Tuesday, July 31, 2012

What I Ate Wednesday: Grocery Staples

Welcome to another edition of What I Ate Wednesday! As always, a big thanks to Jen over at Peas and Crayons for hosting the blogger party :)

Peas and Crayons

Yeaaa I know, crazy that it's AUGUST already!!! Where the heck did the summer go? Time flies when you're having fun right? And fun I always have when I go to Whole Foods or my favorite local grocery store Giant. Whole foods would definitely be my first choice, but the closest one is like 30 minutes away and always becomes a night long affair. Giant has a really great organic section, so I tend to go there often. So without further ado, here are my most recent purchases which are quickly becoming (if not already) Summer Staples....

 Better Oats Organic Raw Oats- I love these individual packets because they make it so simple for me to put together my overnight oats each night. The ingredients list is all organic and so simple: Organic whole grain rolled oats, organic barley, organic wheat, organic flaxseed, organic quinoa, organic rye, evaportaed sea salt. I definitely recommend these to anyone and everyone who enjoys oatmeal or overnight oats.


  Greens+ Chia Seeds- I use black Chia seeds in my overnight oats everyday, and these individual packets are much cheaper than buying Chia seeds in bulk. At only $1, these individual packs are good for about 4 servings of overnight oats, so I love them. (Pleasee excuse my paint covered fingers! I was painting picture frames all evening, and the paint wouldn't come off!)


 Kashi Heart to Heart- Always my go to cereal, and whenever it is on sale I always buy 2 or 3 boxes. My favorite way to eat it is with skim milk, sliced banana, and a sprinkle of truvia with a hot steaming cup of coffee.

  
 Tully's French Roast Coffee- Speaking of coffee.... I use these french roast K-cups for my Keurig in the morning to make my much needed iced coffee.

 Nature's Promise Organic Quick Oats- I ran out of my tub of organic rolled oats, and these were all that Giant had. I have used these to make my Healthy Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes recently (click here for the recipe!), and I didn't notice much of a difference. Still delicious as always :)

 Stacy's Pita Chips Simply Naked- These are new (and on sale), and since I am already obsessed with Stacy's regular pita chips, I decided to give these a try. They're really good. Similar to the regular ones but lighter and flakier.

 Alexia Sweet Potato Crispy Bite Sized Puffs- These sweet potato tater tots are sooooo delicious. All natural and soo sweet and delicious! I like to broil them for a minute at the end of cooking to crisp them up a bit.

 Adonia Greek Frozen Yogurt- My favorite dessert :) I am literally obsesseedddd with this frozen yogurt. I love the Vanilla flavor the best, but I have recently been trying other flavors as well.

 Nature's Promise Sweet Crunch Bread- I always have a tough time finding any kind of bread that doesn't have preservatives, modified corn starch, or other artificial ingredients, but this bread is all natural!! It's sweet and has 5grams of protein. A true win in my book.

 Tazo Giant Peach Tea- An all natural tea that is found in a variety of different convenient stores and grocery stores. I tried it for the first time yesterday, and it was so refreshing! Very, very sweet, but a great summer drink.

 Nature's Promise Organic Cage Free Brown Eggs- Noticing a Nature's Promise trend here...? :) It's Giant's organic brand, so I have lots of their goodies. Like I've said before, after watching Food, Inc. and reading a number of articles like this one on VegNews.com about dairy farms, I refuse to buy anything but organic, cage free eggs. I'm not really one to preach about my lifestyle choices, but after reading that article it's hard not too...

 
 La Croix Peach Pear- On to happier products... Seltzer water is a must have in my house during the summer time. La Croix has naturally flavored seltzers, and my mom just picked up this new flavor last week. It's good.. different than anything I've ever tasted, but I like it!

 Bertolli Organic Tradition Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce, 365 Mild Salsa, and Stonyfield Oikos Greek Yogurt- All staples in my fridge. I like to use the pasta sauce to eat with my Italian Quesadillas (recipe at the bottom of this post), the salsa on carrots and tortilla chips, and the yogurt for my overnight oats.

 Carrot Chips and Hummus- Whoever thought of this was a genius. I love how adorable these carrot chips are, and how convenient they are for dunking in hummus or salad dressing!

 Gazebo Room Lite Greek Salad Dressing- Loving this dressing right now. I rarely use salad dressing on my salads. Typically I just throw on globs of hummus and a quick splash of balsamic vinegar and call it a day. The other day, however, I made a Greek Farro Salad and needed greek dressing soooo ever since then I've been using it on my lunch salads!

 Sargento Light Cheese Sticks- A perfect afternoon snack for work.

 100% Pure Maple Syrup- All pure! No ifs, ands, or buts about it. This is the only kind of syrup I will use because I don't like the idea of corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup added to breakfast syrup. And honestly... why fix it if it's not broken right? Real maple syrup is so delicious as is.

 Ghiradelli 60% Cacao Chocolate Chips- Purchased for my Healthy Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes and my Healthy Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars (recipe here)....can you tell I have a little bit of a thing for dark chocolate and oatmeal baked into goodies? Some might call it an addiction... I call it heaven. And that's that ;)

Well, those are my most recent grocery purchases and summer staples... feel free to share your thoughts and opinions about the products!

I hope you all have a wonderful 1st day of August!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Pancakes for Dinner!

Yummm just the title of this post is making me want pancakes right now....!


For the past few weeks, I've had pancakes on my mind. Let me preface this with the fact that I have not ordered or made pancakes in like 3 or 4 years. They were never really my thing. I would much rather have a hearty omelet filled with veggies and cheese... that is until I saw this post and this post and then I knew that I HAD to make pancakes for dinner that night.


To make these wonderful pancakes you will need... baking soda, salt, cinnamon, skim milk, vanilla, eggs, whole wheat flour, rolled oats, flaxmeal, baking powder, brown sugar, and dark chocolate chips.



I only use cage-free, natural eggs. You probably would too if you watch the documentary Food Inc. The film literally changed my life...but I will save that for another time....where were we? PANCAKES. right. So two egg whites cracked in a bowl and whisked a bit.


Then I added about 1/2 cup of organic skim milk. I whisked that around too and then added some vanilla.



Next for the dry ingredients... I mixed together the oatmeal, whole wheat flour, flaxmeal, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt just until blended.


Then I slowly poured the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Mix well! The batter should become puffed up and bubbly because the large amount of baking powder is at work.. (make these and you will understand what I mean)


Once blended, I added about 2 teaspoons of brown sugar to taste.



Next I got my grandma's old black skillet hot and ready. (read: medium-low heat, sprayed with cooking spray).


And then I just plopped spoonfuls of the batter into the skillet and sprinkled the chocolate chips all over.



I let it cook for about 4-5minutes until bubbles started to form.



However, sometimes bubbles wouldn't show because the batter is so thick, so I would slip the spatula underneath the pancake to see how browned the bottom was before I flipped.



FLIP!


Perfect dark brown :) I then always add more choc. chips (because who doesn't love more chocolate)! Usually just a few though...


If you get brave, you can try two in a pan. (this I do not recommend. It gets very messy!!)





You gotta keep an eye on these guys after the flip, as they tend to cook rather quickly.


 Perfect!

I like to smear around the melted chocolate chips and make a super chocolate covered pancake.

Served with either pure maple syrup or frozen greek yogurt makes this an amazingggg meal!

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
1/2 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup rolled or quick oats (whichever you prefer)
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 heaping tablespoons of flaxmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons brown sugar
dark chocolate chips


Recipe:
In a small bowl whisk together the egg whites, then add the milk and the vanilla. In a separate bowl mix together the oats, flour, flaxmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Add the brown sugar to taste. Heat a skillet or frying pan to medium low heat. Spray the pan with cooking spray. Drop a spoonful of batter onto the skillet and smooth it out to be a circle using the back of a rubber spatula. Sprinkle chocolate chips all over the pancake batter in the skillet. After about 4 minutes, check the bottom of the pancake using your spatula and peaking underneath. If it looks brown, flip the pancake. Place a few more chocolate chips on the pancake. After about 2 minutes, check the bottom of the pancake and continue to check until it is a golden brown color. Place on a plate, drizzle with real maple syrup, cut, and enjoy :)

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

What I Ate Wednesday #4


Hello, and welcome to another installment of What I Ate Wednesday!! A portion of this week's WIAW will feature the mathematical operation of ADDITION, just for fun so be sure to scroll all the way throughhh!

Peas and Crayons

Every day this week started like any other...


With Strawberry Overnight Oats.Still delicious and refreshing on these hot summer mornings!


And other variations as well. Love how gorgeous Mason Jars can be!


More Healthy Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip Pancakes. So hearty and decadent! Eating these always brightens my day and puts a smile on my face :) Recipe to come I PROMISE!


Kashi Heart to Heart and skim milk sprinkled with Truvia after my 9 mile bike ride through the park by my house.


Iced Coffee as always.




Summer Time Amurricaaann Sangria! Absolutely divine. My dad and I soaked the fruit overnight in vodka. Wooooweeee. Literally like taking a baby shot with each bite of strawberry or blueberry, but still so good!


SOOO excited about this one.... my dad's friends brough us a Chocolate Mousse Cake from the famous Carlos Bakery!!!!!! Yep. The Cake Boss. Same guy. Same bakery. It was so light and fluffy and super chocolaty. This was seriously so cool.


Each week I create new meals that require a bit of cooking or assembling, but are not necessarily worthy of a post devotion. But don’t fret! One of my recent awesome….let’s call them “mini recipes” is here today in this post!

My current favorite “go-to”: Italian Veggie Quesadilla. I take part skim mozzarella, parmesan cheese, sautéed veggies (whatever’s on hand), a whole wheat organic tortilla, and some organic pasta sauce, and I have myself a scrumptious week night dinner :) 
Fresh Veggies
 +
Zucchini
  +
Red Pepper
 +
Mushrooms
+
Tortilla and Cheese
 +
Cheesy Goodness

 +
Sauteed Veggies
 +
Crusty Cheesy Quesadilla (Yes there is Parmesan crusted on the outside of the tortilla!)
  =
YUM.

That's all for now! Eat up :)

What's your favorite "mini recipe"?
Do you like breakfast for dinner?