Turkey Bolognese with Zucchini Pasta

If you’re still feeling romantical after your lovely Valentine’s Day dinner, and even if you’re way over it, here’s a quick and easy Turkey Bolognese with Zucchini Pasta for any weeknight dinner!

Most people argue that zucchini pasta does NOT taste like pasta at all.

Well, duh. It’s zucchini! It’s not supposed to taste like pasta!

It’s not a magical pasta substitute delivered on a unicorn, but it does help you make better choices while still enjoying that indulgent feeling of eating noodles and meat sauce.

If you season the zucchini and make a killer Bolognese, you can have two bowls and still not add up to the carb load and calorie intake of one small regular pasta meal. And, if you plan out your day, you can even use some garlic bread to dip into that amazing Turkey Bolognese without blowing your day’s efforts!

Hey, I’m down 24 pounds since I started this epic #betterchoices journey on January 1st, and I have not suffered one bit! I’ve even found a way to weave in my Cheeto fix every now and again! (don’t judge)

Did you know they make a baked version, and if you actually read labels, you can delight in licking your neon orange-dusted fingers at least 34 times in a row during one sitting without making a huge dent in your success or in your self-worth???? That’s genius!

Anyway, the point is – you can do this! Anyone can make better choices every single day to improve your well-being. And, I only eat what I love! No nasty cardboard, sad little salad diets here… EVER!

So, get after it! And, why not kick it off with this amazing Turkey Bolognese with Zucchini Pasta. You’ll love it!

Ingredients:
1 TBS Olive Oil (you can sub coconut oil)
2 TBS Fresh Parsley, chopped
2 TBS Fresh Rosemary, chopped
1 Cup Onion, chopped
1 Cup Grape Tomatoes, halved
1/2 Cup Celery, chopped
5 Garlic Cloves, minced
16 oz Ground Turkey
1 TBS Dried Italian Seasoning
1 tsp Dried Oregano
8 oz Tomato Sauce
4 TBS Tomato Paste
1 Cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 tsp Truvia (zero calorie sweetener of choice – Truvia is my fav)
2 Yellow Squash
1 Green Zucchini

In a heavy saucepan/dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and celery to the pan. Sauté until the onions start to become translucent. Add the Italian seasoning and continue to sauté for another minute. Create a well in the center of the sautéed vegetables.

Add the tomato paste to the well and cook for about two minutes or until the tomato paste starts to brown. Bits will start to stick to the bottom of the heavy pan – that’s okay. We want those bits, known as fond, to help build flavor. Add the ground turkey to the mixture, season with salt and pepper, then combine. Add the fresh rosemary and parsley to the turkey and stir to incorporate the ingredients thoroughly.

Add the tomato sauce to the turkey mixture and then fill the can of tomato sauce with the chicken stock to save yourself from having to wash a measuring cup. Add the stock and then the grape tomatoes. Stir to combine.

Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, and then cover with a lid and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Take your squash and zucchini, wash and dry them, and then cut each of the ends off. Peel the outer layer of the squash and zucchini. Discard the outer peeling.

Hold the squash or zucchini with your non-dominant hand. Use your dominant hand to carefully run the peeler from top to bottom, creating thin and even “noodle” strips of the vegetable. Watch your fingers to avoid injury. You may use a mandolin for this, but in my opinion, it’s much faster with a peeler. Towards the end, you can turn the vegetable to make slightly thinner “noodles.” Set aside.

After the Bolognese has simmered for 30 minutes, uncover and add the dried oregano and zero calorie sweetener to balance out the flavors. Most tomato-based sauces use sugar to balance out, but homey don’t play that game. So, Truvia it is. Stir to combine.

Once the “noodles” are ready, toss them very lightly with salt. Arrange them in a bowl and ladle over the Bolognese! You can add shaved Parmesan if you wish!

Total calories for this dish are 267 per serving without the Parmesan. That’s nothin’! So, eat up! And, enjoy making better choices!

LET’S KEEP IT REAL: First and foremost, I do everything for the love of food. Most of what I write about is because I love it! If I don’t love it, I tell you about that, too. From time to time, I may receive monetary or product compensation for mentioning products, offering recommendations, providing endorsements, or including links to products or services when I blog. While that may be the case for some posts, it is not the case for all. When it’s sponsored, you’ll see #sponsored when I post. When I’m just sharing the love, I won’t use that particular tag or hashtag. What you need to know is that I only give shout outs when I actually use the product or love it so much it deserves a shout out, sponsored or not.