Here are the things that rocked my face off this week…

1:  Easy, giant, veggie-laden pasta bowls.

Hearty and healthy is always a good combination – pasta / zucchini roasted with truffle salt / 2 pints of browned mushrooms / ground turkey sautéed with spices and chopped green peppers / red sauce

I could not even believe how buttery the roasted squash ended up tasting.  Zucchini may just be my new favorite pasta addition, after soft-boiled eggs, of course.

2:  Roasted Red Pepper Falafel and Moroccan Red Lentil Cakes from Veggie Patch.

Please note – these products were sent to me free of charge to review.  I was not provided with additional compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

I had not tried VP products prior to their media team reaching out to me, but now I am looking forward to buying more on my own.  Both products had about 7 grams of protein per ~200 calorie serving and were nice and filling as the “meat” to a meal.  We thought that red pepper was a zippy take on falafel and we very impressed with the texture of the red lentil cakes – the carrots studded throughout were neither soggy nor crunchy and they provided a nice note of sweetness.

Fittingly, we ate the goodies on top of Greek salads two days in a row.

All Veggie Patch products are free of GMOs and trans fats.

3:  Pumpkin Yoghurt from Noosa.

OMG!!  I know, I know, Pumpkin Month is still 7 weeks away, but this flavor is a Target-exclusive and I could not run the risk of it disappearing.  p.s. if any New Yorkers spot the new coconut flavor, please tell me immediately so I can go buy it.

The ingredients list includes cream cheese and cinnamon, which is probably why this tastes like flipping cheesecake.

4: 4-Ingredient Strawberry Biscoff Sour Cream Gelato.

Gah!  I made Lady and Pups’ Self-Made Sour Cream Gelato and swirled in cooked strawberries and Crunchy Biscoff before putting it in the freezer.

There’s no going back.  This stuff is too easy; the base is literally just sour cream and sweetened condensed milk that you stir together.  FYI – I used low-fat sour cream and fat-free SCM and encountered zero textural issues.

5: Blue Moon Cinnamon Horchata Ale.

Just, are you kidding me?!  Add this to the list of short beers that I can happily finish a full bottle of myself.  It was the perfect balance of cinnamon sweet to, you know, beer.  And when I went to the website to link I discovered that they have a Caramel Apple variety and my heart actually skipped a beat.  How do I get my hands on that???

Food for My Brain Bonus:  Streaming the old seasons of the American version of “The Office” on Netflix.  I realize that I am several years late, but now I’m obsessed.  I started watching last weekend and I’m up to season 5, if that tells you anything!  It is horrifically awkward – I suffer from severe secondhand embarrassment and had to watch the entire first season with squinched eyes, through my fingertips – but also incredibly funny and sweet.

How much do I envy you – have you gotten your hands on a caramel apple beer yet?