I know I've made a ton of videos on dishes saying they are great options for a weeknight (and are typically ones that I often make), but I don't think I've actually said or titled that I make certain dishes every single week outside of pickled onions, detroit style pizza, and a couple of others lol. That being said, maybe a video "The Weeknight Meals I actually make the most" would be interesting.
@@EthanChlebowski like the other comment said, a food diary of what you eat in a week would be really interesting, even if some of them are just stuff like “PBJ sandwich”
One tip--I always rinse onions under cold water before adding to a raw preparation like this. Really curbs the sharpness, particularly for something stored & eaten over a few days.
I find the bigger the onion, the less sharp & more sweet that it is... I always look for the most gigantic onion that I can find in the grocery store, when it comes to recipes that call for raw onions
Hummus is a great idea! Would tahini be too overpowering for a pasta salad?? Now that I think about it a tzatziki greek yogurt sauce would go great with cold pasta, feta, olives, herbs, etc!
In that second recipe, I bet it would be great to go even further with the southwestern flavors: sour cream instead of the mayo, and add a chopped up chipotle pepper and spoonful of adobo sauce to the dressing. You could even replace the chicken with black beans (cooked a bit with garlic and cumin) for a vegetarian version.
My mom and I accidentally started dressing our Greek inspired salad with feta cheese (well, "feta" cheese, it's neither from Greece nor made of sheep milk). I just crumble feta on top of the veggies I cut up and pour hot pasta on top. As you mix it, the heat melts the feta into a salty and creamy dressing, and the larger chunks of cheese still stay and give a few salty bombs as you eat.
I use a cashewsauce (200g cashew, water, nutritional yeast, 2-3gloves of garlic, 1tsp onion powder, fresh Rosemary, juice from half a lemon) and a little bit of ketchup as my dressing for Pasta Salad
We hit hard times a bit last month, so I started experimenting with making food salads out of canned meats like tuna and chicken, and it was such a game changer. Easy, delicious, stores like a dream, doesn't even have to be cooked...just perfect for week nights and lunches. We always have a little pasta around, so I might start doing pasta salads too. Also, I second the statement about adding MSG to your food salads. Really kicks it up a notch.
I was in the same situation ten years ago. Try making tuna cakes with a can of tuna, rip up three slices of bread, add an egg and old bay/spices... very similar to crab cakes.
I have a coworker who would always bring a pasta salad to work and they were always different. I love pasta salads. This is going to be a great to try to follow this recipe. Thanks so much. You have a new subscriber.
I feel like Ethan's cooking should be titled "eating healthily" It's not quite macro insanity, it doesn't shy away from butter, but overall it's a healthy approach to ingredient manipulation for satisfaction.
I love both types of pasta salad, creamy and vinaigrette. For creamy, I use ditalini, hard boiled eggs, onion, celery, garlic, mayo and a bit of mustard. For vinaigrette I use rotini, a can each of (drained, rinsed and dried) black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans and white (navy beans). Sometimes I'll blanch broccoli or add a half bag of frozen peas and carrots or some frozen green beans to the hot pasta. I make 2 packages of Italian dressing (Good Seasons) using olive oil and balsamic vinegar and either one feeds me for 4 days. I'll have to try your second one with the chicken though! Thanks.
Pasta salads and bean salads makes for great take to work lunches that you don't need a microwave for. And it's really easy to make them all feel different. Today I had mixed beans, couscous, artichoke heart, corn, cheese, almonds, and golden raisins as my bean salad. It should last me two more lunches!
I use rotini, spinach, artichoke hearts, basil and garlic. Dressed with olive oil and a parmesan dusting. Essentially a pesto minus the expensive pine nuts. I add cashew if I have them. Add sliced half sliced Cherry tomatoes for texture and juicy bursts..... Could add chicken, I ate this as a vegetarian many moons ago.
I also find using plant based pasta for pasta salad works well for making it healthier. And sometimes it even tastes better since it molds well with all the greens added in. You’ll see it sometimes in store bought salads, where they mix in spinach noodles. I personally like the variety and it drops the calories down and protein up as well.
At the height of COVID I needed something cold I could eat in my office because I was uncomfortable going to the break room. I spent months messing around with pasta salad to settle on a new staple I could prep week after week. Lemon Pesto Pasta Salad, 5 servings: 12oz rotini (overcooked!), 1 shredded rotisserie chicken or 3 diced oven roasted chicken breasts marinated in lemon juice and garlic. Dressing: juice of 1 lemon, 2-3oz (Delallo) basil pesto, 2T water, tons of extra virgin olive oil but I never measure. Also good with various toppings depending on how well stocked and lazy you are: black olives, jarred roasted red peppers, arugula, fresh herbs, chickpeas, cannellini beans.
I love these videos - we're not all dieting all the time but being aware of what you're consuming and knowing some simple ways to make things less calorific or more balanced is great.
Can I just say how much I appreciate your channel boss. The recipes, knowledge and overall content is so easy to understand, follow along with and even apply to my everyday life. Eating healthier, cheaper and fulfilling tastier meals has been much easier to do since following this channel. Cooking yourself some food should never be rocket science, and your channel proves it. Keep it up! I appreciate ya.
Just started the video but diced apple (or if available pomegranate seeds) is one of my favorite sweet and sour additions to a salad. For added low carb sustenance, grated carrots (can be slightly pickled ahead of time), chickpeas, peas or beans also work well as substitutes for part of the pasta. The more colourful the salad, the better is a nice rule of thumb imho.
My favorite: coming tuna salad and pasta salad. Celery carrots dill and bell peppers mixed, and you can use less pasta and add chopped spinach for less calories/more volume
I'm all about substituting non-fat Greek yogurt for mayo. One of my favorite summer salads is a cucumber salad made with a dressing of Greek yogurt, a little bit of mayo, salt, pepper, sugar, and vinegar. Malt vinegar is my favorite
Serious Keto did a recipe for high protein sauce that I use a lot now; Feta cheese, philadelphia cream cheese, lemon juice and olive oil blended up. I use it a lot.
I have been obsessed with pasta salads since I was a young kid. When I travel I always check out local delis and markets to try theirs. Now I don't feel so alone!
My sister cant eat mayo so we started substituting it with yogurt and I started putting garam massala into that and it is actually good. Edit: lol you mentioned the yogurt.
I've never had a mayo pasta salad here in Germany. Just ones with leaf salad style dressings. My favourite pasta salad is made with a honey, balsamic, oregano dressing, dried tomatoes, olives and arugula.
Just made the chicken pasta salad at the end of the video. This is such a game changer. I've never ever liked pasta salad so this was my first time making it on a whim because Ethan puts out such good recipes. The yogurt lime sauce slaps. Can't wait to make this again next week!
I make a pasta salad very similar to your healthy version with an additional two changes that make it even healthier (and still very tasty). 1) red lentil pasta!! super high protein, lots of fiber, tasty! 2) add in some low fat feta as a high protein flavoring. I meal prepped it last week and it came out at around 400 calories w/ 40 grams of protein per serving.
The pasta salad we make in my family is completely different. We normally add boiled eggs, nuts, cubed apples, cubed ham, lots of leafy greens and dress it with olive oil, lots of vinegar and salt. I'm from Spain btw.
Bacon bits or chicken is pretty much mandatory for basic salad like the first one since I wouldn't eat pasta salad as side dish, it's always main dish for me. Not really to fill you, just to give some nice flavor. Also I really like capers instead of pickles.
Maybe it's cause I've never had anyone else's pasta salad, but I've never had it with mayo. I toss with EVO, parm, and pepper, and use veggies with similar bright flavors. Really refreshing and filling.
I remember making your orzo salad back when you posted that video and literally for the next few weeks had it probably 2 or 3 times a week. Ngl I'm looking forward to this.
I sometimes mix yogurt with olive oil and salt/parmesan as a salt dressing it tastes pretty good, like it because I don't need to dry the Lettuce, it's just clings to it regardless
One thing to consider with your low fat ingredients: It's not uncommon for low fat products to try to make up the flavour that the fat would have offered by adding sugars of some kind. (There's a laundry list of words, mostly ending in -ose, that can be used in the ingredients label, all of which are just chemical terms for different sugars.) I'm not suggesting necessarily that *you* need to be concerned about the added sugars in these low fat products, just that it's something to be aware of if you're on a diet that tries to avoid added sugars. Personally, avoiding added sugars is a prime directive of my diet. I'm reasonably convinced by the insulin hypothesis for the cause of obesity, so my weight loss plan is about reducing insulin levels and insulin resistance (reducing insulin resistance is also just a good idea in general for anyone who wants to avoid type 2 diabetes, because high insulin resistance is exactly what that is). Sugar typically has a rather large effect on insulin levels (fructose less so, but it directly contributes to insulin resistance), so generally avoiding anything that has sugar added to it is a good idea. Fat has a pretty minimal impact on insulin levels, so I don't seek out low fat substitutions for things.
I personally eat most of the time pasta with canned tuna, onions, corn and mayo. If you want to make lower cal and higher in protein instead of mayo use tzatziki (greek yogurt with lemon juice, salt, garlic and cucumber) as dressing.
Pasta + mayo/oil dressing + veg + flavorings (herbs/garlic/cheese/bacon bits/pickles)... can be eaten immediately but can/is often eaten cold. Every week I make: pasta + pesto/ricotta combo + halved cherry tomatoes + variety of spices and herbs... but I'm not fast with the prep and usually prepare in the serving bowl so I stir slow so it doesn't go everywhere and the meal ends up luke warm. So by the breakdown, I do eat a pasta salad every week :P
Hey Ethan! Love the channel, been watching since you did your video response to Adam Ragusea's "Don't fry at home" video. I just wanted to point out something I noticed. In the kitchen shots you can hear a hiss. I believe that was from having to raise the gain on your camera audio a lot due to a quiet recording.
Mom used canned tuna for pasta salads, but also canned salmon to replace the tuna. Wonder now about some fresh pouched salmon would work better for a healthy protein. Thanks for all the ideas you show in your videos.
I never realized how useful the breakdown of the basic components of the dishes is until today honestly. The framework gives me everything I would want or need to go out and try to get creative in making a version of the dish myself. Beyond helpful, thank you Ethan!!
My alternative for pasta salad. canned butter beans and shell pasta, cherry tomatoes, red peppers, green olives, chicken breast, red onion, basil, parsely, oregano, olive oil, lemon juice, dijon. trust me on this one
So I've been watching Ethan for a while but after this I finally tried my own pasta salad...best thing ever I swear, it's actually became my weekend tradition lately I prep it before the weekend and I'm good to go I like adding black beans.
I am the same way about pasta salad. I add hard boiled eggs in mine sometimes. Btw, I make that Greek orzo salad you made awhile ago. My mom requests it all the time.
Love these healthy versions. Most of culinary UA-cam’s healthy recipes are just healthy in the sense that they use Whole Foods… but often they have super high cals and bad macros. On the other hand, fitness UA-cam’s recipes are chock full of artificial shit but are low in cal and have good macros. Yours straddle the line perfectly in my opinion. Keep it up.
I make a dressing of vegetable broth, pickle liquid and low calorie Joghurt. Doesn't sound apatizing but it tastes pretty good after letting the entire pasta rest for 4 hours (ideally overnight )
Not a salad fan but Ethan makes it sound interesting and delicious, especially making home made dressing. Not difficult, just need ingredients on hand.
i cook my Pasta Al dente and cool it down while wash it with cold water, has the same effect and its better with Glyx Index when on reduced carbonhydrate diet. Anstead of Mayo i use Home Made Ayoli . You can leave the eggs away and use a Dijon Mustard as binder .Fat Base a good olive oil or a good neutral sunflower oil. Takes bit practice esp when your gralic has been rosted before to make better disgestbale. The Parts all have to be roomtemperature and make sure yi adding all little by little so you dont kill your elmusion,You can store the Aioli Mayo for Months in air tight lid container. I also used Bulgur and minced Beef instead of Pasta , stuffs a lot and has lesser calries . I used the Fat from the the Beef for me dressing , no need to add more oil. You also can Mix Pasta with fresh Salad . Thats so good
My granddaughter comes for dinner once a week, and I always make a regular salad with lots of healthy stuff in it (dressing is on the side, usually oil & balsamic with some tahini). I'm thinking your ideas will work with the salad I always have leftover the next day. The leafy greens won't hurt, right? Heck, I could ac5ually incorporate any leftover dressin* & just add some yogurt to it. Thanks, I'm getting all kinds of joy from this idea.
Have you tried the Barilla Protein+ pasta? It honestly tastes really similar to regular pasta but adds a bit more protein. I am also obsessed with pasta salad (I’ve made my own riff on your orzo salad more times than I can count) and the protein pasta helps make any pasta dish more filling imo!
There’s no way you need pasta to make up for your protein, even if you’re cutting weight at 2.4g/kg proteins i find a scoop of whey protein being much much cheaper
i really recommend not using mayo and just using creme fraiche and a tablespoon of tomato paste if you feel fancy, makes for some of the best and freshest noodlesalads.
I love making a pasta salad with red lentil pasta and chickpeas, but big time struggle with the firm pasta leftovers as mentioned. Hopefully overcooking will help the red lentil based noodles as well.
I made pasta salad with a lot of vegetables (blanched broccoli, sauté mushrooms and carrots, red bell peppers, olives, onion, chickpeas, herbs,etc) with a garlic olive oil and vinegar dressing. But since my husband went gluten free I just leave out the pasta.
I feel like MSG shouldn't be optional anymore... there's so much research that shows it is safe in the typical cooking applications. "Chinese Food Syndrome" has been all but completely disproven... the doctor that initially wrote the article about "Chinese Food Syndrome" was being satirical and making a joke.... Also kelp/kombu/seaweed and some cheeses contain a fair bit of glutamates. Majority of (USA at least) snack foods contain MSG, but no one mentions that...
I love pasta salads, and recently made one to go with some left over grilled flank steak. Sundried tomatoes, grilled paprika, garlic, walnuts, olive oil and some cashews mixed to a pesto, with some small white beans, cherry tomatoes and a lot of basil. You can really do so much with pasta salad :)
My go to pasta salad secret is PESTO Pasta (we prefer rotini) Pesto Grape tomatoes Mozzarella Multi colored bell peppers Fresh spinach, chopped Black olives Olive oil Salt Pepper Grated/shredded Parmesan Potential extras: chicken, sun dried tomatoes, sunflower seeds PS: mayonnaise is gross. That is all.
Love pasta salads too any day over garbage junk food sides!! High kudos to your solid healthier nutritious conversion here!!!👏🏼👌🏼I’ve been making a similar lighter tuna salad dressing for the fam for yrs with 1/2 cup full fat greek yogurt or kifir and 1 tbsp of mayo or a 1/2 tspn of olive oil with plenty of aromatics (dill, chives, pickles and garlic powder)👌🏼😋
Hey Ethan, in many of your recipes you recommend avocado's, do you have any good suggestions on something that would be good instead for those who don't like avocado's as much as yourself? I'll try this one later but I don't think I'll be putting as much avocado 😅
To you original side dish pasta salad I would add several boiled eggs and some tuna. It would up the protein and make it more of a whole meal. Serve over a bed of greens.
i made a russian salad the other week and it wa so good but felt kinda guilty about the macros. definitely gonna try these two options now. thank you for what you do, i am starting to enjoy spending time in the kitchen.
we are getting close to perfectly recreating Ethan's weekly diet from all the stuff he apparently makes every week
Love the “apparently”
We don’t believe him, do we
I know I've made a ton of videos on dishes saying they are great options for a weeknight (and are typically ones that I often make), but I don't think I've actually said or titled that I make certain dishes every single week outside of pickled onions, detroit style pizza, and a couple of others lol. That being said, maybe a video "The Weeknight Meals I actually make the most" would be interesting.
A bit more and we'll have gathered all the Dragon Balls.
@@EthanChlebowski A food diary of the past week would be pretty interesting.
@@EthanChlebowski like the other comment said, a food diary of what you eat in a week would be really interesting, even if some of them are just stuff like “PBJ sandwich”
I put chick peas in my pasta salad to make it a bit healthier. It has a similar mouthfeel to pasta so it doesn’t feel like you’re missing out.
Another great addition! Toss in some feta and drizzle over a vinaigrette and I'm devouring.
there does exist pasta made from chickpeas
I was just thinking of tossing some edamame into a pasta salad tonight for some protein, myself.
Peas are another good option if anyone likes them. Thats what we do in the midwest 👨🌾
@@XrayTheMyth23 Personally I can't stand peas, too sweet
One tip--I always rinse onions under cold water before adding to a raw preparation like this. Really curbs the sharpness, particularly for something stored & eaten over a few days.
I've boiled an onion for a very short period of time for the same reason- not soft just to curb much of the acidity.
I find the bigger the onion, the less sharp & more sweet that it is... I always look for the most gigantic onion that I can find in the grocery store, when it comes to recipes that call for raw onions
A delicious high protein alternative for a cold pasta salad dressing is hummus diluted with water and a bit of mayo!
I was just thinking of hummus as a dressing, does it taste good?
@@lorel747 in my experience it did, goes well with tuna an other pasta salad veggies.
I thought I was weird for making my tuna with hummus because I don’t like mayo. Thanks for validating my diet
Hummus is a great idea!
Would tahini be too overpowering for a pasta salad??
Now that I think about it a tzatziki greek yogurt sauce would go great with cold pasta, feta, olives, herbs, etc!
In that second recipe, I bet it would be great to go even further with the southwestern flavors: sour cream instead of the mayo, and add a chopped up chipotle pepper and spoonful of adobo sauce to the dressing. You could even replace the chicken with black beans (cooked a bit with garlic and cumin) for a vegetarian version.
I actually expected him to add sour cream instead of mayo. I think it would go great I that dressing
My mom and I accidentally started dressing our Greek inspired salad with feta cheese (well, "feta" cheese, it's neither from Greece nor made of sheep milk).
I just crumble feta on top of the veggies I cut up and pour hot pasta on top. As you mix it, the heat melts the feta into a salty and creamy dressing, and the larger chunks of cheese still stay and give a few salty bombs as you eat.
I did this the other day with goat cheese!
whoa sounds amazing!
I use a cashewsauce (200g cashew, water, nutritional yeast, 2-3gloves of garlic, 1tsp onion powder, fresh Rosemary, juice from half a lemon) and a little bit of ketchup as my dressing for Pasta Salad
Yum
I find onion, celery and apple, all finely diced, to be a godly combination for pasta salad.
We hit hard times a bit last month, so I started experimenting with making food salads out of canned meats like tuna and chicken, and it was such a game changer. Easy, delicious, stores like a dream, doesn't even have to be cooked...just perfect for week nights and lunches. We always have a little pasta around, so I might start doing pasta salads too.
Also, I second the statement about adding MSG to your food salads. Really kicks it up a notch.
I was in the same situation ten years ago.
Try making tuna cakes with a can of tuna, rip up three slices of bread, add an egg and old bay/spices... very similar to crab cakes.
I know it’s been a year, I hope your situation has improved. One of my favorites is canned tuna and tortilla chip scoops
I have a coworker who would always bring a pasta salad to work and they were always different. I love pasta salads. This is going to be a great to try to follow this recipe. Thanks so much. You have a new subscriber.
I feel like Ethan's cooking should be titled "eating healthily"
It's not quite macro insanity, it doesn't shy away from butter, but overall it's a healthy approach to ingredient manipulation for satisfaction.
I love both types of pasta salad, creamy and vinaigrette. For creamy, I use ditalini, hard boiled eggs, onion, celery, garlic, mayo and a bit of mustard. For vinaigrette I use rotini, a can each of (drained, rinsed and dried) black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans and white (navy beans). Sometimes I'll blanch broccoli or add a half bag of frozen peas and carrots or some frozen green beans to the hot pasta. I make 2 packages of Italian dressing (Good Seasons) using olive oil and balsamic vinegar and either one feeds me for 4 days. I'll have to try your second one with the chicken though! Thanks.
Pasta salads and bean salads makes for great take to work lunches that you don't need a microwave for. And it's really easy to make them all feel different. Today I had mixed beans, couscous, artichoke heart, corn, cheese, almonds, and golden raisins as my bean salad. It should last me two more lunches!
I agree with the full meal version. I use oil and vinegar though. Olive oil and red wine vinegar, instead of Mayo. Stuffs fantastic.
I use rotini, spinach, artichoke hearts, basil and garlic. Dressed with olive oil and a parmesan dusting. Essentially a pesto minus the expensive pine nuts. I add cashew if I have them. Add sliced half sliced Cherry tomatoes for texture and juicy bursts..... Could add chicken, I ate this as a vegetarian many moons ago.
I also find using plant based pasta for pasta salad works well for making it healthier. And sometimes it even tastes better since it molds well with all the greens added in.
You’ll see it sometimes in store bought salads, where they mix in spinach noodles. I personally like the variety and it drops the calories down and protein up as well.
At the height of COVID I needed something cold I could eat in my office because I was uncomfortable going to the break room. I spent months messing around with pasta salad to settle on a new staple I could prep week after week. Lemon Pesto Pasta Salad, 5 servings: 12oz rotini (overcooked!), 1 shredded rotisserie chicken or 3 diced oven roasted chicken breasts marinated in lemon juice and garlic. Dressing: juice of 1 lemon, 2-3oz (Delallo) basil pesto, 2T water, tons of extra virgin olive oil but I never measure. Also good with various toppings depending on how well stocked and lazy you are: black olives, jarred roasted red peppers, arugula, fresh herbs, chickpeas, cannellini beans.
I love these videos - we're not all dieting all the time but being aware of what you're consuming and knowing some simple ways to make things less calorific or more balanced is great.
Can I just say how much I appreciate your channel boss. The recipes, knowledge and overall content is so easy to understand, follow along with and even apply to my everyday life. Eating healthier, cheaper and fulfilling tastier meals has been much easier to do since following this channel. Cooking yourself some food should never be rocket science, and your channel proves it. Keep it up! I appreciate ya.
Just started the video but diced apple (or if available pomegranate seeds) is one of my favorite sweet and sour additions to a salad.
For added low carb sustenance, grated carrots (can be slightly pickled ahead of time), chickpeas, peas or beans also work well as substitutes for part of the pasta.
The more colourful the salad, the better is a nice rule of thumb imho.
My favorite: coming tuna salad and pasta salad. Celery carrots dill and bell peppers mixed, and you can use less pasta and add chopped spinach for less calories/more volume
Have u heard of retrogradation? It explains that starches lose a good amount of calories when refrigerated which is pretty neat!
I use hummus as a dressing to up the protein.
I'm all about substituting non-fat Greek yogurt for mayo. One of my favorite summer salads is a cucumber salad made with a dressing of Greek yogurt, a little bit of mayo, salt, pepper, sugar, and vinegar. Malt vinegar is my favorite
Serious Keto did a recipe for high protein sauce that I use a lot now; Feta cheese, philadelphia cream cheese, lemon juice and olive oil blended up. I use it a lot.
i could honestly see a thinned out cottage cheese working well too for a cheap, high protein sauce!
I have been obsessed with pasta salads since I was a young kid. When I travel I always check out local delis and markets to try theirs.
Now I don't feel so alone!
My sister cant eat mayo so we started substituting it with yogurt and I started putting garam massala into that and it is actually good.
Edit: lol you mentioned the yogurt.
I've never had a mayo pasta salad here in Germany. Just ones with leaf salad style dressings. My favourite pasta salad is made with a honey, balsamic, oregano dressing, dried tomatoes, olives and arugula.
That sounds great!
mayo is the most common
Random pasta with canned vegetables and a mayo based dressing is a very Midwest USA dish. We also have a lot of weird jello "salads".
I've had plenty mayo pasta salads in Germany...
@@bered4894 not in my country
Just made the chicken pasta salad at the end of the video. This is such a game changer. I've never ever liked pasta salad so this was my first time making it on a whim because Ethan puts out such good recipes. The yogurt lime sauce slaps. Can't wait to make this again next week!
I’ve been making this kind of dish for years, I learned it from my dad. I really enjoyed this video
Well, to be fair, he never said he invented pasta salad. It's just a video about his love for it.
I make a pasta salad very similar to your healthy version with an additional two changes that make it even healthier (and still very tasty).
1) red lentil pasta!! super high protein, lots of fiber, tasty!
2) add in some low fat feta as a high protein flavoring.
I meal prepped it last week and it came out at around 400 calories w/ 40 grams of protein per serving.
The pasta salad we make in my family is completely different. We normally add boiled eggs, nuts, cubed apples, cubed ham, lots of leafy greens and dress it with olive oil, lots of vinegar and salt.
I'm from Spain btw.
Bacon bits or chicken is pretty much mandatory for basic salad like the first one since I wouldn't eat pasta salad as side dish, it's always main dish for me. Not really to fill you, just to give some nice flavor. Also I really like capers instead of pickles.
I don't disagree with you but... on a hot day cold pasta salad as a side with BBQ or burgers/dogs/etc is perfect!
we make macaroni salad in Hawaii all the time. goes great with stews, curry, shoyu chicken (all with rice).
Maybe it's cause I've never had anyone else's pasta salad, but I've never had it with mayo. I toss with EVO, parm, and pepper, and use veggies with similar bright flavors. Really refreshing and filling.
I remember making your orzo salad back when you posted that video and literally for the next few weeks had it probably 2 or 3 times a week. Ngl I'm looking forward to this.
I sometimes mix yogurt with olive oil and salt/parmesan as a salt dressing it tastes pretty good, like it because I don't need to dry the Lettuce, it's just clings to it regardless
One thing to consider with your low fat ingredients: It's not uncommon for low fat products to try to make up the flavour that the fat would have offered by adding sugars of some kind. (There's a laundry list of words, mostly ending in -ose, that can be used in the ingredients label, all of which are just chemical terms for different sugars.)
I'm not suggesting necessarily that *you* need to be concerned about the added sugars in these low fat products, just that it's something to be aware of if you're on a diet that tries to avoid added sugars.
Personally, avoiding added sugars is a prime directive of my diet. I'm reasonably convinced by the insulin hypothesis for the cause of obesity, so my weight loss plan is about reducing insulin levels and insulin resistance (reducing insulin resistance is also just a good idea in general for anyone who wants to avoid type 2 diabetes, because high insulin resistance is exactly what that is). Sugar typically has a rather large effect on insulin levels (fructose less so, but it directly contributes to insulin resistance), so generally avoiding anything that has sugar added to it is a good idea. Fat has a pretty minimal impact on insulin levels, so I don't seek out low fat substitutions for things.
I personally eat most of the time pasta with canned tuna, onions, corn and mayo. If you want to make lower cal and higher in protein instead of mayo use tzatziki (greek yogurt with lemon juice, salt, garlic and cucumber) as dressing.
Pasta + mayo/oil dressing + veg + flavorings (herbs/garlic/cheese/bacon bits/pickles)... can be eaten immediately but can/is often eaten cold.
Every week I make: pasta + pesto/ricotta combo + halved cherry tomatoes + variety of spices and herbs... but I'm not fast with the prep and usually prepare in the serving bowl so I stir slow so it doesn't go everywhere and the meal ends up luke warm. So by the breakdown, I do eat a pasta salad every week :P
Hey Ethan! Love the channel, been watching since you did your video response to Adam Ragusea's "Don't fry at home" video. I just wanted to point out something I noticed.
In the kitchen shots you can hear a hiss. I believe that was from having to raise the gain on your camera audio a lot due to a quiet recording.
I like seeing the little "oopsie" moments, like the pasta falling out of the bowl when mixing. It shows that Ethan is as human as I am.
Would you ever do anything with filo pastry? I would love to see what you can come up with!
I usually love the mayo and saltiness of pasta salad but I appreciate your healthier version!!
I love you so much for this video man, im also totally obsessed with pasta salad and i crave it so often. I will DEF make this recipe
There's something about the combo of textures that makes it addictive.
A Greek pasta salad with some feta and black olives is a classic favorite of mine
Mom used canned tuna for pasta salads, but also canned salmon to replace the tuna. Wonder now about some fresh pouched salmon would work better for a healthy protein. Thanks for all the ideas you show in your videos.
Love pasta salad. Thanks for showing us how to health it up! Keep on doing what you do, Ethan.
I think using Banza (chickpea) pasta is absolutely critical to make a pasta salad with better macros.
I never realized how useful the breakdown of the basic components of the dishes is until today honestly. The framework gives me everything I would want or need to go out and try to get creative in making a version of the dish myself. Beyond helpful, thank you Ethan!!
Bro you really are the best “UA-cam chef”. Love all your videos
Ethan. The chicken. Please explain the chicken. We haven’t forgot.
I made this for lunch at work. Its going to be a regular thing now 😁
My wife loves "your" version and she is a long-time hater of pasta salad. Well done!
I have cooked this EVERY week since you posted this! The dressing is delicious! ❤
My alternative for pasta salad. canned butter beans and shell pasta, cherry tomatoes, red peppers, green olives, chicken breast, red onion, basil, parsely, oregano, olive oil, lemon juice, dijon. trust me on this one
My favorite cooking youtube channel! Love the healthier versions series
So I've been watching Ethan for a while but after this I finally tried my own pasta salad...best thing ever I swear, it's actually became my weekend tradition lately I prep it before the weekend and I'm good to go I like adding black beans.
We use 1/2 mayo and 1/2 ranch dressing, it's a game changer.
Capers can take your salad to another level.
I too am a pasta salad junkie.
Great video.
Those macros are SOLID! I never thought I’d want to eat a cold pasta salad but I’m gonna have to give it a go!
I am the same way about pasta salad. I add hard boiled eggs in mine sometimes. Btw, I make that Greek orzo salad you made awhile ago. My mom requests it all the time.
Love these healthy versions. Most of culinary UA-cam’s healthy recipes are just healthy in the sense that they use Whole Foods… but often they have super high cals and bad macros. On the other hand, fitness UA-cam’s recipes are chock full of artificial shit but are low in cal and have good macros. Yours straddle the line perfectly in my opinion. Keep it up.
I make a dressing of vegetable broth, pickle liquid and low calorie Joghurt. Doesn't sound apatizing but it tastes pretty good after letting the entire pasta rest for 4 hours (ideally overnight )
Pasta salad is my summer staple - I also use a vinaigrette sometimes if I want something lighter
Not a salad fan but Ethan makes it sound interesting and delicious, especially making home made dressing. Not difficult, just need ingredients on hand.
i cook my Pasta Al dente and cool it down while wash it with cold water, has the same effect and its better with Glyx Index when on reduced carbonhydrate diet. Anstead of Mayo i use Home Made Ayoli . You can leave the eggs away and use a Dijon Mustard as binder .Fat Base a good olive oil or a good neutral sunflower oil. Takes bit practice esp when your gralic has been rosted before to make better disgestbale. The Parts all have to be roomtemperature and make sure yi adding all little by little so you dont kill your elmusion,You can store the Aioli Mayo for Months in air tight lid container.
I also used Bulgur and minced Beef instead of Pasta , stuffs a lot and has lesser calries . I used the Fat from the the Beef for me dressing , no need to add more oil.
You also can Mix Pasta with fresh Salad . Thats so good
A Geico sponsorship?! Well done dude, that's pretty awesome
Welp, I know what I’m meal prepping this week, thanks Ethan!
I do the same!! to the point where i have got my family addicted to it too, the deli style salad is perfect to turn around boring meals!
Filling pasta salads are great for kiddos with growth spurts. They can help themselves and help make it.
Thank you so much for the inspiration! By far my favorite cooking youtube channel out there.
Try swapping out a can of chickpeas (drained), cold from the fridge, instead of using pasta, and keep all the other ingredients the same 😋
Various pesto-style sauces (not just your classic basil) make great dressings for pasta salads, too.
The yogurt/mayo mix makes an awesome base for a seafood pasta salad.
My granddaughter comes for dinner once a week, and I always make a regular salad with lots of healthy stuff in it (dressing is on the side, usually oil & balsamic with some tahini). I'm thinking your ideas will work with the salad I always have leftover the next day. The leafy greens won't hurt, right? Heck, I could ac5ually incorporate any leftover dressin* & just add some yogurt to it. Thanks, I'm getting all kinds of joy from this idea.
Have you tried the Barilla Protein+ pasta? It honestly tastes really similar to regular pasta but adds a bit more protein. I am also obsessed with pasta salad (I’ve made my own riff on your orzo salad more times than I can count) and the protein pasta helps make any pasta dish more filling imo!
There’s no way you need pasta to make up for your protein, even if you’re cutting weight at 2.4g/kg proteins i find a scoop of whey protein being much much cheaper
most americans are eating double their required protein, this probably isn’t going to help you unless you are OMAD.
Replacing some of the pasta with canned chickpeas also seems like a good move
my favorite pasta salad is mayo tuna sweetcorn scallion and cheese, i could live of it
Ethan's titles be like: "Why I eat food on a daily basis (I'm obsessed)"
i really recommend not using mayo and just using creme fraiche and a tablespoon of tomato paste if you feel fancy, makes for some of the best and freshest noodlesalads.
I love how much you use the word "solid" haha Me and my buddies always describe good beers like that, everything is solid lol
I love making a pasta salad with red lentil pasta and chickpeas, but big time struggle with the firm pasta leftovers as mentioned. Hopefully overcooking will help the red lentil based noodles as well.
I use chickpea pasta for mine. Banza pasta is great
The last protein version you showed i am gonna try that. Looks solid.
Your passion for food is addictive, Ethan!
For my pasta salad I add just a small spoon of mayo, a can of tuna with it's oil, black olives and diced tomato. Simple, yet tasty.
I made pasta salad with a lot of vegetables (blanched broccoli, sauté mushrooms and carrots, red bell peppers, olives, onion, chickpeas, herbs,etc) with a garlic olive oil and vinegar dressing. But since my husband went gluten free I just leave out the pasta.
I feel like MSG shouldn't be optional anymore... there's so much research that shows it is safe in the typical cooking applications.
"Chinese Food Syndrome" has been all but completely disproven... the doctor that initially wrote the article about "Chinese Food Syndrome" was being satirical and making a joke....
Also kelp/kombu/seaweed and some cheeses contain a fair bit of glutamates.
Majority of (USA at least) snack foods contain MSG, but no one mentions that...
I love pasta salads, and recently made one to go with some left over grilled flank steak. Sundried tomatoes, grilled paprika, garlic, walnuts, olive oil and some cashews mixed to a pesto, with some small white beans, cherry tomatoes and a lot of basil. You can really do so much with pasta salad :)
Cooking Ceasar salad every week, sometimes several times a week. Now gotta try a pasta salad
I love a good pasta salad.Thankyou for broadening my pasta salad horizon.Great ideas and the dressing sounds so good.🙏🌠♥️🙂
My go to pasta salad secret is PESTO
Pasta (we prefer rotini)
Pesto
Grape tomatoes
Mozzarella
Multi colored bell peppers
Fresh spinach, chopped
Black olives
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Grated/shredded Parmesan
Potential extras: chicken, sun dried tomatoes, sunflower seeds
PS: mayonnaise is gross. That is all.
I swear, Ethan has a lot of Weekly meals that I believe he eats like 50 meals a week
that second salad is something i could eat all the time i brought a verion to church picnic last time. with black beans instead of chicken
Love pasta salads too any day over garbage junk food sides!! High kudos to your solid healthier nutritious conversion here!!!👏🏼👌🏼I’ve been making a similar lighter tuna salad dressing for the fam for yrs with 1/2 cup full fat greek yogurt or kifir and 1 tbsp of mayo or a 1/2 tspn of olive oil with plenty of aromatics (dill, chives, pickles and garlic powder)👌🏼😋
Hey Ethan, in many of your recipes you recommend avocado's, do you have any good suggestions on something that would be good instead for those who don't like avocado's as much as yourself?
I'll try this one later but I don't think I'll be putting as much avocado 😅
Love pasta salad. Great video as always!
To you original side dish pasta salad I would add several boiled eggs and some tuna. It would up the protein and make it more of a whole meal. Serve over a bed of greens.
i made a russian salad the other week and it wa so good but felt kinda guilty about the macros. definitely gonna try these two options now. thank you for what you do, i am starting to enjoy spending time in the kitchen.
ethan's got more weekly obsessions than there are days in a month