How to choose a grocery store requires that a great many factors be taken in to consideration. It is a fact also that different people will have different priorities in this respect. There are those for whom the location of the grocery store will be the top priority, others will consider the overall prices to be most important and others still will look to the grocery store's product range as being the prime consideration.
How to choose a grocery store is in fact about all of these points and more if the best decision is to be made. The article linked to below affords advice on how to choose a grocery store that will meet your most important requirements and ensure that you get the best out of your grocery shopping experience.
...and it isn't pine or mistletoe! But rather.......COOKIES!!!
Today I made SEVEN varieties of sweets -- some healthy, some not so healthy, but all are delicious! 214 cookies + 16 brownies later I am pooped and my house smells like the December issue of Taste of Homes looks.
Ingredients: 1 bag Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Mix
3/4 C Andes Creme de Menthe chips
Directions:
1)Preheat oven to 375 F 2)Mix together cookie mix and ingredients listed on package. Once well mixed, add in the 3/4 cup of creme de menthe. 3)Drop cookie dough by rounded Tbsp onto a ungreased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet covered in tinfoil/parchment paper. 4)Bake each batch for 9 to 11 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.
Ingredients: 1 bag Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix+ingredients listed on mix 3/4 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch chips
Directions: 1)Preheat oven to 375 F 2)Mix together cookie mix and ingredients listed on package. Once well mixed, add in the 3/4 cup of peppermint chips. 3)Drop cookie dough by rounded Tbsp onto a ungreased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet covered in tinfoil/parchment paper. 4)Bake each batch for 9 to 11 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.
Note: I could NOT (for the life of me) find Holiday Kissables, so I settled for Holiday M&M's. Also, I used Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix instead of the chocolate mix the recipe called for*.
Ingredients: 1 bag Betty Crocker Peanut Butter cookie mix* 1/3 c. (canola) oil 2 eggs 1 tub of chocolate frosting 1 bag of Hershey's Christmas Kissables
Directions: 1)Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. 2) Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute, then press your thumb into the center of each cookie. After that remove from cookie sheets. 3)Spoon some frosting into a pastry bag or a zip loc and snip the end. Pipe frosting into the indent of the cookie and top with 3 Kissables!!
A trick with the Christmas Chocolate Cheers is to use a Ziplock as a frosting gun...
Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies
Yield: 3 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
1 cup regular oats
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate minichips
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk; set aside.
Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg; beat until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Stir in pecans and minichips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.
Source: Julianna Grimes and Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2007
Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies I colored the cheesecake batter with red food coloring -- about 3 drops for a festive flare!
Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 bar)
Cheesecake batter: 1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract 1 large egg 1 large egg white 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Brownie batter: 4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup) 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar 1/4 cup canola oil 1/4 cup buttermilk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 large egg whites 1 large egg Cooking spray
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare cheesecake batter, place cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add granulated sugar and peppermint extract; beat well. Add 1 egg and 1 egg white; beat well. Add 1 tablespoon flour; beat mixture just until blended.
3. To prepare brownie batter, weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 ounces (about 1 cup) flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 4.5 ounces flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, 2 egg whites, and 1 egg in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture; beat at low speed just until blended.
4. Reserve 1/2 cup of brownie batter. Pour remaining batter into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Carefully pour cheesecake batter over top; spread evenly to edges. Dot cheesecake batter with reserved brownie batter. Swirl top two layers of batters together using the tip of a knife. Bake at 350° for 26 minutes or until top is set. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
Source: Kathy Farrell-Kingsley, Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2008
Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
2/3 c butter, softened 2/3 c firmly packed brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 ½ c old fashioned oats 1 ½ c all purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt 1 (6 oz) package dried cranberries 2/3 c white chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate mixing bowl.
Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes about 2 ½ dozen cookies.
Source: Weight Watchers (online forum)
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Yield: 3 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)
1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup canola oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 large egg whites 1 large egg 12 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 2/3 cups) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate minichips
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.
3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, stirring just until combined. Stir in minichips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on 2 baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.
Source: Kathy Farrell-Kingsley, Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2008
And only 3 hours later...my friends are the lucky recipients of THESE:
Tins filled with...
cookies! Obvi..
I taste tested all of the cookies (and brownies) and they are ALL really good!
If I had to choose a favorite it would have to be the Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I must fess up -- my morning started off on a bad note...forgetting to eat breakfast before I set out for a day of power shopping. Around 10 I gave in to a bad, bad guilty pleasure: McDonald's Sausage Egg McMuffin. 450 calories and 85% of my daily value of saturated fat later...I completed my shopping spree successfully. In my defense, I get fast food a handful of time in a calendar year, and typically it is because of instances like this morning.
Question: How often do you eat fast food? What is your "favorite" fast food restaurant (if you had to choose one)?
Husby and I are off to my work Christmas party! Hope everyone's having a wonderful weekend!
Tomorrow...the LD on this KOMBACHA everyone in blogland is yappin' about!!
Last night was the last night of my 4-week Boot Camp class. My measurements were taken on 11/16 and last night, 12/3. In that time I have lost:
0.5 inches on my thighs and hips
2.75 inches on my shoulders/bust
1.5 inches on my waist
arms stayed the same
I am pumped! While I wish more came off my hips (this is where I carry my weight), I'm really happy with the results. Three days a week for a few weeks has really made a difference.
And more good news...our new treadmill is being delivered next TUESDAY!!!!!!
I made a popular bloggie dinner last night: spaghetti squash!
I halved the squash length-wise and baked it upside down in a pan with 1/4" water in the bottom at 375 F for 35 minutes. I then flipped the squash right side up and baked an additional 30 minutes at 375 F. After cooking, the squash easily pulls out in strands (like spaghetti!).
Easy breezy!
To my spaghetti squash I added Classico Tomato Basil Marinara, nutritional yeast, Parmesan, red pepper flakes, and pine nuts. Deeeelicious!!!!
Failure. Failures, really.
In the December issue of Cooking Light, I found a recipe for cranberries I really wanted to make for the RD Christmas Party THIS afternoon -- candied cranberries, more like.
Directions: simmer cranberries in simple syrup until tender. Roll in sugar. Serve. Anyone can handle that, right? Wrong.
Lesson learned: can't be watching Bride Wars AND cranberries simoltaneously.
Of this many cranberries...
I salvaged THIS many...sad.
So, I moved on to an easy recipe my friend Katie sent me just this morning (after a speed session of grocery shopping...
Chocolate Bombs
Ingredients: 1 box chocolate cake, prepared 1 can chocolate frosting 1 bag chocolate chips 2 packages chocolate almond bark
Make cake mix as directed and let cool. Crumble cake into a large bowl and mix in frosting and chips. Roll into balls and place on a lined cookie sheet.
Melt almond bark and drizzle over balls. Cool and serve.
Disaster...
My balls didn't form, so mine are blobs. More like AFTER a bomb has exploded. Here's the final product:
I don't bake or do sweets of any kind very well...can you tell? Taste? Thumbs up! Mmm! Chocolate lovers, come in!!
I need to doll up for the party, but have a WONDERFUL Friday and start to your weekend! And seriously, the above 2 recipes are easy as pie for the average Joe...and super delicious if you're looking for something easy!!
I've found some great new blogs to read, enjoy, and learn from this weekend. I haven't "gotten out there" in the blog world due to limited time at the computer. Well, more like a lack of down time. So, check out some new blogs per my recommendation, why don't ya!?
And on the topic of reading...Hedge Fund Wives by Tatiana Boncompagni is HILARIOUS! I'm only a few chapters in and am thoroughly enjoying it! Thank you, KG for the rec! Glad I asked for rec's!! : )
I went to Akins Health Foods Store after my FIRST hockey game today. Other than Zevia's price increase and the discontinued pumpkin apricot butter I'm obsessed with in my oats, it was a successful venture. As always. Check out the loot:
Going from left to right: organic quinoa, organic low-sodium chicken broth, organic almond granola, Terra Chips x 2, Tasty Thai organic pad thai dinner kit, Fiber Gourmet mac'n cheese, raw honey, and nutritional yeast flakes.
For my oatmeal which will no longer be laden with pumpkin butter (*tear*), I purchased reduced-fat, organic coconut. I think vanilla soy milk + coconut flakes could be potentially mouth-watering additions to old-fashioned oats, eh?
And most importantly, I tried a new dish that is OUT OF THIS WORLD. I don't say that very often, so believe it. This salad dressing is by far, hands down, shout-it-from-the-roof-tops phenom (and a recipe of Gina's). Unless maybe you detest goat cheese, and then I question the reliability of your palate. Kidding...kinda. But really, if you decide to try something new in the future, consider this Honey Goat Cheese Dressing!!
Salad: mixed greens, diced apples, Craisins, and pecans topped with Honey Goat Cheese Dressing! Deliciousohhh! Husband seconds that claim, too!
Honey Goat Cheese Dressing
4 ounces fresh goat cheese
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 Tbsp water
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Directions:
Blend together, mixing until combined and creamy in texture.
46 calories per tablespoon
We also had sirloin steaks with bleu cheese topping. Mmmm! I've had red meat twice this month, that's a near record for me. Typically, not a huge red meat fan. But bleu cheese steaks...hook a sistah up! I do believe this makes me a FLEXITARIAN!
bleu cheese smothered sirloin with buttermilk mashed potatoes
Last night husband and I went out to dinner to a new Thai restaurant. Here's what we ordered...
Tom Kah soup with tofu...SOO GOOD!!
Husband got pineapple fried rice with seafood (which was okay, but it was canned pineapple...bummer!)
Chicken and Vegetable Curry for me...mmm!
I cannot believe tomorrow is our 6 month wedding anniversary! How beautiful was our Chicago wedding? Ahhh! Perfect, amazing day!
It's been a wonderful 6 months filled with an abundance of blessings...a new home, a WONDERFUL job, the cutest little puppy, and most importantly...our health and love for one another.
I had an insanely productive morning this morning. In addition to the usual morning routine (dog duty, cappuccino-making, getting ready for work, and lunch-making), I also managed to unload the dishwasher, clean the kitchen, and get dinner in the crock pot. In the midst of my cleaning frenzy, I found husband's wedding band. He was already at work. Sans his wedding band, obviously. This happens ALL the time.
See photo below. THIS is what I put on a scrap piece of paper on my way out the door: directions for him to start the crock pot at noon...and to put on his #$*& wedding band. Mennnn....
...at least he was wearing it when I got home from work today? :-/
Last night we had a favorite "convenience" dinner. I'm not really into convenience foods, but I must say...Zatarains does Jambabaya right. The calories are low (130!)...but the sodium is a bit high (540 mg)...could be worse. There's only 1 gram of fat per serving, which is also great. I just wish it came in a whole grain, low-sodium version...then, it'd be perfect!
Anyways, I add to the mix a whole chopped onion, minced garlic, 1 can of low-sodium diced tomatoes, Tabasco sauce, and either shrimp, chicken, or turkey sausage. Last night, we opted for turkey sausage.
Boot camp tonight went...well. I will DEFINITELY be sore tomorrow.
Tonight we focused on triceps with lunges and squats thrown in there. Cardio, too...running, stairs, etc. I'm really enjoying it, though...and I love that the routine is different every night!
Yesterday, my teams won both our games (THAT'S rare - woot!)...AND I scored a goal! That's probably even MORE rare ; )
A HUGE THANKS to Kay's Naturals who sent me a wonderful array of products to sample and review today. Kay's Naturals carries gluten-free cereals, crackers, chips, and snack foods. Kay's products cater to the gluten-sensitive population, as well as diabetes and bariatric patients.
Today I tried the Lemon Herb Protein Chips and they were DELICIOUS! I ate them on my way home from work, before boot camp. There is an abundance of flavor and crunch, I highly recommend them, especially if you enjoy a lemony taste...mmmm!
Gluten allergies are becoming more and more common it seems. Similarly, the number of gluten-free products on the market is continually growing -- some being MUCH better than others. Most larger retailers offer gluten-free cereals, crackers, breakfast bars, pastas, and chips. Thank you, Kay's Naturals for supplying such wonderful tasting, gluten-free products! I look forward to sampling and reviewing more varieties!
Question 1: Do you know anyone personally with Celiac's disease or a gluten sensitivity?
Question 2: Going back to my husband-who-forgets-his-wedding-band-all-the-time rant...what does YOUR significant other do that drives you absolutely insane?
Question 3: I'm traveling next week and looking for book suggestions...have you read any page-turners lately? Do share!
I've had papaya before, but I've never purchased a papaya before. They were on sale for $0.94/lb and I just couldn't resist!
My 3.21-lb papaya (I couldn't get the picture to rotate for the life of me...sorry)
I peeled off the skin and cut it length-wise into 2. How pretty inside!
Scooped out the seeds and cut into slices. It was perfectly ripe! Almost looks like salmon here, doesn't it?
7 cups of fresh papaya for just over $3.00! Yumm!
Papaya Facts:
- 55 calories per CUP!
- naturally fat-free
- contains 3 grams of fiber per cup
- one cup contains 144% DV of Vitamin C
- named the "fruit of the angels" by Christopher Columbus
- contains papain -- an enzyme used in digesting proteins
Question: What's the last NEW fruit or vegetable you tried at home?
Are there any you're interested in trying but hesitant to spend the money on without knowing when it's ripe, how it tastes, or how you can cook with it?
I received several emails asking what my time was for the 4-mile Guinness Challenge. The results are up and my chip time was 45:53...just under 11:30 min/mi splits. Considering the Guinness-drinking and hills...I'm happy with that!
Off to play my 2 hockey games in a bit...hope you're all enjoying your weekend and having better weather than Tulsa!
How to choose a grocery store requires that a great many factors be taken in to consideration. It is a fact also that different people will have different priorities in this respect. There are those for whom the location of the grocery store will be the top priority, others will consider the overall prices to be most important and others still will look to the grocery store's product range as being the prime consideration.
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