Somewhat healthy sloppy joes
Wondering how to get more vegetables into your family? This revision of Sloppy Joes will do the deed for you! My kids were never raised on the 100% meat version, so they didn’t think anything of the different taste, texture, and colors of mine. If yours are picky, you might have to gradually introduce more and more veggies until you’ve got it all the way up to my half-and-half version.
When you first start cooking the meat and veggie mixure, you’re likely to panic at the green color. Don’t worry…the addition of tomato paste fixes that right up. You can still see the chunks of veggies, but the overall color will be a nice tomato-beef shade :-)
On the way out the door in the morning, stick a package of frozen mixed veggies (pretty much any variety) into the fridge to let it mostly thaw during the day. You’ll be good to go when you get home. This is another great thirty minute meal!
Somewhat Healthy Sloppy Joes
1 lb bag of frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 lb ground beef
12 oz tomato paste
Water
1 T dried mustard
1 t chili powder
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t oregano
Black pepper
1/2 t sugar (optional)
1/2 t salt (optional)
Process the vegetables fine in a food processer, but do not puree. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Add the diced vegetables and heat through. Add the tomato paste and enough water to create a good consistency. Add all the spices and serve on rolls, open-faced, or however you normally have Sloppy Joes!
It would be nice to have a salad as a side dish, but it’s really not necessary since this meal is so packed with veggies. If your family likes a variety of dishes at each meal, serve it up!
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Tags: easy recipes, family meals, healthy cooking, healthy eating, healthy recipes, meal planning, quick recipes, recipes, Thirty Minute MealsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Beef, Main Dishes, Thirty Minute Meals
7 opinions for Somewhat healthy sloppy joes
Tammy
Apr 9, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I’m not usually into “faux meat,” but this looks pretty interesting.
Cyndi Lavin
Apr 9, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Ahhhh…but this isn’t faux meat! It’s real meat, mixed with real veggies :-)
I don’t like tofu that masquerades as meat either…
Linda
Apr 10, 2008 at 9:48 am
Sloppy joes are my all time favorite. I’ll have to try this out–great way to sneak some veggies in! For the health benefits, I often use ground turkey for mine.
(Cyndi, your previous comment about masquerading tofu conjured up images of little tofu chunks in madrigal costumes, so thanks for the unintentional giggle!)
Cyndi Lavin
Apr 10, 2008 at 10:12 am
LOL!!! Tofu in costumes…I feel a need for a picture of that :-D
Candie
Apr 10, 2008 at 11:41 am
We LOVE Sloppy Joes! We used to use Manwich out of ease, but of course they don’t have that here in Ch!na. I’m going to give this a whirl! Thanks for posting.
Cyndi Lavin
Apr 10, 2008 at 12:02 pm
It was always one of my kids’ favorite meals :-) Hope you can find all the spices and seasonings in China! Thanks, Candie!
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