out for the spaghetti squash, picked a couple up for 1.99 each which is the best price ive seen in town.
First time for spaghetti squash, what an amazing food.
Thanks Again Chris!
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lealea
Level 3
Join date: Jul 2010
Location: Alberta, CAN
Posts: 4
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I cut mine endwise, didn't really make too much a difference, heh. :) Shredded just fine.
Also, this is hella tasty. I kinda did a smaller version b/c I have my meat portioned out but it was just as good. Also, subbed almond flour with coconut flour just to see what happens. It's a bit.. mushier because of that, but still tasted fine. I used leftover pizza sauce from the coconut/flax pizza I made over the weekend for my pasta sauce. Yums.
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kingsley6
Level 3
Join date: Sep 2010
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Just made this last night. It was honestly the most satisfying spaghetti and meatball dish I have ever made. The only things I added were fresh basil leaves to the meat and I threw a ton of cherry tomatoes in with the dish when it was all ready to eat.
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