The Great Pasta Question and Lemony Chicken and Vegetable Pasta

I hope everyone had a good New Year celebration...mine was very low key...an evening spent at home watching movies on Netflix...lol  The tree and the holiday decorations are now all down, and I am ready to get back into a routine, one which includes a more healthy diet!! 

Everyone that does WW knows what the point values for dry pasta are, right?  Of course we do...regular pasta, 2 oz. dry is 5 points+ and whole wheat pasta, 2 oz. dry is 4 points+. But really, who only cooks 2 dry oz. of pasta at one time?  I know I don't.  I will cook a pound of pasta for my family, and then weigh out my portion once the whole pound is cooked...I don't cook 2 oz. separate.  So what does 2 oz. of dry pasta weigh once it's cooked??  I have searched and searched for an answer to this question...and finally today, I decided to do a little experimentation.  First, I weighed out EXACTLY 2 oz. of dry pasta.  (Twice, because I used regular penne type pasta and whole wheat spaghetti type pasta )

dry penne weighed out ( minus the bowl )

2 oz. uncooked whole wheat spaghetti

I cooked both pastas al dente according to package directions separately and then reweighed each.  Here is what I got:

Cooked penne ( minus the bowl )

cooked whole wheat spaghetti ( minus the bowl ) 

As you can see, the cooked pasta weighs a little more than two times the dry.  I believe it would be safe to say, if you measure out 4 oz. of cooked pasta, it would have the same amount of points as 2 oz. dry.  It didn't seem to make a difference in the shape or the composition of the pasta as to the final weight.  Mystery solved!  :) 

And now what to do with this perfectly cooked pasta?  How about a nice, light lemony chicken and vegetable pasta dish? I made this dish for lunch, and it serves one..but you could easily adjust the measurements to make a dish to serve four to six or make this into a two serving recipe for half the points!  You could also leave the chicken out for a few less points or use whatever zero point vegetables you like.

Lemony Chicken and Vegetable Pasta

Servings - 1  huge serving  Serving size - whole recipe   Points plus per serving - 10 points+ 

Calories - 395.2,  Total Fat - 8.7g,  Carb. - 56.7g,  Protein - 25.8g,  7.6g

2 oz. dry penne pasta ( cooked according to package directions)

2 oz. cooked chicken breast, diced (warm)

1 cup fresh broccoli florets

1/2 cup baby carrots

1/2 cup red pepper, sliced

1 TBS. brummel and brown spread

1 clove garlic, minced

1 TBS. lemon zest

juice of half a lemon

salt and pepper, to taste

1 TBS. Parmesan cheese, shredded

1.  Cook the broccoli, baby carrots, and red pepper until crisp tender.  ( I used the microwave )  

2. In a small saucepan, melt the brummel and brown spread.  Add the garlic and the lemon zest.  Cook until the garlic gets fragrant.  Take off heat, and add the lemon juice.  

3.  In a small bowl, combine the cooked pasta, chicken, and cooked vegetables. Pour the garlic lemon mixture over and coat evenly.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle on cheese.  Enjoy!  

PRINTABLE RECIPE