Long Weekend Stock-up

For some reason I didn't realize until about noon today that this upcoming Monday is a holiday in the US, which means most businesses, including my job, are closed... YES!  Free day off!  I decided quickly that I'm going to take the extra time on this three day weekend and do a little cooking and baking stock-up and try out some recipes I've had on my radar for a while.

My lovely great-aunt gifted me a copy of the The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health: More Than 200 New Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes for Delicious and Nutrient-Rich Dishes a while back.  I've found that it contains a couple pretty good sounding recipes for homemade veggie burgers that are freezable.  We've been sort of hooked on MorningStar Farms and I'm hoping to find a homemade alternative. Going to start with Spinach-Tofu burgers and see how it goes.

I also am going to try another one of Camilla's awesome snack bar recipes.  The Clif bars worked out so well that I can't wait to try black bean power bars too.

We've been on a big Greek-kick lately (when I say we, I mainly mean me; I cook it and Dan eats it).  Earlier this week I tried some new Greek Style Veggie burgers using couscous and made my own tzatziki sauce (with a bit of inspiration from Stephanie) (more on both of these later, I hope, when I make them again), so building from that theme, I'm also going to try to tackle pita bread (Cooking Light recipe) and hummus (recipe from a friend).


Lastly, I made some bean and bell pepper fajitas last week.. those have been requested to make and encore appearance on our menu this weekend.  Hope to have a full post on this awesome, quick, easy and so tasty recipe for you as well. 


I'm thinking I want to make some kind of vegan baked-good... like a cupcake.. anyone have a good recipe for a simple vegan cupcake with frosting?  We'll see if I get that far.

Vegan Peanut Butter Pie

Looking for a quick, light, tasty, peanutbuttery vegan pie fix?!?!

There isn't much else to say besides: MAKE THIS!  You won't regret it.
Recipe is HERE from Andy Bellatti's Small Bites.

I used Koeze's Cream-Nut All Natural Peanut Butter from our local Fresh Market (made in Grand Rapids, MI... represent! (ps. I'm originally from Michigan)).  Also, I went with a chocolate crust because, let's face it.. what is better than chocolate and peanut butter?

Instructions: add ingredients to food processor, blend, pour in pie crust, chill, enjoy!

This is so quick and easy to make and my photos DO NOT give this justice at all.
I even whipped it up with a blender (because I don't have a food processor).

Caramel Apple Frosty™ Parfait

We have a Wendy's restaurant within walking distance from our house.  It's tempting but I've been pretty good about not visiting over the last several months.  In my previous life (ha!), we would be there almost once a week, sometimes more often.  Dan still stops here on a sort of regular basis, about once a week, and today was one of those days.  He swung by the drive through on his way home from work this afternoon.  I withheld from partaking but will admit that I stole a few fries.

His bounty from Wendy's included  a spicy chicken sandwich, large french fry, large original Frosty, large chili, and a new Caramel Apple Frosty Parfait.  When he first arrived through the door, he mentioned this parfait as just "caramel apple parfait" and I assumed that it was yogurt (similar to what McDonald's offers).  Dan offered it to me and I passed (he also offered me the chili and I think he keeps forgetting that I'm still refraining from consuming beef).  I then put together my own fruit and yogurt snack for lunch.

Mixed Berry Yogurt with Honey

Mixed Berry Yogurt with Honey

• 1 cup fat-free, reduced sugar vanilla yogurt
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup raspberries
• 1/4 cup blackberries
• 1 tsp honey

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well.  Feel free to adjust berry measurements to your liking.  (I just added the berries that I had on hand but this is also wonderful with other fruits as well.  I also enjoy strawberries in mine!).  Total calories on this are about 220-250 with no fat, but could vary depending on the type of yogurt and fruits you use.  You can also skip the honey to save about 50 calories.


As I enjoyed my homemade lunch/snack, I did some research on what my husband was ingesting just at the other end of the couch.  He wouldn't let me tell him the total calorie count.  It is astonishing and I'll just leave it at: It was over 10 times the amount of calories in my berry yogurt lunch

Here's the kicker for me... The Caramel Apple Frosty Parfait.

I didn't realize it was a 'Frosty' parfait until I got to the company's nutritional information and was unable to find it under the categories I had assumed it would be located (sides or value menu).  So I checked the Frosty category and low and behold... it's a frosty with apples, granola and caramel sauce.   Of course, my first thought was that Wendy's appears to be trying to make their sugary milk-shake type treat into something more 'healthy'.  Blasphemy.  I browsed around the web to see if there was any info about this product yet.  I didn't find too much except a couple reviews about the taste (of this as well as the other flavors available.. Berry and Oreo).  Then I went back to the Wendy's website and found their own description of the product:  "It’s our creamy, classic Frosty swirled with brown sugar granola, fresh red and green apple slices, and real caramel. It’s a tasty, feel-good treat."  And there it was... the two words that I was looking to find.  I couldn't imagine that a fast-food chain could add fruit to something full of sugar and chemicals without trying to make it sound like something that is good for you.  It's BS, honestly.  BS.  Wendy's must think we are idiots and sadly, maybe they are right.

I did try a bite of this product.  The granola was tasty and the apples crisp.  The frosty (vanilla flavored) was soupy and messy and for this being Ghirardelli Caramel, I wasn't impressed.  These pack 400 calories, 9 grams of fat and a whopping 57 grams of sugar.  Interestingly, the Oreo option has the same amount of calories with one less gram of sugar and one more gram of fat.  Amazing!  If you HAVE to get one of these, I would opt for the Berry option (320 calories, 48 sugars and 7 fat), but really it would be best if you skipped this all together.

Declare your Independence from Snack Food

I love snacks... love love love snacks.  Candy, cookies, chips, popcorn, ice cream... all of it.  I've been struggling to keep my snacking on the healthy side and I came across a great article this week from Lisa Cain, PhD aka Snack Girl.  Her article, titled: Evidence That Junk Food Snacking Will Shorten Your Life, covered a study done by the University of North Carolina on various rats and the effects of snacking.  (Let me say that I am not a fan of animal testing, but when they just get to each junk food all day, that sounds like animal heaven.  But seriously, please don't holler at me for the rats.. not my study.. just sharing the info...so now that that is over, lets move on.)  The study showed that when allowed, the rats would overeat not only their snack food but their regular meals as well.  Additionally, it appears that when they started snacking, they couldn't stop.  I'll leave you to review the post yourself but will highlight the following:

"Snacks are not the enemy. They are very convenient and portable- the danger is consuming too many of the bad ones. Many packaged snacks are high in salt, fat and trans-fat, and low in fiber."

In a similar article (Kids Snacking Too Much), also regarding a study done at the University of North Carolina, we learn that over a 30 year period, children are more and more likely to be snack addicts.  The caloric intake of snacks in children's diets increased by 168 calories from 1977 to 2006 and that now 27% of children's calories come from snacks.  Barry M. Popkin, PhD said the following:

"Such findings raise concerns that more children in the United States are moving toward a dysfunctional eating pattern, one that can lead to unhealthy weight gain and obesity."

Then I come across an article, in an actual print version of Men's Health that we have at our home, that talks about "6 formerly forbidden snacks that are actually good for you".  Jackpot, right?  Wrong.  This article proceeds to tell you that beef jerky and sour cream are good for you.  WHAT?!?!?!  I understand you can argue why these items might be better than others, which Men's Health does, but the claim that these are good for you I think is a little far fetched.  They also seem to be exploiting the smallest of good from things like chocolate and wine, and not balancing out the information with that downfalls of overindulgence in these items.  I've also been enlightened recently by Andy Bellatti (whose blog is amazing!) on some of the other falsehoods that Men's Health preaches about food and I'm happy to say that that magazine will no longer be coming into our house.

So what do I snack on now, you ask?  Carrots, cucumbers, hummus, string cheese, yogurt, berries, Buddy Fruit, individual serving bags of popcorn, and a whole bunch of other goods stuff.  I try to keep  my snacks to two a day, and aim to keep them at about 50 calories each, but they vary and usually never more than 100.  And no, that doesn't mean those 100 calorie snack packs of cookies and junk.  If you need snack packs, try to make your own. 

I've also recently found an app for that.. Crazy, huh? Everyday Health's Snack App gives you several categories of snacks to chose from and lists the calorie counts for each.  It also includes suggested exercises to help you burn off your snacks too!

Grilled Zucchini and Mushroom Sandwich

Being just back from a week long vacation, our wallet is looking a little slim.  This has prevented me from doing an all out grocery shop for this week so we have minimal food in our house.  This is pretty detrimental when your main source of food has become fresh produce and various other perishable items.  We all know that these are often the most expensive.  In my previous life (6 months ago), I would have had no problem stocking up on boxes of $0.69 macaroni and cheese and whatever frozen dinners were on sale that week.  Not anymore.

This financial and health conundrum leads me to get a little creative with the dinners I whip up from time to time.  Tonight was no exception.  I had picked up a couple zucchini (a staple at my house now), a container of baby bella mushrooms (on sale), and some hummus (on sale) during a trip to the grocer last week. Yesterday, during another quick stop to get fruits and veggies, I also grabbed some Foldit Artisan Flatbreads by Flatout (BOGO this week!).  These were just random items that I knew I would be able to use some way or another, be it by themselves or in a combination of things.

I felt a little like Mrs. Wizard in the kitchen tonight.  I started off with the plan to just saute the zucchini like I always do.  As I was cooking, I decided to take a look in the fridge for what else we might have in there.  Found the mushrooms and decided to saute these too.  Figured it would be a nice plate of veggies and fungus for dinner.  Score.  But then it happened.  As I was plating all my items I decided that it all might work well together... I spotted the Foldit Flatbreads on the counter and the hummus in the refrigerator entered my brain.

Here's what you need and what to do with it:

1 medium sized zucchini  - washed and sliced
2 Foldit Artisan Flatbreads (I used the Rosemary & Olive Oil flavor)
4 oz Baby Bella Mushrooms
4 tablespoons hummus (any flavor - I used plain)
Olive Oil to saute
Garlic salt
Italian Seasoning
Parmesan Cheese (the grated kind is find, such as Kraft)
Paprika


Add approximately 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a pan on medium heat.  Once warm, add zucchini slices flat on the bottom of the pan.  Lightly sprinkle with garlic salt, Italian seasoning and cheese.  Saute for about 5 minutes on one side.  Flip slices over and repeat.  Once done to your liking (I leave them in until the cheese gets a little brown on one side), remove from pan individually leaving any remaining oil and seasoning in the bottom of the pan.  Add mushrooms and saute until done.  Remove from pan.  Lay out bread.  Cover each slice with 2 tablespoons of hummus.  Sprinkle each piece lightly with paprika.  Top hummus with a layer of zucchini and then a layer of mushrooms using equal amounts on each piece of bread.  Fold bread and Enjoy!

As always, play with this recipe.  Find out what you like.  Try with different flavors of hummus or different flavors of flatbread.  I was thinking this might also be amazing with some added sauteed onions and/or peppers.   Let me know if you try it out and what combos you use!

(Sorry I don't have a photo for you on this one... I didn't expect it to be blog-worthy.  Next time I make this, I'll be sure to update :)

Scary Truth About Movie Theater Snacks [infographic]

Review this before you head out to go see Green Lantern this weekend.... make smart choices!  Or do what I do and sneak in a bottle of water and a snack bag of baby carrots (this works for girls with purses/bags/pocketbooks.. and don't tell anyone I told you that!) or have a big salad before you go!  Our local theatre will also provide us with cups for water from the drinking fountain at no charge.

Full story and infographic here:  Scary Truth About Movie Theater Snacks [infographic]

Homemade Clif Bars

As mentioned, my plan for this weekend was try try out the homemade Clif Bar recipe from Camilla Saulsbury's personal blog,  Enlightened Cooking.  Wel, I did it and they are excellent!  Camilla's recipe was so easy and so quick that I can't believe I waited this long... oh and on top of that, the bars are super yummy.

Of course, there are a few things I will mention about my version.  Partly because Camilla has left the recipe a little open ended with various options for fruit and nut combination, partly because I couldn't find one of the ingredients and of course, typical me, I picked up one of the wrong items.

Start with Camilla's Recipe for Homemade Clif Bars that can be found here.
I used the following specifications and variations:

Nut Butter:  I used Maranatha Natural Foods Crunchy Almond Butter (No Stir)
Fruit: I used dried cherries that I picked up at our local Fresh Market
Chopped Nuts: I used almonds
Syrup: I look at both Fresh Market and Publix and was unable to locate Brown Rice Syrup.  So I did a little online research and came across a few options.  I decided to go with 1/3 cup of light corn syrup plus 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.  I think it worked.  After I made this substitution, I found the Cook's Thesaurus website that lists a few other options in case you can't find this product either.
Oh and my mistake was that instead of getting ground flax, or flax meal, I actually ended up with flax seeds.  I could have ground them up somehow I think, but I have neither a food processor or a coffee grinder, and was honestly a little lazy about it - so in went the whole flax seeds.

I'm still not sure if the cost of all the ingredients totals an actual save vs. purchasing actual Clif Bars.  I think the cost of the almond butter is what I'm stuck on.  I got an 12 oz container so that will only make three batches and the container cost just under $8.00.  Add in the cost of the dried fruit and the nuts and really, like I said, is it cheaper?  I would have to do the math and break it all down to find out (still pretty sure it is cheaper, the that almond butter was super pricey!).  I imagine that if I used peanut butter (a variation that is listed in the recipe) and peanuts that the cost wouldn't be as significant.  I will more than likely try that in the very near future.  For now, I have 11 little homemade Clif-like snack bars that were fun to make and super tasty.

Also, do check out Camilla's blog as she offer several other recipes for varies types of bars: energy bars, snack bars, power bars etc etc.   I'm looking forward to trying some other varieties as well.  Enjoy!!