Healthy Winter Pasta

So my poor kitty cat has a bit of an obesity problem. He is now on the prescription satiety diet, which means his food is supposed to trick him into thinking he's indulged. Well I don't want little Jonathan working hard all alone, so here is a healthy recipe that you can have when you still want to feel like you're having a treat. This one is a favourite of mine, and I'm happy to say that I actually made it up all on my own one day. And then proceeded to eat it every day for months at a time because it's just so good!

This is Healthy Winter Pasta. It's sauceless, has lots of veggies, and tastes awesome. You will be satisfied, I promise. You need:

About 20 white mushrooms, sliced (Use portabello or cremini or whatever you like, but I like the regulars).
Four hothouse tomatoes
One pack of baby spinach
One onion, slice into rings (I've tried both red and white, and both are good)
Whatever pasta you like (I like this recipe with penne)
Olive oil
Small pack of goat cheese

First get a pan going over medium heat and put some olive oil in. Once the oil is hot, put in the mushrooms and onions. They take the longest to soften, so that's why they go in first. Give them a stir every now and then, but mostly just let them sweat down. Add a little salt to draw the moisture out. Once they're quite soft, add the tomatoes, which you should have sliced into wedges. I like to keep them a bit bigger with wedges rather than dicing because I like them to keep their tomato shape.

Let the tomatoes stew, and stir it around once in awhile. By now, get your water boiling and good God don't forget to salt your pasta water. Cook your pasta as your tomatoes, onions, and mush are getting stewed. I use whole wheat pasta to keep this recipe healthy, but you could also use rice pasta to keep this recipe cleanse-friendly. Also, you should probably halve the amount of pasta that you feel you need. Use way less, because all of vegetables will satiate you, I promise.

Just as your pasta is almost cooked, add the entire package of spinach to the tomato mixture. GENTLY fold it in so that the heat softens it. But don't be aggressive, because the spinach is delicate and it should stay that way. Drain your pasta and toss with the sauteed veggies. Add a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

When serving, crumble a little goat cheese over top. As it melts, it will add a little creaminess. Don't add too much though or you may as well just have an alfredo!

It goes without saying that you can add chicken, salmon, or whatever you like to your pasta. I like to keep it vegetarian though. The vegetable ragout (I suppose!?) is also great over green lentils, and I'm sure it would be nice with quinoa too if you want to be even healthier. This is a versatile one, friends!

Enjoy!