8 min meal: Rosemary Chicken Pasta

It’s been a long time since I blogged….like a LONG TIME. Nearly a year I think. Le Sigh. But, sadly not because I haven’t been making meals or writing blog posts, but simply put: they never made it online. The time it takes to edit pictures, video, and blogs just became too much for me to do while I was in the process of doing three fellowships. I just couldn’t. But, now it’s 2016, I have to get back on the bandwagon again. So, I thought I’d start with something simple: Rosemary Chicken Pasta.

I love one-pot meals. I love meals that take less than 10 minutes to make. I love meals that allow me to use leftovers in my fridge. THIS is all of that! Simple, Fast, Nutritious and Delicious! Most of the ingredients are just chopped and dropped into a bowl (Onions, Spring onions, Tomatoes, and Olives) while I cook my pasta. You can add any veggies you have in your fridge for this: Artichoke, Spinach, Garlic and Zucchini come to mind. Speaking of Zucchini you could even use them as the noodles instead of pasta if you have julienne cutter or a box grater.

I had some left over Costco rotisserie chicken in the fridge, so I cut that up too. But, I could have just as easily used some chicken tenders that I cooked up super quick on the stove if I had to. Or Shrimp would cook up nicely as well, but would use less rosemary/dill and add a dash of sesame instead.

When the Pasta was 90% done, I poured out most of the water and added all the other ingredients to the pot. I allowed all the flavors to mix together and cook down to make a light sauce. I did not need to add any flour or oil to this. It was very light!

And, that was it really. Simple, nutritious and delicious!

Bon Appetit.

Bianca

Rosemary Chicken Pasta

1 cup of pasta

½ cup of cooked chicken

½ cup White Onion

½ cup Spring Onion

¼ cup Grape Tomatoes

¼ cup Kalamata Olives

1 tbsp Rosemary

1 tbsp Dill

1 tsp Poultry seasoning

1 tsp   Garlic Powder

Nutritional Tidbits

ONIONS: are rich in sulfur and contain chromium, Vitamin C, dietary fiber, manganese, molybdenum, Vitamin B6, tryptophan, folate, quercetin, potassium, phosphorus, phyto-nutrients, and copper. And, we all have heard how great sulfur-rich garlic is for our cardiovascular health but, it also has Anti-inflammatory, Anti-bacterial, Anti-viral properties and helps with iron metabolism.

CHICKEN: Tryptophan, B3 (niacin), Protein, Selenium, Vitamin B6, Phosphorus. People who are meat eaters, but are looking for ways to reduce the amount of fat in their meals, can try eating more chicken. The leanest part of the chicken is the chicken breast, which has less than half the fat of a trimmed Choice grade T-bone steak. The fat in chicken is also less saturated than beef fat. However, eating the chicken with the skin doubles the amount of fat and saturated fat in the food. For this reason, chicken is best skinned before cooking. Selenium is of fundamental importance to human health. It is an essential component of several major metabolic pathways, including thyroid hormone metabolism, antioxidant defense systems, and immune function. Accumulated evidence from prospective studies, intervention trials and studies on animal models of cancer have suggested a strong inverse correlation between selenium intake and cancer incidence. Chicken is a very good source of the cancer-protective B vitamin, niacin. Components of DNA require niacin, and a deficiency of niacin (as well as other B-complex vitamins) has been directly linked to genetic (DNA) damage. A four-ounce serving of chicken provides 72.0% of the daily value for niacin. Trytophan has gotten a bum rap for making us tired during Thanksgiving Turkey, but the reality is it’s the over imbibing and over eating not the turkey making you tired. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid. In addition to its role in protein synthesis, it is the precursor of the neurotransmitter serotonin and of B3 niacin.

TOMATO: Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Molybdenum, Potassium, Manganese, Dietary Fiber, Chromium, Vitamin B1, B3, B2, B5, and B6, folate, Copper, Magnesium, Iron, Phosphorus, Vitamin E, Tryptophan, Lycopene and protein. In contrast to many other food phytonutrients, whose effects have only been studied in animals, lycopene from tomatoes has been repeatedly studied in humans and found to be protective against a growing list of cancers. These cancers now include colorectal, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers. Organic ketchup delivers three times as much of the cancer-fighting carotenoid, lycopene, as non-organic brands. Tomatoes and broccoli-two vegetables separately recognized for their cancer-fighting capabilities-are even more successful against prostate cancer when working as a team in the daily diet, shows a study published in Cancer Research. Niacin has been used for years as a safe way to lower high cholesterol levels. Diets rich in potassium have been shown to lower high blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease.