Skip to main content

Health Foodie in the Quest for Italian Do Over


I miss Italian food.  Watching all these food shoes makes it worse, unless it's the one where the "f" word guy goes back into the kitchen.  It's kinda like finding out what's in spam or hot dogs, wish you had never known.  Being in the GF life has severely limited our gluten free Italian options.  Finding a non crunch lasagna noodle takes a trek across town.  I am a label reading fool.  I have found some GF penne and rotini made with ancient grains- brown rice and quinoa.  Jumping up and down giggling my friends.  If it has corn in the ingredients, it's crunchy pasta. Gross. Lasagna was my go to comfort meal.  Other than the gluten issue, lasagna tends to be high in fat and calories. Not good for your waist line or brain power.  What's  health foodie to do for comfort food? Make a redo.  The difference in my creation from other recipes are the switch outs.  Still easy with the Italian comfort; yet, no meat/more veggies and a better ricotta-like stand in.

What you need

  • 4 oz of rotini pasta of choice
  • Half an onion sliced
  • 4-5 mushrooms sliced
  • One carrot sliced thin
  • 3 garlic cloves sliced
  • 2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 2 cups of 1 % cottage cheese
  • 2 tbsp of italian herb dry mix
  • 24 oz jar of pasta sauce
  • 32 oz of beef or vegetable broth
  • Half of green or red pepper sliced
Cooking
  1. Place olive oil in a skillet and bring to a medium heat.  Put in garlic, carrot, onion, and pepper.  When these are soft put in mushrooms.  Cook until mushrooms are slightly soft.  Remove from heat.
  2. Cook pasta as directed on package
  3.  In a 8 quart stock pot or 8 quart crock pot: put in broth, pasta sauce, cooked vegetables, cooked pasta, spices, and cottage cheese.
  4. Cook on low for 45 minutes.  
Options: you can add a pound of cooked meat in step three if you require meat.  Parmesan cheese can be added on top for more cheesy flavor.  Parmesan is one of the lower calories, lower fat, and high protein cheeses. This would be my choice over any other cheese.

I certainly have a fixation on the quick prep and dump in a pot at the moment.  Cost effective, easy to make, tummy filling, anti-inflammatory spices/herbs, and delicious.  How can a girl resist?

Namaste and let comfort heal you
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ghost Child

It’s been so cozy in our glittery wonderland of bubbles and glitzy paper; however, the holiday tilt a whirl has abruptly told us to get the hell off.  The ton of brick of sorrow and fury hit full force today.  It’s not a new or sudden burden, but a reality being acknowledged and denied all the same.  For years, I’ve been told “she’s okay,” “there’s nothing wrong,” “we don’t see anything.” My daughter is the ghost child.   You see the specter but right through her because you don’t see.                 While my daughter is “okay” she’s not “okay.”  This morning’s event has continued months of agonizing, acceptance, determination, reflection, and writing.  In reflection, I keep going back to her preschool years when I literally thought I was going to lose my mind. Literally everyone indicated that there wasn’t anything wrong.  It kept nagging as we stumbled through docto...
Post a Comment
Read more

Health Foodie for Your Face- essentially fighting misbehaving skin

 I am in my mid thirties and until recently, breaking out like an awkward teenager.  Only more awkward because I am thirty something.  It isn't those little things either,  I have had deep cystic acne for decades.  I have literally tried everything on the market: stores or online, plus doctors poking and prescribing everything.  Don't sell me anything.  Seriously, I have tried it all, more than once. Only one prescription worked in my early twenties.  It peeled chunks off my face for months. So that looked gross.  However, I had the best skin for like two years.  Every two years I do not want to look like a molting animal.  It was expensive to boot. No win there. Then these SOB wrinkles start showing up in the midst of all the acne mess. This has to stop.  If you spend anytime with anyone in the skin care profession you get the "talk." About what you eat.  While the debate is out exactly on what that is, there are a f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditation for the Distracted: How an ADHD Mom Declutters her Brain

I didn't think that was possible.  Decluttering my brain.  Most of the time my brain is like those annoying rubber balls let loose in a steel cube competing with the speed of sound.  A lot going on with not much room to go anywhere else.  It was like this before kids.  Now there are lots more of additions, noises, schedules, and distractions.  Sitting down is hard enough but sitting to be quiet and focus seems like a joke.  Even after establishing a meditation practice.  This week has been rough.  As I watch Ghost Child take an interest and begin to meditate to calm, it becomes real.  Our meditation practice is as important as breathing and sleeping.  For our brain survival and surviving our emotions, we need it.   If you have a thriving meditation practice, then Namaste my friend and all power too your practice.  If you struggle to focus or have distractions, then Namaste my friend, we completely understand this str...
Post a Comment
Read more