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Tomato Spinach Garlic Shrimp Pasta

This healthy tomato spinach garlic shrimp pasta recipe is full of fresh colorful ingredients, bold flavors and hearty whole wheat pasta that is sure to leave you feeling full and satisfied.

Two white bowls of shrimp pasta on white napkin.

Pasta/Salad Hybrid

If pasta and salad made a baby, it would be this recipe. Part colorful fresh ingredients and part hearty delicious pasta.

This is the perfect recipe to satisfy a noodle craving and feel good about getting in lots of fresh fruits and veggies making it the best of both worlds!

Spinach, tomatoes, lemons, garlic and shrimp on brown cutting board next to chef's knife.

Portion Control Strategy

To me a “healthy” portion of pasta looks like it would be enough food to feed a Barbie doll. I don’t mean a tall, thin, beautiful woman. I mean a literal toy Barbie doll. Colossal plates of spaghetti, bottomless pasta bars and 3 lb. bowls of mac & cheese are the new norm.

Believe it or not, there are easy portion control strategies that help you feel full and satisfied with healthy portions. This particular recipe uses the Filler Ingredient Strategy. A Filler Ingredient is a healthy food that is used to amp up a meal and trick your brain into thinking you’re eating larger portion sizes than you actually are.

Checkout the picture below. Both bowls have the same amount of pasta. The portion of pasta in Bowl A looks tiny while the portion of  pasta in Bowl B looks huge because Bowl B uses chicken and broccoli as Filler Ingredients.

Pasta on white plate next to pasta and broccoli on white plate.

The Shrimp Pasta recipe in this post uses spinach, tomatoes and shrimp as Filler Ingredients to make the portion of pasta appear larger. This helps convince your brain that the amount of pasta will be filling and satisfying. It seriously works wonders!

Tablet and computer on white background.

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Other Recipes That Use This Portion Control Strategy

Examples of other recipes that use this strategy include Healthy Buffalo Chicken Cauliflower DipFresh Taco Salad and Make-Ahead Apple Raisin Oatmeal.

How to Make Tomato Spinach Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Instructions to make shrimp pasta recipe.
Pasta ingredients in pan on white surface with wood spoon.

Tomato Spinach Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
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This Healthy Shrimp Pasta is full of fresh colorful ingredients, bold flavors and hearty whole wheat pasta.

Ingredients
 

  • 1 lb. raw shrimp, (see note 1)
  • 8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti
  • 4 cups fresh spinach
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 Tbsp. butter
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 4 Tbsp. parmesan, optional
  • 1 Tbsp. parsley, optional

Instructions
 

  • Make Pasta: Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a handful of salt to the water. Then add the pasta to the boiling water and cook to desired doneness (7-12 minutes). Strain and set aside.
  • Prep Fruit/Veggies: Peel and mince garlic. Cut lemon into wedges. Cut cherry tomatoes in half.
  • Prep Shrimp: Remove the tails from the shrimp simply by pinching the base of the tail and pulling it off. Season with a couple pinches of salt.
  • Cook Shrimp: Add olive oil and butter to a large pan over medium heat. Cook the shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side or until opaque and slightly pink/orange. Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds of cooking.
  • Bring It Together: Add the pasta, spinach and tomatoes to the pan. Season with a couple pinches of salt. Cook for another 3-5 minutes while stirring.
  • Enjoy: Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over the pasta. Top with parmesan and parsely (optional). Enjoy!

Notes

Note 1: Purchase the shrimp that are already peeled and deveined. 

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25recipe | Calories: 492kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 304mg | Sodium: 1423mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g
Have you tried this recipe? Let me know what you think! Rate this recipe and leave a comment below.

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