More meal prep!!! It's really easy to meal prep salads, but sometimes I want something other than a salad for lunch. Italian pasta salad is just as easy to prep and it's Mediterranean diet compliant!
INGREDIENTS
-3 cups whole grain rotini pasta
-1/2 cucumber
-1/2 bell pepper
-1/2 container cherry tomatoes
-14oz can sliced black olives
-***~25 slices turkey pepperoni
-1 container marinated mozzarella balls
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
-1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
-1/4 teaspoon salt & 1/4 teaspoon pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Begin by bringing a pot of water to a boil. Add the rotini, cook according to package directions, and drain once finished.
2. While pasta cooks, prepare the other ingredients. Quarter and dice the cucumber, dice the bell pepper, halve the cherry tomatoes, drain the black olives, cut turkey pepperonis into fourths, and cut mozzarella balls in half.
3. Add the cooked rotini, cucumber, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, black olive, turkey pepperoni, and mozzarella to a large bowl. Mix and divide evenly among 3 quart-size, wide-mouth mason jars. Refrigerate until ready to use.
4. To prepare the dressing for the pasta salad, add the balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, Italian season, salt and pepper to a small mason jar. Shake to mix.
5. When ready to eat, pour the pasta salad into a bowl. You can either eat it cold or heat it in the microwave. Drizzle with 1/3 of the balsamic dressing and toss to mix.
***MM Option: To make this meal meatless, simply leave out the turkey pepperoni.