Recipe to beat high blood pressure: fusilli and meatballs

Choosing whole wheat fusilli can help lower cholesterol and tackle high blood pressure. This recipe for fusilli and meatballs is a tasty, high-protein and high-fibre meal that is delicious and healthy for you.

It's hard to resist the deliciousness of a hearty helping of fusilli and meatballs, especially knowing how chock full of nutrients it is. Just make sure to read the recipe from start to finish before starting. The prep time takes about half an hour with the cooking time taking a little less than an hour and a half, and you should be able to serve six.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 28-oz can of no-salt-added Italian tomatoes
• 1 28-oz can of no-salt-added whole tomatoes in puree
• 1/4 cup of fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tbsp of fresh oregano (if you're using dried oregano, you only need 1 tsp)
• 2 slices firm-textured, dry white bread
• 1 lb 93% ground beef. For a healthier option, use ground chicken or turkey instead.
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp reduced-fat (2%) milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white or black pepper
• 12 oz whole wheat fusilli. Try to avoid using white wheat fusilli because whole wheat has many more nutrients in it.

Instructions

• Take a large pot and coat it with non-stick cooking spray, then set it over medium-high heat.
• Sauté the onion and garlic until they're soft, which should take about five minutes.
• Transfer two tablespoons of onion mixture to a large bowl.
• Process the Italian and whole tomatoes in a food processor until it's fairly smooth.
• Add the tomatoes to a pot and bring it to a boil before turning the heat down to medium-high. Reduce the heat some more to medium-low and place a cover on it at an angle so a bit of steam can escape. Let it simmer for about half an hour, stirring often.
• In the last 15 minutes, add the basil and oregano and stir evenly.
• Process the bread until they're in crumbs.
• Add the crumbs, beef, egg, milk, salt and pepper to the onion mixture and mix it only until it's blended.
• Shape it into 20 meatballs. If you have a hard time eyeballing 20 even portions, divide the mixture into five even portions. This will make it easy to make four meatballs in each and come up with 20 in total.
• Take a medium-sized skillet (cast iron is best) and coat it with non-stick cooking spray, then set it over medium-high heat.
• Cook the meatballs in batches until they're brown on all sides. In total, this should take between five to eight minutes, depending on how "hot" your stove is. Once they're finished, take them out and drain on paper towels before adding them to the tomato sauce.
• Cover the pot and let it cook for about 20 minutes, stirring only occasionally to make sure nothing burns or sticks to the bottom.
• Using the directions on the package, cook the pasta until it's semi-firm.
• Once that's finished, drain the pasta and run it under cold water to get rid of some of the starchiness.
• Toss it with 1 and 1/2 cups of sauce in a large heated serving bowl.
• Spoon a cup of sauce over the pasta, then serve the meatballs and the rest of the sauce alongside it.

If you want to make this delicious dish even healthier, serve it with a medley of vegetables. A good selection is a sauté of zucchini, peppers, green beans and/or asparagus, using extra virgin olive oil.