Quick, Hearty Lunch
Getting bored with your usual lunch options? Try this simple pasta salad recipe. It’s easy to throw together with pantry items like pasta and canned tuna, and the robust Mediterranean flavors of olives and roasted red peppers will make your taste buds dance. Bonus: this salad is easy to transport on workdays, and you can easily double or triple the recipe if you want to prep several days’ lunches all at once. To keep the salad from getting too soggy, wait to add the balsamic vinegar until the day you plan on eating it. Give the recipe a try and let me know what you think!
Note: This is a complete lunch meal approved for Steps 2, 3, and 4. If you’d like, you can enjoy non-starchy vegetables, such as celery sticks or baby carrots, on the side.
Tuna Pasta Salad with Roasted Red Peppers and Olives
- 1 cup cooked whole wheat penne, rotini (fusilli), or macaroni (2 ounces dry)
- 6 olives, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers (patted dry if packed in oil)
- 1 (6-ounce can) light tuna packed in water (preferably low sodium), drained well
- Balsamic vinegar
- Black pepper
In a medium bowl stir together the pasta, olives, roasted red peppers, and tuna until ingredients are evenly distributed. Drizzle in balsamic vinegar to taste and stir to combine. Season with black pepper to taste.
Makes one serving
Nutrition Information
Calories – 360
Total Fat – 5 g
Saturated Fat – 0.5 g
Cholesterol – 55 mg
Sodium – 570 mg
Carbohydrate – 49 g
Fiber – 5.5 g
Protein – 34 g
Published: Monday, November 02, 2009