Protein Pasta Pronto
Diabetes and pasta aren't usually a match, but protein pastas are a different story. Check this recipe by my friend Kim Larson from her book Reducing High Blood Pressure for Beginners.
I often hear that people with diabetes really miss eating pasta. So, today we will be preparing a diabetes friendly vegetarian recipe called Protein Pasta Pronto, from fellow Dietitian, Kim Larson’s book called Reducing High Blood Pressure for Beginners.
As you may have heard, people with diabetes are at twice the risk for developing high blood pressure, so these recipes are great for us, keeping the sodium content down. The ingredients are:
3/4 cup lentil or chickpea fusilli or penne such as Banza
2 teaspoons canola oil ½ sweet onion,
chopped 3 garlic cloves,
chopped ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ ( 14.5 ounce) low sodium diced tomatoes, with their juice
2 Tablespoons low sodium tomato paste
1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
½ head fresh rainbow Swiss Chard, chopped (including stems)
1 (15.5 ounce ) cannellini beans,
drained and rinsed ¼ cup loosely packed fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon parmesan cheese (optional)
Ok let’s get cooking.
cook the pasta per package directions, do not add salt.
When draining the pasta, reserve the pasta water and set aside.
Evenly brush the bottom and sides of a large skillet with oil; add onion and sauté over medium heat until soft (about 3 minutes).
Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about a minute.
Reduce heat to low and add 1 cup of the reserved pasta water, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and Italian seasoning. Stir until well blended.
Next, bring the heat back to medium and ad the Swiss chard, cooking for 4-5minutes until the chard stalks are soft.
Add the cannellini beans and cooked pasta, stirring until everything is well combined and heated through for about 2 minutes.
Next, add a little more pasta water if needed and reduce the heat to low simmer.
Just before serving, stir in the basil and top with parmesan cheese if you’d like.
This recipe serves 4 and each serving is 242 calories; 4 g fat; less than 1 gram saturated fat; 29 g carb; 11 grams fiber; and 14 grams protein. Here’s to your health, enjoy!