Tuna Pasta Salad

Tuna Pasta Salad

Mar 31, 2021

Tuna Pasta Salad
Comments

Sometimes, you just need a pasta salad, am I right?

With the weather starting to warm up this week here in the Midwest, I felt the need to meal prep something that reminded me of Spring or Summer for lunch. Pasta salad sounded like something that would be filling yet satisfying that craving. Plus, you can pair it with any kind of fruit or vegetable for some added calories.

Pasta salad can often be heavy on your stomach so I wanted to keep it light and avoid adding any dairy to it. I also decided to make it on a whim, so I was thankful that most of the ingredients came from the pantry or the fridge.

With the dietary issues in our house, a lot of our pantry staples come from Thrive Market. The boys love the different types of pasta they have and we have found the Thrive brand of tuna to be better than what we find in our grocery stores. Not to mention, it just shows up at our house once a month!

As I mentioned, I wanted to avoid dairy since my stomach tends to do better without a lot of dairy. Primal Kitchen’s Vegan Mayo is an oil-based Mayo and still delivers on taste. I’ve used it as a mayo substitute for about the last year. If someone didn’t see me make it they probably wouldn’t know it wasn’t real. We lean towards gluten-free noodles in our house due to B’s stomach issues so the Thrive Market Fusillini Gluten Free Red Lentil & Quinoa Pasta was what I had on hand.

Tuna Pasta Salad - Meal

From there, I just picked a few other things out of the fridge, sliced them up and mixed it together. Since I used a whole box of pasta I was able to divide the tuna pasta salad up into 5 containers for lunch this week.

I have a slight obsession with adding veggies to just about any meal and baby carrots fit right in.

Overall, it was a quick lunch to throw together and enjoy throughout the week. It could easily be changed up by adding in red onions, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli or an Italian Dressing!

It’s a little taste of Summer as we still navigate a few more cold days.

Tuna Pasta Salad

Print Recipe
Prep Time 35 minutes
Servings 5

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Box Fusillini Gluten Free Red Lentil & Quinoa Pasta
  • 3/4 Cup Primal Kitchen, Vegan Mayo
  • 1 Can Tuna (in Water)
  • 1 Stalk Celery Chopped
  • 10 Grape Tomatoes Sliced
  • 2 Hard Boiled Eggs Sliced

Instructions
 

  • Boil pasta until tender, drain noodles & let cool.
  • Drain can of tuna
  • Combine all ingredients into one bowl
  • Serve cold

 

Are you a fan of pasta salad? What’s your favorite ingredient?

ABOUT ME

Hey There, I’m Kristin! I have a strong passion for helping women make small changes in their everyday lives that add up to the healthy life they desire. Whether it’s a mom looking to find her confidence or a family who needs help making changes in the kitchen I believe every health goal can be accomplished.

Tuna Pasta Salad

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What To Do With Leftover Turkey

What To Do With Leftover Turkey

Nov 27, 2020

Leftover TurkeyIt’s easy to feed a dozen people with one turkey. This year we were feeding three adults and one child so if you are like us, there is a good chance your fridge is full of leftover turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. I’m no Monica Geller so I do not do moist-maker sandwiches (if you know, you know) but I’m always on the hunt for ways to get creative and enjoy the leftovers.

I will be the first to admit that there is nothing wrong with enjoying the leftover turkey as is. However, sometimes it’s good to have options when you are planning to eat turkey three times a day.

This was our first Thanksgiving cooking a turkey and while it wasn’t as pretty as many of those I’ve seen around Instagram, I think we did a pretty good job. As we cleaned up the kitchen, we cooked up 4 quarts of Turkey Bone Broth to use over the next few days in soups. There are so many health benefits to bone broth that I couldn’t pass up the chance to make our own.

Last night I took to Pinterest to round up some more ideas in case I was not alone in an attempt to get creative. Here are some of the top rated leftover turkey recipes I found.

After doing a deep Pinterest dive, I might have to make another turkey… every recipe sounds absolutely delicious! My fridge is full and we have enough leftover turkey for now so turkey noodle soup is coming up first tomorrow.

I know there are plenty more recipes out there, what’s your favorite way to enjoy leftover turkey 

Homemade Golden Milk

Homemade Golden Milk

Nov 4, 2020

If you follow me over on Instagram, you may have seen that I am doing a three week elimination diet. As I work towards getting my Integrative Nutrition Health Coach certificate, I am learning about a variety of food sensitivities. One of the recommendations was to try our own elimination diet so we get a feel of one and see if we might actually have sensitivities we didn’t realize. For three weeks I’m eliminating the five most common foods we as humans are sensitive to: dairy, gluten, egg, soy and corn.

All of that being said, one thing I needed to replace was milk for my coffee creamer. Golden Milk was trendy a few years ago, but I never gave it a try. Instead of just almond milk I figured now was a good chance to give it a try. To be honest, I might not switch back.

For starters I followed a recipe, but I’ve adjusted it more to my tastes as I’ve gone on over the last three weeks.

Benefits of Homemade Golden Milk

The more I read about Golden Milk, I can see how it was trendy, however I am also surprised it didn’t make the trends this year as people looked for ways to boost their immune systems.

The third ingredient used in this recipe is Turmeric. When you question why the homemade golden milk is golden, it’s because of the Turmeric. It has been known to reduce inflammation. I could go down a long rabbit hole about inflammation and the amount of ways reducing it could improve your health. For now, the important note is that the less inflamed your body is, the better it can perform.

Turmeric also contains a compound called curcumin. There are mixed studies, but many researchers believe that this compound can lower anxiety and depression.

Then comes ginger. A little bit of ginger can go a long way. I had to reduce the amount in the recipe I had because even 1/2 tsp ginger was very overpowering.  Ginger is a great way to settle nausea in an upset stomach. Some studies are starting to show that it can help with weight loss, lowering blood sugar and possibly preventing heart disease.

Homemade Golden Milk

Any extra boost of immunity can be considered helpful these days. This Summer I switched to using local honey in an attempt to slow my allergies down. Making Golden Milk was just another excuse to fit it into my morning routine.

I use about 1/4 of a cup a day in my milk frother to add a little bit of a creamy taste in my coffee. The recipe listed below makes about one week’s worth of Golden Milk. For now it’s been added as part of my Sunday meal prep.

Homemade Golden Milk

Print Recipe
Servings 7

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 cups light coconut milk
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp local honey

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients to a small saucepan.
  • Whisk ingredients over medium heat for 5 minutes, do not boil
  • Remove from heat and let cool.
  • Store in fridge to use throughout the week
  • For extra creamy taste, mix 1/4 cup in a milk frother prior to adding to coffee.

What do you use for coffee cream? Have you ever tried golden milk?

A Summer Quesadilla (Gluten Free)

A Summer Quesadilla (Gluten Free)

Jun 23, 2020

As I’ve previously mentioned I’m spending a lot of time this Summer playing around with vegetables in the kitchen. This summer quesadilla has been a quick and easy lunch packed with lots of different veggies.

When it comes to cheese goat cheese seems to be my go to right now. I tend to rotate between different ones but right now I find myself putting it on as many foods as possible…salads, eggs, pizza, quesadillas, etc.

A few weeks ago I was making Little Man his plain old quesadilla for lunch and a quesadilla sounded so good. Except, I was determined to get as many vegetables packed into it as I could for my lunch.

I managed to mix in kale, onion, avocado (I realize that’s not a vegetable) and sweet peppers. Not bad for just throwing something together. By taking the cooking low and slow the corn tortilla shells get extra crispy and stay together with the goat cheese on either side as it melts into the shells.

The chicken is optional, but I like it for more a more filling lunch. It goes great with some chips and salsa or veggie and hummus on the side!

Summer Quesadilla

5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Corn Tortillas
  • 3 tbsp Goat Cheese Crumbles
  • 4 oz Shredded Chicken
  • 1/2 cup Kale (Chopped or Full) If You Don't Have Kale, Spinach Works Too!
  • 2 Mini Sweet Peppers Chopped Into Tiny Pieces
  • 1 tbsp Red Onion
  • 1/2 Avocado (Optional)

Instructions
 

  • Turn frying pan on LOW heat. Add in one corn tortilla & top with 1 1/2 tbsp goat cheese.
  • Layer in chicken, kale, sweet peppers & onion.
  • Top with the rest of the goat cheese. Place second tortilla on top.
  • Let cook on low heat for 7 minutes. Flip to the other side for an additional 7 minutes.
  • Top with avocado. Enjoy!

What’s your current go-to cheese? What else would you add to this quesadilla?

 

Summer Quesadilla
Sweet Potato & Egg Bowl

Sweet Potato & Egg Bowl

Jun 18, 2020

With Summer on the horizon, fruits and vegetables are much easier (and cheaper) to get our hands on. I am always looking for new ways to incorporate them into every day meals. 

A few weeks ago I started making this Sweet Potato Egg Bowl and I cannot stop making it daily. I’ve tried a few variations but regardless of how you mix and match, it is delicious!

My current version of the bowl is made with veggie sausage but I’ve made it with bacon, chicken, turkey sausage & regular sausage. Sometimes I add extra ingredients (last week kale was our veggie of the week) just to change it up. This spiralizer makes it so easy to get the sweet potatoes cut up and ready to go. 

 

Sweet Potato and Egg Bowl

It's easy to mix things around and change it up with what you have in your fridge. For starters the three main ingredients are sausage, eggs and sweet potatoes.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
  • 1/2 Sweet Potato (Spiralized)
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 Veggie Sausage Patties (My Favorite is MorningStar Farms)
  • 1/2 Avocado
  • 1/4 cup Goat Cheese CrumblesIn your frying pan melt 1tbsp of coconut oil. While that is melting, spiralize half of a sweet potato (this is my favorite tool for spiralizing). Add the spiralized sweet potato to the coconut oil and let cook on low heat for 10-12 minutes.

Instructions
 

  • In your frying pan melt 1 tbsp of coconut oil. While that is melting, spiralize half of a sweet potato (this is my favorite tool for spiralizing).
  • Add the spiralized sweet potato to the coconut oil and let cook on low heat for 10-12 minutes.
  • Cut up the (precooked) sausage and add it into the pan with the sweet potatoes.
  • Move the sweet potatoes and sausage to the side of the pan. Crack two eggs into the empty spot left on the pan. Cook the eggs over easy.
  • Once the eggs are cooked, the sweet potatoes are tender and the sausage is heated up, remove everything from the pan into one big bowl.
  • Top your bowl with goat cheese crumbles and sliced avocado.

Do you ever change up your breakfast? What’s your go to?

Sweet Potato and Egg Bowl