In my effort to eat more whole foods, I am trying to make a LOT of things from scratch using whole foods.  Last night, I tried my hand at making a homemade whole foods spaghetti sauce.  This turned out really good.  Now, it's not like a typical store-bought jar/can of spaghetti sauce.  Nor is it like a spaghetti sauce you'd make using canned tomatoes or canned tomato sauce.  The fresh tomatoes give it a different taste - but a good taste.  You may find that you see an odd ingredient in this recipe.  But trust me - it works well.

Whole Foods Spaghetti Sauce
5 medium to large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 large green pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped (I used a yellow onion.)
4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 lb. beef (I used Laura's Lean Beef - it's natural with no hormones, etc.)
1-2 tsp. oregano
1-2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. parsley
a couple of dashes of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
about 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Begin browning your ground beef.  Add the onions, garlic, some salt. and pepper.  Stir and cook until the hamburger is well-done.  While your meat is cooking, chop your tomatoes and green pepper.  Once your meat is done, transfer it to a pot and add the tomatoes and green pepper.  Add all of your seasonings and let cook for a little bit.  After it's cooked for maybe about an hour, add the balsamic vinegar.  Let it continue to cook.  After it's cooked for maybe a 1/2 hour, taste test to see if you need to add any more salt or if you think you want to add more oregano, thyme and parsley.  I would've added some basil but I didn't have any.  Continue to let it cook until the tomatoes have all cooked down and it's like a thick sauce.  It will be hearty because of all the meat.  Serve over whole grain pasta with a side of whole grain garlic bread and salad to make a very well rounded whole foods meal.

So why the balsamic vinegar?  It gives that little umph that vinegar contributes to tomato based things like ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc.  Also, with many tomato based recipes, typically you need a little sugar to off set the tartness.  However, I am trying to eliminate sugar to a great extent - even natural sugar.  So I wanted to try to make a spaghetti sauce without any sugar.  Balsamic vinegar has a sweetness to it that off set the tartness in this sauce.  However, using fresh tomatoes eliminated a lot of that tartness in my opinion.