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  • April 21, 2018

London Unattached - London Lifestyle Blog

Luxury London Lifestyle Blog for the over 40s with food, travel, diet and restaurant reviews - London Unattached

Low Calorie Bolognese with Vegetable Spaghetti

September 22, 2017 by Fiona Maclean 2 Comments

Cutting Calories for the 5:2 Diet – Spaghetti Bolognese:

I’m back in the UK after a couple of trips abroad and on the 5:2 diet trying to lose some of the weight I’ve gained and to continue to lose a bit more.  For me, restarting a diet is the hardest time, so I try my best to cook something really tasty where I won’t feel I am being deprived.  I’m really pleased with this recipe for a low-calorie spaghetti bolognese.  I’ve tried using vegetable noodles in the form of courgette (zucchini) alone in the past and found the result lacked enough bite for a meal sauce (though I love eating courgetti with a homemade fresh tomato sauce).

Low Calorie Bolognese

So this time, I’ve mixed up the spiralised noodles a bit with 50% carrot and 50% courgette and the result is great.  The calories in the bolognese sauce are reduced by using extra low-fat mince and by increasing the quantity of vegetables – particularly mushrooms.  I haven’t compromised on the olive oil or the red wine that I use in my normal recipe – and the end result is super tasty but with half the calories!

Low Calorie Spaghetti Bolognese

4 from 1 vote
Diet Spaghetti Bolognese
Print
Low Calorie Spaghetti Bolognese with Vegetable Spaghetti
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 15 mins
 

An ultra-low calorie recipe for spaghetti bolognese with delicious spaghetti made from courgettes and carrots

Course: Main Course, Main Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
  • 2 tsb olive oil
  • 300 g low fat beef mince I used 1% fat mince
  • 300 g mushrooms finely diced
  • 1 medium onion finely diced
  • 1 medium carrot finely diced
  • 1 stick celery finely diced
  • 500 ml red wine
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsb oregano
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
Vegetable noodles - per person
  • 1/2 medium courgette
  • 1/2 medium carrot
  • 1/2 tsb olive oil or use 1 cal olive oil spray
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Brown the mince in the olive oil and set aside, retaining the meat juice and oil in the pan

  2. add the finely diced onion and crushed garlic.  Sweat over a moderate heat for 2-3 minutes, then add the diced carrot and celery.  Continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes.  

  3. Add the mince and the diced mushrooms into the pan and sprinkle over the oregano.  Stir well then pour over the red wine and the chopped tomatoes.  Season well with salt and pepper

  4. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for at least 60 minutes till the sauce thickens and reduces.  Stir occasionally and add more water if it starts to stick.  Adjust the seasoning as necessary.

  5. This makes enough for 6 portions of sauce, so once it is cooked, I usually freeze what I don't want to use immediately before finishing the dish with the vegetable noodles

  6. To make the noodles, spiralise half a courgette and carrot per person.  I use a fairly 'thick' setting as otherwise the noodles tend to collapse too much as they cook

  7. Take a deep frying pan or wok and add just enough oil to stop the noodles sticking.  Heat to a moderate temperature and cook, stirring constantly, till the courgette starts to go translucent. Season with a little salt and pepper 

  8. Serve the noodles piled up with sauce on top and freshly grated parmesan 

I’ve worked out the calories per portion of sauce and it comes to a very respectable  212 calories per portion.  If you choose to eat this with the vegetable spaghetti you’ll be adding around 50 calories a portion compared with 160 or so for a normal pasta.  So, your entire meal can be less than 300 calories – even if you add a little parmesan!

Calories - low cal Spag bol

 

What I like best about this dish is that it doesn’t feel as if it is diet food.  It’s just good, soul food that is perfect for a chilly autumn evening.  And if you are feeding kids or adults who are not dieting, you can always serve their portion with traditional pasta instead of the veggie noodles

Fast day low cal spaghetti bolognese

Like the idea of this recipe?  why not pin it for later!

Diet Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe with Veggie Noodles

5 / 5 stars     

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Filed Under: 5:2 Diet Recipes, Mains, Meat, Recipes Tagged With: 5:2 diet, 5:2 diet fast, diet recipe, Italian Cookery, low calorie recipe

About Fiona Maclean

London based freelance writer and marketing consultant. I edit London-Unattached.com and write for a number of other publications

Comments

  1. Jeanette Leighton says

    December 16, 2017 at 6:27 pm

    Love bolognese but it’s very calorific. Might give this a try

    Reply
  2. Kev Cannon says

    January 28, 2018 at 11:34 am

    Love the recipe for the sauce but we fight over spaghetti as I’m not a fan and prefer other pasta types but my wife is a firm (or should that be al dente) spaghetti fan

    Reply

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  • April 12th  - National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day

    The USA celebrates National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day on April 12th.   Well, why not?   Regarded as one of the top comfort foods in America, the version we eat today originated in the 1920s when sliced bread and American cheese became easily available.  

    image

    Of course, those of you from the USA and those of you wishing to join the celebrations can do so in London!  Head for the glamorous art-deco inspired Colony Grill at the Beaumont Hotel and you’ll find the menu offers a Grilled Cheese sandwich with Dill Pickle, perfect for National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day.  While you are there, enjoy a cocktail or three - and perhaps a couple of other American classics - we love the Buttermilk Fried Chicken and perhaps Bananas Foster flambeed in dark rum for dessert. 

    Enjoy!

    Colony Grill
    The Beaumont  Brown Hart Gardens
    Mayfair  London  W1K 6TF 
     

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