Healthy Habits to Include this Year…Eating More Plant Based Meals, Italian White Bean Stew with or without Pasta

As the new year begins, interest in plant-based cooking skyrockets. Soooo many people are looking for wholesome and delicious vegan meal ideas to kick off the year on the right foot

This doesn’t mean I am encouraging you to go 100% vegan…heck no! But I am challenging you to try some new plant based recipes. Maybe just one a week? Have you heard of Meatless Mondays😂?

Of course you have. Find 4 to 5 of your favorite meatless entrees and rotate through them every Monday. Along the way you may discover new ones pop up in your Instagram feed or Facebook. Scary I know but once our big cyber space world figures out you have a SMALL interest in plant based eating, watch out.

I am of course kidding. Trying new plant based recipes is fun! It’s one of my healthy habits I want to do more of in 2023. Here’s a list of all 5 of my healthy habitst I am focusing on this year.

• Wake up an hour earlier. I’m a 6 am person and I’m always way more productive and in a better mood. 
• Try some new plant based recipes ~ there’s so many delicious ones at our finger tips. Start your day out with a plant based green smoothie 💚
• Hydrate more ~ remember water before coffee…and don’t forget those electrolytes.
• Gratitude journal. The evidence on how this helps our mood is incredible. 
• Move daily. Just 30 minutes a day and be sure to get in more steps outside.

I can’t wait to hear what your’s are. Let me know in the comments.

Plant based cooking is not only healthy but can be fun too and this is a great example of a soup that can be adapted based on what’s in your pantry. I have made this with pasta and without. Both are LOVELY but when there is a long run Friday the next day, I definitely throw in a handful of pasta. Any pasta will work but I used small spelt shells.

Why you’re going to like this Vegan Italian White Bean Stew

Italian comfort food.  Just like my white bean soup, this soup is rustic & Italian comfort food at its finest. It’s a crossover between a soup and a pasta, and it’s brothy, saucy, and creamy. It’s the kind of meal that sticks to your ribs but doesn’t weigh you down.

Pantry staples. All of the essential ingredients in this recipe are pantry staples

Budget-friendly. This recipe is made with humble ingredients like canned tomatoes, pasta, and my favorite beans, so it’s a budget-friendly recipe to add to the rotation.

Wholesome and healthy. Despite being extremely comforting, this recipe is made with wholesome ingredients, and easy to make even healthier if you use whole wheat pasta or spelt pasta.

Tips for making this recipe 

1. You’ll need a medium-sized saucepan for this recipe. I used my large Dutch Oven 

2. Use enough extra virgin olive oil at the start of the recipe so that your shallots and garlic turn golden, not browned.

3. Once you add the pasta, the exact cook time will vary depending on the pasta variety you use. I used Vita Spelt small shells which only took about 10 minutes. Because you are not using a ton of water to cook your pasta and draining, you may need to cook a bit longer than what it says on your package of pasta you pick. (FYI ~ if you prefer not to use pasta, purée half the amount of your beans and veggies to make your soup creamy and thick)

4. I like to finish this dish with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil, freshly cracked black pepper, and chopped parsley. If you don’t have parsley, feel free to omit.

5. This dish thickens as it rests, so if you’re reheating leftovers, add a bit of water to thin it out.

Comment below and let me know how you liked this.

RUSTIC ITALIAN WHITE BEAN STEW

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 3 medium shallots*, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• carrots and celery optional but the more veggies the better
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary (optional but recommended)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 dried red chili pepper (can substitute with ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes)
• 1 (15-ounce/440g) can cannellini beans, drained, rinsed and divided into 2 equal portions**
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) creamy plant-based milk, such as oat milk or “lite” coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/2 of a medium lemon, zested, then juiced
• 1 tablespoon white or yellow miso paste (optional)**
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• Half of a (28-ounce/795g) can of whole peeled tomatoes
• 3 cups (720 mL) water
• 6 ounces (168g) of short pasta, such as orecchiette, ditalini, macaroni, etc.
• Flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped (optional; for serving)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Crush the whole peeled tomatoes by hand, reserving the juices. Use half of the 28-ounce can.
2. Bring a medium saucepan to medium heat and add the 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the shallots and season with a pinch of salt, cook, stirring often to prevent them from browning, until soft and translucent, about 4-6 minutes. Add carrots and celery if using. Add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes until soft and golden, again stirring often.
3. Add the rosemary sprig, bay leaf, and dried chili pepper (or red pepper flakes). Cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Once the aromatics have cooked down, add the crushed tomatoes and half of the cannellini beans. Season to taste with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have thickened slightly and are starting to turn jammy, 6-8 minutes
5. While the tomatoes are cooking, make the white bean puree. Add the remaining half of the cannellini beans to a food processor. Add the plant-based milk, nutritional yeast, lemon zest, lemon juice, miso paste (if using), 1/4 tsp kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Blend until the mixture is completely pureed and smooth. Taste for seasonings, adding more salt or lemon juice as needed.
6. Once the tomatoes have cooked down, add the 3 cups (720 mL) water and the white bean puree to the saucepan. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a rapid simmer. Add the pasta if using and cook, stirring every few minutes to prevent it from sticking, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce has thickened, 12 to 16 minutes, depending on your pasta variety. The finished dish should be creamy and soup-like. Remove the chili pepper, rosemary and bay leaf and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
7. Divide between 2 or 3 bowls and drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil and black pepper on top. Garnish with chopped parsley, if using.

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What healthy habits are you trying to improve on this year?

Did you make any resolutions?

Do you practice meatless Mondays?