Spaghetti Bolognese (Diet)

Ingredients

• 800g raw trimmed boneless pork loin, finely chopped or minced at home
• 5ml neutral oil, MEASURED TOTAL for all cooking — staple
• 9g garlic — staple
• 120g onions — staple
• 200ml prepared beef stock (not concentrate) — staple
• 640g canned chopped tomatoes
• 24g tomato paste
• 6g brown sugar — staple
• 8ml Worcestershire sauce — staple
• 0.5g dried bay leaves — staple
• 1g dried thyme — staple
• 240g dry spaghetti
• 20g grated household hard cheese — staple
• 200g fresh carrots
• 200g fresh courgette
• 200g fresh mushrooms
• 2g salt and black pepper, measured/to taste

Add this — Thanja

• 60g dry spaghetti
• 60g grated household hard cheese

Quantities are for HER TWO serves of the four-serve batch. Keep separate from Declan’s portions. Adds per Thanja serve: ~229 kcal, 10.3g fat, 22.0g carbs.

Method

1. Trim and finely chop or mince raw pork loin. Soften onion, carrot, courgette and mushrooms in measured oil and water as needed, then add garlic.
2. Add the lean pork and brown thoroughly. Stir in tomato paste, canned tomatoes, measured prepared stock, Worcestershire, bay leaves, thyme and sugar.
3. Simmer for 25–40 minutes until pork reaches 75°C, vegetables are tender and the sauce thickens; add water as needed. Remove bay leaves.
4. Cook measured spaghetti until just al dente, reserve cooking water and drain. Toss all spaghetti through the meat-vegetable sauce, loosen with cooking water and finish with shared measured hard cheese.
5. Cook Thanja’s extra spaghetti separately and melt her additional cheese only through her two portions.
6. Divide the shared base into four equal portions. Cook the listed extra starch separately (or in two separate ramekins for pies/lasagne), and add all Add this (Thanja) items only across her two portions. Heat cooking cream, cheese and any sauce extras thoroughly; fully cook any egg. No extra ingredients or unmeasured oil beyond those listed.

Notes

- Retains the parent pork-bolognese choice, slow tomato simmer, Worcestershire/bay and hidden vegetables. Lean trimmed pork replaces generic mince, with less oil, dry pasta and cheese in the shared base. - Original serves 4; this variant makes four. Declan: estimated 647 kcal, 56.0g protein, 14.5g fat and 64.4g carbs per serve, INCLUDING the served carb, every sauce/coating and all measured oil. - Thanja’s base plus add-on is approximately 876 kcal/serve, at least the 825 kcal full-plate comparison used for this original. Add-ons supply both fat and carbohydrate. Original estimates and ambiguous portion sizes are approximate; this is not an individual pregnancy calorie prescription. - Nutrition is estimated from RAW meat, DRY rice/pasta or explicitly cooked noodle weights, and drained canned weights. Raw breast assumes 23g protein/100g; trimmed pork 21g/5g fat; lean beef mince 21.5g/5g fat. Brands, cuts, sauce sugar and pack labels vary; recheck purchased labels and recalculate before quoting precise macros. No fat-draining calorie credit is assumed. - Cook at least 150g whole vegetable ingredients per serve into the meal or roast on its tray; no side salad, fresh herbs, premixed vegetables, mayo, aioli or sour cream. Keep raw meat separate, cook meat to 75°C and all vegetables through; never use precooked meat as the main protein. - Cool leftovers promptly in shallow containers, refrigerate/freeze promptly, and reheat piping hot throughout. Freeze portions not needed within two days. Rice requires prompt cooling too. Use pasteurised dairy, heat cheese/cream sauces thoroughly and cook egg fully set. - Parent protein alternatives remain possible, but these quantities/macros use the listed lean cut. Reprice all eligible options and recalculate portions, fat and calories for any swap; no lamb or unrequested steak.