Pre-packaged Goodness

I am a self-admitted frozen food snob. Sure, I enjoy a Marie Calendar Chicken Pot Pie every once in awhile, but most frozen food pretty much makes me gag. When a friend recently recommended the Smucker's Uncrustables frozen peanut butter sandwiches to me, I kind of figured they would fall into the "soggy and sad" category of frozen foods.

Boy, was I wrong.

These little pockets of soft white sandwich bread (with the crusts removed, naturally) are filled with creamy peanut butter and your choice of jellies or honey. I chose the strawberry jelly kind, and they are just heaven on earth. The peanut butter has the perfect smooth texture, and the ratio of peanut butter to jam is about 2:1. Perfect, in my book. Even the bread is perfect. Not soggy like I had imagined. Soft and springy, with the chewy texture you would expect from fresh white bread.

These make a perfect snack in the afternoons at work when you're starting to drag and you need a little pick-me-up. And if you stick a frozen one in your purse (or messenger bag) in the morning, it will be ready for you when you need it.

Sure, I know that they're not exactly health food - hello, high fructose corn syrup - but sometimes you need a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and you don't want to eat just two pieces out of an entire loaf of bread, which you will then proceed to forget about, and the entire thing will mold over like a science experiment until your husband finds it a month later and finally throws it away. Okay, maybe that's just me, but you get the point.

The Ultimate I-35 Road Snack

What is the first thing you think of when you contemplate a road trip from Dallas to Austin? Is it a Longhorn football game? A wild night out on 6th street? Carl’s Corner?

If you’re anything like me, you can’t help but get excited about stopping in West, Texas (just North of Waco and South of Hillsboro) to sample some of the famous kolaches from the Czech Stop. For those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure of sampling one, a kolache is a traditional Central European dish of a pastry roll filled with any number of things, from fruit to meat to cheese. They are popular in West (and a few other towns in Central Texas) due to their large Czech populations. These heavenly pillows of pastry and various fillings make any road trip down 35 worthwhile.

I love the plain sausage (no molten American cheese, thank you very much), which pair perfectly with a cold bottle of Dr. Pepper. The sausage has just enough smokiness and spiciness to make it interesting without overwhelming the pastry, and the sweetness of the Dr. Pepper really rounds out the meal.

My absolute favorite, however, is the cream cheese kolache. These are pretty good when you get them mixed with fruit (strawberry, blueberry and apricot are a few of the choices they offer), but I prefer just the plain cream cheese. It tastes like a cross between cheesecake and a dinner roll, and while that may not sound all that appetizing, it takes both of those standards to new heights. The cream cheese is rich and sweet, so the flaky, buttery pastry cuts that a little bit while adding some texture. I highly recommend you give one a whirl the next time you venture down 35.

I’m sure many of our readers have had the pleasure of visiting West, and I’d like to hear if you all love it as much as I do…

New Breakfast Obsession: Banana Chocolate Vivanno

For those of us that work an 8-5 Monday-Friday job, how often do you rush out the door in the morning without eating breakfast? If you’re me, it’s approximately 5 days a week, and the other two days you just sleep through breakfast. But somehow, I do make the time to stop at Starbucks almost every day.

The problem is—those pastries and muffins they sell at Starbucks really don’t appeal to me. They’re just sugar-laden obstacles in the way to getting my Triple Grande Soy Latte. So, basically, I end up drinking my breakfast every morning, and am starving by 10:30.

Starbucks, however, has introduced a new drink that has changed my life. It’s called the Banana Chocolate Vivanno, and it has revolutionized my breakfast routine. The shake combines a whole banana (Fruit! Actual, honest to goodness fruit!), 2% milk (Calcium!), bittersweet cocoa (Chocolate!), fiber powder (Powdered regularity!), and whey protein (Hello, South Beach!). But the best part is, if you ask, they will also blend in a shot of espresso (Caffeine!), making it the most well-rounded and efficient breakfast I’ve ever consumed.

On top of that, this is no uber-sweet and sugary Frappuccino. It’s actually relatively low in fat and calories (5 g/270 calories), especially considering that it works as a meal substitute. And with 6 grams of fiber and 21 grams of protein, it actually keeps you full all morning.

Thank you, Starbucks! You’ve once again earned my love, along with my $5 a day.