Have you ever wondered how to get your family to eat more veggies? My husband complains about squash and zucchini because he doesn’t like the texture, and he hates the flavor of eggplant. His vegetables are limited to broccoli, green beans and peas. When he’s not traveling for work, I set out Young Living MultiGreens for him, but I feel like I’m constantly slathering him in Thieves and Oregano essential oils (our kids are germ boxes and he takes the hit), and his immune system could definitely benefit from some veggies. So I sneak the veggies in this sauce, and he eats them because he likes its flavor. 

The secrets that make this dish delicious (even for a non-veggie lover) are:

1. Cut your vegetable into very tiny pieces. I slice the eggplant, zucchini, squash, and shallots lengthwise in half. Then, thinly slice them in ¼ inch rows. Next, slice them ¼ inch rows horizontally.
2. Sauté your vegetables until they extremely tender.
3. Essential Oils – I love cooking with oils and sautéed vegetables, because it adds a very flavorful mild taste. It’s also convenient for me, because when I buy a fresh herbs they often spoil quickly or I don’t have them when I am ready to cook. On the other hand, Young Living oils never expire and I can use them for lots of other health benefits too. Make sure that you are only using medicinal therapeutic grade essential oils if you cook with them, because a pure oil is not really pure. 100% pure means that an oil only needs to contain 10% plant, and that leaves room for chemicals and fillers; I wouldn’t apply them to my body, let alone ingest them. If you’d like to cook with essential oils – the 2016 Essential Oil Culinary Collection is a great place to start. I never thought that I would cook with oils, but I was traveling to visit friends and wanted to make a veggie hash for breakfast. They didn’t have any fresh or dried herbs, but you know that I had my oils! We were all floored at how delicious the dish turned out. You can learn more about cooking with essential oils here: https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/products/vitality

Loaded Veggie Pasta Sauce

• 3 shallots
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 zucchini
• 1 yellow squash
• 1 eggplant
• 1 jar Organic Pasta Sauce (I use the Kirkland brand from Costco or Trader Joe’s)
• 2 cans organic tomato sauce (I use the Kirkland brand)
• 5 drops Young Living Basil Essential Oil ( 2.5 – 3 tablespoons fresh or 2.5 teaspoon dried)
• 3 drops Young Living Thyme Essential Oil (1.5 tablespoon fresh or 1.5 teaspoon dried)
• ¼ cup fresh parsley (dried works too)
• Extra virgin organic olive oil (I use the Kirkland brand)
• 1 lb grass-fed organic ground beef or bison (optional – Costco has a great selection)
• ½ tspRedmond’s Real Salt
• Pepper to taste
• Gluten-Free noodles (my favorites are Andean Dream Quinoa Pasta or Trader Joe’s Quinoa Pasta)

Directions: 

1. If you are going to use meat – brown it first. Drain the juice from the meat, put in a bowl, and set it aside.
2. Cut your vegetables very fine. See pictures above.
3. Peel your garlic cloves, smash them with your knife, and finely mince them.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan. Add your vegetables and sauté them. Add additional olive oil when needed.
5. Chop your parsley and fresh herbs if you are using them instead of oils or dried.
6. Add the parsley, basil, and thyme, and continue to sauté until they are very moist and tender.
7. Add pasta and tomato sauces, salt and pepper to taste, and meat if desired. Stir and simmer on low heat.
8. Creates a hug pot of delicious veggie sauce.
9. Serve over gluten-free noodles or make a killer lasagna with it; I will post the dairy-free gluten-free  lasagna recipe with cashew cheese next.

Modification: Not in the mood for pasta? I sometimes substitute the tomato sauce and pasta sauce for a can of organic tomatoes. These vegetables have so much flavor that you can eat them as they are or serve them over rice!