Prawn & Sun-dried Tomato Pasta (GF)

Most clients I speak with have a steady pasta rotation as part of their weekly dinner meals. Classics are bolognese or simple passata. I also see a lot of pesto pasta. The thing with pasta is that its such a wonderful blank canvas for flavour. The ingredients we can add to pasta are endless, it just takes some exploring outside the box.

Pasta screams to be paired with some type of sauce or liquid that gives that wonderful slippery finish. From simple extra virgin olive oil and lemon, through to a punchy ragu there are endless options. Pasta can be enjoyed in the heat of summer with light pairings such as lemon, fennel and seafood through to a hearty winter pasta paired with mushrooms, salami and pecorino.

My passion for pasta is definitely driven by time in Italy, but also for encouraging others to embrace what pasta has to offer. There are too many people who still avoid pasta considering it ‘unhealthy’ or ‘too carb heavy’. The truth is the food that we put on our plate, including pasta dishes when done so with a macronutrient balanced approach, will always provide a healthy wholefood meal.

Where pasta gets a bad rep is the portion of the pasta to the vegetables and protein. If you love pasta and want to have it regularly as a meal the most nutritious way to do this is to pair it with protein, healthy fats and vegetables in macronutrient balanced portions. If you are unfamiliar with macronutrient balance you can read more about it in my book e.a.t. However for purpose of easy illustration some simple guidelines are:

• Protein = palm size
• Complex Carbs = fist size
• Healthy Fats = middle & index finger size
• Vegetables = 2 fist size

Lets look at some examples of some pasta meal combinations to bring this into reality:

Classic Bolognese

• 1 fist size portion cooked pasta
• 1 palm size portion of protein – aim for enough mince in your serving size to hit this.
• 2 finger size serve of fats – easily hit with the extra virgin olive oil to saute the vegetables and the natural fat in the mince.
• 2 fist size serves of vegetables – lots of vegetables added into the bolognese and/or a serve of leafy salad greens on the side.

Chicken Pesto Pasta

• 1 fist size portion cooked pasta
• 1 palm size portion of protein – aim for this in chicken.
• 2 finger size serve of fats – easily hit with the extra virgin olive oil in pesto.
• 2 fist size serves of vegetables – lots of fresh herbs in the pesto but also beef this up with adding some other vegetables (classics would be mushrooms, zucchini or cherry tomatoes). Otherwise again, add a simple side salad.

Hopefully that starts to give you the picture of how to build a macrobalanced meal around pasta.

Now, can we also just clarify the classic 80/20 concept of living life where on the odd occasion your past meal is not going to suit these ratios. A dinner party, a meal out, travel – you name it, these times happen. And that is fine! Eating with such strict confines 100% of the time is not what this is about. My professional and realistic advise is to do your best with majority of meals within the week to hit macro-balance, then allow moderation for flexibility in the times that count.

Common pasta recipe adaption questions

Like the idea of this Prawn & Sun-dried Tomato Pasta but would like to adapt it? Here are some suggestions:

• Pasta options – I’ve suggested a penne or spiral style pasta as it holds onto the sauce well. However, by all means you can use regular spaghetti pasta. I’ve used gluten free but you can also use regular wheat pasta if tolerated. You could even swap the pasta for homemade gnocchi.
• Prawn alternatives – not everyone loves prawns or seafood for that matter, so yes you can use an alternative protein. Chicken works well in this recipe. You could also swap the regular gf pasta for pulse pasta for a plant based protein alternative.
• Herb variations – I’ve mentioned in the recipe post that you can use any herbs besides oregano. Essentially you want a herb that will marry well with the flavours of the lemon, prawns and tomato. Some of my favourites would be basil, parsley, rosemary and even sage.

If you have any more questions abut modifying this recipe, be sure to leave a comment below. I am always happy to help out and find a ingredient sub or tweak to make it work for you. Did you know our clinic specialises in gut health nutrition? Learn more here.

Enjoy! x