Forks Over Knives Book Review and a Recipe: Spaghetti and "Meatballs"

Everyone loves pasta, so I wanted to share a recipe from the book Forks Over Knives.  A lot of you have probably seen the video, but if you haven't you can buy it on Amazon along with the companion cookbook. 

THE CLASSIC ITALIAN-AMERICAN dish gets a healthy makeover with millet standing in for the meat.  Loved this yummy and inexpensive dish.  You can simplify this recipe by adding your own favorite pasta sauce. I also used brown rice noodles in this recipe.

What I love about this book is that the recipes are very simple with ingredients you are use to seeing and using already.  You will find you have a lot of the ingredients in your home right now and can easily make a lot of the recipes by picking up just a few things from the store or getting them from your garden.  This is a great book for home food storage as well.  If you stock up on the cooking basics (page 12, 13, 14 & 15), and keep items on your shelves that you rotate, like vegetable stock, brown rice, quinoa, millet, whole grain pasta, various packaged & canned beans & lentils, various kinds of canned tomatoes, frozen berries & fruits, raisins, etc., you can create a 3 month or more supply of food that you rotate for your family.  You will also need to store some water. The recommendation is to have 1 gallon of water per person to last 2 weeks and 3 months of food.  I highly recommend this book to help you set up an excellent working kitchen and food storage plan. 

Some hints that have helped me with preparing my meals is to freeze a few items to make meal preparation easier.  I keep a bag of garlic in my freezer and pull them out as needed.  They work well frozen with my mincer.  I also freeze leftover parsley, cilantro, herbs and spinach. I can easily add these frozen veggies during my meal preparation.

Spaghetti and "Meatballs"
Printable Recipe
Serves 4

2 cups Vegetable Stock (page 23), or low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup millet  (see below how to soak and prepare your millet before cooking)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced small
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup minced basil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup tomato puree
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch
1 pound whole-grain spaghetti, cooked according to package directions, drained, and kept warm
2 cups Tomato Sauce (page 25), heated  (I used my own favorite spaghetti sauce here)

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2.) Bring the vegetable stock to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add the millet and salt and bring the mixture back to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the millet is tender.  Drain any excess water and keep warm.
3.)  Place the onion in a large saucepan and saute over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes.  Add water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time to keep the onion from sticking to the pan.  Add the garlic, basil, and pepper and cook for another minute.  Add the tomato puree and 1/4 cup of water and cook until the liquid is almost evaporated, about 3 minutes.
4.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5.) Add the cooked millet and the arrowroot powder to the onion mixture and mix well.
Using an ice-cream scoop, shape the millet mixture into 2-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.
6.) To serve, divide the spaghetti among 4 individual plates.  Top with some of the "meatballs" and pour some of the tomato sauce over the prepared plates.

SOAKING MILLET
You must soak your millet the night before you plan on using it in your recipe. One cup of dried millet generally yields about 3 cups cooked. Measure out millet, place in a ceramic or glass bowl (never use plastic) and soak with purified water for 12-18 hours. For optimal soaking, add 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar.
Much like quinoa, millet is gluten-free and easy on the belly. It is also more alkalizing than other non-gluten grains. It is rich in B vitamins, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium. Millet has an impressive amino acid profile, including the essential amino acid methionine, making it an excellent source of protein.  
Preparing Basic Millet 101 - Yogitrition