Summer Pasta Salad (low oil & nutrient dense!)

I made the best pasta salad today. Probably one of the best recipes I’ve ever made tbh. This pasta salad is the epitome of SUMMER, & it pretty damn nutritious.

To preface, I like to make recipes that are little to no oil; I’ve never been a fan of the “from you lips to your hips” situation; and per my lifestyle, I eat vegetarian w/oil when I’m out or traveling, but I prefer to nix unnecessary oils when I cook at home. This recipe falls into the “low oil” category, but you can make it completely oil-free per notes below the recipe.

What inspired this recipe is the fact that my mom loaded up on fresh, organic corn this week. Make not mistake when I say she LOADED TF up – we’re talking 4 boxes of corn from a local farm with each box containing 44 ears of corn.

YES, we had 176 ears of fresh corn on hand. My first (and only lol) idea was to make southern “salads” to utilize the copious amounts of corn.

PS – if you live in (or are aware of) “the south”, you’ll know that when you use the word “salad”, you’re in for a surprise. In the southern USA there are actual salad “salads” with lettuce/greens, congealed salads, fruit salads, cornbread salads, fluff salads, potato salads, chicken salads, bean salads, tomato salads, broccoli salads, egg salads, and pasta salads.

Did I forget any?!

And yes, “congealed” salad is a thing. And it includes jello, typically. (in my family, it includes green Jell-O)

Enough about all the other salads; what I made is a summer pasta salad, and its *literally* TDF!

I used our fresh corn + cherry tomatoes + red onion + artichokes + garlic + cannellini beans + herbs /spices.

Let’s breakdown this summer pasta salad nutrition:

fresh corn – when eat raw, or slightly blanched, raw, organic corn contains more nutritional value than cooked corn. As long as you can happily digest corn, try consuming it raw this summer. 🙂

raw red onion – studies show to be anti-cancerous, healthy for cardiovascular system [source]

raw garlic – within about one minute after garlic is chopped or crushed, a compound called allicin is produced and it provides beneficial antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects.

tomatoes – eating 1 whole tomato per day, due to lycopene content, may be one of the best foods to help support periodontal disease and gingivitis.

artichoke hearts – one of the highest fiber plant foods, containing protein and being low in calories

cannellini beans – beans are one of the best longevity foods on the planet

parsley – herbs, like parsley, (and spices) are the most concentrated sources of polyphenols, the class of phytonutrients containing many of the anti-angiogenic compounds discovered to date.

Here’s how you can make it oil-free:

Swap the oil for 1/8 cup cannellini bean liquid (reserve it after draining – SIMPLE!)