You want a sneaky way to put veggies in your kids without hearing any complaints?  Here’s your ticket!  These Sloppy Joes are super tasty and if I hadn’t made them myself, I’m not sure I would believe how many veggies are packed in these babies.  I found this recipe from a blog I follow, Gina’s Skinny Recipes, and I knew it had to be good because the base of her adapted recipe is a 5-star recipe from Rachel Ray (I’m all about making sure recipes have 5 stars before even attempting them).  Honestly, I loved what Gina had done with the recipe that I didn’t make any adaptions myself.  It was perfect!  True to most Sloppy Joes out there, most people love them and they seem to satisfy even the pickiest eaters.  These are good served with pickles, sprouts, lettuce, tomatoes, and for those of us maintaining our weight (and can afford a few extra calories and grams of fat) . . . cheese!  Serve these up on a thin bun (such as Orowheat Sandwich Thins), and I’m pretty sure you’ll be happy to be able to stay in your calorie limit while eating a Sloppy Joe.  (By the way…you could easily use ground turkey burger and get fabulous results as well!)

Fit Sloppy Joes
Adapted from Gina’s Skinny Recipes (and Rachel Ray)

1.25 lbs 93% lean ground beef sirloin
1 tbsp steak seasoning or seasoned salt
1 carrot, minced
1 medium onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced
4 oz mushrooms, minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste

Chop all the vegetables really fine, using a chopper or food processor.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat to the pan and break it up as it cooks.

Season with steak seasoning and cook the meat until it browns, then add onion, garlic, carrots, mushrooms and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and add red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, cook 5 more minutes.

Add tomato sauce and paste to pan, stir to combine. Cover and reduce heat to simmer and cook an additional 5 minutes. Using a measuring cup, pile 1/2 cup of sloppy meat onto toasted buns.

Serves 7.

Nutritional Information (Per 1/2 Cup Serving Without Bun)
Calories:  129
Protein:  14g
Carbs:  11g
Fat:  3.8g (0.0 = Sat.)
Fiber:  2.1g

Nutritional Information (Per 1/2 Cup Serving With 100 Calorie Bun)
Calories:  229
Protein:  19g
Carbs:  32g
Fat:  4.8g (0.0 = Sat.)
Fiber:  2.1g