Well helloooo there! Long time, no see, friends. My oh my, how the time flies when you’re trying to convince yourself to post something on the blog, but you’re just not feeling into it, and instead focusing on other life priorities. Whew. So just what on earth has taken up all my precious blogging time, you might ask? Well, I can tell you that in the last month I’ve gotten very serious about getting back into running shape, figuring out my hip pain, and handling feelings of stress and fear as I settle into a new job. It’s been a lot to heap on my metaphorical plate, which means not a lot of time to share what I’ve been heaping on my actual, real life, literal plate.

I’m not one to force things on the blog, which is why I’ve ashamedly never established a regular post schedule, like all the super legitimate “serious” bloggers that I so look up to. I like to go with the flow, sharing ideas and recipes as they come to me, and after I’ve had a chance to try them out a few times on my willing taste-testers (thanks fam!). I blog as a side hobby, although a little part of me has always been nagging to do it more seriously. Unfortunately, I still have a lot of self doubt to get past, and have a really hard time taking myself and the blog too seriously. I’m sure it’s all fear, and I’m sure I need to let it go.

Anyway, I’ve been working on my physical strength by incorporating yoga into my daily routine. If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ve heard me gushing about how much yoga has basically changed my life, but more specifically how it has changed my hip. For the past year and a half I’ve been struggling with the most annoying and sometimes intensely painful hip issue, and all the rest in the world wasn’t helping. And I know, because resting was about all I’ve done this winter. As a result, the muscles around my hip became weaker and that in turn caused even more pain whenever I did try to exercise. Enter yoga.

I’ve practiced yoga off and on for the past 15 years, usually with my mom because she’s been a yogi for over 30 years, and I’ve tagged along with my sister (also a long-time yogi) to yoga classes every now and then. I decided to give it another try, after a lot of subtle urging from my mom, and I’m so glad I did. I started by downloading several apps on my iPhone, and picked out the most gentle and restorative sessions I could find. After a couple weeks of gentle yoga, I started exploring more challenging routines and apps. After just a few weeks, my hip pain has decreased dramatically. Some days, there is absolutely no pain, even after running a few miles. Sometimes, there is just a slight pinching, probably a reminder to take it easy, but the intense pain has not returned. I’m feeling so hopeful about it! And the yoga is here to stay. I’m hooked, folks!

Ok, so that was a lot of talkie-talkie, and if you hung in there and read all of that, I thank you! If you’re just here for the vegan mayo, then let’s get to that, shall we? After all, there’s nothing like mayonnaise recipe to burst back into the blogging scene and end a 4 week “no post” streak, am I right??

That was sarcasm. I know not many people are going to be falling out of their chairs with anticipation over a healthy mayo recipe. In all seriousness though, if you like mayonnaise, and you’ve been looking for a healthy, oil, egg, and dairy free version, then this recipe might be just what you’ve been waiting for. I’ve been contemplating healthy mayo for years now. In fact, you may remember (or not) an avocado based version I posted a couple years ago. At the time, I thought I had hit the jackpot; it was oil-free, plant-based, made from whole foods and healthy fats. The only downside to that recipe, is the avocado. While I love avocado, it does not last beyond a day before it turns brown. Meaning the mayo was only good for about 12 hours. It was time for a recipe rejuvenation.

This clean eating mayo is creamy and rich, with a tangy zip, but slightly lower in fat than my previous mayo recipe. Where does all that low fat creaminess come from? None other than cauliflower, which you have to admit is having it’s moment of veggie fame. Not only can you make pizza crust, hot “wings,” and sticky sesame Chinese “take-out” with it, I’m now seeing it pop up in smoothies and milkshakes. It adds an amazing silky texture to the latter, and that texture works amazingly well in a mayo recipe too. Does it taste exactly like the oily vegan mayo you might be used to? In a word, no. It has no oil, so the rich creaminess has a cleaner mouth feel, (not to mention tummy feel) which I don’t necessarily consider a bad thing. In fact, if you’ve always been a mayo hater, you just might find yourself loving this smooth, oil-free version.

I personally loved spreading this mayo on toasted bread for my sandwiches, and I can’t wait to try it in other traditional mayo based recipes (think summer potato salads). I hope you give this easy recipe a try, and if you do, don’t forget to share!

Healthy Vegan Oil Free Mayonnaise

makes about a cup

• 1 cup frozen cauliflower, thawed
• 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
• 1/4 cup of filtered water or unsweetened/unflavored plant milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp apple cider or rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Dijon or yellow mustard
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp maple syrup (optional)
• 2 pinches of sea salt, or to taste

Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until very smooth and silky, this might take a couple minutes. Use the tamper if you have a Vitamix. Taste and adjust lemon juice, vinegar, mustard and salt. Mayo will be thin at this point, but will thicken up in the fridge. Allow to set in the fridge a couple hours before using. Store in the fridge, and use within a week.

Feel free to omit the mustard, if you’re not a mustard fan. Experiment with adding other spices and flavorings, like garlic powder or dill, if you like.