Archive for the ‘A Few of My Favorite Things’ category

Coca Cola’s Happiness Machine

March 6th, 2010

The first image the phrase “The Happiness Machine,” brings to mind is somewhat similar to the insanity of Willie Wonka’s candy factory: Happiness pumped out in the form of chocolate, bubble-gum, schnozzberries, and golden tickets. Maybe that vision isn’t so far off. Coca Cola has launched an online video that’s gone viral, dubbed “The Happiness Machine.”


The gist: Coke kicks off “The Happiness Machine” with a YouTube video, as they plan to travel to college campuses across the U.S., installing their “happiness machines” and watching the fun begin. The video delivers on its promise of happiness, bringing the unknowing participants to their knees in laughter (one girl even hugs the machine!), and an equal number of laugh-out-louds to its online viewers. I know for me, it totally made my week knowing that something so small could bring a whole cafeteria of college students together (even if that something had to be empty calories – c’mon Coke, you do make water too!).


So remember, the next time you’re buying a soda, you may end up with 20… or a balloon animal… or a pizza… or a six-foot sub sandwich…

Happy Snacking,

Lindsey

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon
  • Delicious
  • Ping
  • Technorati Favorites
  • Reddit
  • Blogger Post
  • WordPress
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Health Ranker
  • Share/Bookmark

USDA Launches Your Food Environment Atlas

February 26th, 2010

Curious how your town measures up in local produce against the rest of the U.S.? Want to know if you’ve got the most fast food restaurants in your state? The USDA just launched a neat tool that’ll show you! The Your Food Environment Atlas tool lets you assemble country-level statistics based on food choices, health, and community characteristics so you can see how your town or state compares to others across the nation.

Obviously the chillier states are the low end of the local-food scale right now, but I wonder if the map will reflect seasonal changes in fresh produce availability? I guess I’ll have to wait until summer to see… it feels so far away! Start getting ready for summer now by finding a farmers’ market near you. Check out the USDA’s Farmers Market Search to find your local market, and start supporting your inner locavore this summer!

Happy Snacking,

Lindsey

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon
  • Delicious
  • Ping
  • Technorati Favorites
  • Reddit
  • Blogger Post
  • WordPress
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Health Ranker
  • Share/Bookmark

The Super Breakfast Bowl Challenge #4: Walnuts Winner!

February 19th, 2010

021010_0437_TheSuperBre1.png

.

.

By Jessica Maillet from A Fete for Food

Thanks to all who participated in the Super Breakfast Bowl Challenge! I definitely have a whole slew of new recipes I’m going to be trying out!

Today’s winner is Nour from Practical Nutrition with her recipe for Banana Walnut Flax Muffins! Nour will be the proud new owner of Futter Nut Butters walnut butter and Mollie Katzen’s cookbook, Get Cooking.

Banana flax muffins

Banana Flax Muffins

No time for breakfast? Make these delicious and healthy muffins ahead of time and grab on your way out. Made with whole wheat, flax seeds, walnuts, canola oil, and bananas, these muffins are an excellent source of many good-for-you foods. Even kids would love it!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 c ground flax seeds
  • 1/4 c sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 egg
  •  tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 c canola oil
  • 1/4 c reduced fat milk
  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 c walnuts

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, flax, sugar, and baking soda). In a separate bowl, mix the liquid ingredients (egg, vanilla, oil, milk, and bananas).

Stir the liquids in the dry ingredients. Fold in the walnuts. If the batter is too dry, add more milk. Pour into 12 paper-lined muffin cups. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Thanks to all who took part in this blog challenge!

Jess

A Fete For Food

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon
  • Delicious
  • Ping
  • Technorati Favorites
  • Reddit
  • Blogger Post
  • WordPress
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Health Ranker
  • Share/Bookmark

The Super Breakfast Bowl Challenge #4: Quinoa Winner!

February 18th, 2010

.

.

By Corinne at Green Grapes Blog


WooT-WooT! Folks—we got a winner! A Ka-Ka-Ka QUINOA WINNER! And, that winner is Ms. Carolyn Goodwin!

In response to last week’s post on the many health benefits of quinoa and call to the new-ingredient-breakfast-eating challenge, we received many calls to action—calls to action-cooking quinoa that is! BUT, there could only be one winner to claim Super Breakfast Bowl Challenge victory! And that winner, determined by a random number generator, is Carolyn’s Quinoa Breakfast

Carolyn, take it away…!!!

I love my quinoa breakfast, which I’ve been eating almost every day for about six months and still look forward to each morning. This makes a batch that’s enough for about a week. I usually eat it cold, sometimes I warm it up. I pour a little plain kefir over it, or milk is good, nut milks are tasty too. It’s just good food, any way you eat it. Besides the wonderful nutritional value of the quinoa, you get a healthy dose of nuts, fruit, cinnamon, and coconut oil. And the combination of the cinnamon and the coconut oil tastes fabulous.

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups quinoa
  • ¾  cup raisins (or to taste)
  • ¾ cup chopped cashews or pistachios (or to taste)
  • ¾  cup diced apples (or to taste)
  • 2 tsp cinnamon (or to taste)
  • 1 to 2 Tb coconut oil

Directions:

Rinse the quinoa thoroughly, and soak overnight in water with a little yogurt added if desired. Put the quinoa with water to cover (quantity of water is not important, since you’ll be draining it later) into a saucepan, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain any remaining water, and put the quinoa in a steamer (or just in a sieve over boiling water), steam for an additional 10 minutes. This method produces piles of fluffy quinoa, much better than just boiling in water. Put the warm quinoa in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients, and fluff with a fork. Can be enjoyed warm or cold, with milk, yogurt or kefir or all by itself.

Cheers!

Again, CONGRATS Carolyn! Send your mailing address to TheSuperBreakfastBowlChallenge@gmail.com and you’ll be receiving some awesome lip-lickin’ goodies on behalf of Newman’s Own Organics—everything from dried fried to decadent delightful dark chocolate. And, YES this is a nutrition blog … BUT folks if ya don’t know by now, I fully support a daily treat! Come on now … I’m all about the 90:10 “rule”—90% lean, green, mean disease-fighting machine foods—fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins/legumes, healthy fats—and a daily indulgence! So … Carolyn enjoy!

Happy Healthifying!

Corinne at Green Grapes Blog

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon
  • Delicious
  • Ping
  • Technorati Favorites
  • Reddit
  • Blogger Post
  • WordPress
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Health Ranker
  • Share/Bookmark

The Super Breakfast Bowl Challenge #3: Lentils Winner!

February 17th, 2010

.

.

By Janel Ovrut at Eat Well With Janel


Welcome to the Lentil Day winner announcement for the Super Breakfast Bowl Challenge! We had so many tasty looking lentil submissions to choose from. You guys really are creative using little legumes in your morning meal! I’m glad I cooked up and froze a big batch of lentils weeks ago so I have plenty to use in all of these new recipes. They all looked so tasty I had to leave it up to the random number generator to choose and the lentil winner is….Julie from The Doctors Rheum! I never would have thought to combine pear and lentils but love this Pear Lentil Patty recipe.



Pear-Lentil Patties

This was a total experiment based on what I had in the house!

  1. Cook 1/2 cup lentils in 1 cup water until soft.
  2. Caramelize 1/2 a sweet yellow onion in EVOO with a dash of cumin and a dash of cinnamon.
  3. Chop a ripe pear.
  4. Combine all ingredients in a food processor pulsing several times until just combined.
  5. Shape into patties and cook on a hot pan or griddle like pancakes.
  6. Made: 4 large patties

I added a beaten egg to see if it would hold together better and it made it a little soupy. Use your imagination. They seem to me like “sausage” patties so I put one on a toasted English muffin and put a poached egg on top. The taste is a sweet/savory mix. They did not hold together too well but the ones that fell apart could be used as “sausage” crumbles.

Congrats Julie and thank you for the superb recipe and photos! Make sure you send your mailing address to thesuperbreakfastbowlchallenge@gmail.com so we can send you your prizes: the awesome book Thrive—The Vegan Nutrition Guide and the handy book 101 Optimal Life Foods by Registered Dietitian (aka Gu-a-titian) Dave Grotto.

Thanks again to everyone who submitted a recipe! And if you haven’t yet, don’t forget to send in your quinoa, andwalnut recipes! It’s time to challenge your morning meal!

Janel from EatWellwithJanelblog.com

Related Posts with Thumbnails
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon
  • Delicious
  • Ping
  • Technorati Favorites
  • Reddit
  • Blogger Post
  • WordPress
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Health Ranker
  • Share/Bookmark