Product Review

…of the Strawberry Chobani!

Well, once again I was amazed at the wonderful texture of the Chobani. I was a little concerned that the texture would be negatively affected after mixing the yogurt with the fruit on the bottom, but it still stayed just as creamy. If anything there was added texture with the bits of real strawberries. Nutritionally, I’m still impressed:
(Photo taken from www.chobani.com). I love the high percentages of protein and calcium. And for someone like me (I realized today that I’ve definitely not been getting anywhere near 2,000 calories a day lately), the high levels of protein and calcium are an even greater percentage of my daily values.

My conclusion: if you like regular strawberry yogurt, you’ll LOVE Chobani strawberry greek yogurt.

Side-by-side comparison: I think I still may like the peach flavor more. Good thing I have a couple more to compare it to!

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Ross had the holiday party for his school tonight (he works at a special education elementary school). I was pretty excited about it, especially because everyone needed to bring something. What? An excuse to get busy in my kitchen? Well if I must.

The main side dish we brought were some home made mashed potatoes.

FYI that’s my biggest mixing bowl. Here’s what I used:

• 5 lb. bag of white potatoes (Publix, $1.99)
• 1 – 1, 1/2 c. fat free sour cream (prob. about $1.50)
• 4 T. unsalted Smart Balance butter
• kosher salt to taste
• about 1 T. garlic powder

I cut my potatoes into very tiny pieces because I’m impatient and want them to cook faster. Place all the potato pieces in a big pasta pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil (don’t put the potatoes in already boiling water). Once the potatoes are fork tender, drain the water and use a potato masher to mash the potatoes. While mashing, add in all your remaining ingredients.

I really do think it’s important that for something like this you do a tiny taste test (or someone close to you, like I did with my husband). Ultimately you’re going to know when your potatoes taste good. A lot of people like their potatoes saltier than I do, but others don’t like garlic, and others don’t want the extra tang from the sour cream. Completely up to you!

On a bargain-note, this was an incredibly affordable side dish to bring to the party. All but the potatoes and sour cream I had on hand, and I only paid $3.50 for those two things (and we have leftovers!). I encourage everyone to browse their grocery sale ads when considering items to bring to holiday parties!

I also threw together a quick dessert platter.
(Don’t you love the pretty paisley platter! We got it as a wedding present!)

Desserts included:

• Chocolate Chip Candy Cane Cookies
• Peppermint Cocoa Biscotti
• my mom’s Lemon Square bars (she sent some home with us post-Thanksgiving)
• Oatmeal Cookie Cloud Pumpkin Pie slices (super tiny slices, I had them in the freezer since I made them before Thanksgiving).
• garnish of pom seeds (aren’t they just like pretty Christmas crystals?)

Well we’re off to go enjoy a quiet movie evening. I truly hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Love,
LC