Many children adore a big plate of spaghetti and Meat Sauce, but as a parent, you may be concerned that the calories are adding up. The meat, the processed tomato sauce, and few spices can quickly add up to several calories, especially when you add a big portion of white spaghetti. However, you can make spaghetti with meat sauce with a healthy kick by adding vegetables.
Of course, children don't always enjoy the word "vegetables." Maybe they think of broccoli, cauliflower, and potatoes are boring vegetables that they are forced to eat. But there are some fun and colorful vegetables that children may enjoy to eat if you combine them with a good portion of meat sauce.
Carrots are sweet
The great thing about Carrots is that they are sweet. If you add them to a serving of spaghetti and meat sauce, your children may enjoy the taste because they add a sweet element. If you are the kind of person who adds plenty of spices, onions, and garlic to your sauce, the carrots may be a sweet surprise for your children. They don't add a great new taste to the sauce that will completely alter the taste.
There are two ways to add these carrots to your meat sauce. If your child enjoys carrots and wants to pick them out of the sauce, consider chopping up the carrots after peeling them. To avoid a crunchy outcome, steam the carrot bits in a steamer prior to adding them to the sauce.
You don't want them to be too steamed so they fall apart.
Another option is to grate the raw carrots on a grater like you would onions. This will make the carrot pieces so small that they are barely noticeable in a red sauce. If you blend red sauce and cream as part of the sauce's base, the orange carrots will blend in nicely.
If your child adores carrots, consider getting all kinds of colors for a fun dinner.
My child hates carrots
If your child absolutely hates carrots, consider using the smaller side of the grater so the carrot pieces are so small that your child won't be able to spot them. You could also use the lighter-colored carrots to disguise them as onions or the purple carrots to disguise them as cabbage.
If your child doesn't realize there are carrots in the meat sauce, chances are they will try eating it. You can always use a sharp cheese, such as fresh parmesan, to add another layer of flavor to disguise the carrots even more.
Have you tried to put carrots or other kinds of vegetables in your meat sauce? What was your level of success with it?
