Golden Kiwis

My mom bought this one time years ago just because of "hey we've never tried this before" and at the time they were sold with these spoon/knifes to each them with. We have a few of them, have yet to see them again since we got them. You can do the same thing as it with just a knife and a spoon, i just get to use a fun version.

You can eat them however you want to, cut them up, add them to things, or whatever it is you'd use a golden kiwi for(or possibly in place of normal kiwi, but flavor is a little different). I just want to show the only way i'll eat a golden kiwi.

Start by cutting off just one end.

You can scoot out what you can from the part you cut off if you want, but the opening needs to be large enough for the spoon. Thinking about it, you could probably just cut it in half and just each both halves too.

Stick the spoon in....

Scoop....And Enjoy :)

Here's mine being empty.

Now for those of you who have never ate, or possible never heard of golden kiwis, you might be wondering about the taste. Had to eat another one just before writing this to get a fresh taste of it to be able to write about it. Ate it the same way as above, but this time i used one of my daughter's little spoons...should of used my spook/knife lol.

Alright, for the taste, I'd say it's got a sweeter taste. I can't exactly compare the taste to a normal kiwi because it's been a long time since i had one. The texture is a little softer though, you can't do this eating method with a normal kiwi, i tried before, it was hard. I do have a habit of hardly chewing kiwi's when i eat them because their seeds burn if you bite them, so because of that, not sure if i've bitten a golden kiwi's seeds to see if they also burn.

I do find that these are pretty good for when you want a small fruit snack but still want to feel like you are eating something by using utensils.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza Again

The picture is actually of the one my mom made up for my dad. I made the crust and she did the toppings.

After the first time i made it, my mom kept talking about it and wanted me to make them again. She's not even a big pizza person. Followed this recipe again: http://www.eat-drink-smile.com/2011/04/cauliflower-crust-pizza.html

Talking to my mom about it, i was thinking about how that since you have to cook the cauliflower before making the crust anyways, that it should be fine to use frozen...then i read again about how to make it and saw that it was get them into the pieces and then cook. Not so easy to do that when they are frozen. Made it work though, just cooked them enough to thaw them and then used the slap chop to get them into the pieces then heat them up again.
Here's my set up of that. Ignore the mess, i tend to forget to clean before i cook lol.

After that was done, it came to mixing the stuff before cooking. Realized we forgot to get mozzarella. My mom got the cheese for the topping though. It was a mixed blend that had mozzarella in it, and well really it was the only cheese we had to attempt to use to actually make this. So i used the pizza blend cheese for the crust. Worked just fine.

Here's how it looked after cooking it.

Pretty sure you just do the same thing to make the cauliflower "breadsticks", but that's not the point of this lol.

My mom and dad both loved their pizzas. I didn't make myself one, but i ate a slice of my mom's, it was good.

Nice to know it also works with frozen cauliflower and pizza blend cheese for the crust.

Zucchini "Noodles"

Didn't really follow a recipe for this. I did see this online and just followed what i remembered.

Used my julienne slicer to make the "noddles" and then just put it in a steamer bag and steamed it. then just added a little of pasta sauce to give it a little more flavor.

I found this to actually be really good. i did actually get a bit of a feeling of eating noodles. Of course didn't actually taste like noodles, but was a good substitute. My mom really likes zucchini and i've come to realize that i like it too. She usually just would slice and steam them. So i'll have to try this sometime with her able to try it. She doesn't like red sauce, but she'd probably be fine eating it sauce-less.

I also just love the picture i snapped of this :)

Carrot "Fries"

I tried following this: http://claireshealthyhome.com/easy-healthy-carrot-friesyes-carrot/

I think i might of put a little too much olive oil on the carrots, i didn't measure or use the whole bag of matchstick carrots.I also used our George Foreman grill to cook them, this one

(stock photo)

 Even with that, these turned out alright. I will probably try again but actually in the oven. Using the Foreman i used(with the "oven" style), that might of been why they didn't get too crispy.

It was interesting as these were cooking, they started to smell like sweet potatoes. Even more interesting....They tasted like it too once they were done. Only a few were what would probably be "fry" like, but i still ate all of it. Fry like or not, i thought it was yummy.

I guess i don't really have too much to write about this one. I will probably have more to say when i try it again in the actual oven.

Nature's Harvest Dry Roasted Edamame, with Sea Salt

I enjoy edamame, so when i saw this, i thought i'd try it. I've mostly just had the kind that steams in the pod and then you pop them out of the pods. So this was something new to try.

On the package, can't really be seen in the picture, it says: "0g trans fat & a cholesterol free food" "excellent source of fiber & protein" and "good source of iron"
I found this page with the nutrition facts since i didn't take a picture: http://www.fooducate.com/app#page=product&id=9C324C02-0F87-11E1-8977-1231380C180E
As you can see, just 1/4 cup of these, you get 5g of fiber and 11g of protein.
I think if you compare a cups worth of this to a cups worth of peanuts, these turn out to be better. Aside from the sodium and carbs. if you go based on weight watcher's point plus system, the edamames are 15 points for a cup(4 points for a 1/4 cup serving) and the peanuts are 24 points for a cups worth. I'd say points wise, these are good for a replacement. I do feel it has a nutty taste/feel to it when you eat these. Whether just eating these or putting them on a salad, not sure yet what else you could put them on lol. i don't know how well they'd cook in things.

Edamames are also good for you. i found this page to explain why: http://www.livestrong.com/article/409591-the-health-benefits-of-edamame/

I am finding myself having a hard time not popping these into my mouth as i'm writing this lol. Though they are salty, i don't think it's like how peanuts are to where you feel like your mouth is drying out from eating a handful. The texture is different from peanuts, i feel it's more of a crumble like texture once you start to chew them.

For those who are dieting, i say this might be worth you trying out to see if you like it. I'm not sure how much i'll keep this on hand since i don't seem to stick to a good diet. But i would buy this again in general.

Lastly, i wanted to share a picture of what a serving size looks like

Apple Cinnamon Water

I'll admit it...I'm one of those people who wants those quick fix in weight loss. So when something talks about bring up metabolism and such, i want to try them. My downfall.....I don't stick with them. Drinking water is my biggest downfall, i just don't really drink it. Main part of that for me is that i don't like the taste and it's so boring for me. While browsing Pinterest, i did come across this drink, Day Spa Apple Cinnamon Water- 0 calories.

It mostly talks about how to make it rather than the why it works. Personally for me, i haven't tried it long enough with drinking it enough to notice what difference it makes. So i'll go into a small bit on that.

I think i had heard about cinnamon helping, but didn't really know why. so i just did a quick search and this webpage seems to give a good explaining to why. http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/how-a-scoop-of-cinnamon-a-day-can-help-you-lose-weight.html#b
For the apples, I already knew that apples were a good fruit to eat to help get a wake up boost, so just kinda figuring that along helps with metabolism. Did a quick search and found this page that seems to give a short thing about apples. Just not sure about on this since you are not eating the apples. http://www.livestrong.com/article/233137-do-apples-help-you-lose-weight/
Last thing is the ice. You might be like "Say what? Ice makes you lose weight?" Yes it does, well the ice water. I've read on this one before, it's because it's cooling your body down when you drink it, so it has to work harder to warm itself back up. Along with you getting the water you need. I went ahead and found an article for you to read if you want more information on it. http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/weight-loss/question447.htm

I'm not a nutritionist or anything, or even really that healthy. But it is something i read up on for when i finally get my butt moving on the right track. So that's why i wanted to provide the articles as to why. Feel free to share better articles if you know of any.

Now back to the drink itself.

For prepping, it really isn't that hard. Just cut the apples, put in the sticks, add the ice, fill with water, then put in the fridge.
For taste, this mostly matters on what apples you use. I either used honey crisp or fugi. Been awhile since i made this so i don't remember. Would be interesting to try with green apples since they'd have a tarter taste. For what i did use, this was good. The cinnamon did give it an almost burning like feel for me when drinking it, if i'm remember right.

I will be making this again at some point to try and see what difference happens if i actually drink a gallon of it a day. Will be a little experiment for myself. Just probably won't be at least until my daughter starts sleeping at slightly better times.

I hope this post helps those who read it.

A Banana + 2 Eggs = Pancakes?

Now i dont have a pretty picture of a nice stack of these....I eat while i cook pancakes, only time i have a stack is after i get full lol. This picture though is of one of the pancakes i made. Here's a good page to use to follow how to make them, http://www.blogilates.com/recipe-index/100-natural-pancakes-recipe-gluten-free-flourless-low-calorie

I've tried this before where you just use a fork and mash the banana and 2 eggs together to get a smoother texture. I don't remember really how those turned out. For this one, i did a double batch of 1 bananas and 4 eggs and i used my food processor to mix them together. might of gave it a thinner texture, but seemed okay.
Here's some pictures from me processing it...

I ended up trying to cook on stove top and on an electric griddle....i think both are fairly a bust if you try and rush this. because it's thin and only eggs and bananas, cooking it on a high temp just doesn't really seem to work. Lower and little longer seems to work better. Also, if you are not using a non stick pan, be sure to spray or it will be even harder to flip. It's hard to flip it on it's own. In a few comments on the link i provided above, there was comments about adding coconut flour to thicken it a little to make it easier to flip. You can use normal flour, just would defeat the flourless part of this. I've read that coconut flour is good for you, and it's gluten free. Could maybe also use almond flour, just almond flour is something to watch because it's made purely from nuts (easy enough to google more info if you are interested). I wouldn't mind trying this again with using the almond flour or coconut flour to thicken it.

There was also a comment about about using this for crepes(might of been a comment on part of the pinterest post i found it through). i liked the idea of the crepes, just i didn't have any whip type topping and the pan i was using wouldn't be very good for making crepes. I did managed to make a slightly thinner one and just put some of my greek cream cheese on it then rolled it.

Tasted pretty close to a cream cheese filled crepe.

As for the taste alone, it has a banana taste to it...i'd be surprised if it didn't. I'd say it's almost like a banana muffin type taste? i ate one while it was cold and when cold it did taste a good bit like banana bread. For not having flour in it, it did still have a slight bread/pancake feel for it

For me, i find this just a pretty simple something to make if i just want to make something quick to eat and have bananas and eggs. it's an alright way to use up almost gone bad bananas. Which both reasons were why i made these when i did.

Green Mountain Farms Greek Cream Cheese

In other posts i've mentioned a greek yogurt cream cheese that i've used. This is the product i have been talking about.

With my hopes for actually dieting, healthier alternatives, such as the greek yogurts, tend to catch my eye. I love cream cheese. The idea of it being made with greek yogurt did give me a bit of a "uhhhh i'm not sure on this" type feeling. But i was pleasantly surprised on the taste. It's not exactly like normal cream cheese, but has a good taste to it. I've only tried the whipped version so far, i got the brick version for when i get a recipe that needs cream cheese. Even the texture is a cream cheese one still. I really could just eat a spoonful. Which i seem to be trying to do while writing this.

When searching the name of this product, i found their website http://www.franklinfoods.com/greek-cream-cheese

That should be able to give better info on the actual product. As it says on the site, it can be bought at walmart, which is where i found it. I think it would be fun to do a taste test of regular cream cheese with this one to see what real taste difference there is, maybe i will some day. For now, this is the cream cheese i will be using unless i want flavored ones, though i'm sure i could figure out how to just flavor this on my own.

Here's the nutrition facts for the whipped one. (found on the website i provided)

8oz. Whipped Tub

Serving Size - 2 Tbsp (22g)

Amount per Serving

Calories 45 Calories from Fat 20

% Daily Value

Total Fat             2.5g      4%

Saturated Fat    1.5g      8%

Trans Fat              0g

Cholesterol      10mg    4%

Sodium             65mg    3%

Total Carb         2g         1%

Fiber                   0g

Sugars               2g

Protein               3g 

Based on that, if you go to figure out the weight watches points plus for it, it's only 1 point for 2 tbs!!!! that's a lot better than other ones. I was checking out the points on other creams cheeses that are listed on the weight watcher's website. There are other 0-2 point ones that are for like the fat free and even regular, but those were for just 1 tbs. For point wise, i think this one might actually be one of the better ones, without that "healthy" taste. 

I do think the taste will differ for each person, but i like it and do recommend people try it.

Genesis Today Skinny Coffee Vanilla Latte

I think what caught my attention to try this was seeing the word "skinny". I like trying all sort of new things(even if it scares me lol) and i like seeing what healthy items actually taste good. It being a coffee drink also caught my attention. I sometimes get a little picky on coffee drinks because i don't like it too strong.

Looking at the package, just look at all that stuff that makes it look so healthy. "50% fewer calories", "skinny", "supports: energy, Healthy weight" "green coffee beverage".
Here's a page about green coffee if you aren't sure on what it is. [Link]

For taste, i find that this taste very close to this drink

Probably not exactly, but it's been awhile since i've had a java monster. But i always liked Mean Bean the best, so since it tastes close to that, i really like this skinny coffee drink. There was another flavor that i'll have to try.

here's the section of the container that gives info on it. sorry if a little hard to read in the picture.


I plan on buying more of these for my coffee for the summer. It's refreshing and does seem to give me a perk, unlike normal coffee, so will be good for hot mornings.

JELL-O LiveActive Milk Chocolate Pudding Snacks

I decided to try this after i saw it because i do have a bit of digestive problems. I've tried the Activia yogurts, but i'm not a big yogurt fan. So i figured if this actually works and taste alright, then it'd be easier for me to eat.

I don't remember the price, and the site doesn't tell you, but i got this at walmart. Here's the link to it on the walmart website [Link]

For it being sugar free, it is sweetened with Splenda. This does taste like normal chocolate pudding to me, but i do think it has a bit of a Splenda after taste to it. I don't mind that since the pudding is tastier than the yogurts i've tried.

I've only ate one so far, but i'll probably try to test this better when i can go buy some more of it. To get the real feel on how well it works, would need to eat one a day for a few weeks. In the description on the walmart's website, it says "Research suggests eating as little as eight grams of this prebiotic fiber per day can help promote the growth of the good bacteria already in your body." With that, that means you could eat the whole pack a day....that's kinda a lot of pudding. As long as you also have other fiber in your diet, that should help also so that you don't need to eat all the pudding in one day. I'm not a doctor though, so that's just my opinion that is based on what my doctor sorta told me when i've talked to her about my problem. She mostly just said "more fiber"

Over all. I think this is a good product taste wise. As for if it works, i'm not sure yet.

Banana "Ice Cream"

My daughter loves ice cream and she likes bananas, i thought maybe if i tried this that it would get her to eat a little healthier....well, i'm not sure if i'll try this again.

This is "ice cream" made from only bananas. I've seen the machines that process it for you and i've read that you can just use a blender or food processor. I got one of the cheaper Ninja processors, so i wanted to try this to use it more. I also loved the idea because it could save some money on ice cream if my daughter liked it....she wouldn't even try it(picky eater..she is only 3 though).

I find this to be a bust for me. Might of been because i used fairly fresh bananas instead of the more ripened ones some recipes call for. It gave a weird after taste, probably from them being fresh. and then also from being fresh, might of been why i had problems processing it.

Some pictures of my progress with it:

Put the frozen bananas into the processor.

After running it...It made banana crumble lol. I ran it a bunch of times and this was all i was getting. I had to let them thaw a little before it finally started to get creamier. But at least if i want banana crumble, i know what to do now lol.

Then after getting to thaw some first, i managed to get this. it is sorta ice cream looking. Texture wasn't very soft serve either like the posts i've seen said, but could of been because of the bananas i used. It was more like a thick paste.

Since i didn't exactly like the taste, i tried to make it chocolate by putting chocolate syrup in it. I think that just made it worse. I could't even eat this myself. Also, trying this out scared me that i already broke my processor. It started to run hot from all the running just to try and get a good texture. So it stopped working while i was trying to make it into chocolate. Luckily once it cooled down, it still works. Yay i didn't kill it!


I've seen a good bit of different blogs saying that this works for them and they love it and their kids love it....but i don't think i'll try this again, even with more ripened bananas. I'll try banana "ice cream" again if someone else makes it for me, either through blender/processor or that ice cream maker that uses bananas and other fruits. I do have a blender that probably would handle this, it's the vita-mix brand, but i still don't think i'll make this again. Or maybe in a few years when i actually think my daughter will try it. If that, then i'll at least have this blog post to tell me what NOT to do lol.

Cottage Cheese Scrambled Eggs

I've been getting into just trying new things. See something (usually on pinterest) and then i want to make it. As long as i feel i'm capable to make it though lol. This is the recipe i followed http://dietrecipesblog.com/2008/07/22/cottage-cheese-scrambled-eggs-recipe-137-calories/

This was one of those things that i came across. It didn't really sound bad to me, but it did sound unusual. Never would of thought "Hey lets put cottage cheese in with my eggs", though that could go for a lot of things for me...If i hadn't already learned when a kid that you could put peanut butter on bread to make a sandwich, it probably would sound really odd to me lol. What also made me want to try this was it let me use my ninja processor that i am just wanting to find all these things to make with. Only thing...i think i probably processed this a tiny bit too much.

Taste wise, it was okay for me. I'm someone that likes melted cheese in my eggs (usually cheddar), so i really felt like that was missing when i was eating this. There was a sorta clear taste of cottage cheese in it. Like the left over taste in your mouth was of cottage cheese. I was like, "I ate eggs, why is my mouth tasting like cottage cheese". There did seem to be a bit of wateriness to it. After it was on the plate it was starting to get liquid just sitting under it, not extremely appetizing to see. Back to the processing part, I feel i might of over done it because the texture wasn't the usual scrambled egg texture. Though was a little lighter.

I might try this again later on but just not process it as much....And cheese..i need cheese in it lol. But as my brother said "But there is cheese in it."

My biggest thing about this experience.....MY DAUGHTER ATE SOME!!! Been having trouble getting her to eat. So whether it was because of the recipe or just because she was hungry, she ate some. Not really going to get into her eating habits though, not what the post is about lol.

Little part i find humorous. Reading the comments on the recipe post, people who are in weight watchers are getting all huffy over the point value, not realizing the recipe makes 2 servings.


Additional info:

My mom is in weight watchers right now, so i used her recipe builder on what i used to get the points per serving and same as the recipe said, it's 3 points per serving. I used the 3 eggs it said and i used 2% cottage cheese. When i found this on pinterest, someone had put that they do 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg. Putting that into the recipe builder on weight watchers, also putting fat free cottage cheese, then it would 2 points per serving.


Here's my pictures of cooking this

Portabella Mushroom Pizza "Bites"

This was one of those things i've seen on Pinterest and finally decided to try. Didn't follow exactly what it said, measurements and such though. Here's the link to the recipe i used for the basic info on making these, Portabella Pizza Bites

First off i'll start with that i call these "bites" because i didn't use the mini sized ones, they were more like just mini pizzas.

I've never had portabella mushrooms before, or at least not that i remember/know. Wasn't sure on how big of a taste difference they'd have. It tasted just like a normal cooked mushroom taste, so that was good. Trying new foods always give me that kind of feeling "will it be gross?" I get that feeling on some things i know i like that i just haven't had for some time lol.

Back to the "bites". Like i said at the start, i didn't follow the recipe completely. I still used marinara and i did use mozzarella cheese, but just regular though so i didn't use the egg mix. Also used regular pepperoni instead of the turkey. Some had olives and some didn't. I made 5 of them all together.

I completely forgot to take pictures from the very start, so i remember when i was half way done with putting the sauce on. so here's the pictures of that and just before melting the cheese. Also instead of the oven, cooked them in the BBQ, it was too hot to turn the oven on.

Taste wise, best i can really say it tasted like was if you had a pizza with pepperoni and a LOT of mushrooms and only ate the toppings. It tasted like a pizza without the crust, just with a lot of mushroom taste to it. I like mushrooms so that wasn't a problem. My parents both tried it said it was good. I'll probably try this again at some point, maybe follow the recipe exact to try that or try different versions like use a white sauce instead.

If you like pizza and mushrooms, i'd recommend this for you. And if you follow the recipe and making it the healthier version then makes a good snack for a dieter (next time when i follow the exact recipe i will post about it again with the weight watchers point plus).

I did look up the nutrition  of the mushrooms and was a bit surprised that it has 5 grams of protein for a cups for. Points wise for weight watchers, white mushrooms and the portabella mushrooms are both 0 points, but nice to learn that the portabella has better protein and fiber.

Summary
Pros:
- tasted like pizza
- nice for a snack or little meal
Cons:
- some of the mushrooms were still really juicy and made it a bit messy to eat with hands
- i love mushrooms, but if you are craving the crust of pizza more than the over all pizza taste, then this won't satisfy the pizza craving all that much.

As long as i'm not too lazy, i will make this again. Like i said, i'll try different ways for fun to see how to work and to try the real recipe. It's not hard to make, i'm just lazy at times lol.

Bolthouse Farms PROTEIN PLUS™ MANGO

I love mangoes decided to try this. A lot of fruits and vegetable that are made from 100% juice, just something about them that i don't like. Either taste or texture. I thought this one sounded good because of the protein, something i tend to lack in my diet.

For some reason i'm always nervous to try new drinks lol. This one isn't bad, but i am turned off from the thickness of it. But it does say that it's a protein shake on the bottle, so that is probably why it's thicker. At least it was grainy like other ones i've tried.

I probably won't get this again. Partly because of not really liking the taste but also because i don't drink that much(way less than i should and even then it's mostly soda >.<).

Cauliflower Loaded Mash

So the picture isn't the best, but i forgot to take one before it was served.

I've seen a few times on Pinterest about making a mash with cauliflower instead of potatoes. it seemed simple enough to make, steam the cauliflower, then put in food processor to get the right texture. We don't have a processor so i used this like mini type one we have, it mostly did the job, but makes me wonder if a real one would be better. The texture was alright, not as smooth as mashed potatoes, but it didn't feel like you were pretty much just eating steamed cauliflower.

After getting the texture done, i did add some butter at first, wasn't bad just felt like it was missing something because it did taste just like steamed cauliflower. then i had the idea to just make it a loaded mash and added cheese, sour cream, and turkey bacon bits. Took a taste test and still felt like something was missing, added some salt and then was like magic because that bit of salt just finished off the whole thing and tasted really good.

We still have a purple cauliflower that i'm going to try and make this again but instead of a loaded mash, probably just a basic garlic mash. That will be fun just because it will be purple lol.