Whole Wheat Spaghetti

September 11, 2015

Whole Wheat Spaghetti

Hello everyone! My name is Tyler Howe.  I chose to make my whole wheat spaghetti recipe because it is healthy, delicious, and super easy to make!  It also doesn't cost a whole ton to get the ingredients as well!  My mom has made this spaghetti for my entire life and it has always been my favorite meal.  I always have it for my birthday dinner and whenever I get the chance (which is quite often because it's super healthy)!  Another great thing about this recipe is that you can substitute the turkey for actual hamburger and you can also use flour noodles if you don't like whole wheat.  No matter what it will still taste good.

Preparation time: 5-10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of ground turkey
• 1 packet of McCormick spaghetti sauce mix
• 4 small cans of tomato sauce
• 1 box of whole wheat spaghetti noodles (or whatever noodles you want)
• Garlic salt

Directions:
In a frying pan, cook the entire pound of ground turkey, sprinkling garlic salt in every time you fry it, until the meat is brown.  In a separate sauce pan, mix the 4 cans of tomato sauce, fill those four cans with water and dump in, along with the sauce mix. Stir until mixed together and then add the turkey and mix well.  While the mixture is heating, fill a pot with water, bring to a boil, and then pour noodles in to cook.  Once the mixture has come to a light boil turn off the stove and place a lid on top and let simmer.  After testing the noodles to make sure they are soft enough for your taste, drain them.  Lastly, put on a plate and enjoy! I love to add parmesan cheese on top.

   

Serving Size: This recipe serves 4-6 people depending on how much they eat.  Some could also be left to eat later on!

Nutrition Facts: (these are based on a meal for five people, and the numbers are per serving)
Calories: 139
Total Fat: 2.22 grams
Carbohydrates: 22.4 grams
Protein: 8.16 grams
Potassium: 204.2 milligrams
Sodium: 187.6 milligrams
Cholesterol: 18 milligrams
Sugar: 3.2 grams
Vitamin A: 4.6%
Vitamin C: 5.6%
Vitamin B-6: 2%
Magnesium: 1.8%
Calcium: 1.4%
Iron: 5.8%

Price: This recipe costs less than $20 to make! It is great tasting and affordable.

Ease of Preparation: This recipe is so simple to make.  The only hard part about it is cooking the ground turkey.  You just have to keep a close eye on it because it will burn.  Also, I would keep tasting it because the more garlic you put it, the stronger it will taste in the sauce.

What type of meal is this?  I think this meal is more of a dinner meal.  It is very filling and tasty, and it can feed more people the bigger batch you make.  My mom has always made this meal for dinner and for family get together events so that is why I think of this meal as a dinner meal.  Besides, you can always make enough to have left overs and eat it the next day for breakfast or lunch.

Vitamins and Minerals: This recipe includes Vitamin A which is good for the growth and development of the human body.  It also includes Vitamin C which is great for your immune system.  This recipe also has calcium which is good for your bones.  Vitamin B-6, which this recipe also contains, is good for brain development during pregnancy along with immune function.

Proteins and Carbohydrates: Because this is necessary for the building of muscles bones, cartilage, etc, there are 8.16 grams of protein in this recipe!!  Along with the protein, there are 22.4 grams of Carbohydrates in this recipe. Carbs are great for providing energy in your body.  After eating this spaghetti, I seem to always have tons of energy!

Fats and Sugars: This recipe contains hardly any fats and sugars with a running total of 2.22 grams of fat and 3.2 grams of sugar.  You also need this to burn for your energy.  You also need some fats and sugar to help balance out your diet.

What is missing? This recipe is missing the fruit food group, and the vegetable food group.  To complete this meal with all food groups I would have a side salad with an apple or a little bowl of fruit on the side.  It makes for a great meal!

Mashed Veggie Roots

Mashed Veggie Roots

Hey everyone! I'm Matana Myers. I decided to do this recipe because it is super simple and it has a very small amount of preparation time. My dad has cooked this for my family for years, and it is definitely one of my favorites. It's super healthy, and if you love mashed potatoes, chances are that you will love these! This recipe is great because you can substitute the ingredients for different things and/or add whatever root veggies you love.

Preparation time: 20 min.
Cook time: 25 min. or until tender when pierced with a fork

Ingredients:
2 large potatoes (I used russet potatoes, but red or gold can be used as well)
1 yam
1 sweet potato
1 parsnip
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. milk

...you can also use beets, carrots, turnips, or any combination of root vegetables...

Directions:
Wash all roots and give them a light scrub to get any left over grit off. Peel all veggies. Cut all veggies into rounds about 1 inch thick. Drop them into a pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 25 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. When done cooking, strain and let sit for just a minute or two. Mince up the garlic and put in with the veggies. Take a potato masher and start smashing all vegetables and garlic. Adding about a tsp. of olive oil and 2 tbsp. of milk will make the potatoes a little more smooth and creamy. You can mash the mixture for as little or as much time as you'd like depending on how chunky you want the veggies. Mine were almost completely smooth and mixed and it took me about 5 minutes.
You can add any spices you like (i.e. chives, rosemary, dill, garlic powder, minced onions, etc.) and salt according to taste.

Servings: 

This recipe can serve anywhere from 4-8 people (even more or less) depending on how much each person is served.

Nutrition Facts: We'll go with an average of 5 servings for the nutrition facts, and I will provide the nutrition info per serving. (this is about a cup serving size)
126 calories
.13 grams of Fat
30 grams Carbs
2.4 grams of Protein
23.8 milligrams of Sodium
672 milligrams of Potassium
No Cholesterol :)
3.35 grams of Sugar
74.6% of Vitamin A
42.6% of Vitamin C
2.8% Calcium
4.6% Iron

Price: This cost me less than $7 to make!

Taste:
I love the taste of these because they are just like a healthy version of creamy mashed potatoes. Because of the yams and sweet potatoes they are naturally sweet, and you get a taste of the garlic as well!

Ease of Preparation:
This are so beyond easy to make. Once you get past the peeling (I hate peeling things, but it wasn't too bad) and cutting them up, it is little to no effort at all. Plus, you can get other things done while waiting for them to boil.

Dinner:
I would normally think of this as a dinner side dish. You could pair this with a source of protein and a glass of milk, maybe a source of grain, for a very nutritious meal! It goes great to pair with anything you want. Plus, you can put some of your other favorite veggies in the mix as well, to change it up a bit. The good thing is that these have a little bit of protein on their own, as well as many vitamins and minerals!

Vitamins and Minerals:
This dish includes Vitamin A, which is important for the growth and development of several systems within your body, Vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant and helps the body form connective tissue, Calcium, which builds your bones and keeps them healthy while also clotting our blood and helping our muscles contract, and Iron, which is a part of all cells and carries oxygen from our lungs throughout our bodies. There is a lot of potassium, very little fat, and no cholesterol.

Proteins and Carbohydrates:
While these aren't the first thing you think of as a source of protein, it does offer 2.4 grams of protein. Protein is necessary in the diet for building bones, muscle, cartilage and more. It also makes enzymes, hormones, and other bodily chemicals that are needed. There is 30 grams worth of carbs in this dish. Carbs are good for providing energy for your body. Starches are a complex carbohydrate where lots of sugar molecules are joined together. These will help provide lots of energy for your body.

Fats and Sugars:
This dish is extremely low on fat and relatively low on sugars. Fats and sugars are necessary to provide protection, insulate us, and provide energy for your body.

There's so many benefits with this recipe. I don't really have something I don't like about these considering all the good it comes with. It's so easy to made and my whole family loved them too!