Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Dusting Off My Oven

Hello friends!!  How is everyone’s week going so far?  We are definitely seeing a change of seasons in these parts; the air is crisper, some leaves are changing colour, the apple trees are heavy with fruit……fall is without a doubt licking at summers feet!  The cooler evenings have been poking at the “baker” hibernating inside to let me know that it’s A-OK to crank the oven up and get the aroma of goodies in the air.  I’ve already baked up some delicious gluten free zucchini muffins which didn’t last very long at all!  IMG_6298 Something I’ve really been missing since trying out this gluten free diet is granola.  I did buy a bag of Bakery On Main Cranberry Orange Cashew granola, but before I could try it more than once a mouse got into our pantry and ate a hole through the bag.  But that is another story!  DOH!!  So after hearing my friend rave about a granola recipe her husband had made, I emailed him requesting the it.  Turns out it’s from the Quinoa 365 cookbook which I then borrowed from a co worker.  The only change my friend made to the recipe was to replace 1 cup of the rolled oats for quinoa flakes so I followed suit.  The following photos were taken at night and don’t do this recipe justice, but let me tell you….IT WAS AMAZING!!!IMG_6313 IMG_6312 Jason and I had to sequester ourselves in the living room because we were eating it by the handful straight from the oven.  LOL  The recipe made 7 cups which just fit into my 4 litre storage container!IMG_6316   Here’s what’s left.IMG_6353 We’ve enjoyed it with yogurt, as a cereal with milk (I’ve been using So Delicious Coconut Milk) and as a topping for oats.  This recipe alone has convinced me to order the book.  Can’t wait to receive my copy!  The next recipe I toyed with was the result of an advertisement for sunflower seed butter that I found in a Clean Eating Magazine for trail mix cookies.IMG_6338
I didn’t have any sunflower seed butter, but I did have a jar of peanut, cashew, dried fruit butter that was begging for some attention!  Here’s a peek at the bowl pre mixing:IMG_6337
I love recipes where you just dump all the ingredients in one bowl and mix!  After some serious stirring to incorporate the ingredients…necessary due to the fact that I do not own a stand mixer….and some careful 2 tbsp-per-cookie-measuring, I had 26 beauties ready for the oven.IMG_6345 These made the house smell fantastic!  We could hardly wait for them to cool down before diving in.IMG_6346 Sarah doesn’t like dried fruit so she’s been missing out on some pretty tasty cookies!  Noah just adores them and they’re good for him, too!IMG_6348 I’ve been eating 2 just about an hour before hitting the gym which has been working out well.  No PB burps like some bars can give.  ;)
Other than baking I’ve been hanging out at the soccer field:IMG_1771 IMG_1662 IMG_1665 IMG_1748
And working on the finishing touches of our rec room renovation.  Here’s a sneak peek of a before and (an almost finished) after: IMG_0457IMG_6204
I’ll be doing a full before and after post just as soon as it’s complete.  We just bought some shelving from IKEA this weekend that will go on either side of the fireplace/TV, there’s some artwork to be hung and I have to pick out some window treatments.  *Almost* there!
Before I sign off, have you checked out Krista’s Kraving’s facebook page yet?  That’s where I post all the new (to me) gluten free eats I’ve been trying, my pantry basics and little tidbits of info here and there.  I also post recipe and review links once a week.  Check it out!!
What have YOU been baking lately??
Bye for now!!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Enjoy Life Foods Crunchy Cookies

A few weeks ago Enjoy Life Foods sent us a box each of their new crunchy cookies to try. 
 IMG_5888
If you’ve been reading for awhile you’ll know that we LOVE Enjoy Life Food products at the Krista’s Kraving’s household.  I received Chocolate Chip and Sugar Shortbread:IMG_5890 And Double Chocolate and Vanilla Honey Graham:IMG_5889 Below are our opinions on each flavour…..read on….
Chocolate Chip
IMG_5989
S-Good, but they need to be thicker
N-Taste really chocolaty
K-Just like a chocolate chip cookie!
J-Lots of chocolate flavour
Vanilla Honey Graham
IMG_5988
S-very soft, but tasty
N-didn’t taste like honey, but I liked them anyways
K-Tasted better with each bite.  Would be lovely with tea. 
     Only one of the 4 flavours to go soft after a few days.
J-Strong honey and graham flavour, vanilla not very prominent
Sugar Shortbread
IMG_5980
S-love the sugary coating!
N-tastes like a “normal” cookie
K-light, crisp, great shortbread flavour….my favourite!
J-just like homemade
Double Chocolate
IMG_5990
S-AWESOME!!
N-I ate most of the box
K-rich and chocolaty
J-kids ate them before I could taste one!
All Enjoy Life Foods products are free of the following allergens:IMG_5998
To read more of my ELF reviews, click here and here.  Have your tried these cookies yet?  If not, I recommend them for sure.  They make a wonderful, light snack and are perfect for kids lunch boxes!  Thanks for reading….
Bye for now!!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Enjoy Life Foods Double Chocolate Crunch Granola & Semi Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks-Review

A few weeks ago I was lucky to receive a box of goodies from Enjoy Life Foods.  Inside there was a bag of Double Chocolate Crunch Granola and a bag of Semi Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks:IMG_0449
First, a bit about the company.  Enjoy Life Foods was founded early in 2001 and has 32 products on the USA market and 23 on the Canadian market.  Their products range from granola to trail mix to baking chocolate to cookies and bars.  All items are gluten free and allergy friendly.  They’re free of the top 8 allergens;
  1. wheat
  2. dairy
  3. peanuts
  4. tree nuts
  5. egg
  6. soy
  7. fish
  8. shellfish
Most are also free of:
  • potatoes
  • sesame
  • sulfites
  • casein
I must admit that the double chocolate crunch granola is divine and I’ve simply been eating it out of hand.IMG_0452  
Sarah loves it stirred into strawberry yogurt.  And Noah adds it to his morning bowl of cereal for some extra crunch  Some facts on the granola:
Ingredients: Brown Rice Flakes,Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Liquor, Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter), Evaporated Cane Juice, Brown Rice Syrup, Water, Rice Bran, Rice Crisps (Rice Flour, Rice Bran, Raisin Juice Concentrate, Honey, Salt), Natural Process Cocoa Powder, Insulin (Chicory Root Fiber), Ground Flaxseed, Natural Chocolate Flavor, Honey,Vanilla, Expeller-Pressed Vegetable Oil (Safflower Oil and/or Sunflower Oil), Salt, Rosemary Extract
NO TRANS FAT, NO ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS, VEGAN, KOSHER PAREVE, GLUTEN-FREE, CASEIN-FREE
Vitamins and minerals: Vitamins and Minerals: Magnesium, Iron,
Niacin (Vitamin B3), Zinc, Thiamin (Vitamin
B1), Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5), Folate,
Vitamin B6
  • Great for breakfast or snacking
  • Loaded with semi sweet mini chocolate chips
  • re-sealable, stay fresh package  (MAJOR POINTS HERE!!)
double_chocolate_granola
The mega chunks were super fun to bake with and made a nice sweet treat out of hand.  I baked a big batch of almond butter chocolate chunk cookies (for which I unfortunately lost the link to so please let me know if these are your so I can link back!!) IMG_0494 IMG_0492 The chunks held their shape yet proved to be melted morsels of love straight out of the oven; just like their dairy counter part.  The kids and I also topped many a pancake with  whipped cream cheese and chocolaty morsels!IMG_0487_1 YUMMY!  I also baked them into a batch of my dark chocolate chip avocado muffins.  Here’s some more info for you:
Ingredients: Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Chocolate Liquor (non-Alcoholic), Non-dairy Cocoa Butter
NO TRANS FAT, NO ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS, VEGAN, KOSHER PAREVE, GLUTEN-FREE, CASEIN-FREE
mega_chunks
These are 2 Enjoy Life Food products that I will definitely be purchasing again and again.  Especially the Chocolate Mega Chunks. 
Have you tried either of these products?  Share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section.  After all, the more information out there the better, right??
You can read my other Enjoy Life product reviews here and here….
Bye for now!!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Coconut Crazy (Cookies)

***I tried to post this last night but Blogger was down…***
We stopped by Starbucks on our way home from one of Noah’s practices last night and boy, oh boy was I ever STOKED to see the addition of coconut to the menu!!  IMG_5679 IMG_5677
I could hardly contain my excitement and all but drilled the poor barista on all things coconut.  Was it here to stay?  Could I add it to anything I wanted?  What would he think it’d be best in?  And on and on.  Going in I had intended to by an iced green tea, but I walked out with a NF Coconut Crème Frap!IMG_5680
Heaven to my taste buds, to be sure!   As we arrived home I was hit with a strong urge to bake something involving coconut.  I “borrowed” one of my own recipes and tweaked it to suit my coconut desires!
Coconut Dark Chocolate “Cookies”IMG_0435IMG_0436
  • 1.5 cups oats
  • 2/3 cup Bisquick
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 4 tsp light margarine (I used Becel)
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze
  • 1 tsp coconut extract
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Pre heat oven to 400*
  1. combine first 7 ingredients
  2. Fold in coconut and dark chocolate chips
  3. form into 10 “balls”, flatten slightly and place on greased baking sheet
  4. Bake for 17-20 minutes IMG_0438 These babies are a neat cross between a cookie/biscuit/muffin top.  In other words…AMAZING!!!'IMG_0439
If you like coconut, these are a must add to your next baking extravaganza!! 
Bye for now!!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Purse Hooks, Tea Time & Food Item #9

Happy Sunday!  Here’s to hoping you’ve all enjoyed a wonderful weekend.  I didn’t get up to much which is perfectly fine with me!  Only one hockey practice, a visit to the farm, cookie making with DD and we got the Christmas tree up.  Giddy up!  :) 
A few weeks back I ordered some purse hooks off of eBay.  The idea was to use them as jewellery hooks for my longer necklaces and the such.  They arrived Friday and I was delighted with them.  Here’s a peek:IMG_4354 IMG_4358 IMG_4356 IMG_4357
SO pretty!  And this is what they look like doing their job:IMG_4408 IMG_4405 Considering that I had these hanging off a clothes hanger before, I would say this is MUCH better!!  :)  Do you use purse hooks for anything?  I’m all for ideas!
So I was coerced by my lovely daughter into baking sugar cookies yesterday.  I’m not fond off anything too picky and I would classify these as picky.  Regular cut outs would’ve been OK, but we *had* to get technical.  But I survived and here are the results (which turned out better than I thought they would!!)IMG_4403 IMG_4399 IMG_4401 This is what they were suppose to look like:IMG_4410
LOL!!!  I haven’t taken any pictures of our tree yet, but we did subject Charlie and Pepper to some dress up time!IMG_4398 IMG_4393 Pepper applied the “drop and roll” technique while Charlie just fell over where he stood, stiff as a board.  Fun times!  Hehe!
FOOD!IMG_4384 IMG_4415 IMG_4360 IMG_4371 IMG_4374 IMG_4386 IMG_4390 The 2 waffles above were savoury ones from a recipe in a Rachael Ray magazine.  They had turkey sausage, potato and cheddar cheese in them.  YUMMY!
So, I’m gonna do the Thanks & Giving part of this post second to last tonight instead of last because I have some great news about a giveaway to finish off with.  So leading up to that I would like to say that this week I am thankful for my blog.  I have met some AMAZING people, virtually and in person in the 2 years that I’ve been posting on Krista’s Kravings.  I’ve also had the opportunity to host some fun contests and sample & review terrific products.  I’ve been exposed to numerous recipes and new ingredients that I would never have used if not for blogging.  It has been a place for me to chronicle the highlights of my life and I enjoy coming back to it each day that I can.  If you have a blog, what are YOU most thankful for because of it?  And this weeks food item is:IMG_4181 RICE!!  Remember, it can be any type of rice that you want.  Uncle Ben’s was on sale for $0.88 this week so I snagged it.  :)  To see week’s 1-8, click on the thanks & giving tab at the top of the blog.
Do you like tea?  Have you tried Tetley’s new line of “colour therapy” teas?   Tetley Tea is on a mission to help Canadians get more "colourful" with their new line of herbal teas. As you know, colour influences our lives every day. In the home, a bedroom that's painted pale blue can have a calming affect. Wearing red can illicit a sense of energy and excitement. Tetley’s colour choices can have dramatic effects on our mood and well being. Now you can match or even influence your mood using colour with this new line of herbal teas for a little Tetley Colour Therapy.  The generous people at Tetley are offering one lucky reader a Tetley Colour Therapy gift basket worth approx. $70!! 

 The basket includes  2 containers each of tea, a canister/tea pot and 50 mood influencing greeting cards for you to offer up as a prize.
If you’d like to win this there are 3 steps to follow:
  1. Visit Tetley Colour Therapy and leave a comment telling me what your colour would be.
  2. “Like” Krista’s Kravings on Facebook by clicking on the link at the right of the blog and leave me another comment telling me you did so.  Like me already?  Just let me know that.
  3. Link to this giveaway in your next post.  Be sure to let me know you’ve done so by leaving another comment.
You do not have to have a blog to enter!!!  I’ll announce the winner next Sunday, December 12.  Have fun!!!  ***EDITED TO ADD: Tetley has just let me know that they will offer up TWO gift baskets!!  YAY!  So now there will be 2 lucky people to win the above!!***
Bye for now!!