Roasted Vegetables & Goat Cheese Pasta Salad

  Who is ready for supper?! I love love LOVE to cook and I am always looking for "clean" recipes to try out and feed my handsome hubby. Pasta is always a bit startchy and carby...I know, so if you are watching your carbs, you could always leave the noodles out. What's great about this recipe coming up is that you can change out the veggies and herbs to accommodate what's in your veggie drawer so you don't have to make a trip to the market if you don't have certain items. I don't like tomatoes (shocking I know!!! I'm so strange). But I never have. So for this recipe I would put in some squash instead of tomato. It's easy peasy to switch it up to make it how you like it. This dish has a Mediterranean feel to it. 
  Since summer is coming this go-to pasta salad is hearty and delicious served cold (but great warm, too!). If your kitchen is getting a bit too stuffy for your liking, head outdoors and take this recipe with you: You can also make the whole thing outside on your grill! We love grilling at my house (hubby is in charge of the grill so what I mean about me loving to grill is eating what he makes!)

By: Signe Langford
Serves: 8
Hands-on time: 45 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups uncooked Kamut elbow macaroni or rotini pasta (whole wheat)
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into wedges
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced into wedges
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced into wedges
• 1 red onion, thickly sliced into semi-circles
• 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into half-moons
• 1 eggplant, quartered lengthwise and sliced
• 1 cup whole cherry tomatoes, halved
• 5 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled

VINAIGRETTE

• 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 tsp each sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf or Italian parsley
• 1/2 packed cup whole fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup verjus

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water to remove sticky starches; drain well and set aside.
2. Mist a baking sheet with cooking spray and add peppers and onion in a single layer. Roast in oven until just browned but not soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer peppers and onion to a large bowl. Repeat with zucchini and eggplant in a single layer, then tomatoes; once roasted, add to bowl with peppers and onion.
3. Meanwhile, prepare vinaigrette: In a blender or food processor, blend all vinaigrette ingredients into a smooth liquid.
4. Add pasta and vinaigrette to bowl with vegetables and toss well to coat evenly. Top with cheese and serve.

Nutrients per 1-cup serving: Calories: 191, Total Fat: 5 g, Sat. Fat: 3 g, Carbs: 29 g, Fiber: 5 g, Sugars: 5 g, Protein: 9 g, Sodium: 163 mg, Cholesterol: 8 mg

Nutritional Bonus:
Not only is goat cheese rich and delicious, it’s actually easier to digest than cows’ milk cheeses.

Enjoy!! 

Be Healthy, Be You!

~Sarah

New Lifestyle - New You

 When I started "Dieting" and trying to lose some serious weight, I had this crazy idea in my head that I could eat whatever I wanted so long as I didn't go over a certain calorie limit for the day. I would eat things like pizza, cheeseburgers, french fries, ice cream...and I expected to still lose weight. It works for some people to lose weight while still eating those kinds of things, but my body was just not having it! I spent quite a few months trying to find what did work for me. I didn't have to eat less, I just had to eat right. Cause I wanted it bad enough. If you are stuck in a rut, try changing up your exercise. What are you eating? Step back and take a good look at what you are doing.

"I know it can be overwhelming when you feel like you are being pulled in a million different directions, so my biggest piece of advice to you is to PAUSE for a moment and just BREATHE. Decide what's most important, what comes first, what has to be done...everything else is secondary and will work itself out. Nothing is more important than your peace of mind, your mental health, your well being....time will always be on your side if you do what matters first!"- Shaun T

Rome wasn't built in a day.

You keep going. YOU are not doing this just to look sexy :-) (SURE we all love that perk) BUT this is for YOU to be healthy and see just how much you are capable of so go get it! You have no reason to stop. It truly is far easier to pass on the processed foods then to go to bed every night upset with my poor nutrition choices for yet another day! Because it may suck not being able to eat your favorite foods as much as you used to, but it sucks even more to be in a body you know you aren't happy with. 

Make healthy choices today, go out and conquer this day and then go to bed satisfied with yourself and what you have accomplished.

~Sarah