As the weather cools down, it can be hard to keep tour mood and motivation up. Regular fitness and healthy eating sometimes go in the too-hard (or too cold) basket.
However, inactivity and a diet lacking in important nutrients compromise our immunity and make us vulnerable to the dreaded cold and flu.
Maintaining a diet that is high in immune boosting foods can help protect you from colds and flu as well as keep the winter blues at bay.
Kate Freeman, Cenovis spokesperson and nutritionist, shares her healthier version of Spaghetti Bolognaise. It isn’t a traditional recipe but the reduced salt content and increase in fibre make this a quick and easy winner this winter.
Spaghetti Bolognaise
Ingredients
(10 serves)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 brown onions, roughly chopped
- 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 3 tsp minced ginger
- 1 zucchini, grated
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1kg premium beef or pork mince
- 2x 700ml jars of tomato passata
- 1 tin brown lentils, drained and rinsed
- 3 tsp dried oregano
- 3 tsp dried basil
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 500g high fibre or wholemeal pasta
- 1 bunch of fresh kale, finely shredded
- Parmesan cheese, grated
Method
- To make the bolognaise sauce, heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the onion, garlic and ginger and sauté until soft, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the grated zucchini and carrot and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Add the mince and cook for a further 6-7 minutes or until just cooked through.
- Add the dried herbs and 2 jars of passata sauce. Swish the insides of the passata jars with a small amount of water and add this to the pan as well.
- Add the bay leaves and reduce the heat to low.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the lentils and kale to the sauce and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta as per the packet directions and divide it among a total of 10 serving bowls and containers (for leftovers). Top the pasta with a serving of bolognaise sauce and a small sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Serve.
Notes
- If you’re vegetarian or want to make this a meat free meal then you can substitute the mince for two 400g tins of lentils. You can use also use 500g of mince and 1 tin of lentils – half and half. This will give the fibre a big boost and save you money – lentils are very cheap.
- You can grate vegetables into the sauce such as zucchini, carrot and eggplant. Do this before you add the mince and allow it to cook down for 3-4 minutes. This will help the recipe stretch a little further plus boost the fibre and nutrition.
- If you don’t like wholemeal pasta, try a high fibre white pasta instead.
Nutrition Information
• Energy: 1930kJ (460 Calories)
• Carbohydrate: 41g (sugar 7g)
• Protein: 33g
• Fat: 16g (saturated 5g)
• Fibre: 9g
• Sodium: 284mg

Beauty and Lace is an online magazine for women. We hope you enjoyed this article!
Yum, I love a good spagbol! I like the options for vegetarian too. Definitely a great winter comfort food option!