Product Review: Food Should Taste Good All Natural Chips
Posted: July 30, 2010 Filed under: Appetizer, Clean eating, Product review, Snack 3 Comments »Since I havent been in the kitchen all week, I thought I would do a series of product reviews and the week ends with a product review of one of my favorite snacks, chips and salsa!! I could eat chips and salsa every single day. Salsa on all kinds of things—eggs, chicken, salads, etc and I could add chips to EVERYTHING! So in an effort to clean up our eating, salsa was fine, but my favorite chips had to go. So I was on a mission to find tasty, less processed tortilla chips. I found some blue chips I liked but didnt HAD TO HAVE until I found Food Should Taste Good Natural Chips. HOLY FLAVOR, HOLY GOODNESS, HOLY love!! I am addicted to these chips especially the Lime Chips. They have a great real lime taste and a great crunch. So far I cant eat enough of them!!
They have a variety of flavors including basic corn tortilla. The best part of these are their all natural, very few ingredient list. All the ingredients are all-natural, non-GMO (not genetically modified), and purchased from suppliers in the USA and Canada. This helps ensure great flavor, no processed junk to get in the way of the flavor and texture of the chip.
The chips are lower in fat and cals and are baked and just lightly cooked in a bit of oil at the very end which ensures less greasy type chip and it keeps them healthier. Made with whole grains they are packed with fiber so you wont have to over eat them (unless you want to like me!) and end up feeling guilty after.
My other fave by them is their Chocolate Tortilla Chips. Perfect dipped in peanut butter (natural peanut butter) or with strawberries and a bit of low fat low sugar ice cream!! The chocolate ones totally curb my chocolate craving and I dont feel badly eating them ether. Low in cal and fat and once again packed with fiber, to me it is a must have food..LOL I should eat it cuz it is good for me and it just happens to be a bonus that they are chocolatey too…LOL I can make an excuse for any chocolate treat! 
So head on out and get your self several bags of Food Should Taste Good Chips..several varities out there are sure to tempt you!
**Images and quotes from Food Should Taste Good***
Product review: Fage Greek Yogurts
Posted: July 29, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast, Clean eating, Greek, Light and healthy, Low Carb, Toppings, Yogurt 1 Comment »I love yogurt, I could and do eat it every day. I can add it to chicken dishes, muffin recipes, top Mexican foods, add fruit to it, blend it, etc. Whatever I can do with yogurt, I do. I especially have fallen in loooovee with Greek yogurts. Thicker, less soury tasting and very healthy for you. What I didnt like was a lot of them have added sugars and sweets especially if flavored. I was hoping to get away from that and was happy to find a great tasting Greek yogurt that fit that bill. My favorite is Fage.
I love the lighter taste, the great thick texture and the various fat options. We prefer to eat the 0% with fresh fruit added in, or honey, or granola. We also love Fage to use in place of sour cream, especially the 2% fat version. I dont mind the 0% as sour cream, but H likes the 2% better as it is closer to sour cream. We have enjoyed it so much that we dont ever buy sour cream anymore unless guests are coming over, then I offer both.
I find that I can use the Fage in place of sour cream in all my recipes without changing the texture, taste or final product. Its creamy, rich flavor melds well with any recipe calling for sour cream, so you can eat guilt-free with a guilty taste!! Who knew eating so healthy and so cleanly could be oh so good?
Fage has several varieties including fat free to full fat and flavored options. We prefer the plain fat free and add in our likes-fruits, honey, agave, granola and even cook and bake with it successfully!
Definitely give this great yogurt a try:
Product Review: Doctor Krackers
Posted: July 28, 2010 Filed under: Appetizer, Breads, Clean eating, Light and healthy, Low Carb, Product review 1 Comment »The next product review in my series of clean eating products is one of my all times faves, Doctor Krackers. OMG these are wonderful, especially the flat breads. They are quite hard to break or bite, but so worth the effort…LOL!
Dr. Krackers have a variety of crackers and flat breads which are great with cheeses, clean eating spreads, soups, stews, and my favorite way, with hummus or peanut butter spread on top! The flat breads are 100 cals and make for a great snack or use two in place of breads for a great lunch!
What I love most about these crackers/flat breads though, is the few ingredients it takes to make them, so less process, more wholesome goodness to enjoy, so it fits very well into our clean eating ways. They are not only delicious tasting, their Pumpkin Seed Cheddar crackers are my favorite and taste great with natural organic peanut butters, hummus, and a bit of low fat cheese melted on top. It is my go to afternoon snack!
All of Doctor Krackers flavors are great, healthy, and filling. Definitely check these out for a better go to snack. I tend to break them up and munch on them or eat them whole with a spread on top!
Here is my favorite kind:
Sundried tomato and goat cheese pasta
Posted: July 27, 2010 Filed under: Chicken, Clean eating, Pasta, Quick, Side dish 2 Comments »MAKE THIS NOW! OMG GOOD! A great recipe from my friend Angie. I sometimes make it without the chicken as a side dish and sometimes with the chicken as a main dish! Either way it is GOOOOOOD! Here is her recipe that I changed up a bit for our liking and clean eating!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
Olive oil-enough for pan about 2-3 tbsp.
Garlic-I used a tbsp minced Angie used 2-3 cloves and chopped up
Salt and Pepper
1-2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast-broiled or baked and chopped
1 bag sun dried tomatoes, julienne sliced
4 scallions, chopped
½ cup toasted pine nuts
1 lb. bowtie or penne pasta-I used ww penne
1 6 oz. container feta, goat, or gorgonzola cheese-I used goat cheese
Directions:
Warm 2 tbsp. olive oil in skillet (medium heat), dice 2-3 garlic cloves and toast in olive oil.
Cut chicken breast into nugget size pieces and add to olive oil and garlic mixture.
Toast pine nuts and reserve until the end.
Chop scallions and add them to the chicken.
Add the whole bag of sun dried tomatoes to the chicken mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Let all these flavors combine over low heat.
Meanwhile, boil your pasta, drain, but do not rinse. Combine pasta, chicken and everything in skillet, gently toss with extra olive oil to dress. Add toasted nuts and sprinkle with cheese, toss together into a large bowl and serve immediately as a main course or chill for a great bbq side dish!
Orzo Pasta with Peas and Parmesan Cheese
Posted: July 26, 2010 Filed under: Clean eating, Light and healthy, Quick, Side dish 6 Comments »This was a great great side dish I needed in a hurry! My original side dish idea didn’t work out, so when I found this recipe I was all over it. I did clean it up with using Earth Balance butter spread, ww orzo, half the parmesan asked for and organic chicken broth (I just love that brand and all they make is the organic one..LOL!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium to large onion – minced
2-3 cloves garlic – minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 pound orzo pasta
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/4 cup frozen peas
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Add the butter and olive oil to a large pan or stock pot placed over medium heat.
Add the onions, and let sweat for approximately 5 minutes, or until they begin to turn translucent.Stir in the garlic and oregano and cook for one more minute.
Stir in the orzo, and cook for 3-5 minutes until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
Add the chicken broth and wine, and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, while stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Stir in the frozen peas, Parmesan cheese and nutmeg.
Let the peas heat through, then remove the pan from the stove.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Franks Red Hot Sauce Grilled Corn
Posted: July 23, 2010 Filed under: 4th of July, corn, Grilled, Side dish Leave a comment »WOW if heaven was in corn form, this would be it! This corn is so AHHH-MAZINGLY good, I can’t even put it into words. Grilled, Franks Red Hot Sauce, Corn, Summertime BBQ? What else is there? That all spells perfection to me.
This past weekend H and I hosted a bbq for some family and friends who came into town. We had a fabulous time, swimming, playing games,laying out and enjoying our friend Tony’s amazing grilled corn! Definitely give this a try….Here is Tony’s recipe!!! Happy BBQ’ing!
ENJOY!!
Ingredients:
Bi-Color corn is the best
1 stick of butter for every 8-10 ears of corn-very softened
Franks Red Hot to taste (Flavor and amount can vary – start with 6-8 oz per stick of butter)
Directions:
Mix very soft butter with Franks Red Hot Sauce. Combine well and baste corn. Keep the rest on hand to keep basting while grilling.
Constantly rotate and baste for 25-35 minutes – depending on heat of burners – you don’t want it too soft.
Serve immediately!
Product Review: Earth Balance Products
Posted: July 22, 2010 Filed under: Clean eating, Product review, Spreads 1 Comment »Once again, in an effort to clean up our eating, I wanted to find less processed spreads for our sandwiches, toast, cooking/baking, etc. While shopping my local Publix Organic section, I found some Earth Balance products. I grabbed the whipped butter and decided to give it a go. I love how all the ingredients are all natural, organic, and/or healthy.
I tried it the next morning on my toasted Ezekiel bread. It melted just like butter would,had a fantastic buttery flavor, and went well with mashed fruit on top (in place of jelly). I was very pleased with this product.
I then search for butter sticks by Earth Balance to try to bake with. I made some chocolate chip cookies (clean eating almond butter cookies) and brownies. Both came out great. The sticks worked just as well as normal butter sticks. I did then try it in frosting and while it was good it didn’t have that intense buttery flavor. That can be easily fixed with butter flavor extract tho if I really wanted too, but overall the sticks and spreads worked well in cooking with just a few tweaks and adjustments along the way.
I then put out the whipped butter for our guests along with regular butter sticks. All of the guests used the Earth Balance and loved it. Definitely worth giving these products a try!
ENJOY and be healthy!
Product review: Annie’s Homegrown Mac and Cheese
Posted: July 21, 2010 Filed under: Clean eating, Light and healthy, Mac and Cheese, Product review, Quick 1 Comment »As I get H and I more and more into clean eating, I am always on the look our for great clean eating recipes. But sometimes, we just are short on time and we need something quick. Well, not all boxed items are good for you. So finding some clean eating quick items can be hard, until I found Annie’s Homegrown Organic and all natural products. So, when we needed a quick dinner one night, I picked up some Annie’s Homegrown Aged Cheddar Mac and Cheese. Now just so you know, we are lovers of all things Kraft, so I was a bit worried this would be bland, odd, or too healthy tasting, but we gave it a go! And we LOVED it. It was much less salty than Kraft, very cheesy and great wheat noodle taste! I did read some reviews on this mac and cheese and took other’s suggestions to cut the milk in half when mixing in the cheese and only add the rest of the milk as needed so it doesn’t get too soupy. I used just under half and add a bit of earth balance butter for a more creamy texture and it was great!
I am totally sold on Annie’s Mac and Cheese and cant wait to try other products they offer–crackers, bite sized cookies, other pastas, etc. All great for kids if using products is needed. Homemade is always best, but when short on time, Annie’s Products are perfectly healthy!
ENJOY!
Puffed-Rice Bars with peanut butter and chocolate
Posted: July 20, 2010 Filed under: Bars-dessert and cookie, Chocolate, Dessert 3 Comments »I love rice crispy treats. So when I saw this recipe from Martha Stewart I had to make them. Like all rice crispy treats, these were easy to make. I did clean them up as much as I could. I used a plain puffed rice with nothing else added from my health market, used natural peanut butter, dark chocolate, Earth Balance whipped butter, and sea salted nuts. Still not super clean, but better! I did cut these into very small bars for us, so we got double the amount, but even 32 bars were just enough. They are rich!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
3 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
4 cups miniature marshmallows
1/3 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp coarse salt
6 cups puffed-rice cereal
non-stick cooking spray or veg oil for pressing
1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips melted
1/4 cups chopped roasted salted peanuts
Directions:
Butter an 8 inch square baking dish.
In a large pot, combine ingredients thru salt. Cook over medium heat stirring until melted about 4 mins. Add cereal and combine well. Press half the mixture into the pan pressing down with a well oiled wooden spoon. Top with half the melted chocolate. Press on the rest of the rice mixture. Top with rest of chocolate and sprinkle on peanuts. Store in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
Raspberry Oatmeal Squares
Posted: July 16, 2010 Filed under: Bars-dessert and cookie, Cookies, Fruit Leave a comment »For the other bar I wanted to make for H work, I wanted it to include fruit since the first one included a lot of chocolate and peanut butter. I found this recipe and knew right away it was the recipe I wanted to use!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
Oatmeal Base:
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (215 grams) light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups (180 grams) old fashioned rolled oats, divided
Filling:
1 cup rasp preserves
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter (or use a non stick cooking spray) a 9 x 9 inch (23 x 23 cm) pan. Set aside.
Oatmeal Base: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 – 3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Stir in 1 3/4 cups (155 grams) of the rolled oats. Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread preserves over oatmeal base. To the remaining dough add the remaining 1/4 cup (25 grams) of rolled oats. Crumble this mixture evenly over the top of the raspberry jam. Bake for about 25 – 30 minutes or until nicely browned. Place on a wire rack to cool and then cut into squares.
Makes about 16 – 2 inch squares.
