Penne a la Vodka

Do you ever a get a craving for the rich and creamy Penne a la Vodka from your favorite Italian restaurant?  Ever thought of how much damage this dish could be doing to your waistline and arteries?  Well, the next time you want it, I suggest you make it in the comfort of your own kitchen and in less than 20 minutes! That’s less time than it would take for you to order it in from a local restaurant.

This is not a recipe, but rather a meal idea.  All you need are these 2 ingredients:

Newman’s Own Vodka Sauce: this stuff is incredible!!!  It is very creamy and has a strong cheese flavor.  The nutrition stats were much better than the other bottles in the supermarket.

One 1/2 cup serving: 110 calories, 5 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat, 440 mg sodium, 11 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 5 grams protein, 20% calcium.

Ingredients: diced tomatoes, tomato puree, nonfat dried milk, onions, olive oil, cream, romano cheese, vodka, garlic, salt, sugar, basil, spices (all real foods – no preservatives).

Most of the other Vodka sauces on the supermarket shelf had 4-5 grams of artery clogging saturated fat!  That was the main thing I wanted to keep down in my choice.  I also liked how this one contained 20% of your calcium needs and 5 grams of protein.  This comes from the 3rd ingredient which is nonfat milk.

Barilla Plus Pasta: I think the taste of this pasta is great, and if you don’t love whole wheat pasta I suggest you try this brand.  It’s a little less nutty than the traditional whole wheat pasta.  I also like how it has more fiber and protein than its white counterpart.

Penne a la Vodka:

I kept this dinner super simple, so it was just the pasta with sauce and a side of roasted broccoli.  Therefore I used 3 ounces of uncooked pasta with 1/2 cup of vodka sauce.  It appeared to be a very large serving!

This was incredibly satisfying and filling!  This 3 ingredient dinner (sauce, pasta & broccoli) contained lots of fiber, protein, and fat so it was rather well balanced.

If you wanted to add protein, I would suggest cutting the pasta serving back to 2 ounces and adding in a little chopped chicken breast, chicken sausage or shrimp.

Nutrition Information (3 ounces uncooked pasta with 1/2 cup sauce): 425 calories, 8 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat, 68 grams carbohydrate, 8 grams fiber, 20 grams protein, 23% calcium.

Nutrition Tidbit: Penne a la Vodka

• Sbarro’s Penne a la Vodka contains 640 calories and 28 grams fat.
• Nutrition Information is not available for Penne a la Vodka at other restaurants.  If I were to guess, I would say 600-1200 calories depending on portion size.
• Heavy cream combined with very large portions of pasta can really do you in.
• Next time you have the craving try it at home!