Chop and Drop Mediterranean Salad

This recipe is from our Continuing Medical Education Manager Sarah, who heard about a low-carb noodle alternative and built a recipe around it. The salad dish below was tried, tested, and approved by a group of her health-conscious friends at a recent potluck.

Servings: 4-8 (depending on if it’s a main dish or side dish)

Salad Ingredients:

  • 2 8-ounce packages Healthy Noodles (You can use any pasta you’d like, but these noodles are very low calorie and low carb, and they’re ready to use out of the package. I got mine at Costco).
  • 1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
  • 1 12-ounce jar sliced kalamata olives (net weight drained: 6.5 oz olives)
  • 2 12-ounce jars marinated grilled artichoke hearts (net weight drained: 7.5 oz artichokes)
  • 1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
  • 1 lb cherry tomatoes (I usually slice them into halves or quarters depending on size, but you can also toss them in whole)

Homemade Pesto Ingredients: (see note below)

  • 4 ounces fresh basil (several handfuls of basil leaves)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 3 cloves garlic (or to taste)
  • 2 lemons, zest and juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Rinse and drain the chickpeas, olives, and artichokes from their packaging. If you are using one colander to do this, rinse each ingredient, tap the excess water off, and then dump each item into a large mixing bowl.
  2. Slice the tomatoes (if you choose) and add them to the mixing bowl.
  3. Rinse and drain the noodles. You may want to run a knife or clean kitchen scissors through them to break them up if you’d like them in smaller pieces.
  4. Add noodles and spinach to the bowl.
  5. If you’re making the pesto, add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Pour into the bowl.
  6. Lightly toss until everything is mixed evenly.

Notes:

**My pesto recipe is dairy-free, but you can definitely use pre-made pesto to make this recipe even easier!

**You may want to reserve some fresh basil leaves to finely chop and add as garnish.

**You may add a handful or two of spinach to the pesto if you choose.

**You can switch up the add-ins with whatever you might have in your pantry! Any kind of bean, olive, or other canned veggie is great to use up in a one-bowl dump-mix-serve salad combo!

 

Estimated Nutritional Info for 1 Serving (side dish portion):

Calories: 341, Fat: 26g, Carbs: 20g, Fiber: 7.5g, Sugar: 0g, Protein: 6g

 

 

 

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