Pasta in fresh tomato sauce

As the title suggests, this is a very simple recipe that I'm going to share with you which is quick, no fuss, tasty and most importantly healthy.  It's the go to lunch that I naturally think to do when I have little time, which is most if the time, but still want to do a nutritious lunch.

During the day, I look for a simple, quick and easy lunch with little preparation to accommodate my caring duties.  This takes 5 minutes to prepare if that and is certainly adaptable depending on taste buds, dietary requirements and ingredients available.  The star of this recipe is undoubtedly the tomato.  The tartness of the tomatoes really inject some life into my mum's taste buds and helps with her appetite which can be non-existent during chemotherapy and bouts of nausea.


Tomato
When I was younger, I didn't like raw tomatoes, only as a sauce and spread on chips but let's face it, that was just the sugar that I loved.  Tomatoes though, even with it's fruit/vegetable identity crisis have amazing health benefits.  They contain high powered anti-oxidants such as vitamin E, C and lycopene.  The benefits of lycopene have been heavily researched in relation to its potential effects on cardiovascular diseases and cancer.  Tomatoes are also rich in potassium which is a mineral many of us don't get enough of.  In other words, this is a fruit/ vegetable that we welcome in our house.

Ingredients - serves 2
Here are the ingredients for the basic recipe.  These ingredients are a must have as they are the base of the dish.
  • Organic chopped tomatoes (1 can)
  • Gluten free spaghetti (quantity variesaccording to appetite)
  • Finely chopped garlic clove 
  • Handful of spinach
  • Chopped parsley
1.  Take the required amount of spaghetti in your hand.  Snap in half and put into a saucepan, cover with water.  I've not specified the amount of pasta as this can vary in accordance to the individual appetites and the number of portions.  I've generally only made this for lunch but you could easily increase the quantity for dinner/ tea etc. Cover the saucepan with water and bring to the boil.
2.  In a saucepan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and heat up the garlic.  When you start to get a scent of garlic wafting beautifully through your kitchen, add a handful of washed spinach.  Make sure it's dry or it will sizzle as you add the wet spinach.  Stir until the spinach has wilted.  
3.  When the spinach has wilted, add chopped tomatoes and chopped parsley in relation to the amount of pasta cooked.  Keep stirring and when the sauce is gently bubbling, remove the pasta and drain and transfer it into the cooked sauce.
4.  Mix and serve.


Now, here's how to jazz up the dish if you wish.  For an evening meal:
  • add meat such as organic lean beef or pork mince
  • add a few prawns after heating the garlic and freshly chopped chillies.
  • experiment with other vegetables such as green, red, yellow peppers or sweetcorn.  
  • Try other pasta shapes
We love this and eat it at least once, if not twice a week and this is due to the versatility of the dish.  It's never the same.  Cancer is a difficult illness but small enjoyments like this ease our broken souls.

Let me know if you try this and any other varieties/ combinations you've tried.

Mx


I'm extremely excited to be able to say that I've been nominated and shortlisted for Carer blogger of the year within the Health Unlocked 2017 Health Blogger Awards.  I'd appreciate it if you could vote for my blog here.




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