If you’re looking to add one more dish to your Fourth of July spread then search no more! Pasta salad is the perfect addition to a summer gathering because it can easily be made in advance and will stay fresh for days. It is also fairly easy to find 100% whole-wheat pasta, which means this dish is “real food” approved. Rather than coming up with completely new recipes for pasta
salad though I actually want to showcase two “older” 100 Days of Real Food recipes that can be reinvented by simply adding noodles.
Cucumber-Dill Pasta Salad (pictured)
Inspired by a blog reader
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry whole-wheat pasta like macaroni, penne, or rigatoni
- 1 recipe tzatziki sauce
- 1 ½ cups plain yogurt (preferably the whole-milk variety, but any type will work)
- ½ large cucumber, grated with a cheese grater
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon of dried dill)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 carrots, peeled
Directions
- Cook noodles according to package directions. Let them cool in fridge.
- Meanwhile prepare one recipe tzatziki sauce by simply mixing together all ingredients. Add 1/8 teaspoon of salt to recipe.
- Chop, slice, or grate carrots.
- Mix together the pasta, sauce, and carrots. Garnish with carrot or dill.
Yield: 6 side servings
Caprese Pasta Salad
Inspired by Deliciously Organic
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry whole-wheat pasta like penne, rigatoni, or macaroni
- 1 recipe caprese salad with the following quantities:
- 1 ½ cup tomatoes (any variety), diced
- 1 cup mozzarella, diced
- 2 handfuls fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Pepper and balsamic vinegar, to taste
- 1 recipe pesto with extra olive oil as follows:
- 1 loosely packed cup fresh basil leaves, removed from stem
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 whole clove fresh garlic, loosely chopped
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
- Cook noodles according to package directions. Let them cool in fridge.
- Chop and mix caprese salad ingredients. Combine and blend pesto ingredients together in mini chopper or food processor.
- Mix everything together with noodles. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
Yield: 6 side servings
Sound and look lovely. Thanks.
Hi! I just discovered your blog a few days ago through the Earthfare website. (I live in Ohio and we just got one sort of close to me – soo excited!) I love it and everything that you’re doing. My boyfriend and I have been eating this way (95% of the time) for about 8 months or so. We love it, but were getting a bit burnt out on eating the same thing over and over. We’ve recently started eating meat-free meals 3 or 4 days a week to add some variety and save money to buy higher quality meats when we do eat it. Your blog has given me many more ideas that I can’t wait to try! This change in lifestyle has made us both feel amazing, drop weight, have more energy, and just all around be healthier. I am so happy that there are people like you out there inspiring others to think twice about what they put in their bodies. We are struggling with one thing though… we have family dinners 1 or 2 nights a week, and we’re having a hard time getting our families to realize the benefits of healthy eating. Any suggestions? We’ve tried having them eat at our house about once a month and showing them that actual food can taste even better, and I’ve given them books and resources, but that doesn’t seem to be helping at all. we don’t know what else we can do, but we have to eat there.
I always love hearing of another success story so thanks for sharing! I did just publish a post about convincing family members to switch to “real food” http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/07/07/convincing-a-reluctant-spouse-to-eat-real-food/ but one thing I found is after HAVING to follow strict rules during our 100-day pledge (bring our own food, etc.) it somehow paved the way for us to keep eating “real food” continuously even though our pledge is over. It’s like everyone got used to the idea of us eating something different or just became more accepting (as if we had food allergies or something). So just a thought if you are eating with family on a regular basis…the pledge really is the perfect “excuse” so you can drop hints without offending anyone!
I started reading your blog a couple of weeks ago and am quickly becoming obsessed. We have a limited budget, but I am definitely doing this! I reviewed the mini-pledges and I think I’m going to start back with the Week 1 pledge and just keep adding the rules following the pledges. THANK YOU for sharing your journey.
So glad you are enjoyed the site…good luck with the mini-pledges!
Thanks for your info on getting the best prices for whole foods. I don’t usually go to Trader Joe’s since it’s not too close, but I made a north-end run today and found that their price for organic produce, cheese, and raw seeds and nuts are FANTASTIC! Like, in some cases, half the price of what I’ve been paying! Time to replan my pantry shopping!
P.S. I am getting REALLY good at making 100% whole wheat bread since I got inspired by your 2 challenges! I figure my cost for a delicious, soft, whole-food loaf is probably about 50 cents! (of course, only when I am going to be home for 4 hours anyway!)
I would love to see your whole-wheat bread recipe if you don’t mind sharing! I am still trying to perfect a loaf since getting my bread machine.
That sounds great, especially the dill one. I wish I had seen it before our cookout last night!
We tried the cucumber dill salad last night and it was amazing. We did add some tomatoes and a bit of roasted chicken on top. YUM! And so easy!
What brand of yogurt do you use?
I use Stonyfield organic whole-milk plain yogurt.
I love your recipes–especially this one! I would love them more if you could post the approximate nutritional information for easy viewing. Once I make the recipe, I can figure it out, but until I buy the ingredients, I’m not sure what I’m looking at in the calorie, fat, and protein department
I’m on Day 8 of the 10 Day Pledge and I’m loving the challenge! I’m sincerely considering pledging the 100 Days
I actually don’t post the nutritional information on purpose. We don’t count calories, fat grams, carbs, or any of that kind of stuff because we find that if we just eat a variety of whole foods (that’s heavy on plants and in reasonable moderation) the rest just falls into place effortlessly! It is definitely a lot easier than having to add up any numbers.
Hello,
Today is day 7th of my new life with Real Food. Me and my husband have been trying quite many recipes from your lovely blog and I just wanted to say THANK YOU for the lovely Caprese pasta salad! We’re amazed!