Kid Friendly Top Ten

Kids know what taste good so when I had the chance to sample a couple of items from Kashi's kid friendly top ten list I was oh so excited! Both of the items I got from Kashi are new-- number 1 on this list is TLC Peanutty Dark Chocolate layered granola bar. There is a reason this ooohey gooey bar is number 1:
"It's peanutty. It's chocolate-y. It's #1! Our latest layered granola bar tops our kids' list for a reason. Make that five tasty reasons: chewy granola, real peanut butter, roasted peanuts, and real fruit mixed with dark chocolate."

Once you have one of these you will know why they are number one on the list. The chewy granola bar is topped with a real fruit spread that is mixed with dark chocolate-- it tastes like a layer of fudge. Then on top of that there are dark chocolate chunks and peanuts. This will knock out even the biggest sweet tooth without the guilt. Love this bar.

Second on the list is the Cinnamon Harvest Cereal:

"Rise and shine! Cinnamon Harvest cereal wakes up sleepy taste buds with bite-sized organic whole-wheat biscuits lightly sweetened and baked with real cinnamon. Delicious and nutritious, it comes in at #2!"

I have always loved shredded wheat type cereal and cinnamon so this cereal was perfect for me. The organic wheat biscuits were just the perfect size and had a great hint of cinnamon with a touch of sweetness. I could put this cereal in my regular rotation and would for sure feed this to Max with its great nutritionals like:

• 47g whole grains
• High fiber
• Low fat
• Sodium free
• USDA Organic—Certified Organic by Quality Assurance International

Each Kashi item has a cool store locator by zip code button right on the page so you can easily find your favorites! Great feature!

Not your Coach’s Oats!

These are not just any oats! Literally, these oats are different from any you have had before. So many people don’t eat oatmeal because of the texture but I challenge them to try Coach’s Oats. In search of an oatmeal that was not soggy or had a pasty consistency they decided to make their own starting at the beginning with whole grain oats then using their own patented processes to make it fantastic. I tried the original Coach’s Oats: COACH'S OATS are prepared in an entirely new way. The groats are toasted to bring the natural sugars to the surface of the oat, then cracked into small pieces. This patented Cracked n' Toasted™ process means that Coach's Oats are never mushy, always naturally delicious and cook in just five minutes on a stovetop or in the microwave. I always choose to cook my oats on the stovetop because I love them cooking while I am getting ready in the morning and it is so simple. These oats were very different in my opinion—they stayed hearty and had a great chewy texture—I could actually distinguish the oats from my mixture ( I add egg whites, cocoa powder or cinnamon etc ). Their process also gave the oats a unique nutty taste to them that I fell in love with. These oats would also be great for baking recipes. I always eat my oats sweet but recently read about people eating oats as a savory side dish or baked into casseroles. I will have to give this a shot since oatmeal is by far my favorite grain.

Fig ‘n Nuts

Damn—I love granola and I especially love the Fig ‘n Nuts granola by The Best Damn Granola Company! This granola is the original released by The Best Damn Granola Company and makes sense why they can hail themselves the best! The Fig ‘n Nut variety had a different taste than what I was used to with a granola. It had a spicy flair to it and played off the sweet and salty combination which everyone loves. The granola had an oat base and was sweetened with honey and fruit including figs and raisins. To beef it up they added oat bran, protein powder, flax, nuts and coconut. Then as a great finisher they spiced it up with their spice mix, some vanilla and a touch of sea salt. Decadently original.

Cult Classic

Not only has Coco Wheats made its name as an old classic cereal but it is showing up everywhere—even on vintage looking t-shirts. The other day I was just strolling through the mall and I saw a girl rocking a cute vintage looking Coco Wheats shirt! You know that it much be good if people are praising their cereal love on a shirt. What could go wrong though? Coco + cereal = My favorites! Coco Wheats did not disappoint! I realized something when I was making my Coco Wheats on the stovetop— I make my own version of this multiple times per week. I will use any sort of hot grain and add cocoa powder to it. But this was even better and SO EASY. I have a passion for cereal on the stovetop but it is totally not necessary for this—you can just stick your hot cereal in the microwave. Of course when I made it I added some extras to it like egg whites for protein but the great cocoa flavor came right though. It is enriched with Calcium with everyone can use—and is made with wheat and pure cocoa—they do not add sugar or salt.

Party in my mouth!

ZENmama has gotten totally creative with her granola. Not that she had to think up fancy names to get me to love this granola. The mix I had was called Mardi-Grasnola! Too funny but it seriously was a party on itown made up of the following (items with stars are certified organic):

~ Rolled oats*
~ Seeds: Pumpkin*, Sesame*, Flax*, Pine Nuts, Sunflower*
~ Nuts: Cashews, Almonds, Walnuts, Mississippi Pecans, Pistachios*
~ Pink Sea Salt
~ Cinnamon*
~ Unsweetened Shredded coconut*
~ Wildflower honey (from southwestern PA)
~ 100% Pure Maple syrup*
~ Wheat germ
~ Flaxseed meal
~ Currants*
~ Banana Chips*

The banana chips did it for me. They mixed amazingly with the nuts, coconut, maple hint and seeds. I had never seen whole big chunks of banana chips in a granola before this. The ingredients were wholesome, the granola was filling and there was no added oils and it was sweetened with honey. I have to refer to it in the past tense because last night I got home late and had it as my dinner! So then the next morning I woke up thinking about the tiny bit of leftover granola in my bag, I knew it had to be breakfast. I beefed it up a little bit with some Nature’s Path Kamut Puffs and some fiber twigs since there was not much Granola left. It was a great mix but I was sad to see my party over.

Trying new things

Tibet Authentic sent me a package of their high quality goji berries to try. Having had goji berries before I knew I loved them but more so in recipes than anything else. I had it set in my mind that they would be for breakfast the next day! I decided I would soak the goji’s overnight in the fridge to get them plump and juicy. So that is what I did. I woke up the next morning to find some of the water absorbed but not much—those goji’s are stubborn but they were a little softer. So then I did this:

Boiled 1 ½ cups water
Then added:
1/8th cup Nature’s Path Kamut Hot Cereal
2 tablespoons Flax & Co. Original Flax
½ cup rolled oats
Soaked Gojis
Some sweetener
Let it do its work… left it on the stove for 20 minutes stopping by frequently to stir. At the end I added a bit of vanilla extract, stirred then let it cool/ thicken for a few minutes.

Customized Cereal

Sounds fantastic, right? It is! Custom Choice Cereal gives you the freedom to make your own cereal just the way you like it. You can chock it full of ingredients or keep it simple—its all up to you. Not only do they have three nutritious bases to choose from—Cinnamon Granola, Corn Flakes and Good Morning Flakes, they also have a TON of additions you can make to your base. So first I chose—Corn Flakes then I moved on and chose the dried blueberries, dried strawberries and walnuts. It was hard to make my choices since there were so many including: Cherries, Cranberries, Pears—just to name a few. Then you move onto the nuts/ seeds category and find great selections like: Almonds, Coconut, Pumpkin Seeds (much more on there than this). Then you pick your very own name for the cereal and order it! I named mine “Berries Plus”.

What I loved about this cereal: It was delicious, fresh and I controlled the ingredients.
What I loved about the website: For each ingredient you add, it calculates the nutrition ingredients right there for you.
What I think they should add: A plain granola. I wanted to make my base granola but they only had a cinnamon one—I thought the cinnamon might conflict with my berries, which I had to have! The Corn Flakes did turn out to be mighty tasty though!

Kay's Naturals Better Balance Protein Cereals

After trying three varities of this cereal: Apple Cinnamon, French Vanilla and Honey Almond I am hard pressed to name a favorite. These cereals come in individual pouches that contain a mere 100 calories each which helps a LOT with portion control, cereal is SOOOOOOO hard to stop at the "serving size". The portion was huge for the 100 calories which makes it a great calorie bargain. On top of that the taste was superior to ANY high protein cereal I have ever tasted. Each were shaped like o's and all were so flavorful and exactly what I expected from the yummy titles. Plus their slogan is "Build Muscle, Not Fat"-- who doesn't want to do that?! Its worth a shot-- eat yummy cereal and not get fat? Sign me up!


Each bag contains:

-only 100 calories

-9 grams of protein

-3 grams of dietary fiber

-only 15 grams of total carbs

-all natural with no trans fats
I ate these right out of the bag-- no milk, nothing, they don't need it, but they would be great as a traditional breakfast cereal, in yogurts, trail mixes. I have to get my hands on more of these cereals! This is what the bags look like and here is the website.
 

Hay Cookies!

Remember Haystacks?

10 100% Dark Chocolate Cocoa Nibs
1 Tablespoon natural peanut butter
Sweetner of choice
Chopped Peanuts (optional)
1/2-3/4 cup Fiber one cereal (if I use the peanuts I cut down on the cereal)

Melt the Nibs and peanut butter in the microwave and stir well. Slowly add in cereal and optional peanuts making sure all are covered. Grab bunches out of the bowl with your fingers and put on a cookie sheet or parchment paper in the refrigerator until cool and formed. Peel off and store. These must be kept cold to maintain shape.

Hearty "Trail Mix"

I love large portions and we all know eating a "large" portion of trail mix is NOT a good idea. I beef my own up and it is soooooooo yummy! All for 270 healthy calories.

1 100 calorie pack of blue diamond almonds crushed in the bag (100 calories- duh)
1/2 cup fiber 1 cereal (60 calories)
1 cup Kashi 7 grain puffed cereal (70 calories)
9 100% Dark Chocolate Cocoa Nibs, crushed into slivers (40 calories)

Mix and eat!

GIANT Oatmeal Bowl

1/2 cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Kashi 7 grain puffed cereal
1/2 cup egg whites
1/2 cup water
1/2 scoop protein powder of choice
Cinnamon, sweetner or cocoa powder

Mix Old Fashioned oats with water and protein powder. Cook in microwave for 1.5 minutes. Take out and add other ingredients. Stir well and microwave another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. This turns out to be a giant bowl of oats!

Homemade Protein Balls/ No Bake Cookies

1/4 cup Psyillum Husks
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 scoop protein powder
2 tablespoons Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder
Sugar free sweetner of choice
Sugar-free maple syrup OR nut butter

Stir mixture together until very stiff. Roll balls in chopped almonds or unsweetened coconut. Refridgerate overnight so all ingredients bind and soften together. You can also flatten into a cookie shape and put a whole almond in the center or a cocoa nib.