Chiberia has officially returned! The highs this week have been in the single digits at best, and Ben had two days off school this week for cold. I've spent my days huddled under 4 layers of clothes in front of the space heater, downing enormous mugs of homemade herbal tea lattes.
I've been craving warm, cozy comfort food and wine every night, but I'm not going to make the same mistakes I did last year! Last year I let the Polar Vortex get the better of me. This year I'm determined to use this time of fewer distractions to really focus on my personal goals, including my health and fitness!
After fully indulging through the holidays, I'm limiting my wine to Wednesdays and weekends (balance!) and doing my best to stay on top of my clean eating. Luckily it's pretty easy to re-make my favorite comfort foods into healthy options! Here's one way to satisfy your carb cravings without blowing your goals. I'm a hardcore pasta lover but even I can feel satisfied by replacing carb-heavy noodles with zucchini! The texture is almost identical, try it out!
Zoodles with Beef and Veggie Bolognese Sauce
Serves 4
Inspired by Cooking Light
Ingredients
-2 large zucchinis
-1 yellow onion, chopped
-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
-1 lb lean ground beef
-1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
-1/2 jar of no sugar added marinara sauce (I love Aldi's organic sauce!)
Optional: extra veggies! Clean out your fridge! Mushrooms, chopped bell pepper, spinach, any veggie would be good to throw into this sauce.
Directions
-Using a
, mandolin slicer, or veggie peeler,
transform your zucchini into noodles
!
-Transfer zoodles to a large glass bowl and microwave for 4-5 minutes, until softened.
-Add 1 T olive oil to a large pan over medium heat and sauté the onions, garlic, carrots and extra veggies until soft.
-Add the beef and continue to cook until browned.
-Drain your diced tomatoes and add them to the pan with the marinara sauce.
-Heat through, and serve over zoodles!
[
: 2 greens, 1 red]
Husband modification: I made regular whole wheat pasta for Ben.
I hope you are staying warm this week!