Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Hello everyone. I plan on making this pasta sauce since it is so tasty and hubby likes it too!
http://veganyumyum.com/2007/08/cappelli ... eam-sauce/

However, hubby mildy complains that a dinner of spaghetti + salad (green leaf or romaine with carrots, celery, cucumber (or squash), dried cranberries, boring, I know!) + maybe a slice of garlic toast doesn't fill him up and he sometimes (and admittedly, me too) gets hungry later in the evening when it's actually too late to have a snack.

So.... I'm looking for some new ideas to make our spaghetti + salad a bit more exciting and more filling to our bellies. I am allergic to ALL nuts so I can't throw those in. I am also wanting to avoid the TVP/TSP fake meat crumbles to add to the sauce (I am not allergic to soy, I just try to avoid processed meat substitutes). Would it be weird to throw a handful of chickpeas on top of the spaghetti or in the salad? I'm welcome to some new ideas! Thanks in advance!

i love chickpeas in salad! i don't think that's weird at all. are you opposed to additional vegetables in the pasta, like eggplant or zucchini or something along those lines?

I like the chickpea idea, as well..along those lines, and maybe I'm weird thinking this, but if you are sometimes already eating garlic toast, maybe you could top it, with chickpea spread (hummus). Or slice some avocado onto it or the salad. Mushrooms would also be good, either in the spaghetti sauce or on the salad.

mmm.... eggplant.... you are smart! for dinner, hubby & I try to plan ahead and cook one night and then also eat the leftovers the following night. if i had leftover eggplant, depending on how i prepared it, i wonder if it would freeze well? and nope i'm not opposed to extra veg in the pasta. i'm just trying to pay more attention to what is in season and i think zucchini will be going out of season soon, although i'm no gardener so i could be wrong! but i do like eggplant!

Perhaps use whole wheat pasta? It has more protein and fiber. Also, nuts and/or chickpeas in the salad would be nice. Maybe blend some white beans into the sauce instead of Tofutti; that would be more cost effective and also more nutritious.

thanks, i'm pretty sure we have some shrooms in the fridge. we have put avocado in salad before when i made a cumin-cilantro vinagrette and it was so rich and hearty to have that avocado in the salad.

a chickpea hummus spread is not weird for the garlic toast, i could probably add some italian seasoning to make the hummus more italian rather than middle eastern ;)

thanks, not sure if i have whole wheat pasta in the pantry but i did buy some enriched barilla pasta that boasted a boost of extra vitamins and proteins and such. next time i need pasta, i'll compare the labels and check out the whole wheat kind.

no nuts for me, due to allergies, but it seems everyone is on board for chickpeas in the salad :) thanks for the tip about the white beans. although i do try to avoid processed dairy and meat substitutes, i really do like tofutti, i use it in moderation of course, so i don't mind the "treat" of adding into the pasta sauce although i'm lacking the nutrition benefits that a bit of white beans would add of course.

i think eggplant freezes fine, as long as it isn't too wet. some winter squashes are not very sweet and can be great in pasta dishes.

I would venture to say that meat substitutes are less processed than dairy ones. But even if you don't want to buy Yves ground beef or something, you could always make your own so you know what's going into it. Just get some soy curls or TVP/TSP (which is just textured dehydrated soy) and marinate it to make it taste "meaty" (with liquid smoke and/or braggs and/or spices and/or veggie broth).

Mushrooms are a good way to bulk up a sauce. Eggplant is good. A squash of any kind (i love zucchini in my sauces this time of year).

As for the salad, I am on the bean train - chickpeas, black beans, white beans...either thrown in the salad or blended in the sauce. My partner is really into making goddess-type dressings, and it really does make the salad more filling. I know you said no nuts, but what about sunflower seeds?

I add chickpeas to salads all the time and it's awesome. This involves extra work, but would it be insane to suggest also having Italian-style baked tofu or tempeh along with your spaghetti and salad? It would certainly add some protein to the meal. I don't have a specific recipe in mind but there are loads of "Italian" marinated tofu recipes out there.

oooh, tempeh sausage crumbles! right from our very own ppk!

http://www.theppk.com/2008/10/tempeh-sausage-crumbles/

I often use mushrooms to bulk up a pasta dish. Also, brown lentils to make kind of a meaty sauce.

I like brown lentils in spaghetti sauce, and eggplant.

Fat will fill you up for longer, so along with the chickpeas, try adding some avocado to your salad.

A handful of lentils thrown in with the cooking pasta will kind of disappear but make the pasta nutty and more filling. Works with rice too.

thanks everyone for the continued ideas! as for brown lentils, i do have 2 leftover cups of the french (green?) kind in the freezer (but I'm saving them for a recipe I plan to make on saturday, mmm..... lentil meatloaf!)

anyway, on a whim i bought some red lentils in bulk, what can i say they just looked pretty and exotic although i've since learned they will turn brown after they are cooked ;) i assume red lentils will be just as filling and nutrious? i assume i'll need to cook the red lentils separately in a small pot.....

sigh, i still fear the tempeh as it's so "weird" and "exotic" but i know, not really ;) i bought a 3 grain pack awhile ago (doesn't expire until the end of next month) and i'm still nervous to use it!

Shred some tempeh and saute before adding to your sauce, cook some mushrooms with it too. Then you will have a more filling and nutritious meal which will not seem strange or out of the ordinary since its more like a spaghetti bolognese type sauce than any new thing with tempeh I suggest.

Seitan sausages, tempeh, beans or lentils are great ideas. I get hungry super fast if I don't have a good source of protein with my dinner. Some chickpeas in the salad are a good idea, but might not cut it.

I was going to suggest frying up some Field Roast sausage, but if you’re avoiding processed foods then baked tofu or tempeh on top of the spaghetti would make it more filling. I also like adding cooked brown lentils to my pasta sauce to bulk it up or roasting some marinated chickpeas to add to the salad would add some protein and flavor. Big chunky roasted veggies added to the pasta would also make it more interesting.

I'm not so much avoiding processed foods, just the processed fake meats, veggie burgers, cheezes, etc..... I make my own veg burgers from scratch and such. I still have cereal every morning which is "processed" and I like triscuits and wheat thins and those are processed too.

thanks again to you, and the other new comments before yours, for the great suggestions. Pasta + salad night will be tomorrow, and I look forward to bulking up our dinner! I'm going to try to use everything in our pantry without going to the grocery store so the eggplant idea will need to be put on hold for now.

I have also simply added lentils or black beans to pasta sauce before when things were tight.

i don't know if you're vegan or just vegetarian, but barilla pasta plus has eggs in it. (in case you're vegan and weren't aware)

I add beluga lentils to my pasta sauce when I want something a little more hearty.

Tofurky Italian sausage!