Pesto Pasta with a Twist

According to Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation," Americans spend over $110 billion on fast food.  According to a study published by the Journal of Public Health Policy portion sizes offered by fast food chains are two to five times larger than when first introduced.  Is it any wonder then that a study by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHAMES) concluded that from 1960 to 2006, the prevalence of obesity increased from 13.4% to 35.1% in U.S. adults age 20 to 74? Also, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), diabetes, heart disease, and weight-related cancers are on the rise and obesity is epidemic. 

One of the culprits in American diets is the consumption of too much trans fat.  Trans fats are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid.  Trans fats create a longer shelf life for many food products but are murder (ha-ha) on your arteries! Trans fat lowers your good cholesterol and raises your bad cholesterol. In other words, trans fat clogs up your arteries. The term that will identify trans fat in food products is "partially hydrogenated."  Even if the nutrition facts on the back or front of a food product claim "0 grams trans fat," food companies are allowed to make that claim when the product has > .5 mg of trans fat.  The recommended daily allowance for trans fat is 2 mg.  You have the right to request nutrition facts from restaurants. In fact, many restaurants publish their nutrition facts.


Here's a heart-healthy version of Pesto Pasta with a sneaky addition of pureed broccoli!

For Pesto:
1 cup fresh basil
1 cup fresh Italian parsley
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup pine nuts (cashews, walnuts, or almonds can be substituted)
1/2 tsp, lemon zest
10 oz. broccoli florets
1/2-3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt/Pepper to taste

Steam broccoli florets until softened but still green.  You will have to watch carefully to make sure you don't steam the broccoli too long so it retains it's fresh green color.  Transfer to food processor and add remaining ingredients.  Puree for at least 1 minute.  Set aside.

*For those with nut allergies, chick peas are an awesome, healthy substitution for nuts!


For Pasta:
10-12 oz. pkg. whole wheat pasta
1/2 medium onion, coarsely diced
4 tsps. olive or canola oil
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (I prefer the ones in the package by Bella Sun Luci)
1/2 package Tofurky, vegan sausage- Italian flavored.
1/2-1 cup Kalamata pitted olives, optional.  Make sure you slice them to get rid of any pitts.

Boil pasta until desired texture is reached. Drain pasta and place in large bowl.  Stir in 1-2 tsp. olive oil into pasta so it doesn't stick.  Slice Tofurky sausage and saute' in 2 tsps. oil with onion and sun-dried tomatoes in fry pan until Tofurky starts to brown.  Add to pasta and toss in Kalamata olives.  Stir in pesto and serve warm.

This is a totally vegan dish but diced baked chicken breast is delicious in this recipe too!