Have Your "Me Time" and Eat it Too!

About once a year, my husband will go to a SEC football game without me. While I playfully protest, I am secretly excited for a little “me time”. I don’t know about you, but when my honey is out of town, I take that opportunity to eat all the girly things that he refuses to eat. Most items involve the word “salad”, (think broccoli salad, egg salad, etc.) and they all contain mayo, which he hates. That being said, it is probably a good thing that he hates these items so I don’t go through a jar of mayo a week. It is delicious, I don’t care what anyone says. Since I am one of those weird people that loves Greek yogurt, I decided to switch out the mayo in some of my favorite “me time” dishes to see how it compared. I have always heard that it is a great way to save on calories & fat while adding in protein. I was not disappointed!

I love Cobani or Fage plain Greek yogurt. Please do not confuse this with vanilla yogurt. For some reason so many people think vanilla is plain and I just don’t think these recipes swaps would work with a vanilla flavor.  ;)

TEST #1: PASTA SALAD

 

Rating 6/10: The great thing about pasta salad is that you can throw in whatever is in your fridge, mix it up with noodles, seasonings & mayo & it will be delicious. This swap was a really good choice. When the noodles were warm, the yogurt was smooth, tangy & the perfect compliment to the veggies. However, when I refrigerated it, it congealed in a really bad way. I couldn’t get the noodles to spoon out of the container without breaking apart. So, going forward, I will either use ½ mayo & ½ yogurt or I will only use yogurt when I intend to serve the pasta salad immediately

TEST #2: PIMENTO CHEESE

 

Rating 8/10: This one is a no-brainer. Delicious, creamy & for some reason held up in the fridge so much better than the pasta salad. It was a tiny bit thick but I would definitely prepare it this way again. I think if I add just a spoonful of mayo, I will be in good shape.

TEST #3: YUMMY SALAD

(this is how we decided to grow lettuce this fall...so far so good....and "hi" to Marlin in the background)

 

Rating 10/10: I have literally watched the Bethany show a sum total of one time for a sum total of about 15 minutes. I guess I went for quality over quantity because the tip that she gave is wonderful! She suggested mixing a small amount of ranch dressing with a vinaigrette. I only had fig-infused balsamic vinaigrette on hand so that is what I used. It was out of this world! I do love my ranch dressing, probably a bit too much so this is going to be my go-to when I am craving a salad with regular ranch dressing.

 

ENJOY and Happy "Me Time" to you!!