Giveaway – Your Favorite Takeout!

Happy Long Weekend!

I love this weather! It’s finally FINALLY feeling like summer. I guess technically it’s not summer yet, but it’s Memorial Day weekend and for most people this is the unofficial start of summer :)

I’m going to be ringing in the holiday weekend with my first HALF MARATHON!!!

I can’t believe it’s tomorrow!! Brian and I are heading down to Boston shortly to pick up our race packets and check out the expo :)

I’m actually really glad the race starts at 8am tomorrow morning, because the weather’s only JUST warmed up so most of our long runs have been in much cooler weather…I hope it doesn't screw us up too much.

This week I’ve drank a lot of these…

Mmmm homemade iced lattes. Look how cool the milk looks combining with the espresso and ice!

Most of the time I don’t bother frothing milk just for the topping…but sometimes I do ;)

Some random breakfasts

• 1/2 honey wheat bagel. 1/4 with PB and J, 1/4 with chive cream cheese.


• homemade biscotti

Another day, another latte. This time no foam, but in a beer goblet!

• whole wheat cinnamon raisin breakfast thin


• 1 egg


• 1 slice cheddar cheese


• 1 slice ham

This breakfast sandwich was the bomb.

Yogurt & Berries

Specifically:

• 0% Plain Chobani


• raspberries


• blueberries


• sliced almonds


• drizzle of honey

First peaches of the season!! They aren’t local (but from Georgia!), but man…they were incredible.

You can see how juice it was!! I think a perfectly ripe peach could possibly be my most favorite fruit of all time….at least top 3.

Ok enough randomness.

Some days the most effort you want to put into lunch or dinner is pulling a menu from the drawer and calling in an order.

There’s nothing wrong with that my friend ;)

Signpost.com has offered to do a giveaway for Y&B readers!!

If you’re in the Boston area I would definitely recommend signing up for Signpost! You get daily emails letting you know about deals and bargains all around town. It’s not always for-sale deals like the one I’m giving away, but maybe it’s what restaurant is having half price appetizers or other limited time deals that you may never hear about.

Now for the giveaway!

What could be better than half of at your favorite takeout spots?! For $5, you’ll receive a $10 coupon code applicable to any delivery order from Allmenus.com. Essentially, it’s like getting that next order of sushi, pad thai, pizza or burritos at 50% off. Allmenus.com has partnered with hundreds of restaurants in the city, such as b.good, Elephant Walk, Cafeteria Boston, Modern Pastry Shop and more, so you'll be sure to find a restaurant that fits your cravings.

Three lucky readers will each win one of these deals. If you just can't wait to see if you've won, and want to purchase now, you can view the deal here.

Ways to win (leave a comment for each entry)

• Leave a comment telling me your favorite thing to order for take-out!


• Follow me on twitter @yogurtberries


• Tweet about the giveaway, be sure to mention @yogurtberries and @SignpostBOS


• Mention the giveaway in a blog post

Other important info:

• You do NOT need to have a blog for this.


• But you probably should be local to the Boston area to enjoy the benefits if you win :)

I’ll choose 3 winners on Wednesday June 1st by 10:00 PM EST.

Good Luck!!

Honey Wheat Biscotti

First, some recent eats! 

With the amazing warm weather we’re having this week, I am so excited to once again crave a nice cold protein shake!!  I love shakes, but never want them if I’m feeling the least bit cold. 

I had a somewhat late breakfast yesterday so I whipped this baby up for lunch/snack:

• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1/2 frozen banana
• frozen strawberries and blueberries
• protein powder
• 1 T of chia seeds!

Refreshing and filling.

Breakfast this morning.

I totally went to the grocery store a little hungry recently.

And with that comes things I don’t need.

I don’t really know what the difference is between these “Breakfast” thins and any other “thin”.

They aren’t bad, but once you toast them they pretty much become crackers.

Still I enjoyed my 100-calorie Breakfast Thin with half butter half cream cheese.

Siggi’s vanilla yogurt with berries on the side.

 

Then it was time to bake!

I blame this on my mom, but more often than not I crave a baked good with my morning coffee (in her case, tea).  I wasn’t always like this, but its just getting worse and worse.  Something about a fresh baked….anything…with a rich cup of coffee…it’s a match made in heaven.

So that is why I try to make my baked goods more wholesome and healthier.

Biscotti is great.  It’s hard, so you eat it slower.  You can dip it in your coffee or tea.  And generally they have less fat, as they don’t need a delicate or moist texture like other baked goods.

These biscotti are made with white whole wheat flour and all purpose flour, olive oil, a little sugar and a little honey.

I wanted to make some with nuts, and some without for a friend.  So before I added any of the mix-ins, I divide up the dough and went from there.

Honey Wheat Biscotti (with nuts and/or dried fruit)
Based on this Ellie Krieger recipe and this recipe.

• 1.5 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 T honey
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 nuts (almonds, pistachios, walnuts…your choice)
• 1/4 cup chopped dried fruit (cherries, cranberries…your choice)
• 1/4 cup white or regular chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 325

In a mixing bowl, combine flours, salt, and baking powder; whisk together.  In another bowl, beat sugar, honey, eggs, oil, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla.  Beat until well combined.

Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, forming a sticky dough.

(here is where I divided the dough into two separate bowls.)

Mix in your nuts, fruits, and/or chocolate.  Use your hands, its easier. 

I did 1 log with almonds

and the other with chopped dried cherries and white chocolate chips.

Can I just say these are the best dried cherries ever! (from Trader Joes)

Shape dough into two logs, approximately 2” wide by 8” long.

Transfer logs to a baking sheet lined with a sil pat or parchment paper.

Baked logs for 25 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack for about 15 min, and reduce oven temp to 300.

Then slice logs into 3/4” pieces on the diagonal.

Place cut cookies back on baking sheet, and bake for 10 min.  Flip cookies over, and continue baking for 8-10 min.

Let cool, and enjoy!  

They are dry like biscotti should be, but at the same time they won’t break your teeth if you try to bite into it! 

You can ever so slightly taste the honey.  I bet Ellie’s original version with pistachios would be awesome!!

Really looking forward to coffee tomorrow morning :)

These were really simple and straight forward, plus I love all the possibilities for mix-ins.  They also made for a nice little gift when placed in a clear bag. 

Biscotti fans out there?? 

Fresh Berry Lemon Muffins

This past weekend when I was shopping for food to make lunch for Brian’s mom and sister, I also went a little crazy with the fruit.

I don’t know what it was, but there were such great sales!

I bought 4lbs of strawberries and 4 containers of blueberries! 

I’ve been eating them with breakfast…on toast and in yogurt, and on their own, but I wanted to make a baked good.

Clearly muffins are my baked good of choice ;)

And nothing goes better with berries than fresh lemon!

I love lemon and berries combined…so many possibilities.

These muffins are light and dense at the same time.  Hard to explain, but I used milk, yogurt, AND some ricotta I had in the fridge.  That combined with fresh berries, keeps the muffins very moist.  They have a light, subtle lemon, subtle sweetness to them.

(I always make such a mess when I bake!)

Fresh Berry Lemon Muffins 

• 1 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup organic granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• zest from 1 lemon
• 2 T canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 2 T part skim ricotta (or just use more Greek yogurt)
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 5-6 large strawberries, chopped

pre-heat oven to 375

Combine dry ingredients into a mixing bowl (flour through to salt).  **feel free to increase the sugar slightly if you prefer a sweeter muffin.

In a separate bowl combine lemon juice, zest, oil, egg, milk, yogurt, and ricotta.  Mix to combine.

Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir gently just to combine.  Fold in berries.

Spray a muffin tin with canola oil spray

  I used all the batter for the 12 cups, and filled them pretty much to the top.

Bake for 17-18 min, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cool for a couple minutes in the pan before removing. 

Then cool on baking rack.

They feel heavy from all the fresh fruit inside, but taste light and delicious.  Not too sweet, which makes for a great breakfast muffin!

These muffins have approx. 150 calories a piece :)