August 15, 2018, 8:59 am | Read time: 3 minutes
The days when pasta was demonized as a fattening food are thankfully over. And let’s be honest: Isn’t the pasta salad–disguised as a side dish–actually the true highlight of the barbecue buffet in summer? FITBOOK shows how to create a delicious and light summer dish from al dente penne and a few other ingredients.
For many people, summer is usually quite meat-heavy, thanks to barbecue parties. And certainly, there’s nothing wrong with a juicy steak with plenty of roasted flavors. But sometimes, something fresh that will also delight vegetarians is welcome: a fitness pasta salad, for example. And because presentation matters, it also looks colorful and pretty.
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Fitness Pasta Salad with Beets
Don’t worry, our fitness pasta salad is hardly a calorie or carb bomb. Mixed with a variety of other colorful ingredients, the amount of penne per person in our recipe is manageable. And since they are whole grain and have a low glycemic index, they are more filling. Combined with the ultimate power duo–beets (rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and iron) plus feta (14 percent protein)–some valuable (macro) nutrients make it into the bowl. And it’s delicious!
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Fitness Pasta Salad: Recipe for Four People
Ingredients
- 180g whole grain penne
- 2 green onions
- 200g beets (cooked)
- 200g feta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 handful of sage leaves
For the Salad Dressing
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- Salt & pepper
Preparation
- Cook the whole grain penne al dente in well-salted, boiling water according to package instructions (or, depending on taste, remove a minute early)
- Shortly before the end of the cooking time, reserve about two or three tablespoons of pasta water
- Let the pasta cool in a colander
- Cut the beets and feta into roughly equal-sized cubes and the green onion into thin rings
- Mix and stir the ingredients for the salad dressing well
- Then heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and toss the cleaned sage leaves in it, lightly roasting them
- Now distribute the salad ingredients over the pasta, pour the salad dressing over it, and mix in the sage leaves
- Stir everything well.
If needed, mix in one or two tablespoons of the reserved pasta water–and enjoy!
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Fitness Pasta Salad: Nutritional Values per Serving
- 372 calories
- 36 grams of carbohydrates
- 11 grams of protein
- 20 grams of fat
The pasta salad is a delicious way to fill up healthily in high temperatures. And if more hungry mouths show up: just fire up the grill again!