Noshtopia

When Fast Food Gets It Wrong: The Ridiculousness of the Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet

Taco Bell wants us to "Think Outside the Butt" with their new Drive-Thru Diet featuring Christine who lost 54lbs and is now biniki-ready after eating tacos and burritos.

*Serious eye roll*

Over at the Back in Skinny Jeans Facebook fanpage, I share my two cents on this Taco Bell "diet".

Note: You must be logged in to Facebook to see the post.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

Hope all of you are enjoying food, festivities, and loved ones! Tis the season for gratitude.

Thank you for your readership. It is a wonderful gift :)

At Last: Vegan Banana Nut Muffins in Phoenix

Apparently, vegan banana nut muffins do not exist in Phoenix, until now. Let me share with you why this matters…at least to me. But first, behold, I’ve made some mini vegan banana nut muffin bites, perfect for a healthier holiday office party treat.

  

One of the foods I would get often at the Whole Foods bakery when I lived in the SF bay Area were vegan banana nut muffins. Here’s a picture of said muffins. Those vegan banana nut muffins are heavenly goodness because they don’t taste “vegan.” You can’t tell the difference, the muffins are just simply good! I’m not vegan, but I can eat these muffins because they are egg and dairy-free….me with the food allergies.

I mention the “vegan” tasting thing mainly because many people have preconceptions of what vegan tastes like and it usually swirls around things like grassy, bran-ish, or “something’s missing.” To me, the hallmark attribute of any excellent food is that it has wonderful taste and a pleasurable texture. If you can nail those two things, the ingredients are less important, vegan or not. People just want to have a fabulous food experience.

Not even Whole Foods has the vegan banana nut muffin

When I loved to Phoenix a few months ago, I went to all 5 Whole Foods in the area and all the other natural food stores I could find, and not one had a vegan banana nut muffin, not even frozen ones. In fact, compared to the Bay Area the vegan selections are very small in Phoenix. There’s plenty of gluten-free offerings, but little in vegan choices.

  

Not to be discouraged, I then went in search on Yelp, blogs, and food sites as well as tweeting , hitting up local foodies, and asking every human being I’ve met in Phoenix where I could  find any place that sold vegan banana nut muffins. Amazingly, vegan banana nut muffins do not exist ANYWHERE here. It is the weirdest thing especially since banana nut is a popular flavor. It’s not like I’m trying to find an Acai berry macadamia vegan muffin.  

Phoenix metro is the 5^th largest city in the US and not one place makes a vegan banana nut muffin. I’m absolutely astonished! So, for my final post for Viva paper towels, they are sponsoring this post and my quest to bring a vegan banana nut muffin to Phoenix.

Here, I made some, and we can now say the vegan banana nut muffin exists in Phoenix, and is no longer a unicorn. Can you smell the delicious aroma right out of the oven? Thanks Viva! For some fun, fork-free recipes including videos and snappy entertaining ideas, check out the VIVA® Diva Café. And even cooler, today, someone will get the opportunity to win a $50 Gift Card to buy whatever you want courtesy of Viva. That's just so cool of them! More on how to win at the end of the post.

  

I made up this recipe from a mixture of different recipes, but mine has one secret ingredient that I didn’t see anyone else use. It’s different, and I think added to the moistness of the muffin. Moist is a key texture thing for me in muffins as I dislike dry muffins. Many dairy and egg-free muffins I’ve had tend to be on the drier side. But not here!

  

Ingredients* (makes about 3 dozen mini muffins)

• 2 cups 100% whole wheat flour or 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 cup whole wheat flour  (See note below)
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup organic sugar
• ½ cup + 1 tbsp canola oil
• ½ cup organic applesauce
• 1 6oz. container of vanilla flavored coconut milk yogurt (I use So Delicious brand)
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 3 medium bananas smashed
• 1/2 cup walnuts pieces + half a handful to put on muffin tops (use more if you like nuts)

*Notes: For my batch, I used 2 cups of the 100% Whole Wheat flour, and they were good but they did have a slight bran-like taste to them which is fine for the health nuts but if you’re trying to impress to non-vegans or non-health nuts for the first time, I’d go the half & half route (1/2 all purpose & half whole wheat). I also use as much organic ingredients as possible because I like it. You don’t have to.

Let’s get cooking!

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• You’ll need a mini muffin baking pan. I got a 24 muffin pan at Target. You won’t need to spray the muffin pan if it’s non-stick.

• In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients together going down the list: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, sugar. Stir them all together.

• In another bowl, mix together the canola oil, applesauce, vanilla extract, yogurt, and mashed banana. Pour into the dry ingredients bowl, and mix everything together. Add in the walnut pieces, and stir again until the nuts are blended in.

• Spoon the batter into the muffin pan. Fill so batter is flush with the pan top. During baking the batter will rise to make nice looking muffin tops.

• Bake for 16 minutes or when done when tested with a toothpick.

Let the muffins cool for about 10-15 minutes before noshing. Enjoy!

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Since it's the holiday season, I think one of the best gift's is gratitude, feeling grateful for the abundance we have like health, love, and friends. So, to enter to win the $50 Gift Card from Viva, in comments share one thing you are grateful for.

You have until midnight 12/22 MST to leave a comment. After that, I will close the comments. The winner will be picked randomly. I need a valid email address to notify you if you win. Not to worry, in my privacy policy I clearly state we're cool, and I never give out emails to 3rd parties.

U.S. residents only. Sorry, international noshers. Next time.

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UPDATE: The winner of the $50 Gift Card: Congratulations to Mendie!

Thank you again to Viva Paper Towels for sponsoring the giveaway.

Humor: What is the Modern Day Version of Getting a Fruitcake For Christmas?

For fun, I asked my @skinnyjeans Tweeties what was the modern day version of getting a fruitcake for Christmas? I was more curious to know if people thought the fruitcake still reigned supreme or if something new had taken its place. Here's some of the funny responses.

 

If someone got me a Chia pet, I would think that they thought of me as a fruitcake kind of friend...lol!

Web Life: How I handle my identity online...personally and professionally

 

A question I'm asked often is, “How do you handle your personal identity, personally and professionally, given that you have shared some very personal things on your blog.”

At the end of the post I share, 3 specific tips I think helped me be successful at blending both my personal and professional lives. But first, let me share that in the very beginning I did separate the two because:

1. I was afraid that I would be judged for any personal stuff I shared which would then make it challenging for me to get work, clients, or advertisers/sponsors, and...

2. I had some set beliefs about how I wanted to be perceived, and letting go of those beliefs actually opened not only my life more, but paved the way for some amazing opportunities I could never have imagined.

I started with 4 blogs in 2005

On my blog Back in Skinny Jeans, some of the highly personal experiences I have shared include suffering from an eating disorder, being raped by a boyfriend, becoming a millionaire in the tech boom and losing it all, being depressed and going on the “happy” pills, and that making a living as a professional blogger in the lifestyle categories is much harder than it looks.

I joke that in a world where people Google you first and ask questions later, on the surface I appear to look like #5 on those “Don’t date these women” lists…”Emotionally unstable and blogs about it.”

When I started blogging in 2005, I had four blogs; three were designed specifically for revenue generation and to advance my professional career. The tone and style of writing was indeed polished, straight to the point, and had nothing about my personal life in it. The fourth blog was Back in Skinny Jeans which I created merely because I wanted to wear my skinny jeans again, and wanted to just rant and gush about my daily musings regarding that subject. The content although more personal in nature still at that point did not include anything that could be perceived as shameful, embarrassing, or scandalous.

After four months, not only was Back in Skinny Jeans getting more traffic than the other three put together, it was making more money through just Google Adsense and the Amazon affiliate program. The business person in me concluded that if this one blog was making more money than the other three, put together, then just those down and focus on the one, 80/20 rule. Apparently, thousands and thousands of people cared about wanting to wear their skinny jeans again like me. More importantly, BISJ was way more fun and fulfilling to work on.

Having clear blog intentions

My intention with blogging, back then and still to this day, 4 years later, is to help people feel less alone, stigmatized, or hopeless. I’m not a doctor, therapist, or anything trained and certified, but I have been a patient, and I do understand what it feels like to go to hell and back. I made a choice to use my past as a source to help others versus letting my past hold me back and depress me.

I feel my higher life purpose is to help people live more authentic lives which inspired my tagline, “Live authentically.” Blogging has helped me find that purpose through sharing my story and building community with others in the blogosphere. Because I had such strong and focused intentions, I believe I was able to combine both highly personal in nature topics and my professional life.

In fact, the only reason I am here blogging today is because I wanted to wear my skinny jeans again. On the surface, that sounds so ridiculous, but because I was open, it led me to places, people, and opportunities that I could never have imagined…and I have a very vivid imagination.

Microsoft comes calling

One amazing business opportunity that sharing my personal life led to was getting a job at Microsoft as an Enthusiast Evangelist. Microsoft found me online and when I asked them why they would want to hire someone like me who’s revealed such personal things, my boss said to me, “Yes, although your stories are very tough and personal in nature, you have a way of writing that leaves people feeling inspired and hopeful. We think that talent is valuable, and is win/win for everyone.”

Honestly, I was floored to hear that because:

1. My impression was that Microsoft was a big stuffy conservative company and how cool is it that dispelled my belief. They don’t care about my past, they only care about what I have done in the now, and...

2. Who knew writing about wanting to wear my skinny jeans again and my problematic past would get me hired at one the most prestigious companies in the world.

A colleague shared with me, “I think you sharing all that stuff shows you’re a fighter and won’t give up, no matter how beaten you get.” I felt like Rocky Balboa in that moment, and how many times have you seen Rocky used as an example in the business world? …Lots.

Here are the top 3 things I think helped me be successful at blending both my personal and professional lives:

• People care more about what you’re doing now then what you did back then. The business world is about results, and if you can produce the results that are needed, that is what matters at the end of the day.

• Context and dose. Every post I wrote about my personal life had very specific context to it like when I first revealed I had sufferend from an eating disorder, I did it in conjunction with the launch of the documentary film about eating disorders called, Thin. The movie was getting enormous buzz, and I felt that anchoring my story to that one was an inspiring way to do my big reveal.

Editorial wise, if you look at the overall break up of BISJ, only about 25% is my personal life. I started upping that quantity in the last year of the blog because through Google Analytics I saw that the posts about my personal life got the highest amount of traffic, links, and comments. People like to read about what others are going through. The posts that have more “intended for mature audiences” content happened less than 4 times a year. I was very conscious about not emotionally overwhelming my audience. Being emo is good in doses versus dousings.

• Have clear and focused intentions. People can smell intent a mile away. What’s most important is that you are very clear with yourself as to why you’re sharing this personal info of yours. My posts have always come out welcomed because the intent is clearly to help others. I have done posts which I thought were being helpful but the reaction I got was not what I had intended.

When I digged deeper and re-looked at how the post came out, it became more clear that I did the post to get things like attention, sympathy, or a break.  Those are not bad things to desire, but again, you need to ask yourself, in the bigger picture is this going to help you achieve the results you’re after like respect, influence, and connection.

So this has been my experience blending the personal and professional lives. I hope it was helpful. What was been your experience, and what worked or didn't work for you?

Yogis Eat Cereal As Well As Tea

 

Yogi Tea is one of my favorite brands of tea because I delight in the little pearl of wisdom left on each tea bag like, "The beauty in you is in your spirit." Ahhhh! Indeed this tea makes me feel soothed.

I've been on a whirlwind of writing working on getting my book ready for the first round of full editing. When I get on a writing spree like this I always crave cereal, so I went to Whole Foods to see what they had.

I was pleasantly surprised to see some new cereals from the folks who make Yogi Tea. Yeah! Who knew. So, instant sale. I picked the Walnut Spice Crunch flavor designed for digestive health. All the nutritional info is here. The other flavors include Cherry Almond Crunch and Goji Berry Flake & Cluster.

Pictured above is a bowl of the cereal with fresh bananas and rice milk. This cereal was awesome! Crunchy. Nutty. Fun in my mouth. In fact, it's something I could just pour into a bowl and eat dry like popcorn. The other fun thing was to find two tea bags as the "prize." It's not like getting a super hero action figure, but Yogi tea is a splendid prize too.

 

The only thing I think they can improve on is to lower the sugar content a bit. The cereal comes in at 16g of sugars per 2/3 cup serving which to me is on the high side. But, sugar is usually the least of my worries.

Have you tried the Yogi cereals? What did you think?

Odd But Tasty Combo: Black Forest Bacon, Turkey, Avocado & Kiwi Sandwich

For lunch, I was craving a BLT but didn't have any tomato or lettuce but I did have some avocado and a kiwi. I thought, "Eh, what the heck." Why not try the kiwi in lieu of tomato. Both are fruits right?

 

OMG! It was really good. In addition to the Black Forest bacon, honey turkey, avocado, and kiwi, I used Brianna's Poppyseed dressing, some spicy honey mustard, and Whole Foods Bakery sweet multi-grain bread. As you can see, I'm big into the sweet & zesty.

I particularly enjoyed the sweet of the kiwi with the salty of the bacon. To me, the two flavors complimented well. Who knew!

Veggie Twist: Green Beans With Ground Chorizo

 

For Thanksgiving dinner, I wanted to make a green bean dish with bits of bacon in it, but Whole Foods ran out of my favorite Black Forest bacon.

But, what they did have was ground Chorizo meat. So, I improvised and the dish came out better than I thought. The green beans with Chorizo was a nice twist to add with a plate full of turkey and stuffing.

Importantly, the dish was super easy and fast to make.

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

• 1lb. String green beans
• 1/2lb ground Chorizo meat
• 1/4 white or yellow onion diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp water

Let's Get Cookin':

• Heat a skillet on medium heat, add the olive oil and saute the onions for about 30 seconds.

• Toss in the Chorizo meat and cook until the meat turns brown.

• Toss in the green beans and mix in with the Chorizo and onions.

• Add the water and again stir the green bean mix.

• Cover the skillet and let the green beans simmer for about a minute. Remove lid. Stir green beans. Cover and let simmer for another minute. Repeat until green beans are your desired crunchiness level. Personally, I cook the green beans so they are still slightly crunchy not mushy.

Place green beans and Chorizo in a beautiful serving dish, and enjoy!

Note: I did not add any kind of seasoning to this dish because the Chorizo is full of seasoning on its own.

Sweet snacks: Mini Cafe Cinnamon Twists...Dairy-free, Egg-free, Yeast-free

 

Finding dairy-free and egg-free desserts can be a challenge sometimes so when I find something that is absolutely delish, I have to rave about it from rooftops.

Behold these, Mini Cafe Cinnamon Twists from Trader Joe's. These sweeties are dairy-free, butter-free, egg-free, yeast-free, low in sodium AND only 30 calories per twisty. See why I'm in dessert heaven!

Amazingly, these twists are made with only 6 ingredients: wheat flour, soybean oil, palm oil, beet sugar, cinnamon, and salt.

I <3 these TJ's Twists!