Pasta Salad Niçoise

Description

The following recipe meets the "5 A Day for Better Health" program criteria. This means that this recipe does not exceed the following: 30% of calories from fat; 10% of calories from saturated fat; 100 mg cholesterol and 360 mg sodium per serving.

This makes a nice lunch menu with fresh fruit and a whole wheat roll. This is also a good salad recipe for a picnic lunch.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup fat-free Italian dressing
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 cloves minced fresh garlic
• 5 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups cooked and drained rotini pasta
• 1 can (6 oz) drained water-packed tuna
• ¾ cup diced fresh tomato
• ½ diced California avocado
• ¼ cup sliced red onion
• 4 leaves green-leaf lettuce
• 2 large sliced black olives

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the dressing, basil, garlic and red pepper flakes.
2. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine rotini pasta, tuna, tomato, avocado and red onion.
4. Add dressing and toss.
5. Line four plates with lettuce leaves, spoon on salad and garnish with olive slices.