Celebrate National Salad Month with a Healthy Pasta Salad
May is National Salad Month and at Pasta Fits we love a good salad, complete with healthy veggies, protein filled meats and of course nutrient filled pasta!
Salads are a great nutritional meal choice, as they fit in with the new Dietary Guidelines issued in 2016 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These guidelines recommend Americans adopt healthy eating patterns which include a variety of nutritious foods found in salads like vegetables, fruits, grains, low-fat and fat -free dairy, lean meats and other protein foods and oils.
Adding the following to your salad can help you reach your daily recommended food servings:
- Spinach, bell peppers, carrots and oak leaf lettuce help get you to two to three cups of vegetables per day.
- Pasta, crackers and quinoa can help you reach your allotment of three to four ounces of grains, half of which should be whole grains per day.
- Meats like steak or chicken and nuts like pecans give a protein boost. It is recommended that an adult get anywhere from five to six and a half ounces of lean and varied proteins per day.
- Salad dressings count towards the five to seven teaspoons of oils that you should be consuming each day and the oils in dressings, such as canola and soybean, help your body to absorb nutrients from vegetables.
To celebrate National Salad Month, NPA teamed up with the Association for Dressing and Sauces for a Pasta Salad with Pecans and Spinach recipe – a healthy and delicious pasta salad, complete with delicious cheese, protein filled pecans, and healthy spinach:
Discover more about the USDA guidelines here.