Vinaigrette Again???

It's funny how you realize things sometimes. I was about to write about a new recipe for a vinaigrette potato salad I created for a barbecue last Saturday, until it came to me like the proverbial lightbulb, that I have been very vinaigrette heavy lately. Now this is a "healthier" food blog, but still. It came to me quite suddenly that I still really don't like mayonnaise.

Anyone who knows me from "back in the day," to quote my darling son, knows that I didn't eat mayonnaise as a child. I ate tuna on bread. Chunks of tuna on bread, no mayo. I was that odd child who visited a friend's house and at lunchtime announced that I preferred my tuna dry. This was in the day before picky eaters.

I am always thrilled to make a salad or slaw with olive oil and a complementary acid (lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar) and I don't miss the mayo at all. I think I just never got over my childhood disgust at the creaminess. My Dad, too, hated mayo. He hated it so much that many a wait person learned the hard way that if he sent back a sandwich that was supposed to be mayo free, bringing it back to him with the mayo scraped off was just not going to cut it.

So I apologize for being repetitive and blogging repeatedly about vinaigrettes. If anyone would like the potato recipe, please comment below and I'll reconsider. In the meantime, instead of a recipe, today I'm providing a brief list of foods that I've found that have made my transition to healthier eating much easier. They are mostly painless changes and all are delicious.

*Fage nonfat yogurt - there are other brands of Greek style yogurt out there now but I think this tastes best. I like it with a drizzle of agave nectar (see below) or honey to lightly sweeten it and then whatever fruit - fresh or dried - I have around. It is also delicious with a little granola. Yum.

*whole wheat couscous - why not? It tastes exactly the same.

*agave nectar - from the agave plant. It supposedly has a lower glycemic load than sugar and honey and is sweeter so you need less. I get mine at Trader Joes's which is much cheaper than Whole Foods.

*walnuts - I try sprinkling these on a salad or my yogurt occasionally as they are full of Omega- 3s. On its own that wouldn't do it for me, but they are delicious. I try to use these in lieu of pecans or peanuts.

*almond butter - slightly healthier than peanut butter and tastes great. Again, I get mine at Trader Joe's which has a much better price.

*Barilla multigrain pasta (yellow box) - I will probably devote an entire entry, shortly, to the pasta issue, but for now just know that I really like this. It's less obviously not regular pasta, though I wouldn't use for a ragu or meatballs and spaghetti. With veggies, etc. it's great.

Oh, and I am not getting paid to advertise for Trader Joe's. Just saying.