Today is not only a beautiful day outside but also a great day to sit down on my big comfy couch (anyone remember that show!?) inside to tell you about my Friday favorites. I’ve come up with a conglomeration of what I’ve been tasting this week and share with you my excitement for the following week! So many fun things are planned, including Lollapalooza! Who’s going?!
I’ve wanted to go to Lollapalooza for the past two years and I promised myself that the first summer I lived in Chicago (and had an apartment to live in) I would buy tickets to Lolla. Despite who was playing or my occupation at the time, I would buy those tickets, request off and GO. Precisely what I’m doing next weekend! I bought myself and one of my best friends from Cleveland two tickets and they arrived last week. Woohoo!
I’ve got my line-up set for each day of the bands I want to see including alt-J, The Weeknd, Florence and the Machine, Marina and the Diamonds and Cold War Kids but I am also looking forward to hearing bands that I don’t know so well but have been slowly getting into. Coasts and The Wombats for example are two bands I’ve heard one or two songs by but have had on repeat all week.
Starting off with my first Friday favorite, I found this random Lollapalooza Spotify playlist a few days ago and when this song came on I got ADDICTED. Check it out! It’s a good one. Also, I am the minority who really does not care for Sam Smith but I’ve just thrown in “Like I Can” into my Lolla playlist. Looking forward to seeing him for sure!
Another favorite (I’ve had my eye on this baby for a while ever since I locked my eyes on it at Plum Market in Old Town) is CRUDE juice. CRUDE juice is based out of Detroit, Michigan not too far from Chicago. They are an organic, cold-pressed and non-gmo juice company that currently sells three different flavors titled Green #1, Orange #1 and Red #1. The photo above is their Red #1 with the tastiest ingredients ever… including GINGER! Total fan girl over ginger juices. It was my first time trying a drink with aloe vera AND coconut water and boy oh boy am I addicted.
The juice is fresh, crisp and clean. You have to shake it a bunch for the pulp to mix but it’s a nice treat on a hot summer day. I love fresh juices over crushed ice and this is no exception 🙂
Now who doesn’t love pizza?! The answer is most likely no one. In my last blog post I raved about how phenomenal the homemade pizza was at Siena Tavern but sometimes, we all need a little “healthy” pizza in our lives. I love healthy takes on American classics and the brand Simple Mills really knows how to pull through with that.
Simple Mills is a company based in Chicago (love local companies) that creates boxed baking mixes ranging from pumpkin muffins and pancakes to vanilla cake and pizza dough – all for $7.99 per box! They were kind enough to send me a box of their pizza dough mix which I was extremely eager to use since it only takes 20 minutes start to finish to create! Yay for healthy fast food, am I right?! That is less time than ordering a crappy fast-food pizza and have it at your front door would take. Right on.
I made mine early in the morning before work so I could have it for lunch and it was maaaaybe the best idea. I topped it with Organicville pizza sauce, sautéed zucchini and roasted red pepper, a little nutritional yeast, arugula and a dollop or two of cashew cheese sauce.
One box of pizza dough has 12 servings/slices but if you love it as much as I did, have fun eating 3 servings at a time! I split the dough into 2 mini pizzas and cut them into six pieces each for a small but really filling lunch. One slice has 8% of your daily fiber and 3g of protein so if you eat 2 or 3, you’re packing in protein WHILE eating delicious pizza! Not to mention, all products by Simple Mills contain minimal ingredients (this one has 8 to be exact) and are gluten-free.
All you need to do is blend the pizza mix with apple cider vinegar, water and olive oil and BOOM, pizza.
Sooo I went from pizza to waffles this week… but at least I had juice to balance it all out!? Oh wait, these are waffles packed with simple and REAL ingredients. All balanced out. And dairy-free chocolate chips. Meet one of my favorites this Friday: Double Dose Bakery toaster waffles. Double Dose Bakery was started by two identical twins from Texas, Alexis and Samantha. Two lovely ladies focusing on all things health, fashion and fitness.
These waffles are phenomenal because they require NO baking/mixing, just a pop in the toaster! Their secret ingredient? Coconut flour! It provides a hefty amount of protein (11g) and fiber (9g) per 2 waffles while also delivering a soft and doughy texture. I had one waffle with a bunch of toppings but due to how filling the coconut flour is, it was just the right amount of food. Alexis and Samantha sent me the chocolate chip variation (soy-free, dairy-free and wheat-free) but blueberry and original are also available on their site for purchase. The other ingredients go from eggs and honey to coconut oil and vanilla extract… my kinda goodies. Trust me, these waffles are a hit. Would I lie to you?
I topped mine with Trader Joe’s almond butter, berries and a banana. I dig it.
Last up for this Friday is the newest brand on the market that I’ve been crushing on: Hungry Root! Not only has Hungry Root inspired me to eat WAY more vegetables (as if I wasn’t already a veg-head), but they’ve “inspiralized” me to make veggie noodles. You’d be surprised how delicious vegetable noodles can be with the right sauces!
This one for example is Hungry Root’s sweet potato noodle dish with cashew alfredo. Everything about the words “cashew alfredo” have been googly eyed at my screen. Since the noodles are made from a high carbohydrate veggie, they are extremely filling and 100% delicious.
Lucky for you, if you use the code “CHICKPEA10” at checkout, you will get $10 off of your first purchase!
Who doesn’t love discounted food!? I know this foodie sure does.
That’s all for my favorites this week. What are YOU loving this week!? Let me know in the comments!
-Addie
