Diary of a Semi-Health Nut

ramblings + recipes of a semi-healthy nut

{Vegetarian Curious #3} Andrea’s Go-To Pasta

by

Hello Friends!

I have a post for you from my friend Andrea for my “Vegetarian Curious” series!  If you’ll recall, she also guest posted for me for my Running for Newbies series here and we also ran my first ever 10K together! 

This gal is super busy with her kids homeschooling AND running a daycare.  I don’t know how she does it all…and manages to cook healthy for her family!  Enjoy her post!

—————
Hi!  My name is Andrea and I am a veggie loving triathlete that blogs over at LifeIsBeautiful.  I serve up a lot of vegetarian creations during the week, and Amanda was kind enough to ask me to share one of my favorites with you all.

While I don’t claim to be 100% vegetarian, I do try to limit our families meat consumption to 3 times per week.  Limiting our animal fat intake, and diversifying our vitamin profile by drawing protein from varying sources is great for our health!
We tend to eat a lot of beans, lentils, nut butters, and whole grains with our veggies.  Personally, I try to limit my dairy consumption to glean the anti-inflammatory benefits of that practice, but with 4 kids you can bet that our house is always full of milk and cheese!
Here is a recipe that I discovered several years ago on a diet support website called 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet.  I have since recommended it dozens of times and have made it a regular in our vegetarian dinner rotation.  It’s easy, inexpensive, low calorie, and delicious!

NOTE:  I normally double this recipe and use a whole 16oz box of pasta.  This way, I can also use the whole jar of pasta sauce as well.
Directions:
  • Preheat oven to 350
  • Spray a 2 Quart baking dish with cooking spray.  
  • Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, thaw the spinach in the microwave and squeeze dry when thawed.  I recommend placing the spinach in a bowl and squishing another bowl on top of it over the sink.  It can be hot!  Don’t worry about getting it bone dry.
  • In a large bowl, combine the cheese, sour cream, egg white, salt and garlic powder.  Stir in the spinach.
  • When the pasta is done, rinse with cold water to make it easier to handle.  Use your hands to mix the pasta evenly into the spinach mixture. 
  • Pour pasta/spinach mixture into your prepared dish and pat in evenly.  Pour pasta sauce on top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Bake, uncovered, approximately 30 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.
This recipe is about 250 calories per serving, a single recipe serves 8.  Increase the dietary fiber by using whole wheat pasta!
Enjoy!!
—————

Hope you are all having a great week…it’s almost Friday and I have a deliciously sweet Friday Five Foodie Finds post for you tomorrow!

*~Amanda aka Semi-Health Nut~*

Do you use whole wheat pasta?  Can you tell a difference in taste?  (I actually like it better!)

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. This looks so yummy; I would never have guessed that it is only 250 calories. This also is an excellent excuse to get busy and turn my tomatoes into a yummy sauce!

  2. This looks so yummy; I would never have guessed that it is only 250 calories. This also is an excellent excuse to get busy and turn my tomatoes into a yummy sauce!

  3. Well, it’s my first time making it. I hope it’s awesome! If not, I do have a bottle from Costco in the fridge…