Startanew, your avatar makes me smile...What a bright, beautiful child!
I like to make homemade pasta sauce or add a lot of veggies to a jarred organic sauce. I eat more sauce and veggies than pasta (actually, pasta's not on my plan at all right now, so I just eat the sauce over steamed veggies like cauliflower and broccoli) and the family can have more pasta so it works out well.
I only have a few minutes right now, so I'll post the jarred version.
I use whole wheat or brown rice or sprouted grains pasta.
Amy's Organic Family Style Marinara is a good jarred sauce, low fat etc.
So, I chop an onion, 4-6 cloves of garlic, 1/2 a jalapeño, 1 stalk celery, 1 carrot, 2 zucchini and anything else I can get in there and cook it in a frying pan with a splash of broth. If we can "afford" the calories, I'll use oil instead and sautee the onions and garlic first, adding in veggies later. Then I cook it all in with the pasta sauce.
When all is cooked through, I put in as much fresh or frozen spinach as I can. I also will add additional basil if I have fresh or an assortment of Italian spices and herbs.
I also like to toast pine nuts and sprinkle them on top of each serving along with vegan Parmesan and nutritional yeast, which adds a rich, nutty, cheesy flavor, protein and B vitamins.
Sometimes I'll add in chickpeas or veggie protein crumbles for more protein and fiber.