The Fairgrounds Racecourse dishes up a heaping bowl of traditional New Orleans bread pudding.  No fruit other than raisins, no chocolate, no frills:  straightforward, custardy goodness, topped with rum sauce.

It’s just the thing to chase a corned beef sandwich dressed with Gulden’s mustard…or a dozen raw at the open-air paddock oyster bar.

Speaking of the open-air paddock oyster bar, it certainly deserved to be on Times-Picayune food critic Brett Anderson’s list of “favorite oyster bars”.  Perhaps Mr. Anderson isn’t a racing fan….or maybe he’s allergic to horses.  In any event, it’s hard to beat slurping down oysters while picking out a pony.  Within 15 feet, a patron can lay a bet, buy a bloody mary and a dozen oysters, and watch a football game on an overhead TV, all while enjoying 68-degree weather.

- 30/11/2009, Barcelona, Spain – Pickle for gourmets, a renewed concept by EDV Packaging. EDV Packaging and Riviana Foods Pty. Ltd., a leading company in the food industry in Australia, have developped an innovative cup for the ready-to-eat pickled vegetables range Antipasto to go.

Always Fresh, a most successful Australian food brand and a committed innovator to food-conscious consumers, trusted EDV Packaging’s experience and leading position and the quality and reliability of their cups to launch the new Antipasto to go range to be served as a snack, appetizer, starter or side dish.

An all-purpose low weight cup

EDV Packaging coextrudes and thermoforms the PP/EVOH/PP transparent structure in its production plants in Llinars del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain. Thanks to the high resistance polypropylene based five-layer structure such properties as barrier to oxygen, to moisture and to UV light are totally guaranteed. When storing the product at ambient temperature, its preservation can be extended to 6 months after the packaging date.

The little bowl holds a 120 g portion of the pickled vegetables snack and its round shape fits perfectly the palm of consumer’s hand thus becoming easily portable. Its completely smooth walls allow all the content to be removed easily. In addition, it can be microwaved.

The cup has been hermetically thermosealed using a transparent high-quality peelable plastic film. It has been decorated with a translucent injected rigid overcap which allows recloseability and storage. The presentation is completed with a decorated high quality carton sleeve.

All together, the pack has a significant on-shelf presence and is eye-catching from any side of the supermarket shelves. Undoubtfully, it offers an ideal alternative to food-conscious consumers looking for healthy high-quality products that are environmentally friendly. The quality and the characteristics of EDV Packaging plastic materials enable the cup to be 100% recyclable and its low weight and high resistance enhance the food package to be very safe, efficient and unbreakable.

You can download the press release in .pdf format in the following link: Pickle for gourmets, a renewed concept by EDV Packaging.

About EDV Packaging

EDV Packaging is a leading company in solutions of rigid barrier plastic packaging for the food industry around the world. Having more than 30 years of experience in barrier packaging for food preservation, EDV Packaging invests more than 3% of its sales in R&D&I, exports more than 75% of its production and is the supplier of many prestigious food companies worldwide. The company has its head office and production plants in Llinars del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain, and three commercial offices in Australia, United States and Singapore.

More information

If you would like more information about EDV Packaging, please send an e-mail to edvpackaging@edvpackaging.com; write to EDV Packaging Solutions, SLU; Av. del Mogent, 82; Pol. Ind. El Mogent; 08450 Llinars del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; tel. +34 938 427 000; fax +34 938 412 465; or visit our website http://www.edvpackaging.com.

Shooo girls, I can’t believe that i’m already heading back to school in just a few hours! I’ve had such a relaxing week, and couldn’t have asked for a better time with my fam and friends.

Let me sum it up in just a few words, since i’ve got lots of food to share (finally, right??).

So I enjoyed plenty of good food, New Moon (team Edward!!!, but was def feelin’ Jacob after that haircut…ooooh la la), snugglin’ with ginny poo (my dog), glee & cooking with my mama, a meditteranean feast out with my dad and brothers, nail paintin’, just a tiny bit of homework, coffee and lots of laughs. Loved it!

But now, without further ado-the food.

Had to satisfy a craving…

…with a Tofu Stir Fry (made with some olive oil, mushrooms, broccoli, onion, garlic, dash seasoning, a bit of Bragg’s, tj’s chile sauce) and ch-ch-cheetahs! With lots of ketchup. Very necessary.

and a fuji

new bowls (!)

love anthro.

my new favorite cereal in my new favorite bowl.

365 Honey Crunches & Oats cereal + almond milk + vanilla protein powder

mmmm best. dessert. ever.

A warmed La Tortilla Factory Wrap w/ melty sunflower seed butter, carob chips and a “baked” pear all stuffed inside.

gloriousssss

A blog-worthy breakfast….

X 2!! Obvs.

Vegan Pumpkin French Toast!! My mom and I followed the recipe to a tee, except subbing sunflower seed butter for agave. The warmed apples make this recipe, especially when topped with sunflower seed butter! Please, try this.

Lunch…

if you can't tell...that's GLEE in the background.

This wrap of grilled deliciousness was filled with hummus, bbq sauce, a Dr. P’s Tex Mex burger, mustard, onion & spinach! With a side of those FSTG Lime Chips; so GOOD.

just some frozen berries. lunch dessert

And a fab, new dinner…

salad + annie's honey mustard

sorry, icky lighting!

Spaghetti Squash! With lots of tomato sauce, some meatless meatballs and sauteed mushrooms, garlic and broccoli thrown into the mix. J’adore!

But you can’t have “pasta” without some garlic bread….

toasted sandwich thin + garlic & butta

Dessert…

another new fave.

New love: cocoa powder + greek yogurt + stevia! Tried first with a “baked” pear, some crushed grahams, cinnamon and almond butter.

Another classic breakfast:

overnight oats!

but with an added, magical ingredient…

SILK NOG! gah!! so glad it's back. its sweet, egg nog-y and perfect.

Overnight: 1/2 a cup oats, 1/2 a cup water, a few splashes of Silk Egg Nog, 1/2 a sliced banana, cinnamon, 1/2 a cup oikos and stevia (you must go out and buy THE NOG, immediately)…

Added in the morning: a few more splashes of Silk Nog, cinn and almond butter!!

And now, i’m currently enjoying a cup of coffee

w/ soy milk, stevia & pumpkin spice

Although Thanksgiving’s dinner (and several others) went unpictured, know that it was delicious and thoroughly enjoyed! I was all ova the vegan mashed potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts and my mom’s butternut squash casserole, as promised. But in a few hours, I’m actually heading back to school!

The next twenty days will be filled with 5 final exams, 2 papers, plenty of review sessions…lots of christmas music, blog reading, and movies…to keep me sane, of course! And since classes end next Wednesday i’ll have my fill of stressful, busy days….and days with little to do. Can’t wait (note the sarcasm). Wish me luck!! Love you all, and “see” you in a few weeks!!

But I must ask, before I go: What is on your Christmas list, this year?? I may or may not an iphone in mind….XOXO

-Jess

Apple Pudding with Oatmeal Crisp Top

★Time: 3 hours
★Prep Time: 15 minutes
★Serves: 8-10
★Calories: 560

Ingredients

♥ 3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
♥ 20 ounces pineapple tidbits, drained well.
♥ 1/4 cup orange marmalade
♥ 1/4 cup butterscotch sundae sauce
♥ 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
♥ 14 ounces, sweetened condensed milk
♥ 2 (12 ounce) cans evaporated milk
♥ 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
♥ 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
♥ 1/3 cup bisquick baking mix
OATMEAL CRISP TOPPING;;
♥ 1/4 cup bisquick baking mix
♥ 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
♥ 1/3 cup oatmeal (rolled oats is fine)
♥ 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

• In your slow cooker, place the apples and pineapples.
• To the fruit, add the orange marmalade and the butterscotch topping; mix to coat well.
• In a medium bowl beat with an electric beater the softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth.
• To the cream cheese mixture, add the evaporated milk, cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoons cloves, and  1/3 cup bisquick mix and beat till mixed well.
• Pour this mixture over the fruit mixture in the slow cooker and stir.
• Put your slow cooker on high for 2 1/2 hours.
• While the crock pot is doing it’s thing, heat your oven to 350 degrees F, and mix together all ingredients for the oatmeal crisp topping in a medium bowl.
• Pour out the oatmeal mixture into the center of a parchment lined baking sheet (the parchment is important because the oatmeal topping is very hard to get off the baking sheet later without it).
• Spread the mixture out thinly into about an 8 or 9 inch circle in the center of the pan (make sure it’s in the center, because it will spread as it bakes).
• Bake the oatmeal mixture for about 8-10 minutes (watch it closely so it does not burn).
• Let the oatmeal topping cool completely before touching it (it will be soft while it is hot, but cools into a crisp, lacy topping).
• After completely cool, use parchment to pick it up; then break or crumble it into small pieces.
• Store the oatmeal topping in an airtight container.
• After 2 1/2 hours when the pudding is done, stir it well and serve in the individual dishes with whipped cream and the oatmeal crisp sprinkled on top.

Friday, the hubby was scheduled to play some golf with my uncle and a few other guys.  So, we weren’t exactly sure what was on tap for the girls. But I started the day off with breakfast.

*I’ll preface the post by saying that I unfortunately didn’t have my camera around today to take photos of my eats, Sorry!*

Breakfast – Some delicious coffee and kashi cereal with a banana – (226 cal)

Kashi w/ banana

This year, I had no intention of heading out to the stores on Black Friday.  I know it would be a zoo and just didn’t want to deal with that.  However, my sister decided she wants to buy a new TV, so she and my uncle headed out to find a hot deal.  Unfortunately, the one she was after was already sold out.  They tried a few more stores, but no luck.   After they got back, my aunt wanted to take my little cousins to get some shoes, so we all went to Target.  We probably spent 2 hours there.  I found some great deals.  I got me some new clothes and even did a little Christmas shopping for the family.  So, it was a super productive trip. 

Hello Kitty Toaster

Me and my sister LOVE hello kitty…some weird obsession I know, but how could you not think this is awesome.  I bought this hello kitty toaster for my sister.  It imprints hello kitty’s face on your toast!  Sweet.  I kind of want it for myself too.  After Target, we headed over to Chick-fil-a for some lunch.

Lunch – Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich with a small coke zero.  I left 1/2 the bun. (210 cal)

After lunch we drove over to Kohl’s for a little more shopping and I bought a new pair of workout pants which were on sale – Score!  We probably spent another 1.5 hours there and then headed back to my aunt’s house to hang out and wait for the boys to be done with their golf game.  We also hung out with my little cousins and watched a little sponge bob.

Snacks -  While we were hanging out with the house, we snacked on some pie from Thanksgiving.  I had a little bit of the blueberry cobbler and a bit of the pecan pie. (approx 252 cal)

Blueberry Cobbler & Pecan Pie

Dinner -  We had planned on leaving right after the hubby played golf, but then decided to have dinner with my aunt/uncle/cousins and another couple.  We ended up eating Chinese at a place called Leahn’s Chinese Restaurant and it was yummy.  It has been ages since I’ve had Chinese food.  I ordered the hot and sour soup and veggie spring rolls.  I only had 1/2 of one egg roll and all of my soup.  I also ate a ton of the chow mein noodles on the table before our meal. I’m not sure how many I ate, but it was a good amount.  (approx 537 cal). 

After dinner we said our goodbye’s and parted ways for out 2.5 hour journey back to Tampa.  It was really a great holiday and a lot of fun to see our little cousins. 

Workout: Shopping was our exercise today…I thought we might have the chance to walk the neighborhood first thing, but that didn’t happen.  So, no workout today. Just shopping.

Calories: Approx. 1225 cal

Peace out.

Hey all, can you believe the weekend is over?! Wow, time flies. Today was a bit random.. Im just putting up a few pics I snapped here and there. I was more interested in being outside in the lovely 75* weather today than eating.. but I did that to!!

Breakfast this morning was a bowl of oatbran with a lil cinnamon and some nanner slices. I’m still on the fence about which I enjoy more.. Oatbran or Oatmeal!? Any thoughts?

Of, course random snack plates/bowls were thrown in there for good measure..

I ate the whole fuyu persimmon like an apple.. sooo good! Im sad they are going out of season..

steamed brussels (yup I consider them a snack), raisins and some farmers market carrots!

A lara, of course!

Yesterday, I  had a package on my doorstep from the lovely Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers. She sent me an abundance of apple and pear crisps that I had won!

They are addicting.. I inhaled a bag of Fuji’s in approx 3 seconds! Thanks, Julie!!!

“Linner” was my usual standby. I apologize if you are getting sick of seeing sweet potatoes but they are my fav. Every time I visit the farmers market (which is weekly) I pick up a bunch! Here they are roasting away…

Steamed kale…

Finished product (with a scoop of refried beans and an Ezek.)

Hub was more adventurous and made a ton two quessadillas…

Tad charred.. but they are always better that way anyways!

Sweet taters and beans.. yum!

A lil vino..

After din, I made some blueberry scones for some friends of ours who just had a baby. Although, I couldn’t sample these guys, the house smelled AMAZING!! Yum!

Enjoy your evening.. its back to the grind in no time! ; )

Crisp Fruit Chips

★Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
★Prep Time: 5 minutes
★Serves: 2
★Calories: 116

Ingredients

♥ 2 cups fresh fruit (unpeeled pears or apples sliced lengthwise, or peeled and uncored pinapples)
♥ 1/2 cup icing sugar

Directions

• Using a mandolin slicer (inexpensive Japanese versions are available in most kitchen supply stores), very thinly slice your favorite fruits.
• Arrange slices in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet; sprinkle with icing sugar.
• Top with another sheet of parchment and another baking sheet.
• Dry in 225 degrees F (110 degrees C) oven for 45 minutes. Remove top baking sheet and top layer of parchment; continue drying in the over for at least another 45 minutes,  until crisp. The more moist the fruit the longer it will take to dry.
• Let cool completely; store in an airtight container.

Angel Meringue Bites

★Time: 35 minutes
★Prep Time: 20 minutes
★Serves: 5

Ingredients

♥ 5 egg whites
♥ 1/3 cup splenda granular
♥ 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
♥ 1 pinch salt
FILLING SUGGESTIONS;;
♥ nutella
♥ jam
♥ frosting (any flavor)
♥ chocolate ganache

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Lightly oil a baking sheet and set aside.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, whip egg whites until frothy (you can use your electric mixer on high or a wire whisk).
• Add splenda, vanilla and salt.
• Mix on high speed until stiff peaks form (about 20 to 30 seconds, longer if using whisk).
• Spoon rounded tablespoons of egg whites onto prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from pan. Cool.
• To assemble meringues:
• Just before serving, sandwich Angel Bites with filling of choice by spreading the filling on the bottom of one cookie and topping with another.

Andagi (Okinawa Doughnuts)

★Time: 1 hour
★Prep Time: 30 minutes
★Serves: 40-50

Ingredients

♥ 4 cups flour
♥ 1/2 teaspoon salt
♥ 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
♥ 4 teaspoons baking powder
♥ 1 cup milk
♥ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
♥ 4 cups vegetable oil (for frying)

Directions

• Sift dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, and salt).
• Mix dry ingredients with sugar.
• Beat eggs and mix with milk and vanilla.
• Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix well.
• Heat oil in deep pan to 350 degrees F.
• Use a small ice cream scoop and drop the batter into hot oil. The temperature of the oil is hard to explain because any good cook will know that if it’s too hot, your andagi will be burnt on the outside and undercooked on the inside. If the oil is not hot enough, the andagi will be cooked bu oily. The andagi should be golden to light brown when done, about 6-8 minutes.

Amazing Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownies

★Time: 50 minutes
★Prep Time: 15 minutes
★Serves: 25 bars

Ingredients

♥ 3/4 cup melted butter
♥ 1 cup peanut butter (can use a little more)
♥ 1 cup white sugar
♥ 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
♥ 2 teaspoons vanilla
♥ 4 large eggs
♥ 1 1/2 cups flour
♥ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
♥ 1/2 teaspoon salt
♥ 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (can substitute walnuts or chopped peanuts

Directions

• Set oven to 350 degrees F (set oven rack to second lowest position).
• Grease an 11 in x 7 in baking pan.
• In a large microwave safe bowl melt the butter.
• Whisk in both sugars, vanilla and peanut butter until well combined.
• Add in eggs; whisk/mix until completely combined.
• In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the butter mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until combined.
• Add in chocolate chips or nuts (or use 3/4 cup of both!).
• Transfer to the baking pan and spread out with a spoon.
• Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the bars test done.

Gorgonzolabollar rullade i pepparkakssmulor – italiensk grönmögelost formade till små delikata bollar rullade i smulade mandelpepparkakor.

Mögelost & pepparkaka – salt möter sött, krämigt möter krisp. Gorgonzolan är dessutom mögelostarnas Rolls-Royce. Gorgonzola är skyddad av italienska ursprungsmärkningen DOP, Denominazione di Origine Protetta.

ca 12 st

Ingredienser
100 g gorgonzola
3-5 st mandelpepparkakor

Ingredienser
100 g gorgonzola
3-4 st mandelpepparkakor

Beskrivning
Krossa pepparkakorna i en mortel. Forma gorgonzola till små runda bollar och rulla dem i pepparkakssmulet. Ställ in gorgonzolabollarna i kylen till servering.

Etiketter: mat, recept, snacks, gorgonzolabollar, gorgonzola, julrecept, pepparkakor, mögelost.

Almondina makes “a delicious cookie without the guilt”. How without the guilt you ask? Well, there are no preservatives, artificial flavors/colors, no added fat or salt, are all natural, and relatively low in fat and calories. They are crispy biscotti-like cookies, and come in several flavors- Original, Choco-nut, Cinnaroma, Gingerspice, AlmonDuo, Anniversary, BranTreats, Sesame, Pumpkin Spice, and Chocolate Dipped. All of them sound delectable!
I was fortunate enough to try, courtesy of Almondina Company, the Choconut, Pumpkin Spice, and Sesame flavors.

Each of these “biscuit-cookies” are about as long as your finger and wide as two fingers put together. They are crispy and crunchy, which I give credit to the “no added fat” aspect of the recipe.

Sesame- these were different- normally I’m not a sesame person, but these were enjoyable. My mom certainly enjoyed them, she kept bugging me for more after i gave her one (does the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie… ring a bell to anyone?? ). They had SOOOO many sesame seeds- so if you like sesame, definitely try this cookie! It wasn’t as sweet as the other ones, but it was good with some lemon/herbal tea.

Choconut- Chocolate lovers-rejoice! these had a deep brown chocolate color to them. They were mildly sweet and definietely hard and crunchy, except for the spots filled with raisins. Those were nice & chewy, and it provided a nice relief to the crunch. It had a very good chocolate flavor and a LOT of almonds. Bursting with almonds even (the cookie is 20% almonds). It was fresh and flavorful, and I got my chocolate fix.  I also spread it some peanut butter on it- delish!

Pumpkin Spice- yuumm. Brings all the flavors of fall into a cookie. It had a nice nutmeg/cinnamon after taste, alongside a sweet and pumpkin-y flavor. Once again, the cookie is packed with almonds and pumpkin seeds. Very satisfying, and paired well with some vanilla yogurt

Overall, these are pretty good. I like how you get 4 of the cookies in a serving, for about 130 calories and not too much fat or sugar. I’m giving them 4 stars overall (5 stars to the choconut flavor-yum!).Almonds are definietely the dominant ingredient, and they don’t scrimp on them in the cookie! I think they are best when paired with something soothing, like yogurt, tea, or icecream to cancel out some of the CRUNCH. I’d like to try the cinnamon  and chocolate dipped varieties as well  I’d also be interested if they ever made a variety without all the almonds or nuts, but rather a “plain” cookie, like sugar flavored or something. I’ll keep an eye out!

Sesame- 4 cookies is 138 calories, 4.8 grams of fat, 20.7 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, and 3 grams of protein.
Choconut- 4 cookies is 133 calories, 3.6 grams of fat,22 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of fiber, and 3 grams of protein.
Pumpkin Spice- 4 cookies is 120.5 calories, 5.3 grams of fat, 14.8 grams of carbohydrates, 1.4 grams of fiber, and 3.5 grams of protein.

Sesame-Sesame Seeds, Flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour), Sugar, Egg Whites, Almonds, Raisins, Natural Flavors
Choconut- Almonds, Flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour), Sugar, Egg Whites, Raisins, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Powder, Natural Flavors.
Pumpkin Spice-Almonds, Flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour), Sugar, Egg Whites, Pumpkin Seeds, Pumpkin Spice, Natural Flavors

DONT FORGET ABOUT THE HOLEY DONUTS! and CASH giveaway! Just pop em an e-mail with my blog name/website in the subject line, and win some donuts and 150$ cash! All rules and entries are HERE!

Amazing Chocolate Crunch Cookies

★Time: 40 minutes
★Prep Time: 30 minutes
★Serves: 40 cookies
★Calories: 178

Ingredients

♥ 2 1/2 cups oatmeal
♥ 1 cup butter
♥ 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
♥ 1/2 cup white sugar
♥ 2 large eggs
♥ 1 teaspoon vanilla
♥ 1 1/2 cups white flour
♥ 1/2 teaspoon salt
♥ 1 teaspoon baking powder
♥ 1 teaspoon baking soda
♥ 12 ounces hershey’s miniature semisweet chocolate chips
♥ 2 ounces baker unsweetened chocolate (shave with a potato peeler)
♥ 1 cup of finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions

• Preheat Oven to 375 degrees F.
• Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder.
• Cream the butter and both sugars.
• Add eggs and vanilla.
• Mix together with the flours, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
• Add chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate that has been shaved with a potato peeler.
• Add finely chopped nuts.
• Roll in balls about 2 tablespoons in each ball.
• Place balls on a lightly greased cookie sheet or place parchment paper on a sheet.
• Flatten balls with a fork or with palm of hands (dough is firm), cookies should be 2 inchs apart.
• Bake 10-12 minutes in oven.
• Cool on rack.
• Freezes well.

Amazing Chocolate Chunk Cookies

★Time: 15 minutes
★Prep Time: 15 minutes
★Serves: 60-72 cookies
★Calories: 185

Ingredients

♥ 2/4 cup softened butter, no substitutes
♥ 3/4 cup shortening (I use butter flavored)
♥ 1/2 cup sugar
♥ 2 cups packed light brown sugar
♥ 2 large eggs
♥ 2 tablespoons vanilla
♥ 4 cups flour
♥ 2 teaspoons baking soda
♥ 1 teaspoon salt
♥ 6 ounces white baking chocolate, divided
♥ 3 cups semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions

• Melt 3 squares or 3 ounces of white chocolate according to package directions, set aside.
• Cream together the butter and shortening by hand.
• Add the sugars and cream together.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
• Stir in the melted white chocolate and vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Dough will be stiff.
• Stir in chocolate chunks.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Shape dough into tablespoonfuls and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Don’t over bake!
• Let cool on sheet 204 minutes before removing to wire racks.
• Melt remaining white chocolate. Drizzle over cookies using a fork. Cookies may be frozen up to 3 months after completely cooled.

Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

★Time: 27 minutes
★Prep Time: 15 minutes
★Serves: 20 bars
★Calories: 250

Ingredients

♥ 1 cup shortneing
♥ 3/4 cup brown sugar
♥ 3/4 cup white sugar
♥ 2 eggs, beaten
♥ 1 teaspoon vanilla
♥ 1/2 teaspoon water
♥ 2 1/4 cups flours
♥ 1 teaspoon baking soda
♥ 1 teaspoon salt
♥ 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cream together the first four ingredients.
• Add the next 5 ingredients, and mix. DO NOT ADD THE CHOCOLATE CHIPS.
• Spray 13 in x 9 in pan.
• Push mixture into the bottom of the pan and pour the chocolate chips over in entirely. Place the pan into the oven for 5 minutes, then take the bars out and the chips should be soft.
• Swirl the chips into the dough so you cannot tell they were ever chips.
• Place the pan back into the oven for 7 minutes.

Almond Strawberry Bars

★Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
★Prep Time: 20 minutes
★Serves: 36 bars

Ingredients

CRUMB MIXTURE;;
♥ 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
♥ 1/2 cup butter
♥ 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
TOPPING;;
♥ 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
♥ 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
♥ 1/4 cup butter, softened
♥ 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
FILLING;;
♥ 3/4 cup strawberry preserves
GLAZE;;
♥ 1/2 cup powdered sugar
♥ 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
♥ 1/2 teaspoon milk

Directions

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (1 to 2 minutes).
• Press on bottom of greased and floured 8 inch square baking pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
• Meanwhile, combine all topping ingredients except preserves in same bowl.
• Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed (1 to 2 minutes); set aside.
• Spread preserves to within 1/8 inch from edge of hot, prtially baked crust; sprinkle with topping.
• Continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes or until eddges are lightly browned.
• Cool completely.
• Combine powdered sugar and almond extract in a small bowl.
• Stir in enough milk for desired glazing consistency.
• Drizzle glaze over bars.
• Continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
• Cool completely.
• Combine powdered sugar and almond extract in

Happy Sunday-Funday!! With the weather getting colder and colder by the day I thought it was quite appropriate to post about popcorn.  Chances are all of us will, at least once this winter season, stay inside to watch a movie and eat popcorn.  OR…you could make a big bowl of popcorn to snack on while you watch the games today!  We love popcorn! Yum!

For all of the recipes below, use 1 – 2 bags of microwavable, unsalted or lightly salted popcorn.  It is okay if the popcorn has butter on it, but you might want that light as well.  Add any amount of the seasoning mix to the popped bag of popcorn and shake well.  Then serve in a bowl.  The great thing about these popcorn seasoning mixes is that you could definitely also use the extra as a rub on various meats (chicken, steak, or pork especially) later on…just make sure to store extras in an airtight container!

South of the Border Popcorn:
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne

Lemon-Dill Popcorn:
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon dill weed, dried

Cheese Pizza Popcorn:
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup parmesan cheese

Garlic and Herb Popcorn:
1 teaspoon each of: dried sage, fennel, marjoram, thyme, basil, summer savory, and rosemary
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Lemon-Pepper Popcorn:
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika

On the Sweeter Side Popcorn:
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Good morning! So nice that it’s still the weekend… I feel like its lasting forever- and I like that! I am definitely not ready to go back to work tomorrow…

Yesterday was another fun day with the fam. We woke up and had breakfast together. I had a scooped out whole wheat bagel with smoked salmon.

I just use a bit of cream cheese and lots of capers, onions, and smoked salmon.

After breakfast, Loren and I took a long walk (a little break from the fam) in the sun. He bought a nice winter jacket, too! I restrained myself from shopping, somehow! (OK, I didn’t see anything I liked ).

At 2 pm, we all went to see Superior Donuts, a play now on Broadway. It was fantastic- I highly recommend it to anyone visiting NYC (or living here). Very well acted, very well written. At the play, I had a handful of mixed M & M’s….

And a granola bar.

(Loren was my hand model).  When we got back to my parents hotel, I munched on some fruit that was in their fridge.

I ate a bunch of melon and pineapple.

Then we all headed out to Academia DeVino, a restaurant on the Upper East Side, for dinner. It was good- not great. But it was nice to have a big table for all of us to eat at in a kind of private space.

I ordered a Ceasar Salad, which was just OK. I didn’t eat any of the croutons, and munched on some of Loren’s vegetables- portabello mushrooms and beets.

For my entre, I ordered a grilled flat bread pizza with Soppressata (a kind of Italian sausage), red pepper sauce, and cheese.

It was good- the crust was nice and thin- but it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had. I had 3 slices and passed it on to the fam. I also had one slice of my sister’s plain pizza.

All in all, it was a pretty good day of eating. I was happy that I practiced portion control and was able to eat some of the things that I love. It’s not what you eat… it’s how much!

I woke up this morning and headed straight to the gym and felt great breaking a sweat. Now, off to one final brunch with the family! See you later!

Almond Raspberry Squares

★Time: 45 minutes
★Prep Time: 15 minutes
★Serves: 8, 16 squares

Ingredients

♥ 1/2 cup butter, softened
♥ 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
♥ 1/4 cup sugar
♥ 1 egg yolk
♥ 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
♥ 1 1/2 cups flour
♥ 3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
♥ 1 1/2 cups flour
♥ 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
♥ 1/8 teaspoon salt
♥ 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
♥ 3/4 cup sliced almonds
♥ 1/2 cup raspberry preserves

Directions

• In electric mixer, mix cream, butter, brown sugar and sugar until light, then beat in egg yolk and lemon extract.
• Measure flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder into a small bowl and stir to mix, then mix into the butter mixture.
• Stir in almonds until well mixed and crumbly.
• Grease an 8 inch square baking dish with butter, then pat half of the dough into bottom of dish.
• Measure preserves into a small dish and stir until it is of an easy spreading consistency; dump onto middle of dough in pan and spread as evenly as possible to 1/4 inch of sides of pan.
• Crumble remaining dough evenly over top, all the way to sides, then press lightly.
• Bake for about 30 minutes  in a preheated 350 degrees F oven.
• Remove from oven and cool completely if you can wait that long, then cut into sixteen squares.

Almond Raspberry Biscotti

★Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
★Prep Time: 30 minutes
★Serves: 42

Ingredients

♥ 3/4 cup brown sugar
♥ 2 large eggs
♥ 1 egg white
♥ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
♥ 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
♥ 2 teaspoons grand mariner or orange zest
♥ 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
♥ 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
♥ 1/4 teaspoon salt
♥ 1 cup dark chocolate chips
♥ 1/2 cup almonds, toasted
♥ 1/2 cup dried raspberries

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Frease and flour the baking sheet.
• In a large bowl, combine sugar and eggs. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until thick and pale yellow color. Beat in vanilla extract, almond extract and grand mariner.
• Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into the egg mixture until just blended. Mix in almond and raspberries.
• Divide dough into 2 pieces. Form into long flat loaves and place them 2 inchs apart from each other on the baking sheet.
• Combine egg white and water; brush on loaves. Bake in oven for 2 minutes. Cool on rack for 5 minutes.
• Cut the loaves diagonally into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, turn over once and bake for another 8 minutes.
• Transfer to wire rack to cool.
• Melt chocolate chips, stir until smooth. Dip each slice into the chocolate and let cool.

A pic of me and Abhishek appeared in one of the telugu newspaper yesterday… check out the link.. (bottom right of the page),

http://www.suryaonnet.com/pdf/2009/nov/29/hyd/hyderabadpage10.pdf

We had been to ‘bikanervala’ at Banjara Hills. Had been seeing the board for long and decided to checkout the place this Sat. It was in fact their inauguration day, which we weren’t aware of. The foodies that both of us are.. we asked for a taste of the mithai, and were discussing amongst ourselves about its taste and quality, which was impressive. It was fresh and delicious, not very sweet. The MD of the company saw us enjoying it and joined us in the tasting session, we tasted almost all the mithai there and it was YUM.. all of them, especially the ‘kesar kaju’ barfi , ‘Gulkand barfi’ and Kalakand. Then the owner of the company treated me for panipuri and it was one of the best in Hyderabad. Abhishek loves samosas and havent yet found a good one in Hyd, so we decided to taste that too. This time we paid for it and he loved the somosa. Seeing us both going yum yum at the somosa, the guy at the cash counter offered us another one, on the house. Haha, our tummy was bursting and were decided to skip our lunch. The best is these guys serve ‘kachori and sabzi’, a typical north India breakfast. You should go there atleast once. We plan to visit ‘bikanervala’ this weekend for a yummmy ‘kachori sabzi’ breakfast. Anybody joining us

I am impressed by their hospitality and food quality.

In order to get healthier and lose those 250 (or so) pounds, I’m going to need a plan. Plans need steps. I’m going to incorporate these steps in no certain order, but the goal is to make use of them all as often as possible. I’ll also add to these steps periodically, as I commit to more steps; updated information will be found on the page titled “The Plan.”

Step One: Healthy Snacks
I don’t snack much throughout the course of the day, but in the evening, I usually get “hungry” for something to munch on. Unfortunately, in my family (I live with my mom and young-teenage sister), evening snacks usually consist of ice cream, pudding, or something equally sweet and unhealthy, without much, if any, portion control. One of my first goals, which I intend to incorporate immediately, is to eat healthy snacks (fruits/veggies/nuts/etc.), stick to portion sizes (or less) of not-so-healthy foods, and/or skip the evening snack if I just have the munchies without actual hunger.

Tonight, for example, I ate fresh broccoli and baby carrots with about a tablespoon of light ranch dip, instead of the chocolate ice cream and Pepsi float (a childhood favorite I haven’t had in years) that’s been on my mind since my dad mentioned it on Facebook last night.

Step Two: Incorporate Physical Activity
At my size, and with my asthma, vigorous exercise isn’t feasible. Instead, I need to incorporate as much exercise as I can gradually – wall push-ups, arm raises, leg lifts, and so on – including more general physical activity throughout the day. Eventually (read: come spring, when the weather improves), I’ll incorporate going for walks outside, even if the walks are brief at first. Gradually, I will increase distance and/or speed.

Step Three: Reduce Caloric Intake
I tend to think my weight is caused more by my lack of physical activity than it is by what I eat, but my diet is certainly far from perfect. Unlike many stereotypes would have you believe, I don’t order three cheeseburgers, two fries, a soda, and a milkshake for lunch. That said, I do eat more than I should, and I often make poor meal choices, all things considered. I am going to make a conscious effort to change that, by making better food choices (more fresh foods, less fat/sugar/etc.), taking smaller servings, and only getting seconds of healthy foods, like vegetables. Rather than actually count calories (I’ve tried it several times and have never been able to stick to it), I’m going to aim for overall reduction in portions and an increase in healthy foods.

What other steps would you suggest I add?

• Make and eat mass amounts of Pumpkin Spice Roasted Chickpeas (the smell alone will hook you even before these wee beans of delight hit your tastebuds).

• Make and drink mass amounts of coffee. Okay scratch the make and just go with the drink. My mom makes the coffee. Hey, she gets up the earliest! And my recent attempt at making a pot of coffee all by myself resulted in the most watered down weak pot of sludge I’ve ever tasted. Only I could screw up a pot of coffee.

Consumption involves both the black hole hot and the foamy iced versions. Less emphasis on the ice kind since the weather’s chilly and they’re chilly and thus that makes me chilly and I’m not really down with that. Except when I’m really feeling an iced coffee, then I suck it up and put an extra sweater on.

• Make and eat slightly less mass amounts of Maple Apple Butter. With apple peach juice instead of cider because that’s all that was in my fridge. I was being resourceful!

• Make and eat mass amounts of vegetables (and wraps…and pieces of plain tofu with BBQ sauce…)

• And continue with the veg trend by making and eating mass amounts of steamed broccoli topped with marinara mixed with…What’s that? Hummus? Oh yes. Marinara + hummus, heated and eated (erm… heaten and eaten? I like to rhyme okay?) in all of its delicious creamy goodness.

• Not make but just eat mass amounts of mom’s spaghetti (“She’s nervous but on the surface she looks calm and ready…” Come on, who didn’t love 8 mile…)

• Paint my nails in hot pink shades.

• Make and eat awesome breakfasts that all involve pumpkin.
  Sometimes mixed with yogurt, Weetabix and frozen blueberries

Sometimes mixed with yogurt, clems, banana, fresh blueberries and topped with a frozen Pumpkin Pie Baby (Make them. Freeze them. Love them.)

And sometimes mixed with oats and egg whites to make a pumpkin oatmeal pancake that gets topped with jam, vanilla yogurt mixed with peanut butter, bananas and blueberries and makes for one happy tummy.

• Scarf down random “I don’t feel like writing so instead I’ll eat (and I might be a little hungry too)” snacks

• Feel a lot of numb bum from sitting for long periods of time trying to make coherent and sensical words happen on my word documents.
• Take brisk night walks, sprint to jiving tunes on the treadmill and kick numb bum’s butt with some Tae bo action in order to get some movement in my day during this school-induced stationary period of time
• And within all of that a bit of essay writing gets done. Here and there, you know…

I feel like I’ve made some progress so right now I’m chillaxin, but exams start next week and with all of the midterms, essays and assignments I’ve had constantly coming up in the last while, I haven’t cracked a textbook in ages. Meaning the relief I get from handing in my three essays this week is going to be immediately replaced by mass amount of stress and grief as I try to frantically cram studying for my three biggest exams that fall within the first three days of the exam period (Dec 10-12) into hardly one full week of time. Not so pumped.

Anywho, I think it’s time for some shut eye before another new week begins. Woop de joy. Let’s hope for a good and productive one!

Saturday morning, we woke up realitively early.  Since we didn’t get to workout yesterday, I made it a priority to do so Saturday morning.  My sister hit the gym and I hit the road for a run.

Workout:

Warm-up: 10 min

Run: 35 mins

Cool Down: 10 min walk

Today’s run was good, I felt slow, probably had to do with all of those not so good eats I had.  But I kept going and ran farther than before, so I was proud of that. After I got back from my run I jumped in the shower so we could get our day started.  Then I made me and my sister a smoothie. The hubby wanted his leftovers from last night for breakfast. 

Breakfast:

Smoothie – Unpictured (164 cal)

1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 banana

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1 Tbsp Living Harvest Hemp Protein Powder

1 tsp Hershey’s cocoa powder

My sister brought down her bicycle to ride whenever she’s in town to stay with us.  So, we headed to Target to get a bike lock for her.  But before that, we spent a good while making sure all of the tires had sufficient air.  After Target, we headed to Home Depot to pick up some light bulbs.  We were all getting hungry so we split this while we tried to figure out where we wanted to eat – Honey Graham Zbar (43 cal).

Honey Graham ZBar

We ended up at Moe’s.

Lunch:  2 “Funk Meister” tacos – 2 hardshell tacos with black beans, tofu, lettuce, pico de gallo, pickled jalepenos (352 cal). I also had some chips w/ salsa ( approx 14o cal)

When we got back home, we changed clothes and headed out on a bike ride.  We rode around town and through several neighborhoods.  We probably rode for about 2 hours.  The weather was awesome! 

Filling the tires with air

the hubby, working on the bike

 Snack:

When we got back from our ride, I snacked on these chips.  These are the target brand and they are yummy!  Target snacks rock. (140 cal)

Artichoke & Spinach Tortilla Chips

 Dinner:

Dinner was just a throw together meal with veggies and a little protein.  I was craving some veggies  – so I sauteed some mushrooms and zucchini. And threw in a deviled egg my aunt sent home with us.  Good dinner (87 cal).  I also had some more of my blueberry cobbler and added more blueberries into it.  I love blueberries.  They are such a nutritional powerhouse.  Read more about blueberries here. (140 cal)

zucchini, mushrooms and deviled egg

Blueberry Cobbler

My sister left around 7:00pm to head back home to Athens, GA.  I was so sad to see her go, but she’s coming back in a couple weeks so I won’t be sad too long.  It was a super fun trip with her here.  I love it when she’s here!  

A couple hours later, I was craving a smore, so the hubby made us one each.  Super good! (137  cal)

Smore

For the rest of the night the hubby and I worked on our computers.  He has a project due on Monday and I was trying to catch up on my blogging. Then we headed off to bed.

Plans for Sunday:

• Church
• Grocery Store
• Laundry
• Blog
• Read for bookclub

Calories: Approx 1130

Peace out.