Healthy Obsessions: Blueberry Coffee

A little while ago, I yapped about 7-11 and it's flavored coffee. Well, I've gone past 7-11 and just straight to full-blown blueberry flavored coffee addiction! Dunkin Donuts has blueberry flavor and New England coffee sells a ground blueberry cobbler version. If Starbucks rolls one out, no coffee place will be safe! I will drink at you allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.

Why do I like it so much? It tastes like blueberries, and it's like drinking syrup. But, without drinking actually syrup. That way, there's no worrying about tooth decay, or skyrocketing blood sugar and you can avoid general social weirdness (who drinks syrup straight???). Also, it's a good way to downplay craving for foods that are energy dense without major deprivation, The flavor has elements of a good blueberry pancake breakfast all in a nice cup of java. Drink it straight or sweetened with a touch of almond milk.

Healthy Obsessions: Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Happy new year! 20 something days in....anyhow...I won't torture you with a knock-knock joke. The punchline title is cutesy enough.

I've had a major renaissance with orange veggies. They're loaded with beta-carotene & vitamin A. They're also mildly sweet and in season (or was in season when I was really obssessed). And cheap. A small acorn squash will run you 79-99 cents a pound, and can yield 2-4 single cup servings.

Case 1: I had a large sweet potato left from thanksgiving, I forked that bad boy, microwaved it on the baked potato setting and had about 4 1/2 c serving from that tuber. Cheap, easy and nutritious.

That's right; most of the orange veggies are microwave friendly. (At least the squash varieties; I wouldn't microwave a carrot -- they tend to spark.) The high starch and water content allow them to blend effortlessly into soups, smoothies, puddings, pastas and other things that can be blended without he addition of energy dense ingredients.

Case 2: fat free Greek yogurt with canned pumpkin and a tablespoon of honey. Great for breakfast, or a snack, or an orange pick me up.

Case: Acorn squash. Split it in half, microwave until tender and hit it with some spicy spices. Or slice it up and put it into sandwiches. Or soups. Or your mouth. It's tasty!

Healthy Obsessions

Trader Joe's Lite Kettle Corn!

Okay, so this obsession isn't quite as healthy as it ought to be, but lately I've been obsessed with trying to eat more whole grains. A whole grain is a grain, duh, but a food where the grains remain intact -- seed, germ, endosperm --- and popcorn is a whole grain! WIN!

I like the Trader Joe's kettle corn because, they've lightened up their own brand, and Trader Joe's generally makes things preservative free. The price is nice; I get the portioned controlled, 6-pack for 2.99, roughly 50 cents a bag. I can eat two of these things and not feel so bad. They also manage to fit in some of my purses, and it's actually a nice, filling snack.

It's not that I want to eat popcorn as a main dish, or a side dish. But, it is pleasant to know that healthy food can also be snack food, and even if you sauce or sweeten it up a tad bit, it can still fit reasonably into your daily diet. Besides, if eating kettle corn is wrong, I don't want to be right. But, I'm right...so it's not wrong at all.

Healthy Obsessions

I'm obsessed with Future Food. Not future food like the Jetsons where you'd push some buttons and out comes a dish of beef tenderloin (that would be awesome) or Soylent Green (not awesome). It's a television show on Planet Green that features to chef's who perform several food experiments from using granola bars & energy drinks to make "junk food" from making edible packagaing peanuts.

What I love about future food is how it constantly makes me re-think about what I can do with food. Most of the techniques and products they use aren't available on the local market, but the idea's are fresh up for stealing, erm, for inspiration. They had another show based on hamburgers and they assemble a veggie burger from ingredients in a cow feed, like corn, and many people found it tasty.

I don't think I'd be one of those people, but I'd like to think maaayyyyybee I could. All in all, it's cool to watch.

There's a monster in the blender...

One of my co-workers will periodically ask me about leafy greens, although I don't know why. I suppose she figures that since I eat healthy that I must love to eat all healthy things.

So, I tell her leafy greens are probably some of the best nutritional bargains out there. They're full of vitamins, minerals, and very low in calories. They're gorgeous to look at while they're still in bunches. You can get several pounds of them (when frozen) for a mere 1-2 dollars at the grocery.

They also are notoriously bitter. Ugh. I can eat them, but I have to hide them in casseroles, wraps, soups and omelets. I kind of hate them, but I won't tell her that.

Incidentally, we discovered green monsters: shakes or juices that incorporate greens and yield a drink mixture. Google it!

Her doctor recommended blending greens such as spinach, kale, and collard with a bit of ginger. It was horrible. I suspect her doctor has no taste buds because they all committed suicide from drinking that thing.

Fear not! There's a better way. One of my healthy obsessions, Herbal Flavors, serves its own variety of a green monster, and it's pretty good. The banana in it kills the bitterness, but since it's a smoothie, it's raw, so little or no nutrients are lost. It also keeps your taste buds from committing suicide. I make a copycat of their green monster because their green monster is five bucks-a-pop. Their green monster eats all the green out of my wallet if I indulge too often.

It's pretty nifty when you can replicate dining out faves at home. For a green monster, use my smoothie guide and a basic/bland base (milk/juice -thickener- sweetener - extra: vanilla) . Adjust it by adding a cup of leafy greens. I also like to add nutmeg, it's spicy and pungent which compliments well with baby spinach (my green of choice).

I have pics, but have no idea how to get them out of my phone. That's a whole different monster to contend with.

Healthy Obsessions

I'm obsessed with the new vegetarian place near my job "Herbal Flavors," don't worry folks -- I love chicken & bacon far too much to become a big V -- I'm digging their chocolate macadamia nut cookies and soup of the day.

Their menu's kind of pricey, but the food follows my "fresh is best" mantra, so it's worth it to me. Lots of veggies, interesting smoothie blends, and really, really delicious "hippy-ish" cookies. I also like the fact that they let me sample things without buying them. Who doesn't like that?

Check your hood for a local, new place. They genuinely are starving for business much like you're starving for food. Since it's not a chain, but a local place, they may cater to you in hopes that you bring in business. You can find a new, healthy favorite and lord it over your co-workers.

I also spotted a Teavana infuser there! Boss!

Healthy Obsessions

Frozen vegetables. Not very exciting. I know...

It's like your first run to the library, pre-DVD. There's all this knowledge and books and it's freeeeeeeeeeeee. You get to take it home for nothing. Vegetables are like that. Only, you can't loan them out. But, they're low calorie, some nearly calorie free, and you get all these health benefits for next to nothing.

Lately, I've been noticing coupons for Green giant vegetables. They have a steamed variety similar to Bird's eye Steamfresh as well as having a "Just for one" variety. They also go on sale frequently, so coupon + sale = healthy food for 1-2 bucks.

I like using the lightly seasoned ones with pasta, easy and nutritious.
It's also portable, you can take the box or bag to work, and if you have a microwave, you have fresh veggies all you have to do is add some lean protein (last week I snagged canned tuna for 50 cents) and you're good to go.

It would be awesome if vegetables had their own card. I'd use a veggie card. Only, the vegetables can't be "used" and on loan. That would not be awesome.

Healthy Obsessions

French Toast!


WHAT? FRIED BREAD?


Yeah, it's healthy, when done correctly.

Firstly, I use my spray bottle to lightly grease the pan. You could use real butter as well, but keep it to a teaspoon to keep it light and let it spread over the pan at a very low heat.

As for the batter, here's the secret. I use egg substitute (you can use egg white, too, all you "it's fake eggs with chemicals!" whiners) and non-dairy milk like Almond breeze. I add a teaspoon of real vanilla, and a touch of sea salt. Then, I paint it on my bread of choice with a basting brush. Voila. French Toast, at a fraction of the usual calorie count using light ingredients, all natural, or a combination.

Ooh la la!

Ubiquitous Must Have Item #10

Unsweetened Almond or Soy milk.

This stuff, especially the almond, is a kind is magic! The fat in the soy or almond gives you the unctuous taste of the fat, the health benefits are a plus and the light/unsweetened varieties are low calorie. I use it as creamer for my coffee, but this stuff is great as a swap for creamer in sauces, milk in scrambled eggs, and a nifty use in one of my healthy obsessions.

The boxed kind are also shelf-stable until you open them, so you don't have to worry about spoilage the moment you buy it. You can get the one in the dairy case, but I tend to prefer the box kind.

I learned about it from hungrygirl.com as she uses it in a ton of her recipes. I wasn't really amazed with it, it was also a pain to find at the time.

But, I became fond of it when I found it at Trader Joes (Trader Joes!) and gave up fat free half & half. The thing with FF Half & Half was I never used enough of it, and it would spoil. With the almond milk, the sheer volume difference in servings makes me love it. I was using 2-3 40-cal servings (2 tablespoons) of FF half & half everyday; the unsweetened almond breeze has the same amount of calories for a whole cup, and I don't use a cup's worth in day. I save money, calories, and get additional nutrients. That's why this is a must have for me.

Healthy Obsessions

Teavana!

I'm really digging tea & tea infusers lately. For a while, I just thought of tea as the beverage of the sick, the really mellow people, and of hippies. So, either tea has become awesome, or I've become a mellow, sick hippy. Either way, I'm kind of obsessed with teavana. Their tea is pricey, but with a nifty tea infuser you can yield several cups out of each 3 teaspoons of tea. I've swapped out 2 whole cups of coffee with tea, and I'm marginally less cranky. I also tend to stick with the rooibos types, which are good for the tummy and the mate, which are good for the crankiness.

My favorites:

Energy chocolate chai blend (combo of rooibos chai & matevana)
Haute chocolate Rooibos
My Matevana
Tiramisu Treviso Rooibos

They have a Facebook page, mailing list, and probably a twitter page as well, but I don't twit/tweet. If you sign up, it alerts you to the occassional free shipping they'll put out, usually around a holiday.