Does anyone have a recipe for a good healthy summer pasta salad?
Garden Pasta Salad From EatingWell Magazine This lightly dressed pasta salad gets lots of flavor from kalamata olives and basil. A colorful mix of diced bell pepper, shredded carrot and tomatoes adds vitamins and minerals. Serve on a crisp bed of greens. Toss in canned chunk light tuna, cooked chicken or flavored baked tofu (see Note) to add protein and make it more substantial. Makes 6 servings, 1 cup each ACTIVE TIME: 35 minutes 2 cups whole-wheat rotini (6 ounces) 1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise 1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar or lemon juice 1 clove garlic, minced 1/8 teaspoon salt Freshly ground pepper to taste 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 1 cup diced yellow or red bell pepper (1 small) 1 cup grated carrots (2-4 carrots) 1/2 cup chopped scallions (4 scallions) 1/2 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives 1/3 cup slivered fresh basil 1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta, stirring occasio
Summer pasta salad is one of the easiest and healthiest dishes you can make. The best part about making this type of salad, actually most salads is that you can use your imagination when deciding what ingredients to add.
Of course, you should start every pasta salad with a pasta. If you want to be super healthy, you can use a whole wheat pasta. Pasta shapes are optional too. I like to use rotini (corkscrew) pasta. You can also find pasta in a variety of colors to add some fun to your salad.
The dressing for the pasta salad is very important. Try a combination of balsamic vinagerette with just a little bit of olive oil. To that, you can add a little oregano, basil or perhaps mint. The whole point is to experiment and have some fun! If you don’t feel like getting creative, try using a low-fat, low-calorie Italian bottled dressing.
When I make my pasta salad, I like to include broccoli, low-fat cheddar cheese, cherry tomatoes, red onion, green or red (or both!) peppers and pepperoni. If you want your pasta salad to be healthy, you should skip the pepperoni. The above ingredients aren’t the only ones you can add. Try edamame, green beans, olives or snow peas. The list goes on and on and is only limited by your imagination. I don’t think I ever make the same pasta salad twice.
A word about quantities. I didn’t give specifics of how much of this and how much of that to use when making your pasta salad. In my house, a pound of pasta makes enough for my family of four to eat at least twice, maybe three times. This is with two almost-grown sons. As far as the rest of the ingredients, use your eyes. You want to be able to see a little bit of each ingredient throughout the salad. Add the dressing sparingly and taste as you add. When you can taste the dressing, but it’s not overpowering the salad stop adding it. Too much dressing equals too many calories, fat, etc.
You should prepare the salad in advance and refrigerate to give the dressing a chance to coat the ingredients. Enjoy your pasta salad!
