A Healthier Summer Staple

With the weather warming up across the country (for the most part), I wanted to share a few ways I have recently found to healthy up a classic summer stample: pasta salad. I.love.pasta.salad. Like, a lot. I could eat it all the time. Unfortunately, it just isn't really a great addiction to have. Thankfully for pasta lovers like myself, I have come up with a few alternatives to the traditional ingredients. I find I enjoy my beloved pasta salad even more when it contains ingredients I feel good about eating. - Use a nutrient-rich pasta such as Barilla Plus. One box of this pasta has as much Omega 3's as 6 ounces of walnuts and as much protein as 11 eggs. - Make it colorful. Pack in as many veggies as possible. Peppers, red onions, asparagus tips, black olives, broccoli, carrots, celery, cucumber, squash, zucchini, etc. Use what you have in your fridge. You can never have too many veggies and they tend to go very well together. - Choose your cheese wisely. Feta: sheep, goat, 1 percent instead of whole, etc. are good choices. Also, purchasing a 4 ounce container of Feta, for example, provides instant portion control. - It's all in the dressing. Choose a low-fat dressing like low-fat Italian or flavored vinaigrette with no mayo or fattier additions. Happy Summer and happy eating! xoxo, Emily