Summer Pasta Salad

2 bunches? of asparagus*, cleaned and chopped to about 1-2in pieces

1 cloves of garlic, minced

4 cups of cooked pasta (I like bow ties)

1 can of artichokes, chopped into bite sized pieces

4 tbsp toasted sunflower seeds

2 oz grated parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Optional – tuna or chicken

Dressing

1/3 cup oil of choice – I used avocado oil

¼ cup red wine vinegar

Juice from 1 lemon

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp basil

Optional – 1-2 tbsp mayo as an emulsifier

Salt and pepper

1. If you’re having a summer grill day, feel free to grill the asparagus to cook them. With this method, spray them with cooking oil spray, and mix in the minced garlic. Make a little pouch out of aluminum foil and plop it on the grill until fork tender.

2. If you’re like me and don’t have access to a BBQ, you can heat a frying pan to medium high, spray with cooking oil spray, toss the asparagus in and cook for ~5 min. Add the minced garlic and cook until asparagus is fork tender.

3. In a big bowl, mix pasta, asparagus, artichoke and optional chicken or tuna.

4. In a mason jar, add oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, basil, optional mayo** and salt and pepper. Put the lid on and shake it baby.

5. Add preferred amount of dressing to the pasta salad, you might have some leftover, you might not.***

6. Top with sunflower seeds and parmesan cheese

7. Enjoy!

For 1/6 of the recipe

Energy: 366kcal

Protein: 12g (or more if tuna or chicken is added)

Fat: 20g

CHO: 38g

Fibre: 4g (14% DRI)

*I found purple asparagus for this recipe. PURPLE! Who knew?! The colours of fruits and vegetables are a sign of their nutritional benefits. The green pigment in asparagus is called chlorophyll and the purple is called anthocyanin. Anthocyanin is really cool because it will change to red if you mix it with acid, and blue if you mix it with a base. In heat, the colour tends to diffuse, which is why it’s not really evident in my cooked pasta salad pictures. A variety of colours in the diet is beneficial because they act as active oxygen (free radical) scavengers and reduce the amount of oxidative stress that can occur naturally in the body that can lead to disease and *gasp* aging. Always try to make sure your meals have a variety of colours!

**The mayo is totally optional in this recipe. I added a little bit because it acts as an emulsifier. An emulsifier is a molecule that helps blend oil and vinegar and stop it from separating. A natural emulsifier is lecithin which is found in egg yolks, and egg yolks are found in mayo! You could also add more mayo to make this dressing thicker if that’s your preference . Another natural emulsifier is mustard!

***Pro tip: Or maybe not pro, but… something I like doing… If you’re making this salad ahead of time, I like to mix a bit of dressing into the pasta salad early because it soaks into the pasta a little bit and gives it some flavour. Then add some fresh dressing right before eating.