{"id":9591,"date":"2018-04-11T09:55:23","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T16:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oneingredientchef.com\/?p=9591"},"modified":"2018-07-24T18:34:02","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T01:34:02","slug":"pesto-pasta-salad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oneingredientchef.com\/pesto-pasta-salad\/","title":{"rendered":"The Anti-Aging Kale Pesto Pasta Salad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can pasta salad help you live longer? That might be a stretch, but lately I have been fascinated with longevity research and I recently stumbled across this interview<\/a> with USC’s Valter Longo (the godfather of longevity research) on the impact of diet on aging and longevity (hint: he recommends a mostly plant-based diet). In that interview he said, “Other than genes, it is hard to think of something that can be more powerful than food in determining whether someone is going to make it to 100 or die before 50 years old.<\/em>” <\/p>\n

He went on to talk about an “ideal” meal with a little pasta, a bunch of garbanzo beans, and a whole bunch of greens\/veggies (he’s Italian, naturally). But classic Italian\/Mediterranean diet isn’t about mountains of pasta \u2013 just *a little* pasta with a ton of other nutrient-dense food. As he puts it:<\/p>\n

“the Italians who lived so long never ate the large bowls of ‘only pasta’ that people associate as being authentic Italian food. They were the old Italians for whom even pasta was expensive. So they ate what they could grab from their backyards, which was mostly legumes and vegetables, with some pasta. People are accustomed to eating a bowl of pasta or rice with a little bit of whatever on top; it should be the other way around.”<\/em><\/p>\n

I found that idea so inspiring… a bowl with a little pasta and whatever you can find in your garden \u2013 a bunch of beans\/peas, tomatoes, leafy greens, and more. It’s classic One Ingredient food. So I have been experimenting and evolving that idea for a while and I’ve ended up at the recipe below.<\/p>\n

This is seriously the most complete meal I think I’ve ever made; plenty of whole-grain carbs, complete protein from the beans + pasta, about 9 cups<\/strong> of leafy greens, veggies, mushrooms, and more. It tastes SO good and satisfying, and I always feel healthy and energized after eating it (unlike with a pure bowl of pasta). I’ve made a big batch multiple times over this last month and eaten it twice a day on some days. It’s perfect. <\/p>\n

If you’re looking for a delicious, healthy meal you can make once and eat for days, this is it. The best part is, you can just throw in whatever you have on hand; it’s a great way to clean out your fridge. There’s a lot of ingredients, but you can omit what you don’t have and add what you do have. <\/p>\n

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Makes about 6 servings<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Ingredients:<\/h4>\n
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