A healthy and easy take on spaghetti and meatballs–the ultimate comfort food!
Funny story from my childhood: My dad and I would always butt heads—even to this day we still do sometimes. He’s a super nice guy and we get along for the most part, but my mom says we argue because we’re so alike. This meant at the dinner table each night when I was little I would goof off and do something stupid, my dad would yell at me, then I would get upset and cry. One night in particular we were eating spaghetti and I decided to do something to annoy my dad once again. I turned around with my head over the back of the chair with a piece of spaghetti hanging out of my mouth, and sure enough here comes our dog who snatches it right out of my mouth. My dad couldn’t even get mad at me, though, because it was so ridiculously funny.
Basically every time I eat spaghetti this is the image I get in my head and I can’t help but laugh! Spaghetti and meatballs will always be one of my favorite meals. Of course, though, like most comfort food, it isn’t always the healthiest option for dinner, but that can always be changed!
Why not substitute a few ingredients to make a meal that’s just as delicious, but healthier? By using ground turkey instead of beef, making your own sauce and eating it with whole grain pasta, this loved comfort food can be eaten without the guilt.
While forming the meatballs can be a little tedious, this recipe gets much easier because you just stick them in the crockpot and let it do all the work. There really is nothing better than throwing some ingredients in the crock pot and coming home after work to your house or apartment smelling like heaven and dinner all ready for you!
Making your own sauce avoids all the artificial ingredients in most store-bought sauces and it’s not hard to make at all. Throw some crushed tomatoes, herbs and garlic together and there you have it! I suggest sautéing the garlic to bring out all the good flavors and I also add a can of mushrooms because I’m a huge fan, but that’s completely optional.
By eating the meatballs with 100% whole wheat or whole grain pasta, your meal gets even healthier! I don’t know about you, but every time I’m at the grocery store I stand in the bread and pasta aisle for what seems like forever, trying to figure out what the heck is best for me. There’s whole wheat, whole grain, multigrain and more. Basically, it’s important to focus on getting products that are 100% whole wheat or whole grain. This means that the majority of the original grain kernel remains, rather than getting lost through processing (this article and this article explain whole grains a little better).
When looking for pasta and bread (or any type of packaged food), always look at the ingredients to make sure you are familiar with everything in the product. If there’s a lot of random ingredients that look like another language, it’s best to get something different. The simpler, the better!
If spaghetti and meatballs is one of your favorite comfort foods, too, enjoy this healthy and easy version!
Crockpot Turkey Meatballs
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A healthy and easy take on spaghetti and meatballs--the ultimate comfort food!
You'll Need...
- For the sauce:
- 3 - 15 ounce cans of crush tomatoes
- 1 – 6.5 ounce can of mushrooms (optional)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 clove)
- Other:
- 100% whole wheat or whole grain pasta
- Shredded parmesan cheese
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté garlic for the sauce until brown.
- Add garlic and the rest of the sauce ingredients to the crock pot.
- In a medium bowl, mix all the meatball ingredients.
- Form mixture into meatballs and add to sauce in the crockpot.
- Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or until meatballs are cooked all the way through.
- When ready to eat meatballs, cook the pasta and serve meatballs on top. Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!
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