To the surprise of even myself, I am still staying away from processed carbs like pasta, rice and bread. It is over six weeks since I have consumed any and the most amazing thing about it is I don’t actually crave to eat any of it either!

The rest of the family are still eating pasta, rice and bread, albeit in much lower quantities. Meals like spaghetti bolognese will still be appearing on our family menu plan. I am trying where possible to only cook one main meal, but sometimes it means having a different side dish or accompaniment.

In the case of spaghetti bolognese I finally gave zucchini bolognese a try. I had scoffed at such recipes previously, when I saw them on my pinterest feed and thought there was no way it could be any good. I was however very wrong.

Of course it tastes nothing like pasta, so don’t expect that! But with a dash of olive oil and garlic, the zucchini has fab flavour and it tastes great with a rich tomatoey bolognese sauce.

I have included the slightly altered “cleaner” version of my slow cooker bolognese in the recipe below. The family noticed no difference at all with the new version of the bolognese sauce!

Zucchini Bolognese

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

4 hours

Total time

4 hours 30 mins

 

Author:: PlanningQueen

Recipe type: Italian

Ingredients:

• 4 zucchinis
• 2 tablespoon macadamia oil
• 500 grams premium beef mince
• 1 large onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 400 grams tin diced tomatoes
• 140 grams tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat.
2. Add chopped onion and 1 clove of garlic and fry for a couple of minutes, until soft.
3. Add mince and be sure to break up the mince thoroughly as it cooks.
4. Pour this mixture into the slow cooker.
5. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and salt to the slow cooker. Using a spoon combine well.
6. Put lid on and cook for 6-7 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
7. About 15 minutes before you want to serve, grate the zucchini. Or if you have a fancy julienne machine, use that to make lovely long thin strips of zucchini.
8. Add 2 tbsps olive oil to a pan on medium heat.
9. Crush the garlic cloves into the pan and toss it for a minute or so, then add the zucchini and toss it for 3 - 4 minutes.
10. Place zucchini on to plates, top with bolognese sauce and serve immediately.

Notes:

If I am in a hurry, I just throw all the sauce ingredients into the slow cooker without frying them first and it turns out fine - frying first probably just gives it a little more flavour. If the zucchinis are small, you may need to allocate 1.5 per person.

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Our Family Menu Plan For This Week

Day	Week Commencing 1st June
Sat		Souvlaki
Sun		Chicken schnitzel and vegetables Chocolate Balls Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Mon		Pumpkin Soup
Tue		Roast chicken and vegetables
Wed		Quick Beef Stir Fry
Thu		Marinated Steak and Garlic Mash
Fri		Scrambled Eggs
Shopping List	Weekly menu plan shopping list for 5th May 2013

If you are looking for further recipe inspiration, check out my complete list of Family Friendly Recipes.