Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Fun Whole Food Finds

by Meghann on March 25, 2009

I got quite a few new finds at Whole Foods last night. My favorite part of going to Whole Foods is actually finding new cool food related items to experiment with.

Last night I tried the Soy Delicious Ice Cream for the first time and this afternoon I decided to try some Coconut Water.

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I have been interested in trying Coconut Water since it started popping up on Jenna’s blog. She always says great things about the recovery beverage so I figured I would forfeit up the $1.50 and give it a shot.

I had high hopes especially after reading all the great benefits Coconut Water has to offer.

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Unfortunately that first sip was not appealing at all. Not one to give up on new things, I took another sip and let it sit in my mouth before gagging. Not good at all.

I decided to get a second opinion and brought the Coconut Water to a co-worker I knew was willing to try new things. Even though he made a funny face after his sip, me managed to squint and say ‘not bad.’ I left the rest of the drink in his thirsty hands and determined my experiment with Coconut Water a no go. Oh well, we can’t win them all.

Luckily I had a great back up snack of Watermelon and Almonds.

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Its amazing how well the almonds paired with the watermelon, I was eating combined bites of watermelon and almond.

After work I was on day ??? of my 30 Day Shred plan. lol I know I started on March 10 and I switch on the 10 increments… thats all that really matters, right?

I was tired and hungry, but I pushed through the 20 minutes and was ready to cook up a yummy meal using two other new finds I picked up at Whole Foods.

First up was some Tempah that even though I have had it at restaurants before, I was dying to cook with it on my own.

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I basically took a suggestion right off the package and used a 1/3 of the package in an easy stir fry.

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My Tempah Stir Fry started with some sesame oil to which I added the Tempah, Garlic, Broccoli, Carrot, Red Pepper Flakes, & Tomato and heated up until the tempah was crispy and the veggies were soft. While the veggies were cooking I made a handful of Whole Grain Noodles that I added to the veggies as well as 2 tablespoons of another new Whole Foods Find. (Last one I promise! :) )

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This Tamari Peanut Sauce was definitely a casual impulse buy, but I was sure glad I picked it. The sauce gave the stirfry a yummy peanuty flavor which was almost reminiscent of Pad Thai.

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I wanted to give the dish some crunch, but was sad to not have any peanuts on hand. Instead, I sprinkled my noodles with Pumpkin Seeds which gave me the crunch I needed.

I hate having the same dessert two nights in a row, but I could not thinking about the Soy Delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream so I caved and had a small bowl with some mini Chocolate Chips on top.

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Baker’s Spotlight…

Whitney from Whitney in Chicago has been opening everyone’s eyes in the blog world lately with her crack like granola that I have seen featured on both Andrea’s and Kath’s blogs.

Her recipe is so simple and so delish it almost inspires me to make my own… or I can just hold off on trying to bid on a batch of Whitney’s granola straight from the baker herself. The best part about bidding on Whitney’s Granola? She is going to make it completely customizable! You pick the dried fruit and nuts. Can’t beat that!

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A New Snack

by Meghann on March 25, 2009

My snack today was very unconventional for me: a hard boiled egg.

I have been wanting to revamp my daily snack and upon a little web research decided to give the good ole Hard Boiled Egg a try.

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I peeled the egg and just ate it plain. You may or may not have noticed, I’m not much of a salt fan.

My Verdict? I enjoyed the hard boiled egg as a snack. It was filling and held my hunger off just a bit longer so that i could enjoy my lunch at a reasonable honor. Now I just have to remember to prepare the eggs ahead of time I will be all set. :)

My lunch today was one of those things where I just pulled out whatever looked appealing to me in the fridge and proceeded to create from there.

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I think I got the most creative with the sandwich, I wanted a little bit of everything on in.

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Between the 2 butts of my Pumpernickle Bread I had Swiss Cheese, Mixed Sprouts, Apple Slices, Tomato, Mushroom, Banana Peppers and Pumpkin Butter.

Boy this sammy was good and sooo filling!! I LOVED the Pumpkin Butter and see it as a favorite addition to all future sandwiches from now on.

With the sammy I had a left over cup of Amy’s Low Sodium Chunky Tomato Bisque.

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I cut up the rest of the apple and added it to the soup as well. It wasn’t my favorite soup additions, but it definitely made it more interesting. :)

Baker Spotlight…

After the last Blogging Bake Sale Tami was sweet enough to send me a sample of the Whoopee Pies she had baked for the winner. They were of course wonderfully sinful and mouth watering delicious. Actually, just thinking about them makes my mouth water again.

BUT you don’t have to take my word for it! Check out Audrey’s wonderful review of Tami’s Whoopee Pies as well. She  was the highest bidder and had nothing but good things to say.

I know on April 6th Tami is preparing another drool worthy goodie and I can’t wait to watch you fight over them. ;)

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Running Thoughts

March 25, 2009

I found it really interesting last night talking to Kristen about her own experience with Team In Training. I quizzed her on the training schedule her coach kept, running partners, race experience and her approach to fund raising. I found it all fascinating. Many of you have asked how I am enjoying Team In Training more »

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