Heart Healthy Rotini Pasta Salad Recipe
In a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water.
In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta with tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, cucumber, broccoli, olives and dressing. Add cheese and toss gently. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. Toss salad before serving.
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About This Healthy Recipe
Do you love pasta salad but wish you could find a low calorie pasta salad that tastes great? If so, you’re not alone. Pasta salad is a very popular side dish or light meal and what goes into the salad can make or break how healthy or unhealthy it is. The good news is that if you’re looking to lower the calories, sodium and fat content of pasta salad, this recipe delivers without compromising on taste. Here’s how: Lower in Calories Pasta salad can be very calorie dense, depending on what you add to it. But this low calorie pasta salad recipe contains only 220 calories for a cup and a half serving. That’s because in addition to multigrain pasta, it is loaded with a colorful assortment of fresh veggies, including broccoli, red pepper, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and red onion. It also contains some black olives and low-fat mozzarella cheese along with a low fat dressing, but including so many veggies helps to keep calorie counts manageable while making this dish an explosion of fresh flavor and eye-catching color. Lower in Sodium Looking for a low sodium pasta salad to keep your heart healthier? This recipe contains only 350mg per generous serving, which is a lot less than many commercially-prepared or restaurant pasta salads. That’s because all of the ingredients are fresh, with the sodium coming primarily from olives, cheese and the dressing. There is no additional salt added for flavoring – it is not needed. And there are no hidden ingredients that add to the sodium content without you knowing it. Lower in Fat It may be hard to believe, but this low fat pasta salad contains a mere 1g of saturated fat. That’s thanks to the use of low-fat instead of full-fat cheese. There is some additional fat from the olives and Italian dressing, but the rest of the fat content is of the unsaturated kind, which is better for your heart. Additionally, this heart healthy pasta salad contains absolutely no cholesterol. It also contains 3g of fiber per serving, which helps to offset the effects of fat and carbs on the body.
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