Have you discovered nutritious pastas made from legumes? Enjoy this quick and easy tomato/ mushroom sauce over a legume based pasta.
Most people have a simple spaghetti dish that they cook with ease. If you can make a Spaghetti Meal – you can create any number of Tasty Pasta Dishes.
Some use one of the many pre-made low sodium spaghetti sauces, and some have a favorite family recipe. If you can do that, the skies the limit on making a variety of pasta dishes, by choosing different types of pasta, and varying your sauce. Let your imagination loose!!
In addition to whole grain, pastas there is now an array legume and vegetable based pastas available at most stores .
They’re high in fiber and protein and packed with all the wonderful nutrients such as calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and antioxidants. The high fiber “packages” the carbohydrate, so that it is slowly broken down in your gut into glucose at a rate that your body can absorb it and utilize it in the energy cycle, or store it as glycogen in muscle. I keep a variety in my “pantry” (read “A Well Stocked Pantry”)– such as chickpea, red lentil, and green lentil (with kale, broccoli & spinach).
For this meal I chose Edamame Fettuccini
Edamame & Mung Bean Fettuccini
Put the water on to boil and line up and prep your other ingredients:
The Fettuccini instructions suggested adding kale for the last 2 minutes of boiling … what a great idea!
One Large Onion – diced
2 Stalks Celery – diced (size to your preference)
Portabello Mushroom Slices
Plenty of Oregano and Basil – per your liking, and black pepper to taste.
15 Oz Stewed or Diced Tomatoes (or you could use fresh)
8 Oz Tomato Paste
1/2 – 1 15 Oz Can Kidney Beans – per your preference (I had used 1/2 of this can on a lunch salad)
Kale broken into pieces, large stems removed (save them for making veggie broth)
Add your pasta to the water once it’s at full boil. Set your timer to simmer for 6 minutes, and have your kale ready to toss in for 2 additional minutes. Rinse and drain after 2 minutes.
Sautéing Veggies without Oil!
Saute your veggies – start with the pan on medium high, keep stirring with a rubber spatula; turn down to medium as browning gets brisker.
As the veggies brown and caramelize, keep tossing briskly with your spatula. When the pan starts to brown add several TBSP of water, white wine or veggie broth and stir briskly – this will mix in the browning flavor from the pan. Pans actually clean up more easily when you cook without oil, but there are even more important health reasons for saying “no” to oils.
Add in the spices and keep stirring.
Once the veggies and mushrooms are softening and browned add the tomatoes, tomato paste and beans, and cook 10 minutes. You can simmer even longer if you want, to further intensify the flavor.
Serve over the pasta, with another creative salad!
