New to Me Foods
| February 22, 2012 | Posted by Cait @ Beyond Bananas under What I Ate Wednesday |
It’s Wednesday! Man.. weeks sure do go by quickly when you are on vacation! And this one is NO different. Usually it takes FOREVER for Wednesday to crawl around.. but of course now that I want time to pass slower.. it speeds by in the blink of an eye!
I haven’t been a part of Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday in quite a few weeks now. I eat a lot of the same foods.. and figured it was getting pretty pointless to post the same turkey sandwich with sliced apples..over & over again. So today, I am putting a little twist on things for you!
I am going to introduce you to some new to me foods that I have been enjoying lately!! I have seen many of these foods on other blogs and always appreciate learning about new foods. Maybe you will find something YOU would like to try! 
First we have some new coffee flavors! I finally bit the bullet after here Katie swoon over the Dunkin Strawberry Shortcake coffee.. and picked up a bag at target! I think it tastes really good, but like most coffees, the smell is much more potent and endearing than the actual coffee! I still drink it pretty regularly, thought!
Justin and I also ordered some K-Cups in bulk from Amazon. Right now we probably have close to 200 cups. We had a gift card for Amazon and put it to good use! One of my favorite new K-Cup flavors is Caramel Vanilla!
Truth is.. K-Cups are super expensive. But you don’t NEED K-Cups to use a Keurig. (Embarassing Fact: I forgot what the coffee machine was called and had to go look at it. WOOPS!).
Anywho- we also have a reusable filter that we can put regular ground coffee in! It is GREAT!
A new favorite snack of mine is these Jalapeno Jack pretzel crisps. I’ve tried a lot of the pretzel crisps.. and picked these up on a whim at Fairway the other day because I was looking for something with a kick. And these hit the spot! They were incredibly spicy.. but spicy enough! I can usually put back a fair amount of pretzel thins.. but the spiciness of these limited me to only one serving.
Cashew Butter! Another thing to add to my list of delicious nut butters! The first time I had this, I had picked it up from Target. It was the Archer Farm brand that Target puts out.. and it was reasonably priced (for Cashew butter.. mind you). It was still pretty expensive at either $5.99 or $6.99.. but SO GOOD! The one pictured below was a little more expensive. Delicious? YES. BUt nothing something I will regularly buy because of the price! It is a treat!
Tomato Basil Hummus Dip from Trader Joes! This is not your standard hummus. I guess that is why it is called a dip.. and not straight hummus. The main ingredient is Tomato Puree – so if you are looking for something with a legit hummus base.. this is not for you. I was expected a more hummus-y taste.. but this is still great for dipping carrots!
Coconut Almond Milk! I LOVE VANILLA ALMOND MILK.. like more than anything! I do only enjoy the Almond Breeze Brand. I’ve heard about this new flavor and was excited to see it stocked on the shelves of my local grocery store. It has a unique taste to it. I’ve used it when baking and as a coffee creamer. I don’t quite like drinking it from a glass, but is surely has the coconut taste!
Plain Greek Yogurt is the main ingredient to my new breakfast of choice. Yes.. my heart still belongs to oatmeal, but I like switching it up now! I mix greek yogurt with some flavored protein powder and some cereal! Previously, I had been hooked on Trader Joe’s Greek Yogurt. I like it a lot because there are only 6g of sugar in it! One thing that stinks about yogurt is lots of them have upwards of 18-20 grams of sugar!
Rather then running around to many different grocery stores, I picked of a big container of Fage at Fairway. It is more expensive than TJ’s.. but it is SUPER creamy and I really like it! It has 9 grams of sugar. More than TJ’s..but still less than the average serving of Greek Yogurt!
And finally.. I have a picture of not a new food.. but an amazing new to me dessert that I have truly been enjoying!! I’ve been craving chocolate cake. so I decided to give my own version of “Chocolate Mug Cake” a go! Fortunately .. my first try was AMAZING!
After spending just 5 minutes in the kitchen, I presented my concoction to Justin.
(Let us IGNORE that bad job I did of stirring the bottom).
He thought it must have been something I pulled out of the freezer because no one makes chocolate cake in 5 minutes. So I had him come and watch as I made him one.
Still.. after eating it.. he was SHOCKED at how delicious it was! I want to try and get some better lit pictures of it before I share the recipe! I plugged some info into a recipe calculator and figured that this has just about 150 calories in it! (And no added sugar! )
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What are some “new to me” foods that you have been enjoying lately?
I agree that it stinks how much sugar is in most yogurts – BUT, when it comes to your plain yogurt, the 6 vs 9 grams of sugar are from the milk itself – natural milk sugars. Your ingredient list shouldn’t have any sugar added. You’ll notice your carton of milk (if you drink it) also has around 6-9 grams of sugar per cup, just like your apples and bananas would have lots of sugar on the label if they had labels. It’s only the added sugars, though, that need to be avoided.
On that note, if you like flavors, flavored Siggi yogurt only has like 9 grams per container! Expensive though
Very true! Thanks for the info! Now that I think about it.. it definitely makes sense! How come the number of grams of sugar can differ SO much in plain greek yogurt. I’ve seen some with like 18g of sugar (and it isn’t an added ingredient!)
that is strange. I have wondered why some milks have almost a tsp difference in (natural) sugars also. The only thing I can guess with the Greek yogurt is that, because it’s so concentrated, more of the milk sugars also get concentrated along with the extra protein? Less water in the mix to dilute it per cup?
yay! Glad you got some strawberry shortcake loving, we LOVE it! Im sorry it was just ok to you, but glad you are enjoying it!
The tomato basil hummus dip is AWESOME for using as pizza sauce on a whole wheat pita pizza or any type of pizza you make, I did that and it rocked!
Happy Wednesday! <3
katie recently posted..WIAW { breakfast } Mint Chocolate Protein Pancake
Oooh! Yes! I bet that hummus would be GREAT on a pizza pita! Thanks for the awesome idea!
New foods are so much fun! I’m going to be on the hunt for those jalapeno pretzels.
I thought the same thing about that coconut Almond Breeze. It’s wayyyyy to much coconut to just drink. but would be good to cook/bake with.
Can’t wait for the chocolate mug recipe!
The coconut almond blend milk looks awesome!
Sarah recently posted..Almond Chicken
So many yummy options! I love those pretzel crisps too, but haven’t tried the jalepeno ones. And 5 minute chocolate cake in a mug? Yummm! Looks amazing.
Laura recently posted..Tomato poached eggs and WIAW
love the looks of that mug cake!!
Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean recently posted..WIAW: Hits & Misses
a little random but just wanted to make sure you saw this since you’re the only CT bride I know!:
http://lovelylittledetails.com/2012/02/22/attention-connecticut-brides-and-beyond-wedding-inspiration-event-at-page-hardware-feb-28th/
I have a chocolate mug cake pinned on my pinterest! Now I have to try it.
Mattie @ Comfy and Confident recently posted..Fresh Market and WIAW
I am SO glad I tired to make it! It was AMAZING!
That’s natural sugar from the lactose, so don’t stress over it.
I love that Tomato Basil Hummus too – I think it tastes like pizza!
Claire @ Live and Love to Eat recently posted..Fat Tuesday WIAW
Gotcha! How come it sometimes varies so much from one brand to another? Some plain greek yogurts have like 19g!
I definitely agree with the Coconut Almond Milk. My Mom poured herself a glass and couldn’t handle it – so she mixed in a little chocolate and it tastes EXACTLY like a liquid Almond Joy. Delicious!
Oooh that sounds like a great idea! Liquid almond joy! YUM!
Ha! I did the same thing! I added dk cocoa powder and some spicy cinnamon, heated it on the stove and called it hot chocolate…. Super comforting.
I haven’t been to Target in forever, does that Cashew butter have sugar/oil added or is it an all natural butter? New to me- I tried out Tina’s blender first-cook second method for fluffy oats http://carrotsncake.com/2012/02/fill-er-up.html and it was pretty darn tasty. I usually add the egg whites at the end of cooking oats, so this was…interesting. I also tried Aldi’s Coconut popsicles for a treat. They are pretty darn tasty, a little too sweet for me though. And last week and this week I have been on a protein smoothie KICK, almost every other day, I made pineapple-kiwi, orange creamsicle, chocolate-banana (of course, that’s my go-to smoothie), chocolate mint and vanilla-peanut butter.
Jenna Z recently posted..Make a Blanket Day
It has oil added. It COMPLETELY separates, however. Without oil, it is rock solid. I haven’t found a cashew butter that doesn’t have oil added.. Even the ones I’ve seen at Whole Foods, TJ’s and Fairway all have the oil in them. If you really dislike the oil.. you can control how much of it you keep because all the 100% seperation.
Oh I LOVE the Dunkin Donuts Strawberry coffee, it feels like spring when I drink it
And it feels liek Spring outside today too!!! So it is a perfect day for it!
oh i love pretzel crisps, but i’ve never tried the jalapeno kind! they sound so good! i still have yet to try cashew butter, but i REALLY want to since cashews are my favorite nut. i’m always steered away from buying it because it’s so pricey. one of these days i’ll talk myself into it…
Ashley @ My Food ‘N’ Fitness Diaries recently posted..WIAW {What I Ate Wednesday} #22: Short & Simple
If you have a Target around you.. it is definitely reasonably priced there! I like it a lot!!! I won’t buy it regularly for sure, but I am definitely glad that I gave it a try!
Wow 150 calories for a chocolate cake dessert that only takes 5 minutes?! Sounds right up my alley! I cannot wait for you to share that recipe!
And I love jalapeno anything, those pretzel crisps sound delicious! I’ll have to see if I can find any here locally!
Jentry Nielsen recently posted..Abs of Steel?
Mmmm… Cashew Butter is the best! It’s strange because of all the foods you’ve posted above, I’d probably associate them as unhealthy and fattening.
Shelly C recently posted..penny auction site
I am actually looking for something new to present to my family. I like the review you presented with these products. Thank you for the recommendations. I am excited to give them a try.
Mary recently posted..DTS Home
I haven’t been using my Keurig because the K-cups are so darn expensive, I need to get a little filter!
Kristabel@RaceReady recently posted..Recent Favorites
That K-Cup idea is BRILLIANT. The individual ones are just so expensive! And that chocolate cake looks delicious, do you have a recipe for that?!
Caramel vanilla cream is my absolute favorite K-cup flavor! I would like to try that strawberry shortcake as well!
Amanda @ Let Me Be What’s Underneath recently posted..Feeling “gutsy.”
that app looks great! I may have to download it :] and I looove coconut milk so I’ve got to try that blend out!
Kasey @ PowerCakes.blogspot.com recently posted..If your heart is in the right place..
I LOVE cashew butter! So good!
Matt @ The Athlete’s Plate recently posted..Running Off A Cold
I don’t enjoy enough “new to me” foods. I need to start trying some more!
Cait’s Plate recently posted..Inspired Stack