Receta Clean Eating Black Bean Pasta Salad + A Giveaway!
I came across the most peculiar pasta I’ve seen yet. The only thing in the ingredient list is non-gmo black beans! So I thought I’d give it a whirl.
Mini Chef has recently decided that black beans are the best thing on earth, especially when heated with a little bit of butter. So when I saw this pasta, I knew I had a winner. And it was actually tasty!
I bring this up because, as he gets closer to first grade, I get closer to having to come up with something for lunch every day. Up until now, he has been out of school early enough to come home for lunch, so I haven’t had to worry about it. But this summer, he went to day camp for 2 weeks, and I had to pack him a lunch.
Every. Single. Day.
Well let me tell you, that two weeks was an eye opener in the lunch packing department! Talk about a mad scramble for food in the morning, and I don’t mean scrambled eggs!! Figuring out what to pack for him every day was a HUGE deal for me! I couldn’t even imagine what I’ll do this coming fall!
But then I remembered I have that snazzy little LaptopLunches lunch box. And let me tell you why I love it.
It FORCES me to keep variety in Mini Chef’s lunch.
It FORCES me to pack something other than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day.
It FORCES me to look at the balance in nutrition while preparing his lunch. So the chances of repetition in what I pack, and the chances of him getting bored with what I pack are greatly reduced. In fact, I’m pretty sure he would be eating those peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every single day if I didn’t have this little lunch box to inspire my creativity. It really is amazing what the right lunchbox can do!
My best tip for packing healthy and balanced lunches is to make sure that when you do your grocery shopping, you make sure that a good portion of what you buy comes from the produce section. Nothing else will give you the variety and healthy balance that fruits and veggies will give you. Add a little veggie dip, and the kids are sure to scarf them down. (Mini Chef LOVES dipping his veggies in ranch dressing!)
THE LUNCH BOX
The specific contents of the lunch box above are:
Clean Eating Black Bean Pasta Salad
Raw Broccoli with dip (not pictured)
Salad with Italian Dressing
Apple slices
I even have a shnazzy little carrying case with a strap and room for a water bottle!
CONTEST:
LaptopLunches is offering you a lunchbox of your choice to one lucky winner! (Must be a US resident) See rules below.
And if you’re interested in giving one of these lunch boxes a try, check out the LaptopLunches web site here.
The specific lunchbox pictured above is called “Primary”.
HOW TO ENTER:
RULES
You must be 18 to enter
You must be a US resident
Contest void where prohibited
Contest ends 8/24/14 at 10pm PST
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Clean Eating Black Bean Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dry, black bean penne pasta (affiliate link)
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped fine
- 1/2 cup chopped red onions
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1/4 cup fresh, chopped cilantro, loosely packed
- 1/2 a medium avocado
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Grated parmesan cheese for garnish
Directions:
Cook the pasta to package directions.
While the pasta cooks, sauté the garlic and onions in the olive oil until the onions are translucent and the garlic just begins to brown slightly.
Strain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl. (I also stored the finished pasta in this bowl)
Stir the cumin into the pasta.
Once the garlic and onions are done, quickly add the pasta and cherry tomatoes to the pan, keeping the heat at a medium level, and stir briefly to combine and coat the pasta in garlic and onions. (do this for no longer than 1 minute at most. You don’t want to cook the tomatoes.)
Return the pasta to the mixing bowl and stir in the cilantro, avocado, and season to taste with parmesan, salt and pepper.
Number of servings (yield): 6
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Nutritional Content:
(Data is for 1 cup)
Calories: 176
Total Fat: 4 gm
Saturated Fats: 1 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 9 mg
Carbohydrates: 26 gm
Dietary fiber: 7 gm
Sugars: 6 gm
Protein: 9 gm
Please Note: Nutritional information estimated at MyFitnessPal.com. Data may not be accurate and is subject to the availability of specific foods in their database. Where one ingredient is not listed, substitutions must be used. Therefore, you should not refer to this data as being exact. It’s more of a ballpark figure. The Gracious Pantry does not take responsibility for the inadequacies of the nutrition calculator used. This data is provided as a courtesy and general reference only. It is not exact.