Test Kitchen Tuesday

We don’t eat a lot of processed food around these parts anymore. I try to make pretty much everything I can, if it is at all possible. But, there are some things that just are more convenient to buy already made. Cereal fits in this bucket, as do chips.

I know, I know. Health purists would balk at even mentioning chips. But, let’s keep  it real. Chips have a place even in a healthy diet, especially these chips. I just stumbled upon them one day on a trip to QFC. We never go to QFC (they’re a Kroger chain for non-Washingtonians), but, it was the day before Thanksgiving and 2Chili needed poultry spice to make his dressing, so we just popped in to the closest store while we were out and about. (By the way, have you ever read the ingredients label in poultry spice? It’s amusing – it says, quite simply, that the ingredients are “spices.”)

I tried the sweet potato tortilla chips first, and they were so good that I went looking for more, and as it turns out, Amazon Fresh carries quite a few varieties for $2.79-$3.29 a bag. That’s not bad!

And the ingredients are good. Here is the marketing lingo from the package:

• These chips are good from the inside out
• Certified gluten free, kosher (OU), low sodium, and have a good source of dietary fiber
• They are all-natural with no genetically modified ingredients or anything artificial
• Good source of dietary fiber
• No cholesterol and no trans fat

And, here is the ingredient list for the multi-grain variety:

Stone Ground Yellow Corn, Non-hydrogenated Canola Oil, Brown Rice Flour, Flax Seeds, Turbinado Cane Sugar, Oat Fiber, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Quinoa, Soy Flour, Sea Salt.

I can usually pick any label to pieces, but, I really find this one to be perfectly fine. Oh, did I mention they’re good? They pass the 2Chili test, so not just health nuts will find them good. I have a slight flax allergy, but for some reason these chips do not set off any of the symptoms, which is a bonus!

Here is the nutrition info on the multigrain:

If you’re looking for a healthier chip to partner with your sandwich or salsa, perhaps check these out. We always have some in our pantry!

It’s such a simple concept, the salad spinner. Wash your cut greens in its bowl, strain it in the built in strainer, and then spin, spin, spin to get a clean and dry salad in no time.

My particular salad spinner is nothing special. It was less than $10 from Amazon, but I just love it.

I get lots of cut greens from my CSA, and after I forgot to put away some mustard greens last summer and they were ruined, it was time to stop the insanity and figure out a better way.

The simple salad spinner is a better way, and, once your greens are clean and dry, they can be stored in the strainer bowl  inside the spinner for a longer shelf life in the fridge. Genius!

2Chili and I are off skiing it up today, and wish you a happy New Year’s Eve. Please be safe out there!

This post could also be called, the ugliest plate of sugar cookies, ever, but that didn’t have the best ring to it!

Considering today is Christmas Eve, and most people don’t really want to hear about healthy eating right before they hit friends and family’s homes for holiday dining, I thought I would have a guest Friday Favorite. You see, I am not much into holiday food (I know, just call me the Grinch). But, 2Chili is more like normal people in this area, as he does enjoy his holiday dining traditions.

For today’s Friday Favorite, I asked him what his favorite holiday treat is, and why. His answer surprised me, as I expected to hear “canned cranberry sauce with the ridges.”

Nope.

He said his absolute favorite thing is frosted sugar cookies, preferably in the shape of snowmen. His “why” was simply, “because they’re awesome.” We have been together 10 years and I did not know this! I make cookies maybe twice a year, at best, so I figured I could make a few sugar cookies as a treat and used this recipe. It’s a good thing my specialty is in the healthy foods area, because  I definitely do not have a future in the fine art of cookie or cake decorating. They had promise going in, as witnessed below:

The wheels fell off at the frosting!

My cookies look like a 3rd grader decorated them, but they taste pretty good!

Ah well, much like the dog biscuits I made a while back for Pipa, 2Chili doesn’t care how they look, he just cares how they taste. Good thing, too, cause I would be kicked off Iron Chef in 2 seconds with a sorry plate of cookies like these!

Wishing you a happy and safe holiday, and sending warm season’s greetings!

Move over peanut butter. I need you to make some room on the shelf. I still love you, but, almond butter is just so much more…sophisticated? Understated? Supercalafragalisticexpialidocious?

Thank you, Trader Joe’s, for offering up a variety of affordable almond butter: raw unsalted, creamy unsalted, raw with sea salt, and creamy with sea salt, raw crunchy, crunchy, and the list really goes on. My personal favorite is creamy unsalted, but accidental purchases of all types in the past make me 100% certified to say that they are all delish.

Favorite almond butter uses:

• A schmear on a slice of Manna Bread
• Blended into a bowl of bulgur or steel cut oats, with dried blueberries and milk
• On a banana
• On a piece of this bread
• Blended into a smoothie
• Straight off a spoon, Mary Poppins style

Have you tried almond butter? What are your favorite uses?

I think I must have something hardwired in me that gravitates towards alliterations!

New this week, I’m starting Friday Favorites, quick posts that highlight one of my favorite things, whether it be a gadget, a food product,  or a recipe. Occasionally, I’ll probably throw in a product review or two, but the main purpose is to just share items I love for no particular reason other than I love them!

One of my very favorite kitchen items is a spray mister. Instead of buying non-stick spray, I just use this little mister to spray olive oil and achieve the same nonstick end result for a fraction of the cost. (By the way, Trader Joe’s has the absolute best prices on olive oil.) And, I don’t end up with any concerns about propellants, or, the waste product of the used up spray can. It’s a win/win situation.

Have you tried using a mister? Love it? Hate it?