Spinach and Pasta Balsamic Vinegar Salad

Some ingredients for spinach and pasta salad.

I wanted to jazz up the spinach salad with pasta.  I bought some Colavita balsamic vinegar and more baby spinach.  Many times, I have seen Lidia Matticchio Bastianich on PBS, with Colavita as one of her sponsors.  I came home with a bottle of the balsamic vinegar and researched online for a good recipe.  I already had the pasta; all I had to do was add a few touches.

I've heard that balsamic vinegar has many benefits.  Among them is that it suppresses your appetite and lowers your cholesterol.  It also acts as an anti-viral and antibacterial agent.  Who wouldn't want to receive health benefits by simply ingesting something?  I wanted to take advantage of these positive points to improve my health.

I used Wacky Mac spirals for my pasta salad.

Water boiled before adding the pasta.

Then, I stirred the pasta into the water.

The pasta became swollen ten minutes later.

I had the strainer ready to drain the pasta.

Hubby helped out.

Hubby poured out the pasta into another bowl.

Pasta was ready for other ingredients.

Mild cheddar cheese was a nice addition, as well as the lemon juice.

Here is a picture of the pasta with cheese cubes on the side.

I added cut up tomatoes.  I tore the baby spinach leaves into smaller bits.  I added about a teaspoon of the balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon of olive oil, a few dashes of lemon and some salt.  I left the cheese out because I knew my children would not want it in the pasta.  I loved the colors; they seemed so inviting.  

Croutons added a crunch.

Buttery garlic croutons added a good taste to my pasta.  I added a little bit more lemon juice to my plate.  The result was a wonderful symphony of taste.  All of the participating flavors conspired to create a delicious pasta salad.  I wonder if I will be able to duplicate it in the future.

All of the wonderful ingredients worked together.

This truly was a wonderful pasta salad.  The spirals were already packed with various vitamins and minerals.  I simply added tomatoes, spinach, olive oil, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar.  I also added buttery garlic croutons and cubed mild cheddar cheese.  The ingredients did come together to create a delicious pasta salad, which surprised me.

My husband ate the spinach pasta salad with balsamic vinegar.

About an hour later after eating the salad, I still feel sated.  I feel the acid in my tummy.  It is not an unpleasant feeling.  Perhaps, and I hope it is true, the balsamic vinegar is benefiting my body.  I pray that I will keep using this pleasant ingredient--balsamic vinegar--in my diet.

Well, I hope you liked this version of a salad, 

which included balsamic vinegar. 

Thanks for reading this blog entry.  In the future, I hope to make a Greek Salad.  Stay tuned!

 

How about you, my readers?  Have you made a pasta salad lately?  Why or why not?  I encourage you to add balsamic vinegar; it's said that it's a better ingredient than any mayonnaise-based dressing.

This has been an entry for Saturday Spreads.