Product Review- Blue Diamond Almond Coconut Milk

      This past year I was more than determined to shed the extra 12 lbs I still carried around since the birth of my daughter.  After all, she is 3 years old now....

So, I decided to count calories, since nothing else seemed to be working. And that is how I came across the wonder that is almond milk.

This Blue Diamond Almond-Coconut blend alone is 1/2 the calories of your average skim milk. Do I recommend putting this in your coffee? Nah, wouldn't taste right. As far as cereal goes, I found it to be worth it. And I haven't looked at a cow since.

The taste is definitely dominated by the coconut milk. The texture too, I find, is thin like that of coconut or cows' milk. Although,  there is a hint of almond at the end - an after-taste, if you will.

Now I started off with plain ol' almond milk first. Which I must say, certainly takes some adjusting to when you first make the switch. If you do try any of these, definitely get the sweetened first, then ween yourself off and get the unsweetened if you're looking to save calories. This product is great for those who are lactose-intolerant or allergic to soy or cow's milk.  I may drink it with some Oreos, sure... but of course my taste buds are still use to cow's milk.  It's not the same, but a great substitute still.  I wish we had this when I was a youngster.  I was allergic to cow's milk as a toddler,  and then allergic to soy as a teen. My options were very limited back then, and I'm not even old! Now on top of soy and cow milk, there's goat's milk, rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, Lactaid (lactose-free cow's milk!)... I'm sure I'm forgetting more...but it's unreal how many there are to choose from now!

This is great for cereal, even baking.... I recently made a banana protein shake with this and it was great.  I like the unsweetened ones now, and I find that the coconut milk adds extra sweetness that wouldn't be there if it were just unsweetened almond milk.

There is a lot of talk among fitness communities about the added vitamins in this product. There's Vitamin A palmitate, D2, and calcium carbonate for starters. These are synthetic vitamins added to "enrich" products,  but can be harmful if consumed in excessive amounts. Am I worried about having this in my bowl of cereal that i have maybe 4, 5 times a week? No, I'm not.  But let's just say my kid still gets cow's milk.


                         Pros                                                                            

  - 1/2 the calories of cow's milk                                     
  - no sugar                                                                      
  - no cholesterol                                                            
  - great for those w/ allergies to other milk varieties    
  - high in Omega 3 fatty acids                                              

                        Cons

   - not as tasty as cow milk
   -  added synthetic vitamins
   - not safe for those w/ tree nut allergies
   - low protein content

 3 out of 5 stars

Recipe - 10-Can Healthy Crock Pot Chili

Nothing better than coming home from work and smelling a delicious dinner that's already made. That's what I love about crock pots. Throw everything in the pot in the morning, come home, and eat! This recipe is high in protein and fiber.  You can add hot sauce or more jalapeno if you want to clear those sinuses out. Also, you can sub ground beef for the ground turkey, but I prefer the turkey because it's better for you ( and cheaper too!).

Servings- 15



1 lb ground turkey

1 green pepper, chopped

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, diced

1 can (14 oz) corn

2 cans (14 oz) kidney beans

2 cans (14 oz) black beans

1 can (14 oz) garbanzo beans
 
4 cans (14 oz) diced tomatoes

3 tbs diced garlic

5 tbs chili powder

4 tsp cumin

3 tsp black pepper

Shredded cheese

hot sauce, to taste


Add 1 tablespoon  of olive oil to a frying pan.  Add turkey, green pepper and onion. Cook until turkey is just no longer pink and veggies are semi-soft. Do not overcook, as these will be cooking in a crock pot for hours. You can do this step the night before and refrigerate these 3 ingredients until you are ready to add them to the pot.

Add all the ingredients to your largest pot and set on low for about 8 hours. You can speed it up if you wish by setting it on high for 4 hours.

Finish it off by adding hot sauce if you like it spicier ( I enjoy Cholula), and sprinkling shredded cheddar or Mexican blend on top. Enjoy!!!

Recipe - Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These cookies are gluten-free, high fiber, and high protein! But don't let that scare you, they are still delicious! And they make a great breakfast snack, too. Bon Appetit!

Makes 36 cookies


1 1/2 cups oat flour

1/2 cup nut flour        (I grind together unsalted peanuts, pistachios and raw almonds together for this)

1/2 cup ground flaxseeds      (whole is fine too, if you like a bit more crunch)

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 egg whites

2/3 cup applesauce

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal

2/3 cup raisins



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix brown sugar and vanilla.  Add the egg whites and applesauce.  Stir in baking soda and spices. Mix in the flours and flaxseeds then add in oatmeal and raisins.

Drop spoonfuls onto baking sheets covered in parchment paper ( or use cooking spray, if you prefer).
Flatten them with a fork.

Bake for 9-11 minutes.

Review - Mambo Ristorante, Little Italy, NYC

      So while I had the pleasure of visiting New York City with a friend one Monday, I decided it would be great to have dinner in the Little Italy section of New York.  I planned on finding gelato afterwards, so yes, convenience was certainly one good reason to be there!

Now, this was a spontaneous trip, mind you, and we hadn't planned exactly where we would be going for anything. Well, to say the least, I wish we had read some reviews on Mambo Ristorante before we decided to eat there.

The restaurant was inviting. It was open to the streets, you could eat by candlelight and hear the piano all while walking by.  There were a decent amount of people eating there, but plenty of tables for us to sit at as well.  It was about 8:30pm, so there was no charming Italian man trying to get you inside like there typically is around lunch time in Little Italy.  Which I certainly prefer, I don't like being pressured into any business. The decision should be entirely up to me, and me alone.

When we got seated I found it to be odd that we were not given any menus.  And there were two glasses on the table.  One was empty, and one was half full, looking like someone drank a bit then decided to leave. I wish I had made that decision!

I was starving, so luckily we received some bread to keep us content temporarily, and the waiter/busboy (whatever he was) gave us new glasses and a pitcher of water. We asked for menus, but I don't think he understood us, for it was a bit loud there with the live music. It would've been nice to get some butter with the bread, but i decided to dip it in some oil and vinegar that was already on the table. I'm unsure if that bread was stale or not, it was unlike any bread I ever received at a restaurant before. Not crispy, but not soft either. Wasn't garlic-y. Just...different. But nothing tastes horrible when you're really hungry.

The staff seems unsure of what they're suppose to be like as well. One man was the host, waiter and busboy. He asked us if anyone took our order, and we said we didn't even receive menus! He apologized, and handed us menus. So about 15 minutes after we walk in the place we were handed menus. Two regular ones, 3 pizza menus, and one beer menu that read "small, medium or large" with no different beers listed on it! Um, do you serve wine here? Because it looks like I'll need some. Actually, just bring me a damn bottle!

They were all courteous, but very disorganized. I don't know who the manager is there, but he should seriously consider appointing the staff specific duties and assigning them tables, because this was avoidable chaos.

I ordered the lobster ravioli, and my friend ordered some grilled tenderloin strips that came with potatoes and broccoli.

I was surprised to find that i only got 5 raviolis in my dinner. And that was it! No soup or salad comes with it- no vegetable, not even a sprig of parsley. Thank heavens one of the busboys brought me more of that strange bread over.  At least the ravioli tasted good. But for $19? Not worth it at all. No big chunks of lobster as described in the menu.

My friend's dish was significantly larger than mine, but disappointing in a different way. The meat was not good quality at all. It was too chewy and sinewy.  And it was a warm meal for about 1 whole minute.  It appears they overcharge here for food that is not top quality, and for service that is lacking.

And on top of this, they have the nerve to include a 20% tip into the bill. Let me tell you, if the tip were up to me (which it should have been) , they'd be lucky if they got 15%. But I played nice.  I'm just happy I didn't drink anything but their tap water nor eat any of their appetizers.

Would I come here again? Absolutely not! The only reason this place is still in business is because tourists come in hungry and don't read any reviews on it before entering! I will not make that mistake ever again.

0 stars



P.S.-  Since I was still hungry when we left, we got that gelato I was looking forward to at a place called Ferrara's. It claims to be America's oldest Pasticceria, and in it are sweets galore. I got a large cup of gelato in 3 flavors- Nutella, chocolate, and stracciatella.  All were delicious. A good ending to my night in NYC.