Category — What I'm Loving

Meringues! 

It’s February, one month closer to fewer clothes and lighter loads . . . I won’t lie to you guys, I have a killer sweet tooth.  It’s nearly impossible for me to give up sugar entirely (and then I have the whole “forbidden fruit” thing going on that makes me want it more).  So when I want to indulge, I need to do it strategically.  Sometimes you need the whole enchilada – a brownie, a cookie made with butter, a piece of cake with frosting.  But sometimes you just need a sweet.  Enter the meringue.  They’re made of egg whites, sugar and maybe some cream of tartar.  Nothin’ else.  A pure, naturally fat-free hit of sugar.  You can crunch ‘em, or you can let them melt in your mouth . . . your choice, it’s all good.

The ones I’ve been eating lately are Spaan’s brand, which I picked up at Whole Foods. They’re small meringues, and you can have 14 of them for just 100 calories.  If you’re into quantity, these are for you.  Plus, they come in interesting flavors like lemon and dulce de leche – move over, chocolate and vanilla . . . . swimsuit season, here we come!

© 2010, Semi-Sweet. All rights reserved.

My new love is relatively new to the market – Rachel’s Cottage Cheese.  Some of you may have tried Rachel’s yogurts – they come in funky, exotic flavors (Vanilla Chai, Pomegranate Acai).  I have actually never tried those – I’m such a plain Greek yogurt fan, so I figured I’d save myself from getting hooked on another relatively-expensive indulgence.

But when I saw that Rachel’s was out with some interestingly flavored cottage cheese cups, and that they were each around 130 calories with around 14 grams of protein, it piqued my interest.  I found them last week at the Fresh Pond Whole Foods and I am already on my second batch of them.

So far, I’ve tried the Pomegranate Orange Cranberry, the Pear Mangosteen, the Sundried Tomato Pesto and the Cucumber Dill.  The only two I haven’t been able to find are the Roasted Red Pepper and the Lemon Verbena Berry.  I don’t have a favorite – I love all that I’ve tried and whether I’d reach for sweet or savory depends on my mood at the moment.  They’ve got a nice creamy taste, and because there’re no artificial flavors, the pomegranate and orange tastes like real fruit, the cucumber dill is very fresh and zippy with good veggie/herb flavor, etc.  Almost as if you made it up yourself.

So while I remain a big fan of plain cottage cheese with my own mix-ins, this is a convenient, portion-controlled option, with mix-ins that I wouldn’t necessarily take time to do myself.  I’ve been most often having one as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack and the protein provides a nice hold-over ’til lunch or dinner.

Here’s the link to Rachel’s Dairy if you want to get the lowdown for yourself . . . .

© 2009, Semi-Sweet. All rights reserved.