Pasta & Beans

I've mentioned before that we try to have at least one veggie meal a week. A vegetarian, if not quite a vegan option is a great way to cut the calories, save a little money, not to mention saving the planet!

This pasta and beans dish is a great one pot supper that requires minimum effort. The veg can easily be chopped before hand and cooked off when needed.

Red Pepper & Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

I've posted before that there are lots of stir in pasta sauces available but many of them are quite bland and can be full of salt and sugar. 

This is another healthy alternative that is ready in no time and will keep in the fridge on standby for a couple of days.

The recipe used roasted peppers. Jarred peppers work just fine, but you roast your own if you have a little more time.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara is a classic Italian recipe that combines bacon, cheese and cream with pasta to make a creamy sauce. Needless to say, this healthy alternative has no cream, but manages to maintain basic flavours of carbonara, but without the calories!
If you prefer, you can substitute the cooked bacon for cooked chicken, cooked prawns, smoked salmon or even mixed veg or mushrooms. 

Tomato Pesto

There are lots of stir in pasta sauces available but many of them are quite bland and can be full of salt and sugar. 

This healthy alternative is ready in no time and will keep in the fridge on standby for a couple of days.

The recipe used roasted peppers. Jarred peppers work just fine, but you roast your own if you have a little more time.

Italian Spicy Roast Chicken

This dish is another great favourite that is on the table in no time, with very little prep. 

The great combination of chicken, roasted with garlic, tomatoes and peppers in italian seasoning, served on pasta is ideal to heat you up on a February evening!

When roasted, the tomatoes and peppers in this dish char and release a delicious sweetness that really adds to the flavour.

Chicken Broccoli & Leek Pasta Bake

Another winter warmer on the menu today!

This dish combines chicken, broccoli, leeks and pasta in a creamy white sauce.

Most pasta bake recipes use cans of soup to make the sauce, which adds more calories and expense to the meal. Not here! This dish has a simple white cheese sauce that tastes great and would work well served over pasta on it's own.

Spicy Citrus Prawns

Prawns, spicy tomato and lime zest make a delicious combination served over warm pasta.

This dish is a great midweek (or after pub!) meal as it can be on the table in no time and is really easy to make, once you have everything chopped and ready to go.

Timing wise, get the pasta on and after 2-3 minutes or so, get the sauce going.

Italian Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

These Italian meatballs are one of my favorite dishes and are a regular fixture of our weekend dinner line-up. I'm usually to be found in the kitchen from about 5pm chopping and measuring. There's generally food on the table by the time the X-Factor starts, or sometimes by the time Harry Hill's TV Burp starts, if the meatball aroma is exceptionally nice! I use minced turkey to greatly reduce the fat content, but they also work fine with extra lean beef mince.   

Pasta Sauce

This tomato based pasta sauce is a great basic sauce to which you can add things to. Chicken, prawns or veg would all work. It's an excellent stand by and can be frozen and thawed out in a hurry. I've always found that jars of tomato sauce gave me bad indigestion, no problems with this sauce!

Chicken Lasagne

This lasagne is a low fat twist on the old Italian recipe. Chicken, garlic and vegetables combined with both tomato and béchamel sauces to make a fantastic meal. I joke that making this dish is like having a part time job, but the effort is really worth it.

Whole Wheat Pasta

Pasta is one of the most versatile foods you can eat. It comes in many shapes and sizes which perfectly match the delicious sauces they accompany. When trying to lose weight, whole wheat pasta is the only way to go. It tastes similar to white pasta, but it's better for you, fills you up and keeps you full for longer. Adding a stock cube to boiling pasta is a great way to get additional flavour into your meal.

I find that Spaghetti and Linguini go better with thinner, watery sauces while pasta shapes, such as Fuseli or Penne are perfect for more creamy concoctions.