This my friends is one way you can health-up traditional spaghetti and meatballs, a TV dinner dream.
Quinoa and arugula are two of my favorite power foods, so when I saw this recipe on the Whole Foods website for, "Beef and Quinoa Meatballs," I just had to make them!
I did modify the Whole Foods recipe just a bit because you know me, I can never follow directions exact. I always gotta be deviant somehow. Instead of adding zucchini, I added arugula because it's nutrient denser. I omitted the soy sauce and I pan fried in olive oil instead of baked the balls. I like my meatballs to be a little crispy on the outside.
One cup of Quinoa has 24g of protein which is packing and arugula has the 6th highest ANDI score of foods meaning it is nutrient dense so adding the Quinoa and arugula to the meat basically makes them super potent nutritious balls...high-5!
For the pasta sauce, I never make that stuff from scratch when you can get an organic jar of Whole Foods 365 brand pasta sauce and just pour that tomatoey goodness into a pan and heat it up with the meatballs.
For pasta noodles, I usually get Trader Joe's gluten-free spaghetti made from rice flour. But this time, I thought I'd try the Whole Foods 365 brand Spinach Spaghetti. It's not gluten-free but it is more greens...not sure that means anything except that it's not gluten-free...and green, like Kermit food.
Basically, this spaghetti dish was awesome and humbly in my opinion is the stuff the Superheroes would eat. You gotta nutrient load in order to be badass like my girl Wonder Woman and Lara Croft. I would love to take down bad guys in my hot pants and with the magic lasso of truth!
Hey, we're allowed to get Walter Mitty-ish, right?!
On a serious note, these Quinoa and Arugula Beef Meatballs on spinach spaghetti would make for a great tapering week meal before a big race because you get lots of protein, carbs, and some greens especially if you pair the dish with a mixed green salad.
