Truffles + Macadamias + Dates

Rating: 10/10

Snack mix of chocolate truffles, macadamia nuts, and deglet noor dates. My three favorite tiny round foods eaten together = perfect combo. Like a super awesome bag of trail mix to carry around and snack on throughout the day. Got to fight the urge to down it all in one sitting though. Really, what's not to love? The sweet, rich, melty chocolate. The crunchy, smooth and salty macadamia. The chewy, caramel sweet dates (from Tunisia apparently, makes me want to go there next).

Nutrition:

• 5 Truffettes de France Truffles = 250 Calories, 2g fiber, 8g sugar, 10% of daily Iron
• Savanna Orchards Gourmet Dry Roasted Macadamias (1/4 cup) = 210 Calories, 2g fiber, 115mg Sodium
• Made in Nature Delectable Deglet Noor Dates (1/4 cup) = 120 Calories, 3g fiber, 28g sugar

Total Calories = 580
A bunch of fiber here. Quite substantial snack, keeps you full for awhile.

Pu-Er Tea + French Vanilla Creamer

Rating: 10/10

A cup of hot Pu-Er tea with French vanilla coffee creamer. Eh whatever works for coffee works for tea. Basically just tea with milk English style here. But oh so delicious! So! I'm practically addicted. I think it's just that the sweet, vanilla-y creamer blended with the odd oaky, roasted flavor of Pu-Er makes the whole thing taste like chocolate to me. Yet not quite like hot chocolate. It's got such a unique character to it I just can't get enough.

Fried Egg + Super Chop Salad

Rating: 10/10

Fried egg dripping in yolk tossed over a salad of baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, avocado, basil, mozzarella, garlic croutons, dried cranberries, almonds, pistachios, sunflower seeds, sautéed tofu, and thousand island dressing. Been totally obsessed with salad creations lately. Funny I've never been much into salads until I realized I can add anything I want into it and still call it a salad as long as it has some basic raw vegetables in the mix. So began my awesome salad journeys. First up, topping a super-salad with a crispy, yolky sunny-side up egg. So much taste and chew in this masterpiece. The key to deliciousness is really to chop it all up with a giant knife while in a giant bowl to get all the flavors mixing before tossing it with the dressing. Can't wait to try more new salad combos!


Nutrition:

• 2 cups of Earthbound Farm Organic Baby Spinach = 14 Calories, 2g fiber, 112% of daily Vitamin A, 28% of daily Vitamin C, 10% of daily Iron
• cup of Nature Sweet Cherry Tomatoes = 27 Calories, 2g fiber, 25% of daily Vitamin A, 32% of daily Vitamin C
• 1/2 Calavo Avocado =  140 Calories, 5g fiber, 15% of daily Folate, 13% of daily Vitamin C, 10% of daily Vitamin B6, 10% of daily Riboflavin
• sprig of Lucinda's Specialty Produce Basil = 1 Calorie
• thick slice of Formaggio Fresh Mozzarella = 160 Calories, 300mg Sodium, 30% of daily Calcium
• cup of Fresh Gourmet Seasoned Organic Croutons = 280 Calories, 560mg Sodium, 16% of daily Iron
• 3 spoonfuls of Kirkland Signature Fruit & Nuts = 150 Calories, 2g fiber, 11g sugar
• 2 spoonfuls of America's Choice Roasted Salted Sunflower Seeds = 170 Calories, 115mg Sodium, 3g fiber
• 1/2 block of Soonyeowon Soft Tofu sautéed = 270 Calories, 2g fiber, 32% of daily Iron, 20% of daily Calcium
• 6 spoonfuls of Walden Farms Thousand Island Dressing = 0 Calories, 870mg Sodium, 30% of daily Vitamin B12, 30% of daily Vitamin E
• fried egg = 95 Calories, 15% of daily Iron

Total Calories = 1,307
Not skimping on the Calories here. But totally worth it. Super nutritious and kept me full for half the day. A lot of Sodium though, no wonder I was so thirsty afterwards.

Oreo Gelato + Bread Pudding

Rating: 10/10

Oreo gelato over freshly baked and glazed chocolate-caramel bread pudding. The combo's probably been done before since it's basically the same idea as a hot fudge brownie sundae. But so much better. The cold, creamy, sweet ice cream with the warmth of the sweet, chewy, moist cakey-pudding texture is just perfection. Any time these two amazing things can be put together, never not choose this option! Neither would meet its full potential without the other.
(eaten @ Phillips Flagship, Washington DC)

Rotisserie Chicken + Babaganush + Naan Bread

Rating: 10/10

Creamy, garlicy eggplant babaganush and savory seasoned rotisserie chicken wrapped in hot-off-the-toaster-oven fluffy, chewy naan bread. It's basically the lazy man's chicken gyro. The babaganush is the glue that holds it all together and ramps up the flavor. This is like my favorite meal concoction right now and the last two meals I've had. Add in some fennel and/or arugula, this may be unstoppable.

Nutrition:

• 1/6 Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken = 140 Calories, 460mg Sodium
• 2 large scoops of Golden Taste Eggplant Babaganush Dip = 160 Calories, 280mg Sodium, 2g fiber
• Reya Tandoor Baked Naan = 280 Calories, 740mg Sodium, 2g fiber, 16'% of daily Iron

Total Calories = 580
Wow that's a lot of Sodium. No wonder I drank like 3 bottles of water afterwards.

Madeleines + Nutella

Rating: 10/10

Madeleine cookies dipped in nutella. I don't even remember when I first thought of combining these two amazing little European delights, but the result is orgasmic. The taste of nutella is so overpowering it goes best with light tasting things. Otherwise it just masks whatever else you eat it with, which is fine if you just want to taste the nutella. And why not right, nutella is amazing in its own right. But These buttery sweet and moist cookies that are like mini cakes but with a slight shell outside are just the right match for nutella's shot of creamy chocolate hazelnut deliciousness. Perfect with a glass of milk, too.

Nutrition:

• 3 spoonfuls of Ferrero Nutella = 300 Calories,1.5g fiber, 32g sugar
• 3 Superior Cake Products Madeleines = 330 Calories, 21g sugar, 12% of daily Vitamin A

Total Calories = 630
Pretty rich snack but totally worth it. If I was going to waste Calories on anything, this would be it. And this is relatively filling, kept me full for awhile.

Cookie Butter + Pumpkin Butter + Half-baked Roll

Rating: 10/10

It's like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but better. Cookie butter has the consistency of peanut butter and pumpkin butter the consistency of jam, except it also tastes like eating graham crackers and pumpkin pie at the same time. Yummers! And half-baked ciabatta rolls beat regular bread any day of the week. I'm no fan of crust. Aww breakfast today was all Trader Joe's. Quick and easy, ready to run! The beauty is in the simplicity.

Nutrition:

• 2 spoonfuls of Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter = 180 Calories, 10g sugar
• 2 spoonfuls of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter = 80 Calories, 18g sugar, 20% of daily Vitamin A
• Trader Joe's Half Baked Idea French Roll = 130 Calories, 300mg Sodium, 10% of daily Iron

Total Calories = 390
Less sugar than I expected. Plus some Vitamin A and Iron. Nutrition-wise not bad, not great.

Fennel Arugula + Breaded Chicken + Cherry Garcia

Rating: 10/10

Salad, dessert, and entree all in one. This is what a complete meal is all about. Really, why wait when you can combine for the maximum taste trip? Breaded chicken seasoned with cumin and Italian herbs goes perfectly well eaten with the fennel arugula salad as it does covered in Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream. The salty, savory, herby kick of the chicken is the center point of the meal with the ice cream and salad as alternating sides. I have to say stir fried fennel and raw arugula make the best salad combo: the anise crunch of the fennel and the punch of whatever it is you call the taste of arugula. I'd be happy to eat it just on its own. Same with the ice cream. But the chicken is naked without its sides.