Things I love: Sugar-Free Syrups

Not long ago, I used to frequent my local Starbucks most mornings on my way to work.

I'd get a Skinny Vanilla Latte in varying sizes and it was my own very special treat to start the day.  The skinny latte was less points/calories/fat/sugar than what I could get out of the machine at work.  And since there was no coffee pot where I was living, Starbucks seemed like a viable option.

Is here where I say that I cannot afford daily Starbucks trips?  Okay then.

picture from amazon.com

When I moved into my new place at the end of September, I had a plan.  One of the first things I unpacked was my coffee machine - and the second was opening a box with six different varieties of sugar-free syrups made by Torani.

I LOVE to make my own coffee now.  Sometimes I use flavored coffees (Dunkin' Donuts' Seasonal Vanilla Nut is my current favorite) but I always use a squirt or two of the sugar-free syrups.

First, the variety is nice because it means that it's just one more thing in my day that I get to choose - not have to endure.  I like feeling empowered - and even if it's just with a stupid syrup in the morning, I feel good about getting to pick what I want.

I set up each bottle with it's own pump (I have six bottles but only five pumps - bummer!) and they're neatly stored in my pantry - just waiting to be used. 

I haven't even come close to using even one bottle fully - and since I only have five pumps, I haven't even touched the raspberry flavor.*  So these bottles (at least for me) seem to last a LOOOONG time. Some of the reviews on Amazon indicate that people don't like the Splenda flavor - but I haven't noticed it...probably because I don't use a lot of the syrup...just one pump (or if I'm mixing I use a half pump of one flavor and a half pump of another) in my travel mug is all I need.  They're just a few calories and 0 Points Plus value.

Now, I've read some articles about the benefits of limiting sugar AND sugar-free items from our diets.  I fully believe those studies and claims.  Which is why I try to limit my sugar/sugar substitute intake.  Coffee is one of those things that I love to have just a bit of sweetness in and I don't see myself deviating from that any time soon.

*Sugar-Free Raspberry syrup...yours for the taking for FREE.  Just pay shipping (I have no idea what this would be but it can't be much, right?) and I'll get it to you.  It's never been opened or used...I just don't think I'd enjoy it in my coffee.  Send me an email at happyfunpants [at] gmail [dot]com and I'll be happy to send it to you.

And also? No one from Amazon or Torani knows I'm writing this review.  I wasn't compensated in any way...just wanted to share something that I like. :)

Feels like the first time...

This past weekend, Joe and I did our grocery shopping together.  Because of his crazy work schedule the past few months, this was kind of a big deal because it hadn't happened in so long.  We love to go grocery shopping together, typically to our local grocery store.  But we really love Costco.  I heart that store because I get to have wonderful fresh fruit all week long for a really inexpensive price.  Joe loves that store too - but it's mostly because he gets to eat the free samples.

It so happened that we happened to be at Costco around the 4-5 PM time frame.  Which meant that although we weren't starved, it was time to start thinking about what was for dinner.

We decided to pick up a rotisserie chicken and two other things I've never eaten before in my life.

First, Waldorf Salad.  If you don't know about this "salad" allow me to enlighten you.  It's like a fruit salad.  Ours had fresh chunks of tart green apples, red grapes, slivers of almonds, dried cranberries, celery, and a little bit of yogurt in it.  It was SO delicious! Joe has his with dinner as a separate side, but I had mine for dessert. 

It was fresh, tasty, and a different mix than what we would've normally put in a fruit salad. 

Second, hummus.

I know what you may be thinking...how has this girl not tried hummus before?  Well, here's the thing, I DETEST beans. They have a texture that is mealy and not pleasant.  AND I don't like the taste.  Hummus always looked...bean-ish to me which meant that I didn't want to try it.  It turns out that hummus is made with chickpeas (which are actually bean-ish). 

Anyway, I actually have tried hummus before, but I found it bland and not tasty.  And mealy. And bean-ish.  But when we were at Costco, they had a sample of Garden Fresh Gourmet's version of Hummus.  And OH MY was it tasty!  It was creamy and had some good flavors in it - even just plain.

The tub we bought even came with a little tub topper- with four ingredients (red pepper, jalapeno, pine nuts, and garlic) that we could mix into the hummus if we so chose.  The cool thing is that the topper is a separate container - and both the hummus and the topper have resealable lids.  VERY handy. 

I've been looking for a healthy treat that I could turn to when I come home from work.  Something that I can enjoy, take the edge off my hunger, and then make sane choices either around food while I'm cooking.  This fits the bill perfectly.

As we were checking out, I looked at our cart.  We had fresh fruit (cherries and blueberries for me, grapes for Joe), some cheese, the salad, the chicken, and hummus.  That was it.  All healthy options that I was literally salivating over. I didn't have any shame over what was in my cart...and it reminded me of my post about shameful shopping.

We had the hummus for an appetizer while we cooked up some fresh veggies, enjoyed our chicken with said veggies, and then had the waldorf salad for dessert.

It was wonderful.  Decadent even.

I love that fresh food can give me pleasure.  I'm thankful that I live in a country where I CAN have these options available to me weekly.  And, I love that I'm just now actually tasting my food versus eating things in a daze.

What new food finds have you loved recently?