Fast(ing) Food - Spicy Lemon Butter Pasta

Day 73, Fast Day #35

Turns out I lost another pound, so I have surpassed the 20 lb milestone and am down 21 lbs  (9.5 kg) since I started alternate day fasting back in April. I also busted out the measuring tape and I have shed two inches from my waist and a bit over one inch from my hips. My slimmer self is now fitting into clothes that had magically "shrunk a lot in the dryer" over the years.

My copy of Wheat Belly should be arriving in the mail tomorrow. I would like to stop eating wheat products in the near future as an additional experiment, but that day is not today. Plus, I just looked at the list of food and alcohol supplies for my hen weekend at the end of the month, and there are some really tasty wheat products (vodka, croissants  muffins, more vodka, beer, more vodka). It will be an epic weekend at the shore with my girls with some epic feasts. 

While I had carbs on the mind, I worked on using up the last box of pasta in the house and threw together a savory and spicy pasta dish. 

Spicy Lemon Butter Pasta (Yields 3 servings) ~325 kcal/serving

Takes 10-15 minutes

I really enjoy pungent, strong flavored foods like mustard, garlic, olives, vinegar, and pickled vegetables. So, if you are not as fond of these sorts of strong flavors, I would recommend cutting the olives and garlic, then perhaps adding more lemon. Capers would be good instead of olives, but I unfortunately had none on hand tonight.

• 4 oz pasta (I used whole grain medium shells) ~400 kcal
• 2 tbsp olive oil ~250 kcal
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter ~102 kcal
• 1/4 large onion (I used a yellow onion) ~15 kcal
• 1 clove garlic, sliced thinly - optional ~4 kcal
• 8 kalamata olives, sliced - optional ~50 kcal
• 8 grape tomatoes, halved ~16 kcal
• 8 pieces of marinated artichoke heart (quarter pieces), chopped (I used Costco's) ~108 kcal
• 1/4 cup sliced banana pepper or peperoncinis (I used Mezzetta's mild pepper rings) ~10 kcal
• 2 cups arugula, chopped ~10 kcal
• 2 tsp lemon juice ~2 kcal
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar ~7 kcal
• pepper, to taste ~1 kcal
• Italian seasoning, 2-3 dashes (or mix of marjoram, thyme, oregano, and basil)
• red pepper flakes, to taste - optional for even more spiciness

Fill a large pot 2/3 full of water and heat to a boil. While the water is heating up, prep the veggies and garlic. Once the water is boiling, add pasta to cook for 6 minutes (slightly underdone, because they are going in a skillet later) with a little salt so they don't stick.

In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil on medium heat. Once hot, add in the onions.

Heat onions until they start to become translucent. Stir occasionally. Add in garlic.

After about a minute, add in the olives, artichoke hearts, and peppers. 

After a minute or so, add the lemon juice and balsamic vinegar.

Once the pasta has cooked 6 minutes, drain and toss the pasta into the skillet. Add arugula. once the arugula is wilting, season with pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes . Eat!

Fast(ing) Food - Quick Rainbow Couscous

Day 59, Feast Day #31

There are some days when you just don't figure out what you are making or eating for dinner until you open the pantry and fridge (there are periods in life where this happens everyday). This was one of those days. I found a leftover bag of couscous, part of a bag of frozen corn, a can of beans, some veggies and fruit from Zach and my weekend trip to Seattle's famous Pike Place Market, and cilantro from the planter outside our apartment. This is what I made:

I ate my own bowl with avocado on it before remembering to take a picture, whoops!

Quick Rainbow Couscous (Yields 4 servings) ~355 kcal/serving w/avocado, ~275 kcal w/o
Takes 10-15 minutes

I am calling this "rainbow couscous" because of the different colors of veggies and fruit in this dish. No unicorns, leprechauns, or Lisa Frank creations were harmed while making my dinner. Eating a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables is a good strategy for both children and adults to eat a variety of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.

• 3/4 dry instant couscous (the smaller sized kind) ~488 kcal
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth ~13 kcal
• 1 medium tomato, diced ~35 kcal
• 1/2 a bell pepper, diced (I used an orange one) ~25 kcal
• 1/4 of a onion, diced (I used a yellow one) ~15 kcal
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped ~2 kcal
• 1/2 cup of sweet corn (I used frozen) ~50 kcal
• 1 can of beans, drained and rinsed (I used red kidney, black would have made sense if I had some on hand) ~385 kcal

• 2 tsp of olive oil ~80 kcal
• 1 lime's juice ~5 kcal
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Adobo seasoning
• black pepper to taste
• your favorite hot sauce, to taste (I use Secret Aardvark Trading Co.'s Habanero Hot Sauce, because it is amazing)

• 1 large avocado, sliced ~322 kcal - optional

Put the broth in a medium to large pot. Throw in onions into pot. 

Bring broth and onions to a boil. Once at a boil, cover the pot and remove from heat. Let sit  covered for 5 minutes. Don't peek or your couscous won't cook right.

Heat your corn according to the package directions if using frozen like I did. Drain.

Mix olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, cumin, Adobo seasoning, pepper, and hot sauce together. Pour this sauce onto the couscous after the 5 minutes is over. Fluff the mixture.

Dump in the bell pepper, corn, tomato, cilantro. Mix together. 

Serve with sliced avocado on top. If there is any lime juice left, drizzle it on your avocado. Enjoy!