What the Food?!? - Grāpple Apples

The other day, Russell brought home something that has inspired me to start a new blog topic to celebrate all food & food-like products that should not exist; at least not in my own opinion (or diet). I have decided to title this topic "What the Food?!?"...or WTF?!?

To start off this new category, let me introduce you to the Grāpple. Pronounced "grape-l," not "gr-apple."

As the name suggests, this fruit is a combination of an apple & grapes. It is not a genetically engineered/modified hybrid fruit. According to the manufacturer, a Grāpple is a Fuji or Gala apple that has been given the flavor of concord grapes via a "bath" of artificial flavoring agents & water. And since the actual composition of the apple is not changed, the nutritional value of a Grāpple is the same as the unaltered apple it is made from.

A package of 4 Grāpples sells for $3.99 @ my local produce market. The price is not exactly expensive as the same amount (in weight) of Fuji apple is $3.61 and the same amount (in weight) of Gala apple is $2.70.

When Russell brought the package home, my first impression was being taken aback by a overwhelming, artificial fragrance. It reminded me of cheap grape-flavored candy...even worse than grape-flavored cough syrup!! On appearance, all 4 apples had some sort of defect such as bruising or rotten spots. When I took my first bite, the flavor of the fruit was not grape'y as promised on the package. The texture of the apple was OK but it wasn't any different from a normal Gala apple. It took a lot of effort to ignore the grape'y smell but once I was able to do it, I realized the apple itself wasn't even sweet to begin with.

I don't understand why a Grāpple exists!!  Apples & grapes are tasty, nutritious snacks by themselves & they really don't need to be messed with!!  For me, I will continue to eat my apples & grapes separately. The food industry is constantly coming up with novel products to attract the attention of today's consumers; but the Grāpple?? No.

Quick & Easy - Apple Breakfast Smoothie

Happy 2013!  I wish everyone a fantastic year full of love, happiness, & - of course - delicious food!

I don't know when it became customary for me to make New Year's resolutions but it definitely didn't happen until a few years I moved to the US.  When I was still in school, my resolutions were almost always about how I would be more studious.  Then in the last 3 years, my resolutions shifted to how I would get healthier or how I would lose weight.  This year, I am making a different resolution: to take better care of myself.  This means physically, mentally, emotionally, nutritionally, & any other -ally that I can't think of right now.

To not only start off my year but also my day right, I am trying smoothies.  Yes, I know I'm a good number of years late to this game but I didn't have the motivation or the tools to even attempt to make this a regular thing so I never bothered.  Until now.  I didn't want to do the usual strawberries & banana smoothie so I did a bit of browsing and came across this recipe created by celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak (Katy Perry, Megan Fox).  This drink only takes a few ingredients, is quick to make, & it is super nutritious.

Throw in your blender...
     1 apple
     1 banana
     0.5 cup low fat milk
     0.75 cup plain Greek yogurt
     5 raw almonds
     1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Give it a whirl...
    Blend at high speed until the desired consistency (~30 seconds)

Makes 1 serving

After having a few of these, I wanted to know just exactly how this concoction is healthy.  I did a little bit of digging & this is what I found:  Apples are high in fiber, vitamin C, & they have phytonutrients that can help regulate blood sugar.  Bananas are high in vitamin B6, potassium, & they are a great source of energy.  Milk has plenty of protein & calcium & it is great for bone health.  Greek yogurt has tons of protein & it helps boost digestive & immune system health.  Almonds are high in manganese, vitamin E, healthy fat, & magnesium which increases blood flow as well as the distribution of oxygen & nutrients throughout the body. Cinnamon slows down stomach emptying, thereby sustaining the sensation of fullness  & lessens the body's blood sugar spike.  One additional perk about cinnamon is that its smell can increase a person's cognitive function.

This recipe comes in @ about 382 calories.  It tastes a bit like an apple pie when I could ignore the taste of the banana coming through the background.  Even though I used my super high-powered Ninja blender, there was still little bits of almond.  This was good since it gave me something to chew & tricked my brain into thinking I was eating my breakfast instead of drinking it.  Even though it doesn't look very large in the photo, this drink is filling & can keep me happy from 8am to lunch without the need for a snack.  Here is to taking better care of myself & to making this into a part of daily life!

Quick & Easy - Garlic Bacon Mashed Potatoes

I haven't had a steak in over 8 weeks & I am still kind of not supposed to have it.  But he wants a steak, & I couldn't just make him one & leave myself out; that just would not be fair.  So knowing I can only eat about 20% of my steak, I needed to make something that would make me feel full as well as help me feel not so deprived.  What better to fulfill these goals than thick, rich, garlic'y mashed potatoes strewn with crispy bacon?!?

Get together...

     2.5 pounds red potatoes

     2 slices thick-cut bacon, diced

     4 large cloves garlic, skin removed & slightly squished

     0.5 cup low-fat milk

     2 tablespoons butter

     Salt & black pepper to taste

And then...

     Scrub the potatoes to remove the surface dirt & cut them into 2 inch pieces

     Put the potatoes & garlic into a large pot & cover them with just enough water

     Bring to a boil & reduce to a simmer until the potatoes are tender (~10 min)

     In a pan, cut the bacon over medium heat until crisp & then drain off the fat

     Drain the potatoes & return them to the warm pot

     Mash the potatoes up with the butter, milk, salt, & pepper

     Stir in the bacon

I didn't know how to serve this on the dinner plate because it was too stiff to form into a nice little pillow like @ restaurants.  Then I remembered I always liked how chefs form their ice creams into cute little oblongs (or quenelles) so I took out 2 spoons & scooped away.  The first few didn't turn out very well but I think the trick is to make sure the spoon that is doing the scooping scrapes against the other spoon to form a clean edge.  The Boyfriend says it tasted better than a baked potato (which is his favorite) but I thought the flavor wasn't quite there yet.  I especially had problems with the garlic which couldn't be mashed up & didn't really give any flavor to the mash.  A few things I am probably going to change up the next time I make this are to peel half of the potatoes, use more bacon, & make a garlic butter beforehand.  Oh, I also found shallots to go really nicely with the potatoes so another recipe idea might be shallot & parsley mashed potatoes with olive oil.

Quick & Easy - No Recipe Guacamole

We had a couple of avocados & a bunch of tomatoes in the fridge that's been sitting around for 1+ week.  Since there are no salads in my near future, I needed to find some way to turn these babies into food.  So I picked up an onion & a couple of limes from the store & tossed them together into a guacamole.

What you'll need...
     2 medium sized avocados
     1 medium tomato
     1/4 large red onion
     1/2 lime
     1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
     1/4 teaspoon salt
     1/4 teaspoon black pepper

How to do...
     Cut the tomato into 8 segments & remove the seeds.  This will prevent excess liquid in the guacamole.  Cut the segments into stips and then into small dices.
     Keeping the root on the onion, make slices being careful not to cut all the way through.  Then cut into small dices about the same size as the tomato.
     In a bowl or Tupperware container, squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a lime & add in the minced garlic, salt, and black pepper.  You can substitute the black pepper with jalapeno & add cilantro if you wish.
     Cut the stem end of the avaocado and run your knife around the fruit to cut in half.  You can either use a spoon to scoop out the flesh but I found that by cutting off the stem end, it's easy to just remove the peel all in 1 piece.
     Cut the avocado halves into big chucks & put them into the bowl/container.  Using a spoon, mix together everything & slightly mash down the avocado.  Add in the tomato & the red onion & continue to mix everything together.  I like my avocado still slightly chunky but you can go as creamy as you want.
     Taste & readjust the seasoning after everything has been incorporated.

That's all there is to it!  If you are using tortilla chips, make sure to taste the guac with a chip because when I tasted mine with the "hint of lime" chip, I realized I should have used less lime juice & less salt (because the chip has salt & lime of its own).

Quick & Easy - "Whole Bunch'a Crap" Fruit Salad

What is Christmas without a little disaster??

When my mom found out on Christmas morning that our neighborhood grocery store wasn't opened for business - even though it said it would be - she quickly came up with a plan to make a homemade fruit salad using only 5 ingredients.

The name "Whole Bunch'a Crap" came about when my cousin's boyfriend asked me what was in the salad & I didn't feel like explaining so I said "there are apples, cucumbers, and...uh...a whole bunch'a crap."  Nothing clever, I know.

This delicious concoction was made using these 5 things...
     Apples - We used 2 fuji apples & 2 granny smith apples to get the red/green as well as a little bit of tang.
     Cucumbers - We used the baby kind since cucumbers are not in season anymore (I think).
     Dried fruits - We have a big bag of mixed dried fruits @ home so we tossed in all some raisins, dried peaches, & dried pineapples.
     Nuts - The  nuts we used came in the same bag as the mixed dried fruits but if you want to need to get nuts in addition to the fruits, we used peanuts, almonds, and toasted walnuts.
     Mayonnaise - We would've preferred another dressing (i.e. poppy seed) but the stores were closed & all the Chinese supermarket had was mayo (ew).

Putting all this "crap" together...
     Cut the apple into segments, remove the core, & then cut into chunks.  We left the skin on & kept the chunks pretty big so people actually have something to bite into.
     Put the apple chunks into a big bowl of salt water as you're cutting them (this prevents browning).  Leave the chunks in for about 10 minutes, rinse them off, & let them drain.
     Cut the cucumbers into the chunks also, keeping them about the same size as the apples.  Set them aside in a bowl (no need to soak them).
     Once the apples are rinsed/drained, toss them together with the cucumbers, the dried fruits (cut up the larger pieces), & the nuts.
     Mix the mayo - about 0.5 to 0.75 cups - with a about 0.75 teaspoon of sugar (this cuts down the tangy'ness) & dress the salad.

That's really all there is to it.  If you like, you can add celery, mixed canned fruits, or even potatoes (yep!).  The key thing is not to over'dress the salad because then it would just be goopy, tangy, & just plain gross.