Tea Time with Brandy: Healthy Goodies for the New Year

This year, Brandy is more determined than ever to stick to her resolutions, even if she denies making any.  "Just because I've decided to start eating a little healthier near the beginning of the year, it doesn't mean it's because of some silly tradition.  I just thought it was about time I start introducing some more food groups outside of bacon, eggs, and cocktails into my regular diet," Brandy huffed at the suggestion of a resolution.  But what may seem a good idea on January 1st often is forgotten two weeks into the year.  That is why Brandy has safe guarded herself by stocking her fridge with healthy choices for every meal, from breakfast, lunch, dinner, and literally everything in between.

A big part of Brandy's game plan is juice.  Not that she's going for any of those super trendy all juice diets, but supplementing some of her meals with juices has been one of her long held practices.  Recently, Brandy discovered So Good Juice, a Midwest based company making non GMO cold pressed juices and nut milks in small batches that are not only nutritious, but rich in flavor.  After a raucous New Year's Eve, a concoction called Deep Cleanse, which consisted of lemon juice, filtered water, pure maple syrup, and cayenne pepper, was just the thing to get Brandy's digestion back on track.  As a sweet treat that's also packed with protein, Brandy grew rather fond of the Cashew Bliss, a shake like cashew milk with vanilla, cinnamon, a touch of sea salt, all sweetened up with agave nectar. 

Brandy also discovered a delightful way to incorporate juices into her snacking.  Daily Serving, a Chicago based company, is cleverly pairing mini servings of hand crafted juice blends with handfuls of scrumptious munchies, all tailored to specific purposes.  Brandy likes to curb her snack cravings in between breakfast and brunch with Wake, which features some spinach and orange juice as well as deliciously crunchy cinnamon roasted garbanzo beans and dark chocolate covered espresso beans.  A combo called Boost, which featured some spicy red pepper and pineapple juice spiked with cayenne paired with a mix of almonds, toasted coconut, and freeze dried strawberries, helped to keep Brandy's metabolism and immune system running at high capacity, meaning she can keep alive her world record streak of winters spent in Chicago without catching a cold.  And when those late night snack cravings start creeping in, Brandy reaches for Calm, with sweet cherry and pineapple juice as well as dried pineapple, cherries, and almonds scented with lavender for a truly relaxing experience before bed time.

Now that she had her beverage and snacking needs met, Brandy was on the lookout for some healthier options for her day to day meals.  Remembering her visit last year to Snap Kitchen, Brandy checked into the Lakeview location and, much to her delight, discovered a whole host of new and seasonal dishes.  For breakfast, Brandy especially loved the oatmeal, which had transitioned to a Maple Roasted Banana flavor for the winter to make for a hearty and sweet beginning to the day.  A couple of yogurt parfaits in Blueberry Chia Pecan and Strawberry Coconut Almond made for a lovely accompaniment to something savory, like the Oven Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart, which became another particular favorite.  For lunches, Brandy loves a bit of salad and soup, so a warm bowl of Broccoli and Cheddar soup with a Kale Caesar Salad, dressed with pickled raisins and Parmesan cheese, absolutely hit the spot.  For dinner, Brandy tried some of the newer seasonal additions, like the hearty Beef Stroganoff with spinach and brown rice noodles, the Quinoa "Fried Rice" with its bold ginger flavor and crunchy vegetables, and the Crunchy Coconut Shrimp with pineapple and jalapeno spiked Thai basil rice.  Besides the new dishes (all of which are prepared daily in Snap's local commissary kitchen and delivered to its locations in Chicago), Snap Kitchen offered its own juices and other beverages, among which Brandy particularly enjoyed the Easy Greens, which cut its vegetative flavor with sweet apple and lemon juices, the light and refreshing Matcha Mint Tea with a touch of lime juice, and the surprisingly bold Almon-Chino, made with almond milk and a touch of salt to bring out the true flavor of the dark roast coffee.

"Well, now that my fridge is fully stocked with juices and snacks and meals a plenty, I surely cannot fail in my resolve," Brandy commented proudly, "Oh goodness... resolve comes a little too close to resolution for my liking.  If anyone asks, I'm just going to say that I'm gorging myself on lots of delicious food all day, every day.  Yes, that should work.  It's not as if its a lie either."

The writers of this blog were given products free of charge by the mentioned companies in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

Snap Kitchen or Goodness to Go

The Slow and Savory Review

Years ago, the term "prepared foods" was whispered with a certain disdain, but in this modern world of hustle and bustle, prepared foods kitchens have become all the rage.  "I'm all for convenience, of course, but not if it means relinquishing flavor," Brandy commented with skepticism when she first heard of this trend, "If I can walk into a restaurant and be handed a high quality meal that looks good, tastes good, takes minutes to prepare, and just happens to be healthy... well, that's the dream, isn't it?"

Recently making their debut with several locations across Chicago is Texas based Snap Kitchen, which specializes in prepared meals that take all of the guess work out of balancing nutrition and portion size.  Most everything they carry is gluten free and dairy free as well as being low in carbs and saturated fats, high in protein, and nutritionally balanced for all sorts of diets, and meals come in lots of different sizes as well to satisfy all appetites.  What Brandy liked most about the concept was that they carried options for every single meal, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, snacks, and even cold pressed juices, but still, she didn't quite know what to expect when she first set foot into the Lincoln Park location.

Snap Kitchen was easily navigated, having their meals stocked by type in color coded containers for size.  Against one wall was a collection of microwaves, where customers could heat up their meals right then and there and enjoy them at the seats near the window if they couldn't wait to get their meals home.  A sign also listed some of the local suppliers that had contributed to the meals, assuring customers that everything was sourced as locally as possible.  Quickly taking stock of the situation, Brandy dived in head first and selected a collection of meals to try for the week, then headed home with a bevy of little plastic containers.

The breakfast dishes that Brandy chose included a Spinach Goat Cheese Scramble, a Peach Oatmeal, a Bison Bowl, and some Peanut Butter Pancakes.  Having been told that the meals were specifically designed to keep one full and satisfied, Brandy, whose appetite is legendary, was a little skeptical, to say the least.  "Perhaps one of these little containers is enough for most people, but I was brought up eating a Full English every morning, so I hardly think a bit of egg white and veggies will be enough to take me through lunch."  But much to her surprise, after sampling one of the breakfasts, Brandy found that not only was she satiated all the way until lunch, but she actually ate less at lunch than she normally would have!  The Bison Bowl was definitely her favorite of the breakfasts with its sweet and lean bison and apple sausage patties, but the Oatmeal with fresh peaches on top was a very close second.  The Peanut Butter Pancakes had a nice texture to them, not being too dense or too light, but didn't pack quite the peanut butter punch Brandy was hoping for, though with a bit of fresh fruit, they felt more complete.  The Goat Cheese Scramble was surprisingly hearty, being mostly made up of diced sweet potatoes along with the scrambled egg whites, spinach, and cherry tomatoes, and had nice little peaks of richness from the dollop of goat cheese on top.

Her lunch entrees consisted of some Curried Chicken Salad and Bison Quinoa Hash.  The chicken salad was just lovely with a few pita chips, as it had just the right amount of spice and creaminess as well as a nice sweetness from the addition of some golden raisins and a bit of crunch from some finely chopped celery.  The Bison Quinoa Hash was another surprise, as Brandy had thought it might be a little bland, but was actually quite flavorful with a good dose of heat to it.  "A nice little side salad here and I could eat this for lunch every day!" Brandy exclaimed.

The dinner entrees she chose consisted of some Chicken Enchiladas, a Lamb Lasagna, and a Veggie Alfredo.  With the enchiladas, again the spice was just right, especially in the poblano cream that covered them, but Brandy did find the texture of the gluten free tortillas a little on the spongy side.  The lasagna was everything one could expect from such a homey dish: lots of bright tomato flavor from the home style sauce, perfect al dente pasta, and big chunks of still crisp veggies.  Brandy even swore she detected a cheesy flavor, though the dish was clearly labeled "Dairy Free."  As if that didn't confused her enough, the also dairy free Veggie Alfredo (which had a sauce made from cashews instead of cream) was totally mind blowing.  "If I didn't know better, I would have thought this was the most dairy filled thing I've ever tasted!" Brandy proclaimed with wonder.  Again, the pasta (which was gluten free, as had been the lasagna noodles) was the perfect texture, the sun-dried tomatoes and caramelized onions providing a lovely sweetness, and some snappy peas provided a little gilding to the lily.

As Brandy simply cannot survive without a little dessert, she was quite pleased to have found a few indulgent treats among Snap Kitchen's offerings.  The Chocolate Mousse (which was again dairy free) was satisfyingly rich with a very smooth texture.  The flavor wasn't too sweet, which let the good quality dark chocolate flavor shine through, and the little bits of candied orange peel on top made it feel that much fancier.

By the end of the week, Brandy had to admit that her opinions on the prepared foods trend had swung strongly in the positive direction.  "It is quite nice to see one's fridge jam packed with meals that are healthy, filling, delicious, and require nothing more than a minute or two in the microwave.  Visiting a place like Snap Kitchen on a busy week could feasibly be very helpful and save a lot of time."  Though, as most of Brandy's time is spent chasing very unhealthy food across Chicago, perhaps its not such a good idea for her to have that much more of it.

The writers of this blog were provided with products from San Kitchen for sampling in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

The Short and Sweet Review