Zucchini Noodles "Zoodles" with Sauce

If I didn't know any better, I would think my husband had an Italian heritage. He doesn't. But if he were in charge of feeding our family, I am pretty confident he would feed us pasta...every night. And our waist lines would be significantly larger, good thing I am in charge! 😉 To stay in good graces with my hubby, we do still have Italian food on a regular basis, but it is sans traditional pasta. Standing in for the carb-heavy pasta are delicious, refreshing and healthy zoodles (zucchini noodles)! They are super simple to make with a spiralizer...add a healthy sauce on top and you have a quick, simple, tasty Italian dinner AND a happy husband.

Zucchini Noodles "Zoodles" with Sauce

Ingredients:
1lb ground turkey (I prefer White Oak Pastures or the organic one Whole Foods carries if needed in a pinch)
2 cups shiitake mushrooms (optional)
1 jar Rao's Homemade Artichoke Sauce Pasta (or your fav sauce, look for one that meets the requirements below)
2-4 zucchini squash, spiralized

Directions:
1. Brown turkey in large pot over medium heat. I like to use a dutch oven.
2. If utilizing mushrooms, add to pot, cover and continue to cook for 4 more minutes.
3. Add sauce and reduce heat to low, cover. Simmer until sauce is heated through, approximately 8-10 minutes.
4. While sauce is warming, spiralize zucchini utilizing spiralizer.
5. Place zoodles on plate and top with sauce.

Notes:
Sub Out the Turkey - if you prefer, use grass fed ground beef OR skip the meat all together and make it a vegan dish.

Sauce - when selecting a sauce, try to choose one with only a few ingredients you can pronounce and less than 6g of sugar per serving. A few of my favorites are:
Rao's Homemade Artichoke (there are several other flavors that are good)
Muir Glen Portabello Mushroom Pasta Sauce
Whole Foods 365 Roasted Red Pepper
Trader Joe's Organic Spaghetti with Mushrooms

Zoodles - I like my zoodles raw, my husband likes them slightly sautéed. You can lightly sauté the zoodles if you would prefer by heating a large pan over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and zucchini noodles. Cook 4 minutes, tossing frequently.

All Eggs Are NOT Created Equal

I have a confession. I pay $6+ dollars for a dozen eggs. Ridiculous, I know. But buying organic, "animal welfare approved" eggs is one of those things that is worth it to me. I would rather spend the money ($.50+ per egg to be exact), and enjoy an egg that I know has the higher nutritional profile and also know that the hen that produced the egg lives a humane life. Versus the other option...a conventional egg with lower nutritional quality and that comes from a hen that lived a not-so-good-life. When it comes to eggs, you really do get what you pay for.

Mother Earth News conducted a study where they compared eggs from conventional hens to eggs from hens raised on pastures. Just the analysis below is enough for me to justify forking over the extra cash. The eggs from pasture raised hens had:

• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat (the bad fat!)
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

If you visit the egg aisle of your local grocery store, it can be overwhelming. You have so many different choices with so many different labels in your face...organic, free range, cage free, humanely raised, omega-3 enhanced and on and on. What the heck does all this mean and better yet, what is the best egg to buy? Several of the "labels" you will find on eggs are bonafide marketing gimmicks...industry purely taking advantage of us. I don't know about you, but this is the type of thing that gets me FIRED up! Fortunately, TakePart.com put together this nifty info-graphic to help us weed through the crap out there. By the way, I wasn't sure what "forced molting" was so I googled it. 😳

To sum it up, try to buy from a local farmer and KNOW YOUR FARMER. Ask questions. I recently sent an email to White Oak Pastures inquiring about their hens and eggs. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I received a very thorough, personal response about their practices. Click here if you would like to read the full response but long story short, they are legit and my FIRST choice of eggs. Next up would be other local farmers you can find at your local farmers market. And if you can't find eggs there, Vital Farms has  outstanding practices and you can find them nationwide by clicking here. Organic, Animal Welfare Approved is the goal.

In the end, I choose the egg from a chicken raised on sunshine, bugs and grass. And as I enjoy my eggs, I kick back and think about life on the farm when I was growing up...I will save that story for another time. 😉