It’s almost time for my third favorite holiday! (Christmas is first, St. Patrick’s Day is second probably because it’s also my birthday). The older I get, the more fun I have with Halloween. I decorate the house a little more each year. We usually carve one extra pumpkin or buy a couple more little ones. A new candle is always in my cart in early October. To me, Halloween is more of a celebration of fall with the kid stuff thrown in there. And we all know how I feel about the fall season. Insanely giddy is a close description.
This morning, I had………pumpkin oatmeal again. I won’t have too many more weekends to enjoy oatmeal and coffee on the front porch, so I’m taking full advantage of it. This is clean eating at its best.
While I was enjoying this bowl of perfectly delightfulness, I made my mental list for Whole Foods and Penzeys. It was a rather short list. All things pumpkin, protein powder, and yogurt. I used one jar of chipotle pumpkin salsa in just two weeks. BUT, I have eaten almost 3 times the raw veggies than normal because of it. I needed more jars. I needed more pumpkin butter. That stuff is seasonal so I grabbed it while I could. I found some French green lentils. I’ve seen these but had no idea what made them so special. Welllll…after watching Barefoot Contessa, I had my answer. According to Ina, they don’t mush as much as regular lentils. They were cheaper than the red ones, so I grabbed some. I’ll find out if she’s right. Oh, and if you’re buying stuff in the bin section, and you can’t find a pen to write the bin number, take a pic with your phone. The checkout girl really appreciated that so she wouldn’t have to call for someone to check it out.
Nothing says Halloween than watching…..Halloween. I don’t like many scary movies, but I am fond of the Michael Myers series. But that’s not the point of this story. The point is chocolate.
I’ve heard for years that really good cocoa powder makes a difference. I’ve always stood by Hersheys and it is a good reliable brand. Penzey’s is outstanding. I don’t know what makes it so good. And why in the world do they call it “high fat” when it doesn’t have much fat? 2 grams per Tablespoon is not high fat. But I did just what this label suggested. I substituted raw stevia powder for the sugar.
Here is my second clue that this stuff is different. The first clue was smell. It smells like dutch fudge.
Look how it spreads as soon as I poured it in. It dissolves so cleanly, too.
Good hot chocolate, sugar free with no chemical aftertaste, and a scary movie. Perfection.
We now interrupt this health blog post for important information. Southern Fried Food Alert:
Fried Green Tomatoes.
Local grown green tomatoes, fresh panko bread crumbs, milk and eggwhites, and seasonings.
I love these things. I’ve never fried my own. I will most certainly do this again, but not every week. These were quick fried and very crispy on the outside,
This, my friends, is no trick. Enjoy the weekend!
Danny
Sunday 31st of October 2010
The fried tomatoes look great! You should try doing the same with cauliflower