Food & Drink

A few weekends ago, one of my lovely girlfriends got married in San Francisco and had an amazingly beautiful wedding. (Congratulations, Emily!) She was the first of in our group of gals to get hitched, so we all planned for an unforgettable weekend in California. That included a side trip to Sonoma for wine tasting, which I was, of course, super excited for! We gathered recommendations from friends and did some research of our own to start planning our wine country tour. Although not all the ladies could make it, with our group size, it turned out to be only slightly more expensive to book a private limo than to do a shuttle bus tour. The flexibility to choose wineries and schedules was definitely worth it for us, and armed with a list of wineries we wanted to check out, we began our trip… (more…)

Am I reaching? Nah. In fact, I’m willing to bet my next meal that there isn’t a cookie lover out there who would turn down the Brown Butter Cookie Company’s Brown Butter Sea Salt Cookies. The hand-rolled, sugar-salt-butter combo is so simple, so small, so innocent-looking … and so ridiculously GOOD.

For birthdays, holidays and other special occasions (hint: Mothers Day is coming up!), I always hunt for these at my local gourmet goodie store, The Oaks Gourmet Market in Hollywood. A small bag is about $5 and makes a welcome gift (when it’s in stock), especially paired with a bottle of wine or box of tea. For those of you who are getting hitched soon, these also make impressive favors or mini dessert options. (Picture them piled onto little tiered serving trays — so cute!)

See if they are (or can be) stocked at your local gourmet market, or order a freshly baked batch online from the Brown Butter Cookie Company, located in Cayucos, Calif.

P.S. They also come in chocolate!

We all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but too often, breakfast is ignored because “I’m not hungry” or “I’m going to eat a big dinner tonight and need to save my calories.” I’m always looking for new products to make breakfasts more fun, healthy, and give my body a morning kick-start with energy and nutrients it craves, so when I discovered Crazy Camel Dessert Hummus at a local market, I sampled, died, came back to live, and bought every single flavor they make! So when I tell you this product is one of the best things I’ve eaten in a long, long time, you’re reading the advice of a true dessert-hummus expert!

Crazy Camel comes in six different flavors, including: Caramel Apple, Chocolate Mousse, Maple Walnut, Peanut Butter, Pumpkin Pie, and Toasted Almond. These products have roughly half the fat of regular hummus with just as much healthy fat, protein, and fiber of the traditional variety! Every single flavor I tried was absolutely delicious, but seeing I’m a big pumpkin and almond fan, the Pumpkin Pie and Toasted Almond were my absolute favorites! I experimented and tried all sorts of breakfast-related recipes with the hummus, including adding it to my oatmeal or yogurt, using it as an ingredient in no-bake breakfast cookies, and simply using it as a topping for my toast or bagel. The options are endless!

Crazy Camel is available at select stores in the Northeast, but my suggestion is to order off their website and freeze what you don’t use. My suggestion is the “You Pick it Six Pack” for $25. The hummus is free of artificial preservatives, so it will stay fresh in your refrigerator for three weeks. Otherwise, you can freeze them for up to six months. But honestly, you’ll be lucky if they last that long.

Okay, it’s February 11th–are you still looking for a Valentine’s Day gift?! I’ve got some quick ideas for you that any Valentine would love, no matter what your budget is! First up, l’Âge de Thé’s Love Blend loose leaf tea costs only $6 and would be a super sweet way to send your love to someone. It’s a black tea with strawberry, chocolate, and just a pinch of rose petals. And it tastes delicious!

Linda & Harriett put together a Limited Edition Goody Bag that contains a note pad, a box of note cards, a pencil, and a cute little reusable heart bag (tied with a handwritten gift tag!). Of course, the paper goods are the top-notch quality you would come to expect from L&H, and you can choose from a set of designs. The Goody Bag is $26 and would make a thoughtful Valentine, don’t you think?

Lastly, check out Elemis’ Exotic Frangipani Monoi Moisture Melt. The name is a mouthful, but it’s so worth it. At $48, it’s the most expensive on this list, but oh so luxurious. Monoi is made in Polynesia by soaking frangipangi flowers in coconut oil, and the result is a silky, moisturizing oil that is a treat for your skin. It would be perfect to use for a sensual massage and is nicely fragrant, so I’m sure your Valentine would loooove it. Have a happy Valentine’s Day!

One week ago from today, I was navigating the snow filled streets in the wintry wonderland that is Berlin in January. Not a usual winter tourist destination (and for good reason), Berlin in January is prone to gray days, mounds of unshoveled snow and a bitter wind that makes even the toughest nose run. With conditions like that, warmth takes precedence over style. Luckily, the city of Berlin has its own style to distract from your lack!

I traveled to Berlin on a NYU sponsored trip to study the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall. With this theme in mind I visited the legendary Checkpoint Charlie, A Stasi prison facility, the East Berlin Wall Gallery, Berlin’s Underground bunker system, and Livadia Palace in Potsdam where the Yalta Convention was held.  Obviously, the history buff would not be hurting for hot spots to visit in Berlin, and I highly recommend all of the above mentioned sights. However, for those less interested in the Cold War here are my recommendations. With a city as fascinating culturally, historically, and artistically, you really can’t go wrong! (more…)

Flavored waters aren’t new to the market, but most of the time they seem to be carbonated and for some reason, I just never got on board.  However, I recently was introduced to twist, a non-carbonated brand, and was happy to try a few of their flavors. Well, apparently, after trying… I can now say that I do like some flavored waters.

Overall, the packaging for twist is fun, but still upscale and chic. The water itself has no artificial ingredients or preservatives; also each bottle is only 9 calories. (You’d be surprised by how much sugar and calories can be in flavored waters.) One of my favorites is the Mandarin White Tea, which has a hint of citrus, and just honestly is so yummy. (In fact…wish I had case of this flavor at my apartment now!) The other one that I’m favoring is the West Indies Lime, which makes me feel like I’m at a spa — you know, with their fabulous lemon/lime water they serve post-treatment. If you like flavored waters, this is definitely a must-try…and if you’re not, maybe twist will convert you!

The twist brand is not available in all markets yet, but visit www.drinktwist.com for your nearest locations and for future distribution.

Between Thanksgiving feasts, company parties, Christmas cookies, and celebrations with friends, the average American consumes an extra 600 calories every single day between Thanksgiving and New Years! That being said, it’s important to squeeze in as many healthy meals and foods (and workouts!) as possible during this indulgent-filled time, with my personal recommendation of Siggi Icelandic yogurt! (more…)

As I’ve mentioned before (and before, and before), I have quite an addiction to cupcakes. In my mind, no vacation is complete without a cupcake crawl, and I always seek out and plan my route before my arrival. My San Francisco vacation was no exception, as I visited four cupcake bakeries; believe it or not, we even missed a few, and I actually learned there IS such a thing as cupcake overload!

Cako Bakery

Our first stop was newly opened Cako Bakery, located in bustling Union Square. Cako’s interior is minimal and teeny-tiny, so we decided to buy our cupcakes and run. Cako’s cupcakes are huge and beautiful, but overpriced at $3.50/cupcake. I sampled the Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcake; the peanut butter buttercream topped with crunchy salted peanuts was a delicious combination, but the cake was uninspired and boring. Cako offers many traditional flavors, as well as fun varieties like S’Mores and Andes Mint Chocolate Chip. (more…)

I’m more of a tea person than coffee, and really find that I sleep better at night when I don’t have caffeine.  I’m always on a quest to find yummy tea varieties with fruit blends beyond what my office Flavia machines offer, and Village Tea Company has produced one of my favorites, Sassy Green Tea with Acai, which is a soothing green tea with a citrusy, spicy kick to it thanks to real peach pieces and chilies in the blend.  For me, the challenge in fruit teas has been to find one with just the right amount of sweetness–I like something with just a bit of a sweet taste, that doesn’t leave a cloying taste in my mouth.

To provide a true tea experience, Village Tea Company doesn’t use tea bags but uses loose full leaf tea. To brew your tea, each canister comes with an unbleached, white drawstring bag that you can steep your tea in.  The bag is washable is can be re-used multiple times.  I typically let it sink for about 5 minutes to get a bull bodied flavor.

Village Tea Co features 10 different varieties of tea, each offering different health properties and anti-oxidants, and sassed up with different additional ingredients like strawberry and lemongrass.  I especially like that I can read the ingredient label for the tea and it isn’t composed of multi-syllable chemical compounds I can’t pronouncem but simple all natural ingredients like actual orange peel and ginger.  Each canister retails for $13.95 and you can find out where to purchase it by visiting the website.