With July 4th right around the corner, my fellow foodies are surely giving some thought as to what they will be eating. If there’s ever a time when food takes center stage, holidays are IT! But, for whatever reason, special days and holidays are notorious occasions for igniting out-of-control unhealthy food splurges. I seriously sometimes think people figure the sugar and saturated fat in their eggnog doesn’t “count” as long as they drink it on Christmas Day. Or that having both a hot dog and a hamburger is totally acceptable as long as it’s eaten on the 4th of July (definitely unacceptable to do such a thing on July 5th though). I am also fully aware that even the thought of serving healthy food on a holiday can appear totally un-festive and very un-fun. However, if the food tastes good, does anyone really need to know it’s also healthy? I don’t think so.

No matter what the holiday and no matter the occasion, I refuse to go out of my way to make a bunch of junk. If I’m going to go to the effort of cooking, I’m going to make it healthy. This is because I know for a fact healthy can be tasty too. What I also know is that sometimes it’s best not to tell your friends and family that your holiday food happens to be healthy (otherwise you are at high risk of being viewed as a holiday food scrooge). My easy 4th of July Pasta Salad (made with whole grain pasta) is super delicious and can absolutely slide right past suspicious guests who keep their “healthy food” radar detectors up on holidays. With a very high veggie to pasta ratio, it’s loaded with fiber, antioxidants, phytochemicals, essential fats, vitamins and minerals but it’s super flavor-forward and makes a great presentation. All you have to do is serve this recipe in a colorful bowl and arrange a few of those festive mini American flags somewhere near the dish. Nobody will suspect a thing!

Pasta Salad with Red Peppers, Chives, and Goat Cheese

6 -8 servings

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

Sea salt, to taste

Coarsely ground black pepper, to taste

11/2 cups frozen corn kernels

1 (12-ounce) jar fire-roasted red peppers, drained, rinsed, patted dry with paper towels, and chopped

2 cups cooked whole-wheat shell pasta

1/4 cup chopped chives

3/4 cup chopped marinated pitted green olives (if possible, look for olives marinated in garlic and extra virgin olive oil from your deli olive bar)

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 tablespoons flax oil (such as Barlean’s)

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add the garlic and onion, and sauté for 3–4 minutes, or until onion is softened. Season onion with salt and pepper to taste. Add frozen corn to the skillet and sauté for 2–3 minutes. Mix in the red peppers and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Transfer the onion, corn, and red pepper mixture to a large serving bowl. Toss in the cooked pasta shells, chives, olives, and cherry tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, and mustard. Pour the vinaigrette over the pasta salad and gently toss to mix. Stir in the crumbled goat cheese. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time.

Note: Pasta salad can be made up to one day in advance.

**Ivy Larson became interested in following a whole foods diet after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998. She is the author of the Amazon.com #1 best-selling health and wellness book, The Gold Coast Cure, the follow-up Gold Coast Cure’s Fitter, Firmer, Faster Program and the recently launched Whole Foods Diet Cookbook. She has a fourth cookbook scheduled for release next year. Ivy currently runs the HotandHealthyLiving website.