You all know how much I heart Foodbuzz. Now look at all these awesome samples that I heart as well (from the afternoon tasting). I can’t possibly post everything I tried, but here are the pictures that came out well.

Brandi’s Stuffed French Toast:

Sabrina’s Egg White Veggie Frittata Muffins:

Frog Hollow Farm’s dried fruits (and Warren pears! So amazing).

Frog Hollow Farm also had a variety of chutneys and conserves, which were incredible. This was my favorite booth of the afternoon.

Some kind of shrimp and scallop ceviche from Fuego (can’t find a link):

A cool table with non-traditional shortbread made by Botanical Bakery:

Handmade marshmallows (pumpkin was one of the flavors) by Gateau et Ganache:

Chocolate covered nuts. I brought some of these home for Bobby and he has been calling them "poo balls". They are delicious despite their odd nickname.

My favorite candy of the day, made by Nina. Her Single Malt Scotch Bar was awesome.

Annie the Baker’s cookies. Amazingly buttery and delicious. They tasted just like cookie dough.

p.o.p. candy’s toffee – I had so much of the chai one. It had nuts and dried fruit.

Yummy (and pretty) chocolates.

Fabulous spreads.

479 Popcorn. My favorite was the curry (odd because I don’t like Indian food).

My other favorite dish of the day – Vineyard Pantry’s Autumn Savory Tartlets (little pastry filled with wild rice, butternut squash, blue cheese mustard, cheese, and more). I can’t wait to experiment with their products.

A crazy cool beet meringue goat cheese savory dessert thing. It was a work of art (and quite tasty).

Olives.

Shannon’s savory bread pudding.

I still have pictures from dinner, but I’ll save them. I met so many amazing people, including Emily from Foodzie – what a cool woman. That is a company I would love to work for.

A big thanks to FOODBUZZ for an amazing weekend.

In other news… wish me luck – we’re moving this week. (We’re taking off Tuesday instead of Monday.) Road trip from Sunnyvale to Princeton with two cats. Will be interesting.

Happy Monday! (Or Sunday, if you’re up late.) What did you do this weekend?

I’m sitting by the door waiting for kids to come trick-or-treating. I have a nice treat basket filled with random samples of things that I’ve gotten (thanks, Whole Foods!), YummyEarth lollipops, Reese’s cups (my favorite), and “Grape Coconut Jelly” (interesting Asian candy things that Bobby gets). (Don’t forget about the YummyEarth discount – good until November 15th.)

We didn’t get any kiddies last year, and I don’t know if we will this year either. Do you get trick-or-treaters?

Earlier today Bobby joked, “Maybe the reason Americans are becoming obese is that we focus on candy for every holiday and on Halloween we buy too much so we have extra left over. I bet other countries don’t do this.” But he’s right. Trick-or-treating is a very North American thing (Canadians do it too). It’s done in the US, the UK, Canada, parts of Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Ireland. Apparently it’s been introduced in Italy and New Zealand (because of American culture infiltrating the media), but it’s been pretty controversial. Stuffing your face with candy seems to be a uniquely American thing to do.

As a kid I loved halloween. I don’t think I cared too much about the candy, to be honest. I did love dressing up. My mom always helped me and made elaborate costumes. I’ve been everything from a witch, to a pumpkin, to a bag of jelly beans (so cute), to a little Dutch girl with clogs, to a witch again, to a hippie… Well, you get the idea.

Of course I ate my candy – who wouldn’t? But I remember saving it for ages (I always “save” things for the “best” time) and ending up throwing most of it away after it went bad a few months later. This is the same way I treat most nice things I own; I save them for opportune times, but often the opportune time never comes and I regret saving whatever it is. Living in the moment is probably a better idea, anyway. And who wants to save something like calories? That shouldn’t doesn’t make sense.

But back to Halloween – it’s a shame that we can’t give out candied apples or homemade cookies anymore. I think that would be the best way to celebrate.

[Aside: we just got a kid! A little alligator! So cute.]

Am I being too cynical? Should I just accept that (most) Americans glorify unhealthiness because it’s “the land of the free” and we can pretty much do what and eat what we want without thinking of the consequences? I think I’m getting too pensive for a Saturday night, so I’ll stop there. Hope you all enjoyed your Halloweens.

YummyEarth was kind enough to send me samples of their organic gummy bears and their organic vitamin C lollipops just in time for Halloween. (They’re also hosting a giveaway over at HealthyYum!) All of their candies are Gluten Free, Egg-free, Dairy-free, Peanut-free, Tree Nut free, high fructose corn syrup-free, Wheat-free, Soy-free, NO MSG, 100% Natural Colors, No chemical dyes, Real Fruit Extracts, 100% Natural Flavors, Certified Organic, and Kosher Parve.

The gummy bears are fat-free and they are made with real fruit juice. They have 100% of your vitamin C. The flavors are pomegranate pucker, strawberry smash, and sour apple tart. The vitamin C pops come in strawberry smash, tooberry blueberry, and razzmatazz berry. Bobby and I tried both products, and here is what we thought. Bobby’s reviews are amusing.

Pops review:

1. Bobby: “These are amazing lollipops even if you don’t care about organic stuff. They remind me of the doctor’s office, which sounds bad, but the doctor’s office had great lollipops. They’re the perfect size; they’re not huge, and they don’t have gunk in the center.”
2. Maggie: “I thought these were great. The flavor is perfect, they’re fresh, and I feel good about eating them.”

Gummy Bears review:

1. Bobby: “These gummy bears are a little bit softer than the ones I’m used to (Haribo). But they’re still good! I liked the flavors a lot. They weren’t too sweet, which I liked.”
2. Maggie: “I normally dislike gummy bears because they are way too chewy… these had a nice amount of chew. I love that they didn’t get stuck in my teeth and I enjoyed the (not too sweet) flavor.”

If you don’t believe us, YummyEarth wants you to try their goodies for yourself.

YummyEarth is offering a 20% discount off for orders of $25 or more thru November 15th for Say Yes to Salad readers – just enter the code “healthyyum” at the checkout!

I will be ordering these guys for Halloween treats. YummyEarth also sent us 2 of their mini bags of gummy bears (good for treats, or if you lack self control like I do) but we ate them before I got a picture.

What’s your favorite candy? When I was younger I loved those frozen Snickers bars… someone should come up with a healthier version of that.

Happy news – my dad is visiting next Thursday (the 22nd)!

I made these on Saturday night, right before Bobby and I went out to dinner with the cousins. They are perfect for breakfast, dessert, or even a snack. They’re fairly healthy, but they are really flavorful and delicious. I had them for breakfast 2 days in a row. You could veganize them by using an egg substitute.

I say this about a lot of things, but you *must* make these. You will not be disappointed!

Goji Nut Biscotti

Ingredients (makes ~12 small biscotti)

• 1 cup oat bran
• 1/3 cup quick cooking oats (instant) (can sub with flour or oat bran)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 dashes of salt
• 1 teaspoon spice (cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice)
• 1 egg + 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup sweetener (I used Trader Joe’s stevia)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup goji berries
• 1/4 chopped nuts of choice (see notes below)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Soak the goji berries in hot water.
3. Mix together the oat bran, oats, baking soda, salt, and spices.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat this pretty well.
5. Slowly add the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Drain the berries and add them, and then add the nuts. The dough should be dry enough so that you can work with it. If it’s not, add a bit more oat bran (or don’t add all of the egg mixture).
6. Spray a cooking pan with non-stick spray and shape the dough into a long log shape, about 1/2 – 3/4 of an inch high. You can top with extra nuts or oats. Bake this for 20 minutes.
7. Remove the log from the oven and reduce heat to 300F. Cut the log into pieces and bake them on one side for 15 minutes. Take them out, turn them over, and bake them for another 15 minutes. If they are still not hard, turn them again and cook for 10 more minutes.
8. Enjoy dipped in coffee, tea, peanut butter, or plain.

For the nuts I used these things I found in the Asian grocery store called “olive kernels” (seen above). I recognize the flavor, but I have no idea what they really are, or if maybe they have another name. The nut is definitely used in a Christmas cookie that I have every year, but I cannot remember which cookie and I have been unable to find out anything online.

Help! Do you know what these nuts might be?