And all she could say was...

WOW!

WOW Baking Company, that is. This wheat and gluten-free baking company offered to send me a slew of their cookies and brownies and the day I turn down cookies is the day that pigs fly.
I opened up the box to marvel at the wide array of intriguing baked goods that were before me. The flavors made me salivate and the only issue I was having was determining which delight I would sink my teeth into first.

I opted to quell my sweet tooth with the Oregon Oatmeal Cookie and it made a great first impression.

I have never had an oatmeal cookie with this combo of ingredients and, let me tell you, IT WORKS!

Each all natural bite has a comforting, creamy sweetness to it, due to the combo of sugar and butter (2 of the first four ingredients).

An in-depth, well developed flavor captivates the chewy oat base; which is accentuated by the unique blend of dried apricots and cranberries, adding a fruity sweetness and another level of texture.

The next day, I was itching to try another variety and went for a tried and true favorite: Peanut Butter!

Oh buddy! These were so dense and moist that they reminded me of cookie dough or ultra chewy no bake cookies. The peanut butter flavor is delightfully pronounced!

Marvel at that dense, moist, chewy, nutty bite...

I'm so glad there is a box of these in my fridge because who knows how long it will be before I am sneaking my little paws back into that bright orange box! :) (an hour...maybe?)

And one more review...for good measure. I was in need of a sugar fix and when I spotted one of the cookies with a layer of sparkly sweetness atop the thick lemon-infused base, I looked no further.

Lemon Burst Cookie

My camera was so excited...it spazzed out just a bit.

Just like the others that came before, the overall texture of this cookie was so dense, moist and delightful. I'm lovin' it. I'm also lovin' the fragrant lemon aroma that is radiating from this cookie.

That layer of sugar up top not only adds an extra touch of sweetness, but also an element of crunch to the otherwise dense, soft, thick and chewy baked good!

MMM! The flavor tastes so natural (because it is!)...lemon-y goodness!

Okay, anymore of these sweet, lucious pictures and I am going to fall into a sugar coma. More WOW baking treats to come in the near future... :D

Baller Lunch

My lunch for today is, as my too-cool-for-school brother might say, BALLER! However, before we get to that, let's just have a moment of silence for my dessert last night. Straight up fruit with a touch of cocoa powder for good measure.

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Okay, moving on. I took a little inspiration from a certain Hangry Lady and mashed up about 1/3 cup black beans with 1/2 of a fairly large sweet potato. I broke into the spice cabinet and got attacked by the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, but I eventually made it out alive...paprika and oregano in hand!

Mash, mash, mash!

As you can see in the photo above, I added a cheese cube to the center of each bean ball. Because cheese makes everything better. :) Next, roll the little guys in lotsa ground flax!
I baked mine at about 375/400*F for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, I chopped up some mango and strawberries to make my morning go a bit more smoothly. These two beauties were so fresh and perfectly ripe. I had to pinch myself to realize it was not a dream.

BTW, mango and strawberries were a match made in heaven.

Eventually, I opted to pull the toasty balls outta the oven. It was 9:45 by this time (these are for lunch today!), but I couldn't resist breaking one open to see what went on within the flax-y exterior. I'm like a 5 year old on Christmas morning.

When's lunch?

You can get yourself a free sample of flax by entering your email into that little box on my right side bar, so if you have never given flax a try...DO IT! I plan to do a post on flax sometime in the future because I have gotten asked quite a few legit questions, including the following:

"I've seen flax around the blog world a lot, but I didn't really have any desire to try it. I really don't understand what it is or what it's for. Can you taste it? I prefer fats that taste good!!"

Why do you eat flax?

The Most Important Meal

As the old saying goes, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!". I think that all meals are pretty important, but there is no arguing with something ingrained in stone. There are so many roads that you could take to get to breakfast-land.

You've got the breakfast-on-the-go route, which typically involves a hefty granola bar for muah. These 18 Rabbits bars are tasty tasty. I reviewed them many moons ago: here and here.
Yogurt, fruit and whatever else you may have on hand always works when you are pressed for time. I like to use all natural plain yogurt and add my own sweetness in the form of a touch of brown sugar or a packet of truvia. I've got to have it SWEET. Although, I stumbled upon a great tip the other day. I grated an apple straight into the bowl, so as to retain all of the juice and sweeet goodness. Therefore, when I added my yogurt, there was enough juice to sweeten my boring plain yogurt to a delightful level. :)

Try it out!

Eggs are cheap, nutritious, delicious and versatile. I lurrrve them!

Mix 'em up with avocado for a real treat!

And sautee some tomatoes to join the party!
Or simply scramble 'em up and serve some vibrant berries alongside.

BAGELS!

My roommate and I made bagels this weekend and it was not nearly as intense as I thought it would be.

Carbs are always a winner in the morning. Get your day off to a grrrreat start!

The recipe is top secret because it came from a cookbook (don't ya hate that!), but here are two recipes that look similar...One and Two. p.s. This should be illegal. :)

Favorite Breakfast item?

Color is the Spice of Life...Ho Ho Ho

I have an odd menagerie of photos to share with you on this lovely friday. HELLO WEEKEND! :) I don't really have anything planned, but it's always nice to have a little break from the daily work week. Speaking of work, I got some nice filets of fish from work (working with food is right up my alley!) and decided to try splitting and breading them. I broke them along their natural lines into little sticks and dipped them in a bit of melted butter before letting them take a swim in the sea of ground flax seed and bread crumbs!
Sweet Potato Fries and a dallop of honey mustard seemed to be the perfect addition.

On to the fruity portion of this post. The fruit of the week seemed to be peaches. Who knows why, but it felt like everytime I turned around, I was reaching for this juicy, sweet fruit.

I plated one of my peaches with a champagne mango, which seemed like an odd pairing.

However, you could stick pickles and avocado on a plate, cover it in peanut butter and we would be in business. Okay, so that might not be very tasty, but any fruit would jive for sure!!

Some other peaches jumped into my oats prior to entering the sauna (aka microwave) and came out steamy and hot, hot. They then proceeded to jump in my mouth...carrying the fluffy, sweet oats with them. :)

Yogi Bear! That is what just came to mind when I was about to type yogurt. Some things have no explanation. What I also have no explanation for is the fact that this innocent bowl of plain yogurt (sweetened with a bit of truvia and a splash of vanilla) was abruptly transformed into a sinful treat.

Because the UPS man might as well just wear a Santa Clause suit and say "ho ho ho", as he hands me a package and I rush to the living room to rip open the box. All that I need is a Christmas tree in the living room to complete the picture.

Mom knows best.

I had taken about one bite of my sub-par yogurt prior to santa knockin' on my door and when I saw the M&M's in the box...well, there was no turning back.

Ahh...color is the spice of life.

What spice are you?

Lastly, I became a proud member of the Blizzard Fan Club the other day (I have been a silent member since the age of... two). In thanks for finally professing my dedication to the club, they sent me a buy one 16oz blizzard, get one free coupon (apparently you get 6 per year!) . I used it that night.

Blizzard of the Month: Strawberry Golden Oreo Blizzard

My regret of not getting something chocolate was GONE with the first bite. This is PHENOMENAL!!

And here is a sneak peek of some baking action that is to come! :)

What are your favorite fruit pairings?

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Are you doing any baking this weekend? What's on the menu?