We'd made some spaghetti on Tuesday night for dinner, and had two more servings left over in the fridge. Yesterday morning was my weekly trip to our local farmer's market (where I get all of my fruits & veggies!) and so I picked up some fresh basil, and made some pesto to go with the pasta for our lunch yesterday.
Needless to say, it turned out pretty tasty!
The pesto was actually quite simple to make; you will need a food processor or hand chopper (we have a hand mixer with a chopper attachment). The recipe is as follows:
2 Cups fresh basil
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Pulse basil in the food processor. Add each additional ingredient, pulsing after adding.
I personally used only salt in my pesto, because I'm not a huge fan of pepper. The olive oil I used was of an "extra light" variety, as this type of olive oil is very good in dressings & such.
I put some fresh chopped tomatoes on the spaghetti, topped it with the pesto, and then sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese on top.
One thing I've come to really enjoy about whole grain pasta is that it really fills you up and keeps you going. My husband and I ate our lunch at noon; we weren't hungry again until about 8:30 that night.
It seems that each time I go back to the grocery store and really look for things, I find more variety that I'm "allowed" to eat. This time, meandering the grocery store with my husband, we found whole durum wheat flour lasagna noodles; and while they were pretty expensive compared to the basic enriched flour variety (I believe one box of the whole grain was about $4, so about twice the price of "plain" pasta) my experience with how filling whole grain pasta is makes me think that the cost is easily worth it.
My husband is starting to regret my decision to nix enriched flour, though; as we passed the freezer section of the grocery store, the Tombstone pizzas were on sale, and he lamented the fact that we were not going to be buying any. While Tombstone pizzas are quick & easy when kept on hand, the fact that they are in my freezer means I will EAT them. (This is the same reason why I rarely buy ice cream! If it's there... it will be eaten.) I'm hoping in the long run, though, that these dietary changes will help him become healthier too.
On a final note, on Tuesday we also watched Food, Inc. which is a documentary on food and its origins within the United States. It's really an eye-opening story about where our food comes from, and the conditions it is grown in. I highly recommend it -- especially if you haven't been shopping at your local farmer's market. You'll probably start!
2 Cups fresh basil
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Pulse basil in the food processor. Add each additional ingredient, pulsing after adding.
I personally used only salt in my pesto, because I'm not a huge fan of pepper. The olive oil I used was of an "extra light" variety, as this type of olive oil is very good in dressings & such.
I put some fresh chopped tomatoes on the spaghetti, topped it with the pesto, and then sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese on top.
One thing I've come to really enjoy about whole grain pasta is that it really fills you up and keeps you going. My husband and I ate our lunch at noon; we weren't hungry again until about 8:30 that night.
It seems that each time I go back to the grocery store and really look for things, I find more variety that I'm "allowed" to eat. This time, meandering the grocery store with my husband, we found whole durum wheat flour lasagna noodles; and while they were pretty expensive compared to the basic enriched flour variety (I believe one box of the whole grain was about $4, so about twice the price of "plain" pasta) my experience with how filling whole grain pasta is makes me think that the cost is easily worth it.
My husband is starting to regret my decision to nix enriched flour, though; as we passed the freezer section of the grocery store, the Tombstone pizzas were on sale, and he lamented the fact that we were not going to be buying any. While Tombstone pizzas are quick & easy when kept on hand, the fact that they are in my freezer means I will EAT them. (This is the same reason why I rarely buy ice cream! If it's there... it will be eaten.) I'm hoping in the long run, though, that these dietary changes will help him become healthier too.
On a final note, on Tuesday we also watched Food, Inc. which is a documentary on food and its origins within the United States. It's really an eye-opening story about where our food comes from, and the conditions it is grown in. I highly recommend it -- especially if you haven't been shopping at your local farmer's market. You'll probably start!
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