5 Things to Consider When Modifying Recipes to Meet Your Family’s Needs|Pasta Garofolo

This post is sponsored by Pasta Garofalo®. The opinions and text are all mine.

As a mom with a kid who has allergies and who eats a vegan diet, I’ve learned to get very comfortable with making substitutions. From breakfast to dinner and all the snacks in between, I find myself making a gazillion modifications to the recipes I grew up eating. One of the great
things about it is that most of my modifications are focused primarily on our health, so I believe the swaps are beneficial. Another great thing about managing these swaps is that it forces me to get creative in the kitchen. Learn more about the newest recipe I tried using Pasta Garofalo®
spaghetti and 5 Things to Consider When Modifying Recipes to Meet Your Family’s Needs.

Recently, I picked up Pasta Garofalo spaghetti from my local The Fresh Market store and wanted to make something other than our typical pasta with a marinara sauce for dinner. I decided on making a Spinach Avocado Pesto pasta. Typically, pesto pasta dishes call for basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. To make it vegan and nut-free, I swapped out the pine nuts for chickpeas and left out the Parmesan cheese. I also decided to add spinach and avocado for a nutritional boost and creamier texture.

Spinach Avocado Pesto pasta Ingredients:
Pasta Garofalo Spaghetti
Pesto:
1 1/2 cup Spinach
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 cup Chickpeas
1 cup Basil
2 Avocados
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
Blend pesto ingredients together and mix into cooked and drained spaghetti. Serve warm or chilled!

Here are 5 Things to Consider When Modifying Recipes to Meet Your Family’s Needs:

● Use familiar ingredients that are already well-liked by the family.
While parenting my toddler, I’ve learned to use ingredients that my child already enjoys, especially when introducing new recipes. I find that by adding familiar flavors, new dishes are more readily accepted. In this dish, the pasta itself is a win! My daughter is already a fan of pasta and Pasta Garofalo spaghetti passed her test with flying colors.

● When substituting, consider using ingredients with mild flavors. Chickpeas (or garbanzo beans) are a great substitute for pine nuts in this recipe because their flavor is very mild. They do a great job of taking on the flavor of more pungent ingredients. Also, both avocado and spinach have very mild flavors that don’t provide much competition with basil
and garlic.

● Omit ingredients if you need to.
Sometimes finding a substitute for an ingredient isn’t entirely necessary. It may be an easier or a better choice to simply omit the ingredient from the recipe. In this case, I omitted Parmesan cheese to make our pesto vegan. I’m not personally a fan of many cheese substitutes, so omission was the move for us!

● Choose substitutes or additional ingredients that offer the greatest nutritional benefit.
Avocado adds healthy fats and oils high in fiber, potassium and magnesium and they are great sources of vitamin C, E, K, and B6. Chickpeas are high in protein, fiber, and iron. Spinach is rich in iron, nitrates, vitamin K, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus. The additions/swaps in this recipe offer a nutritional boost that is also delicious.

● Ensure that high-quality ingredients are used that support the dish overall.
Pasta Garofalo is made in Italy, has been around for over 200 years, and is committed to using 100% Highest-Quality Durum Wheat Semolina for its products. I love the peace of mind that comes with having access to superior quality gourmet pasta that I can use in our everyday meals.

For your next pasta night, keep the experience authentic and high quality with Pasta Garofalo, and remember the points listed above if you need to make any swaps within your recipes!