Mmmmmmacaroni Salad

Macaroni salad is one of my FAVORITE foods to eat. Not pasta salad with italian dressing  and all the frills but MACARONI salad with mayo. The sad thing is is this delicious dish has pretty much eluded me since going vegan almost 3 years ago. I mean I tried and tried to make it but I couldn't get that perfect dish. I like it old school style-mayonnaise,some chopped veggies and salt and pepper. I don't really know what I did differently yesterday but I will stick with this method like glue because it turned out PERFECT!!!!

Mmmmmmmacaroni Salad:

• 1/2 lb. whole wheat elbows


• 4 Tbs. Veganaise


• 2 ribs celery,minced


• 1 large carrot,minced


• 1/4 sweet onion,minced


• 1 sour pickle(I used Heinz),minced


• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder


• salt and pepper to taste

Boil pasta to your liking. I think one of the things I like about traditional mac salad is the-dare I say-mushiness of the pasta. Maybe not mushy but cooked pretty soft. But do it the way you like it. Drain and rinse thoroughly-until cool. Let your pasta dry in the colander pretty well while you chop the veggies and the pickle. Normally, I would use green olives,but I was out, so I used a sour pickle. These taste a little bit different than dill-they are pretty salty, but I generally use them for cooking because I like their intense flavor. Mix veggies into pasta and Veganaise. Add salt,pepper and garlic. Don't go crazy on the salt because after the salad mellows and sits it will develop more flavor. I used 15 grinds on my first seasoning. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Before serving taste again for seasoning and adjust to your liking.

I know those instructions seem a little specific,but that is the way to make macaroni salad exactly the way I like it. Please feel free to adjust the recipe to your liking! And I should also mention that that tub of salad did get polished off-mostly by me-EEEEK!

Happy Birthday America!

Here's to freedom! We are currently trying to get out the door to go to a BBQ-swimming,food and family. I hope everybody has a happy and safe day filled with macaroni s

Dinner Buffet

Is it weird that I serve a buffet every night for just two people?

Steamed veggies,salad,tofu and rice. Oh yes and of course a bevy of fine condiments:

I always make too much food! Really though,I plan leftovers to keep in the fridge for lunches and snacks-I just make it all,we take what we want and save the rest. It always gets eaten up.

In other exciting news, I finally found a way to wear my hair for working out that stays in place and doesn't fly everywhere!

I fold a bandana in half and tie around my head like a kerchief. Then I put it all up in a ponytail-bandana ends and all. It is such a simple solution. Before I would put on a headband and stick a million bobby pins in it-I have long bangs and layers so I kinda had to. I figured I needed to try something new when I almost poked out my eye rearranging a bobby pin while still jumping around-DUMB I know! So this is it for now-at least until I get a Bondi Band for my birthday(I hope)!

Olive Green and Holiday

We went ahead and ordered color samples from Glidden for our dining room. We have it primed but we have been hemming and hawing for months over the color. We always knew we wanted green-but what shade we didn't know. Everything was too yellow,too blue, blah blah blah. So here are the FINAL two greens we are deciding upon:

I know it looks like a baby had an unfortunate accident on our wall :) The chair is a color reference for the funiture we have in the room. We are also redoing the floor a dark wood color. I am leaning towards the darker color on the left. What do you think?

Just for fun, a picture of my cat Holiday-Holly for short:

Look mommy! No paws! We also like to say she looks like a turkey perfect for roasting in this pose.

A little about Holly(since I don't mention the cats much): I rescued her from the shelter eleven years ago-she has a lot of toes that she is hiding in this picture and when I went to go look for a cat her paw and all its million toe glory was hanging out of her cage giving me the "thumbs up". She is super bratty and is always the princess. She is OBSESSED with water and I often find her in the sinks farting around. Her and Mulder are secret friends but her and her kitty brother Chico have never liked each other for some reason. She is quite petite and is actually really funny and VERY squirrely. Her birthday is November 19th.

So there is a little bit about my girl Holly-if I ever get a good picture of my big boy tom cat Chico(he weighs about 20 lbs.!) I will let him tell you a little bit about himself too!

More Bodybuilding Eats!

One of the best things about eating clean is how OFTEN you get to! Every three hours I get to pick a protein, a carb and a fruit or veggie. Pretty simple huh? Sometimes you eat something delicious and pretty normal like today's lunch:

Silk yogurt,strawberries and puffed wheat-delectable.

And SOMETIMES you end up with something equally delicious but kinda strange:

Baked beans,Mary's crackers and buffalo spinach with margarine and hot sauce.Weird combination but it was so satisfying and fun to eat-a scoop of this and a scoop of that! That is one of my favorite "diet" tricks-make anything buffalo-it feels like you are eating something bad but if you use spray margarine and hot sauce or even Ken's Buffalo Marinade- it barely adds any calories. Try it and see what you think :)

Her Garden Grows...

Remember my lame little garden that I started? Well it is starting to pull its weight around here-check it out:

Holy smokes on this sucker! The Black Prince tomatoes are outta control-no tomatoes yet but a few blossoms. The vine on this guy is crazy-much better than when I tried growing tomatoes in a pot last year.

Jalapenos-this plant is the star of the garden so far! We already tried one-not too spicy but delicious. I was always nervous to try and grow peppers-I thought they needed a super hot climate but it seems to be doing okay.

The zucchini just started blossoming. I am really excited because zucchini is my favorite veggie-these are doing great in the bag. The cucumbers I planted in the same way are pretty lame-o-I don't know if anything will come of those-BOO!

In an unexpected turn of events-we found these grow all over our property! Blackberries,raspberries and even some wild strawberries. Some of the blackberries were ripe and they are sweet and GOOD! I can't wait to harvest them all-there are a ton!

Growing food is such an amazing experience-I started small this year just to get my feet wet-but I really love it. Everyday when I go down to check the mail and let out Mulder I stop and check on all my plants.

Who's that puppy helping his mom check on the abundant harvest?

July Goals

I decided  I am going to give myself little resolutions every month to keep motivated,try new things and see what happens!

For July:

• I am not going to drink alcohol this month! I read a great post on The Front Burner blog and I could totally relate. I by no means have a problem-I have a few drinks a few times a month-but the whole next day is shot for me. I like the pure clean feeling my body has when it is free of alcohol-the flavor of a beer or the warmness of wine is short lived but has lasting effects!


• I am continuing my workout schedule-I have actually been enjoying it and found it works for me pretty well. I choose my rest day by how I am feeling-when I need it I take it. The plan is really well rounded as far as cross training so I don't miss anything when I take the day off. I don't make up the day I take off-I just do the regularly scheduled workout the next day.

Sunday:Cardio and Total Body

Monday:Cardio and Yoga

Tuesday:Cardio and Shred

Wednesday: Cardio and Shred

Thursday: Cardio and Lower Body

Friday: Cardio and UpperBody

Saturday:Cardio and Yoga

• Record my meals on Fitday and try to get my ratios of macro nutrients into the "zone".

Those are my health and fitness goals for July. I also have one personal goal that I am working on,but I probably won't reveal it until it comes to fruition-it is something that means a lot to me though and I have been working toward it everyday!