Healthy Spaghetti & “Meatballs” with Tomato Garlic Sauce {vegan}

Quick poll. Who likes pasta? Everyone. Cool.

Poll #2: Who wishes pasta was healthier? Everyone again? Well get excited, my fit and focused friends, because I have the most amazing healthy “pasta” dish for you.

Introduce your taste buds to Healthy Spaghetti & “Meatballs” with Tomato Garlic Sauce!

This dish is delish and it’s 200% healthier than regular spaghetti & meatballs. Ok, that statistic has not been proven, but I bet you’ll feel 200% healthier after eating this than after eating the traditional pasta and meat laden version of this dish! 

The noodles are made simply out of zucchini. They take all of 2 minutes to make. No cooking required.

The sauce is raw, as well! Just throw everything in a blender and zzcchchch (that’s the sound a blender makes, obviously), you have sauce! 

I got the recipe for the “meatballs” from Oh She Glows. If you are a vegan or vegetarian and don’t know Oh She Glows, you need to head over there STAT. Her recipes are incredible! These “meatballs” take a little more time to make than the noodles and sauce, but they’re still pretty easy. All you need is a food processor, a bowl, and a baking sheet. Get the recipe here! 

The best part is how satisfying this meal is. You can have a huge plate of zucchini noodles and no guilt at all! Plus you’ll get tons of fiber and protein from the veggies & beans. The zucchini noodles are light and refreshing and have the texture of al dente pasta, and the sauce is to die for. 

This dish will bring the inner-vegan out of any meat & cheese loving Italian. Ok, also not a proven fact, but when you’re taste buds get a hold of this, well, that’s amore! 

What’s your favorite healthy substitution? 

Healthy Spaghetti & "Meatballs" with Tomato Garlic Sauce {vegan, partially raw}

2014-03-03 21:03:41

Serves 4

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For the noodles

1. 5-6 large zucchini

For the "meatballs

1. See Oh She Glows' Italian Bean Balls recipe (link in post)

For the sauce

1. 4 pitted dates, soaked
2. 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked
3. 1 cup chopped, cherry tomatoes
4. 3 garlic cloves, chopped
5. 2 Tbsp dried basil
6. Dash of cinnamon
7. 1 Tbsp yellow miso (or 1 tsp salt)
8. 1 Tbsp olive oil
9. 1/4 cup water

For the noodles

1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel zucchini into thin ribbons, stopping when you get to the seeds. You can also use a mandolin slicer or a spiralizer. Place the noodles in a large bowl and set aside.

For the "meatballs

1. See Oh She Glows' Italian Bean Balls recipe (link in post). I used sunflower seeds instead of walnuts and used dried spices instead of fresh.

For the sauce

1. Soak the sun-dried tomatoes and dates for an hour or more.
2. Drain the soaked tomatoes and dates and place them in a high powered blender, like a Vitamix. Add all of the other ingredients, except for the water.
3. Blend, using a tamper to press the ingredients down or stopping occasionally to push down with a spatula.
4. If the mixture is too thick, slowly add water until it reaches the desired consistency.
5. To plate, place 1/6th of the noodles on a plate. Top with 3-4 meatballs and sauce. Toss to coat.

Notes

1. This sauce is raw and therefore is served cold. If you would like it warm, feel free to heat it up, but I can not speak to the flavor when heated.

By Nicole @ Fitful Focus

Fitful Focus https://fitfulfocus.com/