Easy Pesto Chicken Pasta | Healthy Recipe

Some days you just want a quick dinner that has lots of flavour and doesn't require much thought. I had one of those days this week and the result was delicious.

If you are able to boil water, slice vegetables and use a stove top you have all the skills for this dish.

I use wholemeal pasta in this recipe. Wholemeal pasta is made from the whole wheat grain, why is that so important you ask? When the wheat grain is refined down to the white flour a lot of the important nutrients are taken out, one of these nutrients is fibre. The fibre in foods help you feel fuller for longer (which is excellent for weight loss) and aids in digestion.

For this recipe I took a couple of short cuts. I used jarred pesto to save time and I also used poached chicken breast that I  already had in the freezer. You could also use a BBQ chicken (skin removed) or follow the instructions for poaching chicken in the recipe. 

I seem to always make chicken recipes, I do eat other meat. I promise to branch out and cook something different soon. All suggestions welcome.

Easy Pesto Chicken Pasta
Preparation time: 20 minutes (allow extra time if you are poaching the chicken yourself)
Serves: 6
Nutrition information: Energy 1544kj (369 cal) | Protein 26.3g | Fat 17.9g | Sat fat 6.2g | Carbs 22.4g | Sugar 3.1 g | Sodium 955 mg

Ingredients
500g wholemeal spaghetti 
180g haloumi cheese
400g chicken breast
200g cherry tomatoes 
1 avocado
1 bag spinach
200g roasted capsicum 
5 heaped tsp pesto

1. Cook the pasta by following the directions on the packet.

2. Place the chicken in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil. Once boiling turn down the temperature and simmer for 10 minutes covered. Once cooked put the chicken on to a plate to cool. Using 2 forks shred the chicken.

3. While the pasta and chicken are cooking cut the haloumi into 1 cm cubes. Heat a non-stick fry pan to a medium heat and add the haloumi. Cook the cheese until it is looking golden on the outside and is soft on the inside. Remove to a plate and set aside. 

4. Slice up the tomatoes, avocado and roasted capsicum. 

5. Once pasta is cooked drain it and add all the ingredients and mix though.

6. Serve and enjoy!

Next time you are leaning towards getting some fast food for dinner because you are short on time try this recipe. It is much better for you and will leave your stomach feeling satisfied, not heavy.

I hope you try this recipe, if you do tag Nutrition Insight (Nutrition Insight on Facebook, @Nutrition_Insight on Instagram and @Nut_Insight on Twitter).

Have a healthy weekend,
Bridge 

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