Simple Pasta Salad {gluten free/ vegan/ low sodium}

Pasta salad is one of those great foods that before food allergies you could indulge in anytime. Craving that tangy, carb-y flavor? Stop at the deli or supermarket and pick some up. Unfortunately life with food allergies doesn't allow the process to be quite so easy anymore! Especially with celery. Man people love celery in their pasta salad! Here's a super quick pasta salad I threw together tonight after cooking a 'man meal' (meat and dairy).  My GF/V eater is working late and she'll need something to snack on when she gets home and something to take for lunch tomorrow. This is also low sodium, just incase my eater on a low sodium diet finds some.





Here's what you need:
-1 can black beans, rinsed
- grape/cherry tomatoes sliced in half or quartered
-1/2 red onion, chopped
-1/2 larger cucumber, sliced in small pieces
-1 green pepper, chopped
-1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped and pitted (omit for super low sodium)
-3 cups gf/v pasta, uncooked

Dressing:
-1/2 cup of oil (I used a combination of flax and olive oils- more olive than flax)
-1/4 cup vinegar (I used mostly white balsamic with a splash of white wine vinegar and a little juice from the olive jar)
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-pepper to taste

I found this new Barilla gluten free pasta in the regular pasta aisle today. Plus there's about four ingredients. That's it! No dairy and no eggs! Plus is was surprisingly delicious! 

Here's how to put it all together. Cook up your three cups of pasta. Drain in your dedicated gluten free strainer (ours is a different color).  Set aside to cool. After about 10 minutes I stirred it again and popped  it in the fridge. While you're working on the pasta, you can prep everything else. Chop the veggies, rinse the beans, mince some garlic, rock out to some music, sip your wine. 

Whisk up your dressing. If you want to get jazzy with it, take a look at Homemade for Elle's guidelines and ideas. My eater's sensitive tummies don't like things like siracha in dinner. 

Once the pasta is cool(ish), it's time to mix. Add the veggies to the noodles. Give it a good stir. Then pour the dressing over the top. Remember you can always add more, but it's almost impossible to take the dressing back out! Happy eating!