Healthy Carbonara With Veggies and Chicken
By: Scott Koeneman
Published: Saturday, December 12, 2009 - 11:15am

Ingredients




2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
6 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
12 ounces chicken breast (2 breasts), cut in half and pounded thin
4 ounces Canadian bacon, diced
1 medium onion
2 bunches broccoli, including stems (peel and coarsely dice the stems)
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
3/4 cup Egg Beaters or other egg substitute
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
Salt and pepper

Preparation

1 Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente in pot of salted water. 2 Heat 1 tsp oil in a skillet (I like to use cast-iron for this to get a sear) over medium-high heat. Lightly spray chicken breast with oil and rub in herbs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook about 3 minutes a side. 3 Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp oil in a large straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add Canadian bacon and saute until nearly browned, about 2 minutes. Add onions, mushrooms and broccoli and saute until the broccoli is hot, but still firm. Turn heat off. 4 Drain, but do not rinse, spaghetti and mix it with the vegetable mixture. 5 In a bowl, combine Egg Beaters, buttermilk and cheese and pour over vegetables and pasta, the remaining heat of the spaghetti and skillet will cook the sauce. Top with pepper. 6 Serve with chicken and Parmesan cheese.

About


Since starting this blog, I have developed a routine. At some point during the day, I make my final decision on what I'm going to cook and post it to various places, letting anyone who might be interested know. I get home from work and start cooking. After dinner and clean-up, I write and post.
I got distracted last night. We rented "Julie and Julia." Have you seen it? I got totally caught up in the movie! Of course, I related to the idea of blogging about food. But even more, I connected on an almost spiritual level with the love of creation the movie portrayed. That is what draws me to the kitchen every night. I connect with my ingredients, their textures, their taste, the transformation they undergo as I try to make the sum of their parts greater than the individual components. It is the joy of success as I watch my wife and son take the first bite and breath in deeply as their eyes role up.
And so, this entry comes more than 12 hours later than usual. I hope you like it, because we certainly did!
Carbonara sauce, is really very simple. Most start with the same ingredients: pancetta (Italian bacon), onions, eggs or egg yolk, Parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano, and often, heavy cream. Can you say fat and cholesterol! So yet another challenge to healthy eating confronts me. Can I do carbonara in a healthy way? Absolutely! In addition to lightening the ingredients, I added broccoli and mushrooms. I also considered spinach and may well try that next time.
This version makes 4 servings. For my Weight Watchers friends, each serving works out to about 7 points.
Let's eat!