One thing that I’ve learned from using the NuVal system is that not all brands of pasta are created equally. In fact, even the same brand can have varieties that score totally different on the NuVal scale. Take, for instance, Ronzoni. The Ronzoni Penne scores a 57 on the NuVal scale, while the Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne scores a 91. As you can see, the Smart Taste Penne is a much more nutritious option. I’ve also learned that trading-up pasta is a simple way to increase the nutritional profile of your meal! 
With the first day of summer right around the corner, I thought it’d be nice to highlight two of my favorite pasta salads. Both of these recipes are easy to make and perfect for your next BBQ or party.
Mal’s Pasta Salad
Cool Chinese Vermicelli
Trading Up Downtown Giveaway
I’m a big fan of the Ronzoni Smart Taste pastas, so I’ve decided to giveaway a box of the penne and thin spaghetti on Trading Up Downtown this morning.
You can also win a travel container for the next batch of pasta salad you make for a summer get-together.
To enter: Leave a comment on this post about your favorite summertime meal or snack. I’ll randomly pick a winner on Monday morning. Good luck! 
Developed by an independent panel of nutrition and medical experts, the 
Strawberries, hands down! The strawberry season is short here, but I pretty much eat them every day as long as the local ones are available
I have been loving creamy cool Green Monsters after my hot runs! And fresh berries are always delicious!
I love pasta salad-tricolor pasta with broccoli, black olives, peppers, good seasons dressing and parm cheese-yummy!!
My favourite summertime meal is a locally-raised bison burger on a whole wheat bun made from a local bakery, topped with homemade ketchup and an assortment of veggies!
…and a glass of homemade sangria on the side
Watermelons! They are so refreshing and guilt-free since they’re 90% water =) I love scooping it out into little balls and add them to the rice salad as well…mmMmmmM YUMMY!
My favorite summer meal is a cheeseburger with Gazpacho! Full of veggies and just makes me think of summer! I love the Smart Taste pasta – I can’t tell you how many people I have “tricked” into eating whole grain pasta!
Watermelon for me too! Yummy and so refreshing!
I love all the summer veggies from our garden: especially cherry tomatoes. Yummy!
by far, my favorite summertime food is corn on the cob…. we look forward to when it comes to the supermarket!!
watermelons and burgers on the grill!
Caprese Salad! Tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella cheese – this is summer food at it’s best to me.
Hehe I have two giant things of pasta salad currently sitting in my fridge, I would love to make it healthier! Kabobs are my fav summertime meal!
Bacon, Lettuce and tomato sandwiches ~ with corn on the cob and maybe some watermelon!
Cool and refreshing watermelon or frozen grapes!!! NC summers are hot hot hot.
I love a chocolate banana smoothie.
green monsters, all summer long!!
A berry mix of raspberries and blueberries with some chocolate chips mixed in. Yum!
Love veggies on the grill!
Fruit, cold out of the refrigerator!
My favorite snack for a hot summer day is watermelon!
My favorite summer meal is fruit, fruit, and more fruit!
I like larabars for a snack because they don’t melt
My favorite snack is cold watermelon!!!
I love fruit, any kind — it is all delicious! And, potato salad
My favorite summertime snack is a chocolate-covered frozen banana on a stick – yum!
Watermelon halfs that you eat with a spoon!
I have to say that my favorite summertime meal would be on the grill! Right now I’m in love with homemade bison burgers in a tasty (HOMEMADE???) wheat bun with avocado and spinach! With sweet potato fries on the side! And always with some kind of dessert, like peach cobbler with homemade ice cream. Oh my gosh I’m drooling right now…
There’s nothing super healthy (or entirely unhealthy) about it, but I love a $1 ice cream cone from McDonald’s. What a great treat!
My mom makes an amazing Italian pasta salad all summer long for cookouts. Tricolor pasta, Italian dressing, tomatoes, cheddar cheese cubes, pepperoni, and parm cheese..mmm!!!
My favorite summertime meal is an old favorite: bbq chicken breast on the grill!
I love fruit in the summer time. The more the better
mmmm….pasta salad. I think I’m going to have to make some this weekend. I’m craving it now!
I think giant slices or juicy watermelon is what I look forward to most about summer.
There is nothing I like better in the summer than watermelon!
Fruit salad. It tastes so much better when all of the fruit is in season!
Any & every kind of fruit. I can eat large quantities of it, especially in the summer! Oh, & frozen yogurt is always great too;)
I love Bruschetta in the summer! Fresh tomatoes, balsamic, feta, and fresh basil from the garden. So cool and refreshing! Yum.
I love any kind of fruit; watermelon, nectarines, peaches, cherries… I could go on. I love that they are all in season during the summer, so the flavors are wonderful.
i think i always say that guacamole w/ pita chips is my favorite summer side! and pineapple!
My favorite summertime snack is watermelon!
Chocolate covered bananas!
Fro yo with fruit!
I love a cheeseburger!
Definitely popsicles or creamsicles
Hot fudge sundae–why not right, just don’t check the Nuval rating
I rock the $1 McD’s ice cream cone all summer long!
When I go to a BBQ I ALWAYS bring a fresh corn and cabbage salad, with sun-dried tomatoes, peppers and scallions in a olive oil/apple cider vinegar dressing, with a bit of sea salt thrown it. So delicious and fresh!
I love all summer fruits and vegetables… I’ll snack on anything I can find raw because it’s all so fresh and yummy this time of year. I find myself sauteing and combining whatever vegetables I have on hand with whole wheat pasta, olive oil, and parmesan, and it ALWAYS comes out yummy!
I love fresh strawberries in the summer.
Watermelon ~ we have been enjoying the most sweet and succulent seedless watermelon … and it is so the quintessential summer, especially on a hot & humid day! Refreshing and oh-so-good for you!!
Two words: ice cream. Any and every kind.
hands down it would have to be a fruit salad. So versatile and you can bring it anywhere for a snack. you can top it on yogurt, ice cream, even a mango salad on top of chicken.
Summer snacks? I love peaches and watermelon! Hummus is good, too … but you don’t have to wait for summer to eat it.
My favorite snack of all time is frozen mango and pineapple. It defrosts in the fridge at work and then it’s super juicy, cool, and sweet!
My favorite summertime meal is creamy potato salad. Not the healthiest granted, but oh so delicious!
Love to do grilled skewers with chicken, shrimp, veggies…serve with sides of corn on-the-cob + crusty bread!
I love fresh fruit and cool smoothies! Perfect for this hot weather!!
I love pineapple (NuVal = 99) raw, or grilled it’s delish!
My mom’s bean and corn salsa is my favorite…I eat it as a meal!
Icebox cakes!! So delicious.
I love love grilled corn on the cob. Mmmm…
Ice cream!
I make a killer curried pasta salad with plain yogurt, recipe soon to come on my blog!
Fresh fruit and ice cream!
Cottage cheese and fruit! And ice cream of course. I am addicted to it.
I could eat an entire pound of cherries all by myself for a snack in the summer! Mmmm
My favorite summertime snack is cold, fresh juicy fruit. Nothing is better than a slice of watermelon or a ripe peach on a hot summer day!
Watermelon and peaches. I can eat massive amounts of both, they are just soooo good!
these both look like great recipes, I’ll have to try them!
My favorite snack in the summer is a big bowl of fruit!
I love pasta salads! My favorite summer time food is strawberries! Have a great day!
My favorite summer treat are strawberry banana smoothies! They hit the spot on a warm day!
My favorite summertime snack is cold watermelon!! And I’m trying out new salad recipes with watermelon too. I hear that watermelon, tomatoes, arugula, and feta work really well together for a refreshing summer meal
My favorite summer snack is fresh fruit, some of those on the top of my list are watermelon, peaches, nectarines and cherries!
I love smoothies and fruit. Basically anything cold!
Sweet juicy watermelon… Mmmm so good.
My fav summertime meal involves anything grilled–brats (I’m a WI cheesehead, what can I say), veggies, corn, etc. I also love fresh fruit on the side. Yum!
Fresh fruit salad. And southern potato salad. And pasta salad. And tortilla chips and fresh tomato salsa. Too hard to pick just one!
My favorite summer food is definitely simple grilled corn on the cob! Mmm!
In the summer, it’s all about the fresh produce. There is nothing like a tomato in the garden or fresh watermelon for dessert. I love summer!
My mom’s famous potato salad with baby potatoes, carrots, celery, red peppers, and boiled eggs that is lightly coated in a mixture of half light mayo and half light sour cream with plenty of dill! The dill makes it so fresh and tangy.
Without a doubt, my favorite summer food is a perfectly juicy peach. I look forward to them every year!
My favorite summertime snack is a fresh slice of cold watermelon. It’s super refreshing!
My fave summertime snack is fresh berries, especially strawberries!
Favorite any time snack is watermelon, cantaloupe or honey dew melon…so refreshing!
Definitely strawberries!!
When it is hot I love caprese salad and a glass of pinot grigio.
I love grilling zucchini, tomatoes, and portobella mushrooms in the summer!
I love frozen yogurt and sorbet. Such cool and refreshing treats! A little on the sugary side, but that’s why it’s a treat!
I can have grilled veggie burgers with lemonade any summer day!
Cottage cheese and cold fruit chopped and mixed in. Very refreshing.
A really thick fruit smoothie!
Summer is easily on of my favorite seasons (right after spring, and fall-heh), so I have so many favorite summertime meals and snacks, I loved grilled barbeque chicken, my momma’s potato salad, fish tacos, melons, smoothies, and iced tea, mmmmm…. I’m hungry now!
Thanks for the opportunity! My favorite summertime snacks are juicy watermelon and plain greek yogurt with applesauce or strawberry preserves!!
Watermelon and peaches. Thanks for the great giveaway.
Ann
Oh, it is so hard to pick a favorite in the summer – I just love all the in-season fruits & vegetables! I am at our local farmer’s market every weekend stocking up!
Homemade Guacamole with pita chips or greek pasta salad:)
I love strawberry and pineapple salad. So tasty!
My favorite treat in the summer is ice cream from a local joint near my house called Honey Hut. I love their monthly specials! I’m looking forward to Honey Graham ice cream next month – just in time for my bday!
Strawberries and cream for sure. A match made in heaven!
my favorite summer food would be bruschetta… with fresh basil and romas from my garden.
just today I was talking about making a bruschetta PASTA… this would do it…
My favorite dinner in the summer is a cold fruit salad with a little cottage cheese and sherbert!
its a tie between fruit salad or chicken sausage on the grill.
I love fresh veggies grilled or lightly stir fried with some olive oil.
Berries. I could eat a whole container in a sitting, and I often do!
Anything on the grill is perfect for summer! And watermelon of course!
Watermelon – there’s just no competition!
Watermelon is the best!! I love doing it with feta cheese, fresh mint and a little balsamic…holy yum
Love fresh fruit – and ice cream of course!
A soft vanilla ice cream cone!
a ripe peach. the kind that’s so juicy you need a napkin
[...] to everyone who entered the Summer Pasta Salad giveaway last week! I loved reading everyone’s responses! Here’s your winner: [...]
[...] Pasta Salad [...]
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