Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti with Kale, Asparagus and Lemon

This is a sponsored review from BlogHer and Barilla

Hi guys! I thought we could chat a bit about whole grain pasta today. I'm a fan of the taste, texture, and nutritional value of Barilla® Whole Grain Pasta. According to Barilla®, their pastas are made with 51% whole wheat and are an all-natural and excellent source of fiber, delivering three times the fiber of regular pasta.

As a mom, I like to incorporate as many nutritious, family-friendly meals as possible into our menus, and I am always very happy to add a new dish to the list. I am very excited that I've been finding more ways to incorporate whole grain into our diets, and Barilla® Whole Grain pasta is a great way to do it. You can choose from many types of whole grain pasta, such as Linguine, Thin Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Medium Shells, Rotini, and Penne. BlogHer and Barilla® sent me three boxes of varying types of whole grain pasta, and I needed to create a recipe using one of them. I wanted to do something a little different from a traditional pasta with tomato sauce, while keeping the dish light and vegetarian-friendly.

I often find myself rushing around on weeknights, trying to throw together a healthy and appealing meal. I know a lot of moms regularly find themselves in a similar position, so I hope this recipe helps! I decided to make a healthy, flavorful dish using Barilla® Thin Whole Grain Spaghetti. The sauce is simply olive oil, organic kale, garlic, organic asparagus, lemon, organic grape tomatoes, feta cheese and spices. Asparagus and kale are the base of this dish, but there is quite a lot going on beyond those textures and flavors. You get a bite of tang from the lemon, heat from the red pepper flakes, while the fresh grape tomatoes, parsley, and feta cheese cool things down, and the touch of ground cumin adds just enough earthiness to balance everything out. The verdict: This meatless, whole grain pasta dish is a knockout and one of my new favorite recipes to make for my family! I love the array of colors, textures and flavors in this dish. I also know I am doing something good for my family and myself with this healthy meal.

Barilla® is also offering a taste guarantee...If you don't love their whole grain pasta, they'll give you a free box of Barilla® blue box pasta. For more information about this guarantee and to check out the Dinner Kit for recipes and other tools that make it easy to put healthy and extraordinary meals on your table, check out their web site.

BlogHer and Barilla® are giving away a $100 Amazon gift card to one of my lucky readers! To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment here telling us what you love about Barilla® Whole Grain.

SWEEPSTAKES/GIVEAWAY RULES: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post. b) Tweet about this promotion @BarillaUS with the following unique term in your message, #BarillaWG, and link to your Tweet in a comment on this post. c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to your post in a comment on this post d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 2/21/12-3/30/12.

Be sure to visit the Barilla® Whole Grain round-up page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers' reviews and find more chances to win!
Recipe for:

Barilla® Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti with Kale, Asparagus and Lemon Ingredients:

(4 servings)

1 pound Barilla® Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti.
1 bunch organic kale, chopped (remove the tough stems).
6 tablespoons olive oil.
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or to your taste.
5 garlic cloves, minced.
1 bunch asparagus, cut into small pieces.
1 pint organic grape tomatoes, halved.
3 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped.
Juice of 3 lemons.
½ teaspoon ground cumin.
Salt and pepper.
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled.

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions, stirring occasionally. One minute before the pasta is done, add the kale to the pot of cooking pasta. Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil, red pepper flakes and garlic in a large sauce pan over medium heat until the garlic begins to brown. Add the asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat. Add the chopped parsley, grape tomatoes lemon juice and ground cumin.

4. Toss the pasta and kale with the asparagus and tomato mixture, season with salt and pepper. Before serving, toss the pasta with feta cheese.