I am in love.....

with siggi's that is!



I have always been a fan of greek style yogurt and while grocery shopping late last night the gorgeous packaging of Siggi's yogurt caught my eye...I had to give it a try!




I opted for orange ginger .... a flavor never before encountered in yogurt and now my favorite! I wished the container had been twice the size! Not only is this yogurt delicious - it is good for you too! And an added bonus for me it is "local" - made in Chenango County NY! Siggi buys milk from local family farms that grass feed their cows and do not inject them with any type of growth hormones. It is sweetened with agave nectar rather than artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup.

The packaging has also been designed with a nod to the environment...Late in 2007, siggi’s skyr launches a new cup design that uses 40-50% less plastic than regular yogurt cups and is supported by a recyclable cardboard sleeve.

I had luck finding it at wegmans and their website lets you enter your zip code to find a retailer near you! You can also LIKE them on facebook...siggi's on facebook

Let me know if you try it - I would love to hear what you think!

Chickpea Sliders and bulghur salad ... mmmmmm

A couple more Cooking Light recipes I test drove last week included delicious mini chickpea sliders and a lemony bulghur salad...any substitutions I tried are noted next to the original recipe

Chickpea Sliders...

Serve each burger on a whole-grain slider bun or we used mini pita bread with lettuce, crisp radish slices, roasted red bell pepper, and canola-based mayonnaise. Two burgers per person!

Yield: 3 servings (serving size: 2 patties)
Ingredients

* 1 (8-ounce) red potato
* 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed, drained, and divided
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley - I used OREGANO
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
* 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

Preparation

1. Place potato in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 20 minutes or until very tender. Drain. Cool slightly. Coarsely chop, and place in medium bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil and garlic to bowl; mash potato mixture with a potato masher until slightly chunky. Remove 3 tablespoons chickpeas; place in a small bowl. Add remaining chickpeas to potato mixture; mash until well blended. Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons whole chickpeas, parsley, and remaining ingredients. With moistened hands, divide mixture into 6 equal portions (about 1/3 cup mixture per portion), shaping each into a 3-inch patty.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 patties to pan; reduce heat to medium, and cook 4 minutes or until bottoms are golden. Carefully turn patties over; cook 3 minutes or until bottoms are golden and patties are set. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 3 patties.

Bulgur with dried carnberries



Serve this lemony bulgur—an American interpretation of Middle Eastern tabbouleh—instead of the more familiar and expected stuffing.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Ingredients

* 1 cup coarse-ground bulgur
* 2 cups (1/4-inch) cubed peeled English cucumber
* 1 cup dried cranberries
* 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion
* 1 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley - I used 1 large bunch - can't get enough fresh parsley!
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
* 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
* 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil - I used less than 1/4c
* 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Place bulgur in a large bowl; cover with 2 cups boiling water. Cover; let stand 30 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Add cucumber and remaining ingredients; toss gently to combine.

both were a huge hit!

Tips for Preventing H1N1 or Swine Flu....

After a recent visit to the allergist who gave us some tips on avoiding the swine flu and having received this great e-mail with additional suggestions I thought I would pass this information along to my readers.... I learned a few new tips & I hope these will help you all stay healthy too!

Prevent Swine Flu - Good Advice

By Dr. Vinay Goyal ~ Presently, he is heading the Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

The only portals of entry for the H1N1 virus (or any virus for that
matter) are the nostrils and mouth/throat.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1
infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms
and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not
fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced:

1. Frequent hand-washing



2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any
part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe).

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't
trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/
nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple
gargling prevents proliferation. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.



4. Clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt
water. Blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with
cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down
viral population. Sinus rinse kits are available at the drug store and
relatively inexpensive. (neti pots)



5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C
(citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make
sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.



6. Drink as much warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. Drinking
warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse
direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the
stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.



Please feel free to share this information on your blogs, facebook, twitter etc...

Yummmy!

Klem decided to make a tasty treat tonight to have while we watched survivor. He was bored & thought cooking might give him something to do - wish he was bored more often!

We had been nibbling on chickpeas for dinner so I suggested seasoning them & toasting them in the oven. We found this tasty recipe...courtesy of Martha and got right to work.

Drain, rinse, and pat-dry a 19-ounce can of chickpeas. Toss them in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a pinch of ground pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite dried herb or spice (we used curryand cumin). Arrange them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and cook at 300 degrees, stirring occasionally until they have browned and begin to crisp, about 50 minutes. Serve at room temperature.



credit to Martha for the photo - ours were so tasty they were gone before I could snap a pic!