Halfway there. And I am discovering new foods.
Last time I forget to mention that for the first time in my life I tried squash soup. Now it's not that exotic, but there's just never been a point where I was going to order squash soup or make it myself. So I made it to 26 before trying a spoonful of some from the Whole Foods hot bar on Monday. It was delicious. But perhaps that's just the WF recipe. I bought some squash puree and chicken broth to make my own, so we'll see.
Another new food that I discovered last year in Florence was the red pepper. I suppose I had tasted red pepper before, but I ordered a steak that was served topped with grilled red peppers. I loved them. I wondered why green peppers are so prevalent, as pizza toppings, as fajita ingredients, when red peppers blow them away.
On a related note, my favorite hummus available in America is Sabra. What makes them visually different is they have a bit of oil and toppings on top (nuts or peppers, etc.) But the reason it's so good is the creamy, smooth texture. It just tastes really good. Of course my favorite is the roasted red pepper hummus. So last night I made a fresh grilled burger, put it on a plate, and spread a thick layer of RRP hummus. SO GOOD. You don't need anything else. No bread, no toppings or sauces. Wow.
Also, I can't get enough Dried Mango. I get some from Trader Joe's that come in slices that haven't been sweetened or preserved at all. Just dried. That with their mango smoothie, and orange mango peach juice, and I'm all in on mango. I read it's the world's most popular fruit, North America needs to get a clue!
Today I just roasted a whole chicken, since it was on sale for 88 cents a pound. There's nothing like roasting your own bird. SO GOOD. I would have taken pictures but it looked just like last time.
The other exciting development is...wait for it...oatmeal. Specifically Steel Cut Oats from Trader Joe's. I add just a bit of organic brown sugar and it's a nice, filling breakfast. It's a whole more natural than the high protein cereal bars I used to eat. Plus, a bowl is 13 cents compared to 79 cents per bar. That saves 66 cents a day, or 240 dollars after one year! Minus maybe 6 dollars, for the 3 bags of brown sugar that it uses a year.
sabra is probably the most popular brand of hummus over here, too. they don't have as many exotic toppings as they do in the american market, but my favorites are the spicy one and the one with pine nuts.
ReplyDeletewhen you come to visit i'll take you to a really authentic hummus place. it's so smooth and delicious from abu hassan in jaffa.
hummus is a good condiment on a hamburger. when i got here i went to a walk-up hamburger place and the guy asked me if i wanted hummus on it. i thought, "why not?" and said yes. not bad at all.
it sounds like you're enjoying your new diet. and it seems like it's really healthy. i'm tired of all of the food i'm making for myself.
Ooh, Sabra is delicious. I just made a variation of their chicken wrap recipe inside the cover, making it on a bun instead. It's a simple recipe...grilled chicken marinated in italian dressing, and hummus on a bun. It was incredibly flavorful.
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