Spinach Pesto Spaghetti with Grilled Shrimps using Barilla Whole Grain Pasta and a $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

A few years ago, I switched to serving brown rice to my family instead of white rice. The reason was simple: more fiber and better nutrition for my family. Whole grains are packed with nutrients including protein, fiber, B vitamins, antioxidants, and trace minerals (iron, zinc, copper, and magnesium). Nothing is more important to me than keeping my family healthy by eating right. (Oh, maybe one thing, feeding them nutritious AND scrumptious food! ) Since I’m the “chef” of the house, it is my responsibility to feed my family well with a balanced diet and nutritious food. I’m sure this is the same for many of you out there.

 

My little boy loves noodles and pasta a lot more than rice. Therefore, I’ve been making more pasta dishes than ever. For the same reasons I switched to serving brown rice, I’ve switched to serving whole grain pasta as well. I love Barilla® Whole Grain pasta. It’s a great way to get whole grains into my family’s diet. I enjoy preparing pasta dishes more and more these days. They are quick and easy to prepare (which is perfect for our busy schedules), and my kids enjoy them so much. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing my kids enjoy the nutritious food that I prepared for them.

 

Barilla® Whole Grain is made with 51% whole wheat. It’s all-natural and is an excellent source of fiber, delivering three times the fiber of regular pasta. I love Barilla® Whole Grain pasta because the texture has more of a bite to it than regular pasta. Also, it has a hint of nutty flavor regular pasta don’t have. Best of all, there is a taste guarantee from Barilla® Whole Grain pasta. If you don’t love it, you get a free box of Barilla® blue box pasta. How cool is that? That’s how confidence they are with their whole grain products! But I can guaranteed that you’re going to love Barilla® Whole Grain pasta!

 

Check out Barilla’s website. There are many quick and easy recipes for you to try. With the help of the Whole Grain Dinner Kit, it’s easy to put healthy and extraordinary meals on your table. Check out all these fun shapes that are available from the Barilla® Whole Grain pasta here.

 

In this Spinach Pesto Spaghetti with Grilled Shrimp recipe, I’ve used Barilla Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti. They were al dente in just 6 minutes! You can totally get this dish on the table in less than 30 minutes, much faster than ordering take-out! I’m totally loving it. Plus, you know you’re serving your family something scrumptious, healthy and all-natural. Way better than take-out, in my opinion.

 

The spinach pesto is super quick to prepare as well. The nutty flavor from the whole grain pasta works perfectly with the pine nuts in the spinach pesto. With a hint of lemon juice and lemon zest to brighten up the flavor, it’s amazingly scrumptious. Give this recipe a try; I’m sure your family will love it as much as my family does.

 

With the help of Barilla® Whole Grain pasta, eating right and feeding my family with healthy and nutritious food has never been easier. I hope you’ll give Barilla® Whole Grain pasta a try too and let me know what you think.

 



Giveaway 

To all my dear readers, here’s a wonderful giveaway for you. One lucky uTry.it reader will win a $100 Amazon.com gift card, courtesy of BlogHer and Barilla®. Cool, right? To enter, simply leave a comment on this post and tell me “What do you love about Barilla® Whole Grain?” As simple as that. Please read the giveaway rules below for an extra chance to win.

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 a random drawing, 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!

This Giveaway is now closed. Thank you for those who participated.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by BlogHer and Barilla®. All opinions are my own and always will be.

Health and General Disclaimers

Join GoodLife Eats for the Surprisingly Nutritious Spaghetti Link-Up sponsored by Barilla pasta.




Spinach Pesto Spaghetti with Grilled Shrimp: 
(Printable Recipe) 

Ingredient For the Spinach Pesto:
1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves, lightly packed
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zests
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Ingredient for the Spinach Pesto Spaghetti with Grilled Shrimps:

1 (13.25 Oz) package of Barilla Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti
1 pound of shrimps (21-25 counts), shelled and deveined with tails on
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest, for garnish
1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

To prepare the Spinach Pesto:

Combine the spinach, basil, garlic, pine nuts, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a processor. Lightly pulse. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil, blending until the mixture is creamy.  Stir in the Parmesan cheese, set aside.


To prepare the Spinach Pesto Spaghetti with Grilled Shrimps:

Heat the grill or a grill pan on high heat. Lightly oil the grill pan.  Toss the shrimp with 1 tablespoon of the extra-virgin olive oil in a large bowl to coat. Sprinkle with salt and toss again.
Add the shrimp to the grill in a single layer.  Grill each side for 2 to 3 minutes, or until shrimps are cooked through.  Removed from heat once they are done.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until el dente, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Toss the pasta with the pesto in a large bowl to coat, adding the reserved cooking liquid 1 tablespoon at a time to moisten. (I ended up using a little bit less than 1/2 a cup) Top with the grilled shrimp. Garnish with the lemon zest and parsley.

*Note: The Spinach Pesto can be made ahead of time.  Or, simply double the recipe and freeze 1/2 of it for another day.