This recipe is straight from McKel Hill, MS, RDN, LDN, Dietitian and Founder of Nutrition Stripped, and it’s part of our “Back to the Table” SB Challenge, where we feature seven recipes each Sunday, for three weeks, and challenge our readers to gather around a home-cooked meal each night! At Nutrition Stripped, McKel encourages meal planning as a simple way to take the guesswork out of healthy eating, so much that she created the Guide to Master Meal Planning. By setting aside a “batch cooking day,” you can make enough food to include in meals throughout the entire week, which comes in handy when life gets in the way. These recipes are geared toward meal prep in their versatility; you can make them ahead of time, then just add your toppings, dressings and fresh components when it’s time to enjoy. Bonus: they all keep well in air-tight glass containers.
In this recipe, McKel acknowledges her “love-dislike” relationship with beets, noting that while they aren’t her favorite vegetable, she knows that their nutritional value strongly outweighs her distaste. So, she’s forever searching for recipes that incorporate the superfood and taste delicious, too!
This recipe uses gluten-free pasta and doesn’t use dairy, but McKel says, “Every recipe I share on here is all about YOUR lifestyle, so if you enjoy whole wheat, please go ahead and use an organic whole wheat-based pasta. Same goes for the toppings – if you enjoy dairy, add organic (preferably grass-fed) cheese if that’s your fancy.” We love her encouragement of meal planning based on your diet, lifestyle and preferences!
If you make this dish, please tag McKel on Instagram at @nutritionstripped, StyleBlueprint at @styleblueprint and use the hashtags #sbchallenge #mySBplate. We want to cheer you on!
See the original recipe on Nutrition Stripped RIGHT HERE.
Beet Marinara with Brown Rice Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces/1 lb. bag brown rice pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1, 25 ounce jar of organic marinara sauce
- 3 large beets quartered
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- Garnish options: 1/4 cup <g class="gr_ gr_49 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="49" data-gr-id="49">roasted</g> pine nuts fresh basil, black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste, a sprinkle of both hemp seeds and nutritional yeast to taste.
Instructions
- Cook brown rice pasta to package directions, typically 6-7 minutes or until al dente.
- In the meantime, in a small saucepan, add 1 jar of marinara sauce with olive oil, garlic, and quartered beets. Cook for 10 minutes or until the beets are tender.
- Transfer hot marinara sauce, carefully, into a blender. Tightly close the lid and blend until the beets are combined with the sauce- you can keep it chunky or blend completely smooth here.
- In a large serving dish, top the cooked pasta with the beet sauce gently stir to coat the pasta. Add optional garnishes upon serving.
- If saving the sauce for leftovers or serving the dish the next day, store the sauce in an airtight glass container and reheat on the stove – make pasta upon serving.
Nutrition
For more Nutrition Stripped recipes that are part of this challenge, see the recipes below in “More Articles You’ll Love.”
