Easy Pasta Salad -Healthy, Vegan and Gluten Free

Eating pasta just got healthier and it's pasta salad time in our house! 

Mixed with any kind of vegetable, the new high protein pastas, which are on all the supermarket shelves, are a great base for a quick and easy healthy meal, and you can be as creative as you like with the variety of vegetables that you add to the salad.

Many of these new pastas, available in most supermarkets, are frequently now made from beans, lentils, or quinoa providing a high level of protein and fiber, which boost the nutritive value of eating these varieties of pasta. And they taste light and really good too.

If you have fresh or frozen peas and a box of pasta (gluten free), you have the makings of a quick and easy pasta salad (or add some marinara sauce for a simple dinner entree).

It's been really hot are here, and I'm not sure if it's still spring or is it summer. However, when it's 93 and humid it certainly feels like summer. During this kind of weather, I like  my meals to be light and easy to prepare. 

I make pasta salad in a variety of ways using a variety of vegetables. (I always use gluten-free whole grain pasta)

It doesn't get much easier than boiling a little pasta (I use a high protein gluten free brand) and tossing it with some simple chopped vegetables such as fresh or frozen peas, some sliced olives, a little fresh basil, and some chopped cherry tomatoes as in the photo above.

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Ingredients: 

Whole Grain pasta- cooked and drained

Vegetables- cooked, raw, or canned

Fresh herbs- such as fresh basil 

Directions: 

Toss vegetables and herbs of choice with cooked and drained pasta

Use Whichever Vegetables You Have 

Actually, you could use whatever vegetables you have on hand or leftover. Sometimes I use green beans, red pepper strips, artichoke hearts, sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olives, etc which makes a really hearty meal.

Keep It Simple

Sometimes I just add some greens such as chopped fresh spinach

There are many new varieties of pasta that are made from lentils, beans, and or quinoa that provide a substantial amount of protein without sacrificing good taste and most are gluten-free as well.

Prefer It With Marinara Sauce? 

Pasta is so versatile. It can be consumed as a hot dinner or a cold salad. This beautiful pasta and pea salad is colorful, light, and quick to make. If you prefer a hot pasta dish, just add some chunky marinara sauce and heat. 

My Health and Diet Notes: 

1.  Use any kind of dressing you like. Personally, I'm on an oil-free diet and have been looking for oil-free pasta sauces- which surprisingly there are a lot. I find a 365 brand at Whole Foods and a marinara sauce at Aldis. 

2. I ate the cold salad without a dressing, but you could do Italian dressing or oil, lemon, and Italian seasoning. - I'm still working on an oil-free dressing for me. 

3. I am following The Starch Solution Diet  by Dr. Jon McDougall called The Starch Solution which extols the benefits of eating starchy vegetables such sweet potatoes and white potatoes and starchy whole grains such as quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat, millet, etc. 

I also read  How Not to Die  by Dr. Greger who has a free website at Nutritionfacts.org with a wealth of information and a video library about healthy eating for heart health and weight loss and health in general. He has videos on Youtube and he also has a book called, How Not to Diet. I like his nutrition suggestions on his video , The Daily Dozen.

Sharing on Souper Sunday where anyone can share a soup, salad, or sammie recipe. 

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