Growing up in Iowa, I always enjoyed going to our local Hy Vee grocery store. It wasn't grand in the scheme of our town, just a small town grocery store with small town people inside.My favorite part of going to the store was I got to ride on the bottom part of the take out carts pushed by the sackers.
These were huge double trayed carts that could easily hold 12 sacks of groceries.
I wish I could find a picture for you, but unfortunately they are as antiquated as I am..lol
My mother was a true house wife. She made all of our bread from scratch, made homemade spaghetti sauce, and ice cream, lemonade and cakes. I miss going to the store for our monthly stock ups of flour and sugar, canned tomatoes by the gallons. The grocery store had specials in the summer, like an entire loaf of bread sliced and filled with the most delicious ham imaginable, all for $1.50. There were at least 10 sandwiches in that bread bag. I would beg my mother to let us have a bag and go to the park and have a picnic, and often she would comply with my begging. I thought it was brilliant and it fed my mother and I for the entire week. The only accompaniment we needed was mustard and some chips!!
While we didn't get it very often, it sure was a treat for an 8 year old kid!
So today I have decided to make my favorite Hy Vee salad.
It is called Spring salad and it is my absolute favorite salad.
It is not E2L standard, nor is it overly healthy. But.... it is....comforting.
I do not have a picture of it, as I have not made it yet. But I will give you the recipe so you can make it if you like. I highly recommend it!
Spring salad
1 box large sea shell pasta, cooked al dente
1 large cucumber, washed and sliced thin
1 head of broccoli, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
Your favorite ranch dressing, I use a vegan ranch pkt with sour cream
Toss everything in a bowl, pour over ranch dressing and stir to combine. Let chill for about 3 hours. Serve with grilled boca's, lays potato chips and some crisp watermelon, and think about your childhood!
I have not been to a Hy Vee in years and I am sure it is not vegan, vegetarian or E2L friendly, but the thoughts and memories of shopping time with my mother there, lingers on.
And other news....
I have decided that I am going to reintroduce my regular vegan foods back into diet. While E2L is great for weight loss, and I have lost a total of 26 lbs. It is doing nothing for my disease and is playing wildly with my blood work and my pain levels. I have followed the plan to the letter, without cheating or substituting.
I am not ashamed for calling it quits, nor am I unhappy with the results of the plan. But, with my situation in life I am tired of giving up and not getting better. I want something good to eat and comforting, not plain unappetizing nourishment. I can hardly stand food anymore and I have no appetite for anything at all. I ate my favorite pasta the other day and it was bland and lifeless to me.
I know you all will support me. I have the greatest followers and friends here. I am still going to stick to healthy foods, but sometimes a girl needs a cookie....ya know!
I promise to blog more, now that I am not obsessing about food 24/7 and I will be excited to make you some great school time treats and fall meal plans soon!
Looking forward to talking with you more,
Vivacious!
19 comments:
I came right over when you said ranch pasta salad! Congrats on the great weight loss! I'm still working on mine. Where do you find a vegan ranch packet? I can't find them anymore.
Congratulations on the 26 pounds that is amazing. Sorry you aren't feeling better yet.
talk to you later,
Ali
I'm glad to hear that you're doing what works for you. I'll definitely be looking forward to your recipe posts again :)
i had pasta awhile back, ive only had it once this entire year actually, and it tastes extremely bland to me also. im still going on the e2l plan, salt is in everything so im having problems with that. i do feel like it has helped with junk food cravings etc. sorry that it didnt help ou more.
MissM-If you have a kroger grocer near you they carry a store brand ranch dip pkt that can be turned into dressing by using the following.
1 cup vegan sour cream
1 cup vegenaise
rice milk to get desired consistency.
Ali, I am just tired of the loss of control in my health at the moment. Perhaps a short break and then a restart is in order.
Radio active, I miss blogging, but there is only so many times people can look at renditions of salads and go.....ya, that is so not appealing.
DD- With everything that is wrong with this body of mine, I just want to enjoy something. I am getting worse, which is no surprise since this is a debilitating disease, but I am hopeful that things will settle down soon enough.
I was so hoping that you would have exciting news about the results of E2L and psoriatic arthritis. Glad to hear you dropped some weight, if that is what you wanted. I'm like you tho - would rather get rid of the pain than anything. Hope you find some happiness each and every day.
The salad sounds delicious - so nice to take the opportunity to whip up some comfort food at a time when it sounds like you need it.
I'm so sorry to hear about your health difficulties. I know very well how discouraging it can be to invest all your efforts into taking care of your body, only to feel as if it is betraying you. Please try not to blame yourself for struggling to adhere to the E2L diet. Although it may be an incredibly healthy way to eat and live, none of us is perfect, and all of us need to be able to cut ourselves a bit of slack from time to time.
Also, there is a lot of research demonstrating that REDUCTIONS in harmful foods can allow us to occasionally eat not-so-great-for-us foods without much negative effect (think China Study!). So, if you falter now and again in favour of a yummy lunchtime pasta salad, you can always throw a great big green salad together for supper. Or, if you need a few days off, that's ok, too. Don't forget that stress can complicate health problems as well, so putting pressure on yourself to eat "clean" may be worse than enjoying some delicious ranch dressing now and again.
Keep on trucking, as they say. We're all behind you.
BJ, while weight loss is always cool, I mainly wanted no more pain...No such luck, In fact it has increased the thinner I am. Also, now that I am bony, I am prone to bruising and being banged up more...Yay!
Allison, Thank you for your support, it means the world to me. Especially if I give up entirely and become a junk food vegan....lol
Wow! 26 pounds???! That's awesome, Brandi! That has to feel like a big victory! I just want you to be happy. And if that means having a cookie, well then, you should have a cookie! :) Love you!
Brandi, I am with you. I too have stong emotional attachments to food.
I so want to eat perfectly. It does help my health issues. However, it is quite a struggle with my emotional needs. Plus, I have too many trigger foods(healthy foods) that make my E2L diet much more restriced than one would imagine. :(
I do get down, and eat some comfort foods. Yet, I am still going to do my best to get better, and better with my eating.
I am sorry you haven't felt relief of your pain. May God heal your body.
Looking forward to more frequent posts.
there's nothing better than a good salad.
Iowa --- never been there! Might go there to ride the RAGBRAI someday.
Peace :)
I think it is wonderful that you lost so much weight. Congrats.
Great to hear that you are "transitioning" to a new season of eating. (no such thing as quitting...it isn't as if you aren't eating.) ;-) Sometimes a girl really DOES need a cookie!
I have a blurry memory of riding under those big shopping carts, too. I think it's amazing you stuck with it long enough to lose 26 pounds, and I'm sorry that it didnt' make you feel better. At least, it wasn't all for nothing. I hope you really enjoy that cookie. :)
I've been living in Iowa for about 5 years and LOVE Hyvee. In fact, they all have very nice "health market" areas that are very veg friendly.
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