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Colorful Lemon Pepper Pasta – A Diet Food
October 13th, 2008 Madhuram Posted in Food Blog Events, Italian Cooking, Vegan Pasta Dishes | 
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Recently we had been to Olive Garden for the first time. I think they should rename it as “Salt Garden” instead. Right from the appetizer bread sticks to the main entree, every dish was very very salty. Even though I have to agree that we as a family have restricted our intake of salt and chillies/spicy stuff, the amount of salt used by the restaurant was way too high. The bread sticks, minestrone soup and the salad had the highest sodium content. When enquired the waitress about this, she told us that this is how it’s prepared everyday and it made us feel like we were from a strange planet. It really made us wonder if the average American is eating so much salt? But on the good side, the prices were definitely reasonable. With so much awareness about health in general and specific issues too, I cannot understand why they would use so much salt?
I don’t think that we will be going there again anytime soon for 2 reasons. a) it’s too far away from our place and b) we don’t want to consume so much salt. So in the meantime to satisfy my husband’s “pasta cravings”, I have to find pasta recipes which are easy to prepare, tasty and healthy as well. On the mission, I borrowed Betty Crocker’s Easy Everyday Vegetarian book from the library. This “Lemon Pepper Pasta” recipe caught my eye because it used very less ingredients and no cheese at all.
Since Divya’s Diet Foods event came to my mind, I decided to make it even more healthy by using whole wheat pasta instead of regular pasta and also reduced the amount of oil mentioned in the original recipe. Whole wheat pasta, asparagus and navy beans are rich in fiber, so we felt full very soon, ended up eating less. This dish is also protein rich, which again is key, when it comes to “diet food”. Whole wheat pasta does taste good, nothing like I dreaded and we also didn’t miss the cheese.
2. Meanwhile in a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
3. Add bell pepper, asparagus, lemon pepper, salt; cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are crisp-tender.
4. Stir in lemon juice and beans. Cook until beans are hot.
5. Add pasta; toss with vegetable mixture.
2. Grated lemon zest was used in the original recipe. Since I had the lemon pepper seasoning, I used it instead. So you can simply use a combination of salt, pepper and lemon juice to suit your taste.
3. I would also suggest using any other hard beans instead of navy beans. Navy beans are very soft and it becomes mushy when you toss the pasta a couple of times. I think either Kidney beans or Chickpeas would be perfect.
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October 13th, 2008 at 5:43 am
I just had pasta for lunch,but seeing this is makingme hungry again.
October 13th, 2008 at 5:55 am
Madhu, this is fantastic..here we get Durum wheat pasta.
The recipe looks lovely.
October 13th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Hi….
This sounds to be a healthy pasta dish. Looks great with all the vegetables. Nice pictures…
Lemon pepper is one of the best condiment for me. Love it so much. Love to add it to grilled corn.
October 13th, 2008 at 7:39 am
I have exactly the same reaction to Olive Garden, too much salt! Especially since they are making Italian food, with all those lovely herbs to choose from. I guess pouring on the salt is cheaper than chopping up some fresh basil.
October 13th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Yep, whole wheat pasta is pretty filling… and it has been quite some time since we switched to it.
October 13th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Pepper pasta looks yummy.. cant wait to try it.. its a lovely picture.
October 13th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Good one madhu…salty is when i make a mistake in my recipe…otherwise my recipes have less salt and spice too…typical tamil style
October 13th, 2008 at 9:44 am
hey this looks amazng and pastas are my favourite so will try soon!!!! thanx!!
October 13th, 2008 at 9:46 am
hey the pasta looks amazing will try soon!!! pastas are a favourite at my home!!! Thanx for this recipe!!
October 13th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Never been to olive garden before. Your experience tells me better avoid that! We are also not that salty persons.
Pasta looks so appetizing and being a pasta fan myself (only me in the family), your recipes tempts me even more! that book (Betty Crocker’s) got a place in my next library checkout list.
October 13th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Hey Madhu
We used to frequent Olive Garden a lot back in the 90’s when there were limited options for vegetarians living in the suburbs. Thankfully,we have better options now and we rarely go there any more. If I’m going to eat Italian I’d rather go to an authentic place or just make it myself. I like this lemon pepper version. Coincidentally, I just pick up the lemon pepper grinder from TJ’s yesterday.
October 13th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Looks too yummy Madhu..That too without cheese n using whole wheat pasta sure makes it healhty..thanks for sending this for the event MAdhu..
October 13th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I just love pasta food……its such a healthy version….love to have a bite…
October 13th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Lemon pepper sounds great in Pasta
October 14th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Cooooool
. A yummy recipe must try in weekends for lucnh 
. bookmarked 
October 14th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Looks so healthy and yummy…and I love the wheat color of the pasta…gonna try it soon…you rock !
October 15th, 2008 at 2:07 am
Wow looks simple and gr8. Bookmarked. Will try soon.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:50 am
I have never used Asparagus, this looks nice , will give it a try.
When steamed it tastes like beans. Recently I tried Asparagus paruppu usili from another blog and it was so good. Will blog about it shortly. You should try this too
http://www.egglesscooking.com/2008/06/09/asparagus-pepper-stromboli/
October 15th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Looks good with pepper… and I agree with you, most of the dishes at olive garden are salty.
October 17th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Hey Madhu,
Tried this last night and it was hit in our house. It was tangy and yummy. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Riya
Thank you very much Riya for trying out the recipe. I’m glad that you liked it.
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:14 am
Lovely recipe, Madhu! I haven’t been here for a while either! Thanks for stopping by!