Vegilicious
Today’s lunch was a veggie smorgasbord!
One of my main reasons for starting Carrots ‘N’ Cake was to increase the amount of fruits and veggies in my diet. I figured a food blog would keep me accountable. I’ve always been a fairly healthy eater, but I never made fresh produce a big part of what I ate. Of course, this goal is still a work-in-progress for me, but I’m getting better each day. I’m finally beginning to plan my meals around fruits and veggies, instead of just adding them to a meal, which I think is the key to incorporating more into my diet.
Lunch included warm sweet potato “disks,” inspired by Emma at Gliding Calm. This morning before work, I sliced-up the sweet potato, laid the pieces on a cookie sheet, popped it in the oven on 400* for about 15-20 minutes, and reheated at work. It was an easy and healthy lunch addition.
Lunch also included a piece of whole wheat toast with pepper jack cheese melted on top. Pepper jack cheese is definitely a new obsession of mine!
I also had raw green and red pepper pieces and carrots sticks with veggie hummus on the side. Again, I need to emphasize the amazing-ness of whole carrots. They’re frickin’ delicious! Apparently, I have been missing this awesome carrot flavor for years! I splurged this week and bought the organic variety, which was only $0.20 more. Totally worth it!
I loved lunch today! It was “my type” of meal– a variety of flavors and textures, tasty, and satisfying! 
“Dessert” was something new this afternoon: Enjoy Life Soft Baked Snickerdoodle Cookies.
Nutritional Info:
Serving Size 2 cookies (28g)
Servings per container 6
Calories 130 Calories from fat 40
Amount per serving – %DV
Total Fat 4.5 – 7%
Saturated Fat 0g – 0%
Cholesterol 0mg – 0%
Sodium 110mg – 5%
Total Carb 21g – 7%
Dietary Fiber 2g – 4%
Sugars 10g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 2%
Iron 6%
Ingredients:
Sorghum Flour; Date Paste; Grape, Apple and Pear Juice Concentrates; Brown Pure Cane Sugar; Expeller-Pressed Vegetable Oil (Safflower Oil and/or Sunflower Oil); Natural Rice Dextrin; Ground Flaxseed; Water; Xanthan Gum; Baking Soda; Vanilla; Salt; Cinnamon; Rosemary Extract
NO TRANS FAT, NO ARTIFICIAL ANYTHING, VEGAN, KOSHER PAREVE GLUTEN FREE, CASEIN FREE
My review:
You guys know how I love (all) cookies… and I can add these gluten-free snickerdoodles to the list!
I found this 2-cookie (controlled portion) package while shopping at Stop & Shop this past weekend. I hadn’t eaten a snickerdoodle in years and these were easily transportable and fairly inexpensive ($0.99), so I figured I might as well give them a shot.
When I opened the package, I was surprised by the size of these cookies– they’re teeny tiny! However, they are nice and thick, so I literally sunk my teeth into them. The packaging was shaped into two separate compartments to protect these soft-baked cookies… and for good reason because these cookies are SUPER soft! They have an excellent soft texture– very moist and chewy; not at all gritty. In fact, they didn’t crumble at all.
The flavor of these cookies is wonderful too! They are sweet and spicy, like an authentic snickerdoodle. They are also a little fruity-tasting (probably from the date paste), and are coated with a light sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar on top. They remind me a lot of soft gingerbread cookies, and they didn’t taste at all like they were gluten-free.
My afternoon snack is a container of Stonyfield Lotsa Lemon yogurt with TJ’s “twig” cereal. I’ve really been into lemon-flavored things lately. Is that weird?
After work tonight, I’m headed HOME! I’m so psyched to spend tonight at home with my husband! Yipee!
Posted by: Tina 28 comments
Posted in: products
Tags: carrots, pepper jack, peppers, sweet potato, yogurt
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
yummmmmmmm. i decided i needed more veggies and fruits in my life. day 1 of that is going fairly well. had a banana, an apple, an orange (right now as snack #2) and am making tomato soup tonight!
i think soups are a really easy way to make veggies a bigger part of your life. i just stick the veggies i have around in a pot with some broth and maybe some beans and enjoy it all week. so warm and comforting, and lots of healthy stuff too!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
LEMON FLAVORED!!! OMG TINA ARE YOU PREGGERS?!?!?!?!??!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Regarding the carrots, are you saying they are yummier than baby carrots you can buy in packs at the store? I agree with you that the organic ones tend to be better tasting…. more sweet, I think.
Good reminder to eat more veggies!
I hope you have a super fantastic night tonight
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
SB Dreaming,
Exactly! Once I tried a whole carrot (conventional or organic), there is no going back to baby carrots!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
That’s my kind of lunch! Savory and tons of veggies. I think I need to start centering meals around veggies too. In my A&P class, my professor is always telling us that is how our anatomy wants us to eat. We should have mainly fruits and veggies then supplement it with a bit of meat (or other protein) and dairy.
I thought of you last night when I grabbed dinner before school. I always crave salad after I see the ones you make sometimes so I stopped at WF last night. I made a big salad with spring mix, grilled asparagus/mushrooms/eggplant, and some feta. No dressing. It was the most simple yet delicious salad ever. I need to remember to buy some of those veggies and cook them up so I can just toss them in a salad. And I need feta!!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Amy,
I totally agree! Feta MAKES the salad!
Sounds like you had a yummy one!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Julz,
Omg, I hope not!!!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Thanks for the cookie review!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
I ate lemon yogurt ALL the time growing up. It was the only flavor I liked. Now I only like to eat plain, but you’ve kind of sparked a craving.
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
stop and shop is my home grocer’s gotta love it! illl look out for those next time! and does craving lemon mean you are preggers?
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Im sooo glad you tried the cookies! I’ve wanted to for a while, I’ll totally get some next trip to fealth food store
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Um.. I don’t think I told you.
I LOVE STOP N SHOP.
a) I just realized it’s closer than Shaw’s
b) I just realized it’s cheaper than Shaw’s
c) It’s a heck of a lot more T-accessible (ie I don’t have to go through the Pru)
d) I feel like they have more of the healthy products we all look for (like your snickerdoodle goodies!)
e) (how could I leave this out..) It’s right next to JP Licks
I hope you have a nice evening in with the hubby. The weather here today definitely calls for one of those nights.. I’ll be on the couch with popcorn and Grey’s!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I’ve tried that brand of cookies before. They are good! I think I tried the apple one though. They look tiny but they are definitely dense. I also have never met a cookie I didn’t like though
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Mmm! I love lemon! and key lime!! my boyfriend who LOVES all things dessert will never get key lime pie, it’s hilarious. it’s one of the things i like and the ONLY thing he doesn’t. hehe. have you tried the chocolate yogurt???
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Is it weird that your lunch made me drool and make that sound Homer Simpson makes when he thinks about donuts? I’ve really come a long way if an assortment of foods that includes root vegetables, hummus, and whole grain bread gets me going!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Lunch looks so great Tina! I hope you have fun tonight with Mal! What are you guys making for din din?
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
VEGAN, ALLERGEN-FREE COOKIES + SWEET POTATOES = VEGGIEGIRL DELIGHTS!!!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
great lunch!! sweet potatoes are so delicious and at the same time so nutritious. The only issue I have with it is that I hold me for toooooooooo long………. well….maybe is not a problem! but I do like to feel hungry sometimes! ^_^
those cookies looks so cute….. have to try it!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I love gluten free cookies. I have a friend who is allergic to wheat and the best cookies I have ever had were some chocolate chip ones made from Pamela’s baking mix. I’ll have to keep a lookout for these! Thanks for the review!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Love, love, love those cookies!! I don’t have a choice, b/c I have to eat GF, but they really do taste pretty darn good. Nice treat and convenient too!
Your lunch is making me hungry and I just ate! LOL!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Tina, I love your lunch today! It’s a more of a “meal,” which is something I hardly ever bring for lunch. I bet it was more satisfying!
Lotsa Lemon is one of my fav’ yogurts.
Oh, and the cookies seem interesting, but I laughed when I saw the size of the cookies compared to the packaging!
Heather
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I have also fallen in love with whole carrots. I had one today for lunch and it was the sweetest carrot I have ever eaten! Yum.
We also have the same phone =]
enjoy your night with the hubby!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Great choice with the organic carrots! I read somewhere that one should always buy organic carrots. Aparently, carrots are so good at sucking junk out of the soil, they are used as a “throw-away” crop when soils test too heavily for lead! Eeek!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I love those little cookies and the other flavors by that brand! Great job getting more fresh produce in!
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Your lunch looks delicious! I’m such a sucker for pepperjack cheese melted on bread, too.
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
ohhh…veggies def rock! i love the sweet potato discs inspired by Em!!!
and thanks for the review!
have fun w/ your dh tonight!
on Nov 7th, 2008 at 8:09 am
yum yum! thanks so much for the shout out, Tina!! And I loveeee toast with melty cheese!!!!! Your entire lunch looks delish!
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!
on Nov 7th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Those Snickerdoodle cookies by Enjoy Life are amazing!!!! It’s hard to believe all the awesome ingredients packed into ‘em.