Lentil Penne with Avocado Sauce

Hello everyone! I have been slacking on posting lately, but need to get back in the swing of things. A few weeks ago I came across Pinch Of Yum's  Burst tomato and Zucchini Spaghetti with Avocado Sauce recipe. The nutrition tip at my gym for the week was to try a bean pasta, whether it be lentil, edamame, black bean etc, so I thought why not make the sauce and pair with the red lentil pasta I bought at the store earlier in the week. Lentil Pasta is not only great for those with allergies or gluten intolerance, its also a great source of protein and fiber.

I started by making the avocado sauce. You will need the following:

• 1 avocado
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup fresh flat leaf parsley
• 3-4 green onions (green parts)
• 1 garlic clove
• juice of 1 lemon
• freshly ground pepper to taste

I add all the above ingredients to my food processor and pulsed it until the sauce was smooth and creamy. I then set this aside.

I wanted to add some more veggies to my dish since I was skipping out on the zucchini noodles. I decided to add some cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. In a pan I tossed some olive and garlic. I then added a basket of mushrooms and cooked those, half way through I added some cherry tomatoes and cooked those until they began to pop.

Meanwhile I boiled water with some pink himalayan salt and added the red lentil penne. After this was cooked I drained the pasta and added it back to the pot holding the pasta. I added the Avocado Sauce and tossed them together. I then added these to a bowl and topped the pasta with the tomato and mushrooms. My boyfriend added parmesan while I stuck with a dairy free meal.

Salmon Burgers With Thai Slaw

It looks like I have FINALLY made the decision to start posting on my blog. I have had this URL since January. I want to use this as a platform to share recipes, work outs, insight etc that I am enjoying at the moment. My gym, KAIA Fit, started a new session this week and I promised to share one recipe a week.

I made this easy meal after work last week. Its simple, quick and tasty. I was inspired by Nutmeg Nannny's Thai Chicken burger recipe. I made my life a little easier by using pre-made salmon burger patties from Trader Joe's, paired with a Thai Slaw and topped with a dollop of Sriracha mayonnaise and avocado.

My boyfriend and I have been working on incorporating healthier meals into our life and cooking at home instead of running down the street for Thai Food or a burrito bowl. He LOVED this, in fact he is at the store right now to get the ingredients for the slaw to prep for his lunch this week. He is going to throw a patty in the foreman and scarf this on his lunch break while he is home letting our fur baby, Ranger out.

Please tweak this recipe and let me know your new ideas. I think it would be great with chicken or turkey patties, adding thai basil or cabbage to the slaw or on a brioche bun!

Ingredients:

Two Trader Joes Salmon Patties

Slaw:

Bag of Broccoli Slaw

One Jalapeño

Two Tablespoon of Minced Cilantro

Two Tablespoon of Minced Mint Leaves

Dressing:

1/4 Cup Peanut Butter

Two tablespoons brown sugar

Two tablespoons olive oil

Two tablespoons rice vinegar

Two teaspoons coconut aminos

One teaspoon fish sauce

Two Teaspoons Minced Ginger

Sriracha Mayo:

Two tablespoons Mayonnaise

Two teaspoons Sriracha 

Avocado

I started by making the dressing. I have a new favorite kitchen gadget, the Cuisine Art Magic Stick. I used the whisk attachment to mixed all the ingredients together, and next time I will use the food processor for the ginger. I mixed the dressing and set it aside. 

Next I made the slaw, I chopped the cilantro, mint and jalapeño with the Magic Sticks food processor attachments and threw this all in a bowl and poured the dressing over the top. I set it in the refrigerator to marinate.

Next I cooked the salmon patties on our George Foreman. Next time I will brush the grill with some coconut oil as the patties were sticky.

While those were cooking I quickly mixed together some Sriracha and Mayonnaise. My boyfriend E and I like our food spicy, so feel free to add more or less.

I then plated the meal by placing the slaw on the plate and rested the salmon burger on top. I added a dollop of the Sriracha mayonnaise and half an avocado to the top.