Mediterranean Salad challenge day three: Lightened Up Macaroni Salad.

An experienced blogger said that I should try to post a recipe each day. I thought I’d try it for a week to see how it goes. Here’s what I should have been told – Lock up your refrigerator and pantry the night before the post.

I’ve had to switch my daily routine to accommodate my new and gratifying hobby called food blogging. Instead of editing my 500-page manuscript in the wee hours of the morning, I’m taking photos for the post to better capture the natural light. Now, I spend evenings going over my endless pages of fictional writing.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to snack if I’m sitting down after nine. Last night I was fact-checking my rendition of the Sahara Desert, and I got the urge to eat something salty. I had pistachios in the pantry for Friday’s blog. That’s when I ended up eating all of them.

Back to manuscript edits. The story first takes place in Luxor, Egypt. I thought about all the mouth-watering watermelons that they sell on the street. There was a cute little seedless one that just happened to be in my refrigerator. I had cut half of the watermelon in perfect circles to make a Watermelon Caprese Salad. Another late night craving and you guessed it; I ate the whole thing. After one delightful snack, I had eaten my way through the star ingredients of the next two blog posts.

This morning I woke up and realized I was in big trouble. I remembered there was a 5-minute mayonnaise that I wanted to try. It uses the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans in replacement of eggs. Instantly, I knew what I would make.

So lesson learned. However, I did whip up one satisfying and cholesterol free macaroni salad.

Lightened Up Macaroni Salad

Yield: 3-4 servings         Prep Time: 10 minutes          Cook time: 7 Minutes

Ingredients:
1 can 15 oz Garbanzo Beans
¼ cup Soy-Free Vegan Mayonnaise
2 cups of cooked whole wheat or gluten free elbow macaroni pasta
2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
2 chopped celery stocks
2 scallions chopped
½ large cucumber seeded and chopped
juice of ½ lemon
Sea salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

1. Cook roughly 1 ½ cups of pasta according to the instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
2. If you’re making the Soy-free Vegan Mayonnaise, open the can of chickpeas, add 3 tablespoons of liquid from the can to a blender, and follow the rest of the instructions at Oh She Glows.*
3. Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Chop the remaining veggies and dill.** Add the pasta and the rest of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix well. Now you have a light and fresh version of macaroni salad that’s sure to appeal to even the pickiest of eaters.

Tips:

*I substituted the oil with extra light olive oil, used Dijon mustard instead of dry mustard, and baker’s sugar instead of brown rice syrup. I was instantly surprised at how good this mayo was.

**Dill can be replaced with any fresh herb you have on hand. I’ve tried thyme, fresh basil, and parsley. They all have made the salad fresh and flavorful.