Dark Chocolate Almond Spread

Was looking for "frosting" while shopping for menu items for Urban Friends Girl's Craft Day and here's what I found: MaraNatha All Natural Dark Chocolate Almond Spread. It was in the aisle with Peanut butter and Nutella.

Conclusion:

The consistency of the spread is denser than Nutella - more along the lines of natural peanut butter. Chocolate is the star of this spread! The texture isn't as smooth as Nutella, but rather like other nut butters.

Overall, I'm in total lust over this spread...2 TBSP = 5 Weight Watchers points

Ode to Meat on a Stick

My family loves meat! Whether in roast, steak, or cutlet form, the members of the Henry tribe are carnivores. We even have a name for when we've digested too much of it...the Meat Sweats. Perhaps you've experience the Meat Sweats after you've dined at such fine establishments as Chang's Mongolian Grill (no disrespect...the place is awesome): slight swelling of the abdomen, thickening of the tongue, the sensation that your blood has taken on a rather tapioca viscosity, etc.

So last night, I was training for the Culinary Olympics (trademark pending) by making not just Hungarian Mushroom Soup, but Spicy Pork Kebabs (a.k.a. Meat on a Stick).

Source Material:

Originally this dish was invented for B Team's potluck birthday dinner. It was my first marinade, and, p.s., delicious. What's listed below was thrown into a gallon zip-top bag with a Pork Loin Roast (Trader Joe's Butcher Shop brand was the one I used) chopped into 1" cubes.

Spicy (Pork) Marinade

1 TBSP Sesame Oil

1 TBSP Safflower (or Peanut) Oil

1 TBSP Tamari (or Soy) Sauce

1 TBSP Ginger, grated

1/2 Lime, thinly sliced

1 TBSP Garlic, minced

2 stalks of Green Onions, thinly sliced greens and whites

1/4-1/2 Cup of Sriracha, depending on taste

Allowed the pork to marinate overnight in the fridge before skewering and roasting in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

Modifications:

1. Made a Spicy Pork Salad Roll with:

- Leaves of Bibb (or Butter) Lettuce, washed and "dried"

- A couple TBSP of Coleslaw Salad Mix, and

- A TBSP of Peanut Sauce

2. A few Mint Leaves would have kicked the Salad Roll up a notch!

Conclusion:

[*****] Five out of five stars! I heart spicy, and this dish burns so good...

3 Salad Rolls with 1-1/2 servings of Spicy Pork = 8 points on Weight Watchers.

Ethereal Cereal

So this morning I realized (too late) that I forgot to take the turkey sausage and egg substitute out of the freezer.

Bring on the cold cereal!

Source Material:
Uncle Sam Cereal. Lots of fiber and flaxseed. Low glycemic.

Modifications:
A. Shredded, unsweetened Coconut. I heart coconut, and the addition of it to the wheat berries and flaxseed elicit a slightly tropical sensation.

B. Fat free Half & Half. What? Sure, this is an oxymoron, but it's a delicious one...adding some sweet richness to a bowl of cereal.

Conclusion:
[*****]. Five out of five stars. I'd eat this all day long.

1 serving = 17 points on Weight Watchers (yikes!!!)

Sent from my iPhone

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

After sampling a delicious cup of this soup on New Year's Eve, made by friends (and secret agents?) Bruce and Alyssa...I decided to make a batch tonight for dinner (and subsequent lunches for the rest of the week).

Source material:
Thanks to the folks at allrecipes.com. Sent the recipe via email to my phone...handy for shopping and cooking.

Modifications:
A. I made this soup with sliced crimini mushrooms from Trader Joe's. Already cleaned, sliced and bagged; all I had to prep was an onion - easy!

B. I tried to low-carb it by omitting the milk/flour mixture in place of a 1/2 pint of heavy cream. I was going to skip the lemon juice, but the acidity is seriously needed to cut the heaviness of the broth.

Conclusion:
[***] Three out of five stars. Not as good as the cup I had a B&A's (gotta get that recipe); couldn't really taste the mushroomy flavor, and if you go to the extra trouble (and expense) of upgrading to criminis in the first place, you should be able to taste them over the cream.

1 serving = 8 points on Weight Watchers