Meal Planning Monday,5:2 Diet Fast Days and Pesto Pasta with Parmesan Recipe
Meal Planning Monday, 5:2 Diet Fast Days
and Pesto Pasta with Parmesan Recipe
Three Fruit Marmalade
The Marmalade has been made, for my grand entry into the World’s Original Marmalade Awards, British Farmhouse Breakfast Week is over and January is about to slither out in either an avalanche of snow or a deluge of flooding, and, it is another Meal Planning Monday post – WHERE did last week go? As ever I am chasing my tail and have a pile of work to do, both online and offline, with much of it to do in the kitchen and the garden. But, I DO find that a meal plan helps me, I may veer away from my plan sometimes, and why not, I hate things to be written in stone all the time, but the very fact that I sit down and plan what we will be eating based on what is in the pantry, freezer and store cupboard, does keep me on the straight and narrow for most of the week. It is also an excellent way to use all the perishable goods you may have, as well as plan meals with leftovers too. As I am still following the 5:2 Diet and will be eating 500 calories and less for two days this week, I like to know what I can enjoy on those two days, and planning for them definitely comes in handy then. My daily recipe today is a simple pasta idea, made with leftover pesto and a small end chunk of Parmesan cheese, so thrifty and yet very tasty.
Meal Planning Monday, 5:2 Diet Fast Days and Pesto Pasta with Parmesan Recipe
As it is a vegetarian recipe that uses cheese, I am entering this simple supper dish into Jac of Tinned Tomatoes Pasta Please challenge, a new event that highlights Pasta of course! The theme for January is cheese, one of my favourite ingredients when marred with pasta.
My recipe may be simple, but it has been made from scratch, and it will therefore qualify for JW’s (Javelin Warrior) fabulous weekly event of Made with Love Monday, so I am also sending my humble recipe over to his challenge too.
And finally, as ever, I am submitting my Monday Meal Plan into At Home with Mrs M’s weekly link up for Meal Planning Monday, a handy resource of blog meal plans all in one place.
I hope you find my meal plan handy and that some of the recipe ideas may inspire you to make them for you and your family this week. Plus, if you are following the 5:2 Diet, I am hoping that this meal plan for my two fast days may help you, if you are stuck on a culinary rut of what to make. So, with a flourish of knives and forks, I give you the Lavender and Lovage Meal Plan for Monday the 28th January! See you later and have a GREAT week! Karen
The Lavender and Lovage Monday Meal Plan
Monday 28th January:
Cottage Pie made with leftovers from Burns Night
Tuesday 29th January – Fast Day (500 calories):
Breakfast: Boiled Egg with 1 Ryvita = 85 cals
Lunch: New Recipe – Lemon Chicken with Cannellini Beans (275 cals)
Recipe to follow
Tea: Meat-Free Scotch Broth (146 cals)
Total: 506 calories
Wednesday 30th January:
Thursday 31st January – Fast Day (500 calories):
Breakfast: Breakfast Omelette (170 cals)
Lunch: Greek Lunch Box Salad with Feta Cheese and Mint Dressing (200 cals)
Tea: Vegetarian Red Pepper, Lentil and Cheese Pâté (Spread) (120 cals)
Total: 490 Calories
Friday 1st February:
Mediterannean Cod Parcels – New Recipe
Recipe to follow
Weekend:
Sunday is National Yorkshire Pudding Day – so no guesses there!
My Grandma’s Yorkshire Pudding Recipe
Pesto Pasta with Parmesan Recipe:
(310 calories)
(Serves 4)
Pesto Pasta with Parmesan Recipe:
Ingredients:
300g dried macaroni or pasta of your choice
4 tablespoons home-made pesto
shaved Parmesan cheese to serve
a little olive oil
Pesto:
1 cup fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Method:
Cook pasta in a saucepan of boiling salted water with a little olive oil, following packet directions until tender. Drain. Return to pan.
Add pesto to pasta, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Toss to combine. Serve with shavings of Parmesan cheese.
How to make the pesto:
Add the pesto ingredients to a food processor and blitz them for a minute, scraping down sides occasionally, until almost smooth. I use an old tea cup to measure my pesto ingredients in, use any cup or glass you have to hand.
Pesto Pasta with Parmesan
Ohhh it all sounds and looks lovely!!
I love a simple to make dish, thanks for the recipe!
Enjoy your week!
Glad you like this recipe Claire! Karen
Simple but delicious, Karen! And the love the choice of the pasta you used – the long and skinny tube noodles are my favorite for some reason… Thanks so much for sharing and this will make a perfect quick-fix lunch!
Hi
can you tell me is the pesto pasta recipe 500 cals per portion, it sounds lovely.
thankyou
simone
This pasta dish is actually 310 calories per portion!
Can’t wait to try it – looks and sounds delicious!
That pesto pasta has my name on it!
Mary x
The breakfast omelette looks really fabulous, the greedy girl inside me would make a grab for those Yorkshire puds though. No self control 🙂
I love parmesan 🙂 nice recipe 🙂
It’s great to have a recipe involving cheese that isn’t a massive calorie fest, thank you 🙂
and it tastes great too 🙂 It made a great last nights tea !
This looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it.
Love pesto so this recipe was right up my street and looks very very tasty x
Great! This is one of my favourite Winter warmers – better still knowing it has less calories!
Sounds like a lovely easy recipe to make and not expensive.
This looks really tasty and I love parmezan!
Pesto is so easy to make and goes well with pasta.
Simple and delightful, full of flavours.
Looks a tasty recipe, luxurious without being overly indulgent.
I can have cheese on a fast day!! You’ve made my day 🙂
Proving that you don’t have to make a huge fuss to make a delicious meal!
Love pesto – never made it before though, might give this a bash!
i’m going to try the parmesan and pesto pasta recipe
Great recipe thanks
This looks so yummy.
Great recipe thanks – will have to try!
love it! nice simple and healthy
This one looks very appetising… I just need to learn how to cook it this good 🙂
Excellent! I should have guessed you’d have a simple but showy vegetarian meal for a fussy friend!
great recipe,off to try this for lunch,mmmm
Could you add thinly sliced courgette ?? If so do you know what that might do to the calorie count ??
I am eyeing up that haddock gratin as well 🙂
its nice to see diet pasta dishes, our son loves the stuff but he likes more than you should have and my man doesnt realise when you pile the cheese on top its almost as much fat as in another portion! lol
How big is aportion id eat the whole thing !
Cals per item would be good. I.e. for the pesto sauce as against shop bought. Just getting going so not got a good idea of calories per ingredient. However, really grateful for the great recipe ideas.
Thanks! It’s time that is my enemy – JUST not enough time, but I will try to add more calorie counts!
A good and simple dish, I suggest extra virgin olive oil for a Mediterranean taste!
Nice idea – but don’t forget to add the calories! Karen