Flatout Flat Bread Multi-Grain with Flax Review

I love bread, did I mention that already? I could live off of bread, seriously. But sometimes eating a very "bready" bread for lunch at work leaves me sleepy. I found this flat bread by Flatout at HEB this past week and caved in and bought it. I've seen this across a couple of health blogs lately and its macros are pretty good. This particular variety isn't too carby and has a good amount of protein and fiber. I'm sure we've all had those less than pleasant... digestive moments after eating too much bread so I welcome the fiber with open arms.

One thing I noticed that this brand emphasizes is that it makes "amazing pizza." I have yet to make pizza with it although I'm very curious and that does sound delicious. I used it to make a wrap and to my surprise, this flat bread has a good elasticity to it without tasting or feeling rubbery. I was able to roll up my chicken and crunchy romaine without it tearing.

Okay, it did tear a little but that was because I overstuffed it and could barely even get the seams together. The first time I made it without overstuffing it and it was perfect.

The flat bread is a pretty decent size, longer than it is wide which is perfect for a wrap. It's not dry like some flat breads and this particular variety was slightly sweet. Perfect, I like a little sweetness in my breads.

Up close, you can see the bread is pretty thin, but not too thin. Not too thick for a wrap either. I wonder how it would hold up to pizza though.

My wonderful wrap consisted of some romaine lettuce, grilled chicken breast, mushroom, and a splash of salad dressing. It was so good! I don't usually like eating wraps and sandwiches since I like my food deconstructed - this way I can taste each component to its full potential, but I was looking forward to this. It's definitely convenient when I don't have time to prepare lunch for the next day - I usually grill a huge batch of chicken breast for at least a week to 1.5 weeks in advance so all I have to do is chop some lettuce and assemble. I would recommend after rolling together the wrap to wrap it in foil and eat it out of that - it'll hold everything together. This isn't exactly a burrito with closed ends and extra elasticity so it will fall apart. You can go to the Flatout website to see where it is carried near you. I found it at HEB at the end of the bread aisle, not necessarily on their typical shelves but the extra shelves they add on to the aisle. This was the case at two HEBs I went to so I am assuming they did this for a good number of their stores.

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Houston: Ruggles Green (Citycentre Location)

I really don't like Citycentre. It's so crowded and it for some reason comes off as really touristy. I have nothing against touristy places, but for the first time, I can slightly understand the frustration some New Yorkers seem to have with tourists in their city. Just slightly. It can be frustrating to go out in your own city but be bombarded with crowds of people who don't know where they're going or driving.

Anyway, I digress. This is a review of Ruggles Green which has become less and less my favorite lately. Ruggles Green has been one of my favorite restaurants in Houston, from their most amazing salads, to their veggie burger, to their Charlotte's Web dessert (I don't share this one, I don't care if I get overly full). But lately, it seems that with their recent expansions, they are going down a slippery slope. Quality control is lacking and consistency? Well you can forget about that. I've found the River Oaks and Heights location to have the best food. Ambiance is a lot nicer too. I've been to their Sugar Land and Citycentre location and the food always seem off - underseasoned, overcooked, bland.

The Citycentre location gets really dark and it's annoying. I hate how their restrooms are set up too. Oh another thing I don't like about Citycentre? I could not find restrooms anywhere on their map. I'm not one to go to a restaurant's restroom unless I'm dining there since I personally think it's a bit rude. If you're going to open a shopping area like that, you have to have restrooms! Okay, I'm done ranting. I'm really going to review the food now.

I ordered the spinach salad and added on a grilled chicken breast. You can see in the picture the chicken breast is severely overcooked. The edges were like jerky. I was really disappointed in this salad. The description emphasized bacon and bacon vinaigrette. Well I can tell you I really had to squint to find any bacon in the salad and simply crumbling bacon into plain vinaigrette does not make it bacon vinaigrette. The vinaigrette tasted good, but it is not bacon vinaigrette. Chicken was sweet, I was looking for simply grilled, non-overcooked and non-dry chicken breast. I got the opposite. I was hungry after this.

My sister ordered the buffalo burger with swiss cheese. She said it was a little drier than usual but didn't have too many complaints. For the record, my sister is not really a foodie, so I don't really ask for her advice or opinion on food.

I usually order the buffalo burger for my mom, but since the last one from the Sugar Land location was dry, I asked her if she wanted to try something different and so we ordered the kobe beef burger topped with mozzarella. I usually order all their burgers with mozzarella here because it tastes so fresh and creamy. We also always get sweet potato fries - they have the best sweet potato fries... in Houston so far. I sampled some of the beef and it was actually really good! It was seasoned well with some spices and it wasn't overly dry, although it was a little more cooked than what we had asked for. I like how it was nicely charred and not dry. Oh and being a bread lover, their wheat buns they use for their burger tastes awesome. It's not dry and plain like some other places serving up wheat buns. My mom didn't have any complaints about this burger and it's probably her new favorite at Ruggles. I'm going to have to try to order this next time!

I've always loved the sweet pickles at Ruggles, but this particular location seems to have confused the salt and sugar jars because this thing was PURE SALT. What the hell. How the hell do you mess up pickles? It was just so annoying how careless they were at this location. Something so simple...

We also helped ourselves to some pineapple pico de gallo. It was good and basic, but it was fresh and bright. Definitely add it to your burger to add dimension in flavor.

Ruggles Green has a couple locations and you can find it on their website. I almost don't even want to tell you where the CityCentre location is because it was such a bad experience. But I realize not everyone lives inside the loop and it can be a bit far to go to my preferred locations, so here it is. It's in the Citycentre (duh) and you can find it in the central part of the center where the fake grassy area is - they usually have bands playing here. You order first and then sit down. The food is brought out to you. Their patio is dog-friendly and has plenty of outdoor seating. I would be wary of bringing my dog on crowded nights like the weekend since there are a lot of kids and parents who aren't watching their kids. If your dog might bite or you think your kids will provoke, don't bring him/her... unless you want a lawsuit for your dog biting someone's kid after telling them not to touch (at which point it's clearly THEIR fault, but government thinks all biting dogs should be put down regardless if the dog was provoked or not). Bitter much? I know that's what you're thinking. This experience sucked.

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100 Calorie Chocolate Pudding Recipe

So sometimes I overindulge a little bit and have to get creative with my macros to get back on track. In comes the gelatin-based chocolate pudding. I wanted a little indulgence that wasn't all carbs and fat and made some chocolate pudding with unsweetened coconut milk, cocoa powder, gelatin, stevia, and vanilla extract. This recipe is very versatile and can be adjusted to a very indulgent pudding or a "light" pudding for when you already had your indulgent pudding. The gelatin (which is a good source of protein by the way) creates a smooth texture without having to resort to cornstarch and fat. I don't always substitute stevia for all of my sweeteners, but sometimes I need a balance and use it to tame my cravings while not indulging ridiculously. Otherwise, I would have gone the traditional pudding route or hell, even made some chocolate mousse with cream, eggs, sugar, and bittersweet chocolate!

100 Calorie Chocolate Pudding Recipe

• 1.75 tsp (5 g) gelatin powder
• 2 tbsp (1 oz) cooled coffee
• 1 cup (8 oz) unsweetened coconut milk (not canned)
• 2 tbsp (11 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp (2 g) vanilla extract
• Stevia to taste (I used 2 packets of SweetLeaf)

In a medium bowl, pour in the cooled coffee and sprinkle in the gelatin powder. Let stand for five minutes. Heat the milk in either the microwave (make sure not to boil over) or on a stove top until it begins steaming (not boiling). Whisk in the cocoa powder and stevia until well mixed. Pour the milk mixture over the gelatin mixture, add the vanilla extract, and whisk until well-mixed. Refrigerate for at least two hours. Before serving, use a hand mixer to blend everything together and break up the gelatinous clumps. This will yield a smooth pudding. Serve with toppings of your choice.

You can use this as a base recipe and use any kind of milk and sweetener. Spice it up with some cinnamon next time!

Nutrition: 93 calories, 8.1 g carbs, 6 g fat, 6.4 g protein, 4.6 g fiber

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Califia Farms Cocoa Noir Cold Brew Coffee Almondmilk Review

I can't live without coffee. I don't think the world can turn without coffee. There is no life without coffee.

I went to the Montrose Whole Foods Market yesterday to get some cold brew coffee when I saw coffee almondmilk by Califia Farms. I've seen these jugs of almondmilk coffee and people grab them off the shelves like their lives depend on it. I thought, well, I like coffee and I like almondmilk... but the jugs are so big! As I was pondering whether to buy it or not, a Whole Foods employee stopped in his tracks to tell me all about this mysterious coffee almondmilk. He was so passionate about it and was telling me how these fly off the shelves and tastes amazing as well as does a great job of delivering a generous energy boost. He told me they just recently started carrying single-serving size versions and would get one for me to sample. How nice is that? I love how passionate Whole Foods employees are and they genuinely want people to try food because it is good and not necessarily for sales. Since it was comped, I don't really know how much this 10.5 oz costs, but it is good so it will be worth it.

I got their Cocoa Noir variety which is like a mocha. As you can see on the bottle, it is vegan, gluten free, packaged in a BPA-free bottle, and its ingredients are non-GMO verified. Score!

Looking at the nutritional label, you can see it's vitamin-boosted and doesn't contain chemical ingredients. I don't have any sensitivities to carageenan or gums, so it's not something that bothers me to see it in the ingredients list. Their lecithin is derived from sunflower and not soy (for all you soy-intolerant people out there), although keep in mind they don't claim it to be soy-free.

I shook up the bottle before pouring myself a glass; there are some flecks of the almond milk not completely mixed in, but it's not something that bothers me. It doesn't affect the product quality in any way.

I felt a need to treat myself this morning so I added a little bit of whipped topping. Yum. This was such a treat! The coffee is just dark enough with a strong mocha presence and the almondmilk has a subtle thickness and is very smooth. The product did not have to be shaken before serving (I didn't see this stated on the bottle) as I noticed there wasn't any residue when I turned the bottle upside down at the store (large bottles are clear, single-serve is not). I should have taken a picture of it being poured out so you can see how creamy it is. It's definitely not too sweet but not bland either. It does however, have a strong almondmilk aroma (duh, it's almondmilk), and if you've ever put coffee and almondmilk together, it does not yield a coffee flavor the way you would expect when mixed with cow's milk or soy milk. If you're not used to this flavor, you may not like it. I personally enjoy almondmilk with coffee (cold, not hot) and fell in love with this product.

Next time you go to Whole Foods, make sure you purchase yourself some Califia Farms Coffee Almondmilk! They have a couple varieties and I've seen the mocha and plain coffee versions in the large jugs. I feel a need to go buy a big giant jug or two now. It's so good!

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Houston: BAMBU Desserts & Drinks (Stafford Location)

Growing up on the Vietnamese dessert che, I have been meaning to try BAMBU. Che ranges from coconutty creamy desserts with beans to rock sugar-sweetened cold soups with a variety of asian fruits, agar jelly, and seaweed. It sounds weird but it's awesome. My favorite growing up was che dau trang (white bean che). Beans are very often used in Asian desserts and are typically sweetened to make pastes just like how almonds are ground into a fine paste and made into marzipan. Red bean (usually adzuki beans), green bean (not like snap peas), mung beans, black eyed peas are some of the many beans used in these types of desserts.

I ordered #14, which has red bean, taro, and pandan jelly. I absolutely LOVE taro anything. Taro chips, taro buns, taro fries, and especially taro when it is made into a paste in Asian desserts. Made-to-order che always comes with shaved ice and this particular che had coconut milk. It wasn't as rich as the che I usually get at restaurants so there was a little disappointment there. I am one of those who have little of everything else and a big blob of coconut milk. The ratio is ridiculous when left up to me to top it off. When I ordered, they asked me if I wanted large red beans or small.... This was odd and I assumed the large red beans were regular red beans and small was adzuki, so I asked for small. Adzuki red beans taste different from regular red beans and the texture is firmer. The middle purple section was the mashed up taro paste (yum!) and the top layer was pandan jelly. Pandan is a staple flavor in a lot of southeast Asian and Filipino desserts. It comes from a leaf and has a very mild flavor, but I'm not sure if there really is anything I can compare the flavor to. You'll just have to try it out for yourself!

BAMBU made one of the best pandan jellies I've tasted- it was slightly chewy with a fresh pandan flavor. I do wish the taro had chunks with the paste, but it was still good. Overall, it wasn't too sweet and if anything, I preferred it to be a little sweeter. Does this beat the che at restaurants? No. This is great for getting if you're not eating out but keep in mind the coconut milk seems to be a little watered down. If I plan to be naughty, I'll take it home and top it off with some extra coconut milk of my own (ooooh, so good). The other difference between BAMBU che and the ones typically offered at restaurants is that it has taro and pandan jelly. I don't recall ever seeing taro offered at restaurants and it usually comes with green agar jelly instead.

My friend ordered #18 which is the same as #14 but with green bean instead.

I went to the Stafford store located in The Fountains shopping center off Hwy 59. They're popping up everywhere though and there is one within walking distance from my apartment which is great, because if I'm going to be consuming copious amounts of coconut milk in, I should get some walking in to lessen the dent. You can find what locations are available on the BAMBU website.

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Houston: BlackFinn American Grille

Did I ever mention how much I love ahi tuna? I do. I am a sushi fan and my friend reminded me I'm the one who introduced her to sushi over a decade ago, pre-vegetarian-then-back-to-carnivore days. I tried the whole fish thing after becoming unvegetarian and I got so tired of it. With the exception of rare tuna. There's that thing of not eating too much tuna due to mercury levels so I usually order it when I go out to eat since I don't eat out often. And for a special treat or home-cooked dinner, I'll buy some fresh ahi tuna and sear it myself. It's not exactly cheap, so I think I can manage to keep my mercury intake low.

Anyway, I went to BlackFinn American Grille on a Thursday in May for happy hour, although we were a little late. The dish above is the Ginger Tuna, which according to their menu is described as "sushi grade ahi steak seared rare, served with stir fry vegetables, smashed rice cake and citrus soy."

It didn't take long for this dish to come out. The tuna was indeed very rare which I loved and the vegetables were super buttered and since butter makes the world go round, it was delicious. The smashed rice cakes were a little bit soggy, but it was still good. I'm pretty sure it was sweet rice that was used and if you've even order the Ga Xoi Chien (Fried chicken and fried sweet rice patties) at Kim Son, this was a non-crispy soggy version of it. I use the word soggy, but it's not in a negative way. I thoroughly enjoyed this super wet rice patty. And this patty was already marinated with the soy sauce, reminiscent of teriyaki sauce. It was my favorite part of the dish. The little metal container of sauce that came with it was basically oil and perhaps cilantro? I'm not sure what herb was in there, but it probably had some soy as well. It may have had some sesame oil in it as well but it was for dipping the tuna which made it quite decadent.

So I did mention this was supposed to be a happy hour outing. I don't really drink much but it seems my group fitness instructor whose class I religiously attend every Tuesday afternoon is trying to get me into alcohol. Apparently, not drinking is a foreign concept to him. I was tempted to order their S'mores Martini, but opted for something a little less decadent and what seemed light, the Mango Sunrise. The menu describes it as "smirnoff mango vodka, mango puree, triple sec, sour mix, sprite." I thought the drink would be a little thicker due to the mango puree, but it was not... I couldn't even detect any mango puree in there. It was good nonetheless and I would recommend it for those who don't drink much alcohol since it is light on the alcohol. I only drank half.

Service was great here, our waitress (I can't remember her name) was so sweet and a little over-friendly, but she's just trying her best to provide great customer service. My instructor also invited some of his clients who brought their pomeranians and our waitress got water for the pooches! She's so sweet to be so considerate of the dogs. We of course sat on the patio. Houston is becoming more and more dog-friendly so you can add this to your list of dog-friendly restaurants.

I plan on going back to try their brunch offerings as well as some of their other dinner options! BlackFinn is located in midtown. High-quality food for a great price too. Definitely recommended!

Oh and by the way, the group fitness instructor that I mentioned - I've trained with him twice and he killed me, twice. And he kills me every Tuesday and the occasional Fridays I attend. He does killer TRX workouts but also works with weights, it's all up to you! I've done a TRX session with him as well as a heavy weight session and both times left me sore for days, and not just a little sore but the give-me-my-jar-of-peanut-butter-so-I-can-eat-in-bed-all-day sore. You can contact CJ Wagner via his LinkedIn profile.

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Las Vegas: Payard Patisserie & Bistro

Wow. That is all I can say about this place. Just wow. On Saturday (05/10/2014), we went to Payard Patisserie & Bistro @ Caesar's Palace. We've been to the bakery before to buy desserts and coffee, but had never tried their restaurant or any of the savory menu items. We STILL have not tried their crepes, but I aim to next year. After a hot walk from our hotel at Aria, which took a good 30 minutes or so, we only had to wait about 15 - 20 minutes. The dining room is intimate and small, I think their maximum occupancy sign stated somewhere between 40 - 50 people. The kitchen is set up in the center of the restaurant and the dining area sort of wraps around, a circular restaurant setting if you will. Looking in to the right are sofas up against the wall - we didn't get an opportunity to sit on that side and instead sat at the same table two days in a row. We ended up on the left where the window facing some of the shops were.

I already knew what I was ordering for mom before we got here since she LOVES lobster. And since Francois Payard is well-known for his pastries and buttery croissants, I ordered mom the Lobster Eggs Benedict on Croissant. It comes with generous chunks of lobster atop a buttery croissant split in half with two poached eggs slathered in hollandaise sauce. I had a bite and the first thing I noticed was how crispy the exterior of the croissant was, but not dry. The butter aroma was so fresh! I mean, I have never tasted a true butter croissant until that day. It was the perfect balance of slight sweetness, crispy but yet flaky crust, and moist but not soggy inside. The eggs of course were perfectly poached, whites were not runny and yolk was not overcooked. And the hollandaise! I haven't had really good hollandaise but this was not too overwhelming and complemented the dish very well. Especially with the chunks of fresh and succulent lobster which was cooked to just done and not rubbery. Can you see how happy mom is with her plate?

Unfortunately, I stuffed my face too much from the day before and did not end up ordering the lobster eggs benedict. I wanted to try their brioch french toast since it is one of their signature items, but I was too sugared and buttered out. Instead, I ordered oatmeal. I know it sounds boring, but after trying it with their sauteed berries, I was a super happy girl. The steel cut oats were cooked to a creamy consistency with the perfect bite. The portion was generous as you can see. The sauteed berries were a mixture of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. I'm sure sugar was added and the berries were quickly sauteed to release the juices but maintain a slight bite and not turn into a pile of mush.

I absolutely loved this idea of sauteed berries over my oatmeal. I do have a bias towards oatmeal since I love it so much, but really, this was good even if you don't like oatmeal. We came here again on Sunday for Mother's Day! I had a feeling it would be booked, so I made reservations that morning and I'm so glad I did - I saw them turn away all those who did not have appointments. Annnnndddddd.... we ordered the same thing again lol.

Except this time I ordered the oatmeal with caramelized apples. The waitress then asked me if I had tried their sauteed berries... So when I did try the apples, I asked for the berries again! The apples were good, but I just like mine a little bit more tender and this didn't come out warm like the berries did. But I still ate both the apples and berries with my oatmeal. I'm still dreaming about the oatmeal and I'll need to force myself to order something else the next time I come back.

As per usual for breakfast, I ordered mom a cappuccino. I think Payard by far had the best cappuccino of all the restaurants we dined at in Vegas this year. The aroma was dark and bold, but not bitter or acidic. It had the light smoky flavor characteristic of a lot of french-style roasts. The milk was not overly foamed here, yielding a creamy consistency. I find some places over-foam their milk and the cappuccino ends up being dry. I had my oatmeal with coffee and was offered coffee to-go as well! Service here was excellent both days.

So I cannot just drop by Payard and not buy anything to take home. I browsed through their chocolate assortment and decided to buy this container of chocolate covered nougat. It was not cheap. But you get what you pay for.

I have a habit at looking of ingredients when buying anything, especially chocolate and sweets. I just really like to know I'm getting real chocolate and not PGPR or some kind of imitation. That's not something you really have to worry about with a lot of the french bakeries and chocolatiers, but I still like to look for my own entertainment (yes, I know I'm odd, leave me alone).

Enough babble about the ingredients - moving on to funner things - eating it! So I was a little taken by surprise when I bit into one. I thought it would be a soft nougat center, like the nougat I got from Jean Philippe. But it was crunchy with small pieces of nuts ground into it. It was still good mind you. The green ones were white chocolate and the brown ones were dark chocolate. This was a satisfying crunch of sweetness and I may be buying more of these types of chocolates as I find them. It's probably less unhealthy to get the crunch from an actual nut (like chocolate covered almonds), but that sugar rush from the crunchy sugar is just so much more fun. Not to mention it's got caramel notes to it.

All in all, my experience at Payard was amazing. Did I mention I saw Francois Payard on Sunday!? I am always starstruck when I see chefs. More so than when I see non-chef celebrities. Is that weird?

Anyway, you can find Payard Patisserie and Bistro inside Caesar's Palace. From the front lobby entrance, go towards the casino and go straight to the back. It is diagonally across from the buffet and directly across from Rao's. The bakery is obvious the but the restaurant is a little hidden - facing the bakery, go to your left and it's right next door. I recommend reservations as the restaurant is small.

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Las Vegas - Ice Pan

I love matcha green tea. It's one of my favorite flavors. Matcha lattes, matcha ice cream, matcha cake, it really goes with any kind of dessert. Matcha works really well in creamy-type desserts. In this case, it was a cross between frozen yogurt and frozen milk. Ice Pan offers made-to-order ice cream using a base mixed with your choice of soy, nonfat, lowfat, or whole milk and is flavored using real ingredients, no artificial flavorings. Once the mix is blended, it is dumped on a super cold and freezing ice pan, scraped, and slapped against the pan to incorporate air until it is the texture of ice cream. I was excited to try this being a froyo fan and it was pretty entertaining to watch the staff make ice cream before our very eyes! I ordered a soy green tea with mochi per their recommendations for the mix-in.

I felt bad for the staff that had to make it since it does look labor-intensive, but some seem to enjoy it and the older man, who I think is the owner, was very passionate about his product and how it is a healthy treat as opposed to ice cream. Once the ice cream starts to form, the staff added in the mochi and mixed it all together, scooping it into a cup (they also offer it in a waffle bowl). You have the option of adding chocolate of caramel syrup or of course for extra $, additional toppings or whipped cream. I didn't add anything else since the mochi itself would make this dessert sweeter and heavier mind you. Well, I gotta say, fresh low fat soy ice cream never tasted so good! The matcha flavor was deep and the texture was just like ice cream, soft but yet firm and melted in your mouth, but doesn't melt as quickly as froyo. It's not too sweet at all - just lightly sweetened - and no heavy sugar coating on the tongue after it's finished.

Mom got the red bean whole milk with mochi and caramel drizzle. I saw them blend fresh adzuki beans right into the mix and the flavor really shined! I find that the red bean flavor often gets lost in a lot of frozen desserts, but you could definitely taste it in Ice Pan's ice cream.

There was no artificial aftertaste and both options of milk yielded a creamy texture. I think nonfat would yield a creamy texture too - I'll have to try that next time.

Ice Pan is located in Harrah's on the strip; go all the way to the back and up the escalators and it'll be on your left. As of May 2014, they only accept cash but it's not too expensive, remember to tip them for all the actual physical labor they put in to making your frozen treat!

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