Skinny Mushroom Pasta

Today I tried a modification of a recipe from my favorite site right now, Skinnytaste.com! 

Let me tell you, pasta is one of my favorite foods.  I think it is my favorite food.  It's part of the reason I got so fat! When I was having a bad day, {or heck even a good day!} all I wanted was to curl up with a big bowl of buttery, cheesy, tomato-saucy pasta.  I would add hot pepper flakes and cilantro on top.  Now this might not seem that good to you but sadly it was heaven to me.  I know that,  to make matters worse, I ate well over the serving size.  I ate white pasta, not whole wheat, because I thought it tasted better. I added my favorite little meal to myfitnesspal.com this afternoon.  The results are staggering: 1,474 calories.  That's 274 calories more than my daily allowed amount.  I cried a little when I saw the total because I guarantee you I did not exaggerate the ingredients I put it.  I ate this huge bowl once to twice a week.

I am being real with you because I have to be real with myself.  People tell me that I was not that unhealthy and I appreciate their sentiment but I must tell you all that it is not true and I am not going to believe that complacent lie.  I was being unhealthy, all the while laughing and saying "I enjoy pasta! It's my favorite food, so what's the problem with a little indulgence?"  If we're not careful, our indulgence can make us obese by eating it just two or three times a week!

So in comes my little pasta experiment today.  Now, I have been reading how you can eat pasta on a healthy diet as long as it is whole wheat and in moderation but I have to be honest:  I have only eaten it twice and it scares me.  I don't trust myself with it.  But I have been working very hard lately and I was a bit under my calories today so I decided, pasta sounds good.  I am going to do this the smart way. 

I found Pasta with Asparagus on SkinnyTaste.com and decided I could modify it to Mushroom Pasta based on what I had.  My darling husband Dane loves asparagus so I would have made it with that and mushrooms if I had asparagus, but alas I did not.  This recipe was easy and oh so satisfying!  I made it with a cup of healthy, antioxidant packed green tea, and it was perfect for my 2:30pm meal.  With a calorie count of 240 per serving, this totally hit the mark for me.  Enjoy!