CEiMB Rewind

Hi everyone! It’s Thursday, so it’s time for CEiMB. This week the assigned recipe was Sweet and Spicy Peanut Soup, hosted by Mary at Popsicles and Sandy Feet. I decided not to make this one, however, because I’m not a big fan of thick, blended vegetable soups (unless it’s Baked Potato, yum!) so I picked a recipe that the group made before I joined this summer. Sorry, Mary – after reading several posts, it seems like everyone else really liked the soup!

This week I made Ellie Krieger’s Nutty Granola, which was originally hosted by Leslie of Lethally Delicious in February of last year. Just click the link to view the recipe.

I have a basic granola recipe that I created several months ago that is easily customizable, but I wanted to give this one a spin as well. I really love nuts of all types, and this recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups total. I was sold immediately!

I really liked the combination of walnuts, pecans, and almonds in this mix. I also enjoyed the fact that it is very crunchy – I hate soft granola! Chewy granola bars are good, but if I am going to sit down with a bowl of cereal, I want it to hold up to the milk or yogurt that I add rather than becoming a soggy mess.

The only changes I made to this recipe were to use agave nectar instead of maple syrup, lower the oven temperature to 250 instead of 300 (because agave burns so easily), and I added the raisins at the end rather than baking them with the mix. I have found that baking any kind of dried fruit along with oat mixture dries it out too much and even loses a little of its flavor.

I will probably make this again and try different nut/fruit combinations, and I will definitely be enjoying some yogurt parfaits for breakfast in the upcoming week!

Tuesday

I still have lots of berries left, so I started out my day with them again. Here's a bowl of Quaker corn bran, milk, and blueberries:

I ate the leftover steak salad for lunch, so no picture. I was hungry again around an hour later, though, so I ate a handful of Triscuit thin crisps. They were salty and crunchy and really hit the spot!

I think I'm going to make something new for dinner, and I'm using that as an excuse to make a trip to Fresh Market. I'm off to shop!

Monday

I have some catching up to do since I didn't post yesterday. I have been busy getting ready for my new job, and I start on Wednesday!

I wanted oatmeal for breakfast on Monday but didn't feel like standing over the stove, so I pulled out the instant steel cut oats. Monday's cast of characters:



All together:

I need to get another box of that oatmeal to make quick breakfasts. It was fast, easy, and filling. I don't know yet what time I will have a lunch break at work or if I will have an opportunity to eat a morning snack, so I need some breakfasts that are going to keep me full for awhile.

For lunch I had leftover veggie calzone and an orange. Look at all of that spinach stuffed in the calzone!

I was out doing some errands in the afternoon and got very hungry. Luckily I packed a snack and stuck my lunch bag in the car. I had some blackberries and a Fiber One bar.

I tried a new potato recipe for dinner, so look for it in the next post!

Breakfast

I'm going to try to keep today light. I'm going to a Bunco party tonight where there will be lots of tasty party snacks, and I am a sucker for appetizers. I'm planning on skipping dinner because the party starts at 7:00 and that's when I usually eat anyway.

For breakfast today, I had pineapple chunks (I finally finished them!), a sliced kiwi, and 1/2 c. 2% cottage cheese. I also ate a handful (around 1/4 c.? I didn't measure today) of Kashi Heart to Heart cereal for a little crunch.

My breakfast, along with a cup of hot black tea:





Kashi Heart to Heart is one of two packaged cereals I will actually buy because I'm very picky about cereal. The other cereal is Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran, which will make an appearance soon. Both of these cereals have low calories and fat and high fiber for a generous serving size. Neither have high fructose corn syrup or added sugar, either. I was never allowed to eat sugary cereal when I was young, and that has definitely influenced my choices as an adult.

I still need to decide what to make for the party, but I'll post the recipe later after a trip to the grocery store. I also need to pick up some more Cara Cara oranges before they disappear!