Opera Singer in the Kitchen

Artistry in Food, Music, and Life

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    Morning Oatmeal Squares with Quality Yacón Syrup {Review + Recipe}

    March 24th, 2014
    I received a bottle to sample and create in a recipe. All opinions are my own.


    Every weekend I try planning our breakfast menus by making a large batch of crock pot oatmeal for the week. When I prepare it I sometimes add honey, molasses, coconut sugar, and at last resort, brown sugar.It is hard making sure that I am not bringing up my children to learn to be hooked on sugar. I see myself and really try to make a effort to minimize my intake but sometimes it is just plain hard.


    I remember taking a sugar break with my husband 2 years ago and noticing how quickly I lost weight. The cravings were gone and my energy was increased. My dependency on sugar was far behind me. Now 2 years later, I find myself in the same boat. Instead of a sugary treat at my lowest energy point in the early afternoon, I make sure to take a protein shake. Even though I try substituting coconut sugar and molasses with white sugar, it is sometimes hard not to continue feeling that craving.


    I recently had a chance to try a low-glycemic sweetener called yacón syrup, which is produced from the yacón root and grown in the Andes region of Columbia and Argentina. The perennial plant is compared to the Jerusalem artichoke and sunflower, but is considered to have amazing flavor and health benefits. This syrup was been featured on the Dr. Oz show and was tested on many women to prove the following benefits of yacón.

    Yacón Benefits
    Substantial weight loss

    1. Dramatically reduces waist size 
    2. Ultra-low in calories
    3. Functions as a prebiotic, increasing digestive tract health
    4. Prebiotic effect boosts immunity
    5. Strong digestive tract health is associated with weight loss
    6. Does not cause blood glucose levels to rise/useful for diabetics
    7. Amazingly sweet and tasty
    8. Can easily be used to replace sugar in cooking
    9. Clinically proven to be very effective

    The edible tubers of yacón contain up to 50% of fructooligosaccharides or FOS which is very unique. FOS  are an indigestible polysaccharide that consists of low doses of fructose which make the yacón very sweet, but also very low in calories.  It also has a strong prebiotic and could dramatically boost the number of friendly bacteria that is created in the digestive tract.


    The flavor of the yacón syrup was indeed very sweet but I did not feel the craving for more or the drop in sugar levels after the dose of syrup.It definitely reminded me of unsulphured molasses with its dark color and caramel flavors. While I was instructed that I could take 1 teaspoon three times before meals as a supplement, I also tried the syrup in my cooking.

    I made a coffee drink, substituting the sugar for the yacón, making for a delicious night cap. I made my own bowls of oatmeal with 2 teaspoons of the yacón syrup and powdered peanut butter, hemp seeds, coconut oil which made for a very satisfying breakfast. I also made some fancy breakfast oatmeal squares instead of having a normal bowl of oatmeal. I also placed them in my protein smoothies.


    Now I do not usually endorse a product that does not work, but I feel like the yacón syrup has helped with minimizing my sugar intake. I’ve lost weight because I am eating better but not only because I am using this syrup. It only makes sense that if I am taking out sugar from my diet that I will naturally lose weight. I love the fact that the syrup is high in fiber and low in calories so while I do not rely on the syrup for losing weight I can only hope that it is aiding in my weight loss. I like the fact that it is promoted to be a metabolism booster because as a mother of 2 young girls, God knows I need some boosting.

    I do like the fact that it is all natural and it only contains the ingredient it promotes. Quality Yacón Syrup can be purchased through Amazon for $26.99 for a 8-ounce bottle. Check out my recipe using the syrup in a simple way.

    Morning Oatmeal Squares with Quality Yacón Syrup

    by Noelle Kelly
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes

    Ingredients (12 squares)
    • 2 cups gluten-free oatmeal
    • 4 cups water
    • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • 2 teaspoons ground vanilla powder
    • 2 Tablespoons flax seed meal
    • 3 Tablespoons hemp seeds
    • 1/4 cup Quality Yacon Syrup
    • 2 Tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil
    Instructions

    Boil water in large pot on high heat. Add cinnamon and flax seed meal. Once water begins boiling, add the oatmeal. Lower to medium heat and stir oatmeal occasionally for 10 minutes. The water should be fully absorbed in the oatmeal but not dry. If it is still not completely evaporated, cook for another 5 minutes.

    Remove from heat and add the hemp seeds, vanilla powder, yacon syrup, and coconut oil.

    Spray a 9×9 glass pan with coconut oil spray. Add the oatmeal to the pan and spread evenly. Cool to room temp and refrigerate. Cut into 12 squares. Can be eaten for breakfast or as snacks.

    Drizzle slices with more cinnamon and yacon syrup.
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    Orchid Extravaganza at Longwood Gardens

    March 21st, 2014
    Disclosure: I”m a Longwood Gardens Mom Ambassador. I was given a family membership by Longwood Gardens. As always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.
    Have you checked out the Orchid extravaganza at Longwood Gardens? I finally got out to Kennett Square with my mother while she was in town to check out the extravaganza and it was great! Orchids are one of my favorite flowers and so, as you can imagine, I was overtaken by the amount of orchids we were able to see.


    If you get a chance, the exhibit is in the conservatory and runs until March 30th.

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    Crunchy Gluten-Free Chicken Tacos with Cabbage-Mango Slaw

    March 20th, 2014
    I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

    It has been nice not having to cook the last few days seeing my mother has been in town. After a few days of being away with my husband in our own city, it was hard to get into my regular schedule. My husband and I visited many beautiful places in Philadelphia and even had a tough time deciding where we should eat our meals. Most of the meals we ate were very well though through and either gourmet or super gourmet. One of the most interesting details I saw on every menu were the gluten-free and vegan options on the menu available for those with those specific eating lifestyles. Even though I am not vegan or gluten-free I found myself ordering from those menu items just to test the gluten-free recipes.


    When I look in my recipe box, I realize that most of the time I cook gluten-free because I really enjoy cooking with corn tortillas. Even though I am not a great menu planner, my husband gives me suggestions to plan for the week. There is always something on the menu with a Mexican flair whether they are tacos, tostadas, or enchiladas. While these all sound a bit tiring and labor intensive, I have found ways to make these meals quick, especially for this busy mom of two.

    Something we occasionally like doing as a family is going to our local Sam’s store for some of our staples. We try not to go to Sam’s too hungry because there are always great demos with tasty samples to try for new featured products. On March 14th I was able to go on my own to Sam’s, during my lunch hour, to do a little bit of shopping. 

    While I was shopping I walked by the frozen section to check the protein options. I saw the frozen fish demo and then turned my attention to the delicious smelling chicken. There was nothing on the station yet but the gentleman who was preparing the chicken told me how he thawed the already cooked chicken in a convection oven. Tyson Gluten Free Grilled and Ready Chicken Breast Fillets were being featured rubbed with some seasoned salt. I could not wait to take a bag home with me to make my own dish.

    As I was planning one of our family meals, I was happy to know that I was not going to handle any raw meat because one of the facts I recently realized is that I do not like handling raw meat. It makes me cringe at times.


    I quickly placed these chicken fillets in the oven and thawed for around 18 minutes. I took them out and shred them and added a little lime and pepper and set them aside while I prepared the crunchy taco shells. They were so easy to prepare with no frying involved.

    Our family is used to having a cabbage slaw with fish tacos but I knew I had to try a new slaw for the chicken tacos. My biggest pet peeve is having soggy tacos because the slaw is to watery and softens the tortillas. These tacos stayed put and were very crunchy.


    The perfect topping for these tacos was a subtle spicy avocado cream with some cotija cheese sprinkled on top. I’ll let you know a little secret though. We ate these for breakfast because it was hard to wait for dinner. Yes. They were that tasty and I look forward adding this to our menu every other week especially since I have the convenience of already cooked chicken at the tip of my fingers.


    Head over to your local Sam’s store to see your own food demos on April 4th, 5th and even on May 4th. Check out Tyson chicken at #CookItGF and #CollectiveBias for more great posts, recipes and more.

    #Ad Crunchy Gluten-Free Chicken Tacos with Cabbage-Mango Slaw

    by Noelle Kelly
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Ingredients (12 tacos)

    Shredded Chicken

    • 4 Tyson Gluten Free Grilled & Ready Chicken Breast Fillets
    • lime juice

    Corn Tortilla Tacos

    • 12 yellow corn tortillas (gluten-free)

    Cabbage-Mango Slaw

    • 3 cups finely shredded cabbage
    • 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
    • 1 cup fresh mango, chopped
    • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
    • 3 Tablespoon olive oil
    • 1/2 orange, juiced
    • 1/2 lime, juiced
    • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 Tablespoon honey
    • salt and pepper to season

    Avocado Cream

    • 1 large avocado, pitted
    • 2 Tablespoons sour cream
    • 2 Tablespoons water
    • 2 Tablespoons sriracha sauce
    • 1/2 lime, juice (2 Tablepoons juice)
    • salt to taste

    1/2 cup Cotija Cheese

    Instructions
     

    Shredded Chicken

    Thaw and heat chicken according to package details. Remove from oven and cool then shred the chicken by slicing with a knife. Set aside and sprinkle with some lime juice.
     

    Corn tortilla Tacos

    Preheat oven at 425 F and place each tortilla directly on the oven rack between two bars. The tortillas will naturally start drooping over the oven bars. Bake for 6-7 minutes. They will look a little golden brown. Remove with tongs and place on a separate cookie sheet.
     

    Cabbage-Mango Slaw

    Shred the cabbage and place in a medium bowl. Add the olive oil and massage the cabbage with the oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
     

    Avocado Cream

    Blend all the ingredients with an immersion blender or regular blender.
     

    Assembly

    Add 2-3 Tablespoons shredded chicken (warm or cold) into taco shell and place 2-3 Tablespoons of slaw. Drizzle some avocado cream and sprinkle with some cotija cheese.
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    Happy National Pi(e) Day: Lightened Banoffee Pie

    March 14th, 2014


    This is my first year celebrating National Pi Day with a slice of homemade pie. Did you know that Pi day was deemed an actual national holiday by the House of Representatives in 2009. Now I do not actually know if everyone started eating pie 5 years ago, but I think it is a wonderful idea! I should have been celebrating it since math was one of my favorite subjects in school.

    How about a nerdy fact that I learned? We need to celebrate it even bigger next year because, according to USA Today, at exactly 3/14/15; 9:26:53, it will show the first ten digits of Pi in perfect order. So cool!

    So what pie did I choose to commemorate this day? I actually have been keeping my eye on a specific recipe for the past 6 months from my Dessert recipe board on Pinterest called Banoffee Pie from une gamine dans la cuisine. The pictures of the recipes are what always what capture my attention but I could not muster the richness of the dessert, so I decided to lighten the original recipe. 

    What is dessert if not prepared the way it was intended? The recipe calls for 4 steps of sinful goodness, but I was challenged to produce something lighter because I know what dulce de leche and bananas foster taste by themselves.

    While the original recipe is almost 800 calories a slice, my recipe turned out to be almost 300 calories a slice. Yes. My husband took an extra slice because it was THAT good, even with this lightened version.


    So what did I do? I used low-fat dulce de leche instead of the full-fat version. Instead of graham crackers I used Goya’s Palmeritas, which are Spanish cookies. Even though I like making my own whipped cream, I decided to use Cool Whip, which I only use on occasion, which was simply perfect for this dessert. I know there is no comparison but my hubby and I are making it a point to watch our dessert intake. The bananas foster used coconut sugar, less butter and rum and was so delicious. I could have eaten that on its own.

    This layered pie was amazing and was really hard for me to stick to one slice, but maybe I will share with my mother, who comes into town tomorrow. Want a slice? Come on over and share a cup of coffee on this brilliant mathematical day.

    Lightened Banoffee Pie

    by Noelle Kelly
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes

    Ingredients (8 slices)
    • 1 whole package of Goya Palmeritas cookies, crushed
    • 2/3 cup Gaucho Ranch Dulce De Leche Milk Caramel Spread or any low-fat version
    • 1 stick salted butter, divided
    • 3 bananas
    • 2 teaspoons Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla powder
    • 1/8 cup rum
    • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
    • 1 cup cool whip, thawed
    Instructions


    Crust

    Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

    Place cookies in a food process and pulse until the cookies are fine crumbs. Add 1/8 cup of the coconut sugar and add 6 Tablespoons of melted butter into the crumbs and pulse until mixed.

    Place cookie crumbs into a 9-inch pie plate. Press crumbs onto the pie plate and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and cool crust for 20-30 minutes.

    Caramelized Bananas

    Melt the remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter in a non-stick pan and add the mashed bananas, vanilla, 1/8 cup coconut sugar and rum. Cook for 10 minutes on medium high heat until the mixture is caramelized. Place bananas in a bowl to cool for 20-30 minutes. Set aside.

    Assembly

    Add 2/3 cup dulce de leche to the bottom of the cookie crust. Spread evenly. Place the cooled banana mixture on top of the dulce de leche and also spread evenly. The last layer is the thawed cool whip.

    Place pie in the fridge to cool or flash cool in the freezer for 30 minutes, which is what we did. Serves 8.
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    Check out other recipes and ideas for 
    National Pi(e) Day!

    How to Make a Pi Shaped Pie to Celebrate National Pi Day on 3.14



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    Nûby™ Gator Grip™ Pop-up™ Sipper {Review}

    March 12th, 2014
    Disclosure: This review is part of my partnership with Nuby as a Mom Ambassador. I have received this product to review and all opinions are my own.

    The life of a mother and her kid’s sippy cup. I love every innovation of sippy cup we have had come through our house in the past 2 years. Some have been successful and some others have been duds. How else can one really find out which is good or not without blowing the budget? It would be easier just teaching your child to drink out of a regular cup as soon as possible.

    Our toddler has been enjoying her Gator Grip Sipper for a while now and she has taken to it. When she first tried it, milk dribbled out of her mouth, but now she is an expert sipper. She could be running her soccer drills and grabbing her sipper but for now she is just running away from her younger sister who is one step away from stealing this sipper.


    We have transitioned Julianne from her other straw cups and have been only using straw cups at home and at times this sipper to prevent spills. I have placed green smoothies in them and they have been great! Sometimes it has leaked but I believe it because I had not sealed it well. We are still using this cup and I assume before I know it, my 13 month old will start too.

    I like the durable spout but the only thing we have issues with is having my toddler remember to close the spout. We have had a few small spills in the car but nothing to drastic. Here are a few more details about this sipper:

    Gator Grip™ Pop-up™ Sipper
              • 2 years +
              • 15oz / 450ml
              • Pop-up™ spout
              • Free flow
              • Fun bright colors
              • Perfect for on the go drinking
              • BPA FREE

    Where would you be able to find these cool looking sippers?

    Available at these retailers:

    To know more about these products or to find out about Nûby’s contests or promotions follow them on
    Twitter or Facebook

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