Vegan Cauliflower And Peas On Barilla's White Fiber Mini Shells - Enjoy The Taste Of White Pasta With The Fiber Of Whole Wheat!

As delicious as white pasta with 6 g of fiber per serving!

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Getting sufficient dietary fiber in your diet is one of the most important things you can do for your health. For pasta lovers this means having to forgo the comforting taste and texture of semolina or "white" pasta when they opt for higher fiber, whole grain pasta. This is where even my most health conscious friends and family draw the line. 

But I recently discovered a new product from Barilla that looks, cooks, chews and tastes just like regular white pasta but has 6 grams of fiber per 2 ounce serving - the same amount that you would get from whole grain pasta. 

A 2 oz serving of "white fiber" mini shells has:
200 calories
1 g fat/ 0 saturated fat
0 cholesterol
43 g carbohydrates
6 g dietary fiber
6 g protein

The ingredients listed for this new pasta are: 
Semolina wheat (sorry, these are not gluten free), durum wheat flour, whole durum wheat flour, and corn starch. The fiber comes from the whole durum wheat flour and the "hi-maize 260" (which is listed as corn starch). 
Hi-maize resistant starch is made from corn that has been hybridized through a natural plant breeding program.  It does not contain genetically modified material. After harvesting, the corn is milled and dried to a fine, cornstarch powder. This powder contains a "resistant starch" that resists digestion in the small intestine and behaves as dietary fiber in the large intestine.  

White fiber pasta comes in three shapes:
Mini Shells
Mini Penne
Mini Rotini

This pasta has a great taste and texture and besides the mini shells, it comes in mini penne and mini rotini. I wish it came in some other shapes and sizes - let's hope they are working on that right now!

Here's a delicious and simple recipe that's under 300 calories per serving, provides 10 grams of protein and around one third of your daily requirement of dietary fiber.

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Cauliflower and Peas with Mini Shells

Vegan

[makes 4 servings]
Requires a large pot to cook the pasta and a large saucepan with a cover 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes*
1 small head cauliflower, cleaned and cut into very small florets

15 ounce can organic peas with juice

1 cup water

1 vegan bullion cube

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes 

6 ounces (1/2 box) Barilla white fiber mini shells
* for less spice, you may omit red pepper flakes or substitute ground black pepper

Fill a large pot with water and salt for the pasta and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook on medium low heat until garlic is fragrant and slightly brown, 1 to 2 minutes.

Always let minced garlic sit for 15 minutes before cooking to help it maintain its beneficial properties.

Cut the cauliflower into very small florets so that is cooks quickly.

Stir in the cauliflower florets to coat and add the juice from the can of peas, water, the bullion cube, the dried parsley flakes and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil on high heat. Lower the heat, and stir until the bullion cube dissolves. Simmer, covered, until the cauliflower begins to soften, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Cover and simmer until cauliflower begins to soften.

While the cauliflower is cooking, prepare the pasta according to directions. Drain and set aside.

When the cauliflower begins to soften, stir in the peas and cook, covered, until the cauliflower is tender, about 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Stir in peas, cover and simmer.

Stir in the cooked shells and serve immediately. 

Add the cooked shells and serve.

Per serving: 299 calories, 8.5 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 115 mg omega-3 and 788 mg omega-6 fatty acids*, 0 mg cholesterol, 10 g protein, 49 g carbohydrates, 10.5 g dietary fiber and 546 mg sodium (not including salt added to taste).
* Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids do not include any contribution from the pasta since that information was not available from the manufacturer.