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Zucchini Spaghetti and Great Balls of Meat


Honestly, I’ve never been a big pasta fan. I can’t deny, there’s a comforting feel about a big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs though. My zucchini spaghetti recipe fills this void as it does get kind of old to eat plain old meat and veggies all of the time. Occasionally you just want to change it up.


You know what isn’t comforting? How bloated and disgusting I feel after I eat a big bowl of pasta (actually-it’s been years since I’ve done that but I still remember the feeling). Oh, and if you’ve yet to get a julienne slicer in your array of kitchen tools, you NEED to get one. It changed my life. I LOVE it and I even travel with it (yes, seriously.) You can get one here. Anyway, enough rambling…this recipe is delish!


Ingredients:

Meat Balls:

  • 1 lb lean (grass fed if you can find it) ground beef

  • 1 tsp each of dried basil and oregano

  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

  • 1/4 cup almond meal or flour

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1/4 tsp of each: pepper, garlic powder, onion powder

  • 1 large egg








Spaghetti:

3 medium zucchini squash (or yellow squash works too)


Pasta Sauce:

Pick a pasta sauce that is lower in carbohydrates (doesn’t have added sugar) that has legitimate ingredients in it. Usually around 50 calories and 6-8 net carbs per 1/2 cup serving


Tools:

  • Mixing bowl

  • Julienne slicer

  • Cutting board

  • Baking dish

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

  2. Place all meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl

  3. Wash your hands with soap and water and remove any rings/jewelry. Get ready to have some fun!

  4. Dig in with your bare hands and mix all ingredients until well blended.

  5. Once mixed, grab small chunks of meat and roll it around in your hands to create 2’’ balls

  6. 1lb of meat should make around 15 balls

  7. Place all meatballs in a shallow baking dish and place in oven for 20-25 minutes (DON’T BURN THE BALLS-nobody like dry balls)

  8. Remove the meatballs from the oven and set aside

Noodles:

  1. On the cutting board, remove the ends off of each zucchini squash.

  2. Take the julienne slicer and run it down the zucchini creating noodle like threads.

  3. Continue until you get to the seeds, then flip the zucchini over and repeat on the other side.

  4. When you have gotten most of the flesh off of the front and back, you can turn it on its side to make additional noodles.

  5. Toss the noodles around a bit to make sure they are all separated. You may slice them into smaller pieces if you wish.

  6. Repeat with all zucchini and discard the interior of the squash. Each medium zucchini should feed one person (about 4-5 oz noodles each).

Assembly:

  • Take a bowl and place 4-5 oz of zucchini in the bowl. If there is excess moisture on the noodles, pat them dry with a paper towel

  • Place 5 meat balls on top of the zucchini

  • Add 1/2- 3/4 cup of pasta cause to the top

  • Place bowl in microwave and heat until warm

  • You can add extra cheese to the top if you’d like

Who needs carby, gluten-filled pasta when you can have this super healthy, delicious meal? This is a stick to your ribs meal that doesn’t leave you feeling exhausted and weighed down after you eat a bit bowl. YUM!


Macros: Amounts may vary depending on type of pasta sauce and beef used

  • 1 serving (5 meatballs, 1/2 cup sauce, 5oz zucchini noodles)

  • 473 calories

  • 29g fat

  • 12g net carbs

  • 42g protein

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