Healthy Pasta? Whole Wheat Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

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Oh gosh, how I simply hate the arduous task of losing weight. It's so easy for me to gain pounds and yet so very hard to lose! I once could lose 10 pounds so quickly PLUS be able to keep them off when I was much younger . . . but NOW? Oh my goodness, it seems to take FOREVER to lose 10 pounds!

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But lose weight, I must do.

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And I must do it NOW! So this means I'm simply going to have to make a shift in some of the recipes that I post (at least for awhile anyway). Already I've made some tiny, easy little changes in just the past few mornings: W.D. and I have been eating only wholesome oatmeal and plump, juicy blueberries in fat-free milk. The fiber is so filling! But that was an easy change, since I LOVE warm oatmeal and blueberries for breakfast. Yum! Gosh, especially with this weird cold spell blanketing the country right now, it's so nice to have a warm bowl of soothing, creamy oatmeal.

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The hardest part for me is dinner time when W.D., my tall, skinny husband comes home and wants something rib-sticking and loaded with calories and flavor. My kind of cooking! So tonight we did a regular pasta dish night, but with a twist: I chose to use whole wheat pasta for me and prepared regular white pasta for him. I used the same meat-y Bolognese sauce and meatballs for both of us. I also cut my portions a bit AND had no dessert . . . just a glass of red wine for the anti-oxidants.

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The taste of the whole wheat pasta was really not that bad! It was the heavier texture that revealed any difference. I noticed that I felt more full with fewer bites! Normally, I can eat not just one serving, but can devour two servings without stopping! So this was a pleasant surprise!

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I'm certainly not a dietitian, but I know enough from what I've read that whole wheat pasta is HIGHER IN FIBER and LOWER on the GLYCEMIC INDEX which is good for losing weight. The calorie, carb, protein, and fat differences are not as significant as is the fiber difference.

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Before I present the recipe for the Bolognese sauce, let me give you a little explanation of what it is. Put simply, it is a meaty tomato sauce, which is contrary to marinara sauce that is meatless. This is ALL my family ever prepares. Being from the Midwest, we just prefer our Italian food to be a bit more hearty and rib-sticking! This sauce satisfies that desire perfectly. It is very filling!

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Some people call this sauce "Ragu", which comes from the French meat stew "ragout'. As Marcella Hazan explains in "The Classic Italian Cookbook" (now out of print and hard to find), the only similarities between the two sauces is the ability "to excite the appetite" (from the French verb 'ragouter').

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Some Italian-Americans even call this sauce "Sunday gravy". But I could never quite figure that one out, since being completely raised in the U.S., I think of gravy as something served with potatoes or roast beef. Oh well, no matter what you prefer to call this sauce, it is quite delicious.

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Now, I've got to dust off that lonely treadmill and pick up those weights tucked away somewhere!

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So here we go down a new road of our journey:

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Whole Wheat Penne with Bolognese Sauce and Meatballs

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What you need for the Bolognese Sauce:

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2 Tbsp. chopped onion

3 Tbsp. olive oil

3 Tbsp. butter or 3 more Tbsp olive oil instead

2 Tbsp. chopped celery

2 Tbsp. chopped carrot

3/4 lb. lean brown beef/chuck

salt and pepper (to taste)

1/4 cup red wine

2 cups good quality canned Italian tomatoes, chopped, with juice

chopped basil or Italian parsley to taste preference

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Servings: 4 (so double, triple, etc. to your desired amount, which can be frozen!)

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What you need to do to prepare the Bolognese Sauce:

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In a very deep, heavy, enameled cast-iron pot, put in the oil and butter.

When heated (don't burn these!), saute' the onion over medium heat until translucent.

Add the celery and carrot and cook gently for about 5 minutes.

Add the ground beef, crumbling it in the pot with a large wooden spoon.

Sprinkle a little salt and pepper into the pot.

Cook until browned.

Add the wine and turn up the heat to medium high.

Cook until the wine is evaporated.

Add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly.

Cook until the sauce begins to boil and then turn the heat down to the lowest simmer possible.

Cook, on this very low temperature for about 3 - 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

Tasting along the way and adding any more salt, pepper, or favorite herb (basil, Italian parsley, etc.) to your preference.
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Serve on top or blended in to your favorite pasta shape.

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For this dish, I used a whole wheat penne pasta for more fiber. I made a separate batch for my husband with regular 'white' pasta.

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Serve with your favorite meatballs and a garden fresh romaine lettuce salad, and some crispy, buttery, garlic-y garlic bread! (uh humm, excuse me, use a butter replacement spread for the garlic bread to consume less fat . . . oops, my bad . . . habits are really hard to break, huh?)

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Don't forget a lovely red wine for those healthy antioxidants!

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