Greek Pasta Salad Love

I bet you see a recipe blog post for pasta something or another and scroll on by!  This Greek Pasta Salad Love recipe is a favorite in my house.  The flavors are robust and the ingredients are simple.  PLUS cancer hates it which makes it even better!  

Now let’s talk about that pasta.  First of all, this recipe is not heavy on the pasta, 1 serving is only 1/2 cup of whole grain pasta.  Second, there are more vegetables than pasta by double and superfood vegetables at that!   So don’t bypass an excellent real food recipe for the sake of pasta martyrdom! 

Whole Grain Pastas

The definition of a whole grain is any grain that contains the bran, germ, and endosperm.  That tells you a lot right?  Ok maybe not.  If you process a grain like wheat to make flour you remove the bran and germ and are left with the scratchy, nutritionless endosperm.  This processed stuff is the dangerous kind. When you consume too much your body does not know what to do with it all and it converts to sugars and can cause all kinds of nasties like chronic inflammation, weight gain, and digestion issues.  However consuming the whole grains in moderation can add benefits to your health and has been proven in study after study to help with a chronic disease like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.  I am not giving you license to go downtown crazy eating grains.  They only make up about 1-2% of my plant based diet.  What I am suggesting is that if you do not have a sensitivity to gluten or are celiac there is no need to run screaming “GRAINS” like the devil is after you.  In fact, the fiber in 100% whole grains is beneficial to your human body! 

TIPS FOR BUYING WHOLE GRAINS:

1. Make sure that the package says 100% Whole Grains
2. Whole grains are typically not white.  No white flour, bread, pasta or cereal. 
3. Don’t overeat grains, this can lead to weight gain and inflammation.
4. Only have 1 serving of whole grains ever day, 1/2 cup whole grain pasta, 1 slice sprouted whole grain bread or 1/2 cup brown rice.
5. If you are gluten free choose brown rice or quinoa pasta. 

Greek Pasta Salad Love

2 cups broccoli, chopped into florets

1 cup cauliflower, chopped

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

zest of 1 lemon

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

¼ tsp black pepper, fresh ground

½ cup raw almonds, slivers or chopped

1 cups penne pasta, choose whole grain or gluten free

2 tbs olive oil

sea salt to taste

Fill large stockpot with water. Add 2 pinches of sea salt to water. Bring to a boil, add pasta and set timer to cook for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes add broccoli and cauliflower. Cook pasta and vegetables together for another 3 – 4 minutes until vegetables are tender.

While mixture is cooking heat a small skillet add almonds and shake or stir for 3 minutes until they are fragrant, then set aside.

Drain pasta and vegetable mixture in a colander in the sink. Pour mixture into large bowl. Add feta, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, toasted almonds, and olive oil. Toss gently until coated. Season with salt as desired.

Serve with lemon wedges as garnish