Pasta Sottile

Eating Pasta to stay slim is no longer a myth. Last year I was roaming the gluten free section at Wholefoods and found this quinoa pasta. It is cholesterol free, gluten free, very low in sodium, rich in fiber and protein. I experimented with a few recipes till I came up with this one. It's a full nutritious meal by itself. Indulge and don't feel guilty :)

Ingredients:
4 large ripe tomatoes cut in halves
1 carrot cut in half
1/2" fresh ginger root peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
1 hot pepper
8 cloves fresh garlic peeled
3 onions peeled
1 tsp himalayan salt
2 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs tarragon
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs oregano
1 green pepper diced
1 cup diced mushrooms
1/2 tsp blak pepper (optional)

Directions:
1. in a medium size pan brown the meat with the oil, the spices, and the onion until thoroughly cooked
2. add the pasta sauce and bring to a boil
3. add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil again
4.turn off the heat and add the cooked pasta
5. lightly stir the mixture without breaking the pasta
enjoy..

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, you can skip the meat to make it Vegetarian

Benefits:
quinoa is a super grain
tomatoes are excellent antioxidants
peppers are rich in vitamin A and C, help prevent cancer, high source of potassium, and rich in fiber
mushrooms are rich in vitamin B, rich in minerals like potassium and copper, boost your immune system, aid in weight loss, rich in antioxidants
shallots are know to be antifungal antiviral, rich in manganese, folate, B6, A, C

the beauty of this dish is that we are not cooking these vegetables and so we are preserving all their heath benefits. Healthy can in fact be super yummy :)