Recipe: Buffalo tomato sauce

Standard disclaimer:
Buy stuff that has no sugar, and preferably no other crap either. Additionally, keep in mind that this is aimed for an 800 calorie plan.

Also disclaimer:
I'm not on the hCG diet. I'm just a supportive spouse.

Servings: 3-4
On my husband's 800 calorie plan, it's 3 servings; on a lower 500 one, 4 servings.

Ingredients:
-1 can organic tomato sauce (15 ounce)
-1 lb lean ground buffalo
-Handful of spinach
-2 tablespoons garlic
-6-8 leaves fresh basil chopped
-1/2 white onion
-Italian herb to taste
-Red pepper flakes to taste
-Pepper to taste

Preparation:
Cook buffalo in pan. Put in strainer and run under hot water for a few minutes (this is a trick I use making chili to try to keep the fat content from becoming overwhelming).

Wipe out pan and put everything else in. Cover and cook on medium heat and stir frequently; my goal here was to get some of the moisture out so that it could be eaten by itself or on Miracle Noodles (which may not work out depending, we haven't tried them yet). The little bit of fat left from the buffalo will help it not stick too much.

Drain buffalo well and add back in; simmer, stirring frequently. Put to the side with the lid cracked to let out a bit more of the moisture. It may sound weird, but it makes it a bit thicker.

Optional:
Mixing this with a handful of Miracle Noodles is going over well.

Non-hCG spouse option:
Serve with whole wheat noodles and a bit of cheese if you'd like.

Notes:
This makes a surprisingly large amount of food; I believe it may count as two veggies, but that could be cut down by adding less tomato sauce and omitting the spinach, or would work as-is for those on a higher than 500 plan. Me, I confess, I just like tossing spinach in stuff.

More disclaimer:
This violates one commonly cited rule of the hCG diet, and that is to not mix veggies. However, the naturopath said it's fine to do so, and it helps keep enough variety in things. Additionally, I know this is a lot of veggies in one meal technically. He came in under calories by over 200 yesterday, so I'm trying to make up that difference a little bit by rounding out some stuff.

Shopping list

Again, shopping is weird. I found myself buying a lot of prepackaged stuff for myself, mostly all natural stuff where possible. I'm a particular fan of anything from Amy's, but some other stuff works in a pinch. My thought is that if I give myself more options, it'll be easier for me to devote the time to helping him.

Stuff I've picked up:
-Stevia drops
-Xylitol sweetener
-Oranges, apples, strawberries
-Spinach, lettuce, radishes, celery, cucumber
-Ground buffalo
-Chicken breasts
-Tilapia
-Miracle noodles
-Lean pork (to make a ginger stirfry with the noodles)
-Eggs (free range, vegetarian fed, ect)
-Stevia sweetened soda

He's taking to the Stevia better than I'd thought; I'd tried for years to get him to eat some more healthy stuff, and it's neat that he's trying this stuff. For my part, tried Truvia in tea and coffee. It was the worst thing ever, and I found I was happier with small amounts of sugar (as, again, I was on a fairly standard well rounded diet, albeit I was a bit fanatical myself in spots, and admit that).

I'm thinking I can eat what he does, and supplement with brown rice, potatoes, ect. I do think I'm going to have to start tracking my food, though, as I may be in danger of taking in too few calories myself now. Which would be bad as I'm built like a German tank, and pride myself that I hold muscle well. I'd like to keep it there!