Hey everyone, it is Louise, welcome to our recipe site. Today, I’m gonna show you how to prepare a special dish, mike's springtime pasta salad. It is one of my favorites. This time, I will make it a little bit unique. This is gonna smell and look delicious.
Mike's Springtime Pasta Salad is one of the most favored of current trending foods in the world. It’s enjoyed by millions every day. It is easy, it is quick, it tastes delicious. They are fine and they look wonderful. Mike's Springtime Pasta Salad is something which I’ve loved my entire life.
To begin with this particular recipe, we must first prepare a few components. You can have mike's springtime pasta salad using 18 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you cook it.
The ingredients needed to make Mike's Springtime Pasta Salad:
- Get Pasta Salad
- Prepare 2 16 oz Bottles Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing [or your choice - well shaken]
- Get 1 box 12 oz Multi Colored Pasta [+ water + oil + salt]
- Make ready 1 box 2.25 lb Vegetable Melody [your choice - see photo]
- Prepare 2 box 4 oz Feta Cheese
- Take 1 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- Get 1 can Black Olives [drained-halved]
- Make ready 1 can Artichokes [in water-drained-chopped]
- Get 2 large Tomatoes [chopped]
- Get 1/2 tsp Each: Granulated Garlic - Fresh Ground Black Pepper - Sea Salt - Red Pepper Flakes
- Take Options:
- Prepare Purple Onions
- Take Green Onions
- Make ready White Onions
- Take Celery [with leaves]
- Take Sun Dried Tomatoes
- Take Fresh Parsley
- Make ready Fresh Basil
Instructions to make Mike's Springtime Pasta Salad:
- Primary items needed.
- Boil 6" pasta water. Add a splash of oil and 1 tablespoon salt. Add pasta. Bring water back to a boil and boil pasta for 10 minutes with a tight fitting lid. Or, as per manufactures directions.
- Drain pasta well and immediately place it in a large bowl. Add 1 bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing, [use your preference] mix and place a tight fitting lid on it. This step will ensure the Italian oils and seasonings seep deep into your pasta.
- ° Put your vegetables and cheeses in another large bowl making sure everything is bite size. ° Look around in your pantry or fridges crisper for any additional vegetables you may want to use in your salad. I found purple, white and green onions, celery, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and parsley and employed them all.
- After your pasta has fully steamed and cooled - add your vegetable and cheese mixture and gently fold in to your wet pasta bowl. Add your additional bottle of Zesty Italian - as needed. I usually use about 1 1/2 bottles total.
- Chill in the fridge for a few hours for best results. This dish is even better the following day.
- Enjoy!
Use Food to Improve Your Mood
Mostly, people have been taught to think that “comfort” foods are terrible for the body and should be avoided. At times, if your comfort food is essentially candy or other junk foods, this is true. Other times, though, comfort foods can be totally nutritious and it’s good for you to consume them. There are several foods that, when you consume them, could better your mood. If you seem to feel a little bit down and you’re in need of a happiness pick me up, try a few of these.
Eggs, believe it or not, can be actually great at beating back depression. Just see to it that you do not throw out the yolk. Whenever you want to cheer yourself up, the egg yolk is the most important part of the egg. Eggs, especially the egg yolks, are rich in B vitamins. B vitamins can be fantastic for lifting up your mood. This is because the B vitamins help your neural transmitters–the parts of your brain that control your mood–run better. Eat a few eggs to feel better!
Put together a trail mixfrom different seeds and nuts. Your mood can be improved by eating peanuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etcetera. This is because seeds and nuts have a lot of magnesium which increases your brain’s serotonin levels. Serotonin is a feel-good substance that dictates to the brain how to feel at any given time. The higher your serotonin levels, the more pleasant you will feel. Nuts, on top of improving your mood, can be a superb protein source.
Cold water fish are good if you are wanting to feel better. Salmon, herring, tuna, mackerel, trout, and so on, they’re all loaded with omega-3s and DHA. These are two substances that increase the quality and function of the grey matter in your brain. It’s true: eating a tuna fish sandwich can basically help you overcome depression.
It’s easy to drive away your bad mood when you eat grains. Quinoa, millet, teff and barley are all really great for helping increase your happiness levels. These foods can help you feel full for longer too, which can help your mood too. Feeling famished can really make you feel terrible! The reason these grains are so great for your mood is that they are easy for your stomach to digest. You digest them faster than other foods which can help boost your blood sugar levels, which, in turn, helps make you feel better, mood wise.
Your mood can actually be helped by green tea. You knew it had to be in here somewhere, right? Green tea is chock-full of an amino acid called L-theanine. Studies show that this particular amino acid can basically stimulate brain waves. This helps focus your mental energy while simultaneously relaxing the rest of your body. You likely already knew how easy it is to become healthy when you consume green tea. Now you are aware that it helps you to elevate your moods as well!
Now you can see that junk food isn’t necessarily what you should eat when you want to help your moods get better. Try some of these suggestions instead.