Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Gifts from the UK

by Meghann on April 28, 2009

A couple of weeks ago a reader from the United Kingdom sent me a kind e-mail with an offer to send some fun UK treats. After months of watching Mi rave about Eat Natural Bars, of course I said yes.

As it does take quite a bit of time for packages to make it across the Atlantic, I had almost completely forgot about the e-mail exchange until I noticed a customs sticker on one of my envelopes yesterday.

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Inside was a kind card, some yummy dark chocolate, Raspberry Bites and two different Eat Natural bars.

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This afternoon I knew I had to try the Eat Natural with Almonds, Apricots and a Yoghurt Coating on for my afternoon snack.

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The ingedients were simple: yogurt, brown rice crisps, almonds & apricots. Since there wasn’t much to the bar, it was rather fragile and broke just as easily in my hand as it melted in my mouth.

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It was definitely different then any bar I’ve had, but very good. The only complaint I would have is that its very sweet almost like a white chocolate candy bar.

Thanks Sam for the wonderful gifts!!

For dinner tonight I decided to try a new WildWood product: PastaSlim.

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PastaSlim reminds me of Tofu Shirataki Noodles. They have 20 calories per serving, require no boiling time, are wheat, gluten & dairy free and are made of tofu.

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As I am not the biggest fan of spaghetti noodles for spaghetti, I had to dig into my creative thinking cap for this one and came up with an easy, yummy Shrimp Pad Thai dish.

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Shrimp Pad Thai

Ingredients

  • PastaSlim Noodle
  • Broccoli
  • Egg Whites
  • Bean Sprouts
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Carrot
  • Mushrooms
  • Shrimp

For the Sauce

  • Seseame Oil
  • Vinegar
  • Red Pepper Flakes
  • Soy Sauce
  • Honey
  • Peanut Butter
  1. Mix together the ingredients for the sauce and place to the side. I did not measure the ingredients but just kept adding various elements until it tasted right.
  2. Place a wok on high heat and drizzle some sesame oil. Stir fry the onion, garlic, broccoli, carrots and mushrooms until the vegetables are soft.
  3. Push the vegetables to one side of the woke and add about 1/2 cup of egg whites to the other. Scramble the egg whites then combine with the vegetables.
  4. Add the sauce and shrimp to the vegetables. Let the sauce thicken and wait for the shrimp to turn pink.
  5. Drain the PastaSlim noodles and add to the wok, combine until all is heated through.

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It was actually a pretty good dish. The PastaSlim noodle are not as slimy as the Tofu Shiratki Noodles and really held the Peanut Sauce rather well. The only thing this dish was missing is crushed peanut, which I forgot to add until I was almost done eating.

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At the moment my kitchen is bursting at the seem with sweets! With so many options for dessert I was overwelmed and went with an old standby: Ice Cream.

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I had 1/2 cup Edy’s Slow Churned Samoas Ice Cream wih a crumbled mini Cinnamon Twist Crumbled on top. Yum!

E-bay Help…

A really sweet reader sent me a video today she and her hottie boyfriend film while they ran their first marathon last weekend. The video was so hilarious and so inspiring it really made me want to try to capture as much of my first marathon experience as possible on film as well.

So now as an e-bay newbie I am desperately trying to get ahold of my very own Flip Camera. So far, I am not having much luck on here. Everyone keeps bidding out of my price range, I thought e-bay was suppose to be a steal?!?! Does anyone have any good tips for landing the Flip Camera of my dreams for under $50?!?!

  

{ 34 comments }

Pizza Bagels

by Meghann on April 28, 2009

“ Pizza in the morning,

Pizza in the evenin’,
Pizza at suppertime!
When pizza’s on a bagel,
You can eat pizza anytime! “

Who remembers that catchy 90s commercial? I remember every time I saw it I would beg my Mom to buy Bagel Bites, unfortunately (fortunately?) my parents were never ones to buy frozen meals or snacks so I would have to relish my Bagel Bites at friend’s houses. They were good though!

I was really craving a Pizza Bagel today and had actually been dreaming about it at work. Unfortunately when I made it to my kitchen to prepare lunch I discovered the Swiss Cheese I wanted to use was moldy and the pasta sauce had disappeared. So I did what I did best and improvised!

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I used a small Wheat Alternative Bagel then topped it with Trader Joes’s Tomato Chutney, Brie Cheese from my Long Beach Thank You Basket, Mushrooms and Jalapenos. I put the Pizza Bagels under the broiler for about 5 minutes, until the cheese was somewhat melty.

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It was good!!!! Improvising always leads to creative delicious dishes that are so fun. I love it!

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With my Pizza Bagels I had left over Steamed Kale & Apple.

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Don’t ask me why the apples turned purple. They do look pretty though.

And you can probably expect to see a serving of Trader Joe’s Peanut Butter Pretzel with every lunch until they are all gone.

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I can’t help it. They’re sooo good!!! At least I am limiting myself to one serving a day instead of downing the whole bag like the evil fat girl voice in the back of my head is telling me to do. lol

Before lunch I had a snack of a individually portioned bag of Trail Mix I had picked up at Trader Joes.

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I loved all the single packs of trail mix they sold there!! It may not be the most environmentally friendly, but its definitely convenient. :)

What are some of your favorite commercial jingles that get stuck in your head? I can sing for you both the Big Red & Doublemint commercials, no problem. As well as Kit Kat and who could forget the Mentos? :)

{ 38 comments }

Hot Apple Cereal

April 28, 2009

It truly is amazing what a solid 8 hours of sleep will get you. This morning I felt like I was back to my bubbly early morning self. I practically jumped on my bed, threw on my running shoes and was out the door all before 5:45. I really wanted this morning to be a more »

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