Spiralized veggies and spiralizers are all the rage these days in the healthy eating world and I’ve decided to finally join the party. Mostly I just needed something to put my large batch of Meatless Meaty Marinara on top of, and spaghetti squash has gone out of season. So I decided it was time to break out the ol’ spiralizer that’s been gathering dust in the cupboard all winter. I have nothing against it, I just have been too lazy to use it. Turns out there was no good reason for this resistance I was feeling, because it’s really easy to use and clean the thing.
Anyway, this was a tasty, filling, and quick weeknight meal (less than 30 minutes) because I already had the marinara made.
Zoodles & Meaty Marinara
Each Serving Contains:
- 1 Veggie Serving (adjust quantity to your individual food plan)
- 1 Protein Serving
- 1 Fat Serving
Ingredients
Veggie Serving
- 4 oz raw mushrooms
- 11 oz of Meatless Meaty Marinara (contributes 4 oz of veggies)
- Spiralized zucchini noodles (zoodles!) to reach your veggie amount.
Protein Serving
- 11 oz of Meatless Meaty Marinara (contributes 1/3 of a protein serving)
- 2.66 oz diced veggie sausage (I use Field Roast or Tofurkey)
- Alternatively, use 1.33 oz of pine nuts or nut-based cheese for the rest of the protein serving.
Fat Serving
- 11 oz of Meatless Meaty Marinara (contributes 1 fat serving)
Condiments & Spices
- Salt, pepper
- Fresh or dried basil or oregano
- Nutritional yeast (optional)
Maintenance Modifications
- Grain Additions: I can’t think of a natural way to include grains with this meal. When this happens, I occasionally will substitute the grain for 1/2 of a protein serving or one fat serving. Feel free to experiment with grain additions.
- Protein Additions: Increase veggie sausage, pine nuts, or cheese.
- Fat Additions: Increase olive oil, pine nuts, or cheese.
Directions
- If you haven’t already made the marinara sauce, do that first. Recipe here.
- Spiralize the zucchini using your favorite spiralizing method.
- Slice the mushrooms and veggie sausage.
- With a light spray of oil in a nonstick skillet, sauté the mushrooms and veggie sausage together until browned, covering with a lid at first and stirring occasionally, in order to steam them a little and keep them from sticking to the pan.
- Remove and weigh the veggies and sausage, subtracting the weight of the sausage (it doesn’t reduce at all when cooked) and noting the weight of the mushrooms.
- In a small saucepan, weigh out the marinara and stir the sausage and mushrooms into the marinara.
- Calculate the amount of veggies you have left, and weigh that amount of zoodles. (Subtract the mushroom weight and 4 oz from the marinara)
- Optional: Lightly cook the zoodles. Some options are sautéing the zoodles for 1-2 minutes, (I cover with a lid and steam them a little) but not longer or they will become wet and soggy, or you could microwave them for 20-30 seconds, or you can just enjoy them cold and raw. The point is just to warm them slightly, not to cook them. Their weight should not significantly reduce from cooking.
- Serve and garnish with basil, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast (if desired).
Hi, I’m Katie Gates!
Just to be sure, the 11 oz of Meatless Meaty Marinara includes: the 4 oz of veggies, the 1/3 protein, and the fat serving combined, right? Not 11 oz each.
That’s correct. 33 oz would be wayyy too much food! 😀 Thanks for clarifying.