Snow, Hockey and Food Item #8

Holy smokes I had a BUSY weekend!  This will be a picture heavy post because I spent the majority of the weekend at various arenas so there’s not too much to say.   We did get a crap load of snow which made the kids pretty happy!  Between games Saturday they bundled up for some tobogganing and snowman making:  
I stayed warm inside with a mug of this: Let’s just say that I don’t share the kids enthusiasm for the snow.  ;)
One of the Dad’s from the hockey team has a fabulous Canon and takes amazing photos at the games.  I asked if I could use some and was told to “knock myself out” so THANKS to Ken for the following photos! (some are from the tournament, some from random games in October & November)
The second (close up) photo has to be one of my all time favourite taken of him at hockey.  YAY!
The games Friday and Saturday were at 8 which meant getting to the rink by 7am.  I filled my belly with a bowl of Nature’s Path Flax porridge on morning and a farm fresh egg over whole grain toast another: This morning’s bowl of oats was eaten a little later in much brighter natural light:
Lunches had been a mixed bag.  Spinach salad at the rink, leftover chilli and the last bit of Greek yogurt with granola: Friday night we went to Boston Pizza after hockey.  I ordered an individual Szechuan chicken pizza which was really yummy! Saturday night the fam had lasagne so I made myself a panini with roasted turkey breast, cassata cheese and some Dijon mustard on the side for dipping; Tonight was burger night which made me feel like it should be warm outside.  Ha-ha!  Mine was a veggie burger with smoky salsa, mustard, mayo pickle, cassata cheese and lettuce: The only snack I had was Friday morning at work.
I tend to always have a morning snack through the week, but very rarely snack on the weekends.  I’m too distracted to think about being hungry so don’t actually eat until I AM hungry.  At my desk at work it’s easy to mistake boredom for hunger.  That and I do need extra fuel for the gym on weekdays.
On to what I feel thankful for this week.  I am thankful for the great parents on DS’s hockey team this year.  We spend so much time at the rink and there’s always company to pass the time with.  We have to be at the rink an hour before the game starts so there’s a lot of downtime waiting around and I’d have pulled my hair out by now without all these great people!  so, THANKS!  And for food item #8?  Check it out… CRACKERS!  My food bank box is getting quite full.  How about yours??
Bye for now!!

Tried A Few Things

Ola!  HAPPY THANKSGIVING to my American friends!  I hope your bellies are full and you’re surrounding by loved ones.  Maybe you’re resting up for some shopping tomorrow???  *wink wink*
I’ve bought and tried a few new (to me) products over the past few weeks and now that I’ve had a chance to try them all I wanted to post my thoughts on them.  First up is Bellagio Holiday Spice hot chocolate: I’ve had Bellagio hot chocolate before in Orange pecan and and white chocolate and loved them both.  When I saw that Winners had brought some flavours back I had some trouble deciding which to try but reasoned that seeing as it’s coming close to holiday time that should be the one to buy.    And it’s really good!  It’s got a nice hint of clove and cinnamon which works well with the richness of the chocolate.   The same trip to Winners also “gifted” me some gingerbread syrup: They also had vanilla, toasted marshmallow and hazelnut.  I’m glad I went with the gingerbread because now I can make my own, much cheaper, gingerbread misto’s!  And I have been doing so all week.  YUM!  I’ve also been dumping it in my oats which has been pretty much awesome.  :)    The third item I tried I was not very fond of: Soybutter.  These samples were up for grabs at Market Fresh and seeing as I’ve always been curious if this really tasted like PB, but didn’t ever want to commit to a whole jar, I grabbed one.  The kids would love to take PB&J sandwiches in their lunches again so I had high hopes.  I scooped that little bugger in my oats this morning and dug in:
At first I was pretty impressed so I had DD (who LOVES PB) clean out the little tub it came in.  She gave it a thumbs down right away.  Huh?  But the further I got into my oats, the more yucky it started to taste.  By the time I was nearing the end I had to stop eating.  YUCKY aftertaste!!!  BLAH!  I am super glad that I didn’t shell out the cash for a whole jar. Have you ever tried this?  Thoughts? And last, but not least, I found some Fig & Date Greek yogurt which I’ve seen on a few blogs. Now this was good!  I know there are those that prefer unsweetened yogurt so that toppings/sweeteners of choice can be added, but I’ve never had an issue with it.  I can do both to be honest.  Bottom line is that I really enjoyed this!  I had some for lunch yesterday with granola; And there you have it.  Four more food items to add to my repertoire!  LOL
In other eats…..I bought Taste of Nature and Lara Bars at Costco and have been eating my way through them before hitting the gym at lunch (which I haven’t posted about in some time, but I still go 4 times a week) Waffles have been eaten and thoroughly enjoyed!
I have been eating my veggies! And tonight I made a big pot of chilli.
I just threw a bunch of random ingredients in the pot.  Love that about stews and chilli’s.  This one had carrots, parsnips, celery, onion, corn, pork tenderloin, tomatoes, loads of spice.  It was delish!  I topped my bowl with crumbled blue cheese and extra Frank’s hot sauce.  NOM NOM!
This weekend DS is in a hockey tourney which is thankfully in town.  He has 2 games tomorrow at 8am and 1:20pm.  It’s also a PD Day so no school will be missed.   Saturday brings 2 more games at 8am and 2pm.  Should be a good time!  I’m going to the first game tomorrow for sure and the goal is to have all my work done so I can get to game 2 as well.  I’ll be back Sunday with food item #8!
Bye for now!!

Nature’s Path & Kirkland Brand Ancient Grains Granola with Almonds

The kind people over at Nature’s Path and Kirkland Brand sent me a full sized, 2 pack box of their new granola called Ancient Grains Granola with Almonds to try a few weeks ago.  We LOVE granola at my place so this was a most welcome opportunity.  **If you’ve been reading for awhile you will know that I buy Nature’s Path and Kirkland products quite often, but this was sent for free.**
First, a bit of info on the product courtesy of Nature’s Path:
-Kirkland Signature and Nature’s Path Ancient Grains Granola with Almonds is made up of just that, high fibre whole grains that have been eaten since ancient times including:
-Spelt: considered to be of prehistoric origin, spelt is an early form of wheat which contains notable amounts of iron, amino acids and fibre.
-Kamut Khorasan Wheat: Buttery wheat believed to be of Egyptian origin and kept alive by peasant farmers in Egypt and the Middle East.  Kamut contains higher levels of lipids, amino acids and vitamins than durum wheat.
-Amaranth: This grain was so important to the Aztecs that Cortez, in an effort to destroy the Aztec culture, declared that anyone growing amaranth crops be put to death.  Thanks to some seeds that were smuggled into Asia, you can enjoy its lively, peppery taste and high quality protein.
-Quinoa: Originally cultivated by native people of the Peruvian and Bolivian highlands, quinoa is known as a complete protein, including all the essential amino acids that our bodies can’t make by themselves.
-Oats: Crushed grains of oats that have been rolled into flakes, these are an excellent source of iron, dietary fibre and thiamin.
-is a good source of protein, an excellent source of fibre and contains 31 grams of whole grains.  Like all Nature’s Path products, it is USDA certified organic, which means it doesn’t contain artificial preservatives, additives, genetically modified organism (GMOs) or synthetic pesticides. 
I personally fell in love with the packaging that the granola came in.  Check out this box!! And the contents…
We’ve been enjoying many a granola/yogurt/fruit bowl like this:
And I used a Pear Crisp recipe sent with the kit, 
as inspiration for this Blueberry Crisp;
I used 3 cups of frozen bloobs, a 1/4 cup of organic sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon for the fruit portion and 2 cups of the granola and 2 Tbsp of coconut butter for the crisp.
It was pretty much amazing.  I don’t think I’ll ever make traditional crisp topping again.  This was so easy and had the same desired affect!
And it goes without saying that many a handful has made its way into my belly because, really, I can’t leave granola alone!  LOL
Although I still have a bag left I checked for the granola while at Costco yesterday and didn’t find it.  I’m sure it won’t be long before it hits shelves in my area; have you seen it in yours???  If so, it’s a must try.  You won’t be disappointed!
Did you find this review helpful?  What’s your favourite Nature’s Path product?  What’s your favourite Kirkland Brand product?
Bye for now!!