I love anything green. It’s my favourite colour. From the bridesmaid’s dresses in my wedding to anything St. Patrick’s day. Green, Green GREEN!! I LOVE green and this pasta dish is no exception to the rule.
Not only do I love the colour green, but you can usually get a sense of the nutritional value of a vegetable by its green colour. Asparagus is:
- Low in calories, only 20 per 5.3 oz. serving, less than 4 calories per spear.
- Contains no fat or cholesterol.
- Very low in sodium.
- A good source of potassium
- A source of fiber (3 grams per 5.3 oz. serving
- An excellent source of folic acid
- A significant source of thiamin
- A significant source of vitamin B6
- One of the richest sources of rutin, a compound which strengthens capillary walls.
And to compliment that asparagus, avocados contain high amounts folate, and potassium. Avocados are also higher in potassium than bananas are, and will fight high blood pressure, cancer, and heart disease. avocados contain good fats and are extremely high in monosaturated fats. These fats will improve the healthy fats levels in the body and help control diabetes.
Avocados are high in fiber. Most people do not get enough fiber in their daily diet-avocados contain about 10grams of fiber per one avocado.
Avocados maximize nutrient absorption from vegetables. Eating a few slices of avocado with a salad promotes the body’s ability to absorb health-promoting carotenoids which provide the body with much-needed nutrients.
Avocados can actually be used to promote a healthy weight. Despite its high caloric and fat content, this fruit can be helpful in promoting weigh management. This is because its monosaturated fats speed up metabolism, as well as give the person eating it a feeling of fullness quicker and thus, reducing the temptation to eat foods high in sugar or carbohydrates.
This dish is both creamy and delicious and loaded with nutrients. Modified from the recipe on one of my favourite food blogs http://ohsheglows.com/ this dish still whips up in about 15 minutes flat.
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Serves: 2
1 medium-sized ripe Avocado, pitted
1/2 lemon, juiced
2-3 garlic cloves, to taste (i’ve used 3 cloves, but I I love garlic as much as I like green, so you could also take it down a few notches here if you are a vampire)
1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1/4 cup Fresh Basil
2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 servings/6 oz of your choice of pasta (I used kamut udon noodles)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
about 10 spears asparagus sliced thinly
1/4 cup pine nuts for sprinkling
Bring water to a boil stove-top to cook the noodles.
Place everything in a food processor except for the asparagus (and the noodles). Blend until creamy. If you need a little bit extra liquid to loosen the mixture (it should be thick and creamy, but not stiff) you can add a bit more lemon juice.
Boil the noodles according the the package directions. If you use the soba noodles as I have, they only take about 6 minutes. Throw the asparagus into the boiling water with the noodles when there is about 3 minutes left in the noodle cooking time.
Drain the noodles and asparagus and toss with the sauce. Sprinkle with pine nuts.
Garnish with fresh basil and serve with garlic toast. Heaven.
*note: this pasta actually makes about 3 servings if you are having bread with your meal. It does save in the fridge for about a day before it starts to lose it’s green and turn a off-green (but it still tastes great as leftovers the next day!)
