This week I’m going to take you to Italy! Italian foods are on the menu, so get set for some fun! Some of the recipes I’ll showcase are authentic Italian fare; some are my own creations. But I promise they are all delicious! One can’t think of Italian food without immediately turning one’s thought to spaghetti! This is the spaghetti sauce I have been cooking for nearly 75 years and my mother for probably that long before me. 🙂 Haven’t found one I like better. I usually double or triple the recipe and freeze some for convenience in other creations. This recipe is acceptable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal-Paleo as well.
INGREDIENTS:
1 ½ lb. lean ground beef
½ c. green pepper chopped
½ c. parsley chopped
1 c. celery chopped
6 garlic cloves minced
6 oz. yellow onion chopped
2 14-oz. cans crushed or diced tomatoes (with no added sugars)
1 small (8 oz.) can tomato paste
½ tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (less if you don’t like it very spicy)
1 T. dried crushed oregano
1 bay leaf
1 T. fresh rosemary (or ½ tsp. dried)
1 T. fresh basil leaves, chopped (or ½ tsp. dried)
½ tsp. fennel seed, crushed
VARIATIONS: Add 1½ c. diced eggplant, 6 sliced fresh mushrooms, or replace 1/2 lb. of the ground with with browned Italian sausage crumbles, balls or links. Any of these variations are quite nice in this recipe.
DIRECTIONS: Brown meat in large stew pot. You may need a little oil if your meat is real lean. Chop all veggies and add to meat and stir well. Now add garlic, seasonings, tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer covered for 1½-2 hours on lowest heat possible. Stir often during cooking and if it gets too thick to do so, add ½ c. water to think the sauce a wee bit. Will yield about 8-9 cups of sauce, or 8-10 servings, depending on how saucy you like things and how you plan to use the sauce. For my noodles, I use spaghetti squash threads, zucchini ‘noodles’ or I order on-line low-carb commercial noodles like Al Dente’s ‘Carba Nada’ line of pasta. Those still on Atkins Induction might consider the shirataki noodles with oat fiber for your Italian dishes. I think they are the best shirataki noodles out there. I believe the brand I’ve tried is Zeroodle I obtained at Netrition.com.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 10, each serving has: (excluding ‘noodles used)
295.3 cals, 20.75g fat, 13.18g carbs, 4.48 g fiber, 8.7g NET CARBS, 18.3g protein, 116 mg. sodium
Buttoni's Low-Carb Recipes 
wow, great recipe, esp for the “pasta” ive found from impastable low carb pasta… 44 carbs, but 36 fiber.. from thin slim foods. i use it when i tire of zoodles or other alternatives…
but really, using this for 50+ yrs niw, so, like many of us, u started “cooking” on nanny’s lap!
I find the Impastable a bit pricey. I usually just use Al Dente brand called Carba Nada……just not very often. Has 17 net carbs per serving. Tastes just like real noodles. Not fond of shirataki noodles. Too “rubbery” for my palate. Spaghetti squash tastes too much like squash. Zucchini noodles have too much water no matter what you do to eliminate it.