Pesto & Mushroom Fettuccine

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients (for 4 servings) 2 cups of dry fettuccine pasta 2 portabella mushrooms, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons pesto sauce ¼ cup cooking white wine ½ cup of feta cheese, crumbled 1.5 cups 2% M.F. cottage cheese ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

In a non-stick skillet saute mushrooms until soft, about 5 minutes. Drain any water that remains. Add pesto sauce and white wine and saute for another 5 minutes. Add cottage and feta cheese, and stir until cheese melts.
Meanwhile, boil a pot of water and cook pasta according to al dente directions. Once pasta is cooked, drain and mix with the sauce.
Garnish with chopped parsley.

Why is this recipe nutritious?

Nutrition Facts
Per 1 serving (1/4 of the recipe)
Amount		% Daily Value
Calories  343
Fat 8.9 g		15%
Saturated 4.5 g		24%
+ Trans 0 g
Cholesterol 25 mg
Sodium 450 mg		18%
Carbohydrate 42 g		14%
Fibre 5 g		20%
Sugars 3.2 g
Protein 22 g
Vitamin A	8%	Vitamin C	6%
Calcium	17%	Iron	21%

This recipe is vegetarian and is low in cholesterol and high in protein, fiber, calcium, iron and all the B vitamins. It is also a significant source of magnesium, phosphorous,and zinc.

This recipe is high in calcium. It contains 222mg (17% of your daily need) of calcium per serving, mostly from cheese (feta and cottage cheese). Most important functions of calcium include bone and teeth strength and muscle contraction. Calcium can be found in many foods including dairy products, fortified soy products, almonds, canned fish with bones, tofu and broccoli. Recommended daily intake is 1000mg for males and females (19-50 years of age).

This recipe also contains 3.7mg (21% of your daily needs) of iron per serving, mostly from enriched pasta. Iron is a major component of red blood cells, a key component of hemoglobin and is involved in oxygen transport. Iron can be found in many foods including meat, eggs, tofu, enriched breads and cereals, dried fruit, legumes. Recommended daily intake is 11mg for females and 8mg for males (19-50 years of age).

At a first glace this recipe may seem higher in saturated fat and sodium, however this recipe is almost a complete meal (all you need to do is add veggies and fruit for dessert). When you take into consideration that you only have three meals and a few snacks per day, 18% of your daily intake of sodium is not much for a whole meal. Same goes for saturated fat.

Nutrition Tip:

If you are following a low sodium diet, you can lower sodium in feta cheese by replacing the fluid from the feta container with fresh tap water. The salt from the cheese will go into the water. You can replace this water weekly, to even further reduce the sodium amount.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Downtown Toronto Dietitian's Office
5 Rees St, Harbourfront
M5V 3J2

Tel: (647) 533-5511
Email: nutritioncheck@live.ca