The Skinniest Turkey Pasta

If you're like me and constantly looking for a healthy and delicious recipe, then stop right here!  You've found it!  This dish is not only amazing, but also takes on a completely healthy alternative compared to traditional pasta.

I'm not sure about all of you, but I often feel that too many noodles in a pasta dish, especially at restaurants, can be a bit overwhelming.  Due to this I've been on the search for what I could use to sometimes replace noodles.  Well, after quite a bit of searching, I finally found something that worked!  Zucchini!  It's an idea that I probably never would have thought of myself, but it happened to work out perfectly.

Just to clarify:  I don't plan to use zucchini in all my future pasta recipes, but in this case it worked out perfectly.  It even tasted good the next day, when I got to enjoy the leftovers!

Skinniest Turkey Pasta
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Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. 99% fat free ground turkey breast
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
Dash of salt and pepper
1 (15oz) can low sodium tomato sauce
¾ cup water
2 large zucchinis, finely sliced (directions on how to cut them are found below)
for garnish: grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the olive oil in a medium to large pot, over a medium heat.  Next, add in the ground turkey and minced garlic cloves and break apart the meat, using a wooden spoon.  Continue to cook until the turkey is no longer pink in the center.  (If necessary, drain the excess grease from the meat.)  Once the meat is ready, add in the bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and season with a little salt and pepper.  Stir around.

Add into the pot the tomato sauce and the ¾ cup of water.  Bring to a simmer and season with another dash of salt and pepper.   

Allow the sauce to simmer for about 5-8 minutes, but once ready, add in the finely sliced zucchini.  Allow the zucchini to cook in the sauce for 3-5 minutes, or until the zucchini is slightly cooked, but still “al dente”.  Scoop onto a plate, and garnish with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

To cut the zucchini:

Cut the ends off the zucchini, and slice them lengthwise so that they’re about ¼ inch thick. Next, lay the slices flat on a cutting board, and cut the slices into even smaller strips, that look like fettuccine noodles.

Source: The Fit Cook