Weekly Wrap-Up; Lots Of Repetition

Let’s start with dinner first and work our way backward, since lunches were all some form of leftovers from dinner.  Usually my meals are all over the place, but this week there was a lot of repetition.

dinners

 

First – and this is the meal that spawned the lunches – we made pineapple stir-fry over brown rice.

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We kept things very simple which I think was a major improvement over stir-fries we’ve made in the past.  Pineapple, broccoli, and straw mushrooms with baked tofu (400* for 40+ minutes, drizzled in honey and soy sauce) in a quick sauce of pineapple juice, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, and corn starch.

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Usually I get sick of our stir-fries after the first few bites, but this dinner I enjoyed the whole way through.

One night I made easy eggs.  I don’t remember what Adam ate, but definitely not this; he’s not the biggest Korn corn fan.

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2 large eggs scrambled in evoo with corn (Trader Joe’s frozen fire-roasted corn, that I adore by the way.  Cooked with a little sugar and Sriracha), dried basil from my grandma’s garden(!!), and shredded parmesan.

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Eggs are so nice for dinner.

You already saw our roasted garlic pesto with bow-ties and spinach.

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The husband got all of the leftovers and I was very jealous.

Last night we got all fancy and shared a cheese board for dinner.

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We did minneola,

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green pear,

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Pink Crisp apple,

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Blue Diamond Sesame Seed Artisan Nut Thins (former freebie alert),

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and of course, cheese.

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The cheese guy at Whole Foods was so helpful to us.  Plus he let the husband have a million samples, so Adam was basically in love.  We decided to go with one hard and one soft.  A 3 year aged Gouda,

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and a Soignon goat brie.

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Both were fantastic.  This meal was so much fun!

lunches

 

I have two lunches to share this week, both stir-fried rice.  I know that on Monday I drank a third sugary iced coffee in leu of lunch, but I cannot for the life of me remember what I ate on the fourth day?!  Whenever we would discuss food recalls in class I always thought it was silly that people had such a hard time completing them, but now that I’ve stopped daily blogging it has become much harder to recall my meals!

First up, a traditional.

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Leftover brown rice with pineapple, peas, carrots, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and 1 large egg.

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The pineapple got sort of caramelized and was fabulous.

Next, fried rice that was a bit out of the box.

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Leftover brown rice, corn, spinach, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, rice, vinegar, and 1 large egg.

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I really thought that this iteration was going to be amazing but somehow the flavor ended up being pretty dull.

snacks

 

A friend had some good news to share early this week, and we celebrated with beer and bubble tea (of course).  The beer was that nougat beer I keep prattling on about, so I’ll just show you a picture of my gorgeous tea.

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Strawberry black tea with boba and lychee jelly from Hanco’s.

Another afternoon, the family took a walk to get ices.

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I went with a sour cherry and cola water ice.

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Not as good as the strawberry-cola combo I had the last time.

Now evening treats.  The froyo place near our Whole Foods gives a discount if you bring a receipt from the Starbucks next door and that’s what spawned this idea – the sort-of affogato.

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A little bit of vanilla froyo topped with a drizzle of fudge sauce and a solo shot of espresso.

Finally, caramel corn.

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I cannot stop eating this, so I guess it’s time to give you the recipe.  It is too simple.

Caramel Corn, serves 1 – 2

  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk
  • 4 – 6 cups (popped) popcorn
  • salt, to your tastes

Heat the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, until melted.  Stir in SCM and continue to cook until thickened, 40 – 75 more seconds.  Drizzle over prepared popcorn and salt to your tastes.

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I’ve made this recipe in larger batches and you can too; all you have to do is keep the ratios the same while increasing as needed.  The leftover caramel corn stores great in a sealed container on the counter for up to 5 days.

breakfasts

 

Like lunch, these pictures are all pretty similar.  In fact, the base of these three breakfasts stayed the same the whole week!

Overnight oats: 1/4 cup dry oats, 1 Tbsp chia seeds, and 3/4 cup vanilla almond milk; stored in the fridge overnight in an almost-empty nut butter jar (~1 serving left).  Topped with blueberries before serving.

The only thing that changed was the jars.  Barney Butter Crunchy Almond Butter.

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Jif Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Spread.

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Skippy SuperChunk with Honey.

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All delicious, but the last was my favorite because that’s my favorite butter.  I’ve got to get working on more jars!

So there you have it; lots of eggs, rice, corn, and oatmeal.  Which food made a lot of repeat visits on your plates this week?

Weekly Wrap-Up; A Trip To Ohio

Last week was quite a good one for me.  I passed my Registration Exam and then flew to Ohio to visit my grandma.  Good times all around!  It was also a busy week, so please excuse the many gaps in my reporting (for example, my grandma served me dessert at least twice a day, every day of my visit and I think I managed to snap a photo of just one sweet bite).

Dietetics students – feel free to leave a comment/shoot me an e-mail if you’d like some more details on the studying process for the exam.  Otherwise, here we go…

Breakfasts

{1} A tropical smoothie.

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I blended up frozen mano chunks, oj, and Müller low-fat Greek yogurt with honeyed apricot.

{2} Berry topped cereal.

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Kashi Honey Puffs and Nature’s Path Bran flakes with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, blueberries, nectarine, and a sprinkle of sugar.

{3} Yogurt bowl day one.

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Chobani 2% Apricot Greek Yogurt topped with sliced banana and red plum.  Not only did a find a few good, new flavors of yogurt while in Ohio, but these plums were the best (read: juicy without being drippy and nice and sweet) I’ve ever had.  The apricot flavored Chobani was nice as well.

{4} Yogurt bowl day two.

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 Liberté Peach and Passionfruit Non-fat Greek Yogurt topped with more fantastic red plum.  Liberté makes Greek yogurt now?!  My heart practically leapt out of my chest.

Lunches

Lots of meals out in this category, much fun was had.

{1} California Pizza Kitchen, Queens.

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Adam, ever the traditionalist, shared a slice of his Roasted Garlic and Chicken Pizza with me.  The pizza was yummy, but I went with a salad.

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CPK’s Thai Crunch Salad is a thing of wonders, the edamame, peanuts, and wonton strips give it great crunch.  And that giant plate was a half portion!  Adam and I both ate some at lunch and then there was enough leftover for him to eat the next day as well.  This meal was actually eaten the day before my exam.  The husband quizzed me a bit over our meal but largely I took things easy that day; either you know it or you don’t!

{2} Bareburger, then 16 Handles, Long Island.

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After I passed my exam, a very sleepy husband took me out to celebrate.  He worked all night, then came home and drove me to my test, so it was perfect to go somewhere that loved bears for lunch (my nickname for him is Bear).

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Bareburger is a NY chain that focuses on organic, humanely sourced foods.  Their meat options include wild boar, elk, and ostrich!  I went “boring” with a turkey burger.

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The Maui Wowie (sans bun) was far from boring; it was topped with smoked mozzarella, turkey bacon, grilled pineapple, fried onions, fire-roasted red pepper, and buttermilk ranch.

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It was freaking delicious and we want to go back again {and again, and again!}.

You can’t celebrate without froyo.

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We went to 16 Handles afterward and rocked my face off.  The topping options were out of this world.

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I got pecan praline yogurt (!!!) topped with Coney Island Crunch trail mix and bananas foster banana chips!  Re-dic-u-lous.

{3} Bakehouse, then Jenni’s Splendid Ice Cream, Troy.

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Bakehouse is a fantastic bakery and cafe in Ohio.  My grandma took me there the minute I stepped off the plan and we enjoyed a scrumptious lunch.

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I had a cup of gazpacho,

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and we split a Vegetarian Sandwich.

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Cheesy-good was definitely the theme of this visit.

We digested by walking around and looking at Troy’s newest sculpture installations.

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They were sooooo realistic, my grandma definitely tricked me a few times into thinking we were heading towards real people.

Then we went for Winan’s for dessert because…

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they sell little containers of Jeni’s ice cream!

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The black coffee flavor was perfection.  I’ve been reading rave reviews of Jeni’s in magazines and blogs for years and now I totally get the hype.

{4} First Watch, Dayton.

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I had never heard of First Watch – a breakfast/lunch only spot – before but they served up quite a fine half salad/half sandwich combo for lunch.

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The Santa Fe Salad was nice and spicy (and also flipping loaded with chicken, no one person would possibly want that much on one salad),

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and any place that serves turkey reubans along the traditionals wins my heart.

{5} My grandma’s kitchen, finally a home-cooked lunch.

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A bit of avocado, a cob of my spicy, cheesy baked corn,

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and chicken salad.

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Nana’s chicken salad – made with mayo, sliced grapes, and toasted pecans – is one of my all-time favorite dishes.

Drinks and Snacks

{1} Mango Hi-Chew.

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I am just too glad to be back in the city where there are Hi-Chews at every corner store.  Mango was nice and juicy, but I won’t be satisfied until I find the yogurt flavor I used to love.

{2} Trader Joe’s Roasted Seaweed Snack.

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My seaweed consumption has gone way down now that I’m not packing lunches for school so this was a nice treat.

{3} Maple-Glazed Pecan and Sea Salt KIND Bar.

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My bar consumption is also on the decline, but this flavor was by far the best KIND bar I’ve ever had.

{4} Bourganel’s Nougat Beer.

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A friend took me to Bierkfraft – an awesome bar/beer merchant in Park Slope – to celebrate my new credentials and we discovered our new favorite thing.

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I grabbed this Bourganel Beer Nougat on a whim (always try to drink booze that tastes like dessert, that’s my motto) and it was out of control.  Normally I leave a lot behind when I drink a beer, but this bottle was drained before it could even get warm.  My friend adored it as well; we ended up buying a second bottle to split after our first round!

{5} Kahlua Ready-to-Drink White Russian.

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I have looked for these bottles all summer after spotting one in a magazine and I finally hit pay dirt in Ohio!

Dinners

{1} Sushi.

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The night before my exam, I got take-out from A-Chiban.  Mango-inari, fish tempura, and a veggie roll.

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The mango was slimy and terrible, but everything else was good.

{2} Spicy.

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Spicy, cajun shrimp over angel hair,

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with tossed salad and citrus green beans.

{3} Casserole.

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Cucumber and tomato salad, cornmeal-breaded baked summer squash,

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and creamy chicken casserole.

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Among the ingredient list for the casserole were swiss cheese, white wine, and stuffing.  My grandma is an amazing cook.

{4} Plane food.

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My kiku apple was crunchy and sweet, and the leftover chicken salad served on cranberry poppy-seed bread made for an amazing sandwich.

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My sandwich was on the small side, but not to worry, I bought chips (um, and pizza) at the airport!

Do you have a favorite dish that a certain family member will always prepare for you?

Weekly Wrap-Up; On The Go, Mostly

I have got to get these posts up more regularly; I have way too many pictures!  I tried to condense the best I could, but I have a lot to share.  I’ll try to keep my text brief to make up for the thousand(s of) words.

date night

I made the most of one of Adam’s elusive days off and took him into the city for a date.

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Greenpoint’s 5 Leaves provided perhaps the best meal we’ve eaten since the move.

I got a War of the Rosés to drink.

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Lillet rose, hibiscus syrup, sparkling rosé, orange bitters, sugar cube.  I would to go back for the drink menu alone; the Thor Collins is right up my alley.

I made a vegetable plate dinner out of an appetizer and side order.

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Chopped Black Kale Salad,

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w/ spicy anchovy dressing, aged gouda & hazelnuts.

Roasted Baby Squash.

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w/ dandelion pesto.  Both of my plates were divine and I ended up with more than enough (leftovers!) to eat.

For dessert we ventured across the bridge to the Big Gay Ice Cream shop.

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I got a bourbon ice cream and praline cookie sandwich.

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It was good but not OMG-good where I felt like I needed to eat the whole thing.  Adam’s Monday Sundae was definitely consumed in full though.

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twist ice cream/nutella lined cone/dulce de leche/sea salt/whipped cream.

kale, it’s what’s for dinner

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We scrambled my leftover chopped black kale into eggs with roasted corn, and parmesan cheese.

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Plus roasted kale chips on the side.

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This meal was so simple but so pleasant.  Corn in eggs rocks my socks off.

sweet corn, sweet, sweet corn

Even better than corn in eggs, is corn that arrives fresh at my doorstep.

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Please note: this product was provided to me free of charge.  All opinions are my own.

Amaize Sweet Corn is a rare bread of corn that is now available in select cities (including Buffalo).  Amaize Sweet Corn is created using traditional, natural breeding methods through hybridization (meaning it’s never genetically modified).  It is sweet and crunchy enough to eat straight off of the cob – I took a nibble and loved it – but I roasted mine instead.

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Discovering that you can roast corn in your oven might be the best thing that’s happened to me all summer; it is so flipping easy and mess-free.  I cooked my 1.5 cobs with Sriracha mayo and shredded Parmesan and the heat/salt went perfectly with the extra sweetness.

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For our protein we had “spinach soufflé eggs.”

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Just frozen spinach, chives, and Parmesan scrambled into eggs, but I whipped a little low-fat sour cream into the eggs before adding them to the pan and the texture was a total dream.

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this week’s breakfast

I’m still loving the Kashi, but this week’s ceral is Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.

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It has good fiber and protein for staying power (5 and 4 grams respectively) and the flakes have a bit of sweetness.  Like the front of the box, I had my 1.5 servings with blueberries, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and a drizzle of honey.

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I swear, there really was cereal under that mound of berries!

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food on the go

I was out of the house (alllllllll day) a ton last week so many of my meals were purchased/eaten out.  Some were better than others.

Whole Foods hot bar assortment.

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{B} The corn salad and tortellini that were hidden under the broccoli were nice, but the vegan Asian options on the left both had a strange aftertaste.

Starbucks Chicken and Greens Caesar.

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{A} Other than the high saturated fat (5 grams) the nutritional stats were pretty good (19 grams of protein, 340 calories including dressing) and the lettuce was nice and fresh.

A small Indonesian Peanut Saute from Noodles & Co.

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{C} I paid extra for “extra vegetables” and I still only had 4 pieces of broccoli.

Jr vegetarian burrito (rice, black beans, sautéed mushrooms/onions/green pepper, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, corn salsa) with queso and chips from Moe’s.

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{A+} Free chips and offering a jr-sized burrito earns them two thumbs up; I love Moe’s.

A little bit of tart froyo with the best peanut butter and toffee toppings (cheesecake, butterfinger, heath, reeses pieces, white chocolate, caramel) from Yogurtland.

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{A+} They are doing a Looney Tunes partnership so my spoon was shaped like Bugs Bunny.

Buffalo chicken slice from Pino’s.

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{B-} The crust was too thick and spongy.  From a nutrition standpoint, it’s great that the chicken isn’t fried and the cheese is very sparse but… I miss Zetti’s!

Webster’s Buyday

On August 12th we celebrated our 2nd year with Webster in the family.

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He and Adam split a (grass-feed, very expensive, awesomely marbled) steak.

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I tried to get pictures, but the man of honor housed his portion in about 2.5 seconds.

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We love him so much and are so glad he’s a part of our lives!

a new favorite thing

This is random, and I don’t have a good picture, but it must be shared.

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If you use a lemon dulce de leche popsicle as the “ice” in your plain seltzer it will be the best thing you’ve ever put in your face.

my parents are the best

My mom and dad are the coolest, and they spent the first week of August vacationing in Amsterdam.  They sent us a fun box of goodies when they got home –

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These wine gums have the perfect texture and the neatest packaging.

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Adam and I found actually eating this sprinkle stick thing to be terrible, but it was super fun to carry around.

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These gorgeous milk chocolates – like all European confections – put American chocolate to shame.

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And I can’t get an accurate picture, but this cardigan was the most fabulous shade of neon pink.

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when I dip, you dip, we dip

Blue Diamond recently sent me some crackers.  Yes, the nut company.

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Please note: this product was provided to me free of charge.  All opinions are my own.

Blue Diamond’s Artisan Nut-Thins® are a gluten-free cracker alternative.  They sent me Multi-seed, Flax, and Sesame to try.

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The serving size feels generous for 130 calories and the flavor I’ve tried was nice.  The texture is crunchy without being crumbly, so they are perfect for dipping.  So I paired the Multi-Seed Nut-Thins with a dip!

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Homemade Sour Cream and Onion Dip.

  • 1 cup caramelized onions  (I recommend using this method)
  • 2 Tbsp chopped chives
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup low-fat sour cream
  • 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Fold all ingredients together in a large bowl until well-combined.  Reserve a few chives for sprinkling on top if you wish.

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It was amazing, evidenced by the fact that I ate the entire bowl by myself in less than 24 hours.

Do you celebrate any pet-centric holidays?

Weekly Wrap-Up; By The Book

This week I’m going to do some book reviews.

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Full disclosure – I was not paid to write this post but all three of the books were sent to me free of charge to review.  As always, all opinions are my own.

Book 1 – Austrian Desserts: Over 400 Cakes, Pastries, Strudels, Tortes and Candies by Toni Mörwald and Christopher Wagner

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Overall Thoughts:  I am thrilled to add this to my collection; I love a nice weighty cookbook!  This book is packed with recipes, divided neatly into sections like “Cake, Tarts, Schnitten, and Strudel;” “Cookies and Candies;” and “Ice Cream, Sorbet, Granita, and Parfaits.”  I don’t have any background in Austrian baking, but the recipes are written in such a clear, straightforward way that I would feel confident tackling any of them.  There are a few history blurbs but overall the writing is to the point, which I appreciate.  The color photographs are gorgeous.

Recipe:  Sour Ice Cream with Lime

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Recipe Reflections:  With just three ingredients – low-fat sour cream, simple syrup, and fresh lime – this is the easiest ice cream I’ve ever made.  But the ease didn’t make it any less tasty.  Sweet and sour were perfectly balance here and the mouthfeel was nice and creamy with no ice crystals.  I cut the recipe in half without incident.

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What I Want to Make Next:  Lavender Ice Cream, Plum Kolach, and Buttermilk Mousse with Honey.

Book 2 – CopyKat.com’s Dining Out at Home Cookbook 2, by Stephanie Manley

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Overall Thoughts:  This is the 2nd book from CopyKat.com that seeks to recreate recipes from popular restaurants.  There are recipes inspired by more than 60 restaurants, including Starbucks, Sonic, and Cheesecake Factory.  The book is divided into sections by types of foods, i.e. “Drinks,” “Appetizers,” “Desserts,” and so on.  I don’t really eat at most of the restaurants featured here, but if your family regularly eats out at (popular chain) restaurants and is looking to cut back this book would be a great starting point.  There are no photographs but you don’t need them as a starting point anyway because the dishes are all things you’ve seen before (that’s the point!).

Recipe 1:  (Panera Bread) Broccoli Cheese Soup

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Recipe 1 Reflections:  I’ve never tried the original, but we flipping loved this recipe.  The soup was sooo thick and perfectly creamy but without being too heavy.  The flavor was astonishingly “meaty,” and the vegetables all reached the perfect texture – soft but not mushy.  I used fat-free half & half instead of full-fat and I recommend this substitution.  Adam and I both thought this was the best soup we’ve ever made.  I cut the recipe in half without incident.

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Recipe 2:  (Cajun Cafe) Bourbon Chicken Tofu

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Recipe 2 Reflections:  I went with chicken instead of tofu here but feel like I still got a good idea of the recipe.  This wasn’t bad, certainly, but we did not enjoy it as much as the soup.  The sauce got very salty if you let it reduce too long, and we had already subbed in low-sodium soy sauce.

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What I Want to Make Next:  (The Melting Pot) Wisconsin Trio Fondue, (P.F. Chang’s) Lettuce Wraps, and (Red Lobster) Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

Book 3 –The No-Cook, No-Bake Cookbook: 101 Delicious Recipes for When It’s Too Hot to Cook, by Matt Kadey

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Overall Thoughts:  This cookbook has 101 oven-free recipes and includes color photographs of 80 of them.  It’s divided into four sections – “Breakfast and Brunch,” “Starters and Sides,” “Main Dishes,” and “Desserts.”  I really appreciated how healthy all of the recipes in this cookbook were.  Usually I make substitutions to lower fat, calories, or sodium when I cook, but I couldn’t find a single recipe in this book that it seemed necessary to alter (for health reasons that is, I did make some pantry-related substitutions).

Recipe 1:  Mango Fool

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Recipe 1 Reflections:  I’ve never eaten a Fool before, but this basically ended up being flavored Greek yogurt.  The ginger and orange juice definitely helped boost the mango flavor into something extra-special.  This took about a minute to come together, and I plan on making it again.

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Recipe 2:  Avocado Fruit Salad

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Recipe Reflections 2:  My fruit all looks a little pink because I had to substitute frozen berries when my blackberries caught a case of mold.  I also subbed  almonds for walnuts.  I can’t say that I loved the savoriness of the avocado, but I did enjoy it more than I was expecting too.  The overall blend of textures and flavors was fantastic; this felt very fresh and zingy.

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What I Want to Make Next:  Machta Mango Shake, Cucumber Seaweed Salad, and Tex-Mex Chipotle Beans.

Do you like to cook straight from recipes or do you prefer to wing it in the kitchen?  Where do you tend to get your recipes – cookbooks, food blogs, or family and friends?

Weekly Wrap-Up

I’ve stopped doing daily posts for the time being, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped eating – and occasionally photographing – delicious things.  Once we’ve moved and things have settled down I’ll try to post more regularly, but for now I want to at least do a weekly wrap-up of some of the more scrumptious things I’ve eaten.  I’m going to borrow the style of Kath’s Lately posts for these.

A lot is missing, I don’t have any lunches and several slices of pizza went uncaptured, but here are some of the highlights from last week…

Breakfasts

I bought an amazing container of fresh blackberries early in the week and enjoyed them greatly.  They started getting soft so I put the last few servings in the freezer and I’m very much looking forward to reheating them.  First up, Dannon Oikos Café Latte Greek Yogurt with blackberries and a blend of peanut and coconut butter.

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Cinnamon Pecan Special K with Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and more blackberries.

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This cereal is so tasty; it’s got a granola-like texture but with far less calories.

A Dr. McDougall’s Peach and Hemp Oatmeal, eaten at work with a packet of Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

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This oatmeal couldn’t hold a candle to my beloved Quaker cups.  It was quite gummy and strange, though I did eat all of the bites with hazelnut butter on them 😉

Snacks

I finally got a chance to try some of my shipment of the Larabar ALT lineLemon Pound Cake and Peanut Butter Cookie.

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The verdict was – I’m a fan; though I’ll admit to being less excited to try the other two flavors.  The texture was gritty sand, but in a great way, and the flavors were spot on.  I shared the lemon bar with a coworker and she said to tell y’all she liked it a lot.

On Monday, Adam, a friend, and I drove over to Williamsville to check out one of our new froyo spots – Red Mango.

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I did plain tart with tons of popping boba.  They had kiwi boba, a new experience for me.  Confession time though: I couldn’t finish that whole cup!  Who am I??

Dinners

Also on Monday, we spent the evening with another group of friends, saying goodbye to a doctor who was heading off to California.  As Adam and his friends all head off to their residencies we are having to say a lot of goodbyes.  We ate dinner at Mezza.

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A Shish Tawouk wrap – cubed marinated chicken breast, garlic spread, sweet coleslaw, and French fries, all wrapped together and grilled – with a Feta Fattouch salad.  My food was delicious, as was the diet coke with strawberry vodka I sipped from the bar.

We drank at Blue Monk before heading to dinner and I tried my first taste of mussels.

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I’ve always been wimpy about shelled seafood, but they were fantastic!  It helped that they were cooked with Ommegang Witte, lemon, leeks, garlic, parsley and cream.

We also ate dinner out last night.  I’ve wanted to try 99 Fast Food for years and Sunday after work it was finally my time.  Unfortunately all of the pho was made with beef broth so I couldn’t partake, but I did have a nice meal of tofu broccoli ginger stir-fry.

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We tried a Vietnamese Pudding for dessert.

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It was more of a drink than a pudding, red bean with sweetened coconut milk.

On Friday night I hurried home from work so we could get a little gussied.

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My bosses generously gave me their tickets to the Mash Bash, an army-themed fundraiser.

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I was literally the only person in the room not in green, so embarrassing!

There wasn’t a ton of food there that I could eat, but each ticket came with two drinks and Adam ate my share of pulled pork sandwich.

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Most of my home-cooked meals flopped this week, but I did have one success with a little help from Coleman’s Mustard.

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The company sent me a tin of powder to try {free sample, please note!}, along with a recipe for dressing –

Colman’s Chili Vinaigrette

  • 4 tbs. olive oil

  • 1 tbs. white wine vinegar

  • 1 tsp. Colman’s Original Powdered Mustard

  • 4 “splashes” mild green Tabasco sauce

  • ½ cup lemon juice

  • 2 tsp. honey

I whipped up a batch for salads; a spring lettuce based topped with English Cotswold cheese, buckwheat groats, and roasted asparagus.

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It was a good week!

Fun In Fruit

The title says it pretty well, I just wanted to post about a few fun fruit-based things I’ve brought home lately.  Half I’ve tasted and half I haven’t, but I’m excited about them all.

Unless otherwise noted*, products were purchased with my own money and I was not compensated for posting about them; I just wanted to share.

1. Outshine Coconut Waters with Banana popsicles. {tried – pretty good}

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Allergies have been killing my throat for weeks and I bought these on a whim the other day.  They were nowhere near as satisfying as the rainbow sherbet I ended up with later, but they are a good summer treat.  They don’t have a ton of flavor, but each bar has only 60 calories and they are nice to cool down with.

2. Cherimoya fruit.  {excited to try}

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Adam and I love to try new produce when it pops up and I’ve heard cherimoyas described as “custard apples” so I knew we had to try this one, $7 price tag and all.  Unfortunately I got a little too excited and stored it in the fridge before I read that they are supposed to stay at room-temperature until they are ripe.  Whenever it is actually ready to eat I’ll be sure to let you guys know what we think!

3. Synergy Mystic Mango Kombucha.  {tried – flipping amazing}

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Oh my goodness, guys, this stuff is the official “sweet nectar of the gods.”  The texture was so thick and perfect on my throat.  Mystic mango is from GT’s “Enlightened Synergy” line, so maybe that’s the difference, but the flavor was much less vinegar-based than the Kombuchas I’ve had in the past.  This was pure mango.  A bottle has 100 calories total and is very satisfying.

4. Larabar’s new ALT line.*  {excited to try}

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NOTE:  These bars were sent to me by Larabar free of charge so I could try their new line.  I was not compensated for posting, but I do plan on sharing my thoughts as I taste through the line.

From the company:  “ALT, the Alternative Protein Bar™, is the first-ever bar with added protein from LÄRABAR! Many bar brands use soy or whey protein, but ALT uses an alternative protein source: peas. Vegan, gluten free, dairy free, and non-GMO, ALT also uses a wrapper that is 31% renewable.”

The line comes in Cinnamon Apple Crisp, Lemon Pound Cake, Peanut Butter Cookie, and Pumpkin Pie.  The bars have 10 grams of protein each and each flavor has between 210 and 240 calories.

Things I’m Loving From Trader Joe’s

Buffalo doesn’t have a Trader Joe’s (yet!), but that doesn’t mean I can’t pine over the goods I plan on purchasing once we are back in the city this summer.

The following are some of the things I bought when I was in Ohio last month.  They were all new to me and most of them I’ve now decided I can’t live without!

1.  Roasted Coconut Chips.

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Coconut chips are nothing super new – I’ve been picking them out of tropical trail mixes since I was a kid – but it was nice to see them get their own package.  These guys are perfectly sweet and crunchy.  Nutrition stats for 1 oz – 160 kcal, 1 g protein, 4 g fiber, 10 g saturated fat.

2.  Zesty Nacho Kale Chips.

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I love the idea of kale chips but the ones I try to make up at home end up being tiny, burnt, kale carcinogens.  And the amazingly delicious ones sold at Wegman’s cost more than $7 a bag.  This 2-serving bag was less than $6 and the chips were the best I’ve ever had.  They seem to have roasted giant leaves without cutting them up first so the chips are big and chunky and delicious.  Nutrition stats for 1 oz – 150 kcal, 6 g protein, 3 g fiber, and 1 g saturated fat.  Plus 130% RDA for Vitamin A!

3.  10 Minute Bulgur.

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This was our first time trying bulgur and we both loved it.  The taste and texture were exactly what I’m always hoping for from rice.  <– no, I can’t describe it any better than that; I love food and I love writing but there is a reason I’m not a food writer, people!

It really did cook in 10 minutes – it’s pre-cooked – making it a super easy grain for a quick dinner.  We paired it with black beans, tomatillo, sautéed spinach, and avocado.  A one 1/2 cup serving, which turns into a ton when cooked, has 280 kcal, 11 g protein, and 6 g fiber.

4.  Organic Sweetened Condensed Milk.

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SCM, aka nectar of the gods, is nothing new, but the squeeze bottle system sure is nifty.  I love putting SCM in coffee (like a lazy Vietnamese coffee) and this way I can use 1-2 Tbsp in my cup occasionally without having to worry about storing the rest.  This was a nice blurb to see on the back of the bottle – “Trader Joe’s Organic Sweetened Condensed Milk is made from organic milk from cows not treated with hormones or antibiotics, and sweet organic cane sugar.”

Are you lucky enough to have a Trader Joe’s in your town?  What are your favorite TJ’s goods?

Bento Box Lunch

Today’s lunch was packed Bento-style.

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If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen the awesome care package that Cascadian Farm sent me awhile back:

cascadian farm care package

Among the goodies was a Bento Box lunch box from Laptop Lunches.

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The box is dishwasher and microwave safe and the little boxes are the perfect size(s) for lunchtime goodies – two of mine came with additional lids.  It is pretty awesome.

Today I packed a fruit and veggie spread.  Cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes with a sprinkle of salt.

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Roasted coconut chips.

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Nacho kale chips.

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And Kiwiberries.

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Yum!

Have you ever used a bento box?  Do you carry a lunch box to work/school?