I love pasta. I always have and I always will. And I get a really sad feeling in the depths of my soul when someone tells me they’ve eliminated it. While there’s people out there who are kind of “take it or leave it” I think most of us can admit that the stuff tastes pretty dang good. There’s a number of reason why one might avoid or limit pasta – the usual suspects are things like low-carb diets, avoiding wheat products, or because it tends to be more dense, calorically speaking, than other meals. With that being said, if there’s no medical reason (such as Celiac disease or a sensitivity to gluten), there is no reason to eliminate pasta simply because it’s not a “healthy” food.
One thing I love about following a flexible diet and eating intuitively is that I can still enjoy my favorite foods as often as I’d like. It’s all about the balance of things, and in the long run, depriving myself of one of my all-time favorite foods is only going to perpetuate a cycle of cravings, guilt, and extreme jealousy every time I see someone else eating it. Not healthy….not balanced…not street smart.
So instead, I abide by a few simple guidelines so I can still maintain my lifelong #PastaLoversClub membership.
- Portions matter! What we think of a serving is sometimes much more than a serving. Just 1/2 cup of pasta or grains counts as a serving but I rarely stick to just that. It’s OK to have more than one serving at a time, just be mindful and make sure not to eat with your eyes first. It can all too easy to load up an entire plate of pasta and just like any other food, having one thing in excess doesn’t create a balanced meal.
- Three or more…veggies, that is! It’s a simple way to incorporate more servings of the good stuff and get closer to our daily recommendation for five or more. There is always room for more, and in a time pinch frozen veggies are my go-to option. Dice an onion, wilt some spinach underneath, shred some carrots or cabbage, braise some greens, roast some mushrooms, thaw some frozen peas, I could go on and on. There’s no limit on good veggie options to incorporate into your next meal.
- Pump up the flavor! Use herbs and spices instead of heavy sauces or loading up on cheese. Fresh or dried, it doesn’t matter and it gives you so much variety and flexibility to create fun dishes. I love a good cream sauce as much as the next person but prefer to save that for less frequent occasions. My favorites from the spice cabinet include garlic (of course), crushed red pepper, and Penzey’s Herbes de Provence or Fox Point seasoning or (note: not a salt-free blend, but there are plenty of those out there too).
Take these guidelines and make them your own. Combine some or all of them with other strategies to find your balance. My personal favorite is #2…it’s a fun challenge to see how many types of veggies you can squeeze in. My personal record is 7, so if you are like me and happen to think nerdy foodie things like that are fun, let me know if you can beat that!
I recently shared a recipe for a quick and easy 5-Minute Garlic Scape Pesto – from the very start I knew it would end up in a pasta dish. So here’s a Veggie-Packed Pesto Pasta to show how I like to do things. Tons of veggies, fresh flavors, and plenty of leftovers for the next few lunches.
After boiling the pasta and draining the water, I mixed in about 1 1/4 cup of the pre-made pesto. The heat from the noodles helps get the mix going. The veggies were cooking in a skillet simultaneously so I simply turned off the heat, spread a *generous* layer of fresh spinach on top, then added the pesto-coated noodles to the pan. It only takes a few minutes for the spinach to wilt and do it’s magical shrinking act, so feel free to add more if it seems to disappear on you.
Another quick mix and we’re ready to rock. The pesto alone has a strong bite of raw garlic, but the caramelized onions bring some subtle sweetness to balance it out. The same goes for the umami flavor from the mushrooms, which also gives us some texture contrast along with the green peas. Enjoy!
Veggie Packed Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 box thin spaghetti, 12 oz
- 1 1/4 cup prepared pesto sauce
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 medium red onion, sliced
- 1 8- oz. package of baby bella mushrooms, washed and sliced
- 3 cups fresh spinach, about 4.8 ounces
- 1 1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
- Fine sea salt and pepper to taste
- Crushed red pepper, optional
Instructions
- Slice the mushrooms and onions. Place the frozen peas in a separate bowl to thaw. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat.
- In a large saute pan or skillet, add the butter and onions and begin to saute over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until onions become translucent and begin to caramelize. Reduce heat to medium, add the mushrooms and peas and continue cooking. Add the dried spaghetti pasta to the boiling water and cook 6-7 minutes or until al dente.
- Remove cooked pasta from heat and drain excess water. Add the prepared pesto sauce and stir until well combined. Remove the large saute pan or skillet from heat and spread 3 cups of fresh spinach over the top of the veggie mixture. Transfer the pesto coated pasta onto the spinach and allow to rest for several minutes to slightly wilt the spinach.
Nutrition
What simple guidelines do you follow to keep your diet flexible and balanced? Leave a note for me in the comment section below!
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