Nasoya Silken Creations

Don't forget to enter to win the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Baking Mixes giveaway!!

A while ago, Vanessa alerted me to a new dairy free product on the market and I emailed the company to see if I could get some samples. The people at Nasoya were nice enough to send me two packages of each, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla Silken Creations. From their website:

New Nasoya® Silken Creations is a rich, creamy pudding-like base that cuts the calories, fat and gives a jump start to all of your favorite dessert recipes from pies and cakes to frozen treats and smoothies. It’s even a decadent treat right out of the package!

Naturally flavored, lactose & dairy free, low in fat & calories, vegan, and gluten free, Silken Creations comes in three popular flavors, Dark Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry.

Chef, nutrition educator, and cookbook author Maribeth Abrams enjoys the versatility of “Silken Creations”. She says, “Silken Creations adds a rich chocolate flavor to Chocolate Mousse and cake recipes. The smooth and creamy consistency of the Vanilla really gives a boost to Key Lime Pie, puddings, frosting, and fillings. The strawberry makes every fruit smoothie taste delectable!”

Made from whole soybeans and sweetened with cane juice, Silken Creations is low in calories (only 110-130 per half cup serving), low in fat (only 1-1.5 grams) and is a good source of protein (3-4 grams).

Of course, I dove into the chocolate first. I wanted to see what it tasted like by itself so I just grabbed a little dish and served some up plain.



It was delicious! A smooth, dark chocolate pudding. I just found a recipe on the Nasoya website for a chocolate peanut butter pie. I am definitely going to make that soon!

Ironically enough, the day before I received the package, I had read a recipe on Carrots n' Cake that used the vanilla Silken Creations to make a simple "vanilla" cake. I thought that would be perfect for the 4th of July weekend. I used the recipe exactly as I found it (not gluten free).







The cake smelled really good, but honestly, the taste was not good at all. Very blah, tasteless, not good. Tina said her's was delicious, so maybe something wasn't right. I had brought the stuff down to my Mom's house and the silken creation had kinda melted so maybe that was the issue? I'm not discouraged though, I'm looking forward to doing something different with the other package of vanilla. As I was resting on the couch at my Mom's on the 4th, I overheard some family members trying the cake... they agreed.. not good!!

I have not tried the strawberry yet so look for that post soon! I definitely recommend these products for many dairy free uses, the website has tons of recipes, check them out!

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Baking Mixes!!!

Yesterday I received all four of the new Betty Crocker Gluten Free baking mixes. Tonight I cannot wait to try the brownies!! The instructions on the box use butter, but on the website they give you alternatives if you are dairy free. I also am giving away a prize pack of these goodies to one lucky reader!! Check it out:

The prize pack includes 1 box of each of the 4 mixes, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, devil's food cake, or yellow cake. Also included you get that snazzy re-usable shopping bag, TWO coupons, each for a free mix, they're good until 2010, and my personal favorite - a magnetic notepad for grocery lists, and a pen!

All you need to do to enter the drawing is leave a comment on this post telling me which mix you want to try the most. The winner will be chosen randomly next Monday, make sure you leave a way for me to contact you so I can find out where to have your prize pack shipped!

Also - I'm looking for a good dairy free frosting recipe for those cakes if anyone has any links/recipes/ideas!!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

I didn't realize I hadn't blogged in over a week!! Sorry folks! I actually have a lot to talk about, last week I received a shipment of NaSoya Silken Creations, and today I received a shipment of Bhuja snacks and also a Betty Crocker prize pack containing each of the four new gluten free baked goods!! I will also be doing a giveaway of a Betty Crocker prize pack to one lucky reader!

July 4th is always my favorite time of year, actually, the 3rd is my favorite, it's the day I get to see my old friends from high school. This year was just as good as the past 11!! The weekend was beautiful thankfully, after a month of miserable weather. Friday I drove down to Plymouth, went to the BBQ with the friends, drank 5 or 6 too many cocktails... went back to my parents' the next morning just in time for the family 4th BBQ to start. Slept most of the day, waking up and going outside just long enough to eat. Watched the Boston fireworks on tv that night. We had some family members staying with us for the weekend so we all got up the next day and went to breakfast. Spent the rest of the day lounging around, swimming, eating, getting sunburnt, feeling crappy still/again, and sleeping some more. Eventually made it back home, spent all day yesterday in pajamas and now I'm back at work, finally feeling human again. It was a great holiday weekend and I'm really glad I had that extra day yesterday. Today the nasty weather is back! But I don't mind because I'm working. I'll get back to normal posting tomorrow with all of the fun things I mentioned above! I'm not sure how I'm going to do this contest... who's interested in some gluten free Betty Crocker?!?!

Weekends.

Weekends, especially in the summer, are always the times when I lose my focus and wind up eating something I shouldn't. This weekend it started on Friday morning with that donut. Saturday started out ok with oatmeal and then a turkey sandwich but by the end of the day after two barbecues I had eaten brownies, chocolate candies, and ice cream cake. Yesterday it was a cheeseburger and another ice cream. Today my back and hips are killing me and my stomach is uneasy. I just said to my Father last week, "I've been eating really well and I feel fabulous" and now... not so much. The problem now is that I don't feel the affects right away anymore, so I eat one thing, I feel fine, and then I eat another, and another. A few minutes, hours, days later it hits me. I also did not get any exercise in but I'm not too worried about that. So basically, I'm sitting at work, drinking lots of water, not eating any dairy and hoping this passes soon. Thankfully it's a short week and then a 4 day weekend! I can't wait.

A love/hate relationship with my ceiling fan, and Jillian Michaels

Last night was a cardio night because I had done a full weight workout the night before. I didn't feel like going to the gym and sitting on a machine for 30 minutes so I browsed through the on demand videos on cable. I started with a yoga fitness fusion workout but I only lasted 10 minutes. Then I found Jillian's 30 Day Shred, level one. I knew there would be some strength involved, but I just figured I'd use really light weights. My apartment is decent sized but the issue is that I'm 6' tall and there's a ceiling fan in the living room! My bedroom is just too small to get a good workout in. So I just did the best I could with the space away from the fan. Luckily, there were no incidents. The workout was a good one and I felt great after it was done. Today I'm feeling all around gross and I think it's because 1. I started my day with a plain donut and 2. the only thing I've eaten since 7:30 this morning (the donut) is a nectarine. That just doesn't work. So by 11am I had a splitting headache and felt like I was going to pass out so I went to get an early lunch. Ham sandwich. It was just what I needed. I still feel a little spacey but that's ok. I really put my body through the ringer this week with all the workouts and the abrupt change in diet. I know that it's all good and I'm going in the right direction but today I'm finding it hard to even type this blog because my arms are sore! I'm looking forward to taking a rest night tonight and just laying low. I'm so glad it's Friday!!!

Just do it. Like Nike.

Last night I got in an awesome workout at the gym, half hour of cardio on this new Precor machine that is a cross between an elliptical, a stair climber, and a trampoline... yeah I know, weird right? But fun. And killer on the legs. Then I did a solid strength training circuit. I feel great and I must have been retaining a ton of water because I've lost 5 pounds since Monday. I felt like a sausage in my clothes yesterday and today I feel normal again. It's really great. I signed up on the Clean Eating forums and it is a huge help. There are tons of threads about recipes, tips, support, answers to just about any question you have.. but it's a pretty simple thing. Eat as close to nature as possible. Exercise. Drink lots of water.

Today has been another successful day so far. I'm running low on groceries but I've been doing great with making healthy choices if I have to go grab something. I've been eating a lot more fruit and veggies which is great, I'm sure that was a big help with flushing out that water retention.

Finally my nectarines are ripe!!!



This was sooooooo delicious and juicy, hold the napkin under your chin kind of juicy. I always think back to when I was little and my mom would buy these for me and my Dad and I'd eat them out in the yard, juice all over my hand and dripping down my arm.



And I also picked up this tub on pineapple this morning on my way to work. So good!

Tonight I'll do some form of cardio and then maybe some yoga. I could really use some deep stretching after the tough workout from last night.

I'm considering registering a domain for this blog. Sugar and spice.com is already taken, your sugar and spice is not, which is the address for the blog now but I'm thinking about changing it. Any ideas?

And now I will talk about Clean Eating... again.

I am a magazine junkie, I LOVE them. I love to read them but most of all I love to look at the differences in magazine design. Today I grabbed the latest issue of the Improper Bostonian which is one of my favorites, and it's free, which makes it that much better.

Lunch was Souper Salad, a delicious salad of romaine, spinach, cucumbers, green peppers, red onions, chickpeas, edamame, cherry tomatoes, hard boiled egg, turkey and a little tiny dusting of bacon bits. And a sliver of pita bread. For desert, grapes, watermelon and pineapple. Perfectly ripe pineapple is the most divine fruit. It's always been my ultimate favorite. Rachel Ray taught me that in order to tell if a pineapple is perfectly ripe, just look at the "eyes" and if they are all the same size, then it's ripe. I've also read that if it's a little yellow at the bottom that means the sugars have developed and that also means it's ripe. And it should smell delicious, if you pick one up and it doesn't smell good, it's not gonna taste good.

The other day I posted about that article that I read in Clean Eating magazine. I know I've talked about eating clean on this blog before. I have all the books and have recently subscribe to the magazine as well as the email newsletter, and now am also signed up on the forums. I'm thinking this is ultimately the approach I'm going to take to my diet. Which really, just means eating VERY healthy. Eat six small meals a day, which I already do, that contain complex carbs and lean protein, along with some healthy fats and the occassional treat. Emphasis on occassional. That doesn't mean twice a day every day, sadly. And ramping up my exercise routine. Which at this point means starting an exercise routine. One of the most important aspects of the Clean Eating lifestyle is NOT counting calories. It promotes an unhealthy relationship with food and can lead to behaviors such as bingeing which you know I'm all too familiar with. I'm gonna give it a go and see what happens. I feel good about it. I'm ready for it now. I can do it!