How to make store bought spaghetti sauce healthier!

In a perfect world we would all have ample time to make our own sauces from our own organic tomatoes we grew and of course canned. There have been seasons in my life that I could do more things like that but this season of life I am  in right now is not one of them. If you are in that season of life where you have the time and resources then awesome! But if you are not let me show you some easy ways to “beef up” (I bet you never thought you would see that term on my blog ,huh?!) the nutrition factor or the healthiness of your typical store bought spaghetti sauce. This is a Make it healthier Part 1 recipe. Later on I will show you how to make this same recipe even healthier (part 2 recipe).

First lets start with the kind of store bought sauce you buy. Depending on what you have available at your local grocery stores will really affect your choices. In my local store I have store brands both organic and regular. The organic store brand in the jar is only a few cents more than the regular one. A few cents I can do. I pick the garden blend or  one that has lots of  vegetables in it. The thing  I make sure it does not have is meat flavor or cheese flavor. Those ingredients add unnecessary calories and cholesterol. Remember to try a couple different  sauces and sauce flavors out. It took us a couple tries to find the brand we liked and it ended up being the store brand which was great for my grocery budget. Just because you pay more for something does not mean it is better!!

Once you have your sauce figured out the next step is picking some veggies out that you will use to “beef up” your spaghetti sauce. I like to use onions,mushrooms, zucchini,diced tomatoes and spinach. I have used red and yellow peppers to when they are in season or are on sale.

I like my sauce to be chunky so I saute all of the vegetables and leave them whole.If you have children with sensory or texture issues you can do a couple of things.

1. Blend all of the sauteed veggies and sauce up together in a blender util it is smooth. If doing this leave out things like spinach or it will turn your sauce gray.

or

2. Keep your sauce separate from all the veggies and just let your kids eat sauce and noodles. If you pick the garden blend of spaghetti sauce then it will typically have several other veggies besides the tomatoes in it. This is what I do because my son has some texture sensory issues. One thing I do to make this plain Jane sauce a little healthier is I will add 1-3 Tablespoons of pumpkin puree into the sauce.Stir it up really good and most kids wont even notice.I just use regular pumpkin puree that you get in a can (or if you have made your own- you can use that). Stay tuned for the part 2 of this make it healthier idea series and I will show you some more tricks and tips that have really worked for us.

Once you decide which way works better for you then just dice your veggies and saute them in a small amount of oil or water. Either put them in the sauce once they are done or keep them separate.  I serve my noodles first  then the veggies, followed with a layer of sauce over the veggies.

Here are some pictures to show you what mine looks likes.

Serve it up with a huge salad and enjoy!!

I hope I have given you some good ideas on simple and delicious ways to make your jar of store bought spaghetti sauce healthier! Keep your eyes out for the Part 2 to this idea/recipe where I will show you how to take this dish and make it even healthier!