Sneaky Pasta Sauce

Sneaky Pasta Sauce

 

Most children do not get enough vegetables and fruits into their diets. We all know this. I try to make sure my kiddos get what they need nutritionally, but I admit that I fail a lot of the time. That is one reason I have been trying to find recipes that incorporate a lot of healthy elements yet still taste terrific.  I created this recipe for Sneaky Pasta Sauce by accident last month.  I was trying to make a good spaghetti sauce and came out with this instead. I make a lot of food from scratch, but I have never made marinara sauce. Everyone keeps telling me how easy it is so I thought I’d give it a try.  I started off with Wendy from Around My Family Table’s Easy Homemade Tomato Sauce. With that as my jumping off point, I just started adding vegetables and spices. What I ended up with was a nutritious and sweet sauce that the kiddos gobbled up and raved about.  Check out the recipe below.

Start of the process.Sneaky Pasta Sauce

  • 5 lbs of tomatoes
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 cup carrots, shredded
  • 1 cup zucchini, shredded
  • 1 cup baby spinach
  • 4 oz mushrooms,  halved
  • 1 tbs fresh parsley
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • Ingredients cooking down1tsp dried oregano
  • 1stp dried basil
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • Dash of pepper

Directions

  • Wash and core tomatoes.
  • Combine all the ingredients through the garlic in large pot.
  • Slowly bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Let it gently boil for one minute and then reduce Finished product.heat to low.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes or until it thickens, whichever comes first.
  • Remove the pot from heat. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, use an immersion blender to puree it. If you do not have an immersion blender you can use a traditional blender to puree the sauce a little at a time.
  • Serve over your children’s favorite pasta.
  • Be sure to divide up and freeze your leftovers for future yumminess.

How do you get more fruits and vegetables into your family’s diet?  Feel free to leave a comment. Share and let’s talk about it.

Comments

  1. Southern Mama Bri says:

    I’ll definitely have to try this because God knows my kids avoid ALL vegetables but love spaghetti. Your newest GFC and NetworkedBlogs follower from the Alexa hop :)

    Bri @ Ramblings of a Southern Mama

  2. Clever, clever! Love the idea of sneaking in some more good stuff. I have kids ranging in age from 10 to 17, and they could all stand to eat more veggies.

    Thanks for this great idea, and for linking to Food on Fridays!
    Ann Kroeker recently posted..Food on Fridays: SafekeepingMy Profile

  3. Wow that’s great!!
    Sadie recently posted..Fun Free Things to Do in Phoenix, AZMy Profile

  4. Auntie Pamela says:

    I love pasta and veggies, so I will making this recipe very soon. I will let cha know how it turns out. Thanks for the great idea.

  5. Looks Yummy!
    I have added squash to DS pasta sauce before to get hi to eat it up. He LOVES pasta, so why not add a few extra veggies in with it.
    Little Miss Kate recently posted..Food for Fridays — Homemade Granola BarsMy Profile

  6. Love it- I did a post a while back on sneaking all sorts of good stuff into your family!
    Marie recently posted..Face Palm Friday 9/9My Profile

  7. Just bookmarked this recipe to try out over the weekend. My kids love pasta and I’d love to avoid store bought sauce.What an awesome idea. TYVM!!!
    marina recently posted..Pizza Mania : Early Math Game (+ Giveaway)My Profile

  8. I love Spaghetti, have to try this sometime! Wonderful idea!
    katie mitchell recently posted..Furry Friends Friday *Linky*My Profile

  9. Sounds good!
    MamaPsalmist recently posted..Submission and ObedienceMy Profile

  10. I cant wait to try this.My son loves eating pasta and he’ll be eating his veggies without him knowing it.Thanks for sharing this.
    Alisa recently posted..Bento Love – Bento Blog And PhotoMy Profile

  11. Great idea and we love spaghetti. Adding veggies to the sauce is wonderful.

  12. Awesome! I am always sneaking veggies into my cooking :)
    thethriftyhousewife recently posted..Enter A Giveaway, Help Save An OrphanMy Profile

  13. Hello, I’m a new gfc follower of your blog :)
    that spagehtti and garlic bread is getting me hungry.
    Chavonne recently posted..Daily Freebies 9/11My Profile

  14. Thanks for the recipe! I am a new follower from the hop. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.

    Hope to you can visit and follow my blog – Free eBooks Daily. (You can even read ebooks on your computer or smartphone!)
    http://www.freeebooksdaily.com
    Free eBooks Daily recently posted..Dreams That Stay by Kara BaumMy Profile

  15. That looks really good! I don’t have to worry about my kids and veggies, but I might just have to try it because it looks good!
    Heather ~ Acting Balanced Mom recently posted..Mompact Blog Hop – #GIVEAWAY and Review – Lil Hot HeadsMy Profile

  16. Very sneaky! I just love this recipe!

  17. This would never work for me. My kids won’t eat any sauce on their pasta, believe it or not. Found you on the StumbleUpon 4 U hop and just stumbled this for you.

  18. I’ve always put carrots in my sauce for extra nutrition, but never spinach…what a great idea!!

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