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.

Article: Benifits of Vegetarianism

Just a quick post to share the following article from Everyday Health.

A Vegetarian Diet for Heart Health

Some quick highlights:
"Vegetarian diets boast a number of health benefits, including decreasing your risk of developing metabolic syndrome, which can put you at greater risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke"

There are also some great tips on including more veggies in your diet:

• Fill half your plate with vegetables at each meal.
• Try to get about nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
• Substitute nutrient-rich vegetables like leafy greens for nutrient-poor vegetables like potatoes.

And some great suggestions on meatless alternatives to breakfast, lunch, dinner and even snacks!

• Breakfast: Instead of bacon and eggs, try a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal topped with fresh fruit, or a whole grain English muffin spread with peanut butter.
• Lunch: Instead of a sandwich made with lunch meat, try a hearty vegetable soup and a whole-wheat burrito filled with beans.
• Dinner: Instead of spaghetti and meatballs, try bowtie pasta with roasted garlic and eggplant.
• Snacks and desserts: Get more nutrition into your day with a strawberry smoothie for a midday pick-me-up, or a watermelon blueberry banana split for dessert. 

Start by trying a meatless day one day a week.  See how you feel.  Probably won't be today since I'm sure many will be out BBQ meats and having a great 4th of July.  Lets shoot for next Monday for your first Meatless Monday!  Happy Independence Day America!  Enjoy!!

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 :)

Asian Veggie Patties

Just a quick little product review....
No joke.. these are the best!  I've been trying out various MorningStar Farms products when they go on sale at my local grocer and we've had a pack of these in the freezer for a little while.  I finally tried them out a few nights ago and they are so yummy!  Only 100 calories per patty, too!  I'm a little disappointed that the ingredient list has some random crap at the end, but overall I think a good quick, freezer friendly meat alternative.  I just microwave a patty for a minute and eat it with a bowl of steamed edamame... tada.. dinner!  The website has a handful of recipes as well.  I'll have to try some out.  If anyone else has tried the recipes or any others, let me know.... I would love your feedback!