Hello Dear Readers,
Today my vegan husband is competing in his first half-iron man of the season. Last night, with optimal nutrition and sustained energy in mind, I made this flavorful, carb-loaded, pre-race pasta bowl. For anyone looking for alternatives to the familiar creamy mouth feel of traditional cheesy pastas, this purely plant based dish is one to try!
Pre-Race Creamy Mushroom Pasta Bowl
Serves 4-6 people
1? cups raw whole cashews
? cup peeled chopped carrots
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
? cup nutritional yeast (see photo and discussion below)
1? teaspoons sea salt
? teaspoon garlic powder
? teaspoon onion powder
pinch of cayenne (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups white mushrooms sliced, stems removed
8 oz. box quinoa (or whole wheat) pasta
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the cashews in a bowl and add water to cover. Let soak for a few hours and then drain and set aside.
- Place carrots in a small saucepan, cover with water and boil until tender. Drain and set aside.
- Combine the cashews, carrots, lemon juice, tomato paste, nutritional yeast, and spices in a blender. Add 1 cup of water. Process until very smooth.
- Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet or saucepan. Cook mushrooms over medium high heat until most of the water has been released and mushrooms are tender.
- Boil pasta according to directions on box. Drain and set aside.
- Combine pasta, sauce and mushrooms. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Bake in preheated oven until hot (about 15 minutes).
- Garnish with fresh parsley (optional).
This is nutritional yeast. It is high in B12 and a favorite staple of vegan cuisine. Bragg is one of a variety of brands.
So, now I?ll talk nutrition. How does this dish measure up? For those of you who know me, I like to address common myths such as: 1) It?s hard to get iron and protein from a vegan diet and 2) it is necessary to consume dairy to obtain calcium. Notice from the chart below that a serving of this decadently rich pasta is not only rich in protein, calcium and iron but is low in calories and totally devoid of cholesterol as well. That will ALWAYS be the case with vegan dishes as plants do not contain cholesterol. Additionally, plants are a wonderful source of ?good? carbs, dietary fiber and are rich in phytonutrients and antioxidants as well.
| ? | Creamy Mushroom Pasta Bowl |
| Protein (grams) | 13 |
| Calcium (mg) | 80 |
| Iron (mg) | 4.8 |
| Cholesterol (mg) | 0 |
| Calories (kcal) | 301 |
Enjoy!
Any questions or comments, send them my way…I would love to hear from you.
With warmest wishes xoxo,
Diana
2015 Beantown Kitchen- Reprint only by permission of the author
Hi Diana, just stumbled across your blog and like it very much.
I would love to make the creamy mushroom pasta bowl, but for some reason some of the quantities of the ingredients are not displaying right (like “1? cups raw cashews”).