Who doesn’t love ideas for fast, convenient meals that don’t sacrifice good nutrition? Well, you can find just such information on the Whole Foods Market blog (www.wholefoodsmarket.com). It was here that I found some great ideas for building easy-to-assemble-meals featuring a favorite food—pasta!

A favorite food because it’s easy to prepare, versatile, inexpensive, and super satisfying. Wouldn’t you say these virtues make it a perfect choice for busy weeknights?

And today, there’s such a wide assortment of pasta made from a variety of whole grains (spelt, whole wheat, kamut, rice, and even sprouted whole grains) and vegetables (spinach, tomato, and cauliflower), that the healthy AND delicious dishes you can come up with are limited only to your imagination.

All that’s needed to create a pasta dish that’s convenient and filled with nutrition is to be sure to keep in your pantry, fridge, and freezer stocked with:

• Jarred pasta sauce
• Boxed natural macaroni and cheese
• Ready-to-eat pre-baked, marinated tofu
• Assorted pasta shapes, couscous, and quick cooking polenta
• Precooked frozen rice
• Frozen vegetables
• Canned beans
• Canned tomatoes
• Jarred pesto sauce
• Natural cold-cuts
• Rotisserie chicken
• Salmon filets

With these ingredients on hand, you’re ready to launch into this 3-step “pasta-in-a-pinch” recipe approach:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Add grilled or roasted veggies then top with some protein such as beans, chopped cooked chicken (or ham, or ground beef, or sausage) or baked tofu.
3. Top with a favorite pasta sauce or a splash of quality extra virgin olive oil and your choice of seasonings. Among my favorites are sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, chopped chives, parsley, basil and a good grating of fresh Parmesan cheese.

Pasta can also be completely dairy free (no cheese), yet totally satisfying and delicious. Just load the marinara sauce with plenty of herbs and chopped vegetables, and no one will feel deprived of the cheese element. Pasta also does well when it’s kept simple. Walnut pesto pasta, spaghetti with garlic and extra virgin olive oil, or pasta made into a frittata are some examples of the simple technique. And by adding a hefty green salad along side the pasta dish, you really have a healthy and complete meal.

Finally, a good pasta meal is made great by the addition of fresh and colorful green, orange, red and yellow vegetables (baby spinach or arugula, a variety of colorful bell peppers, some broccoli, grated carrots or beets). Here’s just such a recipe; it features broccoli and penne pasta. It’s a good example of a delicious and healthy pasta dinner that you can make zippy quick (taken from the Whole Foods Market website—a big thanks to them!).

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