yummy new frozen entrees

I know that TV dinners aren’t always the healthiest option out there, but hello!  Who has time to cook themselves three gourmet meals a day?  I’ve been known to pop a Lean Cuisine in the microwave every now and then, so I was excited to see Healthy Choice‘s new line of frozen foods hit the grocery aisles.  I sampled the Marinara Manicotti Formaggio (which is obviously just a fancy way of saying cheese manicotti) and the Sweet Asian Potstickers.  Both were pretty filling, especially the manicotti, which came with a small side of broccoli and an apple-pie tasting dessert.  Taste wise, I’d have to say that Healthy choice has got Lean Cuisine beat.

Here comes the best part…  Since these products are new, my grocery store had them on sale, so the “entree” and “complete meal” were only $1.88 each (regularly priced between $3-4).  Oh, and my manicotti/broccoli/dessert was only 350 calories.  Yummy.

Filed under: Food, Food, Healthy Choice

DIY hummus

Always a fan of hummus, for years it was the tahini that kept me from making my own. When I googled hummus recipes on the internet, my first response was: what the hell is tahini?  My second question: where the hell do you buy it?  By chance, I was shopping for peanut butter a few weeks ago and found jars of the stuff at New Seasons (a local version of Whole Foods) between the peanut and almond butters.  Since then I’ve been whipping up my own super-customizable hummus, which saves me lots of $$ in the long run. Feel free to make it your own by adding extra garlic, roasted red peppers or greek olives.

DIY Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans (they’re the same thing)
• 1/2 fresh lemon
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• handful of fresh parsley (optional)
• pinch of paprika

1. Drain chickpeas and set juice aside.

2. Pour chickpeas into a food processor and add lemon, tahini, garlic and olive oil.

3. Blend on low and slowly add the reserved juice from the chickpea can to the rest of the mixture. Once it reaches a smooth consistency that can be blended easily, stop adding liquid and blend for about 5 minutes until mixture is very, very smooth.

4. Pour hummus into a bowl and garnish with fresh parsley and paprika.  Serve with whole wheat pita bread or fresh veggies (i.e. carrots, celery).

Filed under: Food, Recipes, Food, hummus, New Seasons, Recipes, Whole Foods

tea is sexy

I gave up coffee about a year ago, and since then, I’ve been a total tea addict. The best part is that tea is not only way healthy, but it’s also way cheap. Hear me out: 4 to 5 dollars for a box of tea may sound like a lot, but when you get 16 bags of tea per box that’s less than 32 cents per cup– and you paid how much for your Frappuccino? Right now I’m obsessed with Yogi Tea. It comes in a million different flavors (some very tasty, some a little too medicinal for my taste), each one created with organic teas and spices that are supposedly “good” for your mental/spiritual/physical health. Be a skeptic if you will, but I swear their Echinacea Immune Support tea has saved me from catching a horrific cold, not once but twice. Oh, and if you visit their web site they’ll mail you free samples. Woohooooo! I adore free shit.

Filed under: Drinks, Food, free samples, health, tea, Yogi Tea