To finish off this week, I made a healthier carbonara for my mom for Mother’s Day. Healthy carbonara may seem like an oxymoron, but in reality it is possible.
I found a recipe online, and mostly followed it to a T, but I did add my own finishing touches.
I began by boiling water for the pasta. Usually I would use whole wheat pasta from my local, family-run pasta store, but my mom prefers normal pasta. Because it was Mother’s day, I felt like it was important to make it with her in mind.
While the water was boiling, I began to cook the bacon. Both my mom and I both really like crispy bacon, so I made sure to cook it a little longer than the package stated. I also added some onions into the skillet with the bacon, just to add some extra crunch. Then I boiled the frozen peas. While the pasta was cooking, I combined the 2 eggs and parmesan cheese.
I added the peas to the bacon and onion skillet. Once the pasta was finished, I drained the pasta and then added it into the large saucepan with the bacon, onions, and peas. Then I simply added the egg/parmesan combination and mixed it around, so the pasta was covered thoroughly.
Lastly, I added a bit of chives and some pepper.
The final product was delicious, and even my mom who is often a harsh critic said that I should save this recipe for future use. We had so much that we had some for dinner tonight also.
Health: B-. It’s still not that healthy, but it does avoid the heavy creams that are often in carbonara. It’s healthier, but still not really healthy.
Taste: A+. This is probably my favorite dish of the week.
Cost: A-. Bacon is a bit expensive, but everything else was pretty affordable.
Overall: B+. It is extremely tasty, but this is probably not something I should be eating every week.