Meatless Monday - Week 3

Before I even get into my recap of Meatless Monday, I must acknowledge the tragedy that happened in Boston yesterday.  My heart goes out to all the people impacted by this senseless event.  It's sad that it takes something like this to remind us how precious life is.  It's a reminder to be grateful and take nothing for granted and it's our duty to live our lives this way because we still can.  Thank you.  

On a lighter note, another successful Meatless Monday in the Gesellchen House!  I wanted to make a pasta dish so of course I searched Pinterest for the perfect recipe.  I found so many decadent creamy pasta recipes that looked amazing.  But the point of Meatless Monday is to make healthier choices, so I opted for a more nutritious dish that didn't have butter as the main ingredient   Which lead me to this...Creamy Avocado Pasta from the Flourishing Foodie Blog.  The "creamy" in the title caught my attention and as an avocado lover, this sounded like the recipe for me.  The creaminess came from the avocado and although avocados are high in fat, it's a healthier option than butter and whole milk.    

Creamy Avocado Pasta topped with mozzarella.

I added some fresh asparagus to the pasta because I had some to use up.  A great addition for taste and nutrients.  I also sprinkled basil on the tomatoes as they roasted.  Tomato without basil is just wrong in my opinion. The recipe was very simple and didn't take much time to make.  The biggest time consumer was roasting the tomatoes, it takes about an hour.  That's something that could easily be done ahead of time and then just heated up and tossed in at the last minute for a quick weekday meal.  Next time I make this, and there will be a next time, I will use a little less lemon juice.  I loved tasting the lemon in the sauce but 2 Tbsp was a little overpowering for my taste.  

Two more Monday's left in our little challenge.  I'm thinking we may be able to make this a habit   We'll see what my meat loving husband says in two weeks.