recipe

You asked for more recipes, so I’m delivering with this one for Pasta Primavera!

Thank you to everyone who commented on my Instagram a while back when I asked what you want to see more of on the blog. I’m stoked to bring you more recipes, and I know you’ll love this nutritional powerhouse! Oh, did I mention it’s vegan and happens to be gluten-free? AND it’s full of protein? AND it’s stupid easy to make? I mean, there’s a reason Matt and I eat this Pasta Primavera at least once a week. It’s one of those nothing’s-perfect-but-this-is-as-close-as-it-gets kind of meals.

Like, find me a healthier one. I’ll wait.

Here’s a little breakdown of why this recipe is a wellness VIP:

• Vegan
• Gluten-Free
• Soy-Free
• High in protein
• High in fiber
• Has a ton of vegetables (as much and as many different types as you’d like, in fact)

And even though it’s packed with healthy goodness, this meal is actually delicious.

The real star of the show with this Pasta Primavera is the pasta.

Admittedly, I’ve never a huge pasta fan… because it’s always made me feel terrible. I’d always be bloated and sluggish after I ate it, and even though I liked the taste, it wasn’t good enough for me to suffer. I eventually discovered that I’m gluten-intolerant, and cutting out gluten made my digestion better almost instantly. But most gluten-free pasta replacements are pure crap, made with refined carbs that spike your blood sugar and don’t offer any nutritional value. So I went without pasta for far too long.

And then I discovered lentil pasta.

It’s made from one ingredient: lentils. But it tastes and cooks and looks like pasta.

There are actually now a few different varieties of bean pasta available — I’m also a big fan of pasta made out of black beans (and only black beans — always read the ingredients, and be cautious of any kinds mixed with filler grains). I’ve loved every kind I’ve tried, and it’s becoming more and more popular. You can even find lentil pasta at Trader Joe’s now! But I especially like to buy this enormous bulk case of lentil pasta off Amazon, because it’s delicious and super cost-effective. Like I said, we eat meal this at least once a week, so it helps to stock up.

Lentil pasta contains a whopping 19 grams of protein per serving, which is almost as much as a steak (3 oz of meat contains 22 grams of protein). This is one of the reasons this pasta is a must-have for anyone who’s vegan! It’s also high in fiber, with an impressive 8 grams per serving (anything over 5 grams is considered high-fiber, btw).

As you may have guessed, this recipe was indeed created by my super-cook husband, not by me. But I do give him feedback and tell him what changes to make until his recipes are exactly how I want them, so I’ll totally take the credit. 😉

It’s super easy to throw this Pasta Primavera together, and it’s customizable. Play with the spices, swap out whatever fresh vegetables you like/are in season, and get a little fiesty with it. Taste the food as you go, pair with a bottle of red wine, and prepare to satisfy even the pickiest of meat-eaters. This is one of those romantic meals that will impress the shit out of your S.O. but takes minimal effort (don’t worry, it’ll be our secret).

Pasta Primavera Recipe

Ingredients:

Makes 4-6 servings

• 3-4 Cups Red Lentil Pasta
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Green Bell Pepper
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Large Head of Broccoli
• 2 Large Handfuls of Brussels Sprouts
• 1 Bunch of Asparagus
• 2 Medium Zucchini
• 1 Large Yellow Onion, chopped
• 3-4 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
• 1/2 tsp Dried Parsley
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
• 1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary
• Ground Black Pepper to taste
• Red Pepper Flakes to taste
• Fresh Lemon Juice to taste
• Your Choice of Marinara Sauce
• Optional: Parmesan Nut Cheese

Directions:

Start by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees. While it warms up, wash and chop up all of your veggies into roughly uniform size (about the size of a quarter).

Throw all the veggies together in a large mixing bowl. Add the olive oil, minced garlic, and your spices. Stir it all together until the veggies are good and coated. (The amount of spices you use can be easily scaled to taste. We often don’t even bother measuring them out. Just sprinkle the amounts that feel right to you and adjust as needed. Be careful with the red pepper flakes if you’re sensitive to spicy food!)

Now that the veggies are all flavored up, toss them on a baking sheet and into the oven for 30 minutes.

Around now you can start preheating a large pot of water. The goal is to start boiling your lentil pasta at the perfect time so that it’s done just as the veggies come out of the oven. I’ve found getting the pasta in right around the 15 min mark is ideal. Make sure you don’t overcook it!

A few minutes before the veggies are done roasting in the oven, start heating up your favorite marinara sauce in a small saucepan.

When the veggies are done roasting, transfer them to a large mixing bowl, drain the pasta, then add it to the bowl as well. Toss it all together.

Plate your pasta and add your warmed sauce. Top it off with anything else you’d like!

Oh, and you’ll want to make some vegan Parmesan Nut Cheese to sprinkle on top:

I LOVE this recipe from Minimalist Baker, who’s one of my favorite vegan/gluten-free bloggers. The vegan cheese takes less than 5 minutes to throw together (seriously, you just need a high-speed blender or food processor and DONE) and tastes better than any other vegan parmesan cheese I’ve ever tried (and I’ve tried a lot). It takes the Pasta Primavera to the next level.

Enjoy!

Let me know what you think of this Pasta Primavera recipe if you try it out! Share your feedback with me in the Comments below.

xo,

Amy

This delicious and healthy stir-fried quinoa recipe is a staple in our house.

It’s SO GOOD. If you’re looking for a healthy, satisfying, super easy dinner to throw together quickly during the week (you know, when you’ve been going non-stop with work and have no time), this quinoa recipe is for you.

It’s also really freaking good for you.

Just how healthy is it? Let’s break it down:

• It’s vegan! Yup, I’m vegan. I have been for about 5 years now, and I’m never going back. I absolutely believe that a plant-based diet is the healthiest — but I also respect that we’re all different and it’s not my place to tell anyone else how to eat. However, I have to say, my energy levels are off the charts now that I eat only plants and I feel so much better. I mean, we all know we should eat more veggies, right? So an all-plant-based meal now and then is a great way to start to add more nutrition into your diet. Oh, but what about protein? I swear I might explode if I hear this question one more time. Here’s the answer:
• This has SO MUCH PROTEIN. Did you know broccoli has 4.2 g of protein per serving? Yes, plants have protein, too! And the real star of this recipe is the quinoa.
• Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is actually a seed that can be cooked (and tastes like) a grain. 1 cup of it has 8 grams, more than an egg. The best part? Quinoa is a COMPLETE protein, meaning it has all the essential amino acids our bodies need to get from food because they cannot produce it on their own. Meat is also a complete protein, and meat eaters like to use this as an argument against veganism. Many vegetables on their own are not complete, but you just have to be smart and eat a balanced diet. For example, beans and rice individually are not complete proteins, but if you eat them together they contain all the amino acids you need and so combined are a complete protein. Quinoa is just awesome because it’s one shot-one kill, giving you all the amino acids in one go.
• This recipe is also Gluten-Free. I’m not Celiac, but I choose to eat gluten-free because I have digestive issues if I eat gluten and, you know, I prefer to not be bloated. This quinoa recipe is great for anyone gluten-sensitive.
•  It has alllll the vegetables. As many as you want, in fact!

Now, today’s post is extra special, because I’m bringing on board a guest blogger: Matt, otherwise known as my husband.

Why? Well… I need to be honest with you guys. I love healthy food and am passionate about nutrition… but I’m just the worst cook. I’m sure Matt has a folder somewhere of all the screenshots he’s saved of text-message exchanges with me where I’m panicking over some idiotic kitchen crisis. I’ve been known to overcook frozen french fries, turn a stew inedible, and burn just about everything I make to the bottom of the pan.

Matt, on the other hand, is actually an incredible cook, and has far more patience than I, so it’s for both our sanity’s sake that he’s taken over the cooking duties in our house. I’m so grateful. And I gotta tell you guys — he feeds me like a queen. I’m completely spoiled at this point — like my dogs, who now immediately sit behind you when you make a smoothie because Matt always lets them lick the almond butter spoon.

At least we’re all well-fed.

Matt created this quinoa recipe, so I wanted him to be the one to tell you how to make it.

I can also attest that this quinoa recipe is actually something I can successfully make. It’s super easy. Trust me, if I can cook this, you can, too. So it’s just ideal.

Anyway, I’m going to let him take over now. Enjoy guys!

Hi everyone! I’m Matt, Amy’s husband/head cook of the house, and today we’re gonna learn how to make some bomb-ass quinoa.

If I were a food blogger, this is where I would tell a long and rambling four page story (constantly interrupted by pop-up ads), replete with enormous photos that take more time to load than the food takes to cook. Before I ever got around to telling you what you were cooking, you’d endure a Gilgamesh-length saga about how my semester abroad a decade earlier found me sweltering in the Mediterranean, nostalgic for the Fall, and reminiscing about quiet days on Lake Woebegone with my Grandpappy and coming home to Grandmama’s Tuscan Squash Medley.

Yeah, no.

I’m going to be giving you directions on how to make a Veggie Quinoa Stir-Fry.

So no story. And I’ll get to the ingredients and directions in a heartbeat. But I will offer a few guidelines about cooking and preparation first, mostly to convey that you can and should adapt this recipe to suit your tastes.

To me the mark of any really great recipe is its adaptability. Recipes that let you wildly adjust the flavor profile, heat index, hell even the ingredients you use… they’re more than just fun — they’re useful. In the real world our cravings and what we have available in the fridge can and do change from day to day. My wife is a spice fiend… except on those random days where she’s not. Bell peppers are my favorite veggie to throw in just about anything, but sometimes I also want to just clear out the produce drawer in the fridge and get everything we have cooked and on a plate.

Really great cooking is freewheeling and experimental art — it isn’t chemistry or a complicated math problem. If those are your jam, try baking. But if you’re a fan of improvisation then the stovetop is your stage to rock out on.

For the quinoa recipe template I’m about to give you, remember that it’s just that: a template.

If you have a low spice tolerance, consider omitting the red pepper flakes, or add them later on instead of sauteing them into the oils. Big fan of ginger? Double the amount you use. Hate asparagus? Cool, throw some snow peas in instead. There are very few wrong ways to cook a meal like this. (Like say, overheating the oils and burning the garlic/ginger; then serving that to the people you love to your eternal shame. That is most definitely the wrong way. Amy’s Note: This is me.)

Go over it once, think about the tastes you tend to like, and plan out your tweaks in advance. For this quinoa recipe in particular I find it’s a lot of fun to make this on a day I’m going to the farmers’ market in the morning and wing it based on the fresh veggies I can pick up. Have fun, and bear in mind this can make a healthy amount of leftovers.

Ingredients:

Makes at least 4-6 servings

• 3 Cups Quinoa
• 3 Cups Water or Low-Sodium Veggie Broth (Broth gives the quinoa a more savory flavor, water keeps the flavor more neutral and brings the nutty flavor of the quinoa forward.)
• 1 Tbsp Refined Coconut Oil
• 1 Tbsp Peanut Oil
• 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil (You can play with the proportions of the oils to suit your tastes. I personally like reducing the Sesame in favor of a little more coconut oil at times.)
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp Grated Ginger
• 1 Bunch Green Onions (Separate green from white. Mince the onion whites and chop the greens.)
• 3 Large Carrots, shaved into 2-3 inch strips
• 1 Bunch Asparagus, snapped/cut into 2 inch stems
• 1 Medium Head of Broccoli, chopped into nickel-sized pieces
• 2 Bell Peppers, any color (I recommend 1 Green and 1 Red) chopped into nickel or quarter-sized pieces
• 1/3 cup Tamari Sauce
• 1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
• Optional Veggies: Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, Snow Peas, Mung Bean Sprouts, Diced Radishes, Sliced Cucumber…go nuts! Add whatever you want! (Crisp and firm veggies tend to work best — squash like zucchini can produce mixed results.)

Before you get started, always take a breath and plan out the sequence of events in your mind. Then get ready to go to attack this noise.

Begin by pouring your dry quinoa onto a large frying pan and cranking up the heat till the shells start cracking. (Did you know you’re supposed to do this with quinoa? YEAH. Makes a difference.)  Don’t be a punk and burn it. Once the majority of the quinoa has popped and there’s a nice aroma in your kitchen, pour the quinoa into a strainer and rinse with water.

Once you’re done with this, put the quinoa and the water/veggie broth into a medium saucepan. Bring to a slow boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low and cover for about 15-20 min.

You’re going to chop up your veggies now while the quinoa soaks up the liquid, but check in on it and stir it periodically.  The goal is to have all the fluid absorbed, but not burn the quinoa. If you’re still prepping vegatables when the quinoa finishes, just remove it from the heat and let it sit in the pot.

Okay superstar, you’re chopping and dicing like righteous Iron Chef. I’m proud of you. Things are going to move fast from here, so don’t commit to starting the next phase until you’ve got everything at hand and prepped.

(It’s helpful to have a small bowl with the ginger, onion whites, garlic and red pepper flakes all together. In another larger bowl you can have all your other veggies together to make it easy on yourself, but I’m not here to tell you how to live your life.)

The leftovers for this work just as well cold as they do warm and will last several days in the fridge. Try it, play with it, and find ways to make it your own.

Let us know if you try out this recipe! Share your thoughts (and any links to your own vegan/gluten-free recipes if you have them!) with us in the Comments.

xo,

Amy + Matt

There are affiliate links in this post, all for stuff we both genuinely love and recommend, to help you get your grocery shopping done for this recipe so all you have to worry about are finding fresh veggies!