healthy red lentil pasta salad recipe for the specific carbohydrate diet

Ah yes, the easiest, make-ahead dish there ever was: pasta salad. For busy college weeks, a protein-packed meatless dinner, or an easy option to whip up for wine night with friends, this recipe has been my go-to!

A Grain-Free Pasta Salad

It’s 2020. And there’s a zillion pasta alternatives out there. I’m LIVING for it. Hopefully other IBD sufferers & gluten-intolerant people can relate!

grain-free Mediterranean pasta salad recipe

Growing up, my family would always have at least one pasta night per week. It’s so easy, quick, and everybody loves it! Pasta salad in particular always reminds me of my mom. In the summer, she would always make it to have ready to go in the fridge for family gatherings or for barbecue dinners on the deck.

SO I just had to adopt her recipe and make a grain-free version that follows the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The SCD has honestly given me my life back since I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis back in February. I still follow it to this day for the most part (with the addition of a few SCD illegal foods)… this post explains how, what, and why I’ve been able to add certain foods back in!

Cooking With Red Lentil Pasta

I’m pretty much a self-proclaimed pro at making red lentil pasta at this point… even though that’s not a difficult status to achieve by any means. LOL. Yes, yes, you obviously follow the instructions on the box BUT I’ll throw out some of my favorite bonus tips:

WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT OVERCOOK IT. It can get very mushy very fast.

If you’re making it to eat warm, cook slightly under the time on the box (I usually do 5-6 minutes), drain out the water with a colander, and put the pasta back into the pot I used to boil it with a drizzle of olive oil. Toss and cover for another 2 minutes to let the steam tenderize the pasta a little bit more.
If I’m making a cold pasta dish, I’ll cook red lentil pasta according to the suggested time. BUT when I drain out the water with a colander, I immediately rinse the pasta with cold water to stop the cooking process. This also helps immensely to prevent the individual noodles from sticking together. Then transfer in a mixing bowl to toss with either flax oil or olive oil.

Cooking with Flax Oil

Hmm. Maybe that’s a misleading heading but I’ll roll with it for consistency’s sake.

Flax oil actually isn’t meant to cook with! …More on that in a second. BUT this oil is an absolute powerhouse in delivering healthy omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids. 1 tablespoon contains 7,196mg of ALA omega-3 fatty acids, which far exceeds the recommended daily value of 1,600 mg.

Omega-3 fatty acids are known to decrease inflammation, improve heart health, and protect the brain against aging. Especially when it comes to fighting the inflammation from IBD, flax oil has been my go-to source of these healthy fats!

There’s only one caveat: omega-3 fatty acids break down as you cook them. According to this 2016 study, you can lose up to 80% of omega-3 fatty acids in this oil when it is subjected to heat. SO I only add flax oil to cold foods. I also make sure to buy cold-pressed flax oil!