Pesto Caprese Toasts

Happy Saturday! Coming at you with a really quick breakfast recipe this morning.

I know avocado toast is all the rage these days, and don't get me wrong, I eat my fair share of it. I love avocado on just about anything, and eating it in all its un-mucked-up glory with just some sea salt, olive oil and crushed red pepper on good bread is probably one of my favorite things to eat ever. But...sometimes you just need a change. And it's spring, and basil is making its way back into my kitchen. And basil means pesto.

Basil also means caprese salad. But in this version, I've swapped spinach for the tomatoes and then piled everything up on top of toasted Ezekiel bread. It is so.good. It's garlicky, cheesy, bright, fresh, crunchy, creamy, nutty - literally all the good food adjectives. Matt and I have eaten it both for breakfast and lunch, and I'm sure it'd be good for a mid-afternoon pick me up. What's not to love?

Pesto Caprese Toasts
2 slices of sprouted or whole wheat bread, toasted
1/4 cup basil pesto
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
8 oz. buffalo mozzarella, sliced thick
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

On each slice of toast, spread half the pesto; top with spinach leaves and mozzarella slices, drizzle with olive oil, and top with salt, pepper and fresh basil. Devour.

Chamomile, Pear & Blueberry Smoothie (Recipe ReDux)

I have a new smoothie recipe for you this morning - one with an unexpected ingredient. I'm a huge coffee lover and really enjoy the daily morning ritual of sipping on a hot mug (or these days, iced cold mason jar) of rich dark coffee. But I also enjoy my fair share of tea.

Although I enjoy drinking herbal teas before bed or making all kinds of crazy flavored iced teas for daytime, I honestly never have cooked with tea before. So when I saw that this month's Recipe ReDux theme was about cooking with tea, I was a little stumped. But then it hit me. Why not replace the usual milk or coconut milk in my morning smoothie with some brewed tea instead?

Tea packs a bunch of health benefits, so drinking it in the morning with breakfast can give you a nice boost. This is also a great way to incorporate tea into your diet if you like the idea of tea, or want to get the health benefits, but don't really care for drinking it on its own.

I used chamomile tea in this smoothie, and it added such an interesting herbal, lemony flavor to the smoothie. I have tons of different fruit teas at home so I see more experimentation in my future. Use whatever kind of herbal tea you have on hand and see what you like best!

Chamomile, Pear & Blueberry Smoothie

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

1 frozen pear (I peeled, chopped and froze mine overnight)

Small handful blueberries

1/2 cup cooled chamomile tea (I also brewed this the night before so it was chilled by morning)

3 Tbsp. plain yogurt

1 tsp. honey

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

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Foodie Favorites 2

Time for Foodie Favorites round 2! I'm really excited to see that our local ShopRite seems to be carrying more organic foods every time I go in there, and I've come across some great new finds lately. This round is pretty much all about convenience. We try to stay away from packaged foods as much as possible, but being two full-time working parents, it's super helpful to have some stuff on hand for those busy days/nights.

1. First up is tomato soup! 

I picked up a box of Pacific Organic Creamy Tomato Soup at Trader Joe's a while back, and kept it in the pantry for a rainy day - both literal and metaphorical. ;) There are about 4 servings in the box so I got several lunches out of it. I really like this soup; it's creamy and flavorful, and a cup of it goes a long way on the side of an arugula & grilled cheese sandwich on sprouted wheat. There's also only 100 calories per cup.

2. Organic Valley "American" Cheese

We're suckers for American cheese in this house, but I rarely buy it because I feel like I don't really know what it is. Processed definitely, and probably fake colors, maybe fake flavors? A few weeks ago I spotted Organic Valley American Singles "unprocessed" cheese and I was so excited. Now I can make Riker grilled cheese sandwiches with American cheese and no guilt.

3. Mango & Kiwi

Mango was on my list last time too, but it's still a nearly daily favorite, along with kiwi now too. The fruit I'm getting from my Door to Door Organics delivery is insanely good, and with spring finally here I'm loving eating fresh fruit cups for a snack or dessert.

4. Suzie's Saltines

When I'm pregnant, crackers are my nemesis. Every time I need a snack, my mind first goes to crackers & cheese. I really have searched high and low for healthy crackers, and I swear they are so hard to find. Even the crackers at the natural food store have ingredients I can't read. It's my mission to start making my own, but really, who has time for that?

This past weekend I stumbled across these new crackers by Suzie's at ShopRite, and really wish they'd been around when I had that crazy stomach virus last week! They still have one questionable ingredient (sodium citrate) so they aren't perfect, but for a cracker they're about as good as you can get.

5. Hilary's Veggie Burgers

And last but definitely not least is Hilary's Veggie Burgers. Similar to the cracker situation, and the jam situation, it is really hard to find a good store bought veggie burger. I used to love Morningstar Farms, but then realized they are filled with GMOs and other crap. Then I switched to Lightlife, which contain non-GMO soy, but not non-GMO vegetables. Gah! I thought I'd never find a good one. And believe my I've tried making my own, and the texture just never is as good. 

A few weeks ago Food Babe, who's my go-to resource for what's healthy and what's not, posted that these burgers were on her "approved" list - no GMOs, all organic ingredients, and sustainable farming practices - and I couldn't wait to try them. Luckily Door to Door Organics carries them so I was able to get a packet right away, and have to say, they are awesome! The texture is crispy on the outside, they hold together well while cooking, and they have a nice flavor. They're a bit on the pricier side (only 2 in a packet!) but they're well worth it in my opinion.

And with that, I'm about to take a homemade pizza out of the oven and curl up with the family for a Friday night Disney movie. Enjoy your Friday evening!

Christmas Kettle Corn In a Jar (Recipe ReDux)

This month's Recipe ReDux theme is riiiiight up my alley. When I read the November theme - "From hostess gifts to holiday gifts, it's the season for DIY offerings from your kitchen" my brain immediately started churning with ideas. We were challenged to come up with innovative homemade mixes to share with others during the holidays, so I wanted to do something beyond the classic bread mix-in-a-jar (which I love by the way, and give out to neighbors and family nearly every year).

For some reason I couldn't get the idea of sweet & salty kettle corn out of my head.

So I went with it. And it was not only super easy to put together, but seriously snackable. I of course had to make a batch to taste test the measurements, and I couldn't keep Matt and Riker out of the kitchen for more than 2 minutes at a time while I was playing around and snapping photos. Those two were like hungry little birds snatching handfuls every time I turned my back.

The recipe, if you can call it that, calls for the simplest of ingredients: popcorn (I use organic, and that's really about the only healthy thing in here - but come on, it's the holidays after all), sugar, salt, pretzels and red & green M&Ms.

When you give it to your neighbor/friend/coworker/babysitter/anyonewholovespopcorn, all they have to do is melt a half stick of butter from their own fridge, dump in the jar of goodies and they're good to go. They have a whole bowl of the perfect movie snack to munch on while watching Elf. Or whatever's on the ABC Family Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas (which, um, started last night and you know will be on in our house for the next 30 days straight).

Plus how cute are they?

I adore.

Christmas Kettle Corn in a Jar

Makes 1 Jar, or 1 large bowl of popcorn (can easily be multiplied for additional jars)

Ingredients
1 12 oz. mason jar
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup red & green M&M's (I use peanut M&Ms)
1 cup mini pretzels
1/2 stick butter (recipient will have to supply this)

Place the popcorn kernels in a snack size plastic baggie. Remove all air and seal tight.

Mix together the sugar and salt in a small bowl, set aside.

To layer the jars, place the sugar & salt mixture on the bottom; then add the M&M's, then the pretzels, and finally the baggie of popcorn kernels. Screw the lid on tight.

The gift tag should read:

Christmas Kettle Corn

You'll need: 1/2 stick butter

Pop the corn kernels in an air popper or on the stove top with 1 Tbsp. oil.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter, and pour over the popped kernels. Toss to combine.

Pour the contents of the jar into the popcorn, toss and enjoy!

Parsnip Fries

This is Matt's last week of school so he's officially getting the summer vibe - you know, wanting to stay up late and drink a few homebrews watching the USA vs. Honduras soccer game at the Baratta Bar. I had to work late last night and don't particularly love watching soccer unless it's the World Cup (yeah, I'm one of those people), but I joined him at the bar anyway with my laptop, dinner and an iced tea.

A 9:00 dinner at the bar watching a soccer game calls for something a little more fun than the usual big salads we've been having lately. Something that requires condiment dipping. Thank goodness I planned ahead of time when making my weekly meals list, knowing we'd have a few rainy nights, and grabbed some parsnips to make fries with.

These are so simple to make and they have a flavor and texture crazily similar to traditional French fries. We ate them alongside some Lightlife soy dogs, sans bun but topped Chicago style with chopped onions, homemade pickles and spicy mustard.

Anything dip-worthy is a good snack in my book.

Parsnip Fries

Serves 2

Ingredients
3 large parsnips
1Tbsp. grapeseed or olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. smokey paprika

Preheat oven to 425. Peel parsnips and cut into strips about 1/2 inch thick and 3 inches long (the size of a French fry). Toss parsnips with oil, salt and paprika, and spread on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, turning twice while cooking.

Spodee Chocolate Cake in a Mug (Giveaway!)

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the good people of Spodee to see if I'd be interested in trying out their beverage, dubbed "wine with a kick." I'd never heard of Spodee before, but when I read that it was a red wine with chocolate and other flavors, I was in.

Spodee was apparently a Depression era hooch that mixed up homemade country wines with herbs, spices and moonshine, and then poured into whatever bottles were laying around - like old milk bottles. I'm a sucker for Mason jars and other nostalgic vessels, so I love that Spodee comes in old fashioned milk bottles. And they aren't kidding when they say it's wine with a kick. The wine is 18% and has a really unique flavor, but is super smooth and easy to drink.

The Spodee website offers lots of cocktail suggestions, pairing it with everything from Coke to rum, and Matt and I tried a few different versions before deciding we liked it best just straight up in a wine glass. It's great on its own, no mixers needed. It had such a great fruity and chocolatey flavor though, almost like a dessert wine but not nearly as syrupy, and it was calling to be made into a dessert.

Spodee is delicious but unassuming, and the website even says it isn't "fancy pants." What better delicious, yet un-fancy way to use it in a dessert than by making chocolate cake in a mug? Hence was born, Spodee Chocolate Cake in a Mug with Spodee Strawberries.

These take all of 5 minutes to make and are fudgy, chocolatey and fruity. They're also perfectly portion controlled. Mini cake for you, mini cake for a loved one. But no judgment if you want both mini cakes to yourself. I sure was scraping the sides wishing for more.

Matt and I both loved eating these curled up on the couch watching a Friday night movie. Okay I lie, it was another three episode of Sons of Anarchy.

And now comes the fun part. One SSA reader will win a Spodee prize pack! To enter this giveaway, simply comment below and tell me how you'd like to try Spodee. In one of their cocktails? In a fun recipe? In chocolate cake? You can get extra entries by liking Some Sugar Added on Facebook and following me on Twitter - simply leave a new comment each time telling me you did so.

I will randomly select a winner next Sunday, March 24. Good luck!

Spodee Chocolate Cake in a Mug w/ Spodee Strawberries

Serves 2

Ingredients
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Pinch salt
1/4 cup whole milk
3 Tbsp. canola oil
2 Tbsp. Spodee
2 eggs
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Ingredients - Sauce
1 cup strawberries (frozen is ok)
5 Tbsp. Spodee

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together until well combined. Pour batter equally between two mugs, then microwave together on high for 2 minutes. Cakes should be cooked, but gooey in the middle. Top with strawberry sauce and dust with powdered sugar.

To make the sauce, simply pour the strawberries and Spodee into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until strawberries cook down and the Spodee becomes syrupy and thick.

Crockpot Cranberry Applesauce

The cold winter weather often takes a toll on my commitment to fruit-eating. My body screams for warm comfort foods, and I can only force tasteless oranges and mealy apples and pears down my throat for so long. Once I reach my tipping point, I start to make baked apples so I can trick myself into eating fruit and thinking it's dessert, and this past week was one of those times.

This cranberry applesauce came about sort of by chance. I didn't have time to deal with the oven, so wanted to make my "baked apples" in the crockpot so I could just throw everything in and leave it alone.

I originally planned to throw strawberries in the mix, but while roasted strawberries are delish, I feared that crockpot strawberries would turn into mush. So I swapped them for cranberries. CranApple is always a great combo.

This applesauce could not be easier to make - you just dump everything in, cook it til the apples are soft, then puree everything with an immersion blender. I actually kept out half of the apples before blending so I could eat them with yogurt (the way I eat my baked apples), then turned the other half into sauce to keep in the fridge for snacks.

The great reddish brown color comes from apple skins and the dried cranberries. This stuff is good cold, but even better warm, and to top it off, it's sugar-free but tastes all sweet and cinnamon-y. Mmm.

Crockpot Cranberry Apple Sauce

Makes about 6 cups

Ingredients
8 apples (Red & Yellow Delicious work best)
2 Tbsp. unsweetened dried cranberries
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 packet Truvia

1/2 cup water (substitute unsweetened cranberry juice if desired)
1 tsp. lemon juice

Washed, core and cut apples into large slices (I keep skins on half the apples). Add them to the crockpot. Add the cranberries, spices and Truvia, and stir to combine. Cover with the water and lemon juice. Turn the crockpot on high and cook for 2-3 hours, until apples are soft. Turn off heat, then puree with immersion blender.

Lunch Prep

Well, the very long and very lovely weekend is over. It had to end sometime. Thank goodness there's only 3 days left til the next one!

Yesterday I got to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen, which was just fine by me. Riker took an unprecedented 3 hour nap and then his grandparents stopped by to take him to the park for a bit, which gave Matt time to brew a new batch of beer (finally, it's been months!) me time to prep some food for the week.

This week is a really tough work week for me schedule-wise, with three days in the city where I have to come in super early and then also leave pretty late. That meant I wouldn't have the luxury of making lunch at home each day, wouldn't want to make food after getting home late, and I really didn't want to succumb to buying lunch and eating crappy all week. Enter lunch planning - reminds me of the old days when I worked in the city 5 days a week and cooked for hours every Sunday.

I prepped three days worth of meals to power me through until Friday, and even got some dinners started so Matt could easily warm & serve them each night. Breakfasts needed to be grab & go, so bananas and low fat banana muffins (baked and frozen on Sunday) were the perfect item. Lunches came together in a snap; I cooked three servings of quinoa, and while that was simmering I sautéed fresh peppers with a bunch of spices and sriracha hot sauce, then tossed everything together and topped the "quinoa bowls" with some walnuts for extra protein.

Snacks are either a plain nonfat Chobani with strawberries & blueberries; a string cheese and baked apples; or whole wheat flatbread crackers with Laughing Cow Light and sliced apples.

Eating healthy is so much easier for me when all the work is done ahead of time.

I made dinner in between all the other cooking, so it was nothing fancy. Cavatelli & broccoli with ricotta and lemon graced our table last night.

I haven't eaten cavatelli & broccoli in nearly three years, since the last time I ate it I got a stomach bug and was violently ill for three days afterward. I haven't been able to shake the association, until I went shopping over the weekend and spotted cavatelli in the freezer. For some reason it spoke to me, and promised to be a good weeknight freezer staple that wouldn't get me sick.

Cavatelli has 10 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber per serving, so I gave it a go. I paired a bag of it with a half cup of fat free ricotta, a whole head of fresh steamed broccoli, a few cloves of garlic, some fresh basil and a squeeze of lemon juice. And a whole bunch of crushed red pepper on top.

Swapping fat free ricotta for the olive oil that usually appears in this dish made the whole thing around 350 calories a pop, with plenty of green veggies and protein for all. And it's pasta, my fave!

My bus just pulled into the station so it's time to sign off and rush home for a few precious minutes of downtime with my fam before starting all over again tomorrow. G'night!

Redneck Aquarium

Since we were away last weekend and didn't get to spend much time with Riker, Matt and I wanted to do something fun with him on our Saturday. He was also getting really antsy around the house, so we all needed to get out. Unfortunately there aren't many options here when the weather is freezing and we didn't want to drive an hour to a museum or aquarium, so we opted for something so totally cliche. We braved Chuck E. Cheese's for the first time.

I knew the day would come, just didn't think it would come this soon. ;-) Our friends Chris & Karla and their two kids joined us there for lunch and activities, and none of us had ever been to a Chuck E. Cheese's before. It was a madhouse in there and we were all a little overwhelmed when we first arrived, but Riker and Evan loved it.

All the rides are only 25 cents (crazy right?) and they rode every one until their hearts were content. Chris and Karla had a new baby nearly two months ago and I still had not met her, so I was excited to catch up with Karla and finally meet their little girl Lizzie. She's so cute!

After about an hour and a half the kids were tired and us parents were all kinda done, so we said our goodbyes and headed out. I don't think we'd go there often, but it's not a bad option for a cold day.

I had plans to make Indian flatbreads for dinner last night but only had curry on hand, and Matt insisted we needed some new Indian spices, so we decided to take a little drive up north for our quarterly trip to Wegmans. It's seriously my favorite grocery store ever. They carry everything, it's way cheaper than Whole Foods, and it's beautiful inside. I wish we had one closer, but it's actually kind of fun to go every few months and stock up on fun foods. Every time we go, we leisurely go up and down every aisle, sample practically everything (yesterday's favorite - brie with cranberry chutney, mmm), and get a snack to have in their Market Cafe.

We didn't end up buying a ton of items this time, but we did come home with a variety of Indian spice blends and some Japanese goodies, including organic buckwheat soba noodles for the Thai peanut soba noodle salad we love.

When we pulled into Wegman's Matt spotted a giant fish store in the plaza next door, and suggested we take Riker there to see all the different fish. He loves 'em. I looked at him sideways and asked if he was kidding, but he was totally serious.

I could just hear Jeff Foxworthy using that as a punchline. "If you take your kids to the fish store and tell them it's an aquarium, youuuu might be a redneck." Yep. Rednecks we are.

I have to admit, though, that he loved the place. It was the biggest fish tank store I'd ever been to and they had tons of brightly colored tropical varieties.

On our way home, Riker requested we stop at Dairy Queen for ice cream.

Ok, actually Matt requested it since I made him get a healthy snack at Wegmans that he didn't like. :) I love DQ and haven't been in forever. We each got a mini Blizzard, which is the perfect size even if you're over the age of 5. Mint Oreo is probably the best flavor in the world. Other than Ben & Jerry's strawberry chocolate cookie, that is.

Sunday

This morning started with Van's light waffles with peanut butter & bananas, followed by a great treadmill & arms workout at the gym.

I just threw a bunch of stuff in my crock pot for dinner and am off to tackle the long list of Sunday chores. Hope you're having a great weekend!

Recipe ReDux: Pesto Popcorn

It's that time again...the first Recipe ReDux post of 2013! This month's theme is all about food trends of the new year. It's always exciting to see new food trends unfold, so I loved the idea of exploring what's on the horizon in 2013 and creating a dish inspired by one of them. Guess what hot new trend you can expect this year?

Oh yes. Popcorn.

According to SRG's 10 Cutting-Edge Dining Trends of 2013, sour foods will trickle onto menus, Asian flavors will influence American comfort food, veggie main dishes will see the spotlight (I hope this one comes true), and popcorn will be the favorite snack of 2013.

Popcorn isn't exactly a new snack, but when I saw it would be the hottest snack this year, I was sold on creating a gourmet version with some seriously amped up flavor.

When I was a little kid, I had a friend whose mom used to make parmesan basil popcorn on weekends, and that memory came floating back to me last week when making snacks for the playoff games. Pesto-inspired popcorn laden with garlic, fresh basil, olive oil and parmesan cheese...I mean really, what's not to love? While jarred parmesan cheese certainly has its uses, this is one place you really want to use freshly grated - the fresh parmesan cheese has a great salty bite, and it also melts a little when you add it to the hot popcorn.

I won't lie and tell you this is a 100-calorie snack - hello butter and cheese - but with portion control, it's not as bad as you might think (around 250 calories a serving). And it's for a special occasion. Like the Superbowl, or an awards show party, or a Friday night movie after a super long work week. ;-) You might want to have a few other people around when you make it though...Matt and I were the only two people here and we devoured the bowl in seconds. We literally could not stop until every last kernel was gone. It's really that good.

Scroll down below to check out other ReDuxers' adaptations of 2013 foodie trends. There are some goodies in there!

Pesto Popcorn

Serves 6

Ingredients
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 cup packed basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp. salt

Using an air popper, pop the corn kernels and set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter together over medium-low heat. Add minced garlic and cook slowly for about 4 minutes, until fragrant (do not brown). Turn heat to low and add basil. Heat for 1 minute more, then remove from heat.

Pour the butter/garlic mixture over the popcorn and toss to coat. Then add parmesan cheese and salt, and toss again to coat. Serve and enjoy!

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