make the good stuff last

So usually we get the big giant bag of Haas avocados at Costco cause grocery store ‘cado is usually narsty, am I right?

However, we got one the other day and I don’t know if it was because it was from Mexico ( I was completely transfixed by an article in the other month’s Eating Well about Rick Bayless at a Mexican avocado farm… somewhere I want so so badly to go) but man it was good.

So I ate it in fourths (and sometimes even eighths) at a time to drawwww itttt outtt.

I ate this sandwich two lunches in a row. That’s INSANE for me.

  

So so so great. Homemade pita, a layer of Trader Joe’s spicy black bean dip, a layer of avocado, and a layer of spinach.

The wheaty flaxy pita, the spicy tang of the black bean dip, the creamy goodness of the avocado, and the crispness of the spinach… every element just rocked my life.

This particular day, I had it with grapies and a yogurt. Oh and some diet tonic water, which I had a sudden, intense, obsession with that has now ended now that I finished the big bottle. Odd. But for the best, since it has Nutrasweet in it and I don’t want cancer.

Honestly, the sandwich got prettified for the blog but actually eating it rolled up like that just doesn’t work. Everything shmooshes out. So I did it… “open faced” sounds classier than what this actually looked like…

But whateeeeeeeeever it was greaaaaaaaaat.

This lunch came from an accumulation of cravings.

We currently have Life cereal. Baby sis is home for the summer so I thought I’d welcome her with a cereal she luuurves. The thing is I luuurve it too and all too often eat handfuls of it out of the box. Sooo rather than eat a wholesome lunch and then have several handfuls of it, I decided to incorporate several handfuls of it into my lunch. Just give in! Plus, Life is whole grain. It’s perfectly fine, IN MODERATION.

So I had that, I had a smashing salad (more heavenly avocado, bean dip, spinach, red onion, and shrooms).

And a snack plate of goodness:

We bought Maranatha almond butter at Costco cause it’s a way better deal there and HOLY GOODNESS. I cannot stop eating it!

Although actually, I tried it with the pear cause I’ve seen that combo in blogs so many times and I was not a fan. The textures were off. So I ate the pear and then used the a.b. on various other things (including, at one point, er, my finger).

I have a teensy bit of The Avocado That Keeps On Giving left, but today it was just too cold for ‘cado! Virginia has so spoiled me with its early summer that now I’m shivering at 60 degrees.

Thus, today’s lunch was of the warm and comforting variety:

Chunked roasted sweet potato, Trader Joe’s chickenless nuggets, and steamed spinach. With Texas Pete for dippage.

I am such a nutcase- I had a CRAVING for STEAMED SPINACH. I have seriously brainwashed myself into good health, I guess. Not only am I craving one of the most nutrient-dense foods there is, I’m craving it in its healthiest form (steaming makes a lot of the nutrients, especially the iron, more bioavailable).

But back when I was stuck with dining hall food, they’d make a lot of steamed spinach (probably when the fresh stuff in the salad bar was starting to turn) and it was a nice warm (remember, I went to college in Boston!), comforting food that I could eat a lottttt of without too much damage.

The thing I ate a lotttt of that did inflict some damage (in the form of the freshman fifteen twenty) was Little Debbie brownies. The school sold them for 25 cents at the convenience store just a quick walk around the corner from my dorm room and it was bad news. Too cheap, too available, too delicious.

Thus, I was stoked to get a new product to review. Serena, who works for Blue Mountain Organics, sent me the blogger product of a month, which just so happens to be… 

 

A brownie! A raw sprouted superfood brownie no less. Goodness!

I have to say, when the box came I was super stoked because it was huge… but it was mostly just fluff protecting this piece of chocolatey goodness, hahahaha.

 

Its 100% organic ingredient list is rockin’: dates, agave, cacao, BTR walnuts, BTR golden flax.

I first read BTR and it made me think GMO which made me shudder. Sad is it is, corporate food America has made me scared of any ingredient with initials (which is silly- like, duh, PBJ is not a bad thing!).

Buttt after some strenuous research (no.) BTR actually stands for “Better than Roasted”, the process of soaking, sprouting, and dehydrating that increases bioavailability of vitamins and minerals. Nifty!

They directed me to their site for the nutritional information… butttt when you click on Nutritional Info for the brownie, you get a blank space?

I’m sure it’s good on fiber and monounsaturated fatty acids and so on but I’d still like to be able to give my dear readers more info!

But, the important stuff… how is it?

Gorgeous! Doesn’t it look JUST LIKE a Little Debbie brownie?! I actually ate it in increments, because it was hefty!

My thoughts:

• Texture- just like a Little Debbie. Sticky and dense, without the stringiness you get with some date-based treats
• Sweetness- not cloyingly so. This is a brownie for grownups- you can taste the cacao, rather than your tongue being overwhelmed by sweetness.
• Overall Flavor- Good! My least favorite part was the walnuts (I found them excessively bitter) but the delicious cacao-ness definitely sold this brownie for me. I want to try the pistachio variety, one just cause I adore pistachios and two because they are naturally sweeter than walnuts.