Hangry Pants

I’ve been trying to make blondies for awhile now. They’ve been coming sort of more cakey than I would like. Last night, however, I had an idea for these pumpkin and peanut butter blondies so I got to work. They come closer to the dense, chewy blondies I like, but with a little less butter and sugar than other recipes I’ve tried.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Blondies

Ingredients

• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 3/4 cups light brown sugar
• 1 cup unsalted natural peanut butter (I used Teddie’s Creamy)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 t vanilla
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1 tea pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Really not very important considering the magnitude of the day, but because I had the day off and was able to consume actual meals, I took pictures of all my eats today. I have to say, I give those food bloggers who photo and log their daily meals and snacks a lot of credit. It’s quite taxing!

Breakfast + Running

I started the day with my usual mug of coffee with skim milk. Today I added stevia. I did a quick 5 mile run while watching the Today Show. Then I enjoyed a v. leisurely bowl of oats.  I never get to do this during the week anymore. MMMM.  I missed you oats. 

Oats w/ banana, wheat germ, flax and Teddie's Unsalted Creamy Peanut Butter.

I leave the PB on the oats like that. I like it to melt and then I dip my spoon in the melty peanut butter. 

Vote + Lunch + Snacks

I voted and went to Starbucks with fellow voters my mom, brother and his girlfriend (hi Megan!). They all got free voting drinks, but I wasn’t feeling it.  The place was empty and the workers were nice, so they gave them any drink free! My mom got a tall pumpkin spice latter, brother got a grande latte and Megan got a grande iced coffee. Interestingly, Starbucks had to give everyone who asked the free coffee or face a potential lawsuit re: gifts to voters! Anyway, free lattes - thumbs up democracy! 

For lunch I had some vegetable sushi and the most delicious iced tea! I need more of that tea. 

I also had a Macoun apple, which are my new favorite due to their crisp, sweet nature,  and some of my new favorite Pumpkin Spice tea. 

Dinner + Dessert 

Because my brother was visiting for the election (he is still registered here, but just moved to Mass.), my mom made one of his favorites: meatloaf. Back in the day, it was one of my favorites, too. This evening, I chose a Dr. Prager’s instead. 

I had more broccoli because it is important to eat veggies and more butternut squash because I liked it. I almost always have seconds (thirds!) of things. Do you? 

Let’s discuss white asparagus, or actually, asparagus in general. I roasted these tonight and Megan asked me if I peeled them. I’ve never heard of such a thing. She said the peeps on Food Network do it all the time, but I swear I’ve never seen it. Asparagus: peeled or not peeled? 

For dessert I had a nice fresh date and a spoonful of my new Cashew Butter, straight from the Whole Foods Grinder. Not surprisingly, this tastes just like cashews. A little salty, but good. Not something I can eat a lot of though, which is probably a good thing. :) 

This picture is odd in many ways.

Doggy Treats!

Oh yes, I baked my brother’s dog, Sugar Magnolia, Maggie for short, some of Gina’s Tail-Wagging Doggie Treats. She loves them. 

Well, today marks a sad event.

I bought them before HFCS Awareness Month even started, so they had a good run. I need to get more ASAP!

I used my last Ezekiel English Muffin for a classic PB and flax (classic?) breakfast sandwich.

I hope to post the list of HFCS Free products I found during September. Me and Mark have talked a little about what we will do next, but he has some sort of secret idea and is leaving me in suspense. We’ll think it over some more during the next few days, but if you have any ideas, please let us know.

Oh, and have you heard about the new Food Labeling Law? According to this article, the law will require some food retailers to disclose where many types of meat, produce and other food products come from. There is, however, a big caveat: “the regulations exclude a variety of food that fall under the labeling requirement but are considered to be processed, including roasted peanuts, breaded chicken and bacon. The exemption for processed food also means that certain foods that are mixed together don’t have to be labeled, such as a bag of lettuce that includes both Romaine and iceberg, or a package of frozen peas and carrots.” I think that’s odd. I am just as interested in where my processed food comes from as I am interested in where my whole foods come from.

Good moms do not favor one child over the other. They make all their children feel equal and special. This is how I treat almond butter and peanut butter, as seen here in one of my favorite new breakfast to go combos.

1 Ezekial English Muffin. I have never savored a package of English Muffins as much in my life. Acquired weeks ago, I’ve used them carefully and deliberately, but alas, there is only one left in the package after today. Can I ever go back to Thomas Brand? I doubt it. I don’t even miss the nooks and crannies. Or right, nut buttah. 1/2 PB, 1/2 AB - both sprinkled with wheat germ and lightly toasted to fully melt the nutty goodness.

AB + PB

Rewind. Last night, I experimented with figamajigs + peanut butter. Several more were camera shy. All were delicious. 

I hope hand wrinkles are not an indicator of future face wrinkles.

Re: Sweetener I would love to not use any sweetener in my tea. I can do it with flavored teas already. I am nut sure I could ever do it with coffee. I’m using stevia and the sun crystals instead of splenda, but to be honest, I still have some packets left. I guess it was like when I was eating chicken, it’s not like I love splenda, but it does the trick. So far the alternatives have been working well for me. They both taste good, but I can’t describe their flavor. A sign I am only looking for “sweet.” Anyway, I will pay more attention and report back asap.  Have any of you quit the sweet stuff? How did you do it? How bad were you to start? 

Good day all. I hope you have a delicious morning.

I love peanut butter, but that was not always the case. As a child I despised peanut butter and have still have never had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was only a few years ago that I tried my roommate’s natural PB on an apple that I fell in love. I learned that I actually do love peanut butter, but only if it’s unsalted and natural. What a PB snob! I love how PB tastes and how it fills me in a good way. Don’t hate me, but I am able to eat a small amount and be satisfied and I don’t like PB cookies, Reese’s Pieces or Reese’s PB Cups. 

Currently in my house sits this:

Almond Butter, Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter & Co. sample that I borrowed from Mark's jar that I made him buy so I could try.

That’s not the end of that story. 

Crusty Bread

I think it’s well established that I enjoy bread. My mom’s been requesting a “healthy crusty Italian bread.” I checked out The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion from the library yesterday, and let me tell you it has some great classic recipes. I want to make everything in it! I started with the Crusty Italian Bread, but I played with the proportions of wheat and white flour and sprinkled flax on top to health it up for my mom. 

Question for bread bakers. When I first took the loaves out of the oven, they were super crusty and I was pleased with the result. 

As they cooled they became soft. I am wondering if I didn’t bake them long enough, whether wheat flour has more difficulty crusting up or if this happened because I was too lazy to do so? 

Anyway, the bread still tastes good, even it it’s not as crusty as I would have hoped. Also, it tastes excellent on that peanut butter/dark chocolate blend I was telling you about. I had this a couple times today. 

 

PB + Chocolate + Bread = Joy

Ok, back to the MTV Music Awards so I can feel about a billion years old.  Were the Jonas Brothers on the set of Sesame Street? I don’t get it.

Hannah is A Palindrome is a children’s book I know about only because of a special little lady in my life named Hannah. If Hanna the tropical storm had a book it would be called Hanna is a Hot Mess. I usually love the rain, but I am not feeling this humidity. I am supposed to frolicking in fall foliage and crisp air, not sticking to pieces of paper that are completely dampened by the air. Gross.

They Have a Point

Ever since I saw that first HFCS advocacy commercial the other day, I’ve been seeing them everywhere! I’ve seen two with the women at the cook out and one with the boy and girl and the provocative popsicle. They always follow the same formula - one person is outraged at the other person’s brazen consumption of a HFCS infused item, but is unable to articulate a single reason why HFCS should be avoided. The HFCS eater, on the other hand, is a wealth of knowledge about the safety of HFCS.  They are humorous, but they also have me thinking. Up until the HFCS pusher starts talking the commercial could have a real situation between two people.  Many people have heard a quick sound bite or read a headline that warns against HFCS, but don’t take it further, or if they do are confused by conflicting information or overly technical terms. Before starting HFCS Awareness Month, I kinda sorta knew that HFCS was bad for me, but I could explain fully what it was or why I wanted to avoid it.  Again, it brings me back to the simple fact that knowledge is key and finding reliable, straight forward information is hard. 

Saturday’s Breakfast Epiphany

I’ve been missing my morning routine of coffee, exercise, eat and blog read, so today I relished in the experience and took an extra long time doing it. 

Today’s oats were combined with a banana and wheat germ with a peanut butter smear on top. I know the “peanut butter on the spoon” is the more popular method, but I nominate my method. The oats are hot so the PB melts and then you can kinda dip your oats in it as you eat around the smear. Then at the end you have a little bit of PB left. I love it. 

Side note.  I am keenly aware that photography is not one of my blogging strengths, but when I use my camera instead of my phone, I at least try. Well now I am super bummed because my camera keeps saying the internal memory is full even though there is nothing at all to upload.  This means I have to use my phone, which is ok for on the go, but makes me sad. Boo camera message. 

Anyway, I had an oatmeal first. I didn’t eat the whole bowl.  Toward the end it was getting sort of a chore to eat because I was full. It took me a few spoonfuls to realize this, but when I did I had an enlightening moment: I can leave some in the bowl! This perplexed me. I leave food behind at dinner sometimes, but never the oats! The conversation in my head went like this:

Devil Heather: You just ran and you should still be hungry. You’re not properly fueling. You are going to go into starvation mode right now. 

Intuitive Heather: Obviously, I am not hungry. Who knows why.  Um, I am fairly certain there is no starvation going on here. I think it’s probably worse to eat when I have to deeply inhale and exhale before the next spoonful to psyche myself up.  

Devil Heather: It tastes so good. Eat it anyway. 

Intuitive Heather: Well, ordinarily I would, but for some reason that seems strange today. 

Devil Heather: Well what are you going to do if you get hungry soon?

Intuitive Heather: Eat.

Devil Heather: You’re a food waster.

Intuitive Heather: I’ll save the three remaining spoonfuls for later.

Devil Heather: At least eat the rest of the peanut butter.

Intuitive Heather: Obviously.

I hope I can continue to apply this logical thinking to the rest of my food choices. 

Saturday Lunch? 

Question mark because it was kinda late and more like a three part snack: 

Little macintosh.

Kashi Pumpkin Spice Bar (No HFCS, unlike their cousin, the Nature Valley Bar)

A little Pesto Roll/Biscuit I made today.

Saturday Dinner

Not sure what is up with me today, but I am just not that hungry. I think it’s Hanna’s fault.  I wanted some veggies so I had a salad and half of the Amy’s Single Serve Roasted Vegetable Pizza (sweetened by organic evaporated cane juice and organic agave nectar) that is quite popular these days.  This was right up my ally because I don’t love cheese on pizza unless it’s fresh mozz. Very tasty, very small. Made me realize how caloric pizza is. 

Saturday Dessert Downer

I wasn’t very hungry all day, but I did have a sweet tooth after dinner. I had an idea to crumble up these little chocolate chip cookies and mix them in with chocolate frozen yogurt. 

I went downstairs to the freezer in the basement, where I require ice cream I like to be kept, and pulled out the Hood Chocolate Fat Free Frozen Yogurt. To my dismay I found corn syrup. Now this is interesting because when I bought this last month I specifically remember being happy that it didn’t have HFCS. Now, HFCS are banned and I volunteered to give up corn syrup, too, so I couldn’t have any.

I then looked up the nuritional information for my favorite frozen treat: Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked Fro Yo. It contains 180 cals, 3 g of fat,  corn syrup and liquid sugar. The regular Half Baked ice cream has 270 cals, 13 g fat, liquid sugar, brown sugar and molasses.  The Light Cookie Dough Ice Cream has 200 cals, 6 g fat and liquid sugar (again, ?).  The Organic Chocolate Fudge Brownie has 240 cals, 13 g fat and organic evaporated cane juice syrup  and organic sugar.   See how this information hunting can get confusing - I just wanted some ice cream.

For the record, Breyer’s Chocolate Ice Cream contains sugar, 140 cals and 7 g of fat.  That’s less calories than my favorite fro yo! I think this is the moment in the month where I am supposed to realize that a little bit of fat in ice cream is better for me than fat free ice cream with corn syrup. I’ll be honest and say that I understand the argument intellectually, but am not personally there yet. With a wee bit of sadness, I put the container back in the freezer and ate just the cookies instead. 

These taste like Snack Wells chocolate chip cookies and contain organic dehydrated cane juice and organic invert sugar.