A green alfredo you can feel good about: broccoli and avocado blended into a creamy sauce, tossed with pasta and shrimp. One plate is 34g of protein for 377 calories, and it hides a serving of greens.

Avocado is the creamy body here — no cream, no butter, just blended veg.

Ingredients

  • For the pasta
  • Whole-grain pasta — 85 g (about 1¼ cups) [P 12 C 62 F 3]
  • Salt — for the pasta water
  • For the broccoli alfredo
  • Frozen broccoli — 2 cups [P 5 C 12 F 1]
  • Avocado — ½ small [P 1 C 4 F 8]
  • Garlic — 3 cloves
  • Low-fat cheese — ¼ cup (mozzarella) [P 9 C 2 F 6]
  • Pasta water — ⅓ cup (reserved)
  • Salt, pepper — to taste
  • For the shrimp
  • Raw shrimp — 250 g (about 14 x-large), peeled & deveined [P 48 C 0 F 3]
  • Olive oil — 1 tsp (or spray)
  • Salt, pepper, onion powder — to taste

Method

  1. Cook the broccoli and pasta. Boil the broccoli 2–3 minutes and remove; cook the pasta 7 minutes, reserve ⅓ cup water, then drain.
  2. Blend the sauce. Blitz the broccoli, avocado, garlic, cheese, salt, pepper and pasta water until smooth.
  3. Cook the shrimp. Season and pan-cook 2–3 minutes a side.
  4. Combine. Toss the pasta, sauce and shrimp.

What to eat it with

  • Chilli flakes — for heat.
  • A side salad.
  • Light parmesan on top.

Variations

  • Dairy-free: skip the cheese — still creamy from the avocado.
  • Any protein: chicken or salmon.
  • Lower carb: a chickpea or lentil pasta.

Honest notes

  • Fibre: about 6g a serving, from the broccoli, avocado and pasta.
  • Shrimp note: naturally very lean — the fat is from the avocado and cheese.
  • Macros: reconcile with the per-serving 377 cal / 34g protein listed; no correction needed.