After These Messages

Doing some spring cleaning at home and at work.  Please pardon the mess.

Ice Cream Treats

It's Product Review Friday! 

Let's start with Blue Bunny's Sweet Freedom No Sugar Added cones in snack size.  Right off the bat,  you will notice how tiny they are.  They were roughly the size of the BNC's thumb.  Despite that, it was the perfect little size that satisfied the craving for a sweet treat.  It didn't taste like a diet snack and it wasn't overly sweet either.  It even comes with a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure.  You can either throw your head back and slide the loose peanuts from the bag into your hungry mouth or you can pick up the peanuts with the top of your already bitten off cone and then take a bite out of it. 

The final verdict:  Put it in the cart .

Next up, Skinny Cow Cookies 'n Cream Truffle bars.  The bar itself was more than plenty to satisfy that craving.  The taste, while not completely coming off as cookies 'n cream, was subtle and creamy.  I did get a bit of a toothache from the cold but I chalk that up to not having enough tooth real estate and thus dipping into gum territory.  Go figure. 

The final verdict:  Put it in the cart but perhaps in other flavors.

 

Lastly, Skinny Cow Ice Cream Cone.  The taste of these was a bit overwhelming.  It was so rich and slightly overpowering on the tongue.  However, if you keep at it you'll learn to appreciate the decadent fudge on soft chocolate ice cream.  Drink a glass of water, you'll be okay.  My only other non-issue was how hard it was to get the wrapper off the cone.  I kept thinking my Hulk Strength was going to crush the cone and I would be left without the joy of an ice cream cone. 

The final verdict:  Put it in the cart.  Put 2 in the cart.

 

The BNC and I are having a good time trying out various treats that are easy on me.  We're preferential to the snack size Blue Bunny cones because it's a perfect little snack.  You run such a high risk of overdoing it with a half gallon of ice cream and trying to figure how many scoops you should get and how generous those precious scoops should be.  The portion control of the above ice cream treats appeals to us a great deal and, as long Blue Bunny and Skinny Cow keep churning them out, then I'll keep trying them out.

Full of Food

I had to hit the 'burbs this weekend for the Katy Budget Books Semi-Annual Sale in Katy, Texas.  Dolla books make me holla, y'all.  Brother's Pizzeria though makes me squee!  And, since I rarely see The Chapa anymore, I made him meet there for lunch after I scarfed up some books at the book sale.

 

The usual large with cheese even if sometimes I get daring and get pepperoni.  And, it has to be baked extra crispy.  Oh baby.

However, the spaghetti with meatballs, with it's chunky, fresh, not too sweet marinara is amazing.  It's a simple sauce but it's delicious.  I woofed it all down.  Ok, not really, but I came close.  They offer kid's meals now so, next time, I will have to do that so I can eat more pizza.  Holla!

Sunday consisted of our usual House of Pies visit and try as I might, I continue to choose the Waffle Platter.  I rarely finish it

For Sunday dinner, it was made up of rice, beans and fajitas.  I used old reliable corn tortillas to make tacos while the BNC used Romaine lettuce to make his.  Whack. 

My rice was perfect this time and I used part of my last batch of frozen beans.  As for the fajitas, or skirt steak, I cooked them with some sweet onions.  When they were almost done, I added a touch of tomato paste, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes for that slight kick to the teeth that you sometimes need until you bite down on a tiny fleck, cause you're lucky like that, and you vow to start using the SMIDGEN measuring rather than DASH. 

Good stuff.  Good weekend.

Feliz Dia de las Madres

In Mexico, May 10 is always Mother's Day.  Always.  You can't forget it.  I have yet to speak to my Ama (my grandma) but maybe she is still asleep since she likes to party hard and didn't answer the phone when I tried contacting her at 6a today.  Or, maybe she knows it was me and is letting me sweat because I called so early. 

Anyhow, I took my mom out to lunch today and, since my Old Man tends to be off on Tuesdays, he was more than happy to join in.  May as well since he filled the role of mom when she was off making some paper.

The role of Favorite Daughter is stressful and requires much time but the reward is immeasurable. 

What would you do...for a Klondike Bar?

I purchased some Klondike No Sugar Added bars this past weekend.  I usually try to avoid products with such a label because it means very little.  It can be full of carbs, which, if unused, will turn into sugar.  It can also mean that no additional sugar was added but other fructoses were added to compensate for the missing sugar.  However, after carefully reading the Klondike bar's label, I was satisfied enough to take them  home and give them a whirl.

The candy coating taste has not changed.  It retains that distinctive Klondike taste.  As for the ice cream contained within that yummy chocolate, it has that diet taste to it.  To me, it's just a tiny reminder of why I'm limited to some food items especially when it comes to my old ice cream addiction. 

Klondike has great flavors but oddly, the no sugar added one is missing from its site.  But, wtf, a rocky road one?!

Ok, focus...

I also added these: Skinny Cow No Sugar Added Vanilla ice cream sandwiches.  With 4g of fiber, I just couldn't pass these up.  They are yummy, filling and exactly what one needs when you need a little something after dinner. 

Being a diabetic will always have me on my toes.  I love food too much to think of it as my enemy and one should never think of food as such.  However, everyone is different.  What works for me may not work for others.  But, researching, testing and making yourself available to new things is a great start. 

Happy eating!

Let Us

The BNC, without having to, partakes in my sugar-free diet.  He eats, and drinks, reduced sugar, low fat, high fiber, whole grain, zero calorie, low sodium stuff with me.  It's one of the many reasons I love him.  His support means the world and makes what I have to do so much easier.  And while I don't enjoy all the good stuff I'm supposed to eat, I don't stop him from enjoying what he likes. 

So, on Sunday (and Monday) we I made lettuce wraps.  I used my new purple Slap Chop on some onions and tomatoes and cooked them down alongside some ground chuck. 

The mixture was seasoned with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and some tomato paste.

As a side dish, I made rice with orzo.  (Is that rice pilaf?)  Whichever, it was yums and both the rice and orzo were perfectly cooked. 

I toasted and cooked them together and out it came; perfect.

I didn't eat any lettuce but, from the looks and sounds of it, they looked and tasted awesome.

It's certainly a dish that will be put into heavy rotation especially with summer looming and the desire to crank up that oven grows less and less.

ps....excuse the shadows, the weird lighting and the less than stellar photos.  I'm still trying to find my angles as well as work the laptop I recently received.  Thank you, come again.