Fake-Out

Ok, so don't get me wrong - I am a hardcore believer in the importance and general superiority of whole, minimally processed foods, and a big part of this blog is dedicated to finding and delivering new and delicious recipes and products that are just that. BUT, let's face it - in the U.S., with our busy Blackberry-driven lives and the vast availability of the processed stuff, sometimes we save ourselves some stress and trouble and buy it. Being a college kid, I get it - sometimes it's better (taste and health-wise) than the "food" served in the dining hall. Plus, while it's not always the case, a lot of the natural stuff has a higher price than the regular stuff. I do think it's worth the price - I kind of look at it as an investment in my own health, but it's not going to be the end of me to eat it once on a while. And if others prefer this stuff to the all-natural kind, or need to eat it for other reasons, that's ok too. This is just my personal opinion. Ok, there's my spiel, on to the pics!

Before I discovered the wonderful world of Greek yogurt, I was a Yoplait Light/Dannon Light & Fit addict. I saw this new flavor and, well, I can't resist anything pomegranate-berry flavored. Tried....but can't.

Meh. The texture is clearly nothing special, but I was in it for the flavor - and it didn't really deliver. It was kind of a vague berry-like taste with that odd fake-sugar aftertaste. Boo. Oh well, at least I tried it.

The thick-style Yoplait Light was my favorite part of breakfast ever - again, pre-Greek. Loved the thickness, even if it was a little questionably gelatinous. A new flavor came out and I felt I should be fair and see what it was like.

Well, what I liked about it was that it did do some justice to blueberry pie, crust and all. It had a graham-like flavor in the background that worked well the the berry flavor. Still can't quite get past the fake-sugar though - last fall I decided to give up sweeteners as best I could (sometimes a girl just needs a Diet Coke!), and now I can practically smell it when I have products that use it. But minus that, the flavor was decent.

Alas, I just couldn't stay away:

THAT would be Chobani's pomegranate and may I just say - WOW!! I loooooved this! Had that nice cranberry-like tang that pomegranate does, and it had actual pom. seeds in it! The "fruit on the bottom" wasn't syrupy or heavy, it was just like when I add jam to my plain yogurt. And, as you can see, it passed the sideways-spoon test! My only problem? The $1.50 per cup part. Cruel. I suppose it will make breakfast all the more special when I have it!

That "special meeting" I mentioned yesterday was actually just me going to see my high school band director. He was essentially my 3rd parent/therapist my junior and senior years, and I practically lived in his office. I wouldn't have done, well, a LOT if it weren't for him. He's one of those people that I can talk forever to, because he's very good at reading my mind and just "getting it," ya know? So, I stop at Dunkies for our coffees and spend a couple hours just chillin and chattin. He's retiring this year and it makes me unspeakably sad that I won't be able to do it anymore :( But, change is good. It makes things happen.

P.S. - does anyone else adore Dunkies's cinnammon coffee? Mmmmm :)

After my "therapy session", I came home and was hangry. The sunny-side-up egg with spinach on toast disappeared way to fast for LuLu to snap a picture, but I did manage to breathe long enough to show you these beautiful organic grapes I got at WFs yesterday:

LOVE grapes. Juicy, brightly-colored goodness.

I had a turkey-arugula wrap for lunch, but it looked about as lackluster as it tasted (it needed....something). However, I did put my new bag of frozen mangoes to use:

1/2 c. mango + 1/2 sliced banana + 1/2 c. almond milk. I like going simple the first time I try things.

It was good, but I think mango and banana together are too sweet - they both call for citrus or berry (or both). And I also didn't add spinach, but I wonder if it wouldn't have mellowed the sweetness a little. Spinach is clearly a must-have in all smoothies!

Anyone else in Mass. feeling gross right now? It is hot, sticky and icky. I felt a bit worn down all day, even after a nap. I hit the elliptical to see if it would help, but I think it just made me feel grosser. But, my philosophy with working out is even when in doubt, try it for 5 minutes. If you can't do it, it's not worth pushing, but it's a very seldom occurrence that I regret working out. And with an iPod full of Glee tunes, it's pretty enjoyable anyway! (The It's My Life/Confessions mash-up rocks my socks!)

Pre-run snack was this guy:

One of my favorite flavors. It's sweet and nutty, you can SEE the berries and seeds, and it pleasantly crumbles in your mouth but not before. It is a little sticky, but it doesn't bother me. It is quite sweet, but the tartness of the berries seems to balance it out. Yum:)

I treated myself to a trip to Whole Foods for some cold, creamy treats (to be revealed tomorrow!), and this guy:

I am obsessed with these. They're just so good! This flavor is particularly awesome - a little floral, a little sweet, a lot awesome. If you like flavored water but not the sweeteners, try these!!! They have wicked fun flavors too - I want my Whole Foods to stock the mango-grapefruit so bad!

Dinner was again inhaled too quickly for LuLu (this is NOT a habit I intend to continue), but it wasn't too interesting - imagine if you will a Morningstar Farms black bean burger over spinach with a little cottage cheese +dijon+ pineapple salsa. If you have not tried pineapple salsa, you MUST - it is absolutely drool-worthy with teriyaki-glazed salmon. Trust me. You will never look at teriyaki the same again.

Dessert was a mish-mash, including this newbie:

After reviewing the Raspberry one a couple days ago, I was wary. And again, underwhelmed. It was not cardboard-y like my last try, but it was waaaay heavier on the date than blueberry flavor. But it was pleasantly gooey, and the nuts on top added a nice semi-crunch. Still...blah. I'll give the apple a shot - and then give up. Although I still think the cherry-pomegranate was pretty good...(see above for my opinion on pomegranate anything.)

I also made good on my word and had a peanut butter-fluff waffle:

YUM. I think the marshmallow brought out the sweetness in the waffle, and the peanut butter...well, I'm pretty sure peanut butter improves pretty much everything it's put on. I used my favorite brand ever, Naturally More - although my mean grocery store no longer carries the regular kind, only organic, which I don't like as much (go figure, right?). The regular has added egg whites and honey, whereas the organic doesn't - maybe that's why? And Whole Foods doesn't carry it. Hell if I know why. You can find it at WalMart (yes, you read that right), and it's really pretty cheap - if you're a pb fan, you MUSTmustmust try this. It changed my nut-butter-lovin' life. Whole flaxseeds give it a little crunch, there's a little bit of can sugar for sweetness...gah. Sogood.

At the beginning of this week, I declared the start of Project: Conscious Eating. I haven't forgotten about! And, while I can feel I'm getting better at it, it's a sloooooow process. Sometimes I just start snacking and can't stop. It's too easy here, with a family-size kitchen available 24/7. It's frustrating, and can be very defeating, but here is what keeps me sane: 1) I learn more about myself and how my body works everyday, and I know what helps and what hinders it, and 2) the world is not going to stop turning if I eat one cookie or handful of cereal too many. I will get up, start a new day, and try again. One of the hardest things I struggle with is eating too much - in the past, feeling "stuffed" triggers a total binge and then guilt so painful it's tangible. And that cycle is just not fair to myself. So, that is really the point of my project - which is really a lifelong project - to continue to live and get back on the horse and look at each day as a new chance. I truly hope that anyone who takes on their own project keeps that in mind above all - let the past be the past.

And on a completely unrelated topic, I'm watching the movie 27 Dresses (cute, but pretty formulaic-chick-flick), and JAN from The Office is James Marsden's [character's] editor!! She does play an excellent "woman-in-charge." Although I looove the episode where so goes all "hippie mom" on them....hehehe. 

I got me a babysitting job tomorrow AM, and still need to de-ickify. Gosh, I have rambled like whoa today!

Sweet dreams all :)

~Namaste~

A Centennial

Guess what you are reading right now??? The 100th post of Gillianasana!!! How exciting!!!!

And in honor of this very special post, I will....um, continue with my weekly theme. Because what better way to celebrate a food blog centennial than with food?

So, welcome to Day 2 of Yogurt Week! I've recently tried a couple fun new brands - Wallaby and Ricera.

Nonfat Bartlett Pear.

I really like the funky colors/kangaroo design!

This was "Australian-style" yogurt, which is verrry similar to European as far as I can tell - in other words, the polar opposite of thick, tangy Greek yogurt. Each has their place in my heart - I had a serious love affair with the vanilla yogurt I found at our grocery store in Florence. Yes, it was thin, but the flavor was amazing. I miss it...*tear* This was a slight letdown - I was really exciting about the pear flavor, but I couldn't taste it at all. It was pretty much just sweetened, runny yogurt. It wasn't bad, per se, just not pear-y. And if the flavor is kind of blah, I at least want a nice thick texture. BUT, there was nothing "fake
 about the flavor - no odd sweetener aftertastes or anything, and that I liked. Whole Foods has lots of other flavors and I'm all about second chances...so stay tuned ;)

I was really interested to see what this was like. Rice Yogurt! I have tasted rice milk before (my roommate at school is allergic to casein and prefers rice milk over soy/almond/etc) and it tasted like...um, rice+milk, so I was very interested to see what a flavored yogurt would be like.

I figured vanilla was a good trial-run flavor, no?

Nothing spectacular about the stats, but I do appreciate the more-or-less readable ingredient list :)

Texture-wise, I'd say it was pretty normal yogurt-y. Not particularly thin or thick, but not freakishly gelatinous like other brands who use a grocery list's length of various additives and weird, unpronounceable "edible" things. It was very sweet and rather starchy (in rice yogurt - imagine that ;) The vanilla flavor wasn't so prominent - a more apt description would be brown/cane sugar. It was basically rice pudding without the added bits of rice in it. I didn't love it, but I was happy to satisfy my curiosity. There are other flavors, but the high price tag might keep me from trying them again in the very near future.

I tried a food-blog-world fave today:

Gotta love that ingredient list!

Dates are pretty cool, that they can turn into this.
I've had the peanut butter cookie flavor, and it is my favorite Larabar ever - duh, it has peanut butter in the title. Cashews in general I have a more ambiguous relationship with. Sometimes I can't get enough, other times they make me gag. I never claimed to be normal. Anyway, I just didn't like this. Too sweet (dates are SUPER high sugar), I think the fact that cashews are kind of naturally sweet plus the dates just overdid it. That, and the fact that I'm not cashew's biggest fan led to a semi-disappointment. But, if you adore cashews, you'll probably enjoy this.

I also celebrated with a big bowl of appleberry oat bran. YUM!

I made it with 1/2 c. almond milk & 1/4 c. water, cinnamon, cardamom (essential ingredient - just a teeny tiny bit makes all the difference!), and vanilla. After the first round in the microwave, I threw in a handful of blueberries to cook and get juicy in the bowl. Unsweetened applesauce (I use Musselman's, I can't stand Mott's version) stirred in at the end, and a couple more bluebs thrown on top for aesthetic appeal. MMMM!

There was an interesting article today in the paper, about how suddenly everyone has become a food critic with the help of sites like Yelp and Chowhound.

It started me thinking about blogs and reviewing things here. Is it wrong/bad/out of place? Honestly, I don't think so. We're not getting paid, and all restaurants should treat paying customers like they're food critics anyway, regardless of whether or not they actually are. The other thing about reviews on blogs that I think is most important to keep in mind is that everyone is different! We all like different foods, or consider different things better or worse in terms of quality. I love reading lots of different reviews about the same place or food because it gives me a better, more detailed idea of what it's actually like. This article went into some not-so-nice goings-on behind the scenes with the actual internet companies being, well, money-hounds - and that I certainly am not a fan of at all. That's just sleazy. But when it comes to blogs, I say write on. Just keep in mind that the writer's experience is totally subjective, and you never know what you will think of it yourself. 

Y'all, a terrrrrrible thing happened today - my mo took my brother and I to Panera, and upon sitting down and preparing to enjoy my half of a Mediterranean Veggie, I felt something was missing....LuLu!! Gah, you can tell a young food blogger when they forget to bring their camera with them everywhere. (P.S., for any new readers - my blue Canon Powershot camera is named LuLu. Yes, I name my technological accessories. Makes it easier to yell at them when they inevitably screw up.) It was tasty though :)

After a visit with the elliptical at the gym, I popped over to heaven on earth Whole Foods to have some fun. Among other things, I grabbed this little container of fluffy wonder:

Yes, that is all-natural marshmallow creme!

Pretty sweet ingredient list, for what is traditionally the epitome of fake food!

Hmm, now what to test-drive my new present on?

Waffle. Duh.

It would will be better with peanut butter, but I'm quite impressed. I never, ever had a peanut butter-fluff sandwich when I was a kid, and never particularly desired to, but this stuff is just plain fun! I'm thinking gooood on top of some epic oat bowls too...and mixed in with greek yogurt...and on top of smoothies...oh, the possibilities!

I had one of those days where I found myself all of a sudden starving multiple times - as in, dinner was a turkey-hummus-spinach wrap because it was the fastest thing I could think of. Then at the end of the day I feel like a stuffed sausage, like my bottomless pit all of a sudden got way too full. Oy. It's all good, it all balances out eventually anyway. Just ranting :)

This chick needs to shower and hit the sack STAT - I have a special little "meeting" tomorrow AM. I actually to have to arise before noon. The horror!

~Namaste~