I was saying recently how great it is to see raw spiralised vegetables in the UK supermarkets and also why not make your own, so easy and cheap and fresh!

Use a vegetable peeler if you don’t have a spiraliser. Really, easy.

It’s perfect to use in place of pasta just with your favourite sauce on and also there are so many healthier sauces to be discovered.

Someone requested a recipe. I asked with or without meat and they asked for both. I LOVE giving people recipes and trying new things!

This weekend we had a friend staying who is keeping to a bit of a fitness regime, as we do, but it is lovely to indulge visitors so I decided to make a healthy meat version of spag bol. I don’t use meat very much at all but when I do it is organic, grass fed. I believe eat the best and a 1/4 of something good and more expensive is better than a lot of cheap not so good anything. I pack it with veg which also boosts the flavour.

This isn’t at all a traditional spag bol but it is a version of it that is a good substitute, very tasty and healthy. It is reasonably low in calories with depth of flavour coming from the anchovies and prunes along with the more traditional ingredients. I used the anchovies to replace the depth I could have had from pancetta (which is traditional) without the calories and fat. It has more hidden* fruit and vegetables than a traditional one and that is what we are after – *hidden if you had not made it and so know what is in it.

I served it over spiralised courgette and sprinkle it with a small amount of strong flavoured cheese – max flavour enables us to use less – I could have used the parmesan substitute I use on my raw version which is grated brazil nuts mixed with a small amount of crushed garlic and nutritional yeast – really delicious but of course it doesn’t melt the way cheese would. A good sub for melted cheese would be some cashew nuts soaked then blended with water, a dash of apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper and nutritional yeast. More of that when I post the raw vegan version in a few days!

Recipe for a healthy spaghetti bolognese

What I used:

500gms Organic grass fed beef

2 onions

1 red pepper

½ red chilli pepper

2 cloves garlic

5 anchovy fillets

1tbsp olive oil

1 stick celery

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 good tsp oregano

3 bay leaves

Salt & pepper

5 prunes chopped

Small pack shitake mushrooms (any would do but these are a bit more flavourful)

¼- ½ stock pot

500gm pureed tomatoes in box (would have used chopped if they had it or fresh in summer)

Fill box with water or half and half red wine and water.

How I did it:

Fried onions & garlic till soft

Added anchovies, stirred a few minutes

Added celery and peppers, cooked until soft

Added meat and broke it up until well mixed with the rest, cooked slowly adding the cinnamon half way through.

When all lightly cooked I added the tomatoes, carrots and wine/water mix along with a teaspoon of the stock pot, the chopped prunes, finely chopped mushrooms and herbs. If I hadn’t been using wine I would have added a bit more of the stock pot (or cube or fresh stock).

Heated until bubbling gently then put into a glass bowl with lid and into the oven for a couple of hours slow cooking.

I would have cooked on stove top but pan not really big enough (in holiday cottage!).

The result was a rich, thick, glossy and delicious sauce. Served with spiralised courgette it ticked all the boxes even for my husband who loves a really good, authentic spag bol!

We were all so hungry and ready for it after the rugby that I forgot to photograph the finished product. Should have served 5-6 but served 3 (two of them twice :).

For AJ – let me know what you think x