No-Idea-What-To-Make Pasta


Like I said yesterday, I didn’t have a plan when I went grocery shopping, so once again I just threw some things together for dinner. This time I made gluten-free rice pasta and veggies. I sautéed shallots and arugula with a can of chopped tomatoes and a can of white beans and then added some chopped olives.

I think arugula is an underused veggie. Believe it or not, it is a really good source of protein and calcium! It is also high in vitamins B6, A, C and K as well as folate, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, copper, phosphorus and manganese. It does have a bit of a bitter taste, but I’ve found that a little lemon juice usually takes the bite out of it.

Artichokes, Fennel and Olives over Penne


This recipe is from Clean Food by Terry Walters, and I was interested in making it because it uses veggies I don’t usually cook with. It’s made with olive oil, onion, garlic (I substituted a shallot for the garlic), artichoke hearts, olives, fennel, arugula, diced tomatoes, parsley and lemon juice and then is served over penne pasta. (I used rice pasta, of course.) I was a little worried that the strong flavors of the fennel and arugula would make this dish taste really potent, but the lemon juice sort of neutralized the flavors and held everything together nicely. Dennis and I really enjoyed this meal, and I will undoubtedly make it again. I think next time I will add some chickpeas or cannellini beans because they will definitely go nicely with the dish and will add some extra protein.

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Dr. Fuhrman