Sunday, March 29, 2009

That's a lot of Craisins...

Continuing our snacking trend, I next sampled the 100 Calorie Pack of Craisins. Craisins are dried, sweetened cranberries (or, "the sweetest way to eat a cranberry"). 

Filled with sweetened cranberry goodness

To be honest, I really wasn't sure what to expect in terms of cranberry bounty. How many sweetened dried cranberries are in 1 oz? (Presumably, the same amount in 100 calories). 

Want to take a guess? 

The contents of the package...

Ok, ready?

::drumroll please::

...

...

The pack had a total of 107 Craisins. Or, as Adam pointed out, approximately 1 calorie per Craisin. 

The official counting in process. 

The only potential discrepancy that there could be to the 1 Craisin/1 Calorie theory is the definition of the actual size of a Craisin. Since they are, as the label states, made from real fruit, the size of each Craisin can vary. 

Big Craisins and little Craisins coexist peacefully.

For my counting purposes, anything that looked like a Craisin was a Craisin (made enough sense to me). 

I liked the Craisins, and thought they made for a light and tasty treat. As a note, I found this snack to be enjoyed best over a period of time. I'd eat a few, come back, eat a few more. Perhaps it is me, but 107 pieces of any sort of food is a bit much to eat at one time (although, little bits of dried fruit seems a bit more reasonable in this regard than, say, cookies. mmm cookies). 

But this is about Craisins. Although Craisin cookies could be good. Anyone tried that before?

Sunday, March 22, 2009

A mere 100 calories, you say?

Strolling down the supermarket aisle, it seems as though practically anything now comes in a little pouch with its contents totaling 100 calories. I like this. It is a relatively guilt-free snack, it is portable, and comes in a variety of goodies inside the pouches. 

Shall we explore these low-calorie pouches further?

Today's 100 calorie pack of choice is ::drumroll:: Lorna Doone Shortbread Cookie Crisps

A "sensible solution", with 0g trans fat, 3g fat, and 0mg cholesterol. (Doesn't it look like "OMG cholesterol? I guess zero mg's could be OMG-worthy.)

Opening the pack for further inspection (this was official business here, people), this is what I found.

Looks like shortbread. Expert analysis over.

Q: How many shortbread(s?) make up 100 calories? 

A: 20

Overall, I enjoyed all 100 calories of shortbread. It was a satisfying and tasty snack, and I was happy to see that a fair amount of shortbread were in each pack. Sometimes when passing by these packages I secretly wonder if there is only about 1 cookie per package, however, these fears (probably not a fear, more of a concern perhaps) were unfounded. 

I wonder how big a 100 calorie pack of cheesecake would be? Probably better not to find out. 

Monday, March 16, 2009

BBQ-ing with Boyfriend

Hi everyone!

This past weekend, my boyfriend (who will henceforth be known as Adam [real name? fake name? yes, real name]) decided that he wanted to barbecue. My reaction: YES absolutely!!! 

Adam is most definitely not a kitchenphobe. He's a great and adventurous and creative cook, always coming up with new ideas on what to cook, while I frantically consult a recipe. Even then, well, we all know what tends to happen. 

Okay, who wants to see delicious-looking barbecue?? Sorry everyone doesn't get to try some, but I will assure the crowd, it was very very tasty. 

Making burgers...

All of our duckies...er, burger-ies, are all in a row. Or two. 

Now we're cooking. Check out that flame-kissed chicken. 

Cloud o' smoke...adding some drama...

Getting some of those yummy grill marks

A close-up on the deliciousness

Hey, those hot dogs don't look hot. And the hilarity ensues...

Can we eat now? How about now? Now? 

All of the action on the grill

Ah, that's better. 

We should barbecue more often. And by we, I mean he. 

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Easter definitely has the best candy, as far as holidays go.

It's little wonder that Easter wins the best candy holiday award. Jelly beans, pastel-colored M&M's, and those quintessential Cadbury eggs.

Oh, and evil bunnies.

You think I'm kidding? (Ok, yes, I am.)

This bunny may not be evil. It may just have an eye condition. Either way, I think its up to something (even if "something" is picking up medicated eye drops.)

This bunny looks like its trying WAY too hard to look innocent. Personally, I think it looks like it's plotting. No, Peter Rabbit, I will not read your story book inside the package. I predict that it is a tale of alarm and fear. 

Either this bunny has an apprentice that it is teaching its evil ways, or it has committed an evil bunny deed and has put the evidence on a stake as a warning to the other bunnies. Oh what a cruel, cruel world. 

And lastly, a victim of the evil bunnies.
Happy candy shopping everyone!!! Watch out for the bunnies, they're feisty this year! :)

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Birthday Blondies

During my somewhat limited time venturing into the kitchen, I found a recipe that my boyfriend instantly fell in love with. 

Blondies (Thanks Food Network!)

He is a big fan of sweet items (one present I bought him that was a big hit was cane sugar candies), so I knew that these would go over well. 

And so, for his birthday, in lieu of a birthday cake, he was the overjoyed recipient of birthday blondies. Unrelated to his enjoyment of the baked goods, don't they have a nice ring? I'm a fan of alliteration. 

The optional add-in that I went with was the chocolate chips (I have also made these plain and with red and green M&M's for the holidays). 

Sorry I don't have any pictures while in production, but here are the finished birthday blondies...

Awww, I'm so clever.
I chose to deliver them whole, to have a more "birthday cake" -like presentation (plus then I was also able to accent with the chocolate chip heart). 

Well, they do say that food is the way to a man's heart... these blondies are definitely on the way to my guy's :)