Be Whole

One thing that I miss about having supper at home-home (where my family live) is that we’d take turns to cook supper during the week.

I was lucky to learn about mean planning and healthy eating well before moving out and have quite healthy eating habits, aside from my trips to Snoekies for Hake and Chips on weekends, and my sorbet binges while watching movies.

The biggest struggle with maintaining a healthy diet is finding time to prepare not only nutritious, but equally tasty meals.

This easy kidney bean pasta is a quick dinner idea for meat-free suppers or lunches. I often use this recipe as an inclusion to my meal plan, which makes two lunches and two dinners.

I generally cook meals for up to three days – no longer – to preserve the freshness of all ingredients and to switch up my meals.

Meal planning is great for ensuring that you continually eat the right foods. You’ll also save money as you’ll be reluctant to buy quick snacks and lunches if you’ve already packed your own.

Is pasta healthy?

Yes, and no.

Controlling your portions of pasta is what matters. I avoided high-carbohydrate foods like potatoes, pastas and bread for a long time because these foods are key contributors to weight gain. What I didn’t know at the time, was how much vitamin B, fiber, and protein could be found in pasta.

Whole-grain pasta (brownish coloured), has the same amount of calories as white pasta, expect that you’ll find more nutrients in the whole-grain selection.

I’ve used white Fusili pasta (screws) for this recipe but whole-grain pasta will suit this meal perfectly, if preferred. You could also use Penne Rigata pasta (quills), if you prefer.

What you’ll need to make Kidney Bean Pasta:

300 – 400 g Pasta

1 Finely chopped onion

400 g Kidney Beans

500 g Spinach

1 tbsp Hemp seeds

200 ml Napoletana Sauce (as desired)

2 tbsp Olive Oil

500ml hot water

Method:

• Pour one tablespoon of olive oil into a saucepan and braise your onion.
• Pour 5oo ml of boiled water into a pot to cook your pasta. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the water to ensure that the pasta doesn’t stick together, then add pasta to cook for 10 minutes. Using hot water instead of cold water will largely increase your preparation time.
• Once your onion is golden brown, add spinach and hemp seeds to cook while you wait for the pasta.
• Once the pasta has cooked, strain it, then add it to the saucepan with kidney beans and Napoletana sauce
• Once your Napoletana sauce (with added ingredients) has been heated, your pasta is ready to eat
• Allow to simmer for 5 minutes

Let me know if you try this recipe. Any meat-free dinner ideas you think that I should try? I’d love to hear from you. Leave me a comment in the section below or connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.