Vegetarian Meal #10: Creamy Tomato Pasta (No Dairy but still Delicious)
Happy Thursday!!!! I really hope your week has gone well so far. I have here a vegan-friendly, lactose-intolerant friendly pasta dish and no you don't have to be vegan or lactose intolerant to enjoy this meal because not to pat my own back but this meal was really DELICIOUS!!!!!. I was like give this girl a show on Food Network asap.😂 Just kidding, I am not worthy. I am just excited about how it turned out and excited to share this meal. Yes, according to my mantra it is EASY to make, HEALTHY, AFFORDABLE and ofcourse VEGETARIAN.
SUPPLIES (Overview)
1. Pasta
2. Tomato
3. Milk
4. Vegetables: Spinach, Garlic, and Onion
5. Vegetable Broth (not necessary)
6. Nutritional Yeast (skippable but kind of a big deal 💁)
7. Oil (skippable but a little won't hurt anyone 😀 )
8. Seasonings:
Salt
Black Pepper
Dried Herbs (Parsley, Basil, Thyme etc) and/or 'Italian Seasoning Mix'
Garlic and Onion Powder (skippable)
SUPPLIES (Breakdown)
1. Pasta: Simple Truth Organic 100% Whole Wheat Penne Rigate ($1.49 @ Kroger)
Of course, you can use any Pasta you like but I was feeling a little Penne.
2. Tomato: Kroger Italian Style Tomato Paste ($0.49 @ Kroger)
Cento Crushed Tomatoes
This tomato part is flexible. You can choose your tomato product of choice: paste, crushed tomatoes, peeled tomatoes, your favourite pasta sauce, fresh tomatoes. You can also combine 2 tomato products like I did, it's all up to you. The pasta sauce is a more convenient choice because it already has great flavours in it. I also highly recommend the Cento brand of tomato product.
3. Milk: Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk ($2.99 @ Kroger)
Although I am a vegetarian, I do try to reduce the number of animal products I use, so for me, non-dairy milk is a staple. (No! I am not lactose intolerant). Unsweetened Almond milk is my staple milk of choice because its flexible for sweet and savoury meals. I do get other types of non-dairy milk every now and then. You can, of course, use any milk you like just make sure it is not sweet because this a savoury dish.
4. Vegetables:
Taylor Farms Organic Baby Spinach ($3.49 @ Target)
Spiced World Minced Garlic ($1.88 @ HEB)
Onion
Italian cooking is all about simplicity and I kept the vegetable simple with my three favourites plus Garlic and Onions are basic pillars of cooking.
5. Vegetable Broth: Kroger Vegetable Broth ($1.29 @ Kroger)
This is not necessary for this dish if you happen not to have any laying around but if you do go ahead
6. Nutritional Yeast: Red Star Nutritional Yeast from HEB Bulk Bins ($2.55 @ HEB)
If you are reading this and you already know what this is and its health benefit keep scrolling if you don't let me explain:
Nutritional Yeast is a favourite and a go-to for vegans when they want to achieve a "cheesy" flavour. The vegetarian diet does allow for cheese but cheese consumption is of course based on the individual. For me I don't eat cheese regularly as I mentioned earlier I try not to consume too much animal products but I haven't given it up completely, yes Vegans you can come and fight me if you want.
Back to Nutritional Yeast, I feel its pretty important to add to your diet no matter what it is. Worrying about B12 is not only a vegan problem or vegetarians possibly, a handful of Americans are actually deficient in B12. Just because you eat meat doesn't mean everything is all Gucci guys. Researchers found that at least 40% of the population tested “low-normal” or deficient for vitamin B12. I am pretty sure 40% of Americans are not vegans or vegetarian. Anywho, I bring up B12 because Nutritional Yeast is really high in B12 and other B vitamins, it is a complete protein, it has iron, it has fiber, it is low in sodium and fat and its even gluten free for those who need to know. It is pretty much a superfood. Click here to read more about its benefits DrAxe - Nutritional Yeast Benefits. So maybe it is good to substitute cheese for nutritional yeast every once in a while and yes there other things you can do with nutritional yeast check out this link for some inspo: 11 ways to use nutritional yeast.
Where to get Nutritional Yeast: A handful of grocery stores have this stores like Trader Joes, HEB (for Texans), Kroger, Whole Foods, pretty much that grocery store in your area that looks hipster-ish. Any health food store in your area will have it and its something you can easily order online. Don't let the price scare you, for me, I get in the bulk bin at HEB because I can get as much as I am wanting to pay for and also its a good way for people who are wanting to try it without committing.
7. Oil: Ciuti Sunflower and Avocado Oil ($3.99 @ Ross)
As I mentioned earlier adding oil is skippable in this meal but a little won't hurt anyone. Since this is an Italian dish, the Holy Grail Olive Oil would be recommended but any oil you have will also work. I used this oil because I saw it at the impulse are at Ross (yes dress for less Ross), it was $3.99 and I was like why not.
8. Seasonings:
Dried Basil, Parsley, and Thyme
Italian Seasoning Mix and Garlic Powder, Onion Powder
Himalayan Pink Sea Salt
Black Pepper
🌿 Salt and Pepper:
These two are pillars of basic cooking all around the world. I used Pink Himalayan Sea Salt because I am fancy 💁. Yes, any salt will do but if you haven't yet you should give the pink Himalayan salt a try, it is your good ole salt + a lot of minerals (DrAxe- Pink Himalayan Salt Benefits that Make It Superior to Table Salt). No, it is not super expensive, I actually picked mine up at Ross on sale for $1.99. I don't think they get any more expensive than $3. I used Black Pepper because I felt it would be appropriate, Italian food isn't known for their heat and black pepper is a suitable pepper but if you like it 🔥🔥🔥 always then you can add a little heat. Don't overdo it because it doesn't suit this meal.
🌿 Dried Herbs:
You can use any of the dried herbs commonly used in Italian dishes (Basil, Marjoram, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme etc). You can mix and match however you like but an Italian Seasoning Mix is also great because it has all that you need. I was feeling generous so I used an Italian seasoning mix and some extra dried herbs I had.
🌿 Garlic and Onion Powder:
I really love garlic and I am also a fan of onions. I find that they make things taste delicious so I am quite generous with them. Since there is already fresh garlic and onions in this meal, you don't have to overdo it with the powder if you don't want to.
COOKING TIME !!!!!!!!!!!!
💃
🍝 I started cooking by boiling the pasta. The whole heat up water, add salt, then add pasta routine. OOOPSSS!! No, I didn't do anything wrong I just remembered I wanted to cook everything in one pot. After my realization, I quickly took out the pasta out of the fire and drained the water.
🍝The actual starting point: Heat up pan or pot of choice. I used my handy-dandy wok.
🍝 Add Oil to the heated pan. If you don't want oil you can skip this part or use an Oil-Free Spray. I used just a little amount of oil just to help bring out the flavours of the garlic and onions.
🍝 Add Garlic and Onions. I usually fry up the onions first but I decided to fry up the garlic first.I don't know if the order matters but I wanted the oil to be really garlicky because I am a garlic lover. I stirred the garlic on medium heat for about a minute before adding the onions.
🍝 After adding the onions, I added 3 of the seasonings (Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, and the Italian Seasoning Mix). Then I stirred for about a minute till the onions got a bit translucent on medium heat.
🍝 Added Tomato Paste and stirred. No, I didn't all of it, I used two spoonfuls.
🍝I then added half of the Crushed Tomatoes, a little bit of Broth, and Milk
🍝Before adding some more seasoning I tasted to see what were the flavours were at, at that point. Sorry, I don't put measurements in my meals, I am going to try to do that (sometimes). But the tongue is the best measuring tool. When it comes to seasoning put a little at a time and taste to see if you like it or not. I went ahead and added the rest of the seasonings (Dried Basil, Parsley Thyme) plus Salt and Black Pepper. I stirred it all and tasted it to make sure its all Gucci.
🍝 Pasta time: I added the Penne Pasta, then a little more of that Italian Seasoning Mix which is amazing by the way and I covered it up and let it cook. Remember the mistake I made earlier, if you are making this meal you will be putting the uncooked pasta right now not my slightly cooked pasta but it was okay, it all turned out well. After adding the pasta if you find that you need more liquid you can add more broth or milk. 
🍝 It cooks pretty quickly, about 5- 10 mins. Just stick a fork into the pasta to check if it is cooked and especially if it is cooked to your liking because I like mine to be al dente (firm to bite).
At this stage its all cooked, if you don't have any Nutritional Yeast you can add the Spinach and call it a night but if you do and I hope you do, you then add the nutritional yeast and stir.
🍝 Lastly, I added the Spinach and mix it in and let it wilt. The End
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Any Questions or Concerns feel free to shoot me an email at mmelapintv@gmail.com
THANK YOU FOR YOUR VISIT
NEW BLOG POST
EVERY THURSDAY
HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN 😄
- A Tout a l'Heure -
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