Showing posts with label new foods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new foods. Show all posts

Monday, March 1, 2010

Kumquat you say?

Posted on in , , by Chai Latté

Thank you all for your sympathies on my lack of local Kombucha :-) 
Feeling desperate, I drove to the nearest Whole Foods (which is not particularly near). Mom and I went early in the morning to avoid the hippie stampede :-) And it was perfect. A much more enjoyable experience than last time.  Of course, that means I also spent twice as much money. 

But hey, I got Kombuchas!  (boy, did I!) 

I drank the Strawberry Serenity one last time. So good! 

My super exciting discovery for this trip was Kumquats!  I knew my grandmother loved them back in the day. Other than that, the only thing I knew about Kumquats was how hilarious their name was. 
I honestly had no idea it was a citrus fruit. My mom said I'd love them. 
SHE WAS RIGHT. 
These snappy little suckers are so good! They are super tart and sour and then transform into deliciously sweet and citrusy. Strange little buggers, but definitely a new favorite for me!

Here's a little goodie montage... since it's all pretty self explanatory :-)



Plus a handful of other things. Some cheeses, paté, pineapple, chobani, labneh, party pitas, mangoes, face wash. 

After putting away my stash, I made dinner, which was more or less just a plate full of all the delicious things I just bought! :-)

(mango, mustard seed cheese, soft cheese (like brie,  I dunno the name, though!), black truffle paté, plantain chips, cracked black pepper crackers, kumquats)
The whole foods mango was by far the best mango I've had yet this year. And I've had some heavenly ones!  


I even got some FREE goodies today! My awesome Mom picked this book up for me at the local library book sale - 

It has a LOT of very great, basic information on pretty much everything nutrition/exercise/body related. I think it's awesome!


PS : I'd like you all to direct your attention to the Twitterizer over there on the side bar... because I am down to 222.4 today. Say whaaaaaat!
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Monday, February 22, 2010

Pomelo

Posted on in , by Chai Latté

Ahh, Monday again.  How does it come 'round so damn fast? 


Uneventful weekend for me.  Saturday I made some more Vitamuffins, this time chocolate chocolate chip (or, Chocochip as I like to call it) 
Brought some to training, to share.  They were tasty!

When I went to the grocery store, I saw some Pomelos, which I never have tried before. 
These suckers are huge. 

 
Compared to my hand.


Compared to an apple. 



Compared to a Corgi.

See? Huge. 
So, I crack the thing open. Which, due to the extremely thick rind... is no small task. 

 

After all that work, I taste it.. 
The damn thing is a grapefruit. 
I don't like grapefruit. Perhaps, I should have looked up the fruit info before eating it. Haha. 
Actually though, it was *slightly* tastier than a grapefruit. It was very moist and juicy, which I do appreciate. And was not quite as bitter as a grapefruit. 
Next time, I'll just let Corgi keep it!


5 refreshing comments

Monday, February 8, 2010

Ew, it's Monday again!

Posted on in , , by Chai Latté

I tried out the mini party pitas, and the green olive labneh.

First of all, look at how CUTE they are!
SO cute, I know.  Secondly, they are delicious. Softer and doughier than their larger cousins. Which I appreciate.  They felt/tasted more like a greek pita (think Gyro) and that's my favorite kind. 
The yogurt dip was unbelievable as well. I loooove green olives, so its no surprise.  This was such a good snack, and that whole plate 6 pitas, which I cut, and 3 TBS of dip equaled 170 calories. 

I also cracked open a Skyr to try. Like I said, I'd been dying to try some, ever since Andrew Zimmern featured it on his show about Iceland. 
I got this brand, because the flavors looked so heavenly.  So I tried this Acai flavor first. 
The texture was unbelievable. Even thicker than greek yogurt (if you can believe that!) 
The flavor, though... it took me a minute to get into it.  But, I had the same problem the first time I tried greek yogurt.  The bittery, sour-like flavor is much more intense with the skyr. But, it could also be the Acai flavor adding to that.  So I'll have to see when I move on to the other flavors. 
Anyway, I took one bite, and was surprised at the lack of sweetness.  I checked the ingredients, it is indeed sweetened with agave.  So I squirted an additional bit of agave in it, and enjoyed the rest. 
Once I was nearly done, I really enjoyed it.  Similar to the Kombucha, where at first it was just so different that I thought maybe it was gross, but as I continued, I rather like it! 

I am excited to try the other flavors!
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Saturday, February 6, 2010

Whole Foods = Crowded Heaven

Posted on in , , by Chai Latté

I have never been to a Whole Foods Market.  But I've been told by others how much I would love it. 
They were right. Holy bajolies. 

Crowded as hell, for one.. which I DO NOT enjoy. But, other than that.. it felt like a toy store. 
All the favorite foods, all the items I've been dying to try, and some I didn't even know existed! 
Oh heavens. 

Here's my loot! 


Let's see... from left to right - 
Ginger Syrup (say whaaaaat!?)
FOUR different Kombuchas
Raincoast Crisps - Rosemary Raisin Pecan flavor
Xanthan Gum
Green Olive Yogurt Dip
3 Mix 1's (They don't sell these flavors at my store, Key Lime & Tangerine)
Peanut Butter & Jelly Larabar (They don't sell this flavor at my store, either!)
Party Pitas (These are adorable mini sized pita pockets)
Two avocados
5 Tomatillos 
3 Flavors of Skyr. I have been DYING to try Skyr for a long time. Finally found some! 
Peach & Ginger Jam (from Stonewall Kitchen)
Whole Foods trail mix
Carob chip energy chunks
4 Oranges


Whew, that's everything! 

In the 35 minutes I have been home, I have already polished off a Peach Mango Kombucha (which was not that good. Tasty, but not as good as the kind/brand I got previously), as well as a serving of these - 

Which are absolutely as amazing as they sound. LOOK AT THIS THING. 

There are now words! 
It tasted like it was smothered in butter. SO delicious.  I can't wait to have more! 

I munched on those with some of that trail mix - 

Absolutely the best trail mix I've ever had. There's seeds, nuts, berries, raisins. No overwhelming salt or sugar stuck to it.  And look how pretty it is... that doesn't hurt! 
(Bonus to anyone who can tell me what those white thingies are. I thought they were golden raspberries, but they don't taste like it. They are gummy in texture, and slightly anise-like in flavor) 
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Monday, February 1, 2010

Falafel!

Posted on in , by Chai Latté

I have always loved saying FALAFEL!  (Oh, I just falafel!) 
Turns out, its just as fun going IN the mouth as it is coming out :-) 

I picked up some pre-made falafels (Veggie Patch brand) at Costco the other day.  So for dinner I heated the little suckers up - 


I sliced up some onions, tomatoes,  and lettuce, plopped 'em all together with a big dollop of tzaziki on a lavash.. and BAM. Falafel sammies. 

(This is Joel's, I only had 1/2 a lavash - aka - 1 serving)

(That's mine! Look how cute he is!)

This is SUCH a good, easy dish.  What I love about it is that it is something that satisfies a greasier craving.  What I mean is.. when you're eating it, it feels like a big heaping burrito or a big sub. The falafel have just enough spices and 'meatability' to them that they feel heftier than they are.  And the tzaziki is creamy and mayo like for 1/3 the calories. The crunchy veggies, and the chewy lavash... it all comes together to make a feeling of something else.   But the whole thing was less than 300 calories! 

Don't get me wrong, I love light, healthy tasting crisp foods.  But I can't say I also don't love a big, greasy diner-type meal.  And I love that this sandwich feels like both!

I had some more for lunch today, too! I cut the balls in half to really fill up 1/2 of a pita. 
DELICIOUS. 


5 refreshing comments

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Crepe date!

Posted on in , by Chai Latté

I decided to make crepes last night. I've never made crepes before, actually, I've only ever eaten crepes once before! So this was truly an experiment.   I thought it'd be nice to make a savory dinner crepe, and then a dessert crepe.  I think it was a success!

First, I made the crepes -
That took a bit of getting used to... I killed about 4 crepes before getting the flipping technique down.

Next, I plopped it on a plate and asked Joel to fill it up.  I made the filling out of whatever I could find in the fridge, which ended up being - chicken, smoked gruyere, light cream, LF butter, garlic, and thinly sliced apple. 

Then, he just folded it over, like an omelet



And I topped it with some sauce (same as the filling)



It was very, very delicious. But too heavy for me. I ate 2, which came out to 548 calories.  But it felt like about 1,200. Just, very creamy. Joel LOVED them, and had 4!  While I enjoyed my dinner, I was looking forward to dessert :) 

So I made a up a few more crepes, I filled them with fresh berries and sliced banana (and chocochips in Joels :-) ).  Topped with powdered sugar and a squirt o' whipped cream.  


Now THIS is where it's at.  I really loved this dessert. I ate 2 of these, which came out to about 170 calories, which is more my style :-) 
I have some batter left, and will most likely make this again tonight.


4 refreshing comments

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Sad sad sad

Posted on in , , , by Chai Latté

Well, I got up this morn and decided to make some Vitamuffins.

I topped half with dark chocolate mini chips, and half with chopped walnuts.


I went off to training, took 1/2 dozen with me to share. Upon arriving at said training,  my eyes fell upon the saddest sight they ever did see. 
THE SCOREBOARD.


 After  working out, I took my hurt pride on back home. When I got there, I decided to tackle this guy - 


Which I rather liked. It tasted exactly like carbonated apple cider vinegar. If your mouth can even imagine that. Now, I am ok with the pulpy floaties, however I did get something globular in one sip that felt like swallowing a baby jellyfish. 
Not cool, Kombucha. 

2 refreshing comments

Friday, January 29, 2010

Woo, Fizzy!

Posted on in , by Chai Latté

Pre-treadmill, I had a little salty snack of this stuff -
Yeah, I love that stuff. Pretty much anything pickled is fine-by-me. (don't ask about pickled pigs feet, I've never tried them.. but honestly, I'd probably love it!)

I had a whole cup of it.  Do you know how many calories are in a whole cup?  10! 
And you can prob cancel out 3 or 4 of those calories, because I pick out the red peppers. Blech! 


After treadmilling, I decided to try this healthy sucker - 


Ok, I won't deny it. This stuff is strange. But I love strange. 
Kombucha is fermented tea, and this particular flavor is ginger. 
Have you ever had sparkling apple juice? You know,  like fancy-pretend-champagne time for kids? 
Well, this is just like that!  Its VERY strong on ginger, I mean real, tangy, sour delicious fresh ginger. And its carbonated (due to the fermenting), which, despite the warning on the label, I did not expect at all.  I really liked it. I got another one too, which is just plain Kombucha with no flavor, so we'll see how that goes.  

I don't have pics of dinner, but it was just a turkey & pickle sammy, with 2 kiwi. Delicious, but not exciting enough to take pics :-)  Stay tuned though,  I have some new recipes to try out this weekend! 
2 refreshing comments

Monday, January 4, 2010

Chi-chi-chi-CHIA

Posted on in , by Chai Latté

Mmmm, I am enjoying my first smoothie with Chia seeds in it. Very good!

Chia seeds are 20% protein, 34% oil, 25% dietary fiber, chock full of anti-oxidants, with  no gluten or sodium. They are certainly a super-duper food. I've seen many a blogger toss some in their smoothies, but I hadn't tried until now.  I enjoy finding new things to incorporate into my smoothies to make them even more nutritious, rather than just low-calorie.



The only thing with these Chia seeds is that, when in water, they turn glutinous. Weird, I know. And its a good thing, they thicken up, and get softer.  The problem is,  now my smoothie is so thick, I have to eat it with a spoon instead of sipping! :-) Therefore, defeating the purpose of a smoothie! 
But that's ok. I'm not really on-the-go. So I can sit down and eat this sucker ice cream style.

And YES, Chia seeds are the very same that you use for Chia Pets.  Amazing! :-)

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