Spinach Basil Garlic Pasta with Grilled Chicken - YUM!

I don't know about you, but one of the most frustrating things for a commuting college student is lunch. You don't have a meal plan(and don't want one) so eating on campus isn't really much of an option. You're not rich and you're trying to be healthier, so going out to eat every day for lunch is taboo. It's a frustrating experience on a daily basis.

Today, while grocery shopping after class, I was trying to find things that wouldn't be high in sodium or calories but keep me full. After wandering around getting snackish type things for roughly 20 minutes, I found these grilled chicken strips in the refrigerated section from Tyson. You heat them up for roughly 90 seconds and they are warm and ready to go, for whatever you want to use them for. It comes in a 6 ounce package and 3 ounces is a serving of 100 calories. Instantly I thought about these delicious pasta nests I had back in the pantry, but I'm sure you can use them for salad, chicken fajitas(I may do that with the other half of my chicken), stir frys, and probably anything you may want grilled chicken it. This is a DREAM for someone who loves chicken as much as me.

Anyways, so of course I bought some and brought it home to make with these pasta nests. The pasta is Spinach Basil Garlic Pasta, angel hair to be specific, and comes in these cute little round nests at 100 calories a piece. I boiled two of these with some garlic and salt in the water, just to bring out the flavor a little bit, while I heated up the chicken(3 ounces, just one serving or half the bag). The noodles only had to cook for five minutes, so in about seven minutes flat I had this delicious mix of pasta and chicken. No sauce, no veggies(although I wanted to add a little bit of green beans & mushrooms), no butters, just noodles and grilled chicken.

So what is the damage health wise?

Spinach Basil Garlic Pasta with Grilled Chicken
Calories - 300
Total Fat - 2.5g
Sat. Fat - .5g
Cholesterol - 50mg
Sodium - 485mg
Carbs - 42g
Fiber - 2g
Sugar - 1g
Protein - 28g

So as you can see, really great on the protein and calories. Another bonus? I'm still stuffed, hours later! I love it when I'm not ravenous and seeking out a snack less than two hours after lunch. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Oh, and if you can come up with some other uses for this Tyson grilled chicken, let me know! I still have half a bag left.