Guys. We are living during a freaking pandemic. Isn’t that crazy?! I don’t think I ever thought something like this would happen during my lifetime. Here we are, staying at home and living our day to day lives completely differently and unsure of when we will get a taste or normalcy again. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that we all need to eat. Even though we might be snacking on guilty pleasures more often than usual (totally acceptable), we still need to take care of ourselves and eat food that will support us throughout this period of chaos.
When I was studying nutrition, my professors would always praise canned sardines. This might seem weird, especially considering that we were taught the importance of seasonal, local and fresh foods. But canned sardines are actually a really great protein and a source of omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3’s help to support cognitive function, memory, fetal brain development, and may prevent and improve mood disorders. In addition to sardines being high in protein and omega 3’s, they are also high in calcium and vitamin D which work synergistically together to keep your bones strong, vitamin B12 that helps lessen fatigue and depression as well as vitamins E, A & K.
This Mediterranean tomato and artichoke pasta is easy to make, budget friendly, lovely to eat and nourishing to your brain. Make it tonight!
recipe notes:
- Omit the sardines to make this recipe vegan.
- I remove the spines from the canned sardines because I don’t like the texture of them (eating spines.. ew gross). I just pick them out with my fingers and discard them.
- Use gluten free linguine if necessary.
Mediterranean Tomato & Artichoke Pasta
- April 13, 2020
- 2-3
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Ingredients
- 1/2 package linguine noodles
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- half a medium onion, small dice
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes
- 1/2 tsp mineral salt
- 1 398ml can diced tomatoes
- 1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, quartered
- 2 C packed spinach
- 2 cans sardines, drained and spines removed
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 C basil, chiffonade
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Step 1
- Heat a large stock pot with seasoned water and cook noodles as per directed on package.
- Step 2
- In a large frying pan or stock pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onions and sweat 5 minutes. Add garlic, chili flakes, mineral salt and diced tomatoes. Continue to cook until most of the liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated (about 5 minutes), then add spinach and artichokes. Cook spinach until it has wilted, then add sardines, lemon juice and basil. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Step 3
- Toss pasta noodles in the frying pan and stir together gently.
- Step 4
- Serve hot and garnished with basil chiffonade.
