Noshtopia

21 Dishes Over 1000 Calories at Popular Sit Down Chain Restaurants and Tips to Slim Them Down

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After learning that the Dunkin' Donuts Pumpkin muffin at 600 calories packed more calories than a KFC Double Down and a Big Mac, I started wondering about other fast food facts I would find shocking.

Being one always filled with curiosity, I somehow got on this track about foods over 1,000 calories because what's scary (to me) is that there are way more dishes and foods sold in fast food and chain restaurants that now fit this criteria more than ever before.

One pound is 3,500 calories so to gain or drop one pound, we need to create an increase or deficit to our caloric intake. Eating a dish or food that is 1,000 calories is nearly 1/3 of a pound in just one sitting.

For this post, I chose 7 popular U.S. sit down chains, places that many people go to...and often. For each restaurant listed, I linked to the nutrition information on their website and used that info for my list. I also made an effort to diversify the types of restaurants like picking a pizza place, a mirco brewery, an Asian place, and a steakhouse. For the 3 menu items, to give some kind of uniform comparison, I chose an appetizer, a salad or comparable dish, and an entree. Here's the restaurants:

Applebee's

California Pizza Kitchen

Olive Garden

Outback Steakhouse

PF Chang's

Rock Bottom Brewery (which is now merged with Gordon Biersch)

Ruby Tuesday

Now, I'm not doing this post to shock people into never eating any of these foods ever again, this is really about an education in portion control and the nutrition in some of the foods we eat when we eat out. The nice thing about all the foods on this list is that you can pare them down and strip them of calories. At the end of the post, I include tips on how to do that. You have flexibility.

I personally dig the Bloomin' Onion at Outback, but I only eat that when I'm with a group and only a few times a year if that. I dip it in ketchup instead of the creamy sauce it comes with.

Again, balance and moderation is the key. I eat well 80% of the time, and in the other 20% I allot for fun times and for yeah, the not-so-healthy foods. My psyche has a hard time with the concept of "forbidden" or "bad" when it comes to food and it's just a losing battle to live like that living in the U.S. (at least for me) so I just stopped compartmentalizing foods into those labels.

It's more empowering to chose what works best for my body versus focusing on what I can't have.

In researching this list, I was really stunned not just by the 1,000+ calories but how much sodium is in these foods. As well, out of the 7 restaurants I went to, only one lists sugar (g) in their nutrition list.

I learned a whole lot researching this post especially learning that my idea of a portion size is bigger than what the actual single serving size is. I was also kind of crushed to learn just how caloric and sodium packed some of these foods were because I'd order them myself.

In fact, all the 21 dishes I chose to put on this list, are foods that I would order myself except one which was the Rock Bottom Appetizer Sampler. I put that dish on the list because I have never seen anything that was 3,649 calories on one plate before. In fact, that one plate is more than one pound in calories.

Interesting things I noticed about how the restaurants list their nutrition data:

• PF Changs numbers are all single servings not for total of the dish. They tell you how many servings are in one dish so you have to multiply to get the total for the whole platter. From this perspective, the nutrition numbers for the dish don't look so bad before the math.

• Olive Garden doesn't list sugar or protein which I found really odd. Protein is very important to many people.

• Ruby Tuesday doesn't list protein either and lists at the top fiber then carbs then sodium. They want to hit you right away with all that fiber goodness. Most other places list sodium, carbs and then fiber towards the end right before protein.

• CPK plays the fiber and protein goodness card too, they list fiber and protein in the front right after calories. And guess what, sodium and carbs are listed last. Um, could that be because pizza is incredibly salty and carby?

• Outback is the only one to list their numbers to the decimal point. Talk about accuracy.

• Only 2 of the 7 listed cholesterol: Outback and Rock Bottom.

• Like I mentioned earlier, only one, Rock Bottom Brewery, included sugar (g) on their nutrition list.

Why not include the sugar number I wonder? Are restaurants exempt from having to disclose sugar (g)? Sugar is always listed on food labels. If you know, please share in comments!

In terms of full disclosure of their food, I have to give Rock Bottom a gold star because they are the only restaurant on this list who divulged the widest spectrum of nutritional information.

In this picture, here's a quick snapshot showing how the Applebee's Sizzling Chicken Fajitas (note the calories also include the fixings that come with the fajitas) have more calories than two McDonald's Big Macs combined.

I'm not saying this is carte blanche to go nosh up a couple Big Macs because they don't look so bad here. I'm just illustrating how we can get caught up in the notion that just because something is deemed "healthy" like chicken, that it is always good for us. I defer back to the Dunkin' Donuts Pumpkin muffin.

The chicken is fine when it's just a raw piece of meat. It's the preparation of the meat and what is included in the dish which can turn a lean piece of meat into a caloric, fatty, salty beast.

What shocked me the most about these Applebee's Chicken Fajitas was the amount of sodium in it. Those fajitas have more than 2.5X the sodium of the Big Macs. 5670 mg of sodium is about 2.5 teaspoons of sodium. Yikes!

I was also kinda shocked by the PF Chang's crispy green beans because it's just beans (so says my mind...and yeah I know it's fried.) I could easily chow down on half a plate of those beans without blinking which would dent me 520 just in beans.

As I mentioned at the top of the post, you have the flexibility to pare down the calories, fat, carbs, and sodium of these foods. Here's some tips on how to do that:

• When eating fajitas ixnay the sour cream and guacamole and use salsa and hot sauce. Eat just the meat and not the tortilla.

• When ordering a burger, order it protein style, which means it comes in a lettuce wrap and no bun.

• Ask for any gavy or sauces on the side.

• When ordering a pizza, get the thin crust versus regular crust, and ask that they half the amount of cheese they normally put on it. Ask for lean meats like chicken on top instead of fatty, salty meat like pepperoni.

• For fried rice, ask that they no use soy sauce at all or if they can use low sodium soy sauce, or only half the amount they usually use. I order my rice without soy sauce, and I think it tastes better.

• Ask for your salad dressing on the side and then use sparingly.

• All you can eat breadsticks sounds awesome but those sticks are 150 calories a pop, so one is good with your meal.

• Ask if they can do or have a steamed or sauteed version of the fried dish you want. For example, at PF Chang's, you can do sauteed beans instead of fried.

• Order one dish and split it with someone else at your table. I do this all the time.

• When the food is served to your table, ask for a to-go box. Split your food in half, and put one half in that to-go box and eat it for lunch the next day.

• Ask the waiter/waitress, any ways the dish can be slimmed down. I do this all the time, and you'd be surprised what they can do. All it takes is asking!

When eating out, it can be very easy to over indulge when we don't even realize we are which is why it is educational to look up the nutritional information of your favorite restaurants.You can still enjoy these foods, but perhaps in smaller portion, less often, and with less add-ons...or you may just decide to choose something new and healthier to eat all together. Trying new foods is fun too!

So, what is a tip you have to help slim down dishes when you eat out?

Vibrant Habits: What I Eat and Drink to Start the Day

That's my nightstand, and yes I drink lots of water! I do walk my hydration talk and even more so since I moved to Phoenix where it is very dry.

Now, I don't drink three huge 1.5L bottles at one time, I just tend to collect bottles. When I wake up first thing and I mean I literally roll to my nightstand, I pick up a bottle and will swig about 1/3 of it before I even take one step out of bed. Refreshing!

Not only do my cells start doing their happy dance (I can sense the rumba which feels energizing), the water helps me go do #2 which yeah is TMI, but according to any doc, regular #2s are vital to our healthiness. And honestly, it feels lightening to unload in the A.M.

I truly do believe that what we have produced in our current state of life is sum of our habits. It's pretty simple:

Actions = results

If we don't like what we have, then change the actions to produce different results. If we want better levels of healthiness, then we need habits which support those desires. Awhile back, I finally got tired of starting my day feeling heavy and lethargic. I'd be ready for a nap before lunch time.

After experimenting, I found that part of the link to my heavy and draining feelings in the morning was eating a heavy (to my body) breakfast and drinking coffee first thing in the morning. For breakfast, I tended to eat gluteny things like toast, bagels, english muffin, wheat cereals, or banana nut bread with a drip.

I used to believe that a muffin was "healthy" especially if it had a fruit or veggie in it like blueberry, pumpkin, banana, or zuchini. From last week's Dunkin Donuts post where we learned that their pumpkin muffin is more caloric than that frightening KFC Double Down, muffins can be worse than junk fast foods.

It's a good idea to experiment with your body. For some people, coffee energizes them in the morning, for me coffee gets me wired and crashed pretty quickly. Wheaties may pump you up, but for my bod, wheat first thing makes me feel puffy and not in a fun puffed rice kind of way.

One of the side effects, if I can call it that, of going sugar-little at the start of the year and going gluten-little during the summer was that my body started craving kale and arugula first thing. Yeah, it was kinda weird at first because hello who wakes up craving a green salad?

Well apparently, my body is one of those with the green yearnings which hey, no one's complaining. The green cravings were just unexpected...pleasantly, but still out of the blue. At Sunday brunch, while others are eating omelets or pancakes, I'm jonesing on rocket greens or spinach.

So, here's a common thing I will eat for breakfast now, instead of a bowl of cereal, I eat a bowl of arugula with things like fresh corn, peas, mushrooms, carrots, walnuts or turkey pieces.

Instead of cofffe, I drink water or fresh green juices like this kale, cucumber with a splash of coconut water. I do have a juicer, but when I want something "now" I'm lucky that my local Whole Foods does fresh juices.

The drinks are a bit pricey but hey for $4 that veggie drink is making me feel all tingly good inside, and I know I'm getting nutrient goodness at its highest enzyme impact. Sometimes for breakfast, I'll eat cucumber or avocado sushi rolls with a fresh juice like this one with beets, carrots, kale, and apple.

I haven't eliminated coffee from my life like this mocha made with cashew milk because hold up, I'm a writer and coffee does help me write because it soothes me in the afternoon, yeah I know another weird thing. My bod can handle coffee better in the afternoon I believe because I've had a couple meals by then.

I blog at cafes plenty, and coffee is par the course...at least for now. We will save changing the caffeine habit for another time :)

So how do you start off your day?

Update: And yes I know about the plastic bottles. To be more green, I (and all of us) should be using a reusable bottle but one change at a time. I do my best to recycle...not always on top of it, I'll be honest, but I try. Patience.

The Soup vs. The Fake: Correctly Pronouncing Pho vs. Faux

Don't worry I am guilty of making this mistake too and I'm Asian so double finger waving at me :)

In this quick 53 second funny video by Brian Wilcox of Falconhog, here is the correct way to pronounce Pho the delicious warming Vietnamese soup versus Faux like fur or that Fendi Phendi bag you bought from the back of some truck because you scored that "just for you" discount.

 

 

Via Serious Eats

Jillian Michaels and So Delicious Like Our Vegan Pumpkin or Butternut Squash Soup

Yesterday on Thanksgiving, I got one of the best gifts, tweets from both So Delicious brand the maker of my most favorite coconut milk based products, and Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels saying, "Yum!" to my 5 minute mostly organic vegan pumpkin or butternut squash soup which used the So Delicious creamer and regular milk.

As a blogger, this is the kind of stuff that makes you do cartwheels even if you are wearing a dress. Okay, TMI but true!

Jillian by the way is also the new spokesperson for So Delicious. You can get a coupon here and save 55 cents off a purchase of Coconut Milk. If you haven't tried their stuff, please do. To say I am a fangirl of So Delicious is an understatement!

I love the So Delicious creamer because although it is targeted for coffee and tea drinks, the creamer can also be used as a "cream" replacement in cooking which I did in my soup. It's really awesome because you can make creamy vegan dishes that top up there with regular cream dishes where you can't tell the difference. This is a heaven-send in my opinion.

And yes, I indeed do the happy dance for my gratefulness!

Real Simple: What I Made With My Turkey Leftovers and The Thanksgiving Feast I Ate

With my Thanksgiving turkey leftovers, I made this warm open faced turkey sandwich with arugula and avocado on top of ciabatta bread with a swab of honey mustard and Brianna's Poppyseed dressing.

For the meat, I sauteed in a pan some onion, diced portobello mushroom, and diced turkey in some Earth Balance soy-free buttery spread until the turkey was just a little crispy around the edges. I love tender meat with some crispiness.

For Thanksgiving, I went to my friend Eniko's house aka @AZToothFairy. This was Eniko's first time to ever make a Thanksgiving meal, and in her new house to boot which by the way has this newly remodeled kitchen that made me drool.

Eniko did an incredible job for her first dinner! In fact, had she not told me that fact, no one would have ever known. For recipes, Eniko used several from the November issue of Real Simple magazine, so as I show you the pictures, I will link to the recipes, and try them you should because, um, YUMMY!

And to add, I took all these photos in dim lighting with my iPhone, and I was happy that I could fix them up a bit to show off Eniko's cooking.

First up is the bird which I never knew that you can buy turkey breast only. I always thought you had to buy all bird or nothing. You can take the breast, put whatever stuffing and spices you want on it and cook it at home. There are rosemary leaves stuffed in there with onions. And yes, there is a whole lot of breast meat...enough to eat for days!

Here's Eniko with her boyfriend Cedric, a very sweet and funny guy, standing with the feast she prepared. Cedric who is from Louisiana also made some Jambalaya using all kinds of sausage including deer which I had never eaten before. The deer was a little spicy but was tasty, not gamey at all.

Besides the turkey, Eniko made mashed potatoes with a white wine gravy, and this Bourbon Cranberry Compote.

My favorite two sides of the evening were these Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Grapes...

...and these Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Parmesan. Eniko is lactose intolerant and I got dairy allergy so it was great that in her cooking she used substitutes or hints of dairy because well it's only once a year for Thanksgiving. Not saying it's right just saying we're human. In her sweet potato dish, she went very light on the cheese. In fact, so light, you could almost miss it.

For dessert, we had the spiced pumpkin pie with candied pecans which forgive me I cannot find the recipe...

...and various International flavored espresso with foam in it. Now see how foamy my cup is? That is actually almond milk. Yeah! I never knew almond milk could froth up like regular milk. I've seen frothy cashew milk, so again, it's cool that even us with the dairy issues can have frothy coffee drinks.

Here is the to-go container Eniko made for me. Now, the only reason I mention this picture is because I have now met someone who makes a bigger to-go package than my Filipino mom who let me tell you can pack some whopper of to-go plates. I put the espresso cup next to the container so you can get an idea of size. That container I swear weighed like 3lbs lol!

I'm not complaining though because Round #2 today was just as delicious! Hope all of you had a fabulous day of enjoying food, family, and friends.

Expressing Gratitude: My Thanksgiving (& Holiday) Altar

The holiday season has officially begun today with Thanksgiving. Salud!

Over @thekitchn, I loved how they suggested creating a Gratitude Altar for Thanksgiving where you include things that represent what you are grateful for in your life. Not only did I think this was a fabulous exercise in appreciation of your life, I thought it a wonderful holiday decoration for the house along with the tree, lights, and sparkling things because what a fantastic gift to ourselves - the gift of gratitude!

So, I am going to share my Gratitude Altar with all of you :) I'll go clockwise...

• Against the wall is the vision board I created during my trip to Coca-Cola HQ. Creating that vision board was not only the highlight of my trip, it was actually one of the highlights of my year because putting my thoughts and dreams on paper and then presenting it in front of a group of people made those dreams even more real..and made me more accountable...ye gads! Scary but good!

• I love this statue of the man and woman because it reminds me of the kind of relationship I want and why I have been waiting for the "right" guy versus the "right now" guy...and I'll be honest it's not been easy waiting for him because it does get lonely and frustrating. I love how the bodies of the man and woman are intertwined and how their upper bodies and arms create a heart shape - the two are in-sync...connected.

• 2010 has very much been about the heart for me. My New Year's theme was "Live with an open heart." In the vision board, near the camera on the top left, you'll notice a heart next to the saying, "What's been holding you back?" For me, one thing that's been holding me back in certain areas of my life has been closing my heart off not only to people but to opportunities, my dreams, and myself. Yeah, that's a whole other blog post.

• Hanging from the statue of the man & woman is a necklace of a butterfly my beautiful friend Eniko aka @AZToothFairy gave me. The butterfly is another deeply meaningful symbol to me because it represents that I finally feel like I have emerged from a 7 year cocoon stage of transformation, and now get to be that butterfly. Leaving California and moving to Arizona  last year was the stage for emerging into my butterfly state. I am SO grateful for all the kind and supportive folks I have met and the new friends I have made here in Phoenix!

• On the feet of the man & woman is a picture of my family at Disneyland. We took my triplet nieces there to celebrate their 5th birthday. Those three days with them was one of the most magical memories I will cherish forever. Being with my nieces at Disneyland reminded me to continue to see the magic in life and be excited about things.

• There is a pendent of a heart one of my soul BFFs @jenmyronuk gave me for Christmas last year. Again, we have the heart theme and the unique thing about this heart is that it is in unusual shape with a rainbow of colors and was made by women in Ethiopia for The Cunningham Foundation to help raise funds and awareness to boost Ehtiopia. Jen is also someone who has had a profound affect on my life. I'm very fortunate to have a friend like her and my other soul BFF @vicequeenmaria who both really I don't know where I'd be without them.

• The book A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle is one of those books that had such a profound affect on me not only because it helped me so much personally but because I think it is a great reference to how we can grow in consciousness to help raise the vibration of the planet and create more love and peace in the world...which all starts at home with ourselves. We can't have more peace in the world if we don't have peace with ourselves first.

• Yes, that's my iPhone, at least for this photo, because really I can't begin to express my gratefulness for this device in how it's helped me grow my business and stay connected with people. It's like a third arm for me!

• The 3-legged pig is a good luck symbol according to legend in South America and looking at him makes me feel happiness. I bought that pig on New Year's day 2010 in Sedona on a day trip Jen and I took. That day was such a wonderful way to start off the new year!

• The worn out running shoes reminds me how grateful I am for my health and my body's ability to take care of me, now that I am a better partner with the bod. Everything is not perfect in our relationship like any normal relationship, but I have become more in-sync and plugged into my body which I avoided for a very long time. The last 5 years of blogging for me has been to share my own adventures and learning lessons so that I may help and support others going through the same things. I love you body and thank you for being so patient and loving to me especially when I was so brutal to you!

• The statue of the castle reminds me I am a castle builder. One day, I'll share the story of the difference between castle builders and brick layers. The castle sits very close to my vision board because I am reminded and grateful that I am to build castles because that is what I am good at...although I am having challenges with the building of those castles which relates back to, "What's holding you back?" and the heart thing.

• And last is the Tigger which has mixed feelings for me but is actually very symbolic of an important growth lesson I've been in the midst of learning. The Tigger is actually a tough thing right now to put in my altar because of the intense emotions around what this seemingly innocent toy currently represents which to share openly is filled with disconnect, hurt and even some acrimony along with some of the most incredible passion and connection I never knew existed before but got to experience. So why would I put something so polarizing in my altar? Isn't the altar supposed to be filled with only happy things?

Well, yes, but perhaps everything that happens to us is a happy thing but comes to us disguised as something painful and tragic. I know doesn't make sense does it, but hear me out for a second. My friend @josephranseth challenged me one day and said to the effect, "Everything that happens is perfect." Immediately I thought, "How could pain, hurt, disappointment, or tragedy be perfect?"

These situations are perfect in that born from them is an opportunity to experience our greatest learning lessons, our biggest opportunities to change or affect change in the world, or our biggest challenges to become a more loving human being. The only difference between being perfect and imperfect is how we choose to "see" the situation.

I think back to every hurtful, painful and tragic thing in my life, and yes I did experience some intense trauma, hurt, and pain, but those experiences all contributed to my growth, to helping me find my life purpose work, and to helping me become more loving when I'd rather close down.

I think back to when I started Back in Skinny Jeans five years ago and sharing some of my own pain of being raped by a boyfriend, having an eating disorder, being diagnosed with depression, put on pills and being put on medical leave, and becoming a millionaire and losing it all, how sharing all those experiences not only helped me heal but helped many other people in the process many of which I will never know.

With encouragement from my parents, I choose to take those tragedies in my life to use them to do some good in the world instead of allowing them to keep me down, depressed, and a bitter lonely person...all of which I could be right now.

I don't want to be a person filled with hate, regret, or remorse. I want to be a person who continues to have an open heart, who helps to make the world a better place, and is a person filled with more love than dark. I'm also learning that my dark side is actually an ally not an enemy who challenges me to see what I need to heal and work on in myself. We all have dark sides, and if we can see the teacher rather than the destroyer in those ugly parts of us, then we can become better humans. Trust me, I'm no angel, and have effed-up in some monumental ways, but that is human. What matters is what I did to grow and be accountable for.

And I have learned by becoming that butterfly, that all this happens by choice....and in many cases can and will be some of the most painful and hard choices you will make, along with making some most idiotic of choices and smartest of choices, but again in a sense it is all perfect because if we never make mistakes, fall down, or get hurt, we'll never grow, expand, or become a better version of ourselves. I'm not saying it's easy, it sure as hell isn't, but that is the process. We can choose to fight it or learn from it.

So, the Tigger situation is perfect in what it is and has taught me and rightly belongs in my altar because it has challenged my heart both open and closed....this is a gift. I hope that one day, we can come to a peaceful connection. I've experienced it before with other people in my life and believe that it is possible in this situation, maybe not right now but someday. We're just two people having our human experiences. It's all a choice. I can't control other people but I can control how I choose to experience life. And on this Thanksgiving day, in this present moment, I will choose an open heart.

And there you have my holiday gratitude altar! Why not create one of your own, and if so inclined blog about it and share with others. I'm telling you it feels wonderful!

 

Trim Nudges: 7 Tips To Avoid Feeling Like a Stuffed Bird on Thanksgiving Day

 
In my opinion, two of the greatest fashion inventions: stretch pants and putting spandex in denim so jeans can stretch. It's great that we have clothing that can work with us on those days when we over indulge.

On Thanksgiving day, it is very easy to over do it on the food gluttony, and if it's just once year, then heck why not go for it! However, if you're one though who'd like to partake yet want to avoid feeling like a stuffed bird or feel like you have to unbutton your stretchy jeans, here are 7 tips to help you enjoy the food cornucopia that is Thanksgiving.

• Feed yourself with gratitude before food: It's easy to forget, but Thanksgiving is not about food, it's about thankfulness. The bounty of food is actually just another symbol of the abundance we have in life. When you nourish your soul first with appreciation of all the good and plenitude you have, you may find yourself filled up with so much joy, there might not be any room to over indulge on the food.

• Eat breakfast: There is somehow a reasoning that if you avoid eating breakfast, you can save those calories for eating later. However, your body will just get hungrier as the day progresses and you will end up eating way more and faster because deprivation mode has kicked in. Eating breakfast is a healthy way to start the day and keep your body level so you don't end up gorging out of starvation later.

• Workout in the morning: A good way to burn calories and start the food gluttony day is to go for a morning workout. If you have family and friends in town visiting, go on a workout together and get some exercise and bonding time, a 2-for-1. A great exercise with a group can be a walk, a hike, a run, football or kickball in the backyard, or biking.

• Eat slivers versus slices: This tip which I've outlined in more detail here is about portion control yet getting to enjoy a bite of everything on the Thanksgiving table. Of all the things I've learned over the years about food consumption, this one tip has helped me more than any other because I get to enjoy and never feel deprived.

• There will be leftovers: When your brain knows that there will be plenty beyond the present moment, it will help curb that mental temptation of, "If I don't everything now, there will be none left." You don't have to eat everything today. Leftovers tomorrow are good too. You can space things apart and still get to enjoy all.

• Pace yourself: It's easy to pounce on a whole bunch of food early on and then continue to eat during the day with no breaks to give your body time to digest. This requires a small amount of planning, but you pretty much have an idea of what food acitivities you will be bouncing around during the day, so plan out how much and when you'll eat what foods.

• Savor your food: Chew slowly and experience the food you are enjoying. One of the things about Americans is that we tend to use the spoon like it's a shovel, and we just scoop food in as fast as we can without actually savoring the food.

For example, in Europe, 4 hour dinners are not uncommon because people eat slowly, converse, laugh, and really relish the flavors and textures of the dish they are experiencing. Plenty of time and love went into the preparation of your Thanksgiving meal, so equally take the time to savor the food and the time with your loved ones.

So, there you have some tips that have helped me over the years. What are some tips that help you enjoy Thanksgiving without feeling over stuffed?

In 5 Minutes: Mostly Organic Creamy Vegan Pumpkin or Butternut Squash Soup

What astonished you more...soup in 5 minutes or creamy vegan soup? What's even more remarkable is that yes indeed you can make a creamy vegan soup not only in 5 minutes but without any cutting or prepping.

See the lazy chef in me loves cooking this way! And there is some bonus points here for being mostly organic.

With this soup recipe, you can also come off looking like some culinary genius when really all you did was open a can, a carton, and stirred the ingredients in a pot til boiling.

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

• 1 can organic Pumpkin puree (I used Farmer's Market brand found at Whole Foods or a natural foods store. They also have an Organic Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash puree which would also make for wonderful soups.)
• 1/4 cup So Delicious brand Coconut Milk Creamer in French Vanilla or Original flavor
• 1/4 cup So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage in Original flavor
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 sprig of fresh organic rosemary or a couple organic sage leaves finely chopped

Let's Get Cooking:

Note: For the Coconut Milk Creamer, I used the French Vanilla flavor to give my soup a slightly sweet flavor. If you don't want the sweet side, use the Original flavor Creamer. I used both creamer and milk to get a nice medium consistency. If you just use creamer, the soup will be hearty. If you just use milk, the soup will be on the thinner side.

• In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, pour in the can of pumpkin puree, the creamer, the milk, salt, pepper, and sage or rosemary. Stir until boiling.

• Take pan off burner and let cool down until the soup is warm enough to eat. Serve in beautiful soup bowls and top with pumpkin seeds for garnish.

Enjoy!

10 Last Minute Thanksgiving Noshy Ideas

Okay, Thanksgiving is on Thursday and you still need some side dish ideas. Not to worry because like you I am a last minute planner or I should say a fly by the seat of my pants planner.

You gotta give us some credit for creativity under pressure...which ironically is how I work better, in the pressure cooker.

To start off the food gluttony day, try my healthy breakfast nosh in the photo above which is a protein packed Pumpkin Yogurt Parfait with Bananas and Gingersnap Granola. The parfait is seriously yum, easy to make, and healthy!

From some fabulous foodies around the blogosphere, here are 5 and then some noshy ideas for Thanksgiving dishes including mouth-watering photos which if you can't make the dish, you can at least drool over the picture.

• Simple side from yours truly: Soft Golden Beets With Shaved Manchego And Toasted Pecans [Noshtopia]

• The Well Blog has about 52 recipes of all vegetable dishes good for sides or for vegetarian and vegan options. The pictures alone in the gallery will make you drool like Maple-roasted Brussels sprouts, Couscous Salad With Dried Cranberries and Pecans, and Endive and Radicchio Salad With Caramelized Pear, Walnut-Ice Wine Vinegar Dressing and Blue Cheese Fritters. [NY Times]

• Tropical Twist: Orange-Pineapple Ambrosia Salad [Babble]

• My kind of taters: Boozed-up vegan sweet potatoes [What Would Cathy Eat]

• Straight up: Wild Rice and Cranberry Salad with Sugared Walnuts and Tarragon served in martini glasses [Satisfied]

• Sauce Twist: Cranberry Sauce with Pear & Pomegranate [Family Fresh Cooking]

• Get Your Green-on: Kale Salad with Mango, Red Banana, White Truffle Olive Oil, and Pepitas [Seven Cloves]

• Protein packed grain: Spinach and Feta Quinoa Salad [Closet Cooking]

• Oh stuff me: Chestnut Stuffing with Leeks & Apples [The Parsley Thief]

• Snackage for watching football: Crimson Corn Bacon Popcorn [Simply Scratch]

If you have any yummy quick Thanksgiving side dish ideas, please share the link in comments!

 

That "Healthy" Dunkin' Donuts Pumpkin Muffin Has More Calories Than a KFC Double Down and a Big Mac

On Twitter, I saw that @iTweetFacts tweeted this:

 
I thought, "Naw! That can't be," so of course, I go investigate, and holey cow the fright fest went further than the Big Mac. I took a look at some other seemingly high fatty and caloric fast foods to see what else that "healthy" Dunkin' Donuts beat in calories.

And I say "healthy" in quotation marks because there are plenty of people who assume that muffins are healthy food which they can be if made with healthful ingredients and in smaller portions. However, muffins can also simply be mini cakes loaded with fat, sugar, and calories.

At 600 calories, if you thought that beating out the Big Mac was bad, beating out this next food is worse...because it has more fat and sodium than the Big Mac. That Dunkin' Donuts Pumpkin muffin beats out KFC's Original Recipe Double Down Chicken sandwich which comes in at 540 calories. Oh yeah!

Remember the Double Down, that artery clogging sandwich the interwebs was aghast over a few months ago? It's that sandwich with two thick and boneless white meat fried chicken filets as the "bread" encasing two pieces of bacon and two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese. Believe it or not, that sucker is only 540 calories. That DD Pumpkin muffin beats it by 60 calories!

It gets worse

Besides the Big Mac and Double Down, here's other fast foods the Dunkin' Donuts Pumpkin muffin beat out:

• At 540 calories - Taco Bell Beefy 5-Layer Burrito

• At 570 calories - Pizza Hut Pepperoni & Mushroom 6" Personal Pan Pizza

• At 520 calrories - Subway 6" Big Philly Cheesesteak sandwich

• And equaling the one 600 calorie Dunkin' Donuts is three Krispy Kreme Classic Glazed Donuts which come in at 200 calories each. That's right you can eat 3 of those sugar bomb donuts for one pumpkin muffin!

So you see, just because something is assumed to be heatlhy doesn't always means it is. In fact, it could be worse than something we deem junk.