It’s barely a week into the new year, and you’re already craving the foods you swore off! In the long term, many people do better with weight loss goals when they don’t deprive themselves completely of the flavors they love. If pasta with marinara sauce is your pleasure, try this recipe supplied by Franci Cohen, a New York City certified nutritionist, fitness instructor and exercise physiologist:

Zucchini Pasta with Extra Lean Meatballs

You’ll need:

Fresh zucchini
Extra-lean ground beef
Jar of marinara sauce low in sodium and sugar with less than 2g fat per serving

1. Using an Asian spiral slicer, string some fresh zucchini into spaghetti strands and set aside.

2. Prepare your meatballs as you ordinarily would.

3. Heat the sauce.

4. Spoon the sauce over the raw zucchini pasta. The heat of the cooked meatballs and sauce will gently steam the zucchini to a perfect texture.

With this recipe, you can enjoy a hearty 2-cup portion size, because this recipe contains 246 calories vs. 658 calories in traditional spaghetti and meatballs; 5.8 grams of fat vs. 27 in tradition; and barely measurable carbohydrates vs. 67 grams in traditional spaghetti. While the traditional dish provides 41 grams of protein, this lighter version still gives you 29 grams.

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