Tag: nuts (Page 2 of 2)

      Why diets are a downer

      January 4, 2012 /

      I have excellent intentions every new year. I start every January on a diet and sometimes they last a few months, sometimes a few hours. I started this one on Monday and have made it thus far to the end of Wednesday doing the South Beach Diet, and if you have done this particular diet you know that the first two weeks (Phase 1) are extremely restrictive–no carbs of any kind. That means only meat, dairy, vegetables, eggs, beans and nuts. And it’s freaking HARD. Especially if you’ve been just eating whatever for whenever. And I think the reason so many of us fail at dieting is that we go from eating so bad to so good so fast, as I just did.

      I’m not saying I can’t keep it up, but let me tell you a few reasons why all I want tonight is a huge plate of fries, a pizza and a whole coconut cream pie. One, I haven’t had time to adequately plan, which has left me scrounging for jerky and nuts mostly. Oh and sugar free candy. You get sick of these items real fast, believe me. Secondly, the broccoli cheese soup I made yesterday was great, but for whatever reason my belly was not happy yesterday. And today it really wasn’t happy after I ate it again for lunch. Finally, my breath smells like a large metropolitan market’s sewage plant. I know this because my wife keeps reminding me of it. And I can just feel how bad my breath smells.

      Mrs. Mike is on Weight Watchers, so it’s pretty easy for us to synch these diets. But I have a feeling we’re about to binge, and try to start this diet again (or skip to Phase 2) tomorrow or the next day, or Monday!

      Do you have diet horror stories, or anything else you’d like to share this January?

      Healthy, Ingredients, Your Kitchen

      Mikey’s Food Resolutions for 2012

      December 29, 2011 /

      The last few years, Mrs. Mike and I have done New Year’s resolutions together on New Year’s Day. And I must say, we’ve stuck to many of them, often referring to our lists as the year wears on. That’s what resolutions are intended for, but many of us forget about them on or around January 3. But I thought it would be fun to put together a few food resolutions for 2012–feel free to add yours below or on Facebook:

      Try one new kind of cheese per month–I started doing this in 2011 and got sidetracked or disinterested. But wait, I live in Wisconsin. Disinterested? Not an option, so I’m going to follow through this time. There are simply too many good cheeses to try in this part of the country.

      Try a few things that are out of my comfort zone–I’m not a big fan of seafood, or anything in the organ meat vicinity. But in a meal at Graham Elliott in Chicago this past September, Mrs. Mike and I had a meal that had cooked fish; a deconstructed Caesar salad with a whole anchovy on top; and a foie gras lollipop with watermelon pop rocks. That was enough out of comfort zone for a whole year for me, but the foie gras was phenomenal–and I’m glad I took a step out of my comfort zone to try it.

      Eat less junk–and by junk I mean stuff like candy, snack cakes and greasy chips. I am vowing to get back into shape in the New Year, and especially after having back surgery in February. And while I don’t think there is anything wrong with occasional junk food, I ate far too much of it in 2011. Time to start eating more nuts, dried fruit and sensible snacks when possible.

      Work even harder to eat what’s in season–we belong to a CSA (community supported agriculture) but found ourselves not using everything in our box before some of it went bad. I want to make more of an effort on that one.

      Teach our son to eat better–our four year old, who has autism, is very picky about his food. We work hard on this, but it’s extremely difficult to get him to open his mind with food. I think we can work harder at it.

      Revive “a can a week”–that was a fun column I started here but need to revive it, reviewing a canned food item per week, be it a new product or one that we’ve been eating for decades.

      Use the deep fryer more–I don’t think I took that thing out at all in 2011, and that’s a shame. Who doesn’t love fried food (except me, when my doctor is reading this!)?

      Find more cool restaurants and review them here–We live in Madison, one of the coolest food cities on the planet. Mrs. Mike and I love trying new places to eat but need to do so more often. And I’ll bring you the play by play here.

      DVR more food shows–I keep seeing press releases and then forget to DVR the shows.

      Eat more tofu–seriously? No, that was a joke. Blech.

      Thanks for reading, and happy new year!

      Food TV, Grocery stores, Healthy, Ingredients, Uncategorized, Your Kitchen

      Product review: Planter’s Tailgate snacks

      August 30, 2011 /

      Chef JimFootball season starts next week–next Thursday night to be exact, with the Super Bowl champion Packers hosting the Saints. Then the Sunday after that, it’s the first NFL Sunday. Of course, this weekend marks the start of the college football season. And fans of both college and pro football share one thing in common–they love to tailgate, and that means lots of good food and good drink.

      So with that, Planter’s is putting out some great new products for you to enjoy munching while watching the games, and they were kind enough to send a few for me to try…..

      Honey Smoked Tailgate Almonds–Smoked almonds have long been a favorite of mine, but these are unique. They combine the smoky flavor of smoke-flavored almonds with the glazed sweetness of honey roasted nuts. So you have a sweet and smoky combo that, quite honestly, makes it hard not to eat the whole can. Good thing they sent me giant 19 oz. cans!

      Tailgate Nut Mix--This is a smoky, salty combo of chipotle almonds and peanuts, corn nuts and pretzels. This has more of a subtle smoky taste, but there is more of a savory, almost tangy flavor that makes this just an explosive (though not spicy) snack. And again, I”m glad there are 19 full ounces of this stuff!

      There is also pumpkin spice almonds, which are not my thing, but definitely a fall season item.

      So go grab a couple of these cans and happy football season to you all!

      Grocery stores, Product Reviews, Tailgating

      Product review: Savi Seed

      May 23, 2011 /

      When the rep reached out to me about Savi Seed, it sounded too good to be true. Here was a nut product that is harvested in South America that have 13 times Omega 3 fatty acids as wild salmon. Say what? Well, that’s good news for me because I’m not a fish person. I am hesitant as well to take fish oil capsules, because I am afraid of having fish burps. But if you can have a product that has 3500 milligrams of Omega 3’s in a convenient little pouch, and if these nuts can be covered in sugar or chocolate to make them taste even better, why would you ever eat fish? Okay, I know that was a rhetorical question, because I’m in the minority about my distaste for seafood.

      Anyway, Savi Seeds are all that. I tried the two they sent me–“karmalized,” which are coated with raw sugar cane; and cocoa kissed, which are coated in extra dark chocolate. The sugar ones were a bit too crunchy, and kind of grainy. But you could still taste the roasted seeds and they taste pretty good. The chocolate ones are way better, and incredibly addictive. The seeds themselves are something akin to a cross between a peanut and hazelnut, and about the size of a small peanut. Each packet (1 oz./28 g) also has 5-6 grams of protein. Can you say mega-food?

      Anyway, it looks like these are distributed by Sequel Naturals in Vancouver, but if you can’t find them online or in health food or Whole Foods type stores, let me know–the information that was sent with the product was limited. But either way, Savi Seeds are well worth seeking out.

      Healthy, Product Reviews, Your Kitchen

      Newer posts »

      © 2025 Mikey’s Kitchen

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑