Saturday Morning - Foodie Alert

When I lived in Boston I was a regular at Au Bon Pain. Not only did they have the best assortment of on the go food and half price baked goodies after 4pm but they had this amazing dish that satisfied my sweet and salty side.  It was apples, blue cheese, cranberries and and gorgonzola cheese all swirled together.  Paired with my venti white chocolate mocha (double shot) and I was ready for Global Markets.  But like all cafes menus change and like all budgets they get smaller and before I knew it I could no longer afford to blow upwards of $50 a week on eating out.  Forced to do it myself I can now enjoy my favorite snack anytime I want...like right now as I am writing this quick post.

W H A T   T O   B U Y :

• Apples (your choice, I went with Gala Apples because of their sweetness and they work well with salads)
• Gorgonzola cheese crumbles
• Dried cranberries 
• Blue cheese dressing

W H A T   T O   D O :

• Chop the apple up into chunks
• Sprinkle cheese crumbles
• Sprinkle cranberries
• Now top with dressing to your liking

Its a super easy recipe and easy enough to make per serving since I am not a fan of browning apples and I love it better when the apples are still crisp.  Although I will have this version for lunch at work you could switch things up a bit by adding a handful of almonds into the mix, pour it all over baby spinach and top with a balsamic vinaigrette instead of the blue cheese.  And depending on how heavy your hand is this quick meal is under 400 calories falling right in line with a standard breakfast.  Whether or not it contains the right amount of whatever is argueable but I can say you will feel much better eating this than an Egg McMuffin or two with its alarming sodium count. 

So here's to a healthy start to your Saturday especially after round 1 of holiday food enjoyment.

Foodie Alert - Edible DIY

No I have not turned this amazing dress into some sort of DIY inspiration using food as wearable embellishment.  Instead this just so happens to be a dress about as delightful as the recipe I  repinned this morning.  With my mom coming back from almost a month in Hawaii and getting over jet lag being the only thing I want her to worry about, I was also thinking about baking something (aside from making dinner) that she can snack on while in and out of sleep.  Enter the video below....





and the recipe that followed

Here's to a delicious weekend...

and maybe a small hunt for a very similar amazing beaded dress in rich shades of brown that looks just as effortless and can be paired with combat boots or heels a like...

just saying

****Freshly Picked - Saturday Foodie Fun****

As if the highly addictive floral print trend wasn't enough burden on my wallet and closet, I had to go and discover another reason to love the fun, colorful and sometimes fragrant natural beauties. Birthed out of a wild idea fest of fun new popsicles by Meredith of Family Fresh Cooking and her two children, these flower infused frozen treats are not only beautiful to look at but healthy and delicious.  After stepping outside my frigid apartment to walk down to the laundry room and returning about as sweaty as if I'd gone out for a run, this recipe is exactly what I need right now.  Can't wait to try it and I'm wondering how I can incorporate this into the wedding plans without a meltdown disaster.....

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or bachelorette party....

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and infused with a bit of alchohol....

While my idea machine churns away, head to Farm Fresh for a list of local farms that offer edible flowers and follow the recipe below.

w h a t  t o  k n o w :

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 4 hours
• Total Time: 3 hours, 5 minutes
• Yield: 6 popsicles
• Serving Size: 1/3 cup

i n g r e d i e n t s :

• 16 ounces Cold Water
• 1 ounce Orange Blossom Water
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
• Plain Stevia Drops or your favorite natural sweetener to taste (Honey would be great too) I used one full dropper of stevia.
• a handful of Organic Edible Flowers, rinsed and remove petals
• popsicle molds or dixie cups 
• popsicle sticks

w h a t  t o  d o :

• Have pop molds handy and make sure you have room in your freezer. 
• Combine water, orange blossom water and lemon juice. 
• Sweeten to taste. 
• Pour mixture into molds. 
• Freeze without sticks and petals for about 1 hour. 
• Remove from freezer and add flower petals. You can push them into the molds with the help of a long, skinny spoon or pop stick. 
• Make sure the flowers are scattered throughout the pops. 
• Add sticks and freeze for 2-3 hours more until solid. 

 

 Enjoy!!!!