Spaghetti with Arugula Meatballs - Power up with Greens!

Sobeys has launched a wonderful program called Power up with Greens, as part of it's Better Food for All Mission with Jamie Oliver.  The Power up with Greens program is aimed at encouraging Canadians to incorporate more greens into their everyday meals.

I see the value in this program, and along with Sobeys, I want to show you how fun and easy it can be to add some unexpected green-goodness to favourite recipes.  We all love decadent, flavourful, heartwarming comfort food, and this program is a chance to explore the greener side of eating, by incorporating (or sneaking) some healthy greens into your favourite meals.

I've partnered with Sobeys for this program, and will be making a recipe each week for four weeks, showcasing how easy it can be to add greens into everyday meals.  This week I chose to make an all-time favourite meal of mine, spaghetti and meatballs.  Who doesn't love a big ol' bowl of spaghetti and meatballs?  It's so savoury, satisfying, rich and comforting.  Hearty meatballs in a rich tomato sauce, over pasta - it really doesn't get any better than that!

The green that I chose to incorporate into this meal was arugula.

I love the peppery taste of arugula, and thought it would be a great addition to the meatballs.  Arugula is so good for you:

• It is a great source of vitamin A, C, Folic Acid, and other cancer preventing vitamins
• It is great for bone and brain health, as it's one of the best vegetable sources of vitamin K
• It is a vegetable source of iron and copper
• Arugula is classified as a cruciferous vegetable, like broccoli, kale and cabbage, and is high in fibre and antioxidants
• It is high in chlorophyll which can help in the prevention of DNA and liver damage from toxins

Arugula is great raw, in salads, sandwiches, or wraps.  It's mild peppery flavour gives a little pizazz to whatever you add it to.  It's also great cooked, and mild enough that you can sneak it into a cooked dish without picky eaters being able to distinguish it's taste.

I added 1 cup of arugula to my meatball recipe, with a bunch of fresh herbs as well, for an added boost of green.

 

Spaghetti with Arugula Meatballs

1 pgk lean ground beef (I used a .6 kg package)
1 cup arugula (loosely packed), chopped finely
1 tsp fresh oregano, minced
1 tsp fresh parsley, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 egg
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
250 g spaghetti noodles
1 jar good quality marinara sauce (I used Sensations brand Sweet Basil Marinara)
Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine beef, arugula, oregano, parsley, garlic, egg, and breadcrumbs in a bowl.  Season liberally with salt and pepper.  Form into golf ball sized balls, and place on lined pans.  Bake for 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 F.  Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to package instructions, and heat the marinara sauce in a separate saucepan.  When the meatballs are done, add them gently to the sauce.  You can add more fresh parsley and oregano into the sauce if desired.  Serve the warmed sauce over the cooked spaghetti, and garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese.

This meal was so good, and it felt even better knowing that we had added a bit of a nutritional boost with the arugula.

How would you infuse some greens into one of your favourite, decadent dishes?

Sobeys is asking Canadians how better food choices have inspired them to live a better life.  By using the hashtag #BetterFoodForAll on Instagram or Twitter along with a photo or video and a brief description of how better food choices have inspired you to eat better, feel better, and do better, you can be entered to win a cooking lesson with Jamie Oliver in London, England.  You have until March 26th to enter!

Full Disclosure: The author has received consideration from Sobeys or Sobeys' media partners in exchange for this content.  Sobeys has not reviewed these claims, and is not responsible for the content.