Turkey Bolognese in a Spaghetti Squash Bowl

Diabetes is a pretty scary disease state that is affecting so many people these days. By 2020, the Canadian Diabetes Society predicts that 1 in 3 Canadians will have diabetes and for those of you that don't live in Canada, the World Health Organization predicts that 592 million people worldwide will have the disease (all stats are from the CDA).

Luckily, if you have pre-diabetes there are things you can do to lower the chance of it progressing 

to diabetes, and if you already have diabetes (besides taking your medications) there are things you can do to help your sugars be controlled. These things are the dreaded diet changes and exercise. 

Most people think the main thing affecting the blood sugars is added sugar. Sweet foods and added sugar do indeed cause a quick increase in blood sugars but they are not the only culprits. One "hidden" source of sugar is in carbohydrates, but not all carbohydrates are considered equal. As we know, carbohydrates are broken down in the body to glucose ("sugar"), which is a good thing because this is what our cells use for energy! But people with diabetes, who already have excess sugar in the blood do not want to be eating carbohydrates that can cause a spike in glucose. This can happen with starchy vegetables or grains that have been processed more, i.e. white flour, white bread, etc. Eating non-starchy vegetables and grains with more fibre can help manage blood glucose levels. Fibre slows the digestion of food and slows the movement of sugar into the blood so that the spikes of sugar after a meal are reduced. 

Another way to delay or prevent the development of type 2 diabetes, in people with pre-diabetes is weight loss. Easier said than done!

Below, I included a recipe that can tackle some of these problems. It is extremely flavourful, but substitutes pasta with spaghetti squash-a non-starchy vegetable (causing less of a sugar spike), which is drastically lower in calories compared to pasta (to help with weight loss).

Look at the difference in calories and total carbohydrates for the same serving size!

This recipe also uses turkey instead of beef-a leaner meat, that helps cut down on the saturated fats and Greek yogurt instead of cream-which also helps cut down on saturated fats. 

Ingredients:

2 medium spaghetti squash

~0.5 kg ground turkey

2 tbsp cooking oil

4 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp oregano 

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2 tsp red chili flakes

1¼ cup red wine (Note: diabetics should limit alcohol, but most of it is cooked off in this recipe)

28 oz can of diced tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp salt

1½ tsp pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup plain 2% greek yogurt 

Cooking the Spaghetti Squash:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Celsius
2. Cut spaghetti squash lengthwise (be cautious-it can be quite difficult to cut through!). Scoop out the stringy bits and seeds from the middle and lay cut side down in a roasting pan that is filled with about 1 cup of water and 2 tbsp of cooking oil. Cover with tin foil and cook for around 45 minutes until the flesh is soft.

Making the Bolognese:
1. While the squash is cooking, heat the 2 tbsp of oil in a large cast iron skillet along with the garlic. Add the ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. Stir in the oregano and red pepper flakes and mix well.
2. Add 1 cup of the red wine and stir in well.
3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer for ~10 minutes
4. Add the nutmeg, greek yogurt, the rest of the wine (¼ cup) and the basil. Simmer for another 10 minutes until it has thickened

Pull the Squash out of the oven. Separate the flesh with a fork to get the spaghetti like strands and top with the bolognese sauce. Add with a small amount of parmesan, if desired.

Enjoy!

-A