Tomato Sauce

Need a good sauce for your pasta or spaghetti squash? Look no further. Here's a basic tomato sauce. Start here and adjust as desired. 

On your quest for healthy and mindful eating, don't compromise on flavor. Just because you might have diabetes doesn't mean you can't enjoy food to the fullest. With strategies like portion control, you can manage total carbohydrates. But, if you reduce your portions so much that you're still hungry at the end of the meal, you may find yourself supplementing with eating less-healthy foods and chasing blood sugar. If you find ways to reduce total carbohydrates in your meal, you can often increase portion size to a more reasonable and satiating amount. 

So, let's try this delicious and versatile tomato sauce that you can adjust to add extra proteins and veggies (ground meat, sausage, bell peppers, olives...), and pair it with spaghetti squash for a tasty alternative to heavy pasta. We think you'll love it!

Ingredients

• 1¾ lbs of fresh tomatoes
• 1 small carrot
• 1 celery stock
• 1/2 of a medium yellow onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP fresh chopped parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper to taste

Basic prep: 

Mince the garlic, finely chop the celery (including green tops), carrots, onion and parsley. Peel the tomatoes, remove the seeds and chop them up. 

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, and cook the celery, carrots, onions and parsley, stirring until everything is well coated.
2. Reduce heat to low, cover and allow to cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the garlic and increase heat to medium-high for 30 seconds before adding the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, salt and pepper. 
4. Bring to a low simmer before reducing heat. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes until sauce thickens. 

Nutritional information:

This recipe will make 5 servings of 1/2 cup, perfect for the spaghetti squash recipe. 

• Calories: 89
• Total Fat: 6g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 486mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 9g
  • Dietary Fiber: 2.6g
  • Total Sugar: 5.5g
• Protein: 2g
• Calcium: 28mg
• Iron: 1mg
• Potassium: 462mg

When pairing with pasta, spaghetti squash or another base, remember to combine and add up the carbs of both. Enjoy!