When I first moved in with B, we were babies at just 22. It was my first time living out of home so I was excited to set up home and feed my new man. It was how I showed love, it was something I was good at and something I loved to do. I also didn’t really know much (anything!) about good nutrition so our meals were light on veges but heavy on cream, cheese, oil and meat (and taste, according to B!)
Fast-forward 11 years (oh gosh we’re getting old!) and I still love to cook, still use it as a way to show my love and still think it’s something I’m pretty good at. I also know a LOT more about health, nutrition, balance and vegetables! So today on the blog, I’m sharing one of my favourite original recipes just healthified. I told my bestie about it cause she’s the one who introduced me to the original recipe and we used to LOVE making it for each other, and she laughed and told me I’d altered the recipe so much, it could hardly be counted as a healthier version of the same recipe! BUT, in my defence, the original recipes two main ingredients were chicken and sundried tomatoes and those both appear in this version! To be completely honest, the original is better (I’d be lying if I said swapping cream with yogurt makes a recipe better) BUT my updated version is still delicious and still packs in the flavour and nutrients. Hope you love it!
Healthy creamy sundried tomato pasta
serves six
What you’ll need…
* Olive oil
* 500g chicken breast, sliced into strips
* 2 x garlic cloves, crushed
* 1 x tin chopped tomatoes
* 1 tbsp x tomato paste
* 1 tbsp x mixed herbs
* 1 tsp x tumeric
* salt and pepper
* 1 x zucchini, sliced
* 1 cup x baby spinach, roughly chopped
* 1/4 cup x sundried tomatoes in oil, drained (place on paper towel and pat to remove excess oil) and thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup x natural Greek yogurt
* 2 tbsp x nutritional yeast (optional – I just found it gave it a cheesier taste as the yogurt can make the sauce a bit tart. Feel free to omit and add extra cheese on top if you’d prefer!)
* Buckwheat pasta (or pasta of choice) to serve
* Freshly grated parmesan, to serve
* Fresh basil, roughly torn, to serve
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Put a large pot of water on to boil for your pasta. Heat oil in a large frypan. Add the chicken and cook for a few minutes each side. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, mixed herbs, tumeric, salt and pepper and mix to combine. Add the zucchini, spinach and sundried tomatoes and cook for around five minutes.
Salt your pasta water then cook pasta according to the packet instructions then drain and set aside. Add the yogurt and nutritional yeast (if using) to the chicken mixture and stir to heat through – if you let it boil or heat for too long, the yogurt is likely to curdle and while it’s still perfectly fine to eat and will still taste great, it does alter the texture and make it a little grainy. Stir the pasta through the sauce, serve immediately and sprinkle with parmesan and basil.
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So there you go! I hope you love it! Yes, the original with extra semi-dried tomatoes, cream instead of yogurt and no vegetables is ALSO delicious but this one means you’re getting more nutrients in to your diet, more vegetables and that will make you happier and healthier all round!
Love Dan x
PS. If you make it, please tag me in your creations on insta – @lifelovetravelfood
lifelovetravelfood 