Setting out on a mission to eat healthier starts with creating goals and working to achieve them with those you love. To help make nutritious eating more manageable, call together your family and work with one another to create a menu everyone can enjoy while staying on track.

Connecting an array of recipes that all can agree on starts with versatile ingredients like dairy. Gathering at the table with your loved ones while enjoying delicious, nutritious recipes featuring yogurt, cheese and milk can nourish both body and soul.

For example, the key dairy ingredients in these recipes from Milk Means More provide essential nutrients for a healthy diet. The cheese varieties in Feta Roasted Salmon and Tomatoes and 15-Minute Weeknight Pasta provide vitamin B12 for healthy brain and nerve cell development and are a good source of calcium and protein, which are important for building and maintaining healthy bones. Meanwhile, the homemade yogurt sauce served alongside these Grilled Chicken Gyros provides protein and zinc.

To find more nutritious meal ideas to fuel your family’s health goals, visit MilkMeansMore.org.

15-Minute Weeknight Pasta

Recipe courtesy of Kirsten Kubert of “Comfortably Domestic” on behalf of Milk Means More
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Servings: 6

• 6 quarts water
• 16 ounces linguine or penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ cup thinly sliced onion
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1 cup thinly sliced sweet bell pepper
• ½ cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 cup reserved pasta water
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• ½ cup smoked provolone cheese, shredded
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Bring water to rolling boil and prepare pasta according to package directions for al dente texture, reserving
1 cup pasta water.

In large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in onions, carrots and sweet bell peppers. Saute vegetables about 5 minutes, or until they brighten in color and begin to soften. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and garlic. Cook and stir 1 minute to allow tomatoes to release juices.

Pour reserved pasta water into skillet, stirring well. Bring sauce to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 3 minutes. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings, as desired.

Transfer drained pasta to skillet along with lemon zest and smoked provolone cheese, tossing well to coat. Serve immediately with fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese, if desired.