New York City Trip!

I am going to New York City this week and I'm so excited! I'm going with my mom, mom-in-law, sister-in-law and my best friend! We are going to have so much fun! We have plans to visit the statue of liberty and Ellis Island, we have a bus tour on a double decker bus and will be hopping on and off all over the town for 3 days! I can't wait to try out some of the amazing restaurants I have heard about. There are more things to do, but it really doesn't matter if we get them all done or not. We are even going to get to see the fireworks on the 4th!

I've been getting ready for this trip for quite a while now. Purchasing new clothing and comfy shoes for walking, working out a little more to be ready for all that walking and be in the best shape I can be in. I've started a new round of the X workouts with a group of friendly people at Ozark Christian College. We are having a great time getting fit!! It's always more fun to work out with people!! I've also been doing the Project You workouts with a great group of girls! We have fun, chat and laugh a lot while we are sweating and working out!

It is going to be strange not to be with Brian and the boys for the 4th. We usually have a big cookout at the lake for friends and family. I hope that they will be able to have fun without me LOL!!

Just a reminder that the 1/2 price sale for Project: You Type 2, will be ending with the month of June. You only have 2 days left to get your copy of this amazing workout at the sale price. This is one of my favorite workouts and has such great information for diabetics. You don't have to be a diabetic to do this workout!! If you know of anyone at all, please let them know about this great sale. The ADA has endorsed Project: YOU Type 2. Through this relationship, ADA and Beachbody want to change the future of diabetes.

If anyone has any tips or advice for my trip, please feel free to post them and let me know what I shouldn't miss!!

Vegetable Pasta Salad from Deirdre Imus - The Imus Ranch Cooking for Kids and Cowboys Cookbook:

Make this pasta salad in the morning and serve it with fresh whole-grain bread for lunch. Better yet, wait and present as a side dish alongside grilled veggie burgers for an informal supper. The flavors blend and intensify with time.

3 cups penne pasta
2 cups broccoli florets
4 plum tomatoes, diced
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup diced yellow bell pepper
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1/4 cup sliced green spanish olives
1/2 cup rosemary-balsamic dressing (recipe to follow)
3 scallions, white and green parts chopped
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp. sale
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta according to package directions and immediately rinse it under cold running water to stop the cooking. Drain well and set it aside.

Steam the broccoil until tender, 5-7 mins and rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking. Drain well.

In a large bowl, combine thepasta, broccoli and the remaining ingredients. Toss well to combine and refrigerate until serving.

Makes 6 servings

Rosemary-Balsamic Dressing

Use your best quality balsamic in this recipe and even the most ordinary salad will suddenly appear dressed up. The freshest summer herbs are a superb contract to the rich taste of a well-aged vinegar. This will keep tightly covered in the refrigerator for about 4 days.

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 egg or 2 tbsp liquid egg substitue
2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
2 tbsp freshly minced flat leaf parsley
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup sunflower or safflower oil
1/2 cup olive oil

Combine all the ingredients except the oils in the container of a food processor and process 1-2 mins. With the motor tunning, slowly add the oils through the feed tube until the dressing is thickened and well blended. If necessary, thin the dressing with a small amount of water or additional balsamic vinegar.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.