Delicious Heart Healthy Taco Recipe

Exploring the Flavorful Connection between Two Cultures

Growing up in India I knew very little about Mexico and especially Mexican food. I read about Mexico in history lessons and that’s about it, never had any Mexican food. There were no Mexican restaurants even in the big metropolitan city where I lived. I did not know how they taste and how much similarities they have with Indian food.

After I came to US in mid-nineties I experienced Mexican food for the first time.

I still remember the late fall day in Michigan. On a Friday my school friends were debating where to go eat that evening and one of them suggested Mexican food.

I am going to be honest, I was like Mexican food, hmm, never had that before, I wonder how it is going to be. I was worried that I won’t like it and have to eat something else after I come home. But hanging out with friends after a busy school week sounded great, so I went with them. At the restaurant I relied on my friends to help order food. They ordered several different dishes for all of us to share; tacos, fajitas, and some rice plate with rice, beans and fish.

After the food arrived it smelled quite good, and I started getting excited. I got one fish taco to start with. I took a bite, and it was delicious and the spices tasted so much like Indian spices like cumin and chili powder in it. In mid-nineties any food other than Indian food had barely any spices in it; people never heard of cumin powder for sure unlike now where many American dishes also integrate cumin and different types of chili powder in them. This is so good. Then I ate some fajitas and the fish dish. Everything was so good, and flavors were so much similar to Indian food. From that day on I was hooked on Mexican food.

Though oceans apart, Indian and Mexican cuisines share striking similarities. Both celebrate bold spices like cumin and chilies. Rice, beans, and lentils are staples in daily diet. Street food thrives in both cultures, from tacos and tamales to samosas and chaat, creating vibrant food experiences. Most importantly, meals in both traditions are tied to family, festivals, and a shared love of flavor.

Mexican food is now a regular in our household. Tacos are one of the most beloved Mexican dishes around the world, and for good reason, they’re flavorful, customizable, and quick to prepare. This recipe uses fresh vegetables, fish, and fiber-rich beans for a heart-healthy version your whole family will enjoy. Perfect for weeknight dinners or weekend gatherings, these tacos are as nourishing as they are delicious. Here are the recipes for both fish and vegetable tacos which are both low sodium, and heart healthy. If you prefer vegan, then skip the fish. 

Easy Homemade Tacos: A Heart-Healthy Twist

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 16 small corn tortillas 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium bell pepper, zucchini, and carrot; diced
• 1 cup low sodium (no salt added) black beans (cooked or canned, rinsed and drained)
• 2 fillets of tilapia fish
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika or smoked chili or chipotle pepper
• ½ cup fresh tomato salsa (homemade or store-bought)
• Lime wedges for serving

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Instructions

1. Prepare the filling
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
• Add onion, garlic, bell pepper, zucchini, and carrots. Sauté until softened (about 5 minutes).
• Add cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika and/or chipotle pepper. Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes, allowing flavors to blend.
• Make a mix of garlic, cumin and chili powder and rub on both sides of the tilapia fish fillets. This creates a blackened fish which is delicious. I don’t use store bought blackening seasoning which usually has lot of sodium in it. The mix of the above spices creates a healthy flavorful blackening spice.
• In a separate pan put some olive oil and put the fillets of tilapia fish. Cook each side for 5-7 minutes till blackened and you are done.
• Warm the black bean in a microwave for 5 minutes with some garlic, chili and cumin powder. (You can also cook it with the vegetables; I decided to keep it separate).
2. Warm the tortillas
• Heat tortillas on a dry skillet for 30–60 seconds per side until soft and pliable. You can also microwave it by wrapping it in a paper towel for 30 seconds.
3. Assemble the tacos
• For each taco I used two corn tortillas so that they can hold everything together
• First put some black bean on the warm tortillas
• Then spoon the vegetables or fish into them
• Top with the salsa that I made at home with tomatoes, chopped avocadoes and cilantro.
• Squeeze fresh lime juice over each taco before serving.

Left: Salsa, Middle: Vegetables, Right: Cooked Black Beans, and, Top: Blackened Tilapia Fish

"One bite of these tacos, and you’ll see that heart healthy can be absolutely delicious!!"

A Pinch Too Much: How Salt Sneaks Up on Your Blood Pressure

Growing up, grocery shopping with my mom meant not only comparing prices of everyday goods but also hunting for the lowest sodium option. When I was younger, I didn’t know or care too much about exactly why we did this. I knew for some reason lower sodium meant healthier, but for me I was in it for the game. Flipping through nutrition labels, my mom and I shared a rush of victory whenever we found the lowest sodium number.

Once I started medical school, sodium kept popping up, from microscopic cell function to big-picture topics like blood pressure, gut absorption, and kidney function. I won’t get into all the nitty-gritty details, but here are a few quick hits on how the body balances salt and what happens when we overdo it.

Salt vs Sodium

Sodium is a naturally occurring element that shows up all over the planet, usually paired with other elements to form compounds. The most familiar form is salt, made up of 40% sodium and 60% chloride. Health experts recommend keeping sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams a day, which works out to roughly 5.75 grams of salt or about one teaspoon.

What Happens in Our Body with Salt

One of the body’s most important jobs is keeping the concentration of particles like sodium, sugars, and waste products in our fluids at just the right level. This balance is called osmolarity. If it gets too far off, water can rush into cells and cause them to swell or even burst. Since our bodies are about 60% water, even small shifts in this balance can have big consequences.

Effects on the Blood Vessels and the Heart

When we eat salty foods, the sodium gets absorbed into our blood from the intestines. Each bit of sodium increases the osmolarity, so the body pulls in more water to dilute it back to a safe level. That extra water raises our blood volume. While blood vessels are built to handle pressure, they’re incredibly thin in some places, even as thin as one micrometer. Higher blood volume puts extra strain on those delicate walls.

If this happens once in a while, the body can handle it. But when a high-salt diet becomes the norm, the constant extra fluid keeps blood pressure elevated. Over time, the vessel walls respond to the strain by stiffening, which can lead to blockages. The heart also feels the effects. Like a balloon, it stretches in response to being filled with extra blood, which can weaken its walls. To keep up the strength to pump all this blood throughout the body, it thickens those walls: a short-term fix that, over the years, can turn into a harmful cycle leading to heart failure.

Effects on the Kidneys

The kidneys are like two finely tuned coffee filters, working around the clock to keep the body’s balance of fluids, electrolytes, and waste products in check. As blood passes through, the kidneys strain out waste and extra fluid as urine, while holding onto what the body needs. These “filters” also have built-in sensors that detect sodium and water levels. When sodium rises and blood pressure increases, the kidneys flush out the extra salt and fluid to restore balance.

But just like a coffee filter under too much water pressure, the delicate network of microscopic blood vessels inside the kidneys can be damaged if the workload is constantly high. A diet heavy in salt forces the kidneys to filter more fluid at higher pressure, wearing down these fragile vessels over time. As the filters weaken, they can no longer remove sodium and waste as effectively. This can lead to chronic kidney disease, where harmful levels of waste products and other electrolytes can build up in the blood throughout the body.

The Common Culprits

While sprinkling on some table salt to everyday meals does add up, the big sodium hitters are canned and packaged foods. Take a packet of ramen noodles which while a serving size says half a packet, let’s be honest, most people eat the whole thing. That single packet contains two-thirds of the sodium recommended for an entire day.

Avoiding packaged foods completely isn’t always realistic, but there are simple ways to make smarter choices. One easy swap is checking the label for “no salt added” versions. For instance, a regular can of black beans from Kroger has about 1,400 mg of sodium, while the “no sodium added” version has just 35 mg. That’s a huge difference without sacrificing the main ingredient and gives the body far less work to do when balancing salt levels.

Source: American Heart Association (www.heart.org) 

A Moment of Appreciation for Sodium

I know this whole post has focused on how too much salt can harm the body, but there’s a reason we have a recommended daily intake, right? Sodium is actually an essential nutrient, meaning it’s something the body must get from food because it can’t make it on its own.

One of sodium’s most important jobs happens deep inside our cells. The body’s main energy currency, ATP (adenosine triphosphate), is produced through a series of chemical reactions, and a key step in that process involves a sodium pump. This pump moves sodium across cell membranes, creating a chemical gradient that can be used to help make ATP which fuels every microscopic function within the body.

Sodium is also critical for all the nerves that make up our brains and serve as the connection between our brains and the rest of the body. Whether it’s taking a step, lifting an arm, or darting the eyes, every movement starts with sodium rushing into nerve cells. This triggers a chain reaction of electrical signals that travel through the brain and body, telling muscles and organs what to do. Without sodium, these signals couldn’t happen.

The point is, sodium is very important, just in the small amounts the body needs to keep everything running smoothly. The challenge is that high sodium hides in so many of the foods we eat every day. But the good news is that small, consistent choices can add up over time. 

For me, I still play that grocery store game, only now I understand just how much those little victories matter for my health. 💓

Quick and Easy Homemade Italian Marinara Sauce

❤️ Heart-Healthy Benefits of Tomatoes & Marinara Sauce

Tomatoes are more than just the star ingredient in marinara sauce; they’re a nutritional powerhouse for your heart. Packed with lycopene, a potent antioxidant, tomatoes help reduce oxidative stress in the arteries, lowering the risk of plaque buildup and heart disease. Lycopene has also been linked to lower LDL cholesterol and reduced blood pressure, two key factors in cardiovascular health.

Cooking tomatoes, as in a simmered marinara sauce, actually increases the bioavailability of lycopene, meaning your body can absorb more of it compared to raw tomatoes. This makes marinara sauce a delicious way to boost your heart health.

Marinara also delivers vitamin C, potassium, and folate, nutrients that support healthy blood vessels and regulate our heart rhythm. When made with heart-healthy ingredients like extra virgin olive oil and no added salt, marinara becomes even healthier; olive oil’s monounsaturated fats help improve cholesterol profiles, while garlic and herbs can add anti-inflammatory benefits.

In short, a homemade marinara isn’t just a comfort food; it’s a flavorful ally for cardiovascular wellness. And there are so many ways to eat it; with whole-grain pasta, vegetables, healthy vegan or low fat meatballs, ravioli, gnocchi, and so on...

In our household marinara sauce is a regular favorite addition to our menu. Many years ago I used to buy jarred marinara sauce, but that has so much sodium and other stuff that I had to stop using them when I started my health issues. I learned how to make marinara sauce from scratch, and it is actually quite easy and quick and tastes much better than most of the jar sauces.

Here is a recipe of my homemade marinara sauce that we all love.

Quick & Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce

Servings: ~4 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25–30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3–4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans (28 oz each) whole or crushed "no salt added" tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried basil (optional, for extra depth)
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, for heat, I always add in mine)
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves, torn or chopped from my summer garden

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Instructions

1. Sauté Aromatics
   Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 4–5 minutes, until softened and translucent. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant.

2. Add Tomatoes & Spices
   Add canned tomatoes with their juices. If you are using whole tomatoes, crush them with a spoon. Stir in oregano, dried basil (if using), red pepper flakes, and black pepper.

3. Simmer
   Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and flavors meld.
4. Finish with Fresh Basil
   Remove from heat, stir in fresh basil, and adjust seasoning to taste.

 

5. Serve over whole-grain pasta, roasted vegetables, or as a base for other dishes. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. I sometimes make big batch of it and freeze for few months and it still tastes great. 

I hope your family enjoys every bite of this delicious, heart-healthy sauce just like ours does!

Story of Amazing Heart Healthy Lentils

Growing up in India I ate lentil soup (Dal) every day. There was not one type of lentil but many different varieties: masoor dal (red lentil), green moong, yellow moong, yellow split pea (chana dal), and so on. There were so many ways to cook them from simple dal soup to moong dal with melon (lauki), chana dal with whole garam masala (cumin, cardamom, etc.) and coconut, etc.

One thing I did not realize till I came to US that lentils are prevalent globally. There are many Mediterranean recipes that use lentils including lentil stews, from delicious Lebanese red lentil soup (Shorbat Adas) to mujaddara, Italian lentil stew with tomatoes (Zuppa di Lenticchie), Ethiopian lentil stews (Misir Wot), and so on.

Archaeologists have found evidence of lentil cultivation as far back as 8,000–9,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, an area covering parts of modern day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. Lentils were among the first crops domesticated by humans, prized for their long shelf life, easy cooking, and rich nutrition.

As trade routes expanded, lentils traveled far beyond their birthplace. In India, they became the heart of countless dishes, from comforting dals to spicy curries. In the Mediterranean, lentil stews were staples for ancient Greeks and Romans. Across the Middle East, they’ve long been paired with rice, herbs, and caramelized onions in dishes like mujaddara. Even in Europe, countries like France and Italy have cherished their own varieties, such as the delicate Puy lentils or hearty lenticchie soups.

Below is a list of different lentils across the world.

Type & Color	Example Names	Flavor & Texture	Cooking Time	Uses	Heart Healthy Note
Brown 🟤	Brown Lentils, Masoor Dal (whole)	Mild, earthy; soft but holds shape	20–30 min	Soups, stews, veggie burgers	High in soluble fiber to help lower LDL cholesterol.
Green 🟢	Green Lentils, French Puy Lentils	Peppery, firm	25–35 min	Salads, side dishes	Packed with potassium and magnesium to help maintain healthy blood pressure.
Red 🔴	Red Lentils, Split Masoor Dal	Sweet, nutty; mushy	15–20 min	Indian dal, soups, Ethiopian Misir Wot	Quick cooking and rich in folate, which supports heart and vascular health.
Yellow 🟡	Moong Dal, Toor Dal, Split Yellow Lentils	Mild, creamy when cooked	15–25 min	Indian dals, curries	Excellent plant protein source without saturated fat, supporting overall heart health.
Black ⚫	Beluga Lentils	Rich, earthy; holds shape	20–25 min	Salads, grain bowls	Contain high levels of antioxidants that may reduce inflammation linked to heart disease.
Specialty 🌰	Pardina, Chana Dal	Nutty, firm	Pardina: 25–30 min; Chana Dal: 40–50 min	Mediterranean stews, Indian dal, pilafs	Nutrient dense with iron and B vitamins that help maintain healthy circulation.

Lentils are a heart healthy powerhouse, rich in soluble fiber that helps lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar. They’re an excellent plant based (vegan) protein source, virtually fat free, and packed with potassium, folate, and magnesium; nutrients that support healthy blood pressure and reduce cardiovascular risk (heart disease). Regularly eating lentils is linked to improved cholesterol and better overall heart function.

We go to a Nepalese restaurant close to us called "Base Camp" and recently we had their lentil soup which was a slightly different version of the Indian lentil soup. 

I made it at home and it was delicious. 

Below is the recipe for this quick and easy lentil soup. 

Nepalese Lentil Soup (Dal) Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red lentils (masoor dal) or yellow lentils (moong dal)
• 4 cups water
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece of ginger, minced
• 1-2 green chilies, chopped (optional, adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp garam masala or coriander powder
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

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Instructions:

1. In a small pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds. Let them splutter.

2. Add chopped onions and sauté until golden brown.

3. Add minced garlic, ginger, and green chilies. Sauté for another 2 minutes.

4. Add chopped tomatoes and cook until soft and oil starts to separate (5-7 minutes).

5. Add the red lentils and cook for 20 minutes. This is my faster and use of less pots/pans trick. Rather than boiling separately and then cooking with spices in another pan, I just cook it in the same pan and it tastes just as good.

6. Stir in garam masala or coriander powder and cook for a minute. 

Please check out my other lentil stew recipe;

https://heartnflavor.blogspot.com/2025/07/beans-beans-and-more-beans-if-you-love.html

Crowd Pleasing Heart Healthy Chickpea Spinach Curry

If you’re looking for a heart healthy, plant based vegan curry that’s both nutritious and delicious, this Chickpea Spinach Curry is the perfect choice. Packed with protein rich chickpeas, iron-loaded spinach, and aromatic spices, it’s a wholesome dish that’s naturally gluten-free and vegan-friendly.

On our recent trip to Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula, I cooked up a big pot of this curry for our family dinner. I kept it mild and flavorful so everyone could enjoy it especially since some of our relatives aren’t fans of spicy food. (At home, I like to make it with extra heat!). It was a hit with everyone, including the teenage boys, which made me very happy. Here’s the recipe so you can bring the same heart healthy flavors to your own table. I swerved with brown rice because it is healthier than white rice. 

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🥘 Chickpea Spinach Curry

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1inch fresh ginger, grated (or 1 tsp ginger paste)
• 1–2 green chilies, slit (optional, adjust to spice level)
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can low salt, drained and rinsed)
• 3–4 cups fresh baby spinach (or 1.5 cups frozen spinach)
• 1 tablespoon of dry Kasuri methi (optional, you can buy it at Indian grocery stores)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft and golden (5–6 minutes). Stir in garlic, and ginger (you can add chilies if you want any heat). Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
2. Add chopped tomatoes and cook until softened, about 4–5 minutes. Stir in cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, and cayenne (if you want any heat). Cook for another minute to toast the spices.
3. Stir in chickpeas and water. Simmer uncovered for 8–10 minutes so flavors blend.
4. I smoothed the spinach in the blender just for 30 seconds or so and then added it in and cooked until wilted (fresh: 2 minutes, frozen: 4–5 minutes).
5. Add a tablespoon of kauri methi and then let it sit for 5 minutes in low heat.

Healthy, hearty, low sodium, and vegan; this Chickpea Spinach Curry is a win every time!

Mediterranean Diet! What is it?

The other day, I was chatting with my daughter’s boyfriend, an aspiring cardiologist and he brought up something interesting. He said cardiologists often tell their patients to “eat a Mediterranean diet,” but rarely break down what that actually means. As a result, patients are left wondering what exactly this diet includes, how to prepare the meals, and even where to shop for the ingredients...

So today, I’ll walk you through what the Mediterranean diet really is, what typical ingredients you need, and what a typical day of eating might look like?

First off, the Mediterranean diet isn’t some exotic food with expensive ingredients. In fact, you can find everything you need at your local Walmart, Costco, or pretty much any grocery store.

At the heart of it all? Extra Virgin Olive Oil (extra virgin is the key)

Then add beans and lentils, and whole grains like quinoa, brown rice, whole grain cereal and oatmeal

Finally, lots of fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables.

And voilà, you’re on your way to eating like the Mediterranean do!

Note: All the above pictures are items from my pantry and fridge that I regularly use. I am not being paid by anyone to promote their products. 

🍽️ Here’s what a full day of eating the Mediterranean way can look like; easy, full of flavor and heart healthy.

🌅 Breakfast:
Start your day with a bowl of whole grain cereal with low-fat milk and topped with fresh fruit.

🥣 Lunch:
A bowl of hearty vegan lentil soup, packed with plant-based protein and flavor. Pair it with whole wheat warm pita bread.

Lentil Soup Recipe

🌿 Dinner:
End the day with a comforting chickpea and spinach (chana palak) curry, served with brown rice with a side of Mediterranean salad. It’s tasty, vegan, and loaded with heart healthy nutrients.

Chickpea Spinach Curry

Salad

I hope this makes the Mediterranean diet feel doable and delicious!

Happy and Heart Healthy Eating! 🫒🍴 

What Do Cardiologists Eat?

Let’s Take a Peek Into Their Plates! 🥗💓

Ever wonder what cardiologists; those heart health experts actually eat? After all, if they aren’t walking the talk, how can we expect their patients to do so

Today we're getting a look at what two Michigan Medicine cardiologists (including mine!) are eating daily to keep their hearts healthy. And yes, their food choices set a great example because health starts in the kitchen!

👉 Watch this quick video

      https://youtube.com/shorts/ykluENeBubE?si=H4Qjo5qOH3UArwyr

👉 And check out this detailed article

        https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/what-cardiologist-eats-daily-keep-her-heart-healthy

Here’s what’s is in their plates:

✅ Whole, plant-based – veggies, fruits, whole grains, and hearty beans
✅ Lean proteins – Greek yogurt, tofu, and omega-3 rich fish
✅ Healthy fats – olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds
🚫 They are Skipping – added sugars, processed foods, salt, and unhealthy fats

It’s inspiring to see medical professionals leading by example; not just with prescriptions, but with the food they are eating every day; heart healthy, low cholesterol diet. 

I’m going to follow their lead and continue to keep my meals heart healthy.

Let’s all make choices today that our hearts will thank us for tomorrow. ❤️

Are you in?

Courtesy: Michigan Medicine (https://www.uofmhealth.org/)    

Delicious, Heart Healthy Soup

Getting Ready for Soup Season... 

I just came back from a weeklong yearly vacation with my husband’s extended family in the upper peninsula of Michigan. We were in a little town on Lake Michigan called Manistique. The town also have a big inland lake called Indian Lake which is beautiful, not crowded with people and has exceptionally clear water. So, it is an excellent place to swim. You can also see the most gorgeous sunset on the lake.

The only drawback of the town is the serious lack of culinary options. If you are not cooking at home every day, which no one wanted to do (we did do it for 2 days), then not only the choices are limited but the quality is not great either except for this little café on lake Michigan called “Upper Crust Bakery” which is only open for breakfast and lunch. We literally ate lunch there every day, they are so good. 

Each year I come back with at least one dish from there that I wanted to replicate. This year it was Tomato Florentine soup. Soup season is approaching in Michigan, so this was a good time for me to try making a new soup. I made it the very next day with a healthier twist which turned out really good. I would put less pasta in it next time because when I added them in the soup, they seemed to be perfect but after they were fully cooked, I felt there were too many of them in the soup.

We also had delicious poke bowls. I am planning to make it soon and post the recipe here. So stay tuned!!

My healthy version of the soup has low sodium, added flavor came from use of more herbs and being spicy using black and chili pepper. 

The first picture is the one I ate at the cafe and the second one is the one I made at home.

Tomato Florentine Soup

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (28 oz) no salt diced tomatoes (with juice)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon of dried oregano 
• 1 teaspoon of frozen mixed herbs (thyme and rosemary) that I bought fresh in bulk a while back and froze some of it  
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup fresh or frozen spinach or kale
• ½ cup of shell pasta (this is the reduced amount that I will add next time)

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Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook for 5–6 minutes until softened.
2. Stir in the garlic, basil, oregano, and black pepper. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Pour in the no-salt canned tomatoes (with juice). If you prefer you can add no-salt vegetable broth also. I prefer not to use extra broth.
4. Bring it to a boil, add the pasta and then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until carrots and pasta are tender.
5. Add the spinach or kale and cook for 2–3 minutes. Unfortunately, I did not have either at home so the one I just made did not have that. But next time I am planning to add that.
6. Add more black pepper and/or chili powder for a spicier version that I did.

 If you have any questions/feedback please leave a comment!