I have a plethora of childhood memories centered around being held hostage at the dinner table, arms crossed, locked in a staring contest at an ever colder growing pile of some green mush, refusing to eat it. I’m not sure why my parents had this occasional line in the sand forcing me to eat some over-boiled harsh veggie. I wasn’t a picky eater refusing dinner every night, and no amount of veggie sides would counteract the amount of junk food we kept in the house.
No matter, every so often I would find myself in a stand off not being allowed to leave the table until I choked down a frigid serving of an unidentified boiled green substance. If you find yourself in such a battle with your kids, ask yourself when the last time was that you forced yourself to eat foods you didn’t like or did not taste good.
I get it, some of you deal with kids that refuse everything but Cheetos and cheese pizza. The easiest way to get anyone, kids included, to eat healthy is to make it think it was their idea in the first place. Deception is always an option. The key to making it stick is to serve palatable veggies that taste good and look appealing, versus something that looks like it be a future villain in a TMNT cartoon.
Most kids, and adults for that matter, like Italian food. Heart of Palm noodles is a very easy way to swap in some hidden veggies in place of regular pasta. It’s actually easier to prepare than regular noodles, as it’s virtually impossible to overcook them.
For us adults, one serving has only 20 calories and 4 grams of carbs. A serving of “normal” pasta has 220 calories and 43 grams of carbs. That swap alone goes a long way in reducing the impact Italian style dinners have on your bottom line, so to speak.
The real benefit is fiber, which is the main weapon against all things detrimental to health, and what most adults are severely lacking in daily consumption. Making heart of palm noodles is as easy as opening a package, rinsing, and heating in some boiling water. It doesn’t get much easier than that:
Cauliflower garlic bread also is a great way to hide extra veggies, and I will never stop insisting this version is better than the bread version. Make this recipe along with your heart of palm pasta and your kids and possibly spouse won’t even know they are eating foods that they hate.
Lemon, chicken, and peas are best friends that play well together in a pasta dish. Add some grass fed dairy for a delicious quick alfredo sauce and you have an Italian dinner that won’t leave you looking like an extra on The Sopranos.
Lemon Chicken pasta with grilled asparagus
Ingredients:
4 pastured chicken breasts
2 packages Heart of Palm noodles
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup grass fed heavy cream
Zest of one lemon plus juice
2 tbsp grass fed butter
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 bunch fresh asparagus
Sea salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp olive oil
Instructions:
Wash and dry the asparagus. Trim off the woody bottom stalks, about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. Prepare a cast iron grill with some non stick spray and then sprinkle sea salt or kosher salt in the grooves to both season the food and allow for easier clean up. Line up the dry asparagus on the grill:
Drain, rinse and add noodles to a pot with enough water to cover and set over high heat to bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer after boil is hit. Trim and season the chicken breasts with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. If you use the normal prison house chicken, you will need to pound them out flat for even cooking. Grill or pan cook 6 to 7 minutes per side, or until 170 degrees is hit. Cover with foil and rest while the rest of the dinner cooks. When alfredo sauce is done, slice thin on the bias:
In a large pan, melt the butter and then add the heavy cream. Sprinkle the lemon zest in and then slowly add the Parmesan cheese in batches, stirring constantly until melted. Once it is melted, add the frozen peas:
Set the cast iron grill over two burners set to high and grill the asparagus, around 4 minutes per side. Turn off the heat after both sides are charred and then drizzle with olive oil and fresh cracked pepper:
Drain and add the noodles to the sauce, then top with the sliced chicken”
Serve with cauliflower garlic bread and enjoy:
See the list of all Jason Murphy’s recipes at www.mysaline.com/jason-murphy.