Veggie-Packed Pasta with Mini Sweet Peppers 🌶️🍝
This veggie-packed pasta with Pure Flavor’s Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers is healthy, delicious, and filling. It’s a versatile recipe so you can add different kinds of vegetables you might already have on hand.
New year, new goals. A new year has kicked off and this is the perfect time to set some health goals to make sure you are staying on track with your wellness journey. As a personal trainer, I have seen a lot of discouraged clients when progress does not come quick enough. This frustration causes many to quit before they even give themselves a chance to succeed in accomplishing their health goals.
We all want to accomplish our health goals, however, many of us have done it the wrong way. Building a habit or sticking with it can be of more difficulty if we do not know how to set ourselves up for success. 81% of New Year’s Resolutions fail over a two-year span.1 Wonder why that is? Most people believe that motivation and will-power are the only traits needed in order to create a habit; but motivation and will-power will not always be at their peak, they will go up and down over time. It is very easy to get demotivated when we don’t see results right away.
This 2023 we are focusing on resolutions that create long-lasting habits, not just quick fixes. Our wellness journey never ends, it is something we will have to work on our whole lives. Which means we are here for the long-run.
When creating New Year’s health goals, focus on adding and not subtracting. What do I mean by that? Instead of trying to change everything in a day or a week, start by adding small actions into your already existing routine that improves your quality of life overtime. One of my health goals this year is to include veggies into every meal. This subtle change in a diet brings many benefit and are an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. They are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which can help to protect against a variety of diseases. They are also a good source of fiber, which helps to keep the digestive system healthy and promotes feelings of fullness.
Knowing where your vegetables are from is important for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it ensures that you are consuming safe and healthy produce that meets food safety standards. It also allows you to make informed choices about the environmental impact of your food choices. Additionally, knowing where your veggies are from allows you to make sure you are getting fresh and most nutrient-dense produce possible. This is why I incorporate Pure Flavor greenhouse-grown fresh fruits and vegetables into my every day meals.
Adding veggies to every meal is a simple change that goes a long way. Remember we want to focus on making small but steady progress. BJ Fogg, a behavior scientist at Stanford University and author of the new book Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything, says that the idea is to make behavior changes so small that they are easy to do. For example, instead of following a strict meal plan add veggies to every meal. When you try to chew more than you can eat, you can easily end up feeling frustrated and can even feel so defeated that you stop trying to adopt the new habit. When you start small you are setting yourself up for success in the long run. Make it easy enough to where even when you are not feeling as motivated you can continue to get it done.
There are many ways in which you can eat Pure Flavor’s veggies. They can be a fresh and easy snack for dipping into ranch, hummus or other dips. They can be stuffed with cheese and ground beef as a light meal or appetizer. One of my favorite ways to add veggies into my meals is by making a veggie-packed pasta featuring Pure Flavor’s Aurora Bites Mini Peppers. This pasta is not only delicious but also very filling. You will have to give it a try and start your 2023 on the right foot. Making subtle changes in what you eat in a day - like eating more veggies- can make a big difference to your overall health and well-being!
Veggie-Packed Pasta
total time: 30 min cook time: 20 min
prep time: 10 min servings: 4
INGREDIENTS
-8oz uncooked fusilli or penne pasta
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 tbsp minced garlic
-1 tbsp unsalted butter
-1 tsp oregano
-1 tsp thyme
-1/2 tbsp of lemon juice
-1/2 tsp salt and black pepper
-2 cup chopped eggplant
-1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
-1 cup chopped Pure Flavor® Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers
-6 oz green beans
-6 oz burrata
-2 tsp fresh parsley for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Add green beans 3 minutes before pasta is cooked. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain pasta.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggplant and stir until tender, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Then, add minced garlic.
3. Add pasta and beans. Add pasta water, a little at a time. Stir in tomatoes, mini bell peppers, spices, salt and black pepper.
4. Melt unsalted butter on top of pasta. Once melted, top with burrata and pepper. Garnish with fresh parsley.
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