Pasta = Easy = Healthy = Pasta

Pasta and easy are used together often.  Pasta and healthy... not so much.  BUT this is actually a great place to start when it comes to cooking healthy things that you AND your kids will love.  One great thing about pasta is that it's a crowd pleaser. Another is that you can make enough to feed an army and freeze it away in portions for lunch or for dinner when you would rather zone out to Real Housewives and let the microwave do the cooking. 

Step one in making this delicious is to find a great sauce that you love.  If you want to make your own sauce, I'm really happy for you.  That would change the title of this post to Pasta = kind of easy-ish = healthy = we'll save making your own pasta sauces for another time.  There are some pretty easy ones, but that is not what we are doing here.  We are jar searching. 

Back to the jar.... there really should not be any unrecognizable ingredients in your pasta sauce.  It's just not necessary. My current favorite is from a store we have called Central Market.  Central Market was my Mecca when I was pregnant. They offer their organic brands in the partner HEB stores in town.  Their Primavera Pasta Sauce is amazing and has lots of veggies. 

Central Market Organics Primavera on the right (my fav) and great stand by Newman's Own Tomato & Basil (used here)

Here is what the ingredient list looks like: Organic diced tomatoes, water, organic tomato paste, organic carrots, organic celery, sea salt, organic zucchini, organic red bell peppers, organic extra virgin olive oil, organic garlic, organic basil, organic dehydrated onion, organic black pepper. 

I am not do or die organic, but if I can get something organic at a reasonable price I will usually go for it. I'm somewhat aware of the dirty dozen and the clean fifteen. Something you should look out for on your pasta sauce ingredient list is sugar. I am not a hater of sugar, but it has its time and its place, and it doesn't need to be one of the first 3-5 ingredients in your pasta sauce. 

On a more nationwide scale, I love the Newman's Own pasta sauces. Their Tomato & Basil is a great basic and their Sockarooni tastes like it came out of an Italian kitchen. Once you have your sauce you pick your noodle. I like the mini penne or the rotini. I prefer almost all of my pasta to be 100% whole wheat.  There are lots of tricky labels out there that say "whole grain", "whole wheat blend" or don't say anything about wheat and pretend to be better for you.  If you are looking for Whole Wheat Pasta make sure the box or bag says "100% Whole Wheat".  That goes for pretty much anything if you are looking for the healthiest option. I do prefer my angel hair pasta to be straight up enriched white flour. 

100% Whole Grain - Not Whole Wheat, still probably more healthy than white

 

 

 

100% Whole Wheat - The Real Deal. Photo courtesy of Amazon where you can apparently buy a 12pack.

To make pasta into a hearty filling meal, I like to throw in some meat.  Either ground turkey or beef or S, my husband, will make meat balls.  Our daughter runs a little low on iron, so we try to add it whenever possible.  Lately we've been cooking our pasta with hormone free lean ground beef from HEB.

Here is the end of this story: if you have taken the steps above (1. find your sauce  2. pick your noodle  3. add some meat) you are pretty much done. 

You'll want to take your meat out of the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking to bring it to room temp.  We cook on stainless steel so about five minutes before I want to start cooking, I put my pan on the burner over medium to warm it up and open the pores. If you do this, when you add fat to the pan (olive oil, butter, etc) it will be absorbed into the pan.  If you add fat to a cold pan, it will be absorbed into the food you are cooking and then eating.  When I put my pan on to warm I also start a stock pot full of water for the pasta.  I throw in some sea salt and a little bit of olive oil.  Both can be cut out if you are looking to go as healthy as possible.  Follow the cooking directions on the pasta you purchased. 

Brown yo meat, girl

While the pasta is cooking, get your pan ready with enough olive oil to coat the pan and keep your food from sticking.  We do own Pam spray and a lot of health buffs believe in it, but I use it scarcely. Add your ground meat, cooking over medium and stirring often with a wooden spoon.  If you brought your meat to room temp and have a lean blend then you shouldn't have much if any moisture to drain off when you are finished.  If it is cooked and there is moisture, drain it over the sink.

Add your sauce straight to the pan

When my meat is ready I turn the burner off and add the sauce directly into the meat.  This way your sauce gets warm and mixed in and you save a pan and another mess.  As the pasta comes ready I strain it, leaving it plenty wet with pasta water and then add it into the pan with the meat and sauce.

Then add your pasta. I have no idea why this looks orange. I blame the iPhone.

Dinner is done and we have leftovers and lots of extra toddler meals too.  And it only took about 15 minutes.   Seriously, you can do this!  It's budget friendly, and reasonably easy.  And you know what is going into your food. THAT is huge.

Satisfied customer

Last - grated parm on top of anything pasta related just makes it that much better.

- RT