I've become really conscious about what I eat after doing Jamie Eason's 12-Week LIVEFIT Trainer. I don't want all of my hard work to go to waste. I got a really good feeling for what makes a portion and what fills me up. It is really easy to overdo portions of pasta. For this recipe only one heaping cup is a serving. When I found this recipe on My Recipes I knew I could tweak it to make it more nutritious, lower in fat, and more filling. I used whole grain pasta, added more beans and vegetables, and reduced the amount of olive oil, and added some lemon juice. The extra beans add some creaminess, the extra vegetables made the portion sizes a little bigger, and the lemon juice added back some flavor that might have been missing with the decreased amount of olive oil.
My 7-year-old had a friend over for dinner and they cleaned their plates.
This was fairly speedy to make too. All of the add-ins were ready by the time the pasta was cooked.
Penne with Zucchini and White Beans
Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 15 Minutes | Servings: 8 servings (serving size: 1 heaping cup)
Ingredients:
12 ounces uncooked whole grain penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large zucchini (about 13 ounces), cut diagonally into 1/4-inch slices
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 can small white beans, rinsed and drained
Juice from 1 lemon
24 small curls Parmesan cheese removed with a vegetable peeler (1 1/2 ounces)
Directions:
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, and set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in zucchini, carrots, salt, and pepper; cook until the vegetables begin to soften (2-3 minutes), stirring frequently. Stir in the bell pepper and beans; cook until bell pepper is softened (about 2 minutes), stirring frequently. Stir in lemon juice.
3. Add pasta to skillet; cook until heated through (about 2 minutes), stirring constantly. Transfer the pasta to bowls; top with Parmesan curls. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Info:
Calories 248 Fat 5g Carbohydrates 43g Fiber 8g Protein 11g
Pasta is, essentially, cereals -- it can replace bread.
ReplyDeleteIf the topping / sauce is healthy, then I don't see why we should cast the anathema on pasta.
Long live Italians! (No, I'm Greek.)
We just ate wonderful food in the Greek part of Cyprus! The trouble with pasta is that people don't realize how small a serving is so they load up their plates and over eat. And, the whole grain is more nutritious but not as popular.
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