a good pasta salad can be the quickest, easiest healthy meal you can
make.  you just have to get the basics down:

_pasta_

you make have the right shape of pasta for a pasta salad.  orchietti
and rotini ("twisties") are some of the best, followed by the short
tubes like ziti and penne.  you want you pasta shape to be able to
hold the dressing well, and be scooped up with the other ingredients
easily.  i've finally found some really good whole wheat pastas, so
i'm using whole wheat pasta exclusively now.

_veggies_

cherry tomatoes are excellent in pasta salads, they don't ooze water
like other tomatoes.  

grated carrots are also superb

you will want to blanch some veggies, like broccoli or beans.  i
always throw such veggies right in the pot with my pasta just before
draining.  talk about making it effortless.

frozen veggies (especially peas and edamame) are great in pasta
salads.  you can toss them frozen directly into the pasta water when
the pasta is near done.

_beans_

i like beans in some pasta salads, such as black beans, edamame or
canelli beans.

_sauce_

buy small jars of ready made oil-based sauces, such as sun-dried
tomatoe pesto or basil pesto.  some high-end salad dressing make
wonderful dressings for a pasta salad.


_example_

last week i ate this pasta salad in my lunch all week.  (well, i work
nights, so lets call it dinner.)  i made it in under 30 minutes from
start to clean up and had my partner jealous every time i pulled it
out to eat:

pesto pasta salad

bring water to boil for the pasta, meanwhile chop some cherry tomatoes
into quarters.  add pasta to boiling water, cook 8-10 minutes, add
about a cup of frozen peas at the last minute, give a couple stirs.
drain pasta/peas.  leaving the pasta/peas in the colandar, add the
tomatoes, toss.  add a few tablespoons of prepared basil pesto sauce
toss again.  divide into several tupperware containers for lunches,
top with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.  

isn't that just ridiculously easy for lunch for a few days?!