Two foodies in a pod

Recently Brad emailed me this article CNN Eatocracy article about Foodie Friendships.  It is a really interesting read and the author went to UNC-Chapel Hill (like me!).  In the article, the author discusses how she met a good friend at a class at UNC, where they bonded over their love of delicious food.

The article got me thinking about why I have  become such good friends with certain people.  And it is true that I often bond with people who enjoy delicious foods and trying new cuisines.  I definitely believe this was a bond for Brad and I.  Our first date was at a tapas restaurant with a bunch of other mutual friends.  Although no one else really shared their food, Brad and I had a great time getting to know each other and tasting each others food.

We have had so many great memories together that go hand-in-hand with a special meal I made or a really unique restaurant we visited.  In fact, I would have never started cooking quite so much had it not been for Brad’s encouragement or the way he happily ate everything I made and made me feel like it was the best-tasting thing in the world.

Friendships are no different.  When you find someone as adventurous about their dining and as appreciative of the quality of food set before them as you are, there is definitely a connection there that allows you to bond over  your mutual interest.  I guess it is this way with all interests, whether that be running, movies, reading, traveling, etc.  But what other interest is also a necessity of life in that you have to engage in it several times a day?  What other interest is considered more beneficial to participate with another person rather than by yourself?  (google “eat together” and “eat alone” if you don’t believe me on this one).  And what other interest encourages you to sit across a table from someone and engage in conversation…okay, besides boardgames.  You can’t say, “wait, I’m thinking,” then leave your dinner companion hanging for five minutes when you’re sharing a meal.

Food is such a culturally rich thing that brings people together and opens us up to new ways of life.  Food is a commonality; a  nourishing thing that we all require.   But finding someone who sees food the way you see it, is a rare beauty.    I feel so lucky to have this rarity in my own life.

Changes to come

I didn’t make it back to blogging yesterday to post late day eats, but you’ll know why in a second.

When I first got home, I thought I would blog a  bit, munch on this Gnu Foods Chocolate Brownie Bar, then do some 30 Day Shred.  Oh how things changed.

Gnu Foods recently asked me if they could send me some of their bars.  This is the first one I tried and I really liked it.  It reminded me of the brownie Clif Bars.  Very similar consistency and taste.  Plus with 12 grams of fiber and a non-scary ingredient list, it sure trumps other fiber bars.  I have several other flavors to try, but in true Kelly fashion, I went straight for the chocolate one first.  Notice Rascal in his standard “I’m going to stare you down while you eat” pose.

Then, I don’t know what happened.  The longer I sat there attempting to blog, the sadder I became.  I don’t want to just blog about my food.  I want to blog about my life.  But so far my day was not worth blogging about.  I have been struggling with some things in my life recently and have been uncertain as to what to do about them.  I feel like Brad, my family, and my friends have been supportive, but I can’t look to them for answers.  I have to figure out what to do about this  on my own.

Brad and I talked a long time about this.  I think we have come to some decisions and I’m trying to make peace with these decisions.  At the same time, I’m still mulling it over uncertain as to what I will do next.  But I feel like some changes are coming one way or another.

In the middle of our heavy discussion, we found time for dinner.  I browned some corn tortillas for us (in a skillet using my meat mallet to press the tortillas to make them brown faster).  I added the last of our Denver Sole from last night.  There wasn’t enough for two people, so we split it and added black beans, topped with mango salsa from last night as well, and a generous dollop of Greek yogurt.  There was no wrapping these fish tacos; I had to use a fork and knife to get this to my mouth.

Added later:  I don’t know how I forgot this, but before going to bed I had quite a bit of dark chocolate, which was totally necessary.  I don’t feel guilty of this one bit.  Chocolate heals all.

This morning I woke up thinking, “Can I make overnight oats with cottage cheese, instead of yogurt?”  Well yes, you can.

All of my bananas are in the freezer so I took one out and microwaved it.  Frozen bananas that have thawed have the weirdest consistency.  It feels kind of spongy but can very easily be whipped into whatever your adding it.  No banana chunks when you use this process.

Next I added my usual ratios of 1/3 cup of oatmeal (still working on the gluten-free oats), 1/3 cup of almond milk, but instead of yogurt I added 1/3 cup of cottage cheese this time.

Toppings were frozen blubes I nuked in the microwave making them super juicy, 1/2 Tbsp. blueberry jelly, and 1 Tbsp. AB.

This was good but I didn’t care for the consistency.  Whether it was the juice from the blueberries or the cottage cheese, which isn’t quite as thick as Greek yogurt, it was too liquid-y.  I want to make this again, because I really liked the flavor and the bit of saltiness cottage cheese adds to the mix.  However, next time I’m going to cut back on the almond milk and try it without the blueberry juice to see if that helps.  Maybe fresh fruit would be better?

I get brownie points this morning for managing to get ready so fast I had time for breakfast at a table, rather than on my lap in the car (which ultimately finds its way onto my clothes).  I figured out a new strategy to cutting my time spent getting ready…rolling my hair.

I always shy away from this because 1- my hair doesn’t hold curl very well and 2- I’m afraid of having big Southern hair (at least temporarily).  However, these two ladies (Lara and Andrea) often hot roll their hair and they look lovely, so I was inspired to give it a try.

After brushing it so I looked a little less like Shirley Temple, I thought it looked okay.  And yes my fuchsia decorations are necessary, but no, the grimace on my face is not.

I’m curious to see what this looks like at 5 pm.

Maybe I’ll have a more lighthearted post then about something outrageously silly.    I’m sure Rascal or Brad can handle that assignment since they are both well-versed in outrageous silliness. 🙂

What’s up with Greek yogurt?

A friend recently posed this question to me.  I just love questions like that.  Not because I always know the answer, because I usually don’t know, or I just don’t think I know enough.  It turns out I like doing research on things I’m curious about and I like being helpful. 🙂

I know why I like Greek yogurt.  It’s creamier, thicker, and richer.  But it does have some health benefits too.

Here is a break down of what I think are the most important stats when it comes to yogurt.  The first two are your standard plain fat-free yogurt.  The following four numbers (3-6) are fat-free Greek yogurt.  All stats are for 6 oz. servings, even if they aren’t sold in that serving size.  I converted them for comparative purposes.  How nerdy of me. 🙂

	Calories	Fat	Sugars	Protein	% of daily Calcium
1. Dannon (All Natural)	80	0	12g	9g	30%
2. Yoplait*	98	0	13g	11g	30%
3. Greek Gods	60	0	7g	6g	25%
4. Fage*	90	0	6.75	15g	18%
5. Chobani	100	0	7g	18g	20%
6. Oikos**	105	0	7.5g	18g	23%

*Individually packaged in 8 oz containers.

**Individually packaged in 4 oz. containers

The most notable difference is the amount of sugar in plain non-fat versus plain Greek yogurt.  In most cases, the amount of protein is greater in Greek  yogurt, except in the case of Greek God’s Greek yogurt, which puzzled me a bit.  The only reason I can think of is that because their calorie content is lower than the other Greek yogurt, some of the protein (almost 2/3) is removed during the process of reducing the calories.  On the other hand, this yogurt has the most calcium, although the difference is pretty negligible when compared to the Oikos.

That being said, it seems that there are obvious health benefits of the Greek yogurt, mainly with the lesser sugar content.  However, if you’re a fan of sweetened and flavored yogurt the Greek yogurt can pack in almost as much sugar as the traditional yogurt.  Flavored Greek yogurt ranges anywhere from 16-23 grams of sugar in their flavored varieties, based on my observations.  Traditional flavored yogurt fall in the 25-30 range.

But like all things in life, there is a trade-off.  Greek yogurt is typically more expensive than plain yogurt; sometimes even twice or more than twice as expensive per individual serving.  I try to be as thrifty as possible, within reason.  I believe in buying quality foods because it’s a good investment in my health, which is worth more than saving money only to fill it with questionable chemicals.  I typically buy Greek yogurt, but not always.  If I do not buy Greek, it’s Organic and plain. Mostly I buy the larger containers of yogurt because you save money with less packaging than when you buy individual serving sizes.  I figure I can be inconvenienced a little if it helps me save some money over time.  I also am willing to try different brands, so if I see a brand on sale, I grab it.

This is how I recently came to try Greek God’s Greek Yogurt and full-fat Greek yogurt for the first time.   I also had the good luck of being sent coupons to try the Greek God’s yogurt line, which I happily obliged.  Stay tuned for a full review.

Question: Do you prefer Greek over plain yogurt?  Is the cost differential worth nutrition/taste difference?