Friday, August 13, 2010

I'll Give You a Hint...


It's so hot here this time of year that hydration is not just a recommendation, it is integral for survival. Thirst becomes unbearable, and the thought of drinking more water sometimes makes my fellow desert dwellers want to gag. We are often looking for alternative methods to hydrate, and since soda and beer quench the immediate thirst but ultimately contribute to dehydration, our search often leads us to flavored waters and juices. While some of those flavored waters and juices can help hydrate, they often contain too much sugar and other additives that are not always great for you. Recently, someone told me about Hint, a lightly flavored water- beverage (is that a term? maybe it should be) that hydrates without being bland and without sugar or artificial sweeteners. I tried the cucumber flavored one and was absolutely amazed! The flavor is not overwhelming, it is light yet satisfying enough for someone who just cannot drink anymore water. Oh, and there are zero calories!

If you want to read the details of the product and company, click here. I usually find them in Sprouts or Whole Foods, but there are other places which carry them as well.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Sonic's Frito Chili Cheese Wrap is my Best Friend


I briefly lived in Texas in the 1980s, but I do not remember much about it except for discovering Frito pie there. For those of you who have not been fortunate enough to experience Frito pie, it is just about the most divine concoction ever invented. In fact, if I could choose one food to eat every day for the rest of my life without having to worry about calories, fat, and overall healthiness, I would choose Frito Pie (I'm not totally sure, but it might have something to do with the fact that my mom ate numerous bags of Frito's corn chips while pregnant with me). There are many recipes floating around for it, and people sometimes alter the main recipe a bit, but the basics consist of Frito's brand corn chips covered in chili, and then topped with melted cheese. Yeah, I know. It sounds like a heart attack just waiting to happen, but who cares? It tastes like a little bit of heaven. I am not going to spend this post discussing the different recipes or additives, whether the chips should be fresh and crunchy so that it can be eaten like nachos, or the whole thing should be baked together so that the chips soften and it needs to be eaten with a fork. I am here to talk about how Sonic Burger handles Frito pie.

I could write an entire post about how great tortillas are and that I love to wrap just about any food in a tortilla to make it easier to eat and portable, but I'll save you the boredom. I'm here to concentrate on what Sonic Burger does with the tortilla and the aforementioned, beloved Frito pie. They wrap the pie up into the tortilla. Yeah, I know! Awesome, right? The best food in the world is also portable! You can go to Sonic Burger and get one of these tastes of heaven, or you can make one for yourself at home. Click here if you want some Frito Pie recipes, or click here to find your nearest Sonic Burger. I wouldn't recommend checking out the nutrition information of the Frito Chili Cheese Wrap, although it is not as bad as one might initially suspect. It won't kill a diet, although it does not help much.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

I Choose Ginger Chews


I have a horrible sweet tooth which sometimes can only be satiated by eating three or four candy bars and drinking a soda. This unhealthy practice creates an amazingly euphoric sugar high, followed by nausea, and then a groggy crash. While looking through the foreign candy aisles (always looking for a new and intriguing fix) at Cost Plus World Market a little while back, I discovered something I had never heard of: ginger candy! I know that ginger is a very peculiar taste and you either love it or hate it, but since I am one who loves ginger and often eats the whole pile of ginger when I go out for sushi before even touching the sushi, I decided to buy a bag of these small chewy candies made by The Ginger People (wouldn't that be funny if all of the employees were redheads?).

When first tasted, it is sweet, yet tough to chew. It warms up and becomes easier to chew after only a few seconds, and then you are hit with a tiny burst of spicy ginger mixed with sugary goodness. Most people I have shared these with initially remark that it is an odd taste, and often grimace while experiencing it. Then after the candy is chewed up and swallowed, the gingery- sweet taste lingers and creates a craving for another one, much like potato chips do. In fact, Ginger Chews could be considered the potato chips of the candy world, or at least my candy world.

Each candy has only twenty calories, and they have enough sugar to fend off sugar cravings, yet will not have the adverse effects that binging on a candy bar or two will have. According to their website here they are all natural and gluten free, as well. For something that does not taste like it is good for you, these are pretty awesome little candies. I cannot forget to mention the ginger and its health benefits. Although I am not a doctor or a nutritionist or anything else that would seriously qualify me to discuss the health benefits of certain foods, I will say that from personal experience, ginger is very good for minor stomach troubles and it helps digestion. You don't have to take my word for it, just click here to read about it from a more reliable source. I like ginger tea when my stomach is not feeling well after a big meal, but I will write about that in a later post. So if you have terrible sweet cravings like I do, and would prefer to skip the extreme highs and lows of going on a candy bar bender, try some Ginger Chews; I keep a bag of them in the center console of my car for those tedious afternoons sitting in traffic with low blood sugar when I am tempted to go through a fast food drive- through for a milkshake with crumbled candy bars in it. If you do not have a Cost Plus World Market near you (oh no! they are wonderful!) you can also find them at Trader Joe's. And you don't even have to be a redhead to enjoy them!