Barrific

A food blogger walks into a bar...and reviews it! Bahahahaha.....alright, all done.

Reviews, anyone?

Let's start with Odwalla! They were recently on sale at Whole Foods, and, um, I had fun. What can I say, I see those yellow-and-red sale tags and all but jump for joy! Yes, this is what grocery shopping does to me. Totally normal.

This kind of reminded me of a cross between a Nutrigrain bar and a Fig Newton. Had that dense, datey feel with that vague berryness in NGs. I found it pretty boring, unfortunately. The whole berries were nice, it had a decent texture, but...meh. Not bad, just nothing special.

NEXT.

Another letdown. I made my brother try some too, for a second opinion. He took two bites and looked at me with a "why do you do these things to me" expression. I wasn't exactly excited. This would actually be a great, cookie-like treat if the first and most prevalent flavor is dates. It's one thing to sell a date bar and advertise it as such, quite another to name something "chocolate chip peanut", one of the best combos ever, only for those flavors to be the least obvious. The few chocolate chips thrown in helped, but not enough. 

Now this is one tasty bar. The banana nut flavors are spot on and it tastes like a particularly good and chewy piece of banana bread. I loved every bite - even more so than the Larabar version! Yum!

Speaking of Lara...

Ok, I will start out by saying that I do NOT like coconut. Why, you ask, did I buy this? Well, I've found that in Larabars I actually can appreciate the flavor, and I figured with chocolate thrown in, how bad can it be! (The coconut cream pie is one of my favorite flavors!) But this was...sad. It was neither chocolatey nor coconutty, just some vague middle ground between the two that was lacking in any distinct flavor at all. Maybe I just got a bad one? Oh well. 

This is the Lara I know and love. Very cinnamony and the dates added a light, fruity flavor. Plus the added texture of the nuts, this is a great bar! Came just in time too; couldn't have made it through the last 2.5 hours of my shift without it!

Clif bars are another favorite of mine to take to work. After 3 hours of nonstop movement, I definitely feel the need for some protein.

*Sigh* Let down again. This had a really weirdy soapy(??) taste to it that I could not get over! It wasn't very peanutty or toffee-y, just sweet and blah. But it gets points for looking pretty.

This I liked very, very much! It wasn't too sweet and those 3 fruits came out really well and meshed well too, to my relief and surprise. Most of the Clifs are waaaay too heavy on the brown rice syrup even for my sweet teeth, but this was really well balanced.

As was this guy:

This is probably my fave Clif so far. Just like a gooey peanut butter treat with crunchy chopped peanuts - perfect. I definitely recommend this to peanut butter lovers!

I know, this is a LOT of bars! They've been filling my camera since the road trip and I'm just now getting around to all of 'em, oof! I would like to throw out my personal opinion (although I probably already have) on bars: I don't like using them as meal replacements, and unless cirsumstances are unusual, won't eat more than 1 a day. I have always had problems with hypoglycemia and for me, they are a great and easy way to raise my blood sugar quickly when I need it (you do NOT want to be around hungry Gillian. It aint pretty.) I also discovered that when working in the coffee house when I usually get about 3 minutes to chomp something down during a 5 or 6 hour shift while making coffee and generally running around, there is nothing quite as easy to eat as these. That said, I do prefer to snack (and eat meals) on whole "real" foods, mostly because I find them more filling and my body functions better with them. I am not defending myself or anything here, I just wanted it to be known that I do not live off 4 Larabars a day, nor do I recommend it. I like Michael Pollan's saying a lot" "Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much." Word.

As for real food, there's been aplenty of that going on as well:

Supercharge Me cookies. I'm determined to maintain a constant supply. They make the best pre-yoga snack. Ever.

Oh, and they are super DUPER if you add cardamom and nutmeg along with the cinnamon. Trust me.

Fresh bread! Nothing like it. 

WAAH I miss my little Italian bakery on the way home to the apartment!!!

Sorry. Random nostalgic moment done.

Fage, raw oats, blueberries, peach and cinnamon. Happiness in a bowl.

Cream of wheat with blueberries cooked in, swirled with applesauce. Yes, I love the taste...but look how pretty!

As for that preview? Pasta Alla Norma! My aunt & uncle were in town last week and I decided it was the perfect occasion to attempt to recreate one of my favorite dishes from my cooking class this past semester. I'll  admit, it wasn't as good...although I have a feeling that fact that I was in Italy made it a little better...but it was still a delicious plate of pasta!

1. Buy fresh pasta. It makes a difference. And start your water boiling now - it takes freakin forever to get there.

2. Start your sauce: heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan with some chopped garlic and half a chopped onion (or one small). When the onion becomes translucent, add in 3 cans diced tomatoes, give it a stir, cover and let it cook. Just keep an eye on it and cook it low; if I don't burn it, I promise you won't!

3. Get a big ole eggplant (or 3ish small ones) and cut it into rounds, pretty thin. Dust both sides of all of them with some flour - this will keep the oil from completely saturating the eggplant when it goes in the pan and leaving them crispy.

4. Heat up some more olive oil in a pan and start throwing the eggplants in. I gave them about half a monute or so, flipped them over, then put them on paper towels to drain and blotted the tops lightly with another towel. [Fyi, I didn't actually make these in my class - I worked on a different dish that day - so I was going with what I remembered seeing others do. Worked for me!]

5. Your water has GOT to be boiling by now, right? Good. Throw in the pasta and check it in 3 minutes - fresh cooks faster than dried. No one likes soggy pasta! Al dente just tastes better and will hold up the dish better.

To plate, toss the pasta in your wonderfully fresh-tasting tomato sauce. Top with the eggplants rounds, then with some basil, then with some parmesan or grana padano. 

Mangia bene!

~Namaste~

Gone Swimming

It's been too long!

My head has just been swimming with too many things. I feel like I've been going through this summer with something constantly in my peripheral vision but I can't turn my head to figure out what it is. I'm not sure that really even makes sense, but to sum up, I feel overwhelmed with lots of *things* going on and can't seem to quite ever feel caught up. Know what I mean? 

But, the one thing that is not confusing me is my love for food. Especially yummy, healthy food!

I guess I was feeling patriotic?

Actually, I was just really excited when I came downstairs to find my dad home from a Costco trip with huge containers of fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, melon, and Fage in tow. It was like Christmas!

Chocolate makes everything better.

Applesauce + cinnamon + Naturally More. 

I mixed mine up, but I don't recommend it - the pb got totally lost and I could barely taste it! No worries, there will be a next time.

Who's up for some reviews??

A Chobani that passes the sideways-spoon test!!

This was very tasty and enjoyable - like regular plain greek with a little sweet kick. I did like it, but to save $$ I'd rather just throw a little vanilla extract into some plain Fage. Just sayin.

You may recall my recent road trip. Road trips = LOTS of bar consumption.

This was disappointing. Very dry and very date-y. Not that I mind dates, but when I pick up a bar touting the name chocolate prominently in its title, I'm expecting lotsa cocoa, not so much date flavor. The chocolate chips helped, but I wouldn't buy this again. Plus, brown rice syrup was the first ingredient - not ok for having such a dry, crumbly texture!

My second Odwalla had better results.

Love that bad hotel lighting.

I was not expecting much after the chocolate one, but this was a horse of a different color! The coffee-chocolate balance was dead on, and it was pleasantly oaty and not dry or datey in the least. Loved this guy! Perfect dessert after a loooong day on the road. (And I mean long - 500 miles in 9 hours!)

Tried some new (to me) Laras as well:

This was just lovely! Reminded me of lemonade. Very refreshing! I had my doubts, but they were all put away after the first bite. The lemon flavor came through loud and clear, but were not at all clashing with the dates, and the cashews added the perfect creamy flavor and crunch in texture. A perfect summer snack!

I'm a bit ambivalent about this one. The banana flavor tasted almost too overripe for me. But overall, it definitely tasted like banana bread, and I loved the almonds! I'm always impressed with the Larabar flavor - always so real and genuine and such a teeny tiny ingredient list. 

Along the same lines...

Clif C boasts only 9 ingredients and a whole serving of fruit. I've reviewed the raspberry and tried the blueberry & cherry pomegranate with varying results, so I was interested to try this last one. 

I liked it. It had cinnamon, which was a very wise addition. I do like the texture of these - chewy, with the crunch from the bits of chopped nuts on top, reminiscent of Nutrigrain bar fillings. But, I wouldn't pay the $1.29 per bar. Just not that good. But, it's always fun to try new things!

I have one final review left:

FROSTING!

I don't remember if I've mentioned it before or not, but I have a bit of a problem with frosting. The problem being that one bite and I am compelled to scrape it off the entire cake and leave the cake itself naked. It's one scratch recipe I've never made well and it bothers me. All in good time, right? In the spirit of trying new things, I picked this up at Whole Foods. I couldn't resist - toffee vanilla by a company named Namaste?!! Yesplease.

You just mix the bag with 6 T of butter, margarine, or the like and add water as needed to get the right consistency. In one of my baking storms, I whipped some chocolate cake a la Dreena (halved the recipe and made it all one layer) and topped it with this gooey goodness. It was wonderful - this chocolate cake recipe rocks my baker's socks! I wish there was a similar one for vanilla cake. I figure it can't be hard to figure out, just may take some experimenting (my fave activity!). And the frosting? Very toffee-y! I was really impressed with the toffee flavor. In a testament to how good it was, my brother ate one tupperware full last night, and ate the second tupperware this afternoon. Sometimes my parents worry that I bake too much for the house to eat....I don't know why.

Hope you're all surviving the heat! I'm only semi-melted.

~Namaste~

For the Love of Anchovies and Flowers

Oy. I have been thinking about changing the blog layout...and after 4 hours of clicking, copy-and-pasting, and tearing my hair out, I think I give up. Too...many...choices....

I didn't end up having to babysit this AM, so I went back to bed and made AM turn into PM! Does anyone else get a lot of crap from other people about sleeping late? Somedays it seems like everyone's favorite joke is how late Gillian sleeps and I gotta say, it gets old. I am perfectly aware it is because I stay up late, but that is simply because I am most productive from about midnight on. Always have been, too. I think it's something about the total quiet and solitude that just frees up a certain part of my brain and lets me think more clearly.

I'm so excited to hear from those of you thinking of/going to Italy to study abroad!!!! Italy is just a magical, wonderful place. DisneyWorld ain't got nothin on Tuscany. If any of you have any questions or concerns about it - or just want some sweet restaurant tips - please email me! It literally makes me giddy when people tell me they are going to Italy now. I'm ready to go back, like, right now.

Recently, I have been trying every fun flavor of Stonyfield Farms yogurt I can get my hands on. It may or may not be a coincidence that this week they were 2 for $1 at Whole Foods. So, on with yogurt week!

This morning included:

The likes: Very creamy, not fruit-on-the-bottom. For lemon yogurt fans, you can't go wrong with this. And it tasted sooo good this hot & humid morning!

The not-so-much: Kind of had a weird aftertaste after I finished it. Can't really relate it to anything, maybe I was just thirsty. Other than that - YUM!

Next up:

Maple Vanilla!!! 

The likes: Very creamy, and the flavors were definitely there. Would be ca-razy good on pancakes!

The not-so-much: Had an odd tang that didn't so much appeal to me. Also, this is a limited edition "seasonal" flavor - what is summery about maple-vanilla? Hell if I know. My real problem with that is it means it will go away - this should clearly be kept on year-round!

And finally, my addiction continues:

Yes, another Pomegranate Berry.

The likes: No fruit on the bottom, yet the flavor was not fake at all. Probably because none of the ingredients are...imagine that!

The not-so-much: The berry flavor is, well, just that - vaguely berry-like. I wish it was blueberry pomegranate; that is one of the most genius fruit combos ever. That's pretty much my only problem :)

Breakfast this morning also included this beauty:

Blushing!

And this guy (too hot for toast or oats and I was too lazy to whip out the blender):

Odwalla's Superfood bar

Yes, it is green! It contains spirulina, a blue-green algae with a whole bunch of good whole food benefits. It has a very...interesting flavor. I go through the same cycle every time I eat it: I hate it, then like it, then end very confused. It has this weird stick-in-the-back-of-your-mouth thing that I find it hard to get over, but the flavor is very complex and earthy kind of like green tea, which I like. [Hence the confusion.] This bar was nothing if not complex. Every bite was a different flavor - from dates, to banana, to raisins. And that is what the bar claimed its flavor profile was, so I guess mission accomplished? It also had little bits of little rice crispies that added a nice crunch for texture variety. Would I buy it again? Honestly, I have no idea. It's the type of thing I would never buy, but could get a random craving for and nothing else would do. Ya know?

I dragged my brother out to walk the dog with me - mostly because I wanted to take pictures, and as I discovered last time, that's not so easy to do when you are on the other side of a leash from a very eager, excited dog.

For once, I was off pick-up patrol!

Tell me these are not the coolest flowers ever?!!! The colors are like crayons!

Flowers = the non-edible fruits of summer.

We came back just in time for dinner - Friday=Pizza night! I was pretty excited for this:

Broccoli + Anchovies. Italy changes a girl. At the very least her tastebuds! The broc worked really well with the anchovies, too - earthy matched with salty, and the mozzarella added just the right sweetness. Oh anchovies, where have you been all my life?

Dessert was one of Bertucci's (Italian/pizza classy chain in New England - their pizza is exactly what I had in Italy. Che buono!) rolls. They are famous for their complementary dinner rolls, and once you taste one, you know why.

Doughy and delicious. I eat them plain - they don't need anything.

Dessert also included this:

A Raspberry "Sherbetter" Bar!

It's a little too "milky" tasting for me, but the texture and creamy flavor is enough to overcome that little detail. I'm way more of a sorbet fan than sherbet (the milk thing again), but this is really quite tasty! I will enjoy the rest of the box, but not really sure I'd buy it again unless I was craving it in particular.

This is a pretty exciting weekend for me...but you'll just have to wait to see why! Here's a hint: I've been brainstorming new names....

~Namaste~