Lentil Pasta Pasta Salad

I apologize for the lack of posts... this year has been quite busy and I am now a mother of two! I had my baby boy "Tommy" on October 7th, who is a superstar baby. That being said, I haven't been doing much besides breastfeeding, laundry, and changing diapers. However, I make sure to get out for stroller walks (for not only exercise, but fresh air, sunlight, and to see the world!) and have been cooking a ton! Cooking is very therapeutic and fun for me, and it is something that keeps my whole family healthy and exposes my daughter to new flavors and cuisines. At the end of my pregnancy, I bought a lot of (healthier) frozen dishes and packed items like the quick cook Tastybite packs and quick cook quinoas. However, I found I haven't even used them since there is enough time to make quick meals almost every day.

So, while I breastfeed, I search for recipes or just try to create some fun and different meals for my family (now of 4!) with ingredients I have on hand. My hope is to post about these meals more regularly than I have been to show relatively easy things you can create when you are busy with kids, work, and keeping the house in order.

An extremely easy meal that I often recommend to my clients to make in bulk and take to work is a pasta salad. However, this isn't just any pasta salad, it's made with a bean based pasta (I use Barilla's Lentil or Fusili penne) and tons of veggies. So it's full of protein, fiber, and super healthy. You can make a big batch of this, and since you eat it cold, it is an easy and well-balanced meal to keep on hand for a quick meal. You can really use whatever vegetables you have on hand (or like in a pasta salad), but I provide some ideas below.

PASTA SALAD BASE INGREDIENTS:

1 box bean-based pasta (such as Barilla Lentil Penne or Fusili)

1 cup grape tomatoes- sliced in half

1/2 bunch of kale, mustard greens, or Swiss Chard (optional) - chopped into bite size pieces

1 - 8-10 oz container raw arugula

2 cups other veggies such as blanched broccoli, cauliflower, carrots

1 cup reduced-fat feta cheese, chunked or cubed

1/2 c black or kalamata olives, sliced in half (optional)

DRESSING:

1/3 c olive oil

1/4 c red wine vinegar

1/4 c water

2 tsp garlic, minced

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp each fresh cilantro and parsley (or herb of your choice!)- chopped fine

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook pasta according to box directions

2. Cook down kale/collards/Swiss chard in pan or steam then chop. If blanching other veggies, do so at this time.

3. Let pasta and greens cool while you whisk together dressing ingredients in a jar.

4. Combine pasta and veggies in large bowl. 

5. Mix in Feta and olives.

6. Pour dressing over pasta mixture and stir until everything is dressed.

7. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.

Serves 8. NUTRITION LABEL BELOW (using Diet Master Pro software)

Winter Vegetable Stoup

This soup can be modified to suit your tastes and can use whatever vegetables you have on hand. It is a hardy soup that can be made more like a stew, hence the name "Stoup". It is well balanced with vegetables, healthy carbs, fiber, and protein that everyone in the family will hopefully like. I made a big batch and froze half of it for when future Kel is craving a soup but doesn't have hours to make one.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 medium white onion, chopped

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 cup carrots, sliced into small pieces

1 small head broccoli, sliced into bite size pieces

1 small container white mushrooms, sliced into bite size pieces

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1 tbsp. oregano

1 tbsp. parsley

1/4 c lemon juice

6 cups vegetable broth

1 cup of Trader Joe's Organic chickpea & red lentil Risoni (can sub 1 cup of any other "bean" based pasta)

1 - 15 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 - 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (can sub cannelini or any other bean you'd like)

1/2 medium butternut squash (optional, see "optional" directions)- sliced lengthwise and seeds removed

DIRECTIONS

OPTIONAL: Heat oven to 375 F degrees. Drizzle a touch of oil over the butternut squash and roast until soft, about 40 minutes. Cool on pan. Once cool, take a spoon to scoop out flesh into a bowl. Proceed to step 5 below:

1. Sauté onion, celery, mushrooms, and broccoli in oil with garlic, oregano and parsley for a few minutes in a large soup pot.

2. Add lemon juice to pot once veggies start getting soft and let cook for another minute or two.

3. Add vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, chickpeas, and risoni. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.

4. Using a soup ladle, remove about 2 cups of the soup including broth and all solid bits.

5. With an immersion blender or regular blender, blend the soup from step #4 until thick and almost uniform in texture. (NOTE: You can add the butternut squash at this step)

6. Add back pureed soup into big soup pot.

7. Simmer soup up to an hour longer to allow flavors to marinade. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

8. Enjoy!

NUTRITION INFO:* Makes about 10 cups:

Per cup: 180 calories, 4.5 g fat, 27 g carb (5.5 g fiber), 593 mg sodium, 8 g protein

*nutrition includes butternut squash and was determined using DietMaster Pro software

Creamy Bean Pasta and Vegetable Casserole

I am a huge advocate of all the bean and lentil pastas that are now on the market. They serve as the "protein" in the meal as well as the "starch", so I tell clients you basically just need to add veggies to make it a complete and well-balanced meal (even frozen veggies are fine!). How easy is that? These pastas typically cook in 8 minutes or less, so they make for a quick meal when you don't want to spend much time preparing food. Furthermore, they don't have much flavor, so you can treat them like normal pasta by adding marinara, making into a creamy pasta dish, or even creating an Asian noodle stir fry. This particular recipe (below) eats like an indulgent comfort-food dish, but has been "healthified" by using bean pasta, lower fat dairy, and bulking up the quantity of vegetables compared to a traditional casserole. It's gooey and creamy and tastes like it's bad for you... but it's not! It's full of protein, fiber, and not a lot of fat. 

Ingredients

·         ~8 ounces bean or lentil pasta (such as Banza chickpea or Barilla/Trader Joe’s Lentil)

·         1 ½ cups 1% small-curd cottage cheese

·         1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach

·         2 cups sliced mixed vegetables of your choosing (e.g: broccoli, peppers, onions, cauliflower)

·         ¾ cup plain non-fat or low-fat Greek yogurt

·         ¼ cup fat-free milk

·         3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

·         2 teaspoons whole wheat flour

·         1 teaspoon dried dill or 1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill

·         ½ cup 2% or part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Cook the bean/lentil pasta according to package directions; drain. 

2. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except for the shredded cheese. Add pasta and toss to coat. 

3. Spray a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray and pour pasta mixture into it. 

4. Top with the shredded cheese.

5. Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. 

6. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through or broil on high for a few minutes to brown the shredded cheese. 

7. Let the casserole stand for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

NUTRITION FACTS for 1/4 recipe:

*Nutrient analysis conducted on Diet Master Pro software; ingredients are in reverse order (lightest ingredient to heaviest)

* Recipe adapted from Taste of Home's Ham and Noodle Casserole