Remember the whole anti-carb craze several years ago when it seemed like everybody was ditching the carbs? Thankfully that’s over because I love my carbs! The thing about carbohydrates though is to choose the ones that haven’t been refined. Sources of refined carbohydrates would be white breads, pasta, rice, and noodles. Luckily, there are versions of all of these foods that are considered unrefined carbohydrates which means they still contain the whole grain so that they’re higher in fiber and will help you feel full for longer.  Examples of these foods include whole-grain rice, whole-grain bread, and whole-wheat pasta.

Today’s Figure Friendly Recipe uses whole-wheat linguine and it’s prepared in a way that will satisfy your hunger and your taste buds! Enjoy…

–Healthy Whole-Wheat Linguine with Cherry-Tomato Sauce–

All you’ll need:

• 3 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• Salt, to taste
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 3/4 pound whole-wheat linguine
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

All you’ll do:

In a medium mixing bowl, add tomatoes, ¼ cup of the olive oil, garlic, olives, salt, and crushed pepper. Let mixture sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Cook linguine in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain into a large colander, then transfer to a large bowl.

Toss linguine with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Place the tomato mixture in a sieve over a bowl to drain excess liquid, then lightly toss the mixture with the pasta. Add the basil, toss again, and serve.

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This recipe will easily serve four people with a serving size of two cups per person.  Nutritional value is as follows:

518 calories, 19 grams of fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 74 grams carbohydrates, 18 grams protein, 2 grams fiber, 193 mg calcium, 4 mg iron, 472 mg sodium.

Source