What's for Dinner, Honey?

This is an age-old question, asked by partners the world over and pondered by the cooks themselves. It's not easy coming up with food suggestions 365 days a year and it's even harder when you've had a long day at work. Add into the equation trying to eat a healthy diet and, after 8-10 hours of being hunched over a computer or teaching 35 ten-year-olds, the mind probably turns to mush-or fast food. But you deserve better than that, don't you?

So what is a cook to do? Yes, you can head to the drive-thru fast food joint, order a pizza, or even pick up a roasted chicken at the market (certainly the healthiest option), but if you are craving something different, something quick, and definitely something easy, you can stop by your local market, or even dig into your pantry and whip up a meal in no time.

I recently tested this theory, heading to the store at 5:30, spending 5 minutes gathering ingredients, and then heading home to cook. The meal centered around multigrain pasta, now stocked on supermarket shelves worldwide. Whole wheat pasta has come a long way, in flavor and in variety. A one-cup serving generally has 8 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber, and those brands including flax seed have an additional benefit of Omega-3 fatty acids, a triple whammy! The brand I purchased had 1.5 grams of fat per serving, none of which was saturated or trans fat, and calories came in at 190 per serving.

Whole wheat pasta cooks and serves the same way as regular pasta. It comes in different shapes and sizes; spaghetti, vermicelli, farfalle, and penne, among others. It cooks in the same amount of time as other dried pastas, about 9-12 minutes, depending on the brand and shape. You can serve your whole wheat pasta with all the usual toppings: Alfredo sauce, meatballs and red sauce, marinara. But there are also healthier, fresh, and quick options available to you. You can toss your pasta with a hard grated cheese (Parmesan, Romano, Asiago) and one of the following:

➢ fresh bruschetta topping (readily available in markets)
➢ fresh pesto
➢ minced garlic, chopped tomato, fresh cilantro or basil leaves
➢ chopped, roasted asparagus and a bit of diced ham
➢ fresh peas, chopped mint, lemon juice and olive oil

Or maybe you'd like to try something a bit different, like Mediterranean Pasta. The ingredients are readily available at most grocery stores and you can get creative with the ingredients you have on hand. Maybe throw in some sliced mushrooms, slivered bell pepper, fresh tomatoes instead of the sun-dried version, or a bit of dried red pepper flakes to spice it up. The idea here is to make it healthy and to make it easy. This recipe took all of about 10 minutes of active kitchen time, and from start to finish 25 minutes total (due to the water's boiling time). I was able to prep the ingredients, make a salad, and slice some bread, and still had time to sit down with a heart-healthy glass of red wine before it was time to assemble it all. So give it a try, let me know what you think. I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised at how good and how easy this is.

Mediterranean Pasta

1 pound whole wheat pasta (penne, farfalle, or other shaped pasta)
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained and roughly chopped
½ cup (4oz) sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and roughly chopped
6 oz. crumbled herbed feta
2 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh ground pepper
Salted water

Fill a large pot with water and two tablespoons salt and bring to a boil on high. Meanwhile, drain and roughly chop your ingredients and place in a large serving bowl. Cook the pasta according to package directions, then drain and add to serving bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, generously grind fresh pepper on top, toss well, and serve.

Enjoy!