I have fallen into a rut with my work day lunches. I was on a roll working remotely, but returning to the office this three days a week this year has thrown me off my game. It’s almost as if pre-pandemic I didn’t go in every single day. I digress. The point is – I realized that simple, easy, and healthy lunches likely weren’t just something I needed some inspiration to start getting in the habit of making again. It’s something that many people may also be experiencing – whether also returning to office, never having left their offices, going to school, or cooking with their families. Get ready for the first recipe!
Ingredients:*
(Serves 4)
- 2.5 cups barilla protein plus rotini**
- 1 cup finely chopped spinach
- 1 cup fresh tomatoes, diced (~2 tomatoes)
- 1 cup chopped cucumber (~1/2 cucumber)
- 1 cup diced red onion (~1/3 onion)
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives (~15 olives)
- 1 cup mozzarella balls
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tbs lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp each of dried oregano, parsley, basil
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
Directions:
(Total Time: 30 minutes)
- Prep first! Boil water. Slice and dice spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and black olives. They’re all going in the same place – so don’t worry about keeping them separate! Set aside.
- Once water comes to a boil, add pasta, and cook per instructions. Drain once finished.
- While cooking your pasta, prepare your dressing. Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, parsley, basil, and Dijon mustard in a bowl. Set aside.
- Combine veggies and cooked pasta in a large bowl. Mix, then pour dressing on top, sprinkle with salt & pepper, and enjoy! Oh, and by enjoy – I mean right away or (if you’re me) over the next few days for lunch 🙂
Notes:
* Get creative! You can swap out any of the veggies keeping within the ratio of 4.5 cup veggies to 2.5 cups pasta to 1 cup cheese! This is a great recipe to clear out your fridge while getting lots of veggies in.
** You can use any pasta but my goal is healthy & yummy so I am using Barisal protein plus as it’s laden in protein (unlike normal white pasta).
What can I learn while I make this? Well, since we’re using rotini pasta, let’s learn what it means. Rotini means “small wheels” in Italian. That’s not what the shape looks like to me personally, but hey, the Italians know best.
What if I want to make an easy lunch but not this recipe? Don’t worry– I won’t be offended! Check out these other ideas below:
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