Have a Sweet Morning

In case you can't tell, I have a healthy sweet tooth--morning, noon, and night. To satisfy my need for sugar in the morning in a moderately healthful way, I have found a few breakfast items that combine nutrition with a hint of sweetness.

Kashi Autumn Wheat
As a kid, the household "compromise" cereal was always Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats--it has fiber and whole grain to satisfy my parents and plenty of frosting to feed a kid's need for sweet. While the Kellogg's version remains a fine choice, that sugary coating contains gelatin and high fructose corn syrup, two ingredients I would rather avoid.
Fortunately, Kellogg's also owns a little company called Kashi, which provides consumers with the sweetness and health benefits of Frosted Mini Wheats, without the undesirable ingredients. Autumn Wheat provides 6 grams of fiber per cup, along with 5 grams of protein and just 1 gram of fat. There are just 7 grams of sugar in comparison with Frosted Mini Wheats' 12 grams. Autumn Wheat's ingredients list is delightfully short: whole wheat, organic evaporated cane juice, and natural flavor. Whatever that natural flavor is, it certainly delights my taste buds. The cereal's name doesn't lie--it's like autumn in a bowl! Autumn Wheat is available in most supermarkets for $3-4 per 17.5 oz box.
How to enjoy:
-served warm with heated soy/nut/cow's milk
-crumbled into a bowl of yogurt with sliced banana (*Mom's creation)
-dry, alone or in a snack mix with dried fruit and nuts
-the old fashioned way, with ice cold milk of choice

Publix Oatmeal Flakes
If you've been reading my regular blog posts lately, you might have noticed my recent enthusiasm for Publix's Oatmeal Flakes (a part of their Greenwise line). I purchased this cereal strictly for the purpose of making CCV's Banana Blender Cereal; I expected it to taste like a standard bran flake with little to no sweetness or originality. When I absent-mindedly grabbed a handful while preparing breakfast one morning, I was pleasantly surprised by its distinct sweetness. A quick glance at the ingredients list revealed that the geniuses of Publix added a few simple sweeteners: honey, sugar, and molasses. This cereal is also fortified with a variety of vitamins and minerals.
Each 3/4 cup serving contains 110 kcalories, 1 gram of fat, 7 grams of sugar, as well as 3 grams of fiber. I purchased this at Publix for $2.99 for a 16 oz box.
How to enjoy:
-with your milk of choice (I recommend almond milk)
-as a topping for cottage cheese
-mixed with Greek yogurt and cinnamon
-layered into a pumpkin parfait (or any other breakfast parfait, for that matter)
-blended into Banana Blender Cereal
-sprinkled atop a fruit smoothie

TJ's Blueberry Flaxseed
While this unique flaxseed blend does not include contain much sweetness on its own, it serves as a lovely accompaniment to sweet breakfast-time treats. The nutritional benefits of both flaxseed and blueberries abound, so what could be better than a product that combines these two superfoods?
Each 2 tablespoon serving contains 90 kcalories, 6 grams of healthy fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of protein. For those of you who are interested, this flaxseed blend does contain 2 grams of sugar (from cane sugar); in addition to flax and bluberries, it also contains corn starch, maltodextrin, natural flavors, and soy lecithin. This product is available at your local Trader Joe's. I am uncertain about pricing, as I purchased this product several months ago, and I have no Trader Joe's locations near me.
How to enjoy:
-mixed into yogurt
-sprinkled atop oatmeal or fresh fruit
-layered in a breakfast parfait
-baked into your favorite muffin recipe

Downey's Honey Butter
Alright, this product hardly fulfills the "nutritious" criterion of today's healthful sweets theme, but it sure does taste good, without doing too much damage to your diet. Its name is a bit of a misnomer in that it contains no butter at all; the ingredients list consists of three ingredients: honey, milk, and cinnamon. Honey butter has a consistency similar to that of smooth peanut butter: moist and perfectly spreadable.
One tablespoon contains 60 kcalories, 1 gram of fat, and 11 grams of sugar. Not exactly health food, but it makes a great addition to your morning meal every now and then. You can find this treat at Wegman's or buy online here. Or, you might just stumble upon it in an Amish bakery, like I did.
How to enjoy:
-spread on toast or bagels
-stirred into yogurt or cottage cheese
-mixed with oatmeal
-melted onto soy ice cream

I hope you have enjoyed yet another round of product reviews! Let me know if you try any of these products, and please feel free to recommend some of your favorite sweet treats!

All Wrapped Up

Today has been all about wrapping--my mom and dad have both been so busy this holiday season that they asked me to wrap a few gifts for them today. In addition, I gathered and packaged up my gift for the Food Blogger Secret Santa. After much cutting, taping, and bow-tying, I am pooped. I never thought a day of dressing up packages could be so tiring!

Things are also "all wrapped up" here because my sisters have both graduated! Congratulations to Lea on receiving her MBA and to Katie for her degree in nursing! My dad also walked in graduation due to his position as a professor at UAB. Here are a few pictures from our weekend of academic celebration:
Anyway, here's what fueled me through my first weekend at home:

Friday
My welcome-home smoothie was fantastic! I miss having frozen cherries around--they don't sell them at my Whole Foods in Durham. Anyway, this concoction included cherries, cherry Spirutein, soymilk, and wheat germ. Delish.
Saturday
As I've mentioned before, my go-to breakfast when I'm in a rush is always a smoothie and a bagel with nut butter. Amidst my mad search for my left shoe and frenzied makeup application, I didn't have much time for breakfast...so I had a strawberry-almond milk smoothie with wheat germ, plus a Rudi's sweet wheat bagel with almond butter. (PS You have no idea how excited I was when I finally discovered these bagels at my local health food store...I can't wait to try the cinnamon raisin variety!).
Once home from Katie's ceremony, we barely had enough time to grab lunch. I packed a simple meal to bring along in my purse: a Tofurky sammie with dijon mustard, cherry tomatoes, apple slices, and peanuts.
The whole family had a celebration dinner at a local Italian eatery, Leonardo's. Our party consisted of a whopping 13 people! Nonetheless, the wait staff handled our large party with ease. The rosemary rolls that arrived first were delicious--still warm from the oven and slightly sweet. Everyone was also served a standard garden salad. Among the entrees, there were very few vegetarian options, but I was moderately enticed by what I ordered: angel hair with olives, tomatoes, and basil. The menu stated that the dish would arrive with "a sprinkle" of asiago cheese. Ha! As the picture demonstrates, their idea of "a sprinkle" and mine are quite different. I apologize for the dark pictures--a flash would have ruined the ambiance, for sure!
As you might expect, I saved room for my evening smoothie. This time I combined more cherries, blackberries, berry hemp protein (Nutiva), soymilk, and peanut butter granola.
Sunday
Just before heading off to church, I made a quick breakfast out of Publix Oatmeal Flakes (my new favorite cereal!), TJ's blueberry flax, and rice milk, plus some clementines on the side. I enjoyed reading the Christmas-y Sunday paper as I ate.
I had a lunch that you've all seen before: a lentil veggie wrap. I spread the rest of my delicious lentil dip (which I first ate here) on a tortilla with mushrooms, tomatoes, and carrots. On the side, I had a salad with Woodstock dressing and an apple. Yum!
My culinary skills were markedly absent from dinner as well, as I just had a Sunshine burger on whole wheat with salsa, brussels sprouts, squash, and salad. I agree with VeggieGirl, Sunshine burgers are quite possibly the best veggie burgers on the market!
The smoothie of evening featured one of my favorite flavor combinations: vanilla and mango! I combined mango, vanilla soy protein, soymilk, and peanut butter granola. This was good, but not quite as heavenly as when I use my Living Harvest vanilla hemp.
Monday
One of the luxuries of home is that I can treat myself to Greek yogurt--Fage is often just too expensive for me to buy for myself! I took advantage of my little treat this morning by mixing 0% Fage with flax seed, cinnamon, and stevia. I put a dollop of this mixture and some fresh blackberries atop some Van's waffles.
For lunch, I derived inspiration from Kath's curried chicken salad. Obviously, I made a few substitutions, using tofu instead of chicken, walnuts instead of pecans, vegan mayo for the yogurt/regular mayo, etc. I placed the mixture atop a bed of greens and served it alongside some All Bran crackers, and a sliced apple. For all you vegans out there: the All Bran crackers are far from natural, but they are vegan, unlike Kashi's TLCs.
Tonight's dinner was a new recipe for me from ED&BV. Yes, I actually ventured outside my cashew-ginger tofu obsession. This evening's recipe was the Thai Chick-Un Pizza. Again, I had to make a few substitutions due to ingredient limitations, but the flavors were still delicious! I forgot to add the pineapple on the pizza, so I used it on top of my salad, along with leftover chickpeas and the last of the Thai pizza sauce. I love how unique (and tasty!) this recipe is--I will definitely be making this dish again. PS The Santa salt & pepper shakers wanted a chance to be seen on the blog--cute, no?
I am headed to the mall for some Christmas shopping tomorrow. I still need to buy something for each of my sisters and my dad. Have you finished your shopping yet? Which gift are you most excited about giving this year?

Wishing you all a pleasant Monday:)