Healthy Meat Alternatives

by blog contributor Kristen Fuller-

Why is it that when we want to eat healthy all of a sudden we feel as though we need to only eat grilled chicken and salad for every meal?  Well, I don’t know about you but my family and I enjoy a little variety every once in awhile. Every week when I make up my dinner menu, I make it a goal to try 1 new recipe a week. This last week’s recipe was a huge hit. I was determined to use a different type of meat other than grilled chicken but needed it to remain healthy for my family. I found this incredible recipe on Pinterest.  What would we do without Pinterest?  It was a Sausage and Kale Pasta dish.  Sausage is usually not people’s first choice when picking meat and it has a lot of negative connotations with it.  

So lets talk about it. Sausage is high in protein but is classified as processed meat like hot dogs and lunchmeat. Processed meats are usually high in sodium and pumped full of preservatives to help keep longer and coloration. Yes, all these things are very bad, but when picking a sausage or any meat for the matter, BE PICKY!  So be sure to always READ LABELS.  Pick a sausage that has the following written on it’s package: no preservatives, no nitrates and hopefully organic. A dietitian told me that the bulk of your cart when shopping should go to vegetables and the bulk of your money should go to meats.  Sausage may be a little higher in fat than your typical chicken breasts but it’s all about balance and moderation.  Here are a few of my favorite brands when I step out of my grilled chicken box:  Alfresco All Natural and Applegate Organics.  Here is the recipe and this was pined from Barefoot Contessa so I did some modifications. We all know she loves her butter and kosher salt!

Here is the recipe that I did with my minor changes.

INGREDIENTS

Ina-Inspired Sausage and Kale Pasta

1 Box of Pasta (I used 100% whole wheat Penne)

1 large head of Kale, veins removed, chopped

4 links sausage (bigger style)

1 - 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes in their juice (I used the kind with basil, no added salt)

3 tablespoons of tomato paste

1/2 cup marsala wine (I used whatever cooking wine I had on hand. I think mine was a white wine)

4 garlic cloves, chopped

olive oil

Sea salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Prick sausages all over with a fork and bake in the oven for 15 minutes turning once until just cooked through.

3. While sausage is cooking, boil pasta 5 minutes less than package instructions.  Add kale to the boiling pasta for last five minutes of cooking time.  Drain kale and pasta all together.

3. Slice sausage into 1 inch pieces and saute in a medium-hot skillet until nice and brown. Remove to a plate.

4. In same skillet, add a few Tablespoons olive oil and chopped garlic. Saute until fragrant.

5.  Add tomatoes and their juice and stir in marsala.  Add tomato paste, salt and pepper and bring sauce to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add sausage, kale, and pasta. Cook for two more minutes.

I made this for my family and my brothers family. All kids loved it!!!!

 I served it with a green salad. Perfection!!!!