CHOBANI Flip Yogurt

A few weeks ago, I was a Target buying my husband some yogurt (and $100 worth of other stuff I didn't know I needed) when I came across some new to me yogurts from CHOBANI.  According to their website blog, these came out in September 2012.  My husband likes the other yogurt with the side car that I won't name today but it rhymes with Gage, I think.  Actually I have no idea how to pronounced that yogurt.

I like making my husband try new things and then fill out a survey for me.  The one I made for the different flavors of this yogurt went something like this.

On a Scale from 1-5 (5 being best) please rate the product:

Taste           1     2       3       4        5 
Texture       1     2       3       4        5
Sweetness   1     2       3      4         5

Do you like this yogurt better than your regular yogurt?   YES    NO
How likely are you to eat this yogurt again?  VERY LIKELY    NOT LIKELY
Do you want to go on a date with me?   YES     NO

There was only one problem with this plan.  The guy doesn't own a pen.  He has iPhones and iPads and takes notes with those things.  He is completely paper-less. He ended up texting the results to me and I filled out the forms.  This may be a problem in his future employment as a Rookie Foodie Taste Tester.

I also checked each yogurt in my favorite app.  Fooducate!

The Almond Coco Loco was a favorite.  It is very sweet and the little dark chocolate chunks are a surprise.  Keith decided he'd be very likely to eat this again and would like to go on a date with me.

 

The Honey Bee Nana is not as sweet but he wasn't a huge fan of the banana stuff.  Keith said he'd still eat it again so it must now have been that bad!

When I brought this one home, I bought two.  I love key lime anything and I wanted to try this one too.  We both really like this one and could see eating it in place of dessert.  I often eat it for breakfast.

 Look at this!  Peachy Pistachio with dark chocolate chunks is a A- on Fooducate!  I like this one but I wish that the pistachios were chopped.  Keith likes this one too.

I recently found a Blueberry one that I forgot to take a picture of, but that's okay because Keith didn't really like it.  

Fooducate gives it an A rating and Keith did like the chia and hemp seeds but didn't like the yogurt.

Have you tried CHOBANI Flips yet? 

Disclaimer:  I was not paid to taste and or report on this product.  I bought all of the yogurt myself and all opinions are mine and the Rookie Foodie Taste Testers.

Cravings

We found ourselves a wee bit early for Mary Poppins last night so we skipped on down a block from the Buell and had a little dessert at Crave Dessert Bar and Lounge.

We were thrilled to walk in and find a friendly and familiar face!  It was our favorite waiter ever!  Jim from The Big Easy (sadly, The Big Easy went out of business shortly after our visit) that was so great with out kids. 

The kids each picked a French Macaroon, their first time ever trying them and even though Alex's cookie perfectly matched his outfit, he scarfed it down and declared that it was terrible.  Well...at least he ate the whole thing!  Mallory loved it and asked for another.

I'm now on a mission to find a French Macaroon that Alex will like!

Keith and I decided to share a dessert because we'd been eating like little piggies all weekend!

We selected the Mile High Layer Cake and it was the most delicious thing I've been in a long time.  Keith was wishing he had ordered his own but I explained to him that sharing is more fun.

Espresso Flourless Cake with Caramel Mousse and Brueed Banana, Caramel Sauce, Frangelico Chantilly and Baileys Ice Cream.

Crave is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.  They also serve Sunday Brunch!  

Crave Dessert Bar and Lounge

891 14th Street

Denver, CO 80202
Twitter: @cravebardenver

Mon-Thur 6:30am-11pm

Friday  6:30am-12am

Saturday 8:30am-12am

Sunday 8:30am-10pm

Got Wood?

Do you have a family member that is very interested in the environment and hugs trees? Does your best friend live in Boulder? In a tree house? I have the perfect gift card for your friend.

This gift card from STARBUCKS is make out of wood.  I think you can plant it in your yard when you're done with it so it can return to nature.  I think I'd call that the gift that keeps on giving!

Disclosure:  I was not compensated for this post about green leafy STARBUCKS gift cards.  I just like to share exciting developments with my granola liberal environmentally aware readers.

Mexican Meatball Soup

Once and a while, I watch the Today Show in the morning.  It feels like an indulgence to have the TV on while I should be doing things like cleaning or exercising.  I don't know if they do a cooking segment every day but I sometimes get lucky and see something really great being made.

Back in February, Marcela Valladolid was on the show and she made a meatball soup called Beef albondigas.  It looked like something my husband would love so I wrote the recipe down.  I looked at it several times over the next few weeks and decided a few things were missing.

So...here is Marcela's recipe but with my own touch to it.

Mexican Meatball Soup
adapted from Marcela Valladolid's recipe

1/2 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup white onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped
14 oz can crushed tomato
6 cups of chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon cumin
1-2 serrano chile
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup cilantro, chopped

In a large mixing bowl, mix the ground beef and pork, cilantro, egg, salt and pepper by hand until everything is mixed together.  Using a spoon, measure 1 tablespoon of meat mixture.  Roll into meatballs and set on a plate.

In a large pot, heat vegetable oil on medium heat.  Add onion and tomato past.  Add carrots and celery.  Saute until soft and 3 minutes.  Add chicken brother and crushed tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, add meatballs, bay leaf, peppers and corn.  Simmer for 30 minutes or more.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with warmed tortillas.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Buick Discovery Tour Swag Bag

Congrats to Macey, swag bag winner extraordinaire! 

Keith and I had an amazing time at The Buick Discovery Tour on Sunday.  We test drove cars and had a culinary experience like no other!  To read all about it, click here to visit The Young and The Relentless.

Keith is giving one of my lucky readers his swag from the event.  Here is what you get!

• An autographed copy of How to Roast a Lamb by Michael Psilakis.
• May 2013 copy of Food & Wine Magazine
• 3.5 oz bar of dark chocolate with a touch of sea salt.
• All of the recipe cards from The Buick Discovery Tour.

Don't forget to follow my blog so that you don't miss the recipes when I make them....and to find out if you're a winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

illy latte macchiato

I love coffee.

I like it hot, I like it cold.  I like it black, I like it sweet.

I mostly like it dark and loaded with cream!

I also like coffee on the go.  Especially when I'm on a road trip and I'm in Kansas and I don't know when I'll see a Starbucks again.

illy issimo latte macchiato is coming on my next road trip with me. This would also be perfect to stash in your purse when you're chaperoning a Kindergarten Field Trip and you need a shot of caffeine!

It's smooth and delicious and only 110 calories.  It's also all natural with 100% percent Arabica coffee; sweetened with beet sugar and has zero preservatives! 

If you try this lovely beverage and decide that you love it and can't live without it, you can buy it on Amazon.  What can't you buy on Amazon these days?




Disclaimer: I have not been compensated for writing about my love of illy coffee.  I love coffee and I don't care who knows it.

Gluten-Free Tea Party

My dear friend and PTA Co-Chair is having a baby boy in a couple weeks.  She didn't want a baby shower so instead my friend Heather and I decided to have a small gathering of our friends and drink some tea.  There were also Mimosas because it was the weekend and weekends are made for champs and orange juice.

Jennifer's 6 year old daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in January and she was going to be attending the party with her her mother so I wanted to make sure we had things that she could eat.

I made egg salad and cucumber sandwiches.  I'm about to reveal the two secret ingredients to my world famous egg salad.  Are you ready?  After chopping up the eggs...add a small squirt of Dijon mustard and a sprinkle of sugar.  I made the cucumber sandwiches with whipped cream cheese and very thinly sliced cucumbers.   I love the UDI White Bread and it worked out great!

My friend Heather hosted the party with me and she took my Gluten-Free Theme and ran with it! She made cupcakes, they are from a mix but she added lemon extract and they were delicious! Her chocolate chip cookies were the best I've ever had!  She also found a great assortment of GF chips and other snacks for the kids.

A fruit and veggie tray provided by our friend Debbie and the party was complete!

The china we used for the party was purchased on Ebay when I was pregnant with my son.  I wanted a Tea Party Shower so badly but my gay brother in law ended up hosting my shower because I didn't have any friends and it didn't work out.  This china will always remind me of my first pregnancy and I love using it.  Perhaps I should use it more often....like on a random Tuesday.