Summer Loves: Muuna Cottage Cheese, Louis Raison, RIND dried Fruit Snacks

Let it be known that I am about the only person in Chicago who does not like summer. Maybe it's because I grew up in Arizona, where desiring to be outside between the months of June and August was akin to having a death wish. Maybe it's because I am...ahem... a tad over weight, and everyone knows fat people don't do well in sweaty situations. Whatever the case may be, I usually spend the majority of the warmer months inside with the AC blasting.

While in my heat induced exile, I usually start experimenting with recipes and products that can give me a little energy boost to get me through the long humid days. One of my new favorite things is from a company called RIND, which have brought out some rather interesting dried fruit snacks. These snacks (which come in California Kiwi, Tropical, and Orchard blends) are large slices of dried fruits that have their rinds intact. Now, admittedly, their appearance can be a little off putting, mostly because they look a bit more like potpourri then something edible. But these snacks have no added sugar, no sulfates, and no dyes and are GMO free, gluten free, and vegan. All of the fruits (except for the pineapple in the Tropical blend) have been prepared with their skins in tact, giving every piece more fiber and nutritional value then traditional dried fruits. I'm not normally a fan of fresh kiwi, so I was skeptical about the dried version, especially because of the intact skin, but the kiwis ended up being my favorite fruit of the bunch. They were perfectly sweet, tart, chewy, and crunchy and I nearly ate the entire bag in one sitting! The Tropical blend combines the kiwi with pineapple and bittersweet orange, while the Orchard blend is a combination of apples, peaches, and persimmons. I am currently keeping bags of these snacks behind my desk for a quick burst of natural fruit energy and vitamins wherever the mid day lull hits. If you want to give RIND a try, you can pick them up on Amazon!

One of my other recently discovered favorites is Louis Raison ciders. These classic French ciders (or cidres if you want to be fancy) have just launched in Illinois with three varieties: Original Crisp, Organic Dry, and Rouge Délice. Two of my good friends are self professed cider experts, so they are constantly introducing me to new varieties and flavors from all over the world. This being my chance to finally introduce them to something new, I invited them over one night to try the Louis Raison ciders and get their expert opinions. While we all enjoyed all three of them, they both lent towards the Original Crisp as their favorite because of it's bright flavor and caramel-like finish. I have a slightly sweeter palate, so I really liked the Rouge Délice, which was a blush cider with a very clean and slightly floral flavor. The Organic Dry was very light and refreshing with a flavor almost like baked apples or apple pie. I decided to use it to cook up some chicken apple sausages I had in the fridge, and it gave them such a delicious depth! Since this was the least sweet cider, it made for a perfect boiling liquid and also made a great glaze once reduced. I had some pickled red cabbage in the fridge, as well as an onion and garlic jam, which I thought would be perfect as toppings. I also mixed up a mustard cream (whole grain mustard, powdered yellow mustard, sour cream, and a little bit of apple butter). I may never go back to beer brats. These were sweet and savory perfection!

The one thing I do like about summer is going to farmer's markets. I always get inspired by all the fresh produce, meats, and eggs. My usual farmer's market takes place on Sunday mornings, which makes it rather convenient for me to go there to find something for breakfast. A week ago, I ended up with some cremini mushrooms, beautiful heirloom cherry tomatoes, thick cut bacon, and pork breakfast sausage. It wan't until I got home that I realized I had accidentally bought all the fixings for a traditional English breakfast! But me being me, I couldn't simply just fry everything up and be done with it. Oh no! I had also bought two small wedges of very strong cheddars, which gave me the idea to combine all of these delicious ingredients into a massive pot of breakfast mac and cheese.

Pssst... the green one is the Vanilla flavor with some matcha powder mixed in!

Since I was going to be including the pork sausage and the bacon, I didn't want to make a cheese sauce with a lot of butter or milk, because the meat fats would probably cause them to separate and become too greasy. Instead, I decided to use some Muuna Cottage Cheese to bind everything together without adding too much additional fat or liquid. I've been a big fan of Muuna for a while now, especially their individually sized cups which come in a ton of delicious flavors. I even make little cheesecakes with them sometimes!

I started my mac and cheese by cutting up the bacon and sausage into bite sized pieces and browning them in a dutch oven. I then used the fat from the meats to blister the tomatoes and saute the mushrooms. I cooked up some elbow macaroni, then added them to the pot, added the meats back in, then put in all of the cheddar (which I had grated) and two large containers of plain Muuna, then mixed everything together. I baked it at 400 for about 45 minutes, then I added a can of drained baked beans to the top (it's not an English breakfast without baked beans) and cooked the whole thing for another 15 minutes. I served each portion topped with a perfectly poached egg. And voila! English Breakfast Mac and Cheese!

I received some of the products mentioned free of charge from the mentioned companies. All opinions stated are my own.

Postcards from Bunny: Macro-Nutrient Meal Delivery from HercuLean Meal Prep

BBQ Salmon

Bunny awoke with a start. The light in her room seemed odd and everything was strangely silent. Throwing open the curtains, she saw that everything outside was covered in a thick blanket of snow. "Now I remember why I don't usually come to Chicago in the middle of the winter!" she said aloud.

Indeed, she had been underground for quite some time (literally underground, that is, as she had been helping her archaeologist husband to explore the catacombs under Paris for several months) and had only intended to stop over in Chicago for a quick hot dog and slice of pizza. But with several inches of the white stuff turning all of Chicago into the North Pole, she knew there would be no escaping her lodgings anytime soon.

Turkey Scramble

The house she was staying in just happened to belong to a dear friend who was world class body builder and who was off competing on the pageant circuit. "The snow's still coming down pretty heavily," she told him over the phone, "Do you mind if I raid your fridge? I'm getting a little peckish and I don't want to make some poor delivery person wade through this mess." "Go ahead! Actually, you may find something you'll really like in the freezer. Help yourself!" said her muscle bound chum.

That was when Bunny discovered his stash of HercuLean meals. Curious, she extracted one of the packages from the freezer and examined it. The meals, it seemed, were specially designed for those wishing to consume mostly low fat, high protein foods. There was an abundance of meaty options, from steak and chicken to salmon and tilapia, and each came with the amount of proteins, fats, and carbs listed quite clearly on the front.

Shredded Steak

HercuLean, it turned out, was founded by a pair of brothers; one a chef and the other a body builder. Together, they combined their knowledge of nutrition and flavor to create a line of freshly prepared and flash frozen meals that would help people who were trying to live healthier lives get a head start. Though the company is based in Indiana, they recently started delivering to Chicago, packing their frozen meals into specially insulated boxes and shipping them overnight to ensure their freshness. Best of all, in addition to a large variety of entree options, they offer a pretty extensive variety of breakfast options.

Not being able to resist a little tasting, Bunny heated up a few of the meals. For the breakfasts, she particularly enjoyed the Turkey Chili served over egg whites, which was hearty and well spiced, and the Chicken Sausage, which had a strong fennel flavor and was nicely complimented by a side of shredded sweet potatoes. Venturing into the dinner options, Bunny favored the Curry Tilapia with sauteed spinach and a side of wild rice, and the Pesto Chicken with green beans. Overall, she was very impressed by how flavorful all of the meals were, and she loved that the packaging was microwave and oven safe, meaning she could heat the meals straight from the freezer without any other prep work or plating.

Curried Tilapia

Chicken Sausage

In fact, Bunny consumed so much protein that day that she was suddenly filled with energy. Not wanting to waste such a surge of vivaciousness, she headed outside and began to shovel the snow, and by day's end, she had actually cleared a path out of the house! "Well, I guess now I could go get that hot dog and pizza," she said, "But I did see HercuLean Cod Burger in freezer... I think I'll stay inside after all."

Pesto Chicken

The writer's of this blog were sent products free of charge in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

Postcards from Bunny: Pangea Nutrition and GIVEAWAY!

Ingredients delivered by Amazon Fresh

"Where on earth has Bunny been?" we hear you cry, and it's an understandable query, seeing as how she has been mysteriously absent almost this entire year. The truth is Bunny went deep underground late last year, to a place where social media dared not tread. And we mean "deep underground" quite literally, as Bunny has spent the last several months living in the deepest caverns of Spain, Italy, Greece, and all along the Mediterranean, helping her beloved Benedict research the fossils of all the ancient animals that once called them home. "I did start to miss sunlight after a little while," Bunny giggles, "But I don't think I've ever slept better! Also, being so far down that none of my electronic devices could pick up any signal certainly was a blessing and a curse. On the one side, I didn't have to read any distressing news or angry online rants, but I was also cut off from all my favorite food sites! The first thing I did every time we surfaced was to binge on all the delicious food I could find!"

Roasted chicken with sauteed veggies and quinoa

After a while, Bunny actually began to notice something: Even though she was gorging on piles of food as they moved across the continent, she was actually feeling better than she had in ages. She felt spry and alert and light on her feet. Why was this, she wondered, especially when upon returning to the States, she immediately began to feel sluggish and weighed down. Was it that the clean, well balanced eating habits of the people on that side of the world had had such a profound effect on her disposition?

As it turns out, many nutritionists consider the eating habits of Mediterranean people to be some of the healthiest in the world. Dr. Christos Mantzoros, a global obesity, diabetes and metabolism pioneer and Professor at Harvard Medical School, is one of those people, and that is why he recently co-founded a one of a kind meal kit delivery service called Pangea Nutrition, which takes everything about the Mediterranean way of treating food and translates it into an easy to follow guide to healthy eating.

Quinoa and radicchio salad with balsamic vinaigrette 

Bunny decided to give this service a try to see if her energy would indeed return to what it had been. The thing she appreciated right away was that she didn't need to worry about any of the meal planning. All of the ingredients for the recipes where ordered by Pangea Nutrition through Amazon Fresh and came straight to Bunny's doorstep. One week's worth of the service included recipes for three dinners and three lunches, all of which had over lapping ingredients to simplify preparation and minimize waste. All that was left was for her to prepare the meals.

The recipes Bunny received consisted of two chicken focused dinners and one salmon focused dinner, with a variety of salads for lunches and some nuts for snacking. All of the dishes were quite easy to create from the recipe cards, though they did take some time to prep. Bunny liked that there was a little bit of room in the recipes and with the ingredients she was sent to add a little more flavor here or there in order to customize the dishes to her personal taste. And because each recipe was built to feed two people, Bunny and Benedict were both able to reap the rewards of the plan.

Roasted chicken with quinoa and feta, raisins, and baby spinach

Glazed apple and arugula salad with walnuts 

Walnut crusted salmon with wilted garlicky greens

Beet and feta salad with pinto beans

Over all, Bunny loved the simplicity of Pangea Nutrition. Her one complaint was that she would have liked a little more direction when it came to breakfast. Since the plan only included instructions for snacks, lunches, and dinners, breakfast was sort of left up in the air, and as Bunny had seen first hand, there were plenty of fresh and healthy ways of enjoying a Mediterranean inspired early morning meal. Never the less, Bunny was so delighted with Pangea Nutrition that she wanted to give the chance to try it out to one of her readers!

GIVEAWAY INSTRUCTIONS: Give the Pangea Nutrition Facebook page a like, then visit the Pangea Nutrition Website to make sure Amazon Fresh delivers to your area. Finally, leave us a comment below telling us what you hope to get out of trying Pangea Nutrition (make sure you also leave something like your email address or a social media handle so we can get in touch with you if you win). We will pick a winner around noon CST on Friday June 16th. Good luck!

The writers of this blog were sent products free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

From the Kitchens of Bunny and Brandy: Tropical Breakfast Parfait "Cheese" Cake

It all started with a single thought. "What if I could have cheesecake for breakfast?"

Of course, Brandy could have cheesecake for breakfast, as she is a grown adult woman and capable of making her own choices, but even she knew, it was probably not wise to have cheesecake for breakfast. Well, at least not every day...

But still, the idea persisted and she couldn't quite get it out of her head. For days, she wandered in and out of her kitchen, looking at her pantry shelves or staring into her open fridge, until her whimsical idea began to solidify into something tangible. And it was a trio of recently discovered items that finally made her dream a reality.

Brandy had first sampled skyr from Icelandic Provisions at a special dinner, held at Baptiste and Bottle, celebrating the culinary prowess of Iceland. Skyr, she learned, is a deeply cherished part of Icelandic culture, with most of the country having eaten it regularly since childhood. Skyr is similar to yogurt, in that it is made with milk treated with specific cultures, but it's texture is even smoother and creamier than even that of Greek yogurt. It has more protein and less sugar than most yogurts as well, which greatly impressed Brandy. Icelandic Provisions had several unique flavors that combined familiar western fruits like strawberries, peaches, and blueberries, with lesser known Icelandic fruits like lingonberries, cloudberries, and bilberries. Brandy's favorite flavor, though, was the Coconut, which tasted just like the inside of a coconut cream pie. This, Brandy realized, would make the perfect base of her cheesecake.

Wanting to add a little sweetness and some additional tropical flavor, Brandy zeroed in on the carton of Banana Wave banana milk in her fridge. The stuff was so creamy and flavorful that she had been using it as a base for smoothies for some time, but she suddenly realized that the banana milk would pair perfectly with the coconut skyr. And as Banana Wave is packed with superfoods – fruit, grains and seeds – and because it begins with pure banana puree, she knew it would be a good source of fiber and vitamins without adding additional dairy fat into the recipe.

Every great cheesecake needs the perfect crust, and Brandy had just the thing sitting in her cabinet. She had recently discovered Grandy Oats' line of CocoNolas; three flavors of grain free granolas made from nuts, honey, and coconut. Light, crunchy, and not overly sweet, she had been downing this stuff by the handful for weeks for a quick boost of energy in the afternoon, but now, she knew that she had to utilize it's delightful flavor and texture to create a nutty crust for her cheesecake. While the chocolate chip flavor is her favorite for snacking on, and the super hemp blend gives the most bang for the buck, Brandy went for the original flavor CocoNola to maximize the coconut flavor.

As she prepared to make the breakfast cheesecake of her dreams, Brandy realized that what she had really done was to create a slice-able yogurt parfait. Not only that, but a parfait that was packed with protein and nutrients, but was very low in sugar, fat, and was completely grain free. "Also, it travels much more easily than a traditional parfait," she concluded. But in the end, this delightful concoction had such a creamy, rich texture, that she couldn't help continuing to think of it as the greatest cheesecake known to man.

The writers of this blog were provided with the products mentioned free of charge in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

Tropical Breakfast Parfait "Cheese" Cake 

5 single serving containers of Coconut Icelandic Provisions Skyr
1 9 oz package of Grandy Oats CocoNola
1 cup of Banana Wave Banana Milk
1 cup of chia seeds

Pour the banana milk into a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, pour the granola in the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan and smooth out into an even layer, making sure to break up any larger pieces. Place all the skyr (or yogurt) into a medium sized bowl. Take the banana milk off the heat and slowly pour it over the skyr, whisking away lumps. Once the banana milk and skyr are thoroughly mixed, add in the chia seeds and continue to whisk away any lumps. Carefully pour the mixture over the granola. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge over night.

When ready to serve, top the "cake" with toasted coconut, cut into slices, and serve cold with fresh pineapple or a drizzle of honey. Makes about 8 servings.

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.

Tea Time with Brandy: Morinaga Make-Your-Own Tofu

"I've got my turkey, my potatoes, my cranberry sauce, my veggies, three pies, and six bottles of wine... what am I missing?" Brandy postulated as she stood in front of her fridge.  She scratched her chin until she finally realized.  "Breakfast!" she exclaimed, "How could I forget the most important part of Thanksgiving?"  Indeed, Brandy has always regarded the breakfast she prepares on Thanksgiving morning to be one of the most important meals of the year.  "One needs something that isn't too heavy or filling, but is packed with protein to make one feel satisfied while cooking all day," she often philosophizes.  Staring into the depths of her fridge, Brandy spied several ramekins.  "Of course!  The tofu!" she exclaimed, and that was that.

A few days before, Brandy had the pleasure of trying out a Make-Your-Own Tofu kit from Morinaga.  The full kit included containers of soy milk, packets of a special coagulant called nigari, and in the momen version of the kit, a press to turn the silken tofu that results from the process into a firmer version, more suitable for cooking with.  The process of making the tofu was actually fairly easy; Brandy simply had to mix the soy milk with the nigari and then cook it in a water bath for about 15 minutes.  Even though this version of the tofu was supposed to be silken, and therefore more soft and pudding like in texture, Brandy did want her tofu to be a bit more firm, so she simply let the ramekins cool down in the water, then dropped the tofu into a dish lined with cheese cloth and quickly drained off some of the excess moisture by gently squeezing the cloth around the tofu.  She then placed the tofu back into the ramekins, covered them in plastic wrap, and placed a ramekin filled with uncooked rice on top of that so as to force a little more moisture out of the tofu and have it form a smooth surface.  This process gave her just the texture she was looking for, even though she didn't have access to a proper tofu press.

Right after making the tofu, Brandy topped some of it off with a salted caramel sauce, enjoying its custard like texture and its creamy taste.  "Why, this could be a lovely dessert for my vegan friends," she mused, "Maybe add a bit of coco powder and sugar to make it into a sort of chocolate custard... that would be delicious!"  But it was a true stroke of genius that hit Brandy when she decided to use the tofu in a seasonal smoothie she could enjoy on Thanksgiving morning.  Combining in a blender one ramekin of silken tofu (about 1/2 a cup's worth) with a 1/2 cup of orange juice, a 1/2 cup of carrot juice, and a table spoon of either pumpkin pie or chai spice (Brandy had both on hand and reported that either worked beautifully), Brandy whipped up a creamy, warming, delightful smoothie that kept her energized well into the afternoon.

Remembering this smoothie concoction (which, because she used the tofu, was not only vegan, but also gluten free, GMO free, and preservative free), Brandy nodded to herself and closed the fridge, now fully mentally prepared for the onslaught of cooking that was to come.

The writers of this blog were sent products free of charge in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

Tea Time with Brandy: Crispy Green Fruit Snacks

"Uuuhhhggg." Brandy groaned, pushing away the dish of Halloween candy.  The extreme influx of refined sugar had finally gotten to her.  "It seems my constitution isn't what it used to be," she sighed, "I do so miss the days when I could eat or drink whatever I liked.  Getting old is a troubling thing to someone with a sweet tooth like me."  And yet, even though her stomach ached, she quickly found herself craving something sweet yet again.

Walking into the kitchen, she spied a few bags of Crispy Green dehydrated fruit snacks.  Coming in seven different varieties, the fruit snacks were individual serving sized and contained nothing but delicious fruit.  Having had all of its moisture removed from it meant that this fruit had an intensified flavor and a crispy texture, but no preservatives, additives, fat, or most importantly to Brandy, no added sugar.

Brandy's favorite flavors were the Banana, which had a pure flavor and a texture that started out crunchy and ended creamy, and the Asian Pear, which was the lightest crunch of the bunch and had an unusual and almost tropical flavor.  The Mango and Pineapple were also pretty delicious, especially when eaten together, and the Apple had the perfect combination of familiar taste in a new and exciting form.  The Tangerine flavor was a little strange with a fibrous texture and a little more bitterness than some of the other fruit, and the Cantaloupe was almost a little too sweet for Brandy, but was rather nice when combined with something like some salty nuts or granola.

Not only were the Crispy Green snacks delectable on their own, they were also quite nice when added to things like cereal, yogurt, and chia pudding, all of which re-hydrated the fruit just enough to soften it into a more jam like texture.

"What a lovely way to kill my cravings for sweets!" Brandy remarked, happily munching on a slice of mango, "Now, I wonder what else could be dehydrated to make it into a portable, healthy snack... perhaps dehydrated bacon?  Hmmm... better not put this kind of gold onto the blog or someone might steal this genius idea!"

Whoops...

Crispy Green snacks can be found in Treasure Island and other grocery stores throughout Illinois or purchased directly through their website.

The writers of this blog were provided with products from Crispy Green at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

From the Kitchens of Bunny and Brandy: Skinny Elvis Smoothie with Hamilton Beach Giveaway

Long ago, during Brandy's first ever sojourn to Las Vegas, she came across a very odd man.  She first spotted the man in the lobby of a fancy hotel, thinking to herself that he seemed to be obviously trying to disguise himself, as he wore a long trench coat, a fedora, and a large pair of sunglasses, though through the opening in his coat, Brandy could just make out something sparkly.  She moved closer to the man, who was seated in a chair and trying a little too hard to seem inconspicuous by reading a newspaper.  

"Are you trying not to be seen, or are you trying to see something else?" Brandy whispered to him.  

The man looked up at her, warily.  "A little of both," he replied in a deep velvet voice that took Brandy by surprise.  

"Then let me give you a little piece of advice, sunshine," she said, taking the seat beside him, "Try not to dress like an agent in a spy film.  What you need to do is dress as something that'll fit right in around here.  Like that."  She pointed to a man across the lobby in a flashy white jump suit and a pompadour wig.  "Every other bloke in this place is in one of those get ups.  No one would even look twice at you."  

"But that's the problem!" the man sighed, rustling his newspaper, "Those fellas are taking my job!  I'm camped out here trying to figure out just how many of them there are so I know what I'm up against."  He pulled aside his coat a little to reveal a similar white jump suit, then lifted his hat to show a head of luxurious black hair.  "You see, I went away for a little while.  I had a bit of a weight problem, so I went off to get back into shape, and when I came back, I found all these impersonators getting paid to pretend to be me!"  

Brandy scratched her chin.  "Oh dear, that is a problem... maybe if you were to apply for one of their jobs by saying you were impersonating yourself then?"  

Then man thought about this for a moment, then removed his sunglasses and flashed his ice blue eyes at Brandy.  "That might just work!" he grinned at her, only one side of his mouth sliding upwards, "Thank you.  Thank you very much."  

"Say, how did you end up getting back in shape?" Brandy asked as the man stood up to leave.  

"My secret smoothie recipe," he winked, "I've been working on it for years, even tried to make a sandwich out of it, but the smoothie is the surefire way to go.  Here you go, darling," and he handed Brandy a piece of stationary with a hand written recipe and a big gold E stamped across the top of it.

Recently, Brandy found herself craving the simple concoction that strange man had introduced her to long ago, a thick and rich smoothie that was packed with protein, but actually contained very little sugar and fat.  Luckily, she had just acquired the new Wave Action Blender from Hamilton Beach, which is especially good as crushing ice, an essential part of the recipe that makes the concoction extra rich tasting.  The blender features a unique blade that continually forces ingredients down with little to no prodding as well as a wide mouth pour spout and a lid that firmly locks into place, which keeps things from getting too messy.  The simplified buttons, that list actions such as "Milkshake," "Smoothie," "Salsa," and "Crushed Ice," take out a lot of the guess work involved, making it especially perfect for Brandy. who gets overwhelmed easily by too many options.

The Hamilton Beach Wave Action Blender, which retails for around $35, was ideal for mixing up this long forgotten recipe, which Brandy has decided to share after all these years with all of her loyal readers.  Along with the infamous recipe, Brandy is giving away a Hamilton Beach Wave Action Blender to one lucky reader!  The contest will run from Wednesday August 5th until 11:00 pm CST August 11th with a winner being announced the morning of August 12th.  The winner will have 24 hours after being notified to respond with their shipping information so that that prize can be sent.  Only residents of the continental United States may enter.  Any accounts used to enter the contest MUST be legitimate and not contain a majority of promotional materials (such accounts may be disqualified at the discretion of the writers of this blog).  Good luck, brunch fans!

The writers of this blog were provided with materials by Hamilton Beach in exchange for an honest review.

The Skinny Elvis Smoothie

1 individual container of 0% fat Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup of no sugar added smooth peanut butter
1 banana
2 cups ice cubes
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Combine everything in a blender and blend until smooth.  Serving suggestions: Add a pinch of cayenne pepper for a little heat, a shot of bourbon for a more adult flavor, or garnish with a strip of bacon for the ultimate Elvis experience.


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