Day 6

I gave up gluten a while ago.

I don't remember why or who told me to, but I did and I felt so great that I stuck with it.

But I LOVE pasta.

This pasta recipe is a staple around my house and the best part about it (besides the fact that the whole dish is under 5 dolllars) is that it works best with brown rice pasta.

Delicious, nutritious and sans-gluten, brown rice pasta has all of the

belly-filling yumminess of pasta with none of the puffy-faced exhaustion.

This pasta is perfect for the cleanse because it is light and healthy and contains none of Dr. Junger's no- no's.

The recipe serves two and, since it is so tasty, you might actually find someone to eat it with you.

My manfriend, the most finicky of diners, loves it and requests it often.

Here it is:

The "I'm friggin' starving and all I want is pasta" Pasta

-1 pound organic brown rice pasta

-1/4 cup olive oil

-juice of 2 lemons

-1 bag frozen, organic chopped spinach

-lemon pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes and turmeric to taste

Cook pasta according to package instructions.  

Brown rice pasta tends toward the gummy side so be sure not to overcook it.  I usually cook the pasta a minute or two under what the package recommends.

While the pasta is cooking be sure to reserve a quarter cup of the pasta water for later use.

Coat frying pan with grapeseed oil and sautee frozen spinach with desired spices.

Whisk lemon juice, olive oil and spices in a separate bowl.

After draining pasta, LIGHTLY coat with pasta water.  You want to use just enough water so that the pasta doesn't stick together, but not so much that water pools in the bottom of the bowl.

Add spinach and lemon juice mixture to pasta and toss.

Extra lemon and spices can be added as desired.

What's nice about using chopped spinach, rather than another vegetable, is that, when mixed with the brown rice pasta, it forms a kind of green pesto-y texture.

Enjoy!