Monday, December 19, 2011

Make Me Smile Monday 12/19

Two finals today then break!

Here are some scenes from 4 of my favorite Christmas movies. Have a great Monday!

--Kelli

Friday, December 16, 2011

Blueberry Chocolate Almond Smoothie


Having a whole week to study for two finals hasn’t turned out to be as great as I’d anticipated. Instead of getting in extra study time, I’ve been up late at my friends’ apartment, sleeping in until 10 or 12, then bumming around all day. Fingers crossed my motivation kicks in this weekend!

Productivity for today:
Sign apartment rental lease for next year – check
Eat awesome red pepper, pesto, provolone Panini – check
Attempt to study only to go to the gym instead – check 


Now that I’ve gotten my workout in for the day I’m hoping I’ll finally be able to study for my business management final. To help recover from my workout and get fueled for studying I made this really delicious smoothie! I didn’t measure anything, just threw in probably about 1 ½ cup frozen berries, 1 cup original Almond milk (Silk is my favorite brand), and a couple squirts of chocolate syrup. Ideally, after a workout you want to aim for a 4:1 carb to protein ratio. Lots of people like chocolate milk, but I wanted something thicker – enter in my Blueberry Chocolate Almond Smoothie

I got my second Blissmo Box! This month’s theme is Winter Wellness.

In the box:
SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins for Grown-Ups: My roommate and I are like little kids with these they’re so good! Not only do 5 of these chewy dots contain 100% of your recommended vit D, but they also contain B12 and omega-3’s. Even better? No high fructose corn syrup.

Maty’s All Natural Vapor Rub: Haven’t tried it out yet. Vapor rub always freaked me out but I’lll have to give it a shot the next time I’m not feeling too great.

CleanWell Antibacterial Hand + Face Wipes: Totally did not read the packaging. I thought these were cleaning wipes, so I used them to clean our stove. Haven’t tried them out for their true purpose, but they did make the stove quite shiny.

Numi Organic Tea Holiday Herbal Chai: Delicious! Chai always makes me nervous. It’s hard to get that perfect balance of spice and sweet, but this brand has nailed it. I’ve been putting a little almond milk in mine. It’s a nice change from coffee (I’m up to 5 cups of coffee a day…..)

Song keeping me sane: 
 "How Come You Never Go There" -- Feist (Beck Remix)

--Kelli

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Make Me Smile Tuesday

LAST DAY OF CLASSES!!! -- That's all I need to make me smile


I don't completely understand how "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music has become a classic song to play at Christmas, but then again I don't get why ABC Family has decided the Harry Potter films should be part of their 25 Days of Christmas, but I'm not complaining.

In honor of Make Me Smile Monday Tuesday, here are a few of MY favorite things:



My dogs (naturally)

Fuzzy blankets. My friends are okay too

 
Coffee in an over-sized mug


My Tumbler: Happiness One Spoonful of Peanut Butter At A Time 



Good Luck With Finals!!

--Kelli

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Sunday Paper 12/11 - To supplement or not to supplement

Crazy numbers of people are taking some sort of dietary supplement - vitamins, minerals, herbs, algae, amino acids and whatever else. You may be thinking that it's about time you started taking one..or maybe there was a convincing ad on tv. The only way to be sure if you need a supplement is by talking to a registered dietitian and have them do a nutrition assessment.


Dietary supplements are not regulated by the FDA so there is no way to be sure of the safety and efficacy of what you're buying. Supplements can be very useful for people with special dietary conditions that don't allow them so get all the nutrients they need from food but the average consumer should approach with caution.


This article outlines how to be safe about supplements and make sure you're not doing more harm than good!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Krumkake and Norwegian Pancakes: Holiday Traditions Old and New



Krumkake. Try pronouncing it out loud and you’ll understand why I was always hesitant to bring these cookies to school with me. All the other kids had easy-to pronounce, non-embarrassingly named cookies: sugar, shortbread, chocolate chip, pizzelle. Although most of the kids (especially the boys) laughed at the name of these cookies, everyone always loved them.

Krumkake is a traditional Norwegian cookie that has a slight buttery, sweet flavor and is rolled like an ice cream cone. Ever since I can remember my family has made these cookies only once a year: Lille Julafen, or “little Christmas eve” on Dec 23rd. In Norway, this is a day where everyone stays home to decorate for Christmas and bake cookies. At my house, the tradition was we could eat any of the other Christmas cookies, like my mom’s shortbread, but we couldn’t eat the krumkake cookies until the 23rd, that’s probably why we started making them on that day – it’d was too hard to wait.
Probably not the most sanitary....

I’ve read that some Norwegian families fill their krumkake with a sweet cream (kind of like a canoli), but my family has always just eaten them plain – I like how they’re not as sugary as some of the other traditional Christmas cookies and they are great dipped in coffee or tea!

The only downside to this recipe is that you need a krumkake iron, but I think it’s totally worth it! You get the whole family involved: have one person responsible for putting the batter in the iron and then have two people ready to start rolling the cookies immediately after they come out.

Krumkake
Ingredients: 

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 6 Tbsp. water

What to do: 

  1. Cream butter and sugar together
  2. Spray both sides of the iron with cooking spray 
  3. Okay, here's where I take the easy way out: follow the instructions on your electric krumkake iron. 
  4. Once cookie is ready, open iron, and immediately remove and roll into a cone shape 
  5. Store in air-tight container


Making krumkake is a very old tradition that has been passed down on my dad’s side of the family for generations. A couple years ago my brother and I added to our family’s Christmas traditions: grilled cheese and tomato soup for Christmas Eve dinner. So much better than short ribs! This year my mom and I have decided to continue adding to tradition by having a Christmas brunch rather than an expensive, stressful Christmas dinner. Although we haven’t figured the whole menu out, we have decided on Norwegian pancakes. If you’ve never had them before, they’re similar to a crepe, but a bit thicker.

Norwegian Pancakes 
Ingredients: 

  • 1 ½ cups milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar

What to do:

  1. Combine egg, milk, and vanilla in mixing bowl. Add flour, salt, and sugar. Whisk until smooth. 
  2. Heat small pan on med-high. Spray pan with spray before each pancake
  3. Pour 1/4 cup batter into pan while tilting pan so that the batter spreads evenly. Cook until top looks dry, about 30 seconds. 
  4. Carefully flip pancake over, cooking on other side for only a couple seconds until golden brown. 
  5. To keep pancakes warm, I usually place the finished pancakes in a 125-degree oven
  6. To serve: fill with whatever you like! My family usually does butter, syrup, and powdered sugar. For the leftovers, wrap in foil and store in fridge. They are delicious for breakfast the next day. My favoriet way to eat them is to put cream cheese and jam, roll it up, and place in microwave for a few seconds. 
We'd love to hear your family traditions! Leave us a comment :)


--Kelli

Monday, December 5, 2011

Make Me Smile Monday - 12/5

Only 20 days until Christmas! My favorite day of the year will soon be upon us and although Boston is not experiencing it's usual chilly December I'm going to talk about tea!

I haven't always been a tea fan. I assumed it was similar to coffee (which tastes like chalk in my opinion) and dismissed it. Once I started drinking tea however..there was no stopping me. It started with iced green tea, then hot peppermint tea and kept growing. It's so comforting and there is a flavor to suit every mood. Whenever I'm in a bad mood I reach for some tea...and whenever I'm in a good mood. I just always want tea. Peppermint green tea will always be my favorite but blueberry white tea is a close second..well maybe vanilla chai..I guess I'll never be able to decide.


If your favorite "tea" is Snapple then you're missing out. So many flavors and varieties..there's always room to expand your tea horizons.  Also, if anyone is ever wondering what an ideal gift to get me is it would definitely be a Teavana gift card.


Not only is tea delicious but it is good for you as well! Green tea especially is full of antioxidants which have been shown to slow the growth of cancer cells. It also has less caffeine than coffee so while it will wake you up, you won't be bouncing off the walls. All in all, tea is great.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Sunday Post 12/4 -- A Blissful Time of Year

Happy December! Although Boston didn't get the snowy welcome in to December like Denver did, I got my first ever Blissmo box Thursday -- I like to think of it as the first Christmas gift of the season (that, and the stuff I bought on cyber Monday. . .) 
If you've never heard of it before, Blissmo Box is a box of organic, eco-friendly products that is delivered to you once a month. Each month there are three themes to choose from. You pick the theme you want, and the wonderful people at Blissmo fill your box with goodies and mail them to you.
My box's theme was Pure & Simple Snacks. Along with each box is a pamphlet that tells you about the company of each product and how much each product is worth. Okay, so onto the goods:

Doctor Krackers
These flabread-like crackres are not only made with organic cereal grains, mineral-rich bran (provides some protein), and organic seeds,they also contain Omega-3's -- an essential fatty acid that can sometimes be hard to get in the diet  if you don't eat a lot of fish. Although kind of bland in flavor, the texture is complex with a mixture of crisp from them being so thin and a crunch from the seeds. The box recommends putting peanut butter and fruit spread on them for a quick snack. Haven't tried it yet, but I can say they taste good with Trader Joe's creamy Gouda.

Pure Bars
The box came with three flavors: Chocolate Almond, Peanut Raisin Crunch, and Superfruit Nutty Crunch. So far I've only tried the peanut raisin crunch, and I have to say I was disappointed, I couldn't eat more than a bite. The flavor was a bit off, a bit too salty (I'm super sensitive to salt thought), but what really turned me off was the texture. I was expecting the bars to be similar to Kind Bars, with a more of a crunch than a gooey, but this bar was way more gooey than crunchy. Hopefully the other two are better.

Helwa Lemon Organic Wafers
After being disappointed with the Pure Bar, I was nervous to try the others. These lemon wafers are delicious! (Thus, proving that it's pretty hard to mess up anything lemon-flavored) Helwa Wafers are organic and vegan, made with less sugar than those pink, orange, and cream-colored wafers I grew up eating? (Please tell me some of you remember them) I've been stashing these in my desk drawer for a quick sugar pick-me-up during these last crazy weeks of the semester.

Crofter's Organics North American Superfruit Fruit Spread
 Another win for Blissmo! I've never been a fan of strawberry jam, raspberry is fine, but I've always been more of a grape girl. Actually, I've never been a huge jam fan, always preferring a peanut butter and peanut butter sandwich, but I do like jam on oatmeal toast or sourdough toast. I went to Crofeter's website to get more info on their spreads, and it turns out that they have an Asian, North America, Europe, and South America fruit spread, that all differ in the types of fruits they contain. The goal is for the spread to contain superfruits native on that continent. The North America spread contains wild cranberries and blueberries blended with red grapes and morello cherries. Much tarter than grape jam, a little of this spread goes a long way. Their website has a store locater so you can buy these spreads yourself -- I highly recommend it!

Once Again Crunchy Peanut Butter
They know me so well. Opening the box to find a jar of peanut butter made me fall in love with Blissmo. Despite my enthusiasm, I'm blushing when I say I haven't tried it yet. The thing is I have a 3/4-full jar of Trader Joe's Peanut Butter and only two weeks left at school, so the plan is to bring the new peanut butter home, and I'm thinking it's safer to pack an unopened jar. What I do know about this PB is it's 100% free of hydrogenated vegetable oils, certified organic, vegan, and gluten-free, made in the USA by US employees, free of preservatives, and the container is made from 50% recycled glass. 

Salazon Chocolate Bar
I've saved the most unique for the last.  "Salazon Chocolate: Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt (seems pretty normal so far) & Organic Cracked Pepper," okay, that's when I got worried. I've learned to love a little sea salt in my chocolate bar, but pepper? Really? At first bite, all you can taste is a deep dark chocolate with a hint of salt, then, just as the chocolate starts to melt away and you're taking your last few chews, the pepper flavor appears. I'm definitely not in love with this bar, but I don't dislike it either. It's odd. My roommate and I agree that you don't crave this bar, you enjoy the small piece that you're eating, then you're done, you don't feel the need to reach for more. Although I probably wont purchase this flavor on my own, I would be interested in trying out their other flavors, since the chocolate quality is fantastic.

Since it's officially baking season, I thought I'd start your week with some links to healthier options for those yummy cookie plates!

Cooking Light's 100 Healthy Cookies
Healthy Black and White Cake Cookies
Healthy Chai Shortbread Cookies
Vanilla Bean Shortbread


20 Naughty and Nice Desserts from Family Kitchen

12 Days of Vegan Treats from Healthy Happy Life (You DEFINITELY don't have to be vegan to enjoy these holiday treats!) 
 


On Friday I saw City and Colour at House of Blues in Boston. Dallas Green is hands down one of the most talented artists I've seen. PLEASE go see his show if he comes to your city!

 
City and Colour performing my favorite song of theirs "Sleeping Sickness"

-Kelli

Friday, December 2, 2011

Not-So-Snowy Chewy Lemon Cookies


As much as I love dark chocolate, lemon-flavored desserts will always win. While biting into a chewy, fudgy brownie is no doubt comforting, I love the refreshing feeling of a smooth lemon curd combined with the slight crunch of a shortbread base that you get from a lemon bar. I can stop at one brownie, I have a much harder time not reaching for that second lemon bar.

Chewy Lemon Snowdrop Cookies. What isn't there to like? SophistaMom's lemon recipe sounded and looked far too good to resist, so while I was home and had my parents to try them out on, I was able to cross off another recipe from my "To Make" bookmark list.

The reason I call them No-So-Snowy cookies is they flattened out too much, so rolling them in powdered sugar was out of the question. Instead, I sprinkled powdered sugar over them -- definitely not as pretty as I was hoping for. Next time I think I'll roll the dough in sugar before baking, making them Icicle Chewy Lemon Cookies.

So how were they? I would tell you that I loved them, but coming from the girl who eats lemons raw, that wouldn't be saying much. Instead, I'll tell you that my dad, a confirmed chocolate-chip lover, liked these cookies so much that he even said he'd have a hard time choosing between these and a chocolate chip cookie -- that's saying something. He also kept walking back into the kitchen saying how good they were. So yes, I'd say success :)

Flavor-wise, my mom and I agreed that they taste like a cross between a lemon bar and a shortbread cookie. Texture-wise, when hot out of the oven, they have a perfectly chewy center and a crumb that just melts in your mouth. 

Word of advice: these cookies are AWESOME straight out of the oven. However, I brought a bunch back to college with me and they weren't as good. The lemon flavor was still there, but the middle was more tough than chewy and the cookie lost that melt-in-your-mouth effect.I highly recommend that you make the cookie dough, but only bake how many you are going to eat that night and save the rest of the dough in the freezer.

Chewy Lemon Cookies 
Adapted from SophistaMom 

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Powdered sugar for coating or extra sugar if making Icicle cookies

What to Do:

1. Preheat oven to 325 and cover baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Combine flour and salt in small bowl
3. Cream butter, sugar, and agave together in mixing bowl until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down the sides periodically
4. In small bowl, combine lemon juice and baking soda. Make sure the bowl is not too shallow because the mix will start to foam!
5. With the mixer on low, add in the flour and lemon juice to the creamed mixture
6. Turn the mixer off, and stir the dough a couple times by hand just to get the ingredients fully mixed
7. Roll into balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes.

For Snow Cookies:
After baking, roll hot cookies in powdered sugar

For Icicle Cookies:
Before baking, roll each dough ball in sugar, then place on baking sheet

City and Colour concert tonight!
"Sleeping Sickness" -- City and Colour

Have a great weekend! 

Kelli