FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Yum Yum Chocolate and a GIVEAWAY!

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I can tell you the first time coconut oil was a blip on my radar.  It was sample day at the Lemmon Ave Whole Foods (Dallas days) and they were handing out chocolate in the frozen food section.  I questioned the need for freeze and the high saturated fat content and they gave me the spiel about how coconut oil is composed mainly of medium chain fatty acids and how the body processes this kind of fat better than other saturated fats (long chain fatty acids).

Every now and then I would google recipes that called for coconut oil and all I can think of is that none of them wooed me enough to justify purchasing a jar.

And just as I started researching coconut oil recipes again, Kelapo contacted me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing their product.  I, of course, said yes.  I also asked if they would provide an extra jar for one lucky FoodFash reader.  And to that, they generously replied yes.

So this is where you come in!!!

Well almost.  First, I’d like to tell you about The Great Sunday Chocolate Experiment.  I’ll make it quick.  I made 4 types: Original, “Milk”, Maple, and Coffee.  They were all fairly similar, as I had no idea what I was doing, but they ended up tasting slightly different and uniquely delicious.

It was super easy.  I stirred all of the ingredients together, let harden in the freezer for a few minutes, cut/formed them into little triangles, and then put them back in the freezer.

None of the ingredients were exceptionally fancy, but the use of the Kelapo coconut oil turned ordinary cocoa into fancy, fancy.  You know that specialty chocolate you splurge on every once in a while?  The kind where you take a bite and your eyes automatically shut because the chocolate is flat out dreamy?

Well, I made shut your eyes, dreamy chocolate tonight and you can too!

Kelapo Coconut Oil (8 oz) Contest Entry Instructions:

1.   Follow me on Twitter and tweet “I just entered to win @Kelapo_Coconut oil at @FoodFash and you should too! https://foodfash.com/?p=1818” and then leave a comment on this post indicating you have done so.  (If you’re already following me on Twitter all you have to do is tweet and comment on this post)

2.  Follow @Kelapo_Coconut on Twitter and leave a comment on this post indicating you have done so.

3.  Follow me on Facebook and leave a comment on this post indicating you have done so. (If you’re already following me on Facebook all you have to do is comment on this post)

4.  Follow Kelapo Coconut on Facebook and leave a comment on this post indicating you have done so.

The contest will run between now and 8PM EST on May 9th (MY BIRTHDAY!!!) Please leave a separate comment for each entry as each individual comment represents a number and a random number generator will be used to select the winner.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, May 10th.

Best of luck to you all!

 

Not Yo Nachos

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I spent the entire day at my desk, watching torrential downpours through the window, dreaming of a time when my top priority would be a solid couch lounge.  But first?  A not so quick trip through rainy, rush hour traffic to get some fun Friday dinner snacks.

I love snacks for dinner.

I only had one mission when I arrived at Whole Foods: buy the Daiya faux cheese that Emily (A Nutritionist Eats) suggested I try.  Side note, a good portion of faux cheese products contain milk proteins and thus do not qualify as dairy-free.  Deceiving?  Very.

So naturally, I was beyond starving as I strolled the aisles and so I, naturally, helped myself to samples.  Lucky for me, I came across Demeter’s Harvest vegan bean dip.  Come to find out, they have a slew of tasty vegan products that are made locally (huge bonus, by the way).

It was all coming together, bean and cheese nachos.  The bean dip was so stinking good.  And the Daiya cheese was normal, as promised.  And I spent the evening couch lounging, as promised.

And Where Have You Been?

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Let me just start with…  This was not tonight’s original game plan.  A storm blew threw this afternoon and with it came web-like lightning, horizontal rain, and a massive headache.  All I wanted to do was shut my eyes.

Grocery shopping was a challenge.  The full armed elevator ride to the 11th floor was a challenge.  However, cooking was not, as everything else seemed to be, a challenge.  I began sautéing some baby bellas and searing some scallops and all seemed well in the world.  While standing in the kitchen eating, I remembered a few of my sweet purchases.  It was then in my best interest to eat faster.

I’ve always been a fan of coconut milk “ice cream”; it nears the top of my favorites list on the pantry staples page. But when I was at the market earlier this evening, a new flavor accompanied the coconut pint my freezer is accustomed to: passionate mango.

I scooped myself a dollop of mango, scattered sliced strawberries, and sprinkled it with mini chips.  Holy crow.  It’s not often, if ever, you scream praise for a food out loud when you’re alone.  I just couldn’t help myself, kind of embarrassing, glad I was alone.

Choptastic!

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Salads are a sole exception to my food scarfing tendencies.  It’s not because I don’t love them, I do.  But when you combine a dressing fork dipper with the need for a little of each ingredient in every bite, you get an uber slow foliage feaster.

This little salad chopping gadget is shear genius (no pun intended).  It turned my ordinary salad into dense decadence.  I threw baby spinach, romaine, avocado, green onion, cucumber, and blue cheese in a bowl and chop, chop, chopped. I drizzled with the tiniest bit of balsamic vinaigrette and satisfyingly ate every last bit.  I can promise you that drawer time will be scarce to non-existent with this thing!