We seem to have some missing posts! This is not good! Blogger went down for a bit, and I guess lost some posts while down! Anyways, I will post the recipes for my crepes that Mark and I made the other night, and The Black Bean and Lentil Salad with Brussels Sprouts and Spinach on the recipe page! Hopefully they will be able to recover these posts that seemed to have gone missing! Darn Internet!
Anyways, TGIF! I am very glad that today is Friday. I am not sure my body could have handled another day of waking up early! I actually let myself hit snooze this morning and did not get up till about 5:25 this was much needed. However the bliss of sleeping in was shattered when I checked my email. Yes in my inbox was another dreaded job rejection. I am getting very discouraged at the fact that I keep receiving rejections. For those of you who know me pretty well I take things very personal, and when it comes to rejection I do not handle that well. I have also been desperately trying to find a new job outside of Indianapolis for a while, clearly the search is not going well! Anyways I could not sit there and wallow in self pity because my stomach was growling and I needed to get ready for work! I decided to try something I had seen other bloggers post about. It is called oats in a jar, and basically you eat your oatmeal out of an empty PB jar (see inspiration
here). You use a jar that has about a tablespoon left in the bottom. I simply made my usual banana steel cut oat and dumped them into my PB jar! So good, I love saving the melty peanut butter till the end, and the peanut butter at the end of the jar was a perfect and satisfying surprise!
You know my usual mix, 1 serving Steel cut oats and 1/2 banana!
Of course I needed a little Peanut Butter on Top!
As I left for work I was still a little bummed about the rejection. I decided however that I was going to use this negative energy as motivation for a killer workout. After my morning shift at work I headed to the gym. I took out my frustration on the treadmill in a very sweaty 5 mile run! The air was not on in the gym which resulted in an extra sweaty Hilliary! But I felt amazing when my workout was done. I ended my workout with a good amount of stretching, and strength training. Today is Friday so I focused on my Biceps, Triceps, and Chest! See workout
here! I love how a good workout can make you feel much better. My workout reminded me that I have a long list of to do's today! You see Butler's graduation is tomorrow, and we have a full weekend of celebrating the accomplishments of our wonderful friends. I have sorority sisters coming in from Chicago and Columbus! I cannot wait!
However before I got started on my marathon of cleaning, I needed something to recharge my battery! I decided to make tuna salad, I think I have had this can of tuna for quit sometime. I have been making tuna salad this way for a long time. I use greek yogurt in my dressing instead of mayonnaise, because I cannot stand the way that mayo smells! I use the same recipe to make chicken salad, so if you do not like tuna simply sub in chicken (either way is good)! I ran across a cold tuna pasta salad on FANNEtastic Food, and thought that it was an amazing idea. Her recipe can be found
here! Our recipes are virtually the same, however I like fruit in my tuna/chicken salad. I always cut up a fresh apple, or throw in some cranberries. I think the sweetness of the fruit is a nice contrast to the tang of greek yogurt. When Mark and I make chicken salad we have to make two separate batches, because he does not care for the fruit in his salad! I will post his chicken/tuna salad at a later day! But lets get back to this recipe!
Without further delay here is my recipe for Tuna/Chicken Pasta Salad:
What you will need (makes 2 servings)
3/4 Cup uncooked noodles (preferably small shapes)
1 Can Tuna/Chicken (I used Trader Joe's brand)
1 Cup Spinach Chopped
1/2 Apple of choice
2 Tablespoons Chopped Onion
For Dressing:
1 Tablespoon Greek Yogurt (more if you like yours runny)
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
To Season:
Fresh Ground Pepper
Basil
What I did:
Start by getting a small pot of water boiling for your pasta.
When your water is at a nice rapid boil dump your pasta in to cook!
While your pasta is cooking drain your tuna and place in a mixing bowl. Once your tuna is in the bowl use a fork to break tuna into smaller chunks. Like so,
Next chop up your apple, your spinach and your onion.
Now add your fruit/veggie mix to the tuna.
Mix to combine well.
Now right on top of your tuna/fruit/veggie mix place your greek yogurt, dijon mustard and spices.
Stir to combine all those yummy flavors together!
By time I had gotten everything mixed together my noodles were good and done! I drained them and rinsed them under cold water to stop the cooking. I then placed the noodles in the fridge to let them cool off a bit. About 5 minutes.
When the noodles were cool I dumped them in with the prepared tuna salad.
Mix in the pasta, and make sure that every last piece of pasta is covered in tuna salad!
Now you are ready to enjoy your lunch! I plated my lunch with a half a grapefruit, and a graham cracker with a tiny bit of peanut butter! I also drizzled some balsamic vinegar on my tuna salad (I thought the vinegar gave a nice punch of flavor)!
I love the crunch and texture apples give to tuna salad. I also liked incorporating noodles into my tuna salad. I sometimes get sick of eating tuna or chicken salad on bread. I thought this was a crafty way to incorporate carbs into a basic salad. I will def be making my tuna salad like this again!
I hope you all have fabulous plans for this weekend! I am getting excited and sad all at the same time! Like I said before this is a very bittersweet time of year! Anyways enjoy your Friday, I am so glad the weather in Indianapolis is cooling down! And remember to live Happily Every Healthy!
