Super Simple Spaghetti Dish

Everyone loves Italian food (forgive me if you don’t!) so instead of needing to dine out, why not bring a taste of Italy into your home with The Food Effect Super Simple Spaghetti Dish.  It’s so easy to make, super healthy and tastes totally heavenly!

The combination of a few simple ingredients, make the most delicious meal.  Whether you’re having friends over for dinner, cooking for your family, or just looking for something for yourself to enjoy, this pasta dish is perfect for everyone.  It’s also vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free (if you use brown rice pasta), so this really does cater to all!

Whole-wheat or brown rice pasta contains fibre, protein and plenty of vitamins and minerals. Unlike white pasta, which causes blood sugar levels and insulin to spike, the fibre and protein found in whole-wheat pasta means that a single portion will keep you fuller for longer, because satiety is long lasting and blood sugar levels remain stable.

In fact, just one cup of whole-wheat pasta provides around a quarter of your daily fibre requirements.  Wholewheat and brown rice pasta are packed full of B-vitamins, such thiamin (essential for energy production, carbohydrate metabolism & nerve cell function), riboflavin (needed for healthy skin turnover & maintenance) and niacin (needed in fat, cholesterol & carbohydrate metabolism and the production of many body compounds, including sex & adrenal hormones).

Brown-rice pasta is both wheat and gluten-free, and is therefore, a great alternative for those looking to cut out or cut down on gluten, or even those who are not, but just want a light yet wholesome, filing and delicious alternative to regular pasta!

Whether you choose whole-wheat or brown-rice pasta, both are full of health benefits and work perfectly in this dish!

Zucchini are packed full of vitamins and minerals, and are extremely low in calories and waistline friendly.

Olive oil (and pine nuts) are packed full of heart-healthy fats, which also aid with the absorption of all the vitamins and minerals in this dish, and give glowing skin!

Enough good reasons to whip up this recipe for a perfect healthy home cooked Italian meal.

Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 190°C (374 F).  Wash the zucchini and slice lengthways using a vegetable/ potato peeler to create long thin strips.  Toast the pine nuts in a non-stick pan until just starting to brown.  Remove and set aside.  Line a large baking tray with foil or baking paper.  Lay slices of zucchini in a single layer on the tray/s.  Season well with salt, garlic powder and black pepper.  Coat zucchini with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and place in the oven until starting to turn golden (keep an eye on them).  Remove from the oven, turn over, coat other side with the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil  and return to the oven. Watch carefully until lightly coloured and golden (around 10 minutes). Remove from oven.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook according to package instructions. Remove pasta and drain.  Place the pasta in a large serving bowl, add the cooked zucchini slices along with all the roasting juices from the tray.  Add the lemon juice and zest, pine nuts and another drizzle of olive oil.  Season well with salt and black pepper.  Garnish with fresh rosemary (optional). Serve hot and enjoy! xx