Well, aren't you pretty?

I love lunch. It’s one of my favorite meals all day (but so are breakfast and dinner so…). I think I really learned to appreciate lunch in all its glory while I was studying in Spain. Over there, breakfast is little more than coffee and a small biscuit or piece of toast and dinner doesn’t come around until 10pm or so. This makes lunch a big deal, and for good reason. How else would you subsist on a piece of toast from 7am until 10pm? You wouldn’t. Exactly.

Lunch is later there than it is here–around 2 or 3pm–and people actually leave work and school to return home and eat. I love that. My lunches were lovingly prepared by my host madre Sofia, who willingly (though with much trepidation) explored the world of vegetarian cuisine just for me. These meals always consisted of three courses: soup, entree, dessert. Dessert was almost always fresh fruit, but sometimes we lucked out with a cookie. We always had bread, purchased daily from the bakery across the street, and we Americans would chug water while our Spanish hostess barely touched her tiny little glass. (They told us drinking while eating messes up your digestion.)

Pretty

All this to say, I love eating a nice big, home-cooked meal in the middle of the day. Do not offend me with your burgers and sandwiches consumed en route to somewhere else. Give me a fork and a knife and a sunny front porch and I’m a very happy girl.

My lunch today includes:

• Roasted dill cauliflower
• Roasted tempeh
• Red quinoa
• Spinach
• Carrot
• Sweet potato

Happy Friday to you. I’m taking care of business (am I seriously leaving for Nicaragua in two weeks??) and completing a phone interview. Cross your fingers. Unless you’re busy eating a leisurely lunch. In which case, eat on.

What you see is not what you get

It’s no secret that the Photoshopping human beings to the point of “perfection” really pisses me off. But what about the Photoshopping and styling of food? Should this offend me, too?

Just as I know that the images of women and men I see in magazines are not real, I’m also well aware that the pictures of food I see in print ads, on menus, or on TV in no way represent the food I’ll actually eat. The foods in the pictures have been poked, prodded, glued, styled and made otherwise inedible to make them “pretty”.

Here are some tricks food stylists use to make their dishes look desirable (and this is before Photoshopping even takes place):

[tricks found on PhotoCritic]

Cotton balls look like steam after they’ve been soaked and microwaved

Motor oil is a more attractive syrup than the ones we eat

Shoe polish makes raw meat look seared

Cardboard squares prop up burgers to keep them from smooshing the lettuce

White glue photographs better than milk

Are you ever disappointed that the food you eat doesn’t look like what was advertised? Or that the food you make at home never looks like what was photographed in the magazine or cookbook?

Stocked

I’m excited about my pantry today because I just bought a bunch of glass jars for storing my goods. I like having everything visible and readily available so I don’t forget about it. I’m gonna need like 10 more though…

In these jars we have toasted soy sauce sunflower seeds, sun-dried tomatoes, cashews and almonds and dried apricots. The two big guys in the back have gluten-free oats and brown rice. The wee little guy in the front right is nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is a complete protein and is a good source of B vitamins for all your vegans/vegetarians out there. You can sprinkle it on anything.

The pantry

On the other side of the jar shelf we’ve got the processed items–sweet potato chips, granola, graham crackers and cereal. The top shelf is “the reserve”–quick cooking oats, grits and barley; extra nuts, powders, etc. And the bottom shelf has all the spices/condiments.

What’s in your pantry?

Not everyone has a stocked pantry or fridge. Check out this collection from artist Mark Menjivar for an interesting look at hunger and food through a series of refrigerator photographs.

Check them out

Visit Feeding America to see how you can help.

Chia seeds

You probably already know that chia seeds are great for growing a coat of vegetation on small terra cotta pets.

Ch-ch-ch-Chia

What you may not know is that chia’s wee little seeds are also a powerful superfood. I just ate some apricots dipped in peanut butter and then dipped in chia seeds.

Perfect

The consumption of chia seeds dates all the way back to the Aztecs who would eat them for endurance during conquests. In fact, many Indians in Mexico and the Southwest used to often subsist on chia seeds alone during expeditions.

So what’s the deal with them?

Highly Hydrophilic – Chia seeds can absorb up to 12 times their weight in water. Mixing chia seeds in water results in a thick gel-like substance. This gel forms a barrier in the stomach and slows the breakdown of carbohydrates into sugar leading to increased endurance. Translation: Your food will fuel you longer if you add some chia seeds.

Protein Absorption - The protein in chia seeds is easily and quickly absorbed during digestion meaning it can be rapidly transported for use in cells.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids – Chia seeds are a vegetarian source of the wonder fats found in fish. Omega 3 is necessary in order for your body to absorp Vitamins A, D, E and K.

So what do you do with them? Anything. Sprinkle on salads. Add to cereal. Mix in smoothies… Or dip in peanut butter.

[Source: Living and Raw Foods]

Veggie chili and Greek salad

While locked away at the coffeehouse last night punishing myself for freelance procrastination, you better believe I ate… and ate well.

I had a veggie chili and Greek salad combo. Coffee Underground actually has fantastic vegetarian chili with big fat chunks of yellow squash, plenty of beans and bit of a spicy kick.

It was a nice try but… nothing is as good as mine.

When Stew arrived later, he had chili and fried green tomatoes.

Fried green tomatoes

The fried green tomatoes came with honey mustard dipping sauce that was foreign to me since I usually have them with pimiento cheese, but it was still good… until we got to the big pieces that were still frozen in the middle. I was wondering how they had green tomatoes this late in the season. Freezer. Of course.

Mr. Krispers

During my stint as a vegan last week, I picked up these rice crackers (that, uh, I hope are vegan?) as a little something to munch while watching TV and the like.

I found that they are incredibly delicious. I got the sea salt and pepper flavor and really enjoyed it. What’s cool about these chips is that the serving size is massive (37 chips) but the calories are low (120), which is what I’m looking for in a mindless snack-while-watching-TV snack food.

And yes, I’d consider Mr. Krispers a junk/snack food. Despite the fact that these are organic, low-cal and low fat, they are still overly processed chips. So one of their (massive) servings is a smarter choice than many other things you could reach for, but don’t try to fool yourself into thinking your TV snacking habit is healthy.

Buddy Fruit

Ah, yet another marketing ploy to get kids to eat fruit… that worked on me.

While shopping with my family to stock up on tailgate supplies, I spotted this happy little guy in the fruit section. Normally I wouldn’t buy this–even at a mere $1 each. But when mom and dad are paying, things find their way into the cart.

I took it with me to the game since I–like most babies–need food every few hours and I wanted to try and keep my bitching to a minimum for the day. I ate my Buddy Fruit on the drive home and it tasted pretty much like apple sauce. They’re about 60 calories and only have 14 g sugar, which is surprising considering the high sugar content of fruit. They also don’t add anything to it. Just pureed fruit. Baby food, if you will.

I liked it. If I were a long distance runner, I’d suck down a Buddy Fruit before taking one of those atrocious coffee flavored gel pack things. But no, I will not buy Buddy Fruit on a regular basis. That’s what apples are for.

C-L-E-M-S-O-N

We got to my sister’s house around 10:30am in time to catch her running out the door for a Bojangle’s biscuit. Stew and I hopped in with her to make a liquor store stop for bourbon and… bourbon. One bottle and a sleeve of mini bottles. Oh, college.

Once everyone was back at the house and the trucks loaded with all the food and drinks, we headed over to campus.

When we got there I went straight for food since I eat nonstop throughout the day. Eats included:

My plate

I had fruit, veggies, True North apple cinnamon nut clusters and some Stacey’s pita chips.

True North nut clusters are good

Nut clusters are delicious. That’s what she said.

In addition to the annoying healthy items above that I slipped into the tailgate, I also contributed some healthy pumpkin cookies that weren’t really cookies at all. These were actually just my standard vegan muffin recipe tweaked to be pumpkin-y and then dropped on a cookie sheet rather than into muffin tins. I topped them with cream cheese frosting from a tub to appeal to the masses.

Pumpkin cookies... sort of

My dad ate two and brother called them “not terrible,” which translates into success in my opinion.

I got made fun of for my plate, as always. Whateva.

Not tailgaters

And sipped on one mini bottle of pinot grigio for the entire 4 hours before the game.

Oh yeah, the game… I can’t pretend to care about football. We sat in the third highest row of seats and I kind of enjoyed the hike to the top.

Very high

I paid attention to absolutely nothing, left at halftime and do not know who won. And that, my friends, is how I feel about football.

Tailgating, though, tailgating I like.

The whole Sweet Tater family

Yesterday my mom, dad, brother, Stew and I met up with my sister and 30 of her closest, most hilarious friends for our first ever Clemson tailgate experience.

But first, we started out with breakfast at MaryBeth’s per dad’s request for a “real” breakfast.

I had my standard oatmeal with fresh fruit and requested a side of peanut butter to make it more like my at-home mix.

Oatmeal as always

Dad got his real breakfast in the form of eggs, bacon, grits and a biscuit.

Dad's real breakfast

Mom had crepes with Nutella and bananas, which my brother described as “bananas and chocolate in a towel.” Don’t even ask.

My bite of mom's breakfast

And then there’s my brother… He started with a request for chocolate milk and was subsequently berated by the waitress (and us) for being a child. Things only got better when the chocolate milk he expected in a pint glass arrived in a juice box complete with expandable sippy straw.

He's 26

After that we moved on to Publix to stock up on anything we didn’t get at our midnight Walmart run the night before. This involved fresh fruit, vegetables, ice and fried chicken, which we had to special order since it was 9 o’clock in the morning. Who needs fried chicken at 9 in the morning? We do.

Packing up

Once we got the car packed up, it was back to my house to rendezvous with Stew and hit the road…

Totally not my photo

My parents are in town this week making a whirlwind tour of the southeast to visit my sister, brother, maternal and paternal grandparents and me (all in different cities and 3 different states) by Thanksgiving.

I got them first, fresh off the flight to Atlanta, and delivered them straight to Soby’s for dinner. (See also: Brunch at Soby’s.) Soby’s menu isn’t exactly vegetarian-friendly but since my dad requested “something unvegetarian,” I felt it was out of my hands. And, as it turns out, Soby’s chef can throw together a mean vegetarian plate when prompted.

But first… We started with fried green tomatoes.

Fried green tomatoes

The little sweet potato curly cues on top were my favorite.

My dad has a flashlight on his cell phone so he provided much needed lighting for these food photographs. That is apparently the key to decent shots of restaurant food.

Light guy

For dinner, I requested a vegetarian plate. Our server was on top of her game and asked me to specify anything I didn’t want on it (um… MUSHROOMS), anything I definitely wanted on it (asparagus and potatoes) and what kind of flavor profile I was looking for (citrus).

The final product was a roasted butternut squash stuffed with rice and red and yellow cherry tomatoes over mashed potatoes with a side of asparagus and broccolini. Oh, the joy.

Vegetarian plate heaven

I could have just died. It was incredible. Anything dipped in mashed potatoes is perfect. I know you meat eaters feel me on that one.

My parents had Chic-fil-A the minute they set foot in the Southland around 3pm so they weren’t very hungry. They split the special: salmon over grits with some kind of blow-your-mind awesome sauce. Sorry, I struggle to pay attention to specials because I know they’ll never be vegetarian. They loved it.

Salmon and grits

Dessert was a shared plate of butternut crepes selected by Mom. Dad and I protested in favor of the chocolate pumpkin bombe but he made a smart move and let his wife handle the dessert selection.

Butternut crepes

And the verdict… incredible. I did, however, feel a pang of jealousy when walking past a table that had ordered the chocolate bombe. Do not covet thy neighbors chocolate bombe.

This was perhaps the best meal I’ve had at Soby’s. I usually defer to the standard fried green tomatoes (only vegetarian menu item) but tonight I just put it in the kitchen’s hands and that was much more fun, though likely a major headache for them. Damn vegetarians.

I do appreciate the service at Soby’s. My mom said our waiter was fantastic (she was) and we chatted it up with Brad up front on our way out. And you know what my dad says? “You couldn’t eat a better meal in New York.” So suckit, New York. We have food, too.

Pleasant people. Pleasant evening.

And like true southerners, we rounded out the evening with a trip to the 24-hr Walmart to stock up on Clemson tailgating supplies for tomorrow’s game. My mom was carded (plus request for second form of ID) for a case of beer. Yep.

Libby's canned pumpkin

As if a lack of Eggos weren’t enough, Libby’s has also warned consumers to stock up on their canned pumpkin or risk shortages due to flooded pumpkin crops this year.

AH! Thanksgiving! Pumpkin pie!

This could be one of two things… 1) A ploy to sell more pumpkin more quickly by faking a shortage or 2) Completely irrelevant because the pumpkin in canned pumpkin is not pumpkin at all. Whew.

Actually, I’m really not one to cry fowl when someone calls a squash a pumpkin. Is a rectangle not a square? But if you want to get technical, the orange goo inside the can comes from a Dickinson field squash, not a pumpkin. (Thanks for the heads up, Kristen.)

But the orange goo that comes out of a jack-o-lantern pumpkin does not in any way taste good soooo… what can you do? So is there a canned pumpkin shortage? Sort of. I guess. Canned Dickinson shortage sounds way more interesting, though.

Libby’s adds absolutely nothing to their canned Dickinson. So at 40 calories per serving, 4 g sugar and 300% your DRV Vitamin A, I’m fine with it. Whatever you call it, it’s not bad for you.

But it is disappearing quickly… so run!

Eggo shortage

If you’re still eating weird packaged products even though I told you not to, then you better get stocked up on Eggo waffles. Kelloggs says there will be a nationwide shortage of the product until Summer 2010 because two of the four plants that produce them are closed for repairs.

Catch them if you can

Perhaps we’ll see a revival of good old homemade waffles. Do people even know they can make their own waffles anymore? I’m not so sure…

Oooh

My dinner was almost an exact replica of my lunch today but I added asparagus and made it look fancy shmancy.

This is a Dr. Praeger California veggie burger over blanched asparagus and roasted spaghetti squash with a side of black beans and corn. I seasoned the spaghetti squash and asparagus with lemon and added a little salsa to the beans.

But who even listened to that? You’re too busy looking at how pretty it is.

Seriously though, I’m midway through Vegan Week (hosted by Katy at Silly Tater Tot and Michelle at Eating Journey) and I need to make my food exciting so I don’t try to put cheese on it.

I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I’m actually loving vegan week. I hardly eat dairy or egg products anyway, but when you have to be really conscious about it you start noticing that they (and honey) pop up in just about everything. So I’ve had to pay a lot of attention to what I’m doing which has heightened the eating experience. I like it.

Stew's burger

After work Stew and I walked over to the Northgate Soda Shop, a 57-year-old Greenville institution. I’m clearly not the burger and milkshake kind of girl, but Stew really wanted to try it and, I’ll admit, I was curious too. I don’t know many people that have lived to be 57, much less a restaurant that has.

And as it turns out, the Northgate Soda Shop hasn’t aged a day since it was first opened.

The walls are lined with vintage sodas, beers and EX-LAX signs. And we’re talking real vintage, not the stuff you find nailed to the walls at Applebee’s, Chili’s and the like.

Real vintage

I was really excited to see a veggie burger on the menu. I had planned to just not eat until we got back home. Win.

Hooray for veggie burgers

As it turns out, however, my veggie burger looked and tasted suspiciously like meat. Stew was too busy eating his fried egg burger to talk me down so I just refused to eat it. He did eventually do a taste test and assured me mine was not meat, but I had already convinced myself that “veggie burger” at Northgate means a burger with vegetables on top. Also, there was mayonnaise on it. No chance.

Meat? No meat?

Tell me this does not look like meat…

Meat?

At any rate, I ate fries for dinner. I was fine with that. Even if it turns out that this was not meat, I still wouldn’t have eaten it because non-meat that tastes like meat is still gross to me. Grosser, in fact.

In other news, Stew loved his burger and onion rings and says we’re going back tomorrow.

Burger win

(We’re not.)

Baby-cut carrots

I recently stopped buying baby carrots because they’re always mysteriously wet and slimy and they cost more than normal-sized carrots. They are also impossible to grate or slice for recipes. Oh, and I couldn’t find organic baby carrots at my grocery store.

So I made the switch to regular organic carrots. I am so happy with my choice. As it turns out, the carrots used to make baby-cut carrots (yes, there is a difference between baby and baby-cut) are bred to have a higher sugar content so as to appeal to children. I prefer the lower sugar taste of big carrots.

Shortly after I made my switch, I got an email from my mom saying she’d switched because she heard that baby carrots are treated in chlorine. This was big for my mom since she practically ate a bag of baby carrots a day when we were growing up.

I looked into it on Snopes and as it turns out, baby-cut carrots are, in fact, treated with chlorine to reduce contamination. However, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says that it is a safe practice. I believe them that it probably won’t kill you. I’m also not about to eat it.

So what’s the difference between baby and baby-cut carrots? Baby carrots are those harvested when the carrot is still young and small. Baby-cut carrots, on the other hand, are full-size carrots specially bred to have a higher sugar content and brighter orange color that are then cut down to baby size and treated with chlorine.

There you have it.

Lunch for dinner

Tonight I totally had lunch for dinner. Who eats a sandwich for dinner? This girl.

Stew had a fancy open-faced thing with his famous hummus, avocado, roasted red peppers, organic herbs, etc. I had avocado, chickpeas, herb salad and… yellow mustard. I know thats gross and weird but I like it.

I even lunchified it further with carrot sticks, hummus and some Stacey’s pita chips.

While preparing lunch/dinner in a rush I managed to burn the hell out of a spaghetti squash. As it turns out, the impenetrable shell around it that took me a good 10 minutes + boyfriend to get open ended up protecting the insides. I guess that’ll be lunch tomorrow…

Black bean brownie turned cupcake

If you assumed based on the name that these were not delicious, you would be correct. Though they didn’t taste like black beans, they definitely didn’t taste like brownies either. It was more a light, fluffy chocolate cake texture. Meh.

I did sub applesauce for the oil (which usually works just fine) so that may have been the problem. I found the recipe at Every Food Fits and theirs look truly amazing. So this was most definitely user error on my part. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… I can’t bake.

Black bean brownies from Every Food Fits

To salvage mine, I topped them with cream cheese frosting in a tub and chocolate chips and took them to the party anyway. They did not go over well.

Disguised by gross frosting

So now I still have like a dozen of these sitting around. It’s a safe bet to assume that if I put them in the office kitchen, they’ll still be gone in 5 minutes flat. Never fails.

Purple sweet potato

In honor of Furman University (Go Paladins!), the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Prince, I ate a purple sweet potato for lunch.

Purple sweet potatoes taste pretty much like their orange counterparts but they are higher in antioxidants as evidenced by their deep purple hue. Purple and dark blue foods like purple sweet potatoes, blueberries, red grapes and red cabbage get their color from anthocyanins, which are associated with reduced cancer risk.

I baked mine like I would any other sweet potato and enjoyed it with with a bowl of rice, black beans and killer baked tofu.

Purple!

This was one delightful lunch. I’m telling you… lunch on Saturday never disappoints.

Baked tofu bowl

My baked tofu bowl was pure genius. Just leftover brown rice, some black beans, baked tofu (salt, pepper, garlic powder and some kind of seasoning) topped with a little tomato sauce.

I found my purple potato at Whole Foods. Go grab one and listen to “Purple Rain” while you eat it.

Baked ravioli with roasted red pepper dip

If you’re into accepting unsolicited advice from a stranger (you’re here, aren’t you?) then I advise you to make this recipe from Clean Eating (September/October 2009)… baked wonton ravioli with roasted red pepper dip. Yes, drool. Don’t get all sweaty nervous either. It’s easy. It’s also healthy. These babies ring in at about 50 calories each and they’re made with real food to boot. So stick that in your diet food pipe and smoke it.

[Confession: I still don't really understand how recipe copyrights work but since I once again did not follow the recipe like I was supposed to, I'm just going to tell you what I did and that it is very closely adapted from the Clean Eating recipe developed by Robin Miller.]

Baked Wonton Ravioli w/ Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Wonton wrappers
Ricotta cheese (low fat, fat-free)
Shredded parmesan
Basil
Salt, pepper, garlic powder
Roasted red peppers (1 jar)
Sour cream (fat-free)

1. Mix together ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, basil and spices. I really don’t have measurements for these. Just eyeball it. I’d say maybe about 1.5 c of ricotta, 1/2 c parmesan, 4-5 basil leaves thinly sliced and spices to taste.

2. Arrange wontons on a sprayed cookie sheet. Fill each wrapper with about 1 tsp of cheese mix.

3. Wet fingers and run along two sides of the wrapper. Pull the other two sides over to seal. Sprinkle with more shredded parmesan.

4. Bake on 350 for about 15 minutes.

5. For the red pepper dip, simply put about a cup of red peppers into a food processor with about 1/4 c sour cream. If you like a creamier dip, add more sour cream. If you prefer a vegan dip, leave it out entirely. Process until smooth.

Stuffing wontons

Getting the wontons sealed took about two tries to really nail it. This was my first time ever so much as touching a wonton so I feel like that was a decent learning curve. Friendly tip: Wonton wrappers are in the produce section. Yeah, who knew? Not me. I checked Ethnic Foods and the freezer section. Had to have customer service locate them for me. Thanks, Publix.

Toasty

These were truly just blow-your-mind amazing.

So.good.

They were quite a hit at the party I attended tonight as well. Two thumbs up. I’ll be making these again. Like… tomorrow.

Spaghetti squash as spaghetti

Get it? Awesome… squash… squaweshome.

ANYWAY, I can’t say enough about spaghetti squash (Exhibit A, B, C and D). It’s just so simple. So delicious. So… squaweshome. How many more times should I say it?

If you’re into hoaxes like this or this, odds are you are probably terrified of pasta. In your case I recommend getting a grip. But rather than quitting your carblessness cold turkey and going through reverse withdrawals, you may want to wean yourself off the insanity by eating spaghetti squash masquerading as real spaghetti. Before you know it you’ll be eating real pasta like the rest of us in no time. Baby steps.

Tonight I was at a loss for creative ways to eat spaghetti squash (read: lazy) so I just made my spaghetti squash… spaghetti. I sauted onion and baby spinach, added some tomato basil pasta sauce and a little brown rice (for carbs, gasp) and mixed it into half of a spaghetti squash.

Spaghetti squash and green beans

I hated it… clearly.

See ya, spaghetti squash

No, we're not making cake

So we’ve been through tips for getting started and looked at a list of the standard foods in my house. Now let’s see what kind of quick and easy meals you can make using those standard foods.

What to do with the Standard Foods

• Homemade Instant Oatmeal – I eat oatmeal almost daily. I mix 1/3 c of oats with some nuts, dried fruit, cinnamon, and ground flax. When I get to work I add hot water and some honey or agave nectar. Sometimes when I want a little more protein I’ll mix in a spoonful of nut butter. Amazing. I’ve also been mixing in canned pumpkin which is awesome. When I don’t feel like hot oatmeal in the AM (like if I’m dehydrated) I’ll throw this mix into yogurt (Stonyfield plain with honey or Chobani).
• Homemade Quick Soups – Soup is my go-to meal. I just love it. Saute onions and garlic in a little olive oil for a few minutes. Add chopped fresh (or frozen) veggies to the mix and let it cook down a bit. Add a can of diced tomatoes and enough stock (vegetable, chicken or beef) until it reaches your desired consistency. I like mine thicker so I add less. Then add in prepared rice or noodles for your carb. You can eat these right away but I think they always taste better after sitting for a day.
• Packed Scrambled Eggs – Stew has been eating a lot of interesting egg mixes lately. He sautés onion and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes and then dumps in any veggies he can find (fresh or frozen). Tonight’s was frozen spinach, fresh tomato and goat cheese. Then crack two eggs on top and mix it all together until cooked through. You can seriously put anything in this.
• Salads and Sandwiches Galore – I like to chop up anything I can find and throw it atop a bed of lettuce or in between two pieces of bread with some beans or tofu for protein. Obviously you meat eaters would just go for… meat. If your produce is already cleaned and prepared this meal is super easy to throw together.
• Bean Salads – I throw all kinds of combinations of canned beans together with diced red onion and any other vegetables I have on hand. Top with olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper and it’s a salad. I don’t do salad dressing. You can make your own with olive oil, red wine or balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper, garlic and lemon.
• Muffins – I made some incredible carrot spice muffins using a recipe from Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen. These muffins are crazy simple to make and they are delicious. I use her basic muffin batter recipe (mine’s not vegan because I use real yogurt rather than soy) and then add in any nuts or dried fruits I have on hand.

So now that you’ve got the tips, foods and meals that will help you get started on your new healthier lifestyle I hope some of you will really give it a try. Please email me your questions, concerns, favorite meals and progress. I would love it.

Not my refrigerator

As mentioned in the Tips section of Hop on the Healthy Bandwagon, I sent a friend of mine some advice on how to get started when you want to eat healthy organic foods on a budget and with time restraints.

After the tips for getting started I gave her a list of the foods that are in my house at all times. These are the foods I use daily that I consider to be both healthy and affordable. I’d say we spend between $60 and $90 on groceries each week (for two people). We probably eat about 80% of a month’s 180 meals (90 meals x 2 people) at home. So that comes out to around $2 per meal per person.

Here’s what we’ve been eating…

Standard Foods in My House

• Quaker instant oats
• Nut butters (natural, NO hydrogenated oils–try almond or cashew… more expensive, but awesome)
• Nuts – almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts
• Brown rice (instant)
• Canned beans – garbanzo, kidney, black, navy, etc.
• Vegetable stock (as well as chicken or beef for you meat eaters)
• Frozen vegetables – spinach, broccoli, artichoke hearts, soy beans
• Fresh vegetables – onion, carrots (whole, not the babies), tomatoes, lettuce
• Fresh fruits – apples, grapefruits, tangerines/oranges, grapes
• Eggs
• Bread – multigrain fresh (shouldn’t last more than a few days to a week)
• Soy, almond or rice milk
• Stonyfield yogurt (plain, organic)
• Chobani or Oikos (Greek yogurts super high in protein, low in sugar)
• Orange juice
• Apple sauce (no sugar added)
• Wheat flour
• Ground flour
• Wheat germ
• Honey and agave nectar
• Olive oil
• Red wine and balsamic vinegar
• Spices – cumin, cinnamon, sea salt, oregano, basil (lots more but those are my favorites)

My friend said she actually printed this out and used it as her shopping list. Feel free to follow suit. Let’s all hop on the healthy bandwagon together…

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Hop on the healthy bandwagon

A friend of mine emailed me a couple days ago to say she had been thinking a lot about getting healthy. She didn’t mean “healthy” in terms of dieting, counting calories and losing weight; she just wants to focus on overall health and nutrition.

Remember, I am not a nutritionist or dietician, but she asked if I could give her a few pointers about how to hop on the healthy bandwagon without it interfering in her incredibly busy schedule or breaking the bank.

I didn’t sit down and plan out what to say before I sent it so it is a bit stream of consciousness. But the major points are: tips for getting started, standard foods I keep in my house, what to do with the standard foods. I’ll post them here in a 3-part series.

Here go the tips…
Avoid Processed Foods – Try not to eat anything in a box, bag or carton that has a long list of ingredients you can’t pronounce. Think of it this way: If that word you can’t pronounce were in a salt shaker on your table, would you sprinkle it on your food? No? Then don’t eat it just because someone else put it in there. Whole foods in bulk are far cheaper than their processed cousins. You can make your own instant oatmeal for pennies with a big canister of oats, some nuts, dried fruits, cinnamon and a little honey. Same goes for soup. Stock, rice (or noodles), fresh (or frozen or canned) veggies… pennies.

How to do it:

• Only snack on whole fruits or vegetables
• Make your own soups, oatmeals, etc. (it’s cheap and easy; see Part 3 Meals)
• Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. This is where you’ll usually find the produce section with fresh fruits and veggies, butcher, dairy, etc. All the chips and whatnot are usually on the inner aisles.

Prepare – It’ll be impossible to maintain a healthy diet (especially with a schedule like yours) unless you plan ahead. If you get caught somewhere without a healthy snack or packed lunch, it’ll be too easy to grab a less desirable option. I eat 3 meals a day 7 days a week prepared and packed by me. OK, sometimes we eat out. But for the most part that’s how it goes. I’d say Stew and I spend $300-$400 on groceries each month. So that’s 6 meals a day x 30 days = 180 meals a month. So we pay about $2.22 per meal if we spend $100 a week on food.

How to do it:

• Cook big batches of food on Sundays (or whatever your “off” day might be) to use throughout the week. I’ll usually make a big batch of soup or chili to use in differerent ways.
• Prepare all your produce. Wash and chop all of your fruits and veggies so that they’re easy to grab when you’re running out the door.
• Portion out your snacks and meals that you’ll need on the go. I’ll usually just do this the night before since I have down time but if you’re really busy you may want to do everything for the week at one time. I pack up 3 pieces of fruit, a packet of homemade instant oatmeal, and my lunch the night before I’ll need it. It makes running out the door easier in the morning.
• Preparation is key when you’re traveling or spending lots of time away from the house. My purse is never without a granola bar at the very least. Other non-perishables that hide out in there are nuts and dried fruits.

Cook – No, I don’t mean for hours on end and with complicated recipes. Just try new combinations of things. Baking is a science with precise measurements. But cooking is totally trial by error. Just throw things in pots and see where it takes you. Also try to eat a new fruit, vegetable or whole grain each week. You’ll be surprised how many new meal ideas you’ll come up with.

So there you have it. I could add a million more tips to this and might do so in the coming weeks. But for now this will help you get started. What are you waiting for?

Please contact me if you have any questions.

White bean mash

Tonight I couldn’t decide what I wanted for dinner so I ended up with this: white bean mash with carrot sticks and cave aged gruyere over spinach.

For the mash just smoosh white beans with a fork. Add salt, pepper garlic powder and a little olive oil. Mix it all up and microwave. Or don’t. I just like it warmed up rather than as a cold dip.

It has kind of a hummus taste/consistency. Supagood. Try it.

Cooking with Coffee at Liquid Highway

After work Stew and I went to a Cooking with Coffee demo at Liquid Highway. It.was.awesome. Shannon Kohn (of Foodie with Skills) hosted the event and featured two of her recipes: candied espresso pecans and espresso-glazed onion and goat cheese crostini.

The theme of the night (other than cooking with coffee) was quick and easy holiday entertaining items. Considering Shannon made them both on a hot plate in front of a bunch of gawking strangers in less than 40 minutes AND they were delicious, I’d say both these recipes fit the bill.

Foodie with Skills

The candied espresso pecans were super good. But since we started with that sample I had to pace myself to save some for after the goat cheese crostini. Gotta end on a sweet note, you know?

Candied espresso pecans

But as it turns out, the espresso-glazed onion and goat cheese crostini was so insanely good I could have easily ended on that note. The secret was orange marmalade (and espresso, obviously) on the caramelized onions. Just… crazy good.

Espresso-glazed onions & goat cheese crostini

Next month’s demo is cooking with tea… Totally going.

PS – Liquid Highway is worth mentioning… This local coffee franchise donates 100% of its profits to charity. No lie. And their coffee is great too. Check them out.

Pumpkin muffins... oh the joy

The carrot spice muffin recipe I found over at Fat Free Vegan Kitchen has come in so handy. I used it to make carrot raisin muffins, cherry orange muffins (that I never documented), and today PUMPKIN MUFFINS.

You can seriously do anything with that base recipe. So head on over to SusanV’s blog and start getting creative with your mix ins…

Food of the week!

Check out the World’s Healthiest Foods Food of the Week… Sweet potatoes! These delightful tubers pack a whopping 262% of your daily recommended value for vitamin A as well as significant amounts of vitamin C, manganese, fiber, B6, potassium and iron all at just 95 calories per serving.

I like to bake mine for about 45 minutes and just eat plain. You could also steam, saute, roast… the possibilities are endless. I know lots of people like to bury sweet potatoes under brown sugar and marshmallows (especially this time of year) but consider trying them plain. Pay attention to how they taste on their own and you’ll see that sweet potatoes don’t have to be limited to desserts and sweet sides. You can just as easily make this a savory dish.

So here’s to sweet potatoes. May you enjoy one this week.

Carboload

Last night I went on a little date with Stew. Actually we made a whole day of it with trips to the humane society, PetCo, Lowe’s and TJ Maxx. Pretty nice little Saturday straight out of Old School. If that sounds like most of our days… I guess it was. But if you declare it date day then suddenly everything is more fun.

For dinner we stopped at a relatively new bar a few blocks from the house. Naturally, the bar food was… you know. We started with green bean fries.

Green bean fries

They definitely hand batter all their deep-fried items so that was a plus. Still, I pulled the breading off a few of them and just ate the beans. Health blogger over here. Deal with it.

Drinks of the evening were Magic Hat for Stew and Firefly with water for me… x2. Firefly is one of few liquors I can drink, uh, nonstop.

My meal was a 3 veggie plate consisting of a baked potato, salad and macaroni and cheese. It came with a corn bread muffin and they forgot my salad so the result was the carboload above. I eventually got my hands on the salad and primarily just ate that atop the potato with a few bites of mac. Have you ever stuffed your baked potato with salad? Love it. I just like the combination of something cooked topped with something raw and crunchy. Mmmm. And when it comes to something a little more indulgent than a salad-stuffed potato (like, say, mac and cheese), I just eat it sparingly as if it were a topping.

In the last 6 months of so of finally figuring out how to eat like a sane human being, I’ve realized I really can eat anything I want so long as I keep the portions in check. Give it a try. You’ll be fine.

Pleh

I picked up a few local (local being Georgia) persimmons at Publix earlier this week because I like to branch out and try new fruits and veggies. Persimmons are a sweet fruit that resemble a stout squashed tomato. You can eat them sliced or like an apple.

I like all fruit so I thought for sure I’d be all over this. As it turns out, I hate persimmons. They are way too sweet for me. Gimme a good ol’ apple any day.

Beanie grilled cheese

I just ate something delicious. It was about a quarter up of white beans mashed and mixed with a sprinkling of cave aged gruyere (from the Whole Foods bit basket, of course), spread on two slices of multigrain bread, grilled and topped with tomato, greens and mustard.

The use of mashed white beans in grilled cheese sandwiches is a little health nut secret. It cuts the fat by a lot but maintains a nice creamy texture.

Mmm.

Just mash up some white beans with a fork, add a little cheese of your choice, pop in the microwave, spread on bread and then toast it up on a pan spritzed with olive oil spray. You may want to add a little salt, some mustard or even hot sauce to your bean and cheese mix for more flavor. MMM.

Black Ass Coffee Company

Since learning what real coffee is (thanks, Stew!), I have discovered that I prefer the darkest, boldest roast possible and prefer to steer clear of anything flavored. Gone are my days of French vanilla this and hazelnut that.

That said, I am currently drinking The Great Pumpkin from Black Ass Coffee Company and I approve. Described as “still true to the Black Ass brand of strong, smooth and dependable,” this is a flavored coffee I will not avoid. I don’t know how they did it but this tastes like a damn good cup of coffee and actual spiced pumpkin at the same time. None of that weird chemically flavored after taste. Hmm…

Anyway, while I ponder that… Other than their name being awesome, I think the Black Ass guys are doing something very right with their coffee. Also, they’re currently running a GI Java special: buy a bag and they’ll send one to the troops. Check them out… Black Ass Coffee Company.

Happy Thursday!

Some days you just can’t be near a computer another second. And so I give you this happy burger from tonight’s dinner to carry the blog into Friday.

PS – How lame are those tiny pickles?

Slimcado

I picked up one of those funky lower fat Slimcado avocados a few days ago because it was ripe and I was curious. Stew said they don’t taste as good as regular avocados, and I believed him until I tried it.

Well actually, it’s true that they’re not as good as a regular avocado, but they are still good and, in my opinion, make a comparable substitute.

Avocado toast

I had some on a piece of toast before my jog because I’m trying to front load my calories earlier in the day so I won’t be so hungry at night. I enjoyed this.

Fail

Research presented at the American Society of Nephrology in San Diego found that women who drink 2 or more diet sodas a day double their risk for a decline in kidney function.

Let’s see… save calories, risk kidneys? You decide.

The study began in 1984 closely following the artificial sweetener intake of 3,256 women. What the researchers found when comparing the kidney function of the women in 2000 to their kidney function in 1989 was that 11% of them saw a kidney function decline of 30%.

No association was found with other sweetened beverages and drinking less than 2 diet sodas a day did not seem to have an effect either. [Read more at WebMD]

In other news, yet another study shows that high fructose corn syrup (found in regular sodas) may lead to increased blood pressure. And that takes just 2.5 sugary drinks a day. [Read about it at WebMD]

Moral of the story? Lay off the sodas. All of them.

If it doesn't look like H20... probably isn't

If you are a drinker of flavored waters (yes, I am too sometimes) please take a moment to admit to yourself that it’s not water. It’s just not. It’s watered down… juice or something to that effect (since little juice is actually involved).

Have you ever read the ingredient label on, say, Vitamin Water? I promise you do not know what those things are. If you want orange-flavored water then add a splash of OJ to your tap water. You want lemon water? Add a squeeze of lemon! There is no end to the possibilities.

I will say, however, that I don’t think I could replicate Ayala’s Herbal Water. Not even going to go there. They’ve got something right and I will not wrong it. I’m sure with a little effort you too could infuse your water with cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla and lavendar. But I think I’ll leave it to the experts.

I also know that sometimes you may be playing the flavored water game for the electrolytes. I work out for an hour in a 90-degree room 5 times a week. I understand the need for electrolytes. If you must refuel I say go for Smart Water since it only adds electrolytes. No weird sweeteners, colors, etc.

If you want juice, drink juice. If you want water, drink water. Avoid the hybrid. It’s a mess.

Stuffed spaghetti squash

Long live Saturday lunches. Seriously. I always seem to eat awesome meals early Saturday afternoon. Yesterday I had half a spaghetti squash stuffed with some leftover beans and rice and some frozen spinach.

Goooood.

Spaghetti squash is delicious and is in no way intimidating. Just cut it in half (carefully!), scoop out seeds, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and throw in the oven at 400 for about 30-40 minutes. Then stuff it with whatever you’ve got.

Tangelo juice

What do you do when you buy a bag of tangelos that have so many damn seeds you can barely eat them? Turn them into juice, of course.

These tangelos had an absurd number of seeds making them messy and difficult to eat. Rather than toss the remaining dozen or so I hadn’t mangled for consumption, I decided to just turn them into juice.

Seedy

I had a glass, gave Stew a glass and used the rest in the batter for some orange cherry muffins. (See the recipe for carrot spice muffins at Fat Free Vegan Kitchen and just switch out the mix ins.) I just eyeballed the juice by adding a little less of the other wet ingredients, yogurt and apple sauce. I guess I didn’t add enough juice though because while the muffins were awesommme, they didn’t taste orangey at all.

Still a better use of those seedy tangelos than trying to eat them though.

French press

I’m on a bit of a French press kick since I ran out of Keurig K-cups and have not had the motivation (or the money) to buy more. I really quite love it. The convenience and lack of messy grounds that comes with K-cups still trumps the French press during the morning rush out the door, but I still like the simplicity of brewing coffee without a machine.

My breakfast yesterday (which came alongside a French press brew) is worth discussing.

Nutty cinnamon raisin apple oatmeal

This is 1/3c oats with ground flax, wheat germ, cinnamon, raisins, Peanut Butter & Co cinnamon raisin swirl peanut butter and honey plus one small organic gala apple. So good. Mini Weasel approved.

I think that every employee in an office in America should be required to use their own French press so that we can end the debate over how strong a pot of coffee shared among dozens of people should be. Just make your own damn coffee. Say no to Folgers. Problem solved.

Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter

Look what I found at Publix! Cinnamon raisin PB from the Peanut Butter & Co. in NYC!

Oh the joy…

I first saw Peanut Butter & Co. on a Food Network special. Of course I immediately alerted my New York friends of its existence and they immediately informed me they eat there on a regular basis. As they should.

At Peanut Butter & Co. you can get any kind of peanut butter sandwich you can imagine served with a side of carrot sticks–just like mom used to make. They have all kinds of specialty peanut butters including white chocolate, dark chocolate, honey, spicy and the cinnamon raisin swirl that I picked up today at Publix.

And the sandwich combos you can get at their Greenwich Village restaurant are insane–banana and bacon, marshmallow fluff, cookie dough. Shut up. I.want.to.go.

Oh and don’t worry… no hydrogenated oils or refined sugars.

Amy's vs. Wendy's

The whole “Eat This, Not That” phenomenon that has overtaken fitness and health magazines everywhere has got to stop.

Because juuust in case you didn’t know: Amy’s organic black bean chili is better for you than whatever Wendy’s is dishing out at the drive-through and calling chili.

Who needs to be told that? Probably not the readers of Clean Eating magazine, which is where I found it.

Men’s Health has actually turned the fad into a book. Take, for example, their recommendation to pass on the apple pie and have ice cream instead. What? That’s not even the same thing. Or: Don’t eat Macaroni Grill’s cheesecake… have the sorbet instead. Not.the.same.

How about this: Don’t eat that Snickers bar… have a carrot!

Compare apples with apples and the maybe I’ll buy your silly book, you silly men.

Massive salad

Last night I ate what I believe to be the world’s biggest salad. I was at dinner with my grandparents (yay!) at Trio and just wasn’t up for anything heavy (ie pizza or pasta). But I still wanted something substantial so I went with the full Mediterranean salad.

Mistake. When Granddaddy’s half came out and was the size of a family serving dish, I knew I was in trouble.

Sure enough, out came the world’s biggest salad plopped down in front of me. I wish this photo could do it justice. I ate not even half and brought home at least 3 regular sized salads in my to-go box.

A serving of vegetables is about the size of both your hands cupped together. My hands aren’t all that big so I’m going to estimate there were at least 6 servings in this salad. Excessive.

The best part about Trio is the herb-infused olive oil used for dipping bread–paprika gives it a unique orangey-red color and oregano and basil make it taste awesome. This salad, on the other hand, is underwhelming (in taste, anyway).

All Cakes Considered

As if NPR weren’t the coolest place on earth already… All Things Considered producer Melissa Gray brings a cake to the studio every Monday. I want cake every Monday. And according to Gray, the cake never lasts more than 10 minutes.

I believe it. Have you ever timed how long it takes communal food to disappear in an office. I’d say on average 4 minutes max.

Anyway, a new book, All Cakes Considered, will document one year of Gray’s infamous NPR cakes. I think it’s an awesome idea and should implemented in offices worldwide lest we eat another store bought baked good in celebration of anything.

“I love watching our staff — all of these incredibly competent, brilliant people — taken back to being like 8 years old, and having that little joy: ‘Oh, there’s cake!’ ” she says. “I love that because it makes you remember that people at their core are still human beings.” – Melissa Gray

Man vs. Food

What’s with people and competitive eating? It starts at a young age stuffing your mouth full of marshmallows and trying to chant “chubby bunny.” Total death trap, I might add. And as if dying of marshmallow asphyxiation is not enough to thrill us, as we age we up the ante by trying to see how many hot wings, hot dogs and pies we can consume at a state fair without vomiting.

Competitive eating is actually a respected sport to some. Ew. No. Have you ever watched those people sucking down hot dogs and soaking the buns in water so they can drink rather than chew. Shudder.

One man, Travel Channel’s Adam Richman, has taken competitive eating to a new level by competing not with other humans, but fighting food itself. Stew and I have recently watched him take on a 3-pound Dagwood (plus pound of fries), a mountain of 15 dozen raw oysters and a 3-ft burrito. Three feet… I’m bad at estimating, but isn’t that like the size of a toddler?

He destroyed the Dagwood and the oysters but admitted defeat on the burrito challenge. Thank God. Apparently only 2 people have ever completed that one.

Perhaps because it’s not natural to eat a toddler-sized… anything. But hey, to each his own 15 minutes of fame. Eat what you will. Just don’t come crying to me when your arteries clog.

I challenge Richman to eat 3 pounds of oatmeal plus a pound of nut butter and assorted dried fruit toppings.

Sea salt chocolate

Mmm… Lindt dark chocolate with a hint of sea salt.

At first Stew and I were disappointed to find a severe lack of salt in this chocolate. Then I discovered you have to just let it melt in your mouth to get the salty taste to kick in.

Where's the salt?

We were hoping to find a sprinkling of salt crystals on top. Alas, there were none. Still good, but I support an increase in salt content.

Sesame Blues

Sesame seeds make everything taste better… including tortilla chips.

These blue corn tortilla chips from Garden of Eatin’ (I know, I know… who named that company?) have a great nutty flavor thanks to sesame seeds.

So what’s up with blue corn?

Blue corn

I honestly don’t know (because there’s not a Wikipedia article for it). I do know, however, that it has a higher protein content than regular corn so it’s trendy in health food products these days. It also looks cool. And tastes good.

Brussels sprouts

Whoever decided brussels sprouts are every human’s worst nightmare must have eaten something else because real brussels sprouts are good. I mean, come on… anything that looks like a wee tiny cabbage must be good, right? And did you know that they grow like this?

Brussels sprouts are awesome

Anything that awesome must also be good. So why do people hate them so much? Because they eat the ones that have been boiled to death into a mushy glob of gross.

Do it like this:

1. Peel back the outer leaves

2. Cut off the stem

3. Cut sprouts in half and then score the core

4. Toss in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes

5. Rinse in cold water

6. Saute in a sauce pan with olive oil and garlic until they start to brown.

Here comes the airplane

I had mine with some corn, a bean burger and a hunk of Great Harvest Popeye bread.

Lunch

Saturday lunches are my favorite.

Carrot Spice Muffin

I found these super simple muffins over at Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen. But since my kitchen is neither fat-free nor vegan, I made some modifications. For fat I added chopped pecans and for vegan-free I used regular yogurt rather than soy. The original vegan version would have been fine with me as well but I just used what I had in the kitchen.

EAT

The beauty of vegan baking is that you get to eat all the batter you want without fear of salmonella. Win!

I added some oats to my mix as well (obviously) so I upped the wet ingredients a bit. Just eyeballed it. Why can’t I follow a recipe? I just can’t.

Muffin army

PS – Holy shit these are good. Just tried one hot out the oven.

Biscuitville

Haven’t you always wanted to stop at a Biscuitville but continually find yourself passing by between the hours of 2:01pm and 5:59am. Yeah, they’re only open 6am-2pm. They serve biscuits. What do you expect?

So I’ve never gotten to actually try a Biscuitville biscuit. Naturally, this makes me obsessively curious. Luckily (?) for me, today I got to wake up at 5am to get myself to Durham for a conference.  So when I saw a Biscuitville around 7:30am it was stop time.

Biscuit time

This was by no means what I wanted for breakfast but I just couldn’t bring myself to eat anything when I got up at 5 and it’s kind of hard to eat the Chobani and oats I brought while driving 70mph. So I opted for 1 plain biscuit and a cup of horrendous coffee that I only filled up halfway. Pleh.

Long awaited biscuit

As it turns out, Biscuitville biscuits are a major disappointment. Perhaps they taste better when stuffed with a sausage, pork chop, bacon, cheese, smothered in gravy and whatever else they put in/on there. But if a biscuit can’t stand on it’s own, it’s not a good biscuit. Bam. Take that, Biscuitville.

So I ended up eating an apple and a Kashi bar instead. And I have never wanted to see a Starbucks so desperately in all my life.

It makes fat people cry

So I’m at a social media conference in Durham for my real job and the morning muffins were catered by local bakery Crumb. (Of course I’m more interested in the food than the content. Kidding? I’m multitasking.)

After leaving to move my car (every 2 hours to avoid a ticket) I was a little irritated and wanted a snack. Since my banana didn’t cut it I reached for a Crumb muffin. I don’t know what it was but I threw it away. Dry and unswallowable (?). Pleh.

While the muffin was unforgettable, their tagline was not: So good it makes fat people cry!

What? For starters…

1. It was not good.

2. I did not cry.

Does that just mean I’m not fat? And if I were fat and happened to cry would it be because it was so good and I was weeping tears of joy or would it be because I’m on a diet so I’m not allowed to have the muffin?

Stupid tagline. Offensive tagline, even. Bad muffins.

And what’s with the exclamation point? You’re just that excited to make someone cry? Don’t be such a meanie, Crumb. For shame.

National Nut Day

Seriously. Who keeps coming up with these days?

I guess if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

I suppose I celebrated National Nut Day by eating almonds in my oatmeal this morning. Lame. A true celebration would involve eating nothing but nuts all day. That’s what she said?

Nope

The Smart Choices nutrition labeling campaign released over the summer is stupid. You know what kinds of foods are considered to be “smart choices” on this program? How about Cocoa Krispies, Froot Loops, margarine, Bagelfuls (bagels stuffed with cream cheese), Diet Lipton, etc.

Really?

In fact, I’ve got a box of “healthy” Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the cabinet that Stew picked up tonight. We love Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but it’s not healthy.The big white check mark on the front–a sign of General Mills’ Whole Grain Guarantee–leads people to believe it is by highlighting the good (low calories, low saturated fat, high calcium) and bypassing the bads… like that’s it’s Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Come now. We are smarter than this. And apparently so is the FDA.

The New York Times reports that the FDA will release new standards of front package nutrition labeling early next year that will hopefully put an end to some of the madness.

Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, FDA Commissioner, cites the red-yellow-green labeling system used in the UK as a potential model to follow.

My yoga teacher/nutritionist extraordinaire, Deborah, puts red and green stop and go stickers on the food in her house so her young children know what they can eat at will and what requires mom’s approval. That sounds like something American adults can handle.

The bottom line is this: Don’t fall for gimmicky marketing scams. Cinnamon Toast Crunch is still a sugary cereal whether it’s been sprinkled with extra calcium or not. PopTarts are still sugar pies even when pumped full of fiber. Use your head. Or just wait for the FDA to tell you what to do. But who really trusts the FDA anyway these days…

For more, head over to the NPR Health Blog for 6 “Healthy” Foods You Can Live Without.

Breakfast

All the super bloggers are always talking about oats in a jar. So with an almost empty jar of chunky peanut butter, I decided it was time to give it a try.

It’s quite simple really. Just make your standard morning oatmeal in a jar of nut butter that’s not quite empty. I used my standard mix of 1/3 cup oats, almonds, dried cherries, ground flax and cinnamon. Pour this in the jar, add boiling water, drizzle with honey.

Oats in a jar.

Jar oats

I got some funny looks making this concoction in the office kitchen. Not the first time I’ve gotten funny looks there. Did you know there’s some kind of unspoken workplace  ice quota you’re not supposed to exceed each day? Well there was in our office. I got scolded.

Anyway, oats in a jar are great but it’s way more protein than I’m used to in the AM. I was way full all day.

Sketty squash

Did you ever say “pasketty” as a kid? I actually said “sketty” until an absurd age because I could never remember if it was spaghetti or pasketty so I would just say it like I was joking… sketty. Same problem with napkin vs. nakkin. But that’s another story for another time…

Anyway, I prepared my first spa-ghet-ti squash last night and it was glorious. Who knew it was so easy? Just chop it in half (very, very carefully–they’re round and hard making it easy to chop your hand off) drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and pop in the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes.

Oil and season

I cooked it inside up but it was taking forever so I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to cook them inside down. I flipped it halfway and it speeded up the process.

I had half of the squash with a small salad and a bean and corn cake. Delightful.

Vegan bean and corn burger

As I drift further and further from soy products, I have to find ways to make up for things I miss… like black bean burgers. As it turns out, you don’t need soy to make a good one. And it was actually quite easy.

Vegan Bean and Corn Burgers

2 cans beans (I used 1 black and 1 navy)
1/2 can corn
1 carrot, grated
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup oats
cumin
coriander
salt and pepper

1. Saute onion and carrot with olive oil and garlic.

2. Rinse beans and corn.

3. Dump everything except in a food processor to combine. Just a bit. Leave it chunky.

4. Mix in corn.

5. Shape into patties and dust with flour. Cook in a sprayed skillet for about 3 min per side.

I un-veganized mine with some Cabot pepperjack cheese then placed it atop a bed of romaine with carrots and tomato plus a little salsa. Mmmm.

Bean burger salad

I devoured this for dinner last night and then had it again for lunch.

Identity crisis

What on earth is this?

No seriously. I bought it and can’t remember the name. It may be a Satsuma mandarin…?

Anyway, it looks like an unassuming lime…

Lime?

But then it’s an orange. It’s slightly more tart than a regular mandarin but is by no means sour.

Gimme a name…

Annual fall package

Every year since I’ve been away from home (six!) my mom has sent me a Fall care package. I look forward to this package every year 1) because Fall is my favorite season and 2) because it is full of awesome and tastes like home.

As always it included Chex mix, puppy chow (muddy buddies) and Rolo pretzels.

Treats

Stew was very excited about this package as well since he was exposed to it for the first time a year ago when we started dating. Especially the Rolo pretzels.

Rolo pretzel

And since my mom knows these aren’t really my go to snacks these days, she left him a special note:

Stew wins

I am Weasel and I approve these snacks.

Weasel approves

Thanks mom!

Handlebar vegetarian chili

Despite a very biased opinion that my vegetarian chili is the best in the world (right?), I still like to try other people’s attempts at the dish. Last night I had a major craving and minor motivation to make my own so Stew and I walked over to The Handlebar to give theirs a try.

The Handlebar

I went with a bowl of the chili and Stew had a veggie burger. The chili was good but far too spicy for me (weak) so Stew had to trade meals with me. He said he wished the chili were spicier. I wish I could taste food the way he does.

Stew's (my) burger

The burger was just a burger. But I was pretty satisfied.

The highlight of the night, though, was a typo on the beer list highlighting Nerga Modela. Paaha.

Dine under the stars

This weekend is Furman Homecoming. While I enjoyed (read: loved) my college experience and regret daily my decision to ever graduate, I’m not really big on homecoming festivities. Idle conversation and feigning interest in people I can’t name is not fun for me. Especially if it’s raining. So I skipped the float-building festivities, carnival, tailgating and game. Meh.

I do, however, love seeing my friends. So I am happy to have Jack and Sandwich (Sandwich = Lauren, don’t ask) down from NYC.

Jack and Sandwich

I greeted them with a large bowl of purple and white candies (Go Paladins!), bread, hummus, nuts, grapes and good old boxed wine to snack on before dinner. I managed to throw the whole thing together in about 45 seconds in between yoga and showering.

We decided on dinner at Stellar Wine Bar since it is new to them since leaving and also because I had a $25 gift card that didn’t hurt either.

[Beware: More underexposed photos]

We started with a trio of appetizers: focaccia twist with honey butter and garlic olive oil; black bean, roasted red pepper and original hummus with pita; and fried calamari.

Appetizers

Sandwich, Stew and I all had vegetable baklava with creamy feta sauce.

Vegetable baklava

This picture is really heinous but this food was blowyamind. Stew was right though that the cheese sauce was a bit much and took away from the veggies a bit.

Jack jumped on the $10 pork tenderloin cutlets because “in New York that’s like the price of a bad Chinese takeout appetizer.”

Jack's plate

Apparently didn’t taste like on though. He hated it. Clearly.

Jack and Sandwich then shared the sourdough banana bread pudding.

Sourdough banana bread pudding

Fancy. And Stew and I had apple pear empanadas with cheddar dip and homemade cinnamon ice cream.

Apple pear empanadas

If you’re not from the Midwest you may not know that we eat our apple pie up there with a big fat slice of melted cheddar on top. Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it.

And since all these photos are so atrocious, I ripped one off their website so you can see just how pretty their food is…

Grapefruit cake

Despite promising us a 7:45pm reservation and then not having a table for us (we crowded around a low lounge table in the bar) AND the fire alarm going off, I’d say overall that at least Stellar’s food was worth this and many more visits.

Laser flakes

If ever you have doubted the authenticity of the nondescript flake of corn in your cereal bowl, fret no more. Kelloggs has developed a ridiculous method for laser-burning their logo onto each individual corn flake to avoid any confusion.

With so many off brand copycats out there, Kelloggs wanted to make it abundantly clear that those imposters aren’t the real deal and that “Kellogg’s does not make cereal for anyone else.”

As the guys at Geekologie said, “What a waste of a perfectly good laser.”

And if lasered corn flakes aren’t enough for you this lovely Saturday morning, see also laser-burned meat business cards. Yes, business cards made from beef jerky.

[Both via Geekologie]

Dinner at The Lazy Goat

Last night Stew and I had dinner at The Lazy Goat because I fell for some tempting e-marketing about free Absolut Boston and an 80s cover band. Worth it.

This was a fantastic meal for me. It’s amazing how your attitude toward food can completely change the dining experience and my opinion of a restaurant.

I’ve eaten at Lazy Goat before. Most recently was probably about 3 or 4 months ago at a bachelorette party and believe it or not, at that point in the not-so-distant past I was still struggling with obsessive eating. I was a compulsive calorie counter/estimator, salad-eating, fat-avoiding crazy person. I couldn’t enjoy dining out. I feared food. So I had a salad and a cup of olives. Both were great, but come on. Eat something.

Now that I’ve learned to eat food that will satisfy me physically and mentally I’ve found that it’s easier to stop eating when I reach that point. When all you eat is low-cal fat-free diet crap you just can’t seem to stop. Right?

So let’s see what I ate this time around…

Get ready for some heinously underexposed photos. Dinner by candlelight has its ups but bad photo lighting is a serious down…

We started with the hummus appetizer.

Hummus

The big fat carrot sticks were my favorite part. We like Stew’s hummus better.

Then we got what was perhaps the best salad I have ever eaten. It’s a grilled red onion and arugula salad with shaved cheese and (the best part) polenta croutons. Polenta croutons?? Shut.your.mouth.

Best salad ever

I wish my photos sucked less so that they could do justice to this dish.

Dinner was heirloom tomato and buffalo mozzarella pizza for me and a gyro pizza for Stew with lamb and grilled veggies.

Stew's pizza

I’ve been to Lazy Goat enough times to know it’s a nice restaurant. I also knew they made a damn good grilled romano salad. But now having eaten there with a sane mind and healthy appetite, I can also say it may be one of my favorite restaurants in Greenville.

Eat food. You’ll have so much more fun.

Absolut Boston

Last night Stew and I went to The Lazy Goat for dinner simply because I got their email newsletter two days ago that said they’d be sampling Absolut Boston and featuring an 80s band. Direct mail marketing does work, and I am a marketer’s dream.

We snagged samples in the bar while waiting for a table and I immediately knew that would be my cocktail for the night. It’s a black tea and elderberry-infused vodka which is right in line with my other favorite liquor, Firefly Sweet Tea vodka. Despite one being a true Southern original and the other hailing from Yankee Boston, I think both are great. It’s a tea thing, I guess.

So at dinner I ordered Boston and water. Gone are my days of bourbon and diet Coke. Bring on the watered down vodka. That’s about all I can handle these days.

Great Harvest

I made my first trip to Great Harvest today. The Greenville bakery does not fall within my 5-mile radius of places I’m willing to go (hermit) but I learned quickly that it is worth the trip.

I started with samples of the Popeye loaf (spinach) and pumpkin-chocolate. Shut up. So good.

Pumpkin chocolate bread

And when I say “sample” I mean slice. They are quite generous.

I contemplated just buying everything but I settled on a loaf of Popeye…

Popeye spinach bread

A black and white brownie for Stew… with a photo that won’t load properly.

And THIS cinnamon crunch spider.

Cinnamon crunch spider

Successful trip. I’ll be back.

Old and young gouda

Never underestimate the power of the Whole Foods cheese department’s bit basket–a collection of small slivers and squares of cheese that would otherwise be thrown away. This is the perfect place to pick up some high end, unusual and generally expensive cheeses that you can taste test before committing to a larger (pricier) portion.

I recently picked up two different goudas–one aged 6 months and the other aged 3 years.

The older cheese is harder, of course, and has an intensely salty taste. I love it. Today I melted some on my black bean burger at lunch.

Black bean gouda burger

Fan.tas.tic.

I like the younger gouda as well. But what can I say? I’m a hard cheese kind of girl.

Chicken Noodles

Chicken Noodles is a super cute little soup, salad and sandwich shop that serves Grandmother-approved food buffet style.

Little place, huge taste

There’s not much to this humble little strip mall restaurant. Just simple food served all-you-can-eat. I was pleased to learn they always offer at least one vegan/vegetarian soup among the choices and the salad bar had ample choices as well.

My salad

I started with a salad topped with feta dressing. That bean salad on the left was great.

Vegan stew

Then followed it up with two bowls of hearty vegan vegetable stew.

Stew's salad

Stew also had a salad and approved of the potato salad.

Corn chowder

His soup selections were fiesta corn chowder and creamy tomato bisque.

Dessert

For dessert we snagged chocolate peanut butter yogurt (left) and apple pie soup (right). So strange. So good.

I can’t lie. I kind of wanted to die after eating this. But I think it was simply a matter of eating too much too fast.

Fix Espresso Bar

I recently moved down the street from an adorable little espresso bar and despite my new appreciation of quality coffee/espresso, I had not made the 3 block walk over there until yesterday afternoon.

Fix is located in a strange narrow building hardly wide enough to even be classified as a building.

Skinny building

I assume the quirky architecture works to their advantage by luring in curious customers.

I am no exception. I think this building is awesome. There are two small tables on the front porch (also skinny) and inside there is barely room for a small espresso counter and refrigerated food display. Pretty much on top of the counter is a tight spiral staircase that leads up to what I can only imagine is a tiny skinny second floor. We weren’t allowed up there, though, because they were about to close.

I had an iced espresso with soy milk and Stew had a black double shot. It was truly fantastic coffee. Stew also picked up some mystery baked good in bar form that consisted of some sort of toffee-flavored chocolate filling. Mmm.

We’ll be back here for sure.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject… It’s espresso NOT expresso.

Monster tater

The world’s largest sweet potato weighed in at 24.9 pounds. It was also hideous.

The beast was found in the Lebanese town of Tyre in December 2008 by farmer Khalil Semhat who says it was grown completely on accident and without chemicals.

Scary.

Swad Indian restaurant

Tonight Stew and I did something wild… we left the house. I know. I am incredibly lame. But I’m a Cancer. We like to stay in our little shells, which for me is a small one-bedroom apartment with a 6×6 kitchen and two cats.

Anyway, we went to grab dinner at Swad, an adorable mom and pop shop serving vegetarian Indian cuisine.

This humble little restaurant is the definition of diamond in the rough. Located in a rundown strip center next to VIP “Spa” (yeah, that kind), Swad doesn’t look like much from the outside. Or the inside either, I guess.

The decor runs the gamut mixing traditional Indian pieces with seasonal American flair. Picture a happy scarecrow next to an altar of some sort. It’s adorable. Oh, and there is one aisle ripped from an Indian grocer and dropped along one wall.

But don’t judge this restaurant by its location, decor or next door neighbor. Save your verdict for the food and hospitality. The owners will guide you through menu if you’re unfamiliar with their food, make recommendations and upsell the hell out of you. Go with it. Everything is good.

Samosas

Tonight Stew started with Samosas, deep fried pockets of potatoes and peas. So good.

Uppama

For my appetizer I wanted something I’d never tried. Green chili cream of wheat fit the bill so I went with the Uppama which comes with a side of coconut chutney (only my favorite).

Coconut chutney

Coconut chutney is God’s gift to me. I rate it above all other condiments.

Channa masala

And we both had channa masala for dinner–chickpeas in a sauce of about a million different spices including coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

We also bought a box of vegetable spice at the owner’s recommendation (er, upsell).

Tava Fry Spice

He made sure we understood that “fry” in India means in a shallow pan not a deep fryer. Just sprinkle it on sauteed vegetables. Ha. Got it.

Leftovers

I had more than my fill so I also left with more than enough leftovers to create another meal. Looks like lunch to me.

Crazy melon carving

I can barely slice a melon much less turn it into a work of art.

Head over to Takashi Itoh’s site to see this and many other mind blowing melon masterpieces. (Extra points for alliteration.)

It took the self-taught carver a mere 3 weeks to master the art and he says anyone can do it. It takes him about an hour to turn a watermelon into an elaborate carving and, yes, they are edible.

Boxed Merlot... in the fridge

“Just in case anyone was wondering, Katie and I recently elevated our collective social status to the “Box of Wine Perpetually in the Fridge” level.

Thanks.”

That’s a notice Stew sent out to our friends about how terribly lame (awesome?) we are for buying a box of Merlot (equivalent to 4 bottles!) and refrigerating it because despite being red wine, it’s classier in there than in the pantry. Right?

Vending machine egg salad

Last week Michael Pollan posted a fantastic article on The New York Times about navigating “what has truly become a treacherous food landscape.”

He touches on such absurdities as Splenda with fiber (“Is it even food?”) and Froot Loops’ Smart Choice check mark (“…on the grounds that they are better for you than doughnuts.”).

Pollan is absolutely right. The food industry is out of control. The manufacturers, advertisers and even governmental regulators of our food have lost their minds. How, then, can you make smart choices in your own life?

Pollan suggests relying on culture, the “accumulated knowledge of the tribe.” Or, more accurately today, your friends and family.

He made an online request for food rules and plans to compile them into a book. See Pollan’s favorite read-submitted food rules.

My favorites:

If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, you are not hungry. – Emma Fogt

Avoid snack foods with the OH sound in their names: Doritos, Fritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, Hostess Ho Hos, etc. – Donna David

Don’t eat anything you aren’t willing to kill yourself. – Karen Harmin

Don’t eat egg salad from a vending machine. – David A. Wilson

Golden raspberries

Leave it to Iron Chef: Berries to introduce me to about a million berries I’ve never seen, including the golden raspberry.

Apparently the golden version is an albino-like variant of the better known deep red fruit.

You may also be familiar with The Golden Raspberry Awards (or Razzies) which honor (or dishonor) the worst acting, screen writing and directing in film.

Small morning smoothie

This morning I wasn’t feeling very hungry nor could I decide if I wanted to go to yoga or not. So I opted for a smoothie since it’s not too heavy to have right before class but it would be enough to get my metabolism moving and keep me fueled.

This one was a frozen banana, rice milk, honey, peanut butter and a mix of oats, cinnamon, almonds, flax, wheat germ and dried cranberries (leftover from my snack pack).

I ended up opting out of yoga (since the 5pm option looked more appealing) for my standard Sunday trip to TJMaxx. But around lunchtime I still wasn’t hungry enough to eat a real meal so I had a pear and waited it out.

Lovely pear

Poor Stew is still sick (on and off for several weeks now) so we decided a quick and easy lunch of Amy’s canned soups was in order. But as soon as I started heating up tomato for him and lentil for me, I decided I also wanted to make sweet potato fries before the potatoes went bad and Stew suddenly had a craving for hummus. So we ended up with quite a spread.

My fancy soup

I had a scoop of Amy’s lentils (not nearly as good as mine) atop a bed of broccoli and some chickpeas I stole from Stew before he could turn them into hummus. The pointy chips are from one slice of toasted whole grain bread spritzed with olive oil spray and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Sweet tater fries

We also had some sweet tater fries… which are baked, not fried. But who wants to eat sweet tater bakes?

Stew's best hummus

And Stew’s best hummus yet. This one had Cholula and lemon juice which added a nice tang and kick. Loved it.

Stew's soup

And finally, Stew had tomato soup and toast, which is what we were trying to accomplish with the excessive meal. Ultimate feel good food.

Fall for Greenville 2009

This weekend is Fall for Greenville, a smaller South Carolina-sized version of Taste of Chicago. Stew and I had a perfectly enjoyable afternoon at the event and sampled the following foods:

Hummus plate

First was a hummus plate from Two Chefs complete with olives, feta, pita bread and a grape leaf. The grape leaf was a really pleasant surprise not only because I didn’t expect to get it from Two Chefs but also because it was really good. We liked this one.

Orchard salad

I followed up the hummus appetizer with an orchard salad from Foothills Deli. It was mixed greens topped with feta cheese and their apple cider vinaigrette. According to their menu online it should also have apples but sadly mine did not. Still loved it though. The vinaigrette was fantastic. I also had an acai blueberry lemonade from Larkins.

Shrimp and grits

Stew had shrimp and grits from Chicora Alley. We all know how I feel about that. He definitely enjoyed it but said it doesn’t compare to Sassafras. Nothing does.

Brazilian truffles

We had these cute little Brazilian truffles from Cafe Paulista for dessert. Stew’s was caramel with sprinkles and mine was a cookie sandwich with passion fruit covered in chocolate.

Cookies with passion fruit

These were quite good and I’d really like to try the restaurant out some time…

Cooking demo

Then we watched a cooking demo from the guys over at Scratch. They made chicken and dumplings and apple crisp which we got to sample afterwards.

Chicken & dumplings with apple crisp

Stew had the chicken and I had the apples. Mmm.

On our way out we had to find a way to get rid of our last four food tickets so we grabbed some beignets with caramelized peaches from Sassafras. Pretty good but I let Stew finish them off since I’d had about enough food samples for one day.

Beignets with peaches

This was definitely the best time I’ve had a Fall for Greenville. I had plotted out my meals on the festival map and checked out the restaurants’ menus before even walking out the door so that made it easier to make decisions.

Now we’re exhausted from walking around. I’m so old.

Snack pack!

I can’t get through a day without eating a piece of fresh fruit every few hours. So when I know I’ll be on the road or eating in restaurants not of my choosing, I’m always sure to pack a lot of snacks to get me through the day or to serve as mini meals in the event I can’t find anything to eat at our restaurant stops.

Before heading out for the company fishing trip I knew I was on my own for food since I was traveling with a bunch of guys that planned to just eat cold fried chicken on the boat. So I packed up a snack pack.

Not included

No no. Not that Snack Pack. This snack pack:

3 apples
3 bananas
2 kiwis
1 bag of grapes
1 Oikos honey
1 Chobani blueberry
Oats, nuts, dried fruit mix (for yogurt)
4 granola bars

The snacks definitely came in handy on the car rides and upon arriving at the house without any food. The boat, however, was stocked with pineapple, cantaloupe, apples, grapes, etc. I was surprised. Too bad I was puking and passing out the whole time and wasn’t really able to eat any of it. Whoops.

I ate the grapes and Oikos with oats in the car on the way down. I also had an apple and shared another apple and a banana with car mates. The granola bars came in handy in between meals and I had another on the boat, which inevitably came back up. Ack.

We had dinner at a place with literally not one single vegetarian item. So I ordered the Italian sausage sandwich without Italian sausage. So I basically got a fancy grilled cheese with green peppers, onion, tomato and provolone. It worked.

Sometimes you have to get creative when traveling as a vegetarian. I never demand that we stop at restaurants of my choosing or complain about menu items. I am in the minority and it’s not up to me to decide where to eat in that kind of situation. Just go with the flow. You’ll find something. And if all else fails, eat one of your snacks.

Yoplait original strawberry

Fooducate took a look inside Yoplait (well, outside on the label actually) to see if this “health food” really stood up to its name. What they find may surprise you.

While Yoplait strawberry is a 99% fat free food, it is so heavily sugar-laden it can hardly be called a health food. Among the ingredients you’ll find sugar and high fructose corn syrup pretty high on the list. In fact, 108 of the yogurt’s 170 calories come from sugar. Yes, it is 63% sugar. There is a lighter version of the product but they just replace the sugar with artificial sweeteners and we’re not down with that.

So what’s a better yogurt option? Personally, I like plain Stonyfield. No nonsense. I also notice a lot of other people eating Greek yogurt these days–namely Chobani and Oikos (which is actually owned by Stonyfield now). So I picked up one of each this evening and plan to take them on my trip to Charleston tomorrow. I’ll report back.

Stonyfield plain

Plain Stonyfield has just 15g of sugar while Oikos honey has 17g and Chobani blueberry 20g. As you can see, it’s the flavored yogurts that seem to load on the sugar.

Try some plain yogurts or at least look for flavors that go light on sugar. Then you can call your yogurt a health food.

Quick snack

There is absolutely nothing special about this quick pre-run snack I ate today. It’s a brown rice cake, natural chunky peanut butter, bananas, local honey and cinnamon.

I share it with you only because I caught a perfect honey drip with my humble little point and click. Take that, food bloggers with fancy cameras.

Milk Dud or hearing aid?

Sweet Miss Violet Bishop accidentally ate her hearing aid last week after mistaking it for a Milk Dud.

True story.

Apparently she was in bed with a box of Milk Duds watching Dancing with the Stars and couldn’t get one of the candies to “soften up.”

“As I enjoyed the chocolate and caramel taste, it appeared that one of my Milk Duds was not as fresh as the others,” she said.

No. No it wasn’t. Because it was your hearing aid.

Gourmet Magazine

The November issue of Gourmet (in print now) will be the magazine’s last. Conde Nast announced on Monday that they are pulling the plug on the country’s oldest food magazine due to lackluster ad sales.

Though not a reader myself, I understand the importance of the first magazine devoted entirely to food coming to an end and the impact its shut down will have on more than 70 years worth of readers.

Hold on to those piles of dusty old issues if you’ve got any. I guess they are collector’s items now.

Pack your snacks

Can’t find the time to fix a healthy meal in the morning? Do it the night before. I hate, hate, hate rushing around the kitchen in the morning trying to get everything together before I fly out the door. That’s why I do it all the night before.

From left to right we have:

Breakfast – Oats, ground flax, wheat germ, cinnamon, raw almonds. In the morning I’ll add honey, Stonyfield plain yogurt, half that banana and the kiwi.

Lunch – Vegetarian chili with brown rice and baby carrots

Snacks – A pear, the second half of the breakfast banana and a Kashi honey almond flax bar

I eat breakfast around 8am, lunch between 12-1pm, and I’ll usually have a snack between 10-11am and again around 3-3:30pm.

Any questions?

A recent study at the UT Southwestern Medical Center found that fat can seriously F with your brain and lead you to overeat.

It probably comes as no surprise that when you’re eating a heaping pile of ice cream or perhaps a mountain of cheesy nachos, you may have a hard time stopping even when you know you’ve had enough. Now we know that this could be due to fat actually blocking the chemicals that signal for you to stop eating.

Researchers found that high fat foods inhibit the ability of leptin and insulin to properly react and signal to the body (a rat’s body, to be exact; no human studies yet) that it is full. But it’s not just any fat causing the problem. According to this study, saturated fats–those found in butter, cheese, whole dairy and meat–are the ones that trick you into eating more.

Unsaturated fats on the other hand–like those in olive and grapeseed oils–had no effect on inhibiting the brain’s “stop eating” functions.

Say no to bake sales

A New York Times article reports that the NYC Education Department has banned school bake sales in an effort to get a handle on the sweeping 40% obesity rate among elementary and middle school children in the district.

The schools are also implementing a “healthy” eating overhaul by stocking vending machines with Baked Lays and lower sugar granola bars.

Ugh. I don’t even know where to start…

I applaud the Education Department for identifying a serious problem and for taking action to remedy it. And yes, I agree that students shouldn’t be offered high fat, high sugar options throughout the day. But honestly, if I had a kid in school, I think I’d almost prefer she eat muffin made at home with real ingredients than a bag of mystery ingredient “potato” chips. Right?

I’ve heard of a lot schools going “healthy” but all they do is switch from sugary sodas to sugary juices (that for the most part lack real juice). Or from high fat, high sodium potato chips to low fat, high sodium pretzels. Or from chocolatey cookies with high fructose corn syrup to chocolatey granola bars with high fructose corn syrup. The good intention is there, but the implementation is flawed.

Baked goods are not bad guys. Baked goods are fun to make, fun to eat and (if executed properly) are not always “bad” for you. If they are treated as “treats” to be enjoyed occasionally and with restraint, then there would be nothing wrong with a school bake sale.

Baked eggplant parmesan

Here’s a lighter version of a typically fried food: eggplant parmesan.

I got three nice eggplants from Putney Farm last week and was letting them rot away trying to decide what to make. So last night I finally decided I just needed to make a move. I had the right ingredients on hand so I figured a quick eggplant parmesan was the right way to go.

It went like this:

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant
Corn meal
Ground Flax
Wheat germ
Egg
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

1. Wash and slice your eggplants. I went with pretty fat slices and kind of regretted it. A fat slice makes for far too mushy of a center for my liking. I would have liked a thinner slice with a crispy cornmeal coating.

Pretty purple eggplants

2. Make your cornmeal coating. I used cornmeal, a little ground flax, wheat germ, salt and pepper and fresh grated parmesan. I think next time I’d up the spice factor in the cornmeal with more salt and pepper and maybe some chili flakes or something with a kick. In a separate bowl, beat one egg.

Cornmeal coating

3. Dip the eggplant slices into the egg wash then roll in the cornmeal mix. Spray a cooking sheet with olive oil mist and arrange slices.

Arrange eggplant

4. Bake at 450 for about 20-25 minutes flipping slices halfway through for even browning.

To make it like the eggplant parmesan you see in the restaurants, top with homemade tomato sauce and a little more melted parmesan cheese.

I honestly can’t decide if I like these or not. I think the slices are too fat and the coating a bit too bland. Nothing I can’t fix next time. Stew like them.

Blueberry beer

I found a beer I like. Correction: I like lots of beers. I found a beer I can drink. Because while I can enjoy the taste of a good beer, I really can’t drink but one… if that.

Last night Stew cracked open a Wild Blue Blueberry Beer that he expected to have slight fruity undertones. As it turns out it’s actually blue (purple?) because it’s mixed with fruit juice.

I, of course, loved it. It’s a fruity beer without the gross sugar overload sensation and still ultimately tastes like beer.

It comes from Blue Dawg Brewing (an Anheuser-Busch affiliate) and is 8% ABV despite the added fruit juice. Love it.

That doesn't look like beer

A 2008 press release for the product describes it as a ”robust and aromatic beer with a refreshing, palate-cleansing finish.” Agreed.

Most beer drinkers will hate this beer. I am not a beer drinker.

Roasted vegetable pizza

Brixx has buy 1 get 1 free appetizers and pizzas after 10pm. And while that’s all well and good for my (Stew’s) wallet, I can’t really eat not one, but two pizzas after 10pm. In fact, I can’t stay up until 10pm most nights. Suffice it to say we did not go for the late night deal.

Brixx may not make the best pizza I’ve ever eaten in my life but I appreciate that they offer whole wheat crust and vegan cheese options. Their pizzas are also super thin so you can eat half (as I do) and not want to die. I went with the roasted vegetable pizza with whole wheat crust and vegan cheese. I forgot to request that they leave off the demon mushrooms. Fail.

I also had a small Mediterranean salad with feta, olives, tomatoes and onion. The dressing was fantastic and very flavorful so I only used a tiny bit.

Mini salad

The bit of salad was the perfect amount of food to keep me satisfied without eating the entire pizza.

Stew got something with artichokes, olives and pancetta. He hates olives so that was silly. And he has no idea why he ordered pancetta. Whoops.

If you find your way to Brixx, watch yourself. Their little pizzas are easy to eat in one sitting but they pack an alarming number of calories because they do use whole milk mozzarella, which is fine… just be aware. Vegan cheese is a lighter option should you care to go that route.

Kit Kat and coffee

Why is KitKat suddenly being marketed as a breakfast food? The candy bars are being described as a comparable alternative to doughnuts, perfect with coffee.

“What do consumers crave with coffee when they are looking for a light and wafery alternative to doughnuts? KIT KAT Wafer Bar!” says Hershey’s.

Yeah, that’s what I’m craving as soon as I wake up. Mysterious sugar wafers coated in sugar “chocolate.” Are you crazy? The geniuses over at Hershey’s are.

Check out the KitKat and coffee commercials on the radio. Ridiculous.

Also, I bet you didn’t know that there are actually two KitKats–a UK version owned by Nestle and a US version owned by Hershey’s. They’re identical. The connection is tricky and confusing. Apparently the first KitKat was created by England-based confectioner Rowntree but then licensed to Hershey for sale in the US. After Nestle acquired Rowntree in 1988 they decided they wanted the candy bar all to themselves. More than two decades later, both versions still exist. I guess Nestle didn’t hire the right lawyers or something.

KitKat is the favourite in the UK (literally, it’s the #1 selling candy bar over there) but only the third favorite here in the States. The more you know.

My taste test

For the next couple days Starbucks is doing blind taste tests of their new instant coffee mix VIA. What they do is present you with two shots of coffee. One is their “most popular” Pike blend and the other is their new instant VIA powder. One tastes like shit and the other is fantastic. I could have guessed the fantastic one is the one they’re currently trying to market but I was tricked by my own assumptions and said that the shitty one must certainly be the instant coffee.

Wrong. That’s their “most popular” Pike blend. Who would buy that? It was so bad it made instant coffee taste really, really good.

I wonder if the instant coffee still tastes good if you don’t drink something really terrible right before it…

Betty Crocker cupcakes, it's true

I made my brother cupcakes as a housewarming gift and since he likes good old boxed yellow mix with a tub of chocolate icing, that’s what I made. Who am I to force people to eat what I eat? Actually, I’d try if I thought I stood a chance. With my brother… I do not.

I made them look a little fancy shmancy by piping the icing on with a ZipLoc bag. Semi-homemade that, Sandra Lee.

Anyway, when I’m going somewhere and I know there will not be food I want to eat (Ben’s house) I have to make sure to pack my own snacks or risk starvation.

My road snacks

So I brought organic gala and honeycrisp apples, granola bars, nuts and dried fruit. We also had some apple chips Stew picked up at Whole Foods for 99 cents. Crazy good.

Apple chip

And devoured in the car within the first 30 minutes of the trip.

And... gone

Last night we ate at an Irish pub. It’s not worth discussing. I had a glass of red wine, a wedge salad with a horrendous “vinaigrette” and a baked potato. I did get a delicious cookie later at The Cookie Cafe.

This morning I had half an apple with peanut butter then set out on a little run/walk. It was probably 3-4 miles (only 1.5 running though). When I got back I had the rest of the apple, a granola bar and an iced coffee with soy milk.

Then for lunch I had a Gardenburger at Sub Station II that was actually amazing. And one of the side options was baby carrots. Win.

All in all it was a very enjoyable, albeit quick, trip. Sometimes it’s just nice to get out of Greenville.

Gaston

Remember in Beauty and the Beast when Gaston takes down 5 dozen raw eggs while singing about how big and manly he is? Of course you do.

When I was a lad I ate four dozen eggs
Ev’ry morning to help me get large
And now that I’m grown I eat five dozen eggs
So I’m roughly the size of a barge!

What’s up with eating raw eggs? Is it for building muscle?

This silly article seems to think so. “Eggs contain the most complete protein available in the world, and are ideal for bodybuilding because of it. Eggs are not the evil food many make them out to be, and lots of top physique athletes consume a dozen or more eggs a day!”

Yeah, eggs do have a lot of protein. But they need to be cooked in order for you to properly absorb that protein. In an NPR segment “Did cooking give humans an evolutionary edge?” Dr. Richard Wrangham explained, “There is a study by some Belgian gastrointestinal physiologists on eggs. And what they discovered was that when you cook your eggs, then almost all of the protein is digested. So it’s digested to the point of about 94 percent, whereas if it is eaten raw, then only 55 to 64 percent of it is digested and the rest is lost.”

So there’s that.

WTF is this? A book?

Gaston wasn’t the smartest stud on the street.

Ayala's lemongrass mint vanilla

This is the last of my Ayala’s Herbal Water sampler pack. I’ve got to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this product. I’ve had my fair share of terrible flavored water. This was not one of those waters.

I was actually convinced I would hate the mint flavors (lavender mint and today’s lemongrass mint vanilla), but again, these are surprisingly pleasant. Light and refreshing. I really like all the flavors.

If forced to choose, however, I think I would say that my favorites were lemon verbena geranium (for tasting like a flower smells) and cloves cardamom cinnamon (for tasting like a pumpkin pie).

While I’m not one to buy bottled water, this is what I would pick up if ever the mood struck me.

Huge thanks to Dr. Ayala for the samples.

Black Garlic

Black garlic is described as “sweet meets savory, a perfect mix of molasses-like richness and tangy garlic undertones.” The garlic gets its black color from a high-heat fermentation process during which its natural sugars and amino acids create melanoidin, which causes the dark coloration.

Yep, it's black

Black garlic has a long history in Asian cuisine but didn’t hit the US until 2008. Now foodies are calling it a “new staple” in modern cuisine.

I think I’d like to give it a try. You can buy it online here. Would you eat it?

Eat more of this

Did you know that 90% of teens in the US don’t consume the recommended number of servings of fruits and veggies? How dismal is that? And adults are no better–only 14% take in at least 5 servings of daily fruits and veggies. The numbers come from a CDC report that describes the findings as “poor.” Yes, very.

And as if being home to some of the country’s highest unemployment rates, Mark Sanford and that guy that yelled “YOU LIE!” at President Obama weren’t enough, South Carolina also has the second worst produce consumption rates in the nation.

Come on now.

Yes, just 9.3% of people in South Carolina get enough fruits and vegetables each day. I consider this inexcusable, what with all the peaches, tomatoes, etc. on hand.

Here are some easy and affordable ways to eat more fruits and vegetables:

1. Bananas – Bananas are insanely affordable, easy to take anywhere, prepackaged and can be frozen before they go bad. Buy them.

2. Frozen vegetables – Nothing could be cheaper or easier than frozen veggies. Add them to soups, rice, omlettes, anything.

3. Frozen fruit – Likewise, frozen fruits are nice to have on hand to toss in smoothies. Do it.

4. Immediate prep – Washing and prepping your produce as soon as you bring it home will make it easier for you to grab it on the run. Chop up carrot and celery sticks. Wash lettuce for salads. Slice tomatoes for sandwiches.

5. Juice – Though you have to watch the sugar levels and additives, juice can be a quick and easy way to get your fruit. AND if you take it a step further and turn it into a smoothie, you can blend in spinach and won’t even know it’s there. I swear.

Yogurt, oats, cherries, almonds and honey

The theme of today’s food is cheap and easy. Because that’s what it is. My banana almond butter yogurt from yesterday was crazy good, but when I’m not feeling fancy I rely on this old standby: Stonyfield plain, oats, ground flax, wheat germ, almonds, dried cherries, cinnamon and honey. Always delicious. I also had a banana around 11am.

For lunch I had to get a little creative since I’m totally running out of food and have no real plans to stock up until Sunday because I have other plans to go visit my brother in Charlotte this weekend.

So a few days ago I made more leftover soup. When I did that I set aside a bit of the kidney beans and chickpeas so I could make a quick simple bean salad. Just add diced onion, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to any combination of beans and you’ve got yourself a cheap and easy meal. A few days ago when Stew surprised me with Pita House (!) he also picked up some zaatar bread. I toasted half of that and had it alongside my bean salad and it.was.a.ma.zing.

Bean salad with toasted zaatar bread

Like my lamp in the background? We’re boycotting fluorescent lights at work and all brought our own desk lamps instead. Joy.

Dinner was a real stretch. I’m seriously out of food. I managed to dig up some boxed cous cous and frozen Tabatchnick split pea soup. That’ll work.

Tabatchnick split pea soup

I tossed the spice packet from the boxed cous cous since most of the whopping 580 mg of sodium were likely lurking there. I opted instead for a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and fresh grated parmesan.

Fresh parmesan is better

Top it all off with a little broccoli and you’ve got a decently well-rounded meal.

Pea soup, cous cous and broccoli

Though not at all pretty, this was actually a quite satisfying little meal. I liked the combo of everything and was happy to finally be rid of these packaged items. I believe they have been with me well over a year and moved to at least two different apartments. Time to go.

Banana almond butter yogurt and oats

Man, I ate some great food today.

For breakfast I had banana almond butter yogurt and oats (above). Incredible. Stonyfield yogurt, oats, banana, ground flax, wheat germ, cinnamon, honey and a dab of almond butter. Oh, and dried cherries because I love them. Blow my mind.

All mixed up at work. Oh I want it now. And in case I forget to mention, my breakfast always comes with a side of Green Mountain Dark Magic coffee with rice milk (used to be soy, recently switched).

Love

For lunch I decided to go home and move a little bit. I ate this massive organic honey crisp apple on the way.

Honey crisp

Tell me that’s not “fast food.” I hate that. Have you ever tried eating a frigging bean burrito while driving? Or a sloppy burger? Impossible. Eat some fruit. It’s fast and you won’t look like a dirty two-year-old when you step out of the car.

Since I picked a walk over lunch, I ate my leftover bean soup with baked tofu back at my desk later.

Bean soup and baked tofu

And that’s Ayala’s Herbal Water in lavender mint. Fantastic and refreshing.

Tonight was one of my more brilliant cook-with-frozen-veggies meals. I had cheesy hashbrowns with broccoli, spinach and tomato. Incredible.

Cheesy hashbrowns with broccoli and spinach

I had it with a sprinkling of cashews for a little extra protein.

This.was.so.good.

I can’t put into words how good this was. But wait, how is that possibly healthy? Easy. It’s not from Waffle House. I didn’t use butter. It’s not fried. I packed it with veggies. And when I say “cheesy” I mean a sprinkling of high quality parmesan.

To make it just sautee onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Add an veggies you have on hand. If you have fresh, great. If not, no big. I used frozen spinach and broccoli but fresh tomato. Whatever you’ve got. Really. Add some frozen hashbrown potatoes. You see, these aren’t bad for you at this stage. They’re just innocent little potatoes–70 calories per cup. Add a little grated cheese and that’s it.

Definitely give this a try. I think it’d be a winner with kids, boyfriends and people that generally hate healthy food.

Happy Coffee Day!

Who comes up with these days anyway? I usually just stumble upon them somewhere on Sugar Inc. How do they keep up with so many fake holidays? Besides, every day is coffee day in my house.

Regardless, I suppose I don’t take issue with the celebration of coffee. Plus, it was 54 degrees this morning so I needed some warmth.

South Carolina welcomes Fall

I do love coffee. In fact, I’ve developed a true appreciation for it since I started dating Stew and he ended my Folger’s habit. It’s not that I necessarily like Folger’s or that I even purchased it. It was just what was free in the office so I drank it.

I never really thought about it. I guess I noticed that when I went to Coffee Underground, for example, that I actually enjoyed what I was drinking rather than just mechanically pouring it down the hatch, as it were.

Then he got me a Keurig for Christmas and it was all over after that. Green Mountain Dark Magic or nothing for me. And I drink espresso now too. I actually prefer it to regular American-style coffee because of the smaller serving size and hilarious tiny cup.

So happy day. I trust the majority of you celebrated as you always do–because some 77% of Americans make it a daily habit.

Also, Stew sent me a link this morning for the 7 best coffees according to Women’s Health magazine. Why was Stew reading Women’s Health? We do not know. Note Green Mountain is on there not once, but twice. Love.

Feed me

Since I suppose some people may be curious, this is what a typical food day looks like for me.

It actually starts the night before when I’ll pack everything up. This usually entails mixing my oatmeal or yogurt toppings, setting aside fruit and granola bars and putting together a main meal. Sometimes I get lucky and I’ve got soup (easy) or all my veggies already chopped up for a salad (easy). Other times I’ve been lazy and have to do all the prep or I simply don’t have anything and have to get creative with my canned and frozen items. Whatever the case may be, I figure it’s better to do it at night than in the morning when I am inevitably grumpy.

I don’t create a weekly meal plan or shopping list. I just make sure I have a lot of the things I like on hand and (ideally) washed and prepped and I can usually come up with something quick that I’ll enjoy.

Today started with yogurt and oats. I mix my base the night before, which consists of oats, ground flax, wheat germ, dried cherries and almonds. In the morning I add my yogurt and honey and I’m all set.

Yogurt and oats

I eat Stonyfield yogurt because it’s organic and it’s good. I’ve seen a lot of people (via blogs) add their oats to yogurt the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight so it makes a nice thick doughy concoction. I prefer the oats to stay dry so I wait until the morning.

For lunch today I had a Morningstar black bean burger on Whole Foods 12-grain bread (1 slice cut in half to make a bun because it’s big) with a fat slice of tomato, melted Cabot pepperjack cheese and mustard. On the side I had a sliced orange and watermelon.

Black bean burger

Notice all my cheese oozed out. Whoops. This was a really delicious sandwich. And I had an insane vegan cookie for dessert.

I have been battling an impending illness for a few weeks. I feel it coming on so I fight back with sleep, Vitamin C and echinacea but it keeps coming back so I may just let it run its course. So, seeing as how I’m feeling a little under the weather, I naturally gravitated toward soup.

I didn’t have anything made so I sauteed some onion and garlic in olive oil, threw in some homemade tomato sauce, added a little vegetable stock and then built on top of that with kidney beans, chickpeas, asparagus and frozen spinach. I seasoned it with cumin and a little Cholula and topped it with quinoa and the leftover baked tofu from last night.

Bean soup with baked tofu

How perfect is that? It was really surprisingly good. I thought the flavors would all fight with eachother–basil in my tomato sauce vs. cumin and leftover Chef Paul’s on the tofu–but it actually worked. Hit the spot. Still feel like crap though.

I also had a banana around 11am, an apple in the afternoon and sampled some Bare Naked granola freebies with Stew after work. Cranberry and raisin and banana nut. We liked banana nut the best. I’ll also undoubtedly eat more fruit tonight.

Speaking of Stew… He is currently at a birthday dinner at Golden Corral. Pray for his poor stomach. He’s supposed to be documenting everything for a guest post. Can’t wait for that.

You can find the meal planner above (and many more) at LobotoME.

Peanut duck

Head on over to This Peanut Looks Like a Duck to see not only peanuts, but zucchini, tomatoes, chimneys and other objects that look like ducks.

Delightful.

[via Stew]

Baked tofu and okra fries

Tonight’s dinner comes to us straight from KathEats. Kath has been raving about these baked okra fries for a while and I’d never baked tofu so I wanted to give that a try too.

Both require very little prep. For the okra just wash it, spritz with olive oil spray and season. I used Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Vegetable Magic.

Vegetable Magic

For the tofu, just drain a block, chop into cubes, spritz with olive oil spray and season. Again, I used Chef Paul for seasoning.

Place in the oven for about 20-30 minutes. I flipped my tofu halfway through so it would brown on all sides.

It came out beautifully.

Perfectly baked

I really loved the tofu. Nice and crispy with a perfect kick courtesy of Chef Paul. I also liked the okra but I kept getting poked by the little bristles on the stem so it was kind of conditioning me to fear it.

I had this with some asparagus and a piece of cheesy toast. Note the burned cheese. That means it’s just right.

Dinner

Check out Kath’s blog. It’s super addicting.

McDLT

My mom just sent me an email with the subject: “Mother of the Year.” It went a little something like this…

“While looking through a Rubbermaid container downstairs, I came across your 1st year calendar. You had your very first taste of meat at McDonald’s on March 13,1986 (bits of a Mc DLT). Therefore, I am mother of the year! Wretch, wretch!”

Hahaha. Thanks, mom.

That may have been my first but was most certainly not my last. I ate a lot of McDonald’s while trying to collect all of the Teeny Beanie Babies. I also had a serious addiction in early high school back when I could eat whatever I wanted (including things that don’t really even qualify as food, like McDonald’s) and did. If I wasn’t busy eating mozzarella sticks with a basket of fries at Coleman’s, then I was throwing down a McDonald’s #2–two cheeseburgers (no cheese), fries and a Coke.

Vomit.

And so you’re wondering, what on earth is a McDLT? A McDonald’s Lettuce and Tomato. Obviously. Those of us not born until the mid-80s unfortunately won’t remember this brilliant idea: serve the hamburger separate from the lettuce and tomato. Hot and cold. Separated.

It even had its own specialty styrofoam box.

Engineering wonder

To keep the hot items away from the cold.

Cold on one side, hot on the other

Good try. Still gross. And apparently it never caught on.

And now I give you this: Jason Alexander singing about burgers in what may be the greatest McDonald’s commercial of all time.

Pita House

I almost always take my lunch to work and eat at my desk. I like to know what I’m eating. I don’t want to spend excessive money on take out food. And I like to work through that hour so I can leave earlier and go to yoga.

Anyway, today I just couldn’t stand to sit at my desk because an alarm at the gay club across the street went off for about 30 minutes and I thought I was going to break something. Yes, I work across the street from a gay club. South Carolina’s not so conservative. Get with the times.

So I went home with the hope of getting in some physical activity and maybe a little quality cat time to calm me down. I thought about going to the gym but didn’t really want to mess with the whole, run there, run back, shower bit so I just took a walk around the neighborhood instead. It was the perfect bit of excercise, fresh air and Vitamin D I needed.

When I got back to the house my phone was ringing. My phone doesn’t ring for days on end so you can imagine my surprise. It was Stew–still at work and in desperate need of the greatest food on the Planet. Luckily, not only do we work across the street from a gay club, we also work just a few blocks from Pita House–the world’s greatest restaurant.

He offered to pick me up something. I’m not even sure why I hesitated. I think I was already committed to the lunch I brought to work. So rather than request my usual vegetarian plate–falafel, hummus, babaganoush, tabbouleh and pita bread–I went instead with a simple Mediterranean salad which I figured I could pair with my other foods.

So that’s what I had. A little Mediterranean salad with some homemade bread (even though their pita bread is perfect), asparagus and one falafel ball.

Mmm. That lunch turned out so much better than I had expected.

Soup and cheesy bread

I’ve been thinking about my bread non-stop since I made it last night. I wanted it for breakfast but I’m so hooked on yogurt right now that I just couldn’t do it. So I controlled myself and waited for lunch.

I had a bowl of “leftover soup“, which this week involved vegetable broth, homemade tomato sauce, asparagus, quinoa, broccoli and malabar spinach. AND a big fat piece of bread drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper and covered with manchego. I toasted it under the broiler and about died waiting for it.

Manchego toast

Ooh cheesy toast… CHEESY TOAST!

Manchego!

Here’s another Marshalls Home Goods find: Manchego flatbreads imported from Spain. This was a total impulse buy and I had to rip into them immediately which would explain the interior car shots.

Manchego flatbread crackers

They didn’t change my life or anything, but they are good and actually do use real Manchego. I suppose I’d just prefer to have a big ol’ hunk of real cheese on a piece of bread. Or forget the bread. Just cheese is fine.

Good morning yogurt

So I’m on a bit of a yogurt kick as of late. In fact, I ate something similar to this concoction for not one but two meals yesterday. Dairy products–especially yogurt–usually freak me out. The more it looks like milk, the less likely I am to consume it.

I’ve just always hated milk. As a kid I had to be sure to put in a special request for juice at snack time and lunch time lest I be served a mini carton of horrible milk.

I’ve tried eating yogurt to ensure that I get enough calcium. But it’s just so… gross. Blech. Just slimy and flavorless and blah.

Then I discovered Stonyfield. This, I believe, is what yogurt should be. Thick and tangy and without weird ingredients.

Today’s mixture is Stonyfield Plain with ground flax, wheat germ, oats, almonds, dried cranberries and local honey.

There is also something to be said for local honey. It tastes completely different than the stuff I’m used to. Different in a good way.

My first successful bread!

Gather your loved ones and say your prayers for the end must certainly be near. Tonight I made a loaf of bread. A hot, crusty, dense perfect loaf of whole wheat bread. Apocalypse now.

How did I, the Anti-Baker, do it? I avoided yeast. I just can’t do it. My water is too hot and kills the yeast. My water is too cold and the yeast doesn’t react. It just never works.

So I Googled “bread recipes without yeast” and found this. It looked doable enough and I had all the ingredients on hand. But I was still scared. So I just left the window open while I played around online, popping back in every once in a while to weigh the pros and cons.

Pro: No yeast. Con: I still can’t bake. Pro: I have all the ingredients. Con: I wont follow the recipe. Etc…

I finally decided to go with it, made a grand announcement to Stew and the cats that I would be making bread and paraded off to the kitchen to begin.

The reason I succeeded tonight is because this recipe is really just insanely simple. Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Combine. Bake. Easy enough. But let me fuel my ego for a bit and pretend that this was a complicated process that required a bread master’s skill to complete.

I followed the recipe farily well. Sort of. I traded the sugar for honey and accidentally added it with the dry ingredients instead of wet. I also accidentally did 1/2 tsp of baking soda and baking powder instead of 1/2 tbsp. Whoops. I also added wheat germ and ground flax for extra goodness. Beyond that I made the call to smother the loaf with olive oil once before it went into the oven and a second time about halfway through. This brilliant idea left me with a golden brown crust. Oh and I used rice vinegar because it was all I had. OK, so I didn’t follow the recipe very well. No surprise there.

I strongly recommend giving this a try. If I can do it, anyone can.

Whole Wheat Bread

4 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp baking soda
1½ cups water
2 tsp vinegar (cider or white)

1. Mix dry ingredients.

2. Mix water and vinegar.

3. Combine wet and dry ingredients.

4. Using a knife, score the top of the bread.

5. Smother with olive oil and place in a 400-degree oven for about an hour.

Bread dough

I wrapped my loaf in foil about 45 minutes into baking so the crust wouldn’t burn while the inside finished baking.

The finished product was incredible. It is a very dense bread with a nutty flavor–almost reminds me of corn bread in a way. Stew and I both had a piece with butter (real butter), honey and a tiny bit of salt. Oh, the joy.

Beautiful golden crust

We celebrated with a tiny baby bottle of champagne that I picked up at Whole Foods for like $2.

Celebratory champagne

Yay!

Bubbly for bread

Stew was so genuinely proud of me for completing this task. I suppose he’s seen me at my worst chucking a failed blob of dough into the garbage. Never again. I can do it now.

Stew's egg sandwich

I like to make food for Stew. Mostly I just like making food, I suppose, but I find it particularly satisfying to make it for him. He certainly doesn’t need me to do it and doesn’t ever ask me to do it. So when I offer and he lets me I think it’s cute.

I got some gorgeous light blue eggs from Putney Farm last week and was excited to use them.

Eggs from Putney Farm

The pictures don’t really do it justice, but these eggs really are a lovely shade of soft pale blue.

Lovely light blue

Putney Farm chickens are free-range heritage breed birds that graze in the property’s pastures and then return at will to their coops at night where they lay the eggs. The blue eggs come from younger hens who will start laying good old white eggs as they mature.

I cooked two eggs with salt and pepper and a little Cholula hot sauce then added them to toasted 12-grain bread with melted mozzarella and a fat slice of North Carolina tomato.

Cheap. Local. Delicious (according to Stew).

Udi's Granola

The fine folks at Udi’s Granola sent me some samples of their granola that I love. They asked me which ones I’d like to try but I felt guilty even getting free stuff much less demanding which kinds I wanted so I just left it open for them to surprise me.

They went with Nuggets and Cranberry, both of which were at the top of my must-try list. Stew ripped into the nuggets immediately. They taste just like the original but are easier to eat by the handful. “Granola you can holda,” as the bag says. I love the graham cracker-y taste and big pieces of nuts. I’m not opening the cranberry until I finish off the Original I bought last week.

"Granola you can holda"

I had some with my late breakfast/lunch today. This is Stonyfield plain yogurt, oats, dried cherries, wheat germ, ground flax, almonds, honey and Udi’s Original.

Yogurt, Udi's, etc.

All mixed up.

Perfect breakfast

Smooth, crunchy, tangy, sweet, salty. Mmmm.

You can order Udi’s online or check their store locator.

Vegan no bake chocolate chip cookies

I saw these vegan no bake chocolate chip cookies in last month’s Clean Eating and haven’t been able to stop thinking about them. I just love oats. And hate baking. Perfect.

Of course, even without having to bake, this is still a cookie recipe so of course I messed it up a little. I added extra oats because I like oats. OK, fine. Adding extra broccoli to stir fry because you like broccoli is fine. Adding extra oats to no bake cookies means they won’t stick together.

So I had to play around with my dates and agave nectar to make my extra oats sticky enough to hold cookie form. I’m impossible. I’ll never be able to read a recipe and just do exactly what it says.

Clean Eating’s Vegan No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 ¼ cup raisins (I added cranberries too)
½ cup pitted dates
2 cups whole oats (I went a little overboard)
4 tbsp. agave or honey
2 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of salt, to taste
½ cup cacao nibs (I used carob chips)

Dates

1. Place raisins and dates in food processor and chop into small pieces.
2. Add oats, agave or honey, cinnamon and salt. Process to mix well.
3. Empty into a mixing bowl and add cacao nibs. Mix well.
4. Use a tablespoon measure to portion cookies.  Enjoy immediately or chill before serving for firmer texture.

Dates look like giant raisins.

Giant raisin

 But they are far sweeter. Kind of nauseatingly so.

Pre oat overload

Like the title implies, these “cookies” (give it up it’s not a cookie) are insanely good. I still argue you can’t call something that lacks butter, sugar and eggs a cookie. But whatever category this falls under, it is delicious. Eating a spoonful of the “batter” out of the bowl–as is customary in all baking practices–almost felt like eating real cookie dough. I swear. Maybe it’s just been a long time since I’ve done that. But unlike real cookie dough, you aren’t expected to bake this. In fact, you’re not supposed to. So there you go. No guilt for eating all the dough.

Moral of the story: Don’t hate on vegan cookies. They are delicious.

5-layer dip

Last night Stew and I went to dinner at Chicora Alley, which describes its cuisine as an island-southern fusion. It’s a really popular restaurant among the Greenville crowd. Myself excluded. I’m not going to say very good things but I realize most of it has to do with my taste preferences. Most people love this place.

I kind of hate Chicora. In fact, I got food poisoning there the day before New Year’s Eve 2008 and haven’t really been able to stomach even the thought of going back. But I had a relatively pleasant experience about 6 months ago so I was ok heading back again. As long as I don’t order what I had the night of the food poisoning, I’m usually ok. Last night’s trip was actually my idea.

When we got there we were informed by a sign on the door that they were celebrating their 6-year anniversary with all-night happy hour, free nacho bar and live music. Sounds good.

For some reason we decided to start with the 5-layer dip–beans, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, salsa. I think I assumed it would be like my mom’s. It was not. I don’t like queso at all and this was essentially just a bowl of queso topped with the other “layers.” I had a few chips and passed on the rest.

I ordered the Mideast Burger which is served open face on a toasted pita with homemade red pepper and black bean hummus and greens alongside sweet potato fries. Chicora is nice enough to offer vegetarian substitutions so I went with the black bean burger. Stew ordered a regular burger on a roasted red pepper bun.

There's a beef patty under there

When the food arrived I moved my greens aside to discover that the burger was in fact a burger. As in made out of beef. I hadn’t taken a bite yet–phew–so I let the server know to send it back. He was super apologetic and made it abundantly clear that it was a kitchen error and not his fault. Fine, fine. I will tip you.

When my second plate came out meat-free I was very disappointed to find that the black bean burger was nothing more than a frozen Morningstar patty. Don’t get me wrong, I love Morningstar black bean burgers. But I eat them often. I thought for sure Chicora would make their own. Fail.

It wasn’t all bad though. I’ll give them this… Chicora has great hummus–black bean and roasted red pepper. Their sweet potato fries are incredible. And their bread is all baked fresh daily at a bakery down the street.

Other than that, though, I am not a fan.

Don’t worry, I did not cause a scene in the restaurant or stiff the server. In fact, I over tipped pretty significantly because there was nothing wrong with what he did. I hate people that make scenes in restaurants. Get over yourself and then quietly complain online like the rest of us.

Kashi Heart to Heart

Got a sample of Kashi Heart to Heart Blueberry Clusters in the mail today. It made for a nice early afternoon snack and tastes fine but it’s not really my kind of cereal. I prefer something far heartier–think nuts, dried fruit, etc.–and much less sweet than this. Not a bad cereal, just not my preferred taste.

It did turn my rice milk a delightful purple color though.

Purple milk

Don’t be fooled; this was actually a little tiny box. Here it is next to an Ayala clove, cardamom, cinnamon water for comparison.

Baby cereal or monster water?

The clove, cardamom and cinnamon herbal water is so confusing. It smells like pumpkin pie but tastes like water but then somehow has this slightly sweet after taste (without using any sugar or sweeteners). I loved it.

Black beans and rice

Lunch today was a simple but satisfying serving of black beans and rice. This isn’t real black beans and rice by any means as it hasn’t been seasoned, there was not sauteeing of onions, etc. I just took some leftover canned black beans and leftover brown rice and added some frozen organic spinach and homemade tomato sauce.

While I admit that this isn’t a gourmet version of beans and rice, it still made a quick, easy, healthy and delicious lunch. Making lunch doesn’t mean you actually have to “make” anything. It may just involve combining several things in one container. In fact, that’s often how it goes for me. But combining your own fresh and frozen ingredients is infinitely healthier than grabbing another sodium and preservative-laden microwave meal. Promise.

The mysterious yellow-orange peppers on top are death peppers that a coworker so “graciously shared” with the office. I sliced off a tiny piece of an orange one just to try it and had no reaction so I thought I’d be fine. Then I tried a green one and just about choked/cried/died. Once I recovered I tried the orange one again only to find that it was equally evil. I ended up tossing it. I washed my hands a million times but that still didn’t save me from the agony that is touching your face after handling such beasts. Awful. I was later informed it was a habanero. Great. Won’t make that mistake twice.

Ayala's Sampler Pack

Today a sampler pack arrived from Ayala’s Herbal Water (thanks!) complete with 6 flavors to try. You may remember that a few weeks ago I picked up their orange cinnamon flavor on a whim and found it to be the best flavored water I’ve had.

While most flavored waters taste more like watered down juice and are loaded with fake sweeteners and other weird things, Ayala’s just tastes like water with very subtle hints of flavor. Like lavender and mint or ginger and lemon peel, which I’m drinking now.

Ginger Lemon Peel

And they’re USDA Organic too. Ralphie approves.

Ralphie Seal of Approval

I’m not really one to buy bottled water (I use a Brita filter), and when it’s around I have a tendency to drink half and leave it sitting around. I polished off the ginger lemon peel, though, and I’m looking forward to trying the others.

Thanks to Dr. Ayala for sending me the samples.

Giving thanks

Last night I went to a nutrition seminar at the yoga studio that was nothing short of mind-blowing. Our Senior Instructor, Deborah, is also a certified Ayurveda specialist and is filled with information about food, yoga, and life in general.

Did you know that the way you think about food can affect how you metabolize it just as much as the food itself? If you are a cyclical dieter constantly losing and gaining weight, obsessing about calories and fearing your next meal, odds are you’re having a hard time losing weight and keeping it off.

You know why?

Stress. You are so stressed out about food that it is keeping you fat. Stress releases a hormone known as cortisol. When cortisol is released it heads straight to your extremities (arms and legs) to help you escape the stressful situation. This type of flight or fight response is great if you’re, say, being chased by a bear. But if you’re just sitting and eating and fretting about calories and fat grams, then you’ve produced a bunch of cortisol that ran to your extremities and is no longer focused on properly metabolizing your food.

There are lots of ways to change the way you approach your food (and I’ll share some of it later on), but one easy way is to simply acknowledge your food and give thanks for it. This doesn’t have to mean subscribing to a certain religion, thanking God or Jesus or Buddha. It could mean thanking your Mom. Or a farmer. It doesn’t have to be out loud either. Just quietly take time to pay attention and acknowledge the importance of what you are about to consume and it will help your mind process it as much as your body.

http://www.joykampia.com/

Oh, how desperately do I want to wear this masterpiece for Halloween? Unfortunately it actually is a masterpiece–as in created by a real professional artist–so it is one of a kind and goes for about $900.

Perhaps I can give the ice cream dress a try?

http://www.joykampia.com/

Wrong. Also expensive. If you have money to blow, check out Joy Kampia O’Shell’s site and all of her adorable food creations. She has 3D “fiber sculptures” of a banana split, lemon chiffon cake, sushi, a taco, pancakes and more. So cute.

Cute little bread

OK, so nothing about this is focaccia. But doesn’t it look cute? This is just Whole Foods wheat pizza dough drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh rosemary. I also added a little sea salt.

I made this because I went straight from work to yoga to a nutrition workshop at the studio to making tomato sauce at home to it suddenly being 9pm. When I hit that point in the night I have a really hard time deciding what I want to eat or if I want to eat at all.

Enter the fake focaccia. I had this with a little tomato sauce, chunks of manchego and some pineapple. It looks as unappetizing as it sounds. But that’s what I wanted. So there.

Not really a meal

I also had a piece of Stew’s pizza (yes, we made another one already) and will undoubtedly eat more fruit or something later.

Quinoa, olives, almonds, parmesan

Today I had a most delicious salad for lunch that, to be perfectly honest, kind of concerned me until I tasted it. You see, I was about 2 steps from bed last night when I realized I hadn’t washed and prepared all my produce I’d picked up from the Farmer’s Market delivery service. Knowing that there was no chance I’d do it in the morning and, therefore, no chance I’d get to eat it for lunch, I sucked it up, backed away from the bed and made my lunch.

I got a beatiful bunch of Romaine lettuce so I washed and dried that and then I was stumped. No tomatoes. No carrots. What now? I threw in some left over quinoa, a handful of almonds, a few Kalamata olives and topped it off with shredded parmesan. Random much?

From there I poured a little olive oil and red wine vinegar into a baggie and set aside one Morningstar black bean burger. Uhhh, no chance this will work.

Wrong. This worked beautifully. Almonds for protein and crunch. Cheese for fat and flavor. Olives for salt. Black bean burger for warmth. And of course local lettuce was a win. The simple olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing added just the right amount of tang without over powering anything else. Loved it.

Perhaps I should pack lunch in a sleep-induced stupor more often.

Banana orange oat smoothie

Today I went straight from work to the gym to the library so somewhere in there I had to fit in a substantial snack to get me through until dinner at 8:30pm.

Enter the orange, banana, oat smoothie. Yes, oats. Delicious.

Orange Banana Oat Smoothie

Frozen banana
Orange juice
Soy milk
Flax
Oats

I used about a teaspoon of flax, 1/4 cup (or less) of oats and just eyed the OJ and soymilk.

Stew's avocado sandwich

Mornings are kind of rushed so I’ll usually pack lunch the night before. That didn’t really work out yesterday so this morning I threw some 12-grain bread, an entire block of pepper jack cheese, a tomato and a whole avocado in our little canvas lunch bag. We always take our lunch to work. I just like to know what I’m eating.

I didn’t eat at work though because I bailed pretty early on to go work from the library so I could focus. Offices kill my brain.

So Stew was left with a slew of ingredients and used them to make a very delicious sandwich. I know because I got 3 pictures of it emailed to me. This was sliced avocado and tomato on toasted 12-grain bread with melted pepper jack and a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette.

Mmm

Sounds/looks incredible. I want one tomorrow.

Quinoa stuffed peppers

The inspiration for tonight’s dinner came from Natalie’s Killer Cuisine, but I must admit I never actually looked at her recipe because I’m too lazy to look at recipes. I just started doing what made sense with the ingredients I had on hand and ended up with something fairly similar. She went with red peppers rather than green and also made a fancy shmancy avocado lime sauce that sounds amazing. I stuck with what I could handle. [PS - Natalie's site is awesome, her photos are gorgeous and her food is, in fact, killer.]

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Bell peppers, any color
Quinoa
Black beans
Tomato, chopped
Spinach (I used frozen)
Onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Hot sauce (I used Chalula)
Chile flakes
Sharp cheddar cheese (I used Cabot)
Manchego cheese

Ingredients

1. Prepare quinoa as instructed on package. It’ll always be 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water.

2. Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil. Add rinsed and drained black beans, chopped tomatoes and spinach. Let simmer.

Spicy bean mix

3. Season with hot sauce, chili flakes and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Grate in cheddar and manchego cheeses. You don’t need much (unless you want it, I suppose). I had probably a 1/4 cup total.

5. Cut off tops of peppers and clean out seeds. Stuff with combined spicy bean mix and quinoa.

6. Place in oven on 400 degrees for about 10 minutes until the peppers are tender but not mushy.

Finished product

This meal was incredible. Incredible. The top of the stuffing got a little crispy in the oven but the inside was still gooey from the cheese. The peppers were cooked but maintained a nice solid crunch. I loved it.

You may be wondering what on earth manchego is. Manchego is a hard sheep’s milk cheese from La Mancha, Spain. I grew obsessed with it during my senior study abroad in Madrid. I think the longer it’s aged the better but it also gets more expensive with age (particularly here in the States). I got one aged 6 months at Whole Foods for $12/lb. I know. Insane. In Spain you can get a massive manchego sandwich with insane amounts of cheese on a glorious crusty baguette for like $1.50.

Manchego

Anyway, worth every penny. And I only got a little sliver of it anyway. Try this cheese if you ever get a chance. It’s incredible. I ate almost nothing but manchego sandwiches for 3 months straight and that was also the first thing I ate when I went back a year later. If you can’t find it (or don’t want to), pepper jack would be a good choice (though not at all comparable).

I’d also like to point out that this little devil was growing inside one of my peppers. Yes, inside. Like an alien nucleus or something.

Alien pepper

The moral of this (long) story is: make these peppers. You will love them. And try manchego.

Semi-homemade pizza

Yesterday Stew and I picked up some ready-made wheat pizza dough at Whole Foods with big plans to use it for mini pizzas and calzones. You see, I loathe bread products. Not to eat, don’t be silly. When it comes to eating, bread is probably my favorite thing to consume. But as far as making food… I hate bread. I can’t do it. Part of it stems from not being able to follow a recipe to save my life and part of it comes from having absolutely no patience when things go wrong. I have stormed over to the trash can with a wad of gooey dough many a time.

So this ready-made business was a good thing for me. I do plan to conquer bread products one day, but for now this will do.

Simply roll out the dough on a floured surface.

Roll out dough

Of course I don’t have a rolling pin. Who do you think I am? I used my hands. There are some not so delightful pictures of me doing this fresh out of the shower with a towel on my head but I will spare you.

Once we had the dough to our desired size we added homemade tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella balls, fresh basil, oregano and a drizzle of olive oil.

Top with the good stuff

Just before putting the pizza in the oven I thought it might be a good idea to spray down the foil. Nah, the bottom is floured. Surely won’t be a problem. Of course it was a problem. It was me and a bread product. It’s always a problem. After about 30 minutes in the oven and another 15 cooling, Stew was finally able to pry it apart.

Pizza perfection

I had planned to eat cereal for dinner (lame) but Stew insisted I share it with him. Lucky for me because this pizza was perfect. 100% perfect. I don’t know what they’re doing with that Whole Foods dough but it is perfectly chewy and crisp at the same time. We already knew the tomato sauce would be great and the first time buying fresh mozzarella was a major win.

We’ll be doing this often.

Nutmeg

Did you know that nutmeg in large quantities can double as a narcotic? Yeah. Large quantities like 2 tablespoons.

I learned this last night while watching Food Network Unwrapped. The Food Network Librarian (gimme that job) mentioned it as one of the stranger things he once had to research for a recipe.

As it turns out, nutmeg does in fact have narcotic effects when consumed in dosages usually exceeding 1 tablespoon. Those that have tried do not recommend more than 3. The Truth Tree has a detailed account of a nutmeg trip and apparently it is none too pleasant. Symptoms reported were flu-like–including nausea and fever–along with mild paranoia, inability to sleep, cottonmouth, red eyes and, oh, forgetting to breathe.

“The nutmeg high more strongly resembled flu than a marijuana high as others have claimed. I felt no pleasant sensations from this drug whatsoever.” – Ron Savori

I absolutely do not recommend trying this at home. Just thought you might like to know not to accidentally drug your friends and loved ones when baking.

Udi's Granola

Your search is over for the world’s best granola. OK, so maybe I haven’t tried granolas all over the world, but this is most certainly the best I have ever had… by far.

Udi’s Granola comes to us from the Baron family, founders of a Denver-based collection of bakeries and cafes as well as catering operations and, of course, granola. Father Udi Baron grew up on a farm in Israel and is now incorporating the importance of natural, great tasting foods he remembers from childhood into his companies today.

I found several bags of Udi’s at TJ Maxx. I almost bought them all but decided to go with original first and then buy more if I liked it. As it turns out, I love it. It is the best granola I’ve ever had. Super crunchy, not too sweet, great indgredients. It almost tastes like graham crackers but better.

Udi's Original

You can order online at about $6 per bag. I think the sampler pack is a good option so that you can try 6 different flavors.

Ayala's Herbal Water

I found this interesting orange cinnamon herbal water at TJ Maxx, which is my favorite place to buy unique, hard to find food products that I probably wouldn’t buy at full price. The flavor sounded a little strange to me, but this bottle cost me a whopping $0.79 so there was little risk.

No weird stuff, no calories

It is made from purified water, organic extracts of orange peel and flowers, and organic extracts of cinnamon bark. It has a light refreshing orange essence and slight twinge of cinnamon. I really like it a lot and find it to be far superior to any other flavored water I’ve ever had.

Ayala’s Herbal Water is available in 6 different flavors and 12-packs go for $24 online. But since TJ Maxx still has several bottles on the shelves for $0.79, I’ll be heading back there before making any full price purchases.

Organic Consumers Association

The Organic Consumers Association has a great GreenPeople Directory that will allow you to search by zip code for farmers co-ops, grocery stores, boutiques and other businesses selling or supporting organic products.

I actually found a very convenient online farmer’s market for my area where I can log in, view pictures of products, read grower profiles and place orders to be delivered to a pickup spot of my choice.

How great is that? I love going to the farmer’s market on Saturday mornings, but some days I just can’t make it and that’s when this site will come in handy. I just ordered local organic eggs, fresh herbs, greens, eggplant, okra and more. My delivery comes in on Tuesday and I can’t wait to pick it up.

Leftover Soup

Today I needed to get rid of an odd assortment of small quantities of food: asparagus, red potatoes, celery, onion. Solution: soup.

Soup is the simplest thing in the world to make. And you don’t have to make a lot or let it simmer all day or use fancy ingredients. Just sautee some garlic, onion and celery in olive oil. Toss in any vegetables you have on hand. Add broth and some tomato paste/sauce. And you’ve got a meal.

Mine went a little something like this:

Leftover Soup

Onion
Celery
Garlic
Olive oil
Red potatoes
Asparagus
Spinach
Tomato sauce (homemade)
Vegetable broth
Quinoa
Parmesan cheese
Cumin

1. Sautee onion, garlic and celery in olive oil. Add potatoes to brown followed by all other vegetables but spinach. Leave for a few minutes.

2. Add tomato sauce, vegetable broth and quinoa (already prepared).

3. Add spinach and let it cook down. Season with cumin and grated parmesan cheese.

This was perfect. So perfect. The celery was crunchy, the potatoes were hearty and the cumin added nice dimension to the broth.

This whole thing took me 15 minutes max AND I got to clear out the fridge.

For dessert I had a sliced apple (from the orchard) with peanut butter, honey and cinnamon.

Dessert

Go Raw Ginger Snaps

I picked up these Go Raw ginger snaps last week out of curiosity. I’m sure that people on raw diets float around life in a blissful health-induced high, but it is not for me.

I love eating raw food–fruits, vegetables, nuts (although I guess they’re usually roasted)–but a fully raw diet is damn near impossible to keep up with. You can’t even have canned vegetables because they are heated above the acceptable temperature during the canning process.

As for these “cookies”… they have a very interesting taste that I really quite enjoy. They are made from coconut, sesame seeds, dates and ginger and, therefore, are not cookies. Cookies have flour and butter and eggs. These are… I don’t know what these are.

I really do like that taste–though it takes some getting used to–but you just can’t call it a cookie. Call it… jerky? Raw vegan jerky.

I’d buy their other products out of curiosity but they are quite expensive so it won’t happen often.

Cardoon

Apparently Mario Batali loves this obscure member of the thistle family and says it has a “very sexy flavor.” That makes me a little uncomfortable.

Uncomfortable

But now I want to know what it is and what you do with it.

Apparently the cardoon is closely related to the artichoke but is much more difficult to find in the States. The stalks resemble celery and it has a large purple flower which is also edible.

Cardoon stalks

Fun fact: Cardoons are also an excellent source of vegetarian rennet used in cheese production. The non-vegetarian equivalent are enzymes produced in mammalian stomachs. Ack. I’ll take the cardoon cheese, please.

Copyright Learning ZoneXpress

Stew was playing at a church camp earlier this summer and brought me back some flyers from the cafeteria about healthy eating. I think that everyone needs to see this particular one about portion sizes.

You’ve all heard it–meat the size of a deck of cards, pasta the size of an ice cream scoop, fruit the size of a tennis ball, cheese the size of 2 dominoes. These are the everyday object equivalents used to help our fat, gluttonous society visualize how little food we should be eating. They don’t seem to be working.

So take a nice look at this picture [I am hoping that taking a picture of copyrighted material to distribute for educational purposes is not going to get me arrested by the library police] and think before you eat something in its entirety just because it was served to you.

Super foods

The following list was compiled by the Mayo Clinic highlighting 10 of the healthiest foods that everyone should (and can) include in their diets. Foods on the list had to meet 3 of 5 criteria:

- great source of fiber, minerals and other nutrients

- high in phytonutrients

- assists in reducing heart disease and other illnesses

- low caloric density

- readily available

I like the “readily available” criterion. I’m sick of hearing people whine about how difficult and expensive it is to eat healthy food. You can find these guys just about anywhere.

We should all be eating:

1. Almonds – for fiber, riboflavin, magnesium, iron and calcium (they actually have the most calcium of all nuts)

2. Apples – for pectin and vitamin C

3. Blueberries – for phytonutrients and a low-calorie source of fiber

4. Broccoli – for calcium, potassium, folate, fiber and phytonutrients

5. Red beans – for a low-calorie source of protein

6. Salmon – for omega-3 fatty acids

7. Spinach – for vitamins A, B and C as well as magnesium

8. Sweet potatoes – for a fat-free, low-calorie source of beta carotene

9. Vegetable juice – for an easy way to include vegetables in your diet (if you’re thinking V8, I don’t like this–watch out for sodium)

10. Wheat germ – for a concentrated source of niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin E, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, iron and zinc

I love everything (except salmon) on this list. I also think that vegetable juice is a cop out if you run straight for V8. Pick something else that’s not loaded with sodium, please. Carrot juice is a good choice.

Gross

In an effort to maintain the epic gross that is the Sweet Tater front page right now, I have decided to post this horrifying Meat Baby photo sent to me by my boss who suggested I might like to have it for lunch today. I would like to get back at him by sending an alarming photo of a large green salad but I feel the effect would not be the same.

Please note the bacon diaper.

Big MacChicken

Kind of like the KFC Double Down sandwich but somehow infinitely worse, the Big MacChicken comes to us from the guys over at Grocery Eats. No, you are not mistaken. That is a Big Mac and a McChicken sandwiched between two more McChickens.

I don’t even have anything to say about this. I’ll let the taste tester’s words tell it like it is:

“Fast forward 35 minutes and I’m presently at my work desk and miserable.  Thoughts of running to the restroom to vomit are racing through my head.  I have a conference call in 20 minutes and I don’t know if I can make it.   Fuck.  Is it really my stomach that is aching or am I psychologically telling myself to vomit.  All I know is that my mind is telling me that the sandwich was absolutely delicious but my body is rejecting it.”

"Thank you little fucker"

A feisty waiter at Cactus Joe’s in Halixfax, England got even with a toddler that had caused trouble at her table by adding a special line item to the child’s parents’ receipt: “Thanks little fucker”.

This server no longer has a job. But hey, she showed that 2-year-old who’s boss.

Yogurt with the works

So I really wanted oatmeal this morning but my oats are at work and I really didn’t want to go to the office because I have so much to get done. Sound counterintuitive? It’s not. Fluorescent lights fry my brain. Plus, I’m easily driven mad by the dead silence interrupted only by the clicky-clicky of keyboards.

So I’ll be at home, the library and assorted coffee houses from now until forever or I get my work done. Whichever comes first.

Anyway, since my oats are camped out in my desk drawer at the office, I went instead for a little Stoneyfield yogurt I had left over from the zucchini muffins last week. See, I don’t really eat yogurt. Dairy products freak me out and make me feel queasy. But somehow Stoneyfield does not. Hooray for that.

I topped it with Grape nuts, whole almonds, flax, wheat germ, honey and cinnamon.

Please pardon the unbecoming photo and lame Tupperware container. My bowls were dirty.

Weasel approved. Ralphie too, but she’s hard to get a picture of in low light.

Weasel Seal of Approval

Coffee Underground

Stew and I used to put in excessive overtime at work as an excuse to spend time with each other. “Hey, uh, I have a ton to do… Do you want to get coffee tonight and work with me?”

Yeah OR… “Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

He figured it out. It worked.

Anyway, we used to put in all that extra time to see each other. Now we put in that extra time because we literally can’t squeeze our workloads into a 40-hour work week. Gross. I know.

The office away from office of choice is Coffee Underground–or the least annoying coffee house in the world. No pretentious coffee weirdos here. Just really damn good coffee and insane food. Insane.

Personal favorites: strawberry cake, Thai tofu wrap, whole wheat pancakes, chai latte with gingerbread biscotti, hummus, carrot muffin, black bean wrap, cranberry cookies, cheddar biscuit… I need a whole post for this. Until then, here is our breakfast from Saturday morning:

Yogurt parfait, banana and coffee with soy milk for me.

Mine

Cheddar biscuit with eggs, tomato and cheddar for Stew.

Stew's

And now let’s take another look at Stew’s Fat Tire… it’s next to a pint glass for comparison. Can you believe that?!

Giant beer

I’m lying. That’s not even close to a pint. But the beer is 22 oz, which is big.

Back to work.

Apple juice vs. Alzheimer's?

A study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that animal subjects given apple juice were able to complete mazes more quickly. They also produced less betaamyloid which apparently contributes to plaque formations found in the brains Alzheimer’s patients.

Apple juice also prevents the decline of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine which affects memory function.

I haven’t found any studies on humans, but according to this WebMD article about a previous apple juice/Alzheimer’s study, the mice were consuming the human equivalent of 2 glasses of apple juice a day.

I don’t think we can say that drinking two glasses of apple juice a day will guarantee an Alzheimer’s-free life. Plus, fruit juices can be alarmingly high in added sugars. So read labels and don’t expect a magical cure-all.

Cooking affects antioxidant levels

Did you know your vegetables can lose their health value as you cook them?

Different cooking methods affect antioxidant levels in vegetables in different ways. According to a study in the Journal of Food Science, the two best ways to maintain the antioxidant integrity of your vegetables are griddling (cooking on a flat metal surface without oils) and microwaving. Two methods contributing to the highest loss of antioxidants were boiling and pressure cooking.

Green beans, beets and garlic maintained their integrity after almost all cooking methods. And get this… Celery and carrots were actually found to increase their antioxidant levels after all methods of cooking.

Source: The study was conducted by researchers at University of Murcia and Complutense University in Spain and I read about it in Clean Eating magazine.

How many would you take?

 The New York Times had an article a few weeks ago about a University of British Columbia study analyzing the effects of another person’s size on your eating habits.

In the study, female university students were offered M&Ms while watching a video clip. To test the effects of social snacking, they had a 5’2″, 105-lb, size 0-wearing decoy snacking nearby. The catch? At times she was wearing a 180-lb, size 16 fat suit.

Girls that saw the skinny decoy load up her bowl with 108 grams of M&Ms took an average 2.62 oz of candies. However, girls that snacked alongside the “heavy” decoy took only 2.05 oz of candies.

Apparently eating near obese snackers instills an innate fear of weight gain that prompts us to eat less. But when a skinny girl eats a lot, we figure it can’t be all that bad since she can eat it and still wear a size 0.

But it gets even better (worse?)… If you see an overweight person eating a salad, you don’t assume you also need a salad. You assume they need it to lose weight but you’re not like that. Wow.

Gala and Golden Delicious

On our way up to Asheville for the best food Stew has ever eaten in his life, we stopped at Sky Top Orchard to pick some apples. We were too late in the season for honeycrisp so we went with gala and golden delicious. There is absolutely nothing like picking your own apples and eating them straight off the tree. I’m sure you’re not supposed to do this but I ate at least 3 right there in the orchard. Sorryyy.

My mom always took us apple picking when we were little. It was just one of our Fall traditions and since this is by far my favorite season, I was like a kid in… an apple orchard.

Apples!

Stew was also excited and approved this year’s harvest.

Stew approved

He also went to extreme lengths to get the high up apples I demanded.

Get that apple

We ended up with a small basket equivalent to 1 peck for just $9. Ohhh, too bad we neglected to bring cash and they only accept cash (or check) and Stew had to drive back down the mountain to an ATM while I guarded our apples.

When Stew got back with money in hand, we got our apples, apple butter, apple fudge and pumpkin butter. I also insisted that Stew try an apple doughnut since he hasn’t ever had one. These came hot out of the fryer and were then dipped in a mix of cinnamon and sugar. Mmmm, incredible.

Apple doughnut

And let’s not forget the apple fudge… which was less like fudge and more like really, really sweet frosting filled with apple chunks and topped with cinnamon. Mmm.

Apple fudge

This was a fun anniversary day. Let’s have another one.

Happy anniversary apple

Asparagus, quinoa and potatoes

After a weekend filled with excessive food consumption–thanks, Trattoria Giorgio and Sunny Point Cafe–I was feeling a little sluggish and in desperate need of a light, fresh meal.

Enter quinoa, asparagus and baby red potatoes. Quinoa (keen-wah) is a South American grain harvested for its grain-like seeds and sometimes leaves as well. It is picking up speed in the North American market and can now be found in most grocery stores near the rice and other grains. Quinoa has a rich nutty aroma and flavor and, in my opinion, requires little seasoning. And the best part? Quinoa is a complete protein, a characteristic not usually found outside meat products. Edamame is the other non-meat full protein. Win for the vegetarians.

Quinoa

So the quinoa was a smart choice. The potatoes are Ruby Gold and claim to be of the ”no butter required” sort because they are so naturally creamy. This was true so I simply boiled them and added a drizzle of olive oil. Also good. And then asparagus is asparagus. I blanched it and added a bit of salt. I was eating those babies like candy waiting for everything else to cook.

Asparagus

This was a perfect meal and was exactly what I needed after eating such rich food two days in a row.

Light lunch

Sunny Point in Asheville, NC

Pay close attention because I am about to speak about food in what appears to be such extreme hyperbole that you aren’t going to believe a single word I say. But I promise you, I speak the truth.

Sunny Point Cafe in Asheville, NC will serve you some of the best food you have ever eaten in your life.

Don’t believe me? Ask Stew.

“This is the best food I have ever eaten in my life.” – Stew

Best food ever

Need it again? “No seriously. This is the best food I have ever eaten in my life.”

Proof

So what’s with the hype? Where were we? What were we doing there? And, most importantly, what were we eating?

We were in Asheville rounding out a perfect first anniversary day of apple picking with a perfect first anniversary dinner. Since Stew planned last night’s dinner at Trattoria Giorgio, I was in charge of today’s meal. I picked Sunny Point Cafe because I checked the menu online and it slapped me in the face and demanded that I come give it a try.

We started with the appetizer special of the day: chickpea patties. I know what you’re thinking… falafel. Wrong. This was nothing like falafel. Not even close. I know because I know falafel and because that was my next plate at Sunny Point. These chickpea patties were lighter and creamier and were atop a pool of a mysterious tomato sauce that blew my mind. I think the best way to describe it would be mashed potato cakes but with chickpeas. The crumbled feta gave just the right touch of salt. Mmm. Strange. Perfect.

Chickpea patties

Despite having started the meal with chickpea patties, I simply cannot say no to falafel–fried chickpea balls. And since Sunny Point offers a falafel wrap, my meal was decided for me before I even got there. I can’t say that this is the best falafel I have ever eaten, but it has entered the top 3 (1. Pita House, 2. Maoz, 3. Sunny Point). But the pita bread… Holy hell, the pita bread. This was without a doubt in my mind the absolute best pita bread I have ever eaten in my life. It may just be the best bread period. Oh my. Chewy, doughy but somehow light. Ooh, and it had those little burn marks from the grill. Kill me.

Falafel wrap

Stew had the Firefly Enchiladas and they apparently changed his life. They are described as “a colorful mix of seasonal vegetables and tofu chorizo rolled in flour tortillas, topped with a creamy salsa verde and melted cheese and served with spiced right bamboo rice and cumin garlic black beans.” But he describes it simply as: perfect.

Firefly enchiladas

It’s truly a crime against food to call this plate “enchiladas” since the traditional Mexican food has been so bastardized by restaurants in America that hearing the word likely makes you picture a nondescript gelatinous blob of cheese wrapped in tortilla and covered in red Campbell’s soup-like sauce. That is not what this was. Obviously. I only weaseled away one bite of it because I didn’t want to interrupt Stew’s moment and I was too busy gnawing on pita bread made by Jesus Himself.

We watched them bring out a tray of desserts to show another table and I gawked shamelessly. Straight up stood there and stared at their table while the waitress went through the options–tiramisu, chocolate molten cake, buttermilk cheesecake… need I go on? We were too full and had to pass. But we’ll be back. Don’t you worry.

You know the coolest part about Sunny Point? They have an organic garden in the backyard. Yeah, we didn’t realize this until we were on our way out. But the food we ate came out of the frigging organic garden in the backyard. What kind of restaurant even has a backyard? This one. Best restaurant on Earth.

Trattoria Giorgio

Stew and I celebrate our one-year anniversary tomorrow so we started early with dinner tonight at Trattoria Giorgio. Though I’ve lived in Greenville for 6 years now and pass this adorable restaurant daily, I’ve never actually eaten here. Stew and I stop and gawk at the menu every time we pass and admire the quaint little urban garden patio next door. Still, we never stop. Part of this has to do with it always being fully booked. (They only have 10 tables.) And part of it has to do with the fact that it looks to be a place for rich old people.

And while Stew and I were the youngest people there by about 50 years, we were not treated with any contempt by our very delightful server who happened to also be celebrating his 15th anniversary today. It is also not a place for rich people. I suppose if you really did it up with a bottle of wine ($40-$75), appetizer ($10-$15), salad ($8), dinner ($16-$30+) and dessert ($8), then, yes, you would rack up quite a bill.

We both started with a glass of wine and the complimentary bread and olive oil. I swear to you, I would take shots of this olive oil. It was like nothing I’ve ever had. Real olive oil. Then we shared the Caprese salad which, though delicious, was still nothing like the mozzerella I ate in Italy. Let’s not be snooty, though. This was wonderful.

Caprese appetizer

I thought about asking the server to have the chef make any surprise vegetarian pasta. I do this every once in a while in restaurants when I can’t decide what to get or when vegetarian entrees aren’t available and it always turns out beautifully. I think they like the freedom to do anything. But tonight I was distracted by the spinach walnut ravioli. Shut up. I’ll take it. I requested a tomato sauce in place of the standard cream sauce because I just can’t stomach that.

Spinach walnut ravioli

Photos cannot do this pasta justice. I’ll just say I was eating the sauce with a spoon like a soup. That good.

Stew had farfalle with salmon and peas in a light pink sauce. Beautiful. I had a bite of fish-less pasta but it tasted suspiciously like ham or bacon. Stew loved it though. And his made a nicer photo than mine.

Bowtie pasta with salmon and peas

A dinner like this deserves to end with an exquisite espresso, and that’s just what we had. It was like drinking chocolate.

I go back and forth between not believing a year has passed because it’s gone so quickly and feeling like 10 years has passed because it seems like we’ve been together forever. I suppose those are both nice feelings to have.

Spud Fudge

Stew and I were watching Food Network recently (as we tend to do, uh, daily) and we caught the Unwrapped: Potatoes episode. The highlight? Sandee’s Candies Spud Fudge. That’s right. Fudge made with potatoes.

And I’m going to go ahead and call it a health food* since the potatoes are used to replace 1/3 of the sugar that would normally be used. Win!

8oz Spud Fudge

Of course I went straight to the computer to order some taters but the Food Network fame sent so much traffic to the site that I could barely even get it to load. When I was finally able to get an order in, I went with the 8 oz Spud and another little 1.5 oz Spud.

Imagine my surprise and delight when my package arrived within 3 days later with Spuds still in tact despite the late summer heat AND an extra collection of fudge bites AND a personal note from Sandee herself. How great is that?

Extra treats from Sandee

 I’ll be really disappointed if I hear she sends these to everyone…

Note from Sandee

Each Spud comes with a pat of yellow “butter” and is wrapped in foil for that authentic baked potato look. I went one step further and had mine delivered in burlap sacks as well. Adorable.

Authentic

And the taste? Fantastic. Smooth, rich, not overly sweet. Potato after taste? Nope. You’d never know they were there except for the lighter consistency.

Stew approved

Next step: Sweet potato Spud Fudge! Ah, we can dream…

Sweet tater spud fudge?

*This is obviously not a health food. Don’t be ridiculous. You may have 1 piece.

For the love of God, please stop buying those little packets of instant oatmeal. They are a waste of money and are full of crap. You can have a more nutritious, better tasting, cheaper instant oatmeal free of additives and excessive sugar if you just do it yourself.

A canister of quick cooking oats costs somewhere around $2.50 and has 13 servings. A box of instant Quaker oatmeal packets goes for around $4 and has just 10 servings. And because these little packets are so terribly unsatisfying, they even have instructions for preparing them two at a time. So consider that to only be 5 servings if you actually like to eat substantial food.

So take your cheaper oats and then add nuts, dried fruit, cinnamon and anything else that moves you. You can make a bunch of baggies to have on hand just like the store bought kind. Then when the mood strikes, simply add 1/2 cup of boiling water and some honey.

Today I had oatmeal with almonds, cranberries, raisins, cinnamon, flax and honey. It was fantastic. I realize that adding all of these other ingredients will up your cost per bowl, but I have them around the house anyway so I consider them “free”.

Breakfast

Stuffed eggplant

Since I had just made my first batch of homemade tomato sauce, I wanted to put it to good use. Luckily for me, one of Foodbuzz‘s Top 9 features today was berenjenas rellenas de arroz, or eggplants stuffed with rice.

Shut up. Ah, sweet fortune. I studied abroad in Spain senior year and my home stay ”madre” Sofia would make us something very similar to this delightful recipe. I must also say that the blog where this recipe originated is incredible and includes recipes for everything I miss about Spain. It’s called A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa and is maintained by Diana, of both Spanish and Mexican descent. Can you imagine the food they must eat in her house?

See Diana’s recipe for eggplants stuffed with rice and let me know if you want to go to Spain any time soon.

You may notice mine look nothing like hers. This is likely due to a number of factors, including but not limited to: I didn’t use bread crumbs, I added cheese, I’ve never cooked an eggplant like this, I am not a chef nor will I ever pretend to be.

Homemade tomato sauce

This first attempt at homemade tomato sauce is brought to you by RouxBe, the online cooking school.

I heard through the grapevine (ie. one of the RouxBe producers) that this tomato sauce is “life altering”. How could I pass on that? This was also the first RouxBe tutorial I watched so I saw it fitting to make it the first one I actually put into practice in the kitchen.

All it takes is onion, olive oil, garlic, canned whole tomatoes, tomato paste and basil (not required). Sautee the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Add tomato paste. Deseed whole tomatoes then add those and all juice from the can. Top it off with some fresh basil.

RouxBe’s recipe calls for 4 cans of tomatoes. I only had 1 so I quartered everything. I was still left with a very sizeable pan filled with fantastic, simple tomato sauce.

Try to ignore the fact that I didn’t get all of my seeds out [Confession: I dont have a strainer] and head over to RouxBe to find out why seeds in tomato sauce is a no-no…

RouxBe.com

I recently signed up for a free 30-day trial on RouxBe, a new online cooking school with video tutorials.

They’ve got all your basics–knife skills, stocks, pasta, sauces, rice, etc. Each tutorial starts with objectives to learn and also lists any prerequisites you should watch first. That is followed by a beautiful, simple step-by-step video detailing the process. Once you’re done they give you some recipes for practice and finally a quiz to see how well you paid attention.

So far I’ve been through all the stock videos (eye opening for a vegetarian–ewww gelatin!), a chocolate tasting tutorial and how to make tomato sauce. I am determined to watch them all before my trial is up. I’m kidding. I’m actually planning to buy the lifetime membership for $200, 10% of which will be donated to the UN’s World Food Program. Win, win, win. 

After talking with one of the RouxBe producers about the “life altering” tomato sauce, I just had to give it a try.

Pair that with a FoodbBuzz Top 9 feature today of berenjenas rellenas de arroz (eggplants stuffed with rice) and bam, dinner!

Perhaps you are unaware of this whole online foodie subculture. Well, now you know. If you’re even the slightest bit interested in food–whether eating or cooking–hop on the bandwagon and log in to these sites. They are great cheap/free resources for any skill level. Not to mention, they introduce you to a plethora of new recipes and restaurants to try.

I’m excited to see where RouxBe goes from here. I think it is a great idea off to a strong start. Check them out and let me know what you think.

Baked sweet tater fries

In honor of Sweet Tater’s first month in existence, I felt it fitting to celebrate with sweet potatoes in some form. And since the purest and most delicious form a sweet tater can take is baked, I went that route.

Allow me to wow you with these easy, effortless, wholesome, healthy, you’d-never-know-they-weren’t-fried baked sweet potato fries.

Baked Sweet Tater Fries

2 sweet taters
Olive oil
Salt

1. Start by peeling and chopping your taters. If you’re fancy and have a special fry chopper then use that. If you’re slumming it like me, cut each individual fry with tender loving care using your favorite knife.

Raw sweet taters

2. Place sweet taters on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. [Note: Go easy on it. Drowning these babies in olive oil then placing them in the oven is essentially just like shallow pan frying]

Arrange fries

3. Salt–I also seasoned mine with a little cumin, paprika and black pepper. But I kind of regret it. It’s great–don’t get me wrong. It would just be perfect simply salted.

4. Place in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour. Check on them about halfway through and flip so all sides get crispy.

Yum!

Handi lunch buffet

In India, “handi” is a round, thick-bottomed clay pot used for cooking curries. In Greenville, Handi is an exquisite Indian restaurant on Main Street. If Stew loves anything more than me, it is most certainly the lunch buffet at Handi. I guess it would technically be anything from Handi, but the lunch buffet is best because you can have it all for $7.95.

This buffet is a force to be reckoned with. Plate after plate of hot, fresh authentic food. Had I been smart enough to bring a pen and paper, I’d be able to tell you what I actually ate. But it doesn’t matter because we’ll be back next week I’m sure. Just know it is incredible and worth a visit. Multiple times.

The naan is perfect. The dal is insane. And the chana masala will smack you in the face with love. Don’t worry, they have chicken and lamb dishes too. And you get to round it all out with a mystery dessert like mango custard or fresh fruit.

One time in the midst of inhaling my buffet samplings, I also inhaled a small, skinny death pepper that should only be used for flavoring sauces and then removed before serving. This thing was lethal. And I ate it–stem and all. I thought that was my end of days right then and there. The worst part was the it was one of my first bites and I couldn’t taste any of my other selections.

Now I’m a little more careful with my Handi consumption so that I can enjoy each and every bite.

Come see them at 18 N Main Street but do not dawdle in front of me in the buffet line.

Goodbye watermelon

Watermelon is one of those fruits I avoid buying because it’s enormous, difficult to carry to the car and requires a good bit of time to prep. How lazy am I?

I occasionally buy those grocery store fruit salads knowing damn well that they are overpriced and that they were created as way to use up fruit that is just about to go bad and still make money off of it. I’m on to you, food industry.

Anyway, my laziness usually gets the better of me and I go for the fruit salad. Not this time, though. And never again. With summer coming to a close I felt the need to hold onto it for dear life by snagging my first and last whole watermelon of the season. How sad is that?

I paid $5 for what was probably an 8 to 10-pound watermelon. The beast yielded about 20 cups of watermelon chunks. I usually pay $6-7 for a measley 4-5 cups of slimy, almost-expired watermelon, pineapple, strawberries and like 3 grapes. Never again.

I had two of these 8-cup mixing bowls overflowing with watermelon plus another tupperware container for breakfast PLUS I had to finally just throw some away PLUS I probably ate 30 chunks while cutting.

Endless watermelon

It did probably take me about 30 minutes to get the entire thing cut up. But it was worth it. Plus, Stew got a nice action shot of me waving around an 8-inch knife.

Extreme watermelon cutting

And I got some lovely shots of Stew with a big watermelon smile…

:D

…and making a big watermelon mess.

Extreme watermelon eating

Love rice

Last night Stew and I went to Thai Sky simply because we had a coupon for free spring rolls, I demanded rice and vegetables, and Lemongrass was closed.

Free spring rolls

The restaurant describes itself as an “exotic Thai-French sushi bar” which makes absolutely no sense at all. There is no French food on the menu.

I had the mixed vegetables with tofu and steamed rice and made what was likely a failed attempt at requesting a sauce that was not made of oysters, fish, chicken or any other meat. Stew assured me they understood the request. I will believe him.

Hopefully not oyster sauce

Thai Sky is not the best Thai restaurant I’ve ever been to, but it is most certainly the best (only?) Thai-French sushi bar I’ve ever been to. My vegetables were really good, not too terribly greasy and maintained their crunchy integrity. The tofu was lightly fried unlike the painfully crunchy dagger tofu I find some places (Thaicoon).

The booths were uncomfortable, the food was above average and the service was prompt and friendly. Not the best but most certainly not the worst. Plus, I find the strip mall hole-in-the-wall thing to be quite endearing. And they made my rice into a heart. Enough said.

Larb

You’ve probaby seen a number of “larb” dishes on menus at various Thai restaurants. If you’re like me, you giggle every single time and say,”What is larb?”

Because I’ve seen different larb options like chicken larb, tofu larb, etc., I assume it is a cooking style rather than an actual food. According to Wikipedia’s questionable reference-less write up on it, larb is the unoffocial national dish of Laos. The meat salad (which could be made of chicken, beef, fish, duck, turkey, pork or even tofu) is flavored with fish sauce and fresh lime and served with sticky rice. It is also popular in northern Thailand which would explain why I see it so often in Thai restaurants.

Oatmeal with fresh fruit

My friend Sandwich (yeah, that’s what I call her) was in town this past weekend from NYC. Naturally, this means we went to brunch on Sunday since that is apparently what I do when my friends visit.

I really don’t even like brunch–or breakfast for that matter. My standard morning consists of some sort of fresh fruit and a cup of coffee with a splash of soy milk. A few hours into the morning I’ll have a granola bar or some other sort of carb to keep me going until lunch.

Breakfast-centric outings are kind of stressful for me because I’m never quite sure what to get. MaryBeth’s at McBee Station was our weekly brunch spot back when I had friends in town. I usually lucked out in not getting everyone gathered and ready to go until around noon. At that point it was appropriate for me to order lunch foods which I find far superior to breakfast foods.

On this recent visit to MaryBeth’s we were too early for tomato basil soup so I went with steel cut oats with cream and sugar. I ordered a fruit salad to round it out.

As I’ve probably mentioned, I’m not a fan of dairy products so I skipped the cream. But I did mix in my strawberries and blueberries with a sprinkle of brown sugar. Quite good.

The whole spread

To me, this was a lot of food to eat at the start of the day so I didn’t eat again until dinner. Eat when you’re hungry, not when the clock says you should.

Homemade granola bars

Raise your hand if you’re sick of spending money on granola bars. If you get a good one you can literally see and read all of the ingredients. Mix it all together. Slice it into bars. Bam, granola bars. Easy, right?

Wrong. This one was a bit of a headache for me. But that’s really only because the waxed paper melted/stuck to large portions of my granola. This left me irate–hunched over the treat with an 8-inch knife trying to saw off delicate layers of waxy gross.

It worked. And as it turns out, these bars are incredible.

I found the recipe on Joyful Abode but tweaked it a little by forgetting things or switching to things I like better. I used almonds and cashews instead of peanuts, added some peanut butter and totally forgot the salt. Oops.

For ingredients and instructions, check out Joyful Abode’s homemade granola bar recipe.

For my take on it, keep reading…

Cranberry Almond Cashew Granola Bars

1. Place oats and nuts on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes.

2. Melt sugar, honey, peanut butter and vanilla in a skillet over low heat.

3. Combine sugar mixture and toasted grains. Add dried fruits.

4. Press granola mixture into a wax paper-lined baking dish. Press down on waxed paper to get the mixture to your desired bar thickness.

5. Let cool then slice into bars using a very sharp knife. If you somehow manage to melt your waxed paper onto the bars, don’t freak out and start huffing and puffing. Just slice off the compromised layers. They’ll be fine.

These were excellent, though a little sweet for my taste. I realize now that this may be because I forgot the salt. I also think you could significantly reduce the amount of honey and sugar used. Play around with it. There are endless nut and fruit combinations that would work nicely with this base.

Granola brick

Zucchini bread muffins

As a kid, summers to me were lightning bugs, night games, sunburns (oops), bass fishing, book reading, freezer pops, sprinklers and (if we were lucky) bunny nests in the yard. It was also when my mom’s garden would boom. I remember lettuce, strawberries, red potatoes, green beans, herbs and zucchini.

Back then I wasn’t quite the veggie eater that I am today so zucchini as a vegetable was not among my favorite foods. Luckily for me my mom would use them to make zucchini bread–sweet, soft, dense, perfect zucchini bread. I suppose you could make a savory zucchini bread and that’s probably what most people think when they hear it, but this one and the one from my childhood are both sweet breads.

Yesterday at the farmer’s market a ran across a monster of a zucchini and decided it was time for me to finally try my hand a zucchini bread.

I browsed through about a half dozen foodie blogs and finally settled on a great recipe from The Kitchen Sink. Yes I absolutely used someone else’s recipe. Are you insane? You can’t fake baking the way you can cooking. Trust me. I’ve tried.

Being the fake home cook that I am, I also don’t have proper cookware–including a bread pan. So my zucchini bread became zucchini muffins. Works for me.

These muffins are light both in texture and fat as they call for yogurt rather than butter.

For ingredients and all the details, check out The Kitchen Sink’s zucchini-flaxseed bread recipe.

Or follow my convoluted play-by-play at recreating their masterpiece:

Sweet Zucchini Muffins

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup ground flaxseed (whoops, I forgot this)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
1 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons whole pecans, toasted (Oh and I didn’t toast mine…)

1. Whisk together all dry ingredients (up to nutmeg).

Dry ingredients

2. Drain the water out of your zucchini by pressing it between paper towels.

Drained zucchini

3. Mix together wet ingredients (yogurt, egg, oil and vanilla). Add the zucchini.

Wet ingredients

4. Combine wet and dry mixtures and add chopped nuts.

Combine wet and dry

5. Pour mixture into greased muffin tin or a bread pan. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350.

Top with a whole pecan

Yesterday I spent the day in meetings down in Florida. It’s the first time I’ve ever done a one-day down and back flight for a meeting and I must say it’s quite exhausting. It was also my first time traveling long distance in a tiny plane. I took one quick trip from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas in high school and the second plane filled with my friends only made it halfway and had to turn around to make an emergency landing back in Florida and try again. They did make it the second time but I’ve been mildly traumatized since then.

My boss and Captain Charlie

Anyway, this flight was great and if I had the money to do so I would never fly commercial again.  Look how comfortable this is…

Leg room

It would be out of line for me to talk about where I was or what I was doing so I’ll just talk about the food…

I took a banana and a Kashi granola bar to eat on the 2-hour flight. This got me through the meeting and on to lunch where I had a massive chopped salad with broccoli, zucchini, squash, tomatoes and romaine. I had a fruit salad for dessert. Unfortunately I didn’t take pictures because it looks pretty odd at a business lunch.

We made a stop near Charleston on the way back up to drop my boss off. That was a great route because we flew alongside the coast and got some lovely views of the low country islands.

When I finally got home I was exhausted. Those little planes are loud and they get hot as you descend for landing. All I really wanted to do was hop on the orange bike, park myself at an outdoor cafe table and blog. I wasn’t very hungry so I got a Mediterranean sampler plate with hummus, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, red pepper tapenade, chevre and focaccia toast. Perfect.

Unfortunately, I picked the table next to a roach the size of Weasel and under an obnoxious bubble machine that pounded me relentlessly with a rainstorm of liquid goo. My computer is still sticky.

ThinkFruit bars

It’s no secret that I love Publix. It’s the best grocery store in America. Before they built one basically in my backyard, I used to drive miles to get to one because the only other downtown grocery store is a shady Bi-Lo. I recently moved to the other end of town closer to the Bi-Lo. I still drive, walk or bike past this more convenient store to get to my beloved Publix.

This morning, however, I just needed toilet paper so I figured stopping at Bi-Lo wouldn’t be the end of the world. This store is a joke. Dingy, dirty, no selection. They have, however, made a sad attempt at creating a “health foods” section which consists of one shelf filled with trail mix, granola bars and some gluten free items. I found these ThinkFruit bars there and decided to give them a try.

I got Noni Apple for me because my grandmother swears by the super powers of noni juice and has been trying to convince all of us to drink it for years.

I got Cashew Acai for Stew because I love him and wanted to try another flavor.

They were actually both very satisfying. The ingredients are simple and–at least from what is listed–contain no crap. The absolute best part, though, is the ridiculous description on the back of each bar signed by “Lizanne – CEO, mother of 2 and former model.” Haha, ok. Katie – Person, mother of 2 cats, never a model.

This is the only time I have ever seen these bars, so good job Bi-Lo. You did something right.

For a while Stew and I had a Saturday morning orange juice ritual that involved juicing a bag of oranges then watching Down Home with the Neely’s on Food Network. This tradition died out when I started going to yoga on Saturday mornings. Today we reinstated it but had to watch Ask Aida instead. Lame.

One $4 bag of oranges will get you two pints (those are pint glasses, right?) of OJ. Far cheaper than what you would pay for that much freshly squeezed juice in a restaurant.

Banana ice cream - 1 ingredient

When your boyfriend’s at a bachelor party, your friends all live in big cool cities and your cats refuse to hold a conversation with you, there are few things left to do but sit on the couch, watch Alton Brown be brilliant and eat ice cream.

Ah yes, but I don’t really do that whole unhealthy thing, right? No problem.

If you’ve got bananas, a freezer and a food processor, you’ve got healthy, cheap, easy ice cream. Assuming you keep frozen bananas on hand at all times, then you’ve got ice cream now. If you don’t, you have to wait like 12 hours. That’ll teach you.

Yes, the one ingredient in 1-ingredient ice cream is frozen bananas. That’s it. Drop 3 or four (chopped) in a food processor and go to town.

Then feel free to top it with a little honey, cereal, nuts or dried fruit. Mmm. I went with honey, cinnamon and a sprinkle of Grape Nuts.

And now I’m off for a date with Alton.

I usually do my grocery shopping on Sundays and never really have a problem getting through to the end of the week. This week, however, I decided to buy a big fancy desk instead of buying food. A few days later, rather than give in and buy at least a few groceries, I instead decided to decorate my living room. One large decorative mirror, two silver lamps, two candle holders, a rug and three refinished pieces of old furniture later, I still don’t have any food.

We’ve been getting by on minestrone soup, hummus sandwiches, cereal and black bean burgers. But even most of that has run out.

So tonight with another piece of freshly painted furniture drying on the lawn, I set out to make myself a real dinner using only what I could find in the kitchen.

Luckily for me, my coworker Shannon brought in tomatoes from her garden and I snagged two. I always have dry pasta on hand and my carrots, celery and onion from I don’t even know when were holding up fine. Add to that some canned navy beans, frozen spinach and dried herbs and you’ve got yourself a pretty nice little meal.

So if you ever find yourself buying furniture instead of food, rest assured you can still get by with this…

End of the Week Pasta

Carrots, 2 grated
Celery, 1 stalk chopped
Onion
Tomato
Garlic
Olive oil
Oregano
Basil
Navy beans, 1 can rinsed and drained
Frozen spinach
Cheese of your choosing; I used feta
Dried pasta

Whatever you can find

1. Prepare the pasta. I’m not telling you how to do this.

2. Sautee onion, garlic and celery in olive oil. If using dried herbs, crush them with your fingers and sprinkle into the hot oil to release the flavor. If you have fresh herbs, you’re lucky. Save them until the very end.

3. Add carrot, tomato and beans. Microwave 1/2 a box of frozen spinach and add that to the sauce pan as well.

4. Let the whole thing simmer for a few minutes. Taste and then add salt or pepper if you need it.

5. Add the sauce to the pasta. Top with a little grated cheese. I used feta.

There you have it–a fresh, sort-of-free, healthy meal. No grocery shopping required.

Who says you can’t play with your food? If you can’t get your kids to eat try making meal time a game with Food Face plates. Each plate features a goofy bald head that kids can decorate with their food. Spaghetti hair. Mashed potato beard. The possibilities are endless.

Question. If I don’t have kids and am not technically a kid myself, can I still buy these? Find them at NeatOrama.

If you’re more into making your kids totally annoying, go for the Zing! catapult spoons.

Photo from www.time.com

A hotel in Taiwan is creating Dalai Lama-inspired latte foam portraits in honor of the religious leader’s visit to the city.

Watch the baristas at the Garden Villa Hotel turn coffee into art here.

Holy gross. Some poor guy in Orlando was enjoying a backyard barbecue with his family when he opened a can of Diet Pepsi, took a sip and started gagging.

Why?

It wasn’t until poison control had been called and the can passed off to the FDA for testing that Fred DeNegri learned he had taken a swig of a decomposing, Pepsi-marinaded frog or toad. Ack.

That’s right. The heavy lump of what his wife described as “pink linguini” that poured out of the can after vigorous shaking was in fact determined to be a frog/toad.

The FDA completed a thorough investigation of the Pepsi bottling plant in Orlando and found no problems. They have yet to determine how or when the frog got inside the can.

Pepsi remains unfazed and has yet to apologize to the family.

Read the whole story at CNN.com.

Darrell Lea mango liquorice

Marshall’s got me again with the impulse buys. I swear the whole TJX empire has it in for me. In a good way. In the past year they’ve all built this maze of winding goodie-stocked shelves leading up to the cashier. I think I buy something every single time.

Cute coffee mugs and water bottles. Monogrammed notebooks. Fancy stationery. And snacks, delicious snacks.

Last week I snagged some Snacktrition cashews. Today I couldn’t pass up this Darrell Lea Soft Eating Mango Liquorice.

Holy hell, these little nuggets are good. The Australian treat is soft, chewy and not overly sweet. Mmm. Nothing like the waxy red (or black) stuff we all know and hate here in the States.

Delicious. Highly recommended. And just $2.50 at Marshall’s.

Can we please stop pretending that all women go nuts at the sight of chocolate? I went to a women’s expo this past weekend and I swear to you every single booth was trying to draw traffic in with a basket of free chocolate. Need a gynecologist? Have some chocolate! Roof repair? Chocolate! Ridiculous.

Anyway, chocolate + flowers seems to be the go to for guys when they need something for their girlfriends. Stew knows me better than that.

For my birthday I got an outrageous fruit display from Edible Arrangements complete with a pineapple-carved 1985 sign. Awesome. I think he intended it as a joke but I seriously loved it.

Last night, for no real reason at all, I got flowers and a little fruit salad. Aw, he’s cute.

Here’s an easy way to save some calories you won’t even notice are gone. Hollow out the center of your breads, bagels, etc. I use this method more for functional purposes of stuffing in more filling without spilling, but it also serves to cut down on your overall caloric intake.

Give it a try. You won’t notice. And considering 1 bagel = 5 slices of bread, I think you can stand to toss out some of it.

Real cheese on real bread

Please, oh please, stopped eating grilled “cheese” on Wonder “bread”. It’s gross. It’s not real food. I have always hated American cheese. Even as a kid I demanded sharp cheddar grilled cheese or nothing, and I refused to try cheeseburgers.

For the simple pleasure of a true grilled cheese made for people over the age of 3, try using a super sharp cheddar and multigrain baguette.

Cut the baguette to your desired sandwich length, slice in half to make two sides and then flip it inside out. Yes, so that the part you grill is the soft inside. Brush the soft inside (now outside) of the bread with olive oil or olive oil spray then season with whatever moves you–salt and pepper is fine.

Sandwich your cheese between the crust side of the bread ends and hit the griddle. Smash it down with a spatula to smoosh the bread down to a more manageable eating size and get the cheese heated up.

You may find that the bread is so thick and the cheese so real that it simply won’t melt. No big. Pop it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds before you grill to get the cheese going.

Grilled cheese all grown up

This sandwich is perfect–and I mean perfect–dunked in a bowl of minestrone soup. Mmmm, is it fall yet?

Hippy ice cream makers Ben & Jerry’s will be releasing a pro gay marraige ice cream appropriately named Hubby Hubby. The vanilla malt ice cream is dotted with fudge-covered, peanut butter-filled pretzels and swirled with peanut butter and fudge. The package shows a happy gay couple wedding cake topper at the end of–what else?–a rainbow.

Ben & Jerry aren’t shy about sharing their political views with the world. Last year they released a pro Obama Yes Pecan! ice cream in support of the then presidential candidate.

I take no issue with Ben & Jerry’s exercising their American rights. What is this–Free speech? Freedom of the press? I don’t know. But I’m not so sure it will accomplish what it is they’re going for. Then again, who knows? Obama did win, after all.

Ever wanted to let someone know what you really thought of their cooking? Well, at my house you can. Just head to the fridge and fill out my new cooking report card.

Unnecessary? Yes. But at $2 on clearance at TJ Maxx, I saw it as a low risk worthless purchase.

Rate things like burn avoidance, healthiness, creative fridge-contents use and repeat meal avoidance.

Note the fancy Cheeto garnish

If you’re not familiar with my acronym, you’re not watching enough Food Network. Few things are more purely enjoyable than watching Guy Fieri hunt down the grossest, most delicious food in America on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Triple D for those of us in the know.

Tonight I’m only half watching, half blogging but I perked up when I heard “and top it with Cheetos”. Say again?

Yeah, Donnie Mac’s Trailer Park Cuisine in Boise, ID makes some sort of mac and cheese gone wrong topped with bacon, hot dogs, onion rings, Doritos and, yes, Cheetos.

Gross? Absolutely. I almost think they only put on this show for Guy’s cameras because it’s not actually on the menu. And since eating it would likely kill you, this is a good thing.

I used to be able to put away a bag of Baked Cheetos in a day until I realized they don’t even taste good. Eat slowly and think about what you’re eating. You may realize Cheetos are gross. If not, at least you’ll get to savor them.

Soybeans replace avocado

This dip has been circulating around the fitness and food blogs as of late. It’s supposed to be a “healthy” take on gucamole but I think guacamole is already pretty healthy and this dip tastes nothing like it. It just happens to be green with big chunks of tomatoes. It is, however, a great stand alone dip. If you try to compare it to guacamole, you will be sorely disappointed. If you try it hoping for a simple, flavorful soybean dip, then you’re in for a treat.

Yes, this dip gets its bright green color from soybeans rather than avocados. Because avocados are so high in fat (good fat, mind you) the idea of this recipe is to make something comparable but with low fat, high protein soybeans. I’m personally fine with the fat in guacamole so long as you don’t eat an entire bowl of it or pile it atop deep fried tortilla chips. Anyway, I love soybeans so I decided to give edamole a try. It was a big hit at the beach and I’ve found it makes a great spread on sandwiches. Kind of like guacamole, right?

Well it’s not like guacamole. I can’t stress this enough. I even tried to come up with a new name that didn’t try to mimic guacamole but it’s so ingrained in my head now I just went with it.

And so…

Edamole

1 bag edamame (soybeans)
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
Olive oil
Garlic
Water
Hot sauce (Cholulu or Tobasco Chipotle are good)

1. If your edamame is frozen, let it thaw completely.

2. Add edamame, a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of water to thin (you may end up adding more), garlic and hot sauce to a food processor. Blend until smooth.

3. Mix in tomatoes and add salt and pepper to taste.

This is candy. Any questions?

On Friday I had to make a mid-day Fresh Market run to pick up some fruit because I’m really weird about how much of it I eat a day. Anyway, I left with $11 worth of dried strawberries too just because I was so curious.

Be not fooled by this food’s placement in the dried fruit section. This is a candy. Chewy, stick, sugary candy. And it is delicious.

Yeah, $11.

As a candy, this should not be something you try to pass off as healthy fruit. I don’t see a problem trading out your nasty sweets for a couple of these though. That, in fact, would be an upgrade. So pass on the post-lunch gas station run for candy and pop a couple dried strawberries. You won’t even know they’re fruit. Promise.

Cranberry power snacks

This is yet another TJ Maxx find. Can you tell I spend a lot of time there? Don’t judge a book by its cover. There are hidden treasures in that ugly building.

Anyway, I grabbed these Matisse & Jack’s Bake-at-Home Snacks off a clearance rack on my way to the checkout. They always get me with that. At first I gravitated to them because I thought they were actual power bars and I needed a snack. Alas, I would have to make these myself. Still intrigued, I bought them anyway and made my snack some impulse buy cashews.

Matisse & Jack’s is a homegrown family business based in San Francisco and named after the owners’ two kids. They sell their power snack mixes at Whole Foods, Target and online and the collection includes granola bites, cocoa squares, chocolate chip power snacks and my cranberry power snacks.

Prep is simple for each mix–adding just water, honey or apple sauce, and oil–and the ingredients are pretty clean with organic rolled oats, whole grain flour, flax seed, dried fruits, evaporated cane juice, etc. Here’s the nutritional breakdown on the cranberries:

All I did was add apple sauce, water and vegetable oil and pop them in the oven for about 20 minutes. The instructions say to make them in an 8×8 dish but I only had muffin tins so now I have power muffins. I also undercooked mine (directions call for 25-30 minutes) because I know that’s the secret to perfect cupcakes so I figured it would work here too.

Success. These little guys are really good. And you’ll figure it out pretty early on if you eat the batter like I did. Sooo good. No eggs, no worries. The final product is moist, chewy and dense. My muffins are really little but just one filled me up because it’s packed with lots of good stuff. If there is a next time on this fortunate find at TJ Maxx, I’ll add chopped nuts and extra dried fruit to the mix.

Cute little power muffins

Try to hunt them down at a store near you. You could definitely make them yourself, but there is no harm in cheating every once in a while.