The Best Pasta for Fertility & Pregnancy

If you’re trying to conceive or pregnant, what’s the best pasta to eat?

You might think it’s gluten free. You might think it’s low carb. You might think it has to be whole grain.

But… the real answer is - it’s the pasta that works for YOUR body, and YOUR taste buds.

With my 1:1 and group coaching clients, I like to focus on helping you add foods to your eating pattern, not cutting them out. So, in today’s blog post, we’re covering how to ADD foods to your pasta dinner to make it a complete meal that fuels your body for fertility and pregnancy.

So, let’s get into it! First, here’s all the ingredients you’ll need; I got all this from Trader Joe’s but you could definitely pick up a different salad kit and get the rest of the ingredients at any other grocery store, too.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you KNOW I love cooking with a cast iron skillet. Not only can they give you the perfect sear on your salmon in this recipe, but they actually infuse your food with iron - a nutrient that’s vital to fetal growth and development as well as a mineral that many are deficient in during pregnancy.

My favorite way to cook salmon in a cast iron skillet is to sear it skin side down for a few minutes in olive oil over medium heat until the filet is cooked on the bottom a few millimeters like in this picture. Then you’ll finish it off in the oven for about 12 minutes. It ends up juicy, delicious, and not too fishy tasting! In this recipe, I actually cooked the veggies in the same pan, and it worked pretty well. You can always throw the veggies back in the oven or finish cooking them on the stovetop if they’re not quite done. Salmon provides a rich source of protein and omega-3 fats, alongside the olive oil for even more beneficial fats for fertility and pregnancy.

I used regular degular pasta for this meal. We’re getting plenty of fiber from all the veggies we’re adding, plus protein in the salmon, and many people don’t realize that pasta is actually fairly high in protein for a grain! When fully cooked, 1 cup pasta has about 8 grams of protein. You could substitute with chickpea pasta or brown rice pasta if you need to eat gluten and want a bit more fiber, or a whole grain pasta could work too. But I always like to point out that you don’t HAVE to if you don’t want to 🙂

Hot tip, get the water boiling before you start cooking the salmon, and then the pasta and the salmon will be done right around the same time!

I’m a huge fan of salad kits, as they take all the thinking and chopping out of the equation, so all you have to do is toss them together. They are almost always very delicious. This particular arugula salad kit from Trader Joe’s is one of my favorites, especially as someone with PMDD! Arugula is a cruciferous vegetable, which can help with estrogen balance for people with heavy, painful periods or severe PMS.

Once the pasta and the veggies are done, toss everything together with pesto, and PRESTO (sorry I had to), you’ve got delicious, nutritious pasta. Carbs, protein, fat, fiber, flavor - gang’s all here.

Looking for more support with fertility and prenatal nutrition? I’d love to work with you! Click here to get started with my group coaching program Fully Nourished Pregnancy for education and community on your body positive fertility & prenatal journey. Need high touch, individualized nutrition counseling? Click here to learn more about working with me in 1:1 coaching.

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Salmon Pesto Pasta and Salad

Yield: 4

Author: McKenzie Caldwell, MPH, RDN

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 25 Min

This delicious and simple pasta dinner is packed with protein and omega-3 fats to support your fertility and prenatal health.

Ingredients

• Farfalle pasta, 8 oz
• 3 tsp olive or avocado oil, divided
• 1 lb boneless salmon, skin on, cut into 4-5 oz fillets
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 pinches salt
• 2 pinches pepper
• 3 oz jarred pesto sauce
• 1, 8-10 oz salad kit of choice

Instructions

For the pasta

1. Bring a quart of salted water to a boil. Boil pasta according to directions on the box. Drain, and toss with pesto sauce and cooked veggies.

For the veggies and salmon

1. Heat oven to 375 F.
2. On the stove, heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tsp olive oil.
3. Arrange salmon skin side down in the skillet. Add cut veggies to the pan. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon. Add salt and pepper.
4. Let salmon sear for 2-3 minutes, until a few millimeters of flesh appear cooked on the bottom. Then transfer skillet to the oven for 12 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork.
5. Remove skillet from the oven, and remove salmon from the skillet. If needed, continue roasting the veggies until tender but not mushy.
6. Toss veggies with cooked pasta and pesto. Serve salmon over pasta with side of salad.

For the salad

1. Toss all salad ingredients together and set aside. Serve with cooked pasta, veggies, and salmon.