This recipe is by Mickey Trescott, in her book: The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook: An Allergen free approach to managing chronic illness.
I’m posting her recipe to exemplify the high-cost of delicious healthy food that is so prevalent in today’s cookbooks. This recipe is very yummy, nourishing and for many – a means to an end of sacrificing spaghetti sauce – a way out!
I’ve included this recipe in my “Detailed Paleo Week“ to:
- Show you how to create an “A” – grade week while incorporating a fancy “C” grade recipe like this one.
- Highlight a truly unique and yummy alternative to the typical “tomato-based” spaghetti recipes out there.
“Spaghetti” and Meatballs with Nomato Sauce (AIP book)
Equipment
- large pot, blender/ food processor, knife, mandoline/spiralizer, skillet, zester/grater
Ingredients
Nomato Sauce *modified for serving 6 people
- 3 tsp Solid Cooking Fat (like ghee or butter)
- 1 onion
- 8 oz Carrots 4 medium carrots, chopped
- 8 oz Bone Broth
- 1 lbs Beets 3 medium beets, chopped
- 5 tsp Chopped Garlic (4 cloves of garlic)
- 1 tbsp Fresh Thyme
- 1 tbsp Fresh Rosemary
- 4 tbsp Fresh Basil
Spaghetti "Noodles" & Meatballs
- 2 lbs Grass Fed Ground Beef
- 1 tbsp Fresh Rosemary
- 1 tbsp Fresh Thyme
- 1 tbsp Fresh Sage
- 1 tsp Sea Salt (omit!)
- 2 tbsp Solid Cooking Fat (like ghee or butter)
- 3 lbs Zucchini (about 6 medium zucchini)
- 1 tbsp Fresh Basil
- 1 Lemon
Savvy Alternates
- 3.5 lbs Spaghetti Squash (ONE squash, sub for zucchini)
- 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (add-on for squash)
Instructions
Nomato Sauce
- Heat the cooking fat in a heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat. When the fat has melted and the pan is hot, add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring. Add the beets, carrots, thyme, and rosemary and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add the bone broth and salt; bring to a boil. Lower the heat, then cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
- Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender and puree.
- Add back to the pot and stir in the fresh basil, turning on the heat to cook for 5 more minutes.
- Serving suggestion: on top of cooked spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles.
"Spaghetti" and Meatballs
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, fresh herbs, and salt.
- Using your hands, form into large, 2- to 3-inch meatballs.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the cooking fat in a skillet on medium heat. Add the meatballs and brown well on all sides. Add the Nomato Sauce, cover and turn down to a simmer. Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked throughout.
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining cooking fat in the bottom of another skillet or a wok. When the fat has melted and the pan is hot, and the succhini noodles and cook, tossing them gently, until they soften (about 5 minutes).
- Serve a plate of zucchini noodles, meatballs, and sauce garnished with the chopped basil and lemon zest.
- Variation: Feel free to use any kind of ground meat for this recipe, or a combination thereof. You can also replace the zucchini noodles with cooked spaghetti squash.
Notes
- YES! This recipe is Paleo, Wheat & Gluten Free, lactose/dairy free.
- Nutrition Facts Label: for Mickey Trescott’s original recipe with zucchini noodles.
- Original recipe calls for adding 1 tsp of salt. Don’t add it. The recipe doesn’t even need it.
- PLEASE stop by our “SAVVY ALTERNATES” table below this recipe. I (Dana Ketter, MS, RDN, CPT) recommend using spaghetti squash instead of zucchini noodles, capitalizing on the free “beet greens”, and cutting the amount of beef in half OR making our “Vegan Paleo Meatballs Exist” instead of beef, for a lower-cost meal that’s better for health now and in the long-run.
Nutrition
There are a few ways to use the book’s recommended “variations” plus our suggestions to create a better cost meal and maintain the recipe’s integrity and goal — essentially a paleo allergen-free spaghetti sauce.
Check out my tiny blurb about a couple of extra virgin olive oil’s many benefits.
Savvy Alternates for a lower cost and Vegan – Paleo meal…
Vegan Paleo Meatballs Exist! Follow that link.
Using store-bought spaghetti squash instead of zucchini cuts the cost substantially!
See our “Savvy Alternates” Table
I recommend using a large pot for a beet splatter shield. (And an apron!) 
Savvy Freebie! Beet Greens side, sauteed al-dente in olive oil 
ONE pound (versus 2 pounds per original recipe) of Grass-Fed/Finished Ground Beef mixed into the Sauce (vs meatballs).
This helps to: save time and stretch the serving size of expensive meat as well as make it easier to eat (toddlers, GI gentle).
$ – SAVVY: Even a small change, like swapping in spaghetti squash for the zucchini, drops the monthly grocery cost for this meal by $100. By cutting the amount of ground beef in half, and subbing in our “crispy spirally sweet potatoes” in place of zucchini or spaghetti squash, you can cut the cost per plate by $0.84 and cost per month by nearly $300!! This move also reduces saturated fat from animal sources and drops excess protein.
Recall that the “monthly cost” refers to the cost of groceries for a month for TWO PEOPLE eating (cumulatively) 4,000 Calories per day if they only ate this meal all month long.
If you’re looking for a leaner meat to use – consider adding chicken from our “Pulled Chicken” recipe. Looking for something leaner and ground? Lean ground turkey meat, while expensive, is a GI gentle friendly alternative to the beef.
Here’s a table with external links for each recipe ingredient (plus a few alternate ingredient ideas). As previously mentioned, prices vary per region, season, city, store and personal preference for brand or specific type of food item.
| Beets (with Beet Green tops) | Organic Grass Fed/Finished Ground Beef | Fresh Thyme |
| Organic Carrots | Organic Bone Broth (Costco) or shop sales | Fresh Rosemary |
| Spaghetti Squash | Ghee | Fresh Basil or TJ’s whole plant (best value) |
| Zucchini | Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Fresh Sage |
| Onion | Lemon | Minced Garlic or Garlic Cloves |
TJ’s = Trader Joe’s
