Treat Yourself to Healthy Creamy Carbonara with Smoked Bacon 04.02.2016

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Is there such a thing as healthy pasta? Considering that pasta is loaded with carbohydrates, you would probably think it’s impossible. Nevertheless, pasta is known to be a quick option for a midweek meal, and if you work from 9-5, boiling noodles and throwing in the sauce is the best way to go. The only thing that could prevent you from including ingredients for a delicious pasta dish such as creamy carbonara in your grocery list is the caloric content.

Well, if pasta is one of your favorite dishes but you don’t have it as often as you want because of the fat and calories, here is a healthy pasta creamy carbonara recipe for you to try.

Creamy Carbonara with Smoked Bacon

Ingredients:

• Half a bunch of fresh basil (approx. 15g)
• 1 lemon
• Olive oil
• 100g fat-free natural yoghurt
• 200g peas (frozen or freshly podded)
• 1 small clove of garlic
• 1 large free-range egg
• 1 tablespoon flaked almonds
• 1 rasher of smoked streaky bacon
• 15g Parmesan cheese
• 150g whole-wheat spaghetti

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Instructions:

1. Boil salted water in a pan for your pasta. While on the heat, dunk the peas (make sure to place them in a sieve first) into the water for about 30 seconds, remove, and set aside.
2. Lightly toast the almonds in a non-stick pan on medium heat. Afterward, place it in a food processor and blitz until fine.
3. Keep the processor running while adding peeled garlic, a pinch of sea salt, the basil leaves, Parmesan cheese (finely grated), and lemon juice. Blitz all the ingredients together, then pulse in the peas to keep a bit of texture.
4. Cook the whole-wheat pasta according to instructions once the water is boiling.
5. Slice the bacon finely and fry slowly in a frying pan with a teaspoon of oil. Use medium-low heat until the bacon’s golden and crispy. Drain excess oil on kitchen paper to preserve the flavorsome fat.
6. Scoop in three-quarters of your pea mixture to heat through.
7. In a bowl, whisk the egg and yoghurt together.
8. Once the pasta’s done, put aside a mugful of cooking water, drain the pasta, and toss the pea into the pan. Mix well before removing the pan off the heat.
9. It’s important that the water’s temperature goes down, otherwise, the egg will cook when you add it. You want to avoid that from happening.
10. Pour in the egg mixture and toss until the pasta is evenly coated, silky, and creamy. If necessary, loosen it with cooking water.
11. Taste and season according to your preference.
12. Top the pasta with the remaining pea mixture and crispy bacon. Serve and enjoy.

Nutrition Facts

Now how can you be sure that this creamy carbonara recipe is, indeed, healthy? Well, it only has 493 calories per serving, not to mention only 16.4g of fat. You get 27g of protein per serving and only 63.6g of carbohydrates. Sugar content is only 9.2g, and it’s rich in fiber, too, with 11.5g. You can be sure that this recipe is not only delicious but perfect for the health-conscious, too.