The Veganista Diaries: You Can't Take the Brooklyn Outta The Girl

It's no secret I love my pasta (have we met?) As many of you know, I grew up in an Italian-American family in Brooklyn. Pasta happened almost every single day in our home. Most of the time it was loaded with delicious, salty, grated parmesan cheese. And while it tasted wonderful, it didn't exactly sculpt my thighs. 

Now that I'm eating a plant-based diet, I've declared that I am not giving up my pasta, even though I am choosing not to eat cheese (notice how I said choosing?) I'm on a mission to come up with equally mouth-watering pasta dishes that are cruelty-free and a hell of a lot healthier. Last night, I made my first dish.

Truffle oil makes everything better, non?

I sauteed the broccoli and garlic over medium-high eat and added a little water since I was using frozen organic broccoli. I let that simmer and steam until the broccoli was tender, then removed the cover and tossed in the sun-dried tomatoes. I bought them jarred in oil because I didn't do a pasta sauce, and I wanted to use the oil for flavor. 

While that was all goin' down, I made my whole wheat pasta. After experimenting with almost every brand in the book, I've come to love Barilla Plus (in the yellow box). It's high in protein and less grainy than the others.

Voila!

Once the pasta was done (about 12 minutes -- I don't like mine too al dente), I tossed everything together in the same frying pan I sauteed the veggies in. I tossed in a drizzle of truffle oil (be very careful -- this stuff is potent, you literally need a drizzle), and a little oil from the sun-dried tomatoes, and it was all done! Seriously, so easy.

One major observation I'm making from all of this is that I now feel energized after I eat. In the past, I always felt ready for a nap. I was tired and bloated; in a total food coma. Now my husband compares me to our shih tzu, who gets a burst of energy after eating his food and races around the house with his stuffed raccoon. Luckily I haven't done that  - yet - but it's still early.

Ingredients:
2 cups organic broccoli (I used frozen)
1 cup of jarred sun dried tomatoes (reserve 1 tbsp oil from jar)
1 pound of Barilla Plus whole wheat pasta
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon of white truffle oil

Cheers!