Fresh Vegetable Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

Fresh Vegetable Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

Now that it’s nearing mid-August, I feel summer slowly slipping away, but I’m not going to let it go before I make more summer vegetable salads.  I gave this family-favorite whole grain rotini salad a facelift with the added Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto.  It adds so much flavor, healthy omega-9-rich olive oil, vitamin C packed sun-dried tomatoes and cholesterol-lowering garlic.  Pesto is high in calories, but for all the aforementioned benefits, you can’t beat it for busting the flavor-meter!  This recipe can stand alone as a main dish due to the high protein content of the pasta along with the cheese and vegetables; I combine it with fresh cut summer fruit for a satisfying, simple summer meal.

I’m a fan of Barilla pastas available at most grocery stores.  The yellow box (pictured below) is a multi-grain mix of spelt, barley, wheat, oats, lentils, chickpeas, flaxseed; I really like the taste.  The blue box Whole Grain variety (also pictured below) is a whole grain blend of wheat and oat fiber with no added enriched flours.  Both provide 5-6 grams of fiber per 2 oz serving.  That’s a lot!