Chiorganicgirls Meatless Monday: Grillable Veggie Burgers

Posted on July 25, 2016 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

July is National Grilling Month and it’s been a scorcher in Chicago. With all the BBQs and back yard grilling bonanzas this month, adding some veggie burgers to the mix can happify those who don’t wanna have a cow. Humans are naturally omnivores, meaning we’re down (and hard wired) for some vegging out. Plus, eating more veggie based meals can help the environment, reduce cancer risks, minimimize exposure to meat based antibiotics, and improve the quality of life for animals. But lettuce not forget taste! There isn’t mushroom for a bad tastin’ veggie burger on the grill.

Upton’s Naturals, an independently owned Chicago based company, dedicates themselves to providing delicious veggie based meat alternatives for the vegan and vegetarian community in Chicago and abroad. They just celebrated their 10th birthday and certainly know how to turnip any grilling occasion.

Their veggie burgers are one of the newest additions cropping up on their rotation. So you may wonder, how does Upton’s Naturals: The Classic Burger stack up?

Battle of the Burger:

Traditional Hamburger vs. Upton’s Classic Veggie Burger

Traditional Single Patty Hamburger

Ingredients:
- Beef (moooo)..maybe some hormones. We can’t guarantee anything.
Nutritional Profile (from the USDA website):
- Calories Per Serving: 254
- Total Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.1 g
- Trans Fat: .5 g
  Polyunsaturated Fat: .2 g
- Sodium: 378 mg
- Carbohydrate: 29g
- Sugar: 5g
- Dietary Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 13 g
- Cholesterol: 28 mg

Upton’s Classic Burger

Ingredients:
- Vital wheat gluten, eggplant, water, tofu (water, soybeans, calcium sulfate), sunflower, canola or safflower oil, soy sauce (water, wheat, soybeans, salt), wheat flour, nutritional yeast, evaporated cane juice, onion, sea salt, garlic, natural hickory smoke concentrate, whole wheat flour, oregano, black pepper, paprika, parsley, marjoram and apple cider vinegar.
Nutritional Profile:
- Calories Per Serving: 168
- Total Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Sodium: 365 mg
- Carbohydrate: 9 g
- Sugar: 1 g
- Dietary Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 0 g

Upton’s Taste and Texture: Upton’s Burger tastes a lot like their other seitan blends that we’ve had before. There is a slight smoke flavor with a peppery finish in the patty. It’s a hearty veggie burger, not one of those ones that falls apart, and it easily cooks on the grill in a short time. Can’t beet a quick cooking meat free burger to get those planty vibes!

So who won? Is this your garden variety knock out? Upton’s has less fat, calories, and cholesterol than than a traditional beef burger. It also has more fiber. Upton’s is kosher, lactose free and vegan so it digs away at different dietary needs. Note: Upton’s burger is NOT gluten free so traditonal burger takes the medal for that category.

Are you ready for your BBQ guests to cheer “Olive Veggie Burgers!”?

Upton’s Naturals’ Classic Burger is planting itself at natural retailers throughout the Midwest for $3.99 for a 2 burger box. Click HERE for a store locator. Swinging by the Chi? Sample the classic burger or many other vegan delights (jackfruit tacos, vegan bacon mac and cheese and more) at Upton’s Breakroom in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood. Visit www.uptonsnaturals.com and find @UptonsNaturals and @UptonsBreakroom on social media.

Chop to it! Win Quick Healthy Dinners with ChopBox

Posted on July 11, 2016 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

Have you heard the news that Americans can’t/don’t cook? As a country, we spend more time watching cooking shows than actually cooking. Cooking, however, allows us to have more control over what we put in our bodies than eating takeout or processed pre-cooked foods. So if you can’t cook (yet) or feel like you are too busy, healthy meal delivery services can dissolve both of these problems while being affordable.

ChopBox is a Chicago based company that provides:

Family friendly dinner kits for 4. Price per person is around $10 a person, less than you usually spend at many healthy fast restaurants.
Pre-portioned meals changed weekly to add variety. They do the shopping and portioning. You cook and enjoy!
Delivers the recipes and ingredients directly to your house so you can get your chef on. Unlike other meal delivery service, you can either try ChopBox once OR sign-up for weekly meal service.

Now We’re Cookin’

We were given 2 meals to sample in exchange for an unbiased review:

Tofu Stir Fry with rice noodles and veggies
- Bright colorful vegetables and perfect amount of tangy sauce.
- Delicious, filling, and we had more than enough for 4 people. YAY healthy leftovers!

Raspberry Pecan Crusted Chicken with sauteed asparagus and jasmine rice
- Crunchy dark green asparagus, spicy sweet raspberry sauce and juicy pecan crusted baked chicken…yum!
- Recipe cards are colorful with easy step-by-step instructions.
- (Tip: Make sure you read carefully. Kate missed the fact that egg white was pre-portioned and included, thus she needlessly cracked two eggs and wasted them. Umm and she overcooked the jasmine rice so try not to multi-task).

Both recipes were ones that Kate hadn’t made on her own so you get guidance and encouragement to try new foods.

To the Chopping Block

The weekly menu options are a bit more limited than other meal services we have seen and/or tried with slim to no vegetarian options. ChopBox is willing to work with you on any allergy or diet requests, however, so put your foodie desires out there.
If you are an experienced chef, you may want to add your own flava’ to spice it up to your taste.
If you don’t cook AT ALL, please note that you will need some basic ingredients like salt, pepper, olive oil, and pans to make these meals work.
You may have to chop ingredients 😉 for some recipes so we hope you have some decent knives. The chicken dish actually required very minimal prep (no chopping) compared to the tofu.

Wanna skip the line tonight?

Enter here to WIN your own ChopBox and feel like the next Master Chef.
Giveaway runs from July 11th-July 18th.
You must live in the following states to win and delivered: Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana.
Ready to roll with a ChopBox? Sign up here!

The World’s Healthiest Granola?

Posted on June 27, 2016 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

Granola may bring to mind images of incense burning, camping, and a halo of healthiness but store bought kinds are often sugar bombs. But can some granolas live up to the healthier than the hype?

We recently were given samples of Viki’s Granola new on-the-go Granola Packs to test for their health-o-meter reading. Viki’s Granola is not your grandma’s granola but, dang, it could be.

First, Viki is an actual person, Viki Sater, who creates the actual granola, originally for her daughter’s bake sale. Her small batch granola was so popular that orders began pouring in. Currently, Viki’s granola offers 5 different flavors: Original, Blueberry Almond, Maple Cranberry, Banana Walnut and Apple Cinnamon.

So is this really the healthiest granola out there? Check out these healthful stats.

Nutrition

Sugar: Per 1/4 cup of granola, Viki’s has on average 4 grams of sugar.

Nutritionists suggest you should look for granola with 8 grams or less of sugar. The 1.5 ounce on-the-go Pack is perfectly portioned so you don’t have to wonder if you just snarfed down a crazy amount of granola. Also, bees rejoice, Viki’s only uses organic honey or pure maple syrup as a sweetener. You won’t find any high fructose corn syrup here.

Calories: With about 150 calories per pack, you would want to add some fruit or yogurt for a meal but this is a sizable snack to have in your bag after a workout.

Ingredients: Each granola features only 6-7 ingredients (gluten free oats, organic honey, unsweetened coconut, and different nut and fruit combos) and none that you would have to look up to figure out what it is. This is about as clean as you can get for a processed food. Viki’s is mindful of special diets as well.

• Gluten Free
• Non-GMO Verified
• Cholesterol Free
• Zero Trans Fats
• Sodium free
• Dairy Free
• Kosher Pareve

Taste

Viki’s Granola is pretty versatile as it is not overly sweet. Expect soft honey touched oats intermingling with dried fruit. It’s inclusion of tree nuts like almonds and walnuts adds a nice crunch and a pinch of healthy fats to keep you fuller longer. We liked eating it with a splash of coconut almond milk or mixing it up in a parfait. Viki’s website has other fun recipe suggestions like granola covered frozen bananas (summer yummer) or even granola crusted chicken.

vikis

You can purchase Viki’s Granola at several grocery stores or even order online.

So is Viki’s the World’s Healthiest Granola? It’s pretty close. There are a small amount of other granolas out there vying for the title. Does your favorite granola have a shot at the title?

Easy Gluten Free Treats with Garden Lites

Posted on June 23, 2016 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

Gluten Free

Gluten free goodies are hit or miss. Sometimes you try a gluten free muffin that’s as heavy as a hockey puck and wonder: “Is this the only option I have for muffin glory?” For people with gluten sensitivities or, even more serious, those with Celiac disease, the need for gluten free options is real. But do we want them super processed or super disgusto? No!

Garden Lites gets to the root of this matter and offers gluten free frozen treats to cure your muffin madness with fluffy de-lite-fulness.

Ingredients

First 2 elements: zucchini and carrots in almost every products
Gluten free flour mix: brown rice, sorghum flour, flaxseed meal, or cornstarch
Allergens: Nuts free and dairy free. Some products are soy free, too. (Check particular products, however, for allergen information)

Garden Lites shear off unnecessary fillers and keep their ingredients at the root of what’s needed to make their souffles and muffins. Most have a list of 10 or less on the nutrition facts. The most processed item we noticed is soy lechitin, a common emulsifier used in chocolate and other health related food products. Obviously, it’s best to eat whole foods, but Garden Lites’ chocolatey or blueberry oat muffins will harvest your health compared to those fast food muffins.

Taste the Goodness

We dug into the Chocolate Muffins, Ninja Power Muffins (Heroes in a half shell…turtle power!) and one of Garden Lites’ savory options, the Butternut Squash Souffle.

These muffins are great for tricking kids into eating veggies and tricking adults into being health conscious. The muffins and souffles are all soft in texture and not grainy. They are also produce packed with the following nutrients:

Calories for one muffin range between 80 to max 120 calories,
2-5 grams of protein, and 8 grams protein in souffle
2-4 grams of fiber, and 5 grams in souffle
less than 11 grams of sugar, 18 grams in souffle

The Chocolate muffin is moist and melty like a baby lava cake.

The Ninja Powered Muffin is but a morsel with a chocolate chip zucchini bread flavor and is aimed at the youngins’. We like Ninja Turtles though so we also enjoyed them.

The Butternut Souffle was cornbread like in texture with the mellow aroma and flavor of squash.

Purchase Options

Garden Lites are available at Costco, Target, and Amazon — and let us tell you that Amazon shoppers are all over the Garden Lites, like bees on flowers. Also, you can purchase the frozen products at HealthyGoodness website and get a FREE pint of Three Twins ice cream here! What are you waiting for?! Go Power yourself with Gluten Free Goodies!

*We received free Garden Lites coupons to sample the product. We were not monetarily compensated and our opinions are our own.*

Low Sugar Protein Bars: Luna Improved

Posted on March 14, 2016 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

A busy life calls for easy snacks. We love having the option of something we can just throw in our gym bag and go. What we don’t want is eating a nutrition bar that is basically a candy bar disguised as a health food. We’ve been Luna Bar fans for years but were excited to find out they reduced their Lemonzest and Chocolate Peppermint Stick. Both have 25% less sugar than before. We received samples to taste test the evolution.

Snack Bar Stats

LemonZest

Sugar: Reduced from 12 g to 9 g

Protein: 9 g

Fiber: 3 g

Chocolate Peppermint Stick

Sugar: Reduced from 12 g to 8 g

Protein: 8 g

Fiber: 4 g

What do we think?

Suga, we don’t miss you:

The low sugar bars actually taste better than before and there are no artificial sweeteners.

Crumbly Cookie Style:

We also noticed a change in texture. Both tasted less dense and the oats were crumbly which was pleasing.

The ingredients are mostly organic and non-GMO. Cliff Bar, the parent company, works with organic farmers and focuses on sustainability in their practice. With under 200 calories and a boost of vitamin and minerals, these Luna bars can be included in a healthy diet.

Luna Bar is also releasing 3 new choco-riffic bars with only 5 grams of sugar and dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is a major yesss because of its antioxidants.

Luna Bar flavor creations, Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chunk, Dark Chocolate Mocha Almond, and Dark Chocolate Hazelnut are now available, each with 5 grams of sugar!

Which flavor tickles your fitness fancy? Do you have a go to flavor of Luna Bar that you already love? Tell us in the comments!

Meatless Monday: New Laughing Cow Asiago Cheese

Posted on March 7, 2016 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

Cheese! The friend of many a vegetarian and, in excess, a possible foe to your caloric intake. Laughing Cow Brand Spreadable Cheese Wedges can make you giggle in cheesy delight however and ease your cheese anxiety (easy cheesy..hahahaha).

We’ve always been a fan of Laughing Cow cheese. Their spreadable wedges are portable, low in calories, high in protein and a versitile snackaroo. One of their newest flavors, asiago, is savory and satisfying when on the go, a quick after work snack or even when hosting a partaaaay. We received free samples during the launch of the asiago wedge back in January and lightened up our New Years but then bought even more for the Super Bowl. We decided to create 2 contrasting recipes to showcase 2 sides of the same cheese.

Kate’s Sweet N’ Spicy Wedges

Ingredients

1 Can Crushed Pineapple Slices
1 Jar Jalapeno Jelly
1 12 ounce Jar sliced Jalapenos
1 bag CrunchMaster Multiseed Crackers
Laughing Cow Asiago Cheese

Directions

Sooo…this is so easy! Lay out the Multiseed Crackers crackers on plate. Use a cheese knife or butter knife to spread 1/4 wedge of cheese (or more if desired) on each cracker. Spread jalapeno jelly on each cracker. Garnish each cracker with a piece of pineapple and a slice of jalapeno. These lil’ crackers got demolished at our NYE gathering so we’re sure you’ll love um.

Monica’s Italiano Caprese Wedges

Ingredients

Cherry tomatoes sliced in halves
Fresh Basil leaves
Italian herbs
Garlic Sea Salt
Whole Black Pepper grinded
360 Whole Foods EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Laughing Cow Asiago Cheese

Directions

Peel open several Laughing Cow Asiago cheese wedges, remove wrapper and set each wedge on a plate. Sprinkle dried basil leaves, Italian seasoning, garlic, sea salt, and grounded black pepper on each wedge. Slice cherrry tomatoes in half and wash/pat dry the basil leaves. Add fresh basil leaves and halves cherry tomatoes to each wedge.

Laughing Cow Asiago can also be smeared on tortilla chips and turned into breakfast nachos with scrambled eggs and veggies, spread on a bagel with spinach and roasted peppers or whateva’ you like (as T.I. says). Or try the Pistachio Pear Honey Asiago recipe posted recently for a sweet treat. Click here to read the recipe.

Are you team Sweet N’ Spicy or team Italiano? Do you have any other Laughing Cow Recipes you love? Offer 9 total flavors, you can #savorthemoment with a different flavor every day! Find Laughing Cow products at a grocery store near you.

National Pistachio Day!

Posted on February 26, 2016 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

It’s so eassssy being green, if you’re a pistachio that is. Pistachios are wearing little birthday hats as it’s their big day! National Pistachio Day is Friday February 26th and pistachios are ready to be snacked upon. Other nuts … Continue reading →

Meatless Monday Review: Marley Spoon Recipe Box

Posted on February 15, 2016 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

Looking for some Meatless Monday Inspiration but short on time, ideas, cooking skills? Switch it up with a recipe/meal delivery service, Marley Spoon! We received 2 free recipe boxes from Marley Spoon to review for all you organic peeps out there. Marley Spoon actually has a wide delivery area including the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Australia and ‘Murica (that’s layman for America).

We Galentine’s Day-ed it up a little early and decided to have a cooking date night to try two recipes: Quinoa Burgers and Broccoli Coconut Soup.

Here’s how the service works:

It is a subscription service but you can pause the service when you like. Your order is delivered on either a Tuesday or Friday in a cooler box so it keeps cook ready. A variety of 7 chef created recipes are available each week catering to different culinary preferences (meaty, veggie, global inspired, vegan, dino..ok no dino but we are checking how closely you are reading).

You have a choice of a 2 person box or a family box to feed a small crowd with pricing that ranges between $48 (2x meals a week) to $139 for 4 family meals per week. We actually spend more on groceries ourselves sometimes so the pricing seems pretty reasonable for the time you save.

What Rises to the Occasion:

Delivery: Delivery was on point and our boxes were waiting when we arrived. Everything is pre-packaged so no need to measure.

Recipes: Recipes come with gorgeous color photos of each step and outline exactly what you need to have on hand on your own (small staples like salt and olive oil). Portions are more than what we would expect for 2 people. For example, our Quinoa Burger recipe yielded 5 burgers and we had plenty extra couscous and soup from the Broccoli Soup recipe. Depending on your appetite, you may be able to get 2 full meals for 2 out of each recipe (hooray leftovers!).

Appearance: Both recipes looked like what was on the recipes cards when completed. We felt like fancy french chefs.

Taste: The kale chips were crunchy and addictive…possibly the easiest part of the recipe box. Our veggie burgers were hearty and filling. The soup had a bi-partisan reaction…more on that below.

What Should Be on the Chopping Block:

Souper Spicy?: With cooking, there is always room to grow! With both of us being a level up from amateur kitchen goers, we think a few things could be improved. The broccoli soup recipe was extra spicy for some reason and didn’t have the creamy consistency that appears in the picture. We would have liked more of a coconut flavor and would have modified that spice to flavor ratio for some more depth. It was possibly the green curry with ginger that could have been baby spiced to improve the other flavors in the soup.

Time: It took us 2 hours to make everything. For a busy person, this might not serve. One suggestion would be for Marley Spoon to provide pre-chopped or diced ingredients but we aren’t sure how this would affect the freshness of produce.

Final Course Thoughts?:

Taste your dishes throughout the cooking process and modify them if you like! We added paprika and chili powder to our kale chips and were pleased with the results. Don’t be afraid to be a kitchen rebel if you know how to cook to season items to your liking.

Bonding: We had a super fab time cooking together. We could see this as a intimate date night, girls night out or bachelorette type experience, or just a way to liven up the ho hum experience of weekly cooking.

Overall, we loved the experience of learning to cook new recipes and spending time in the kitchen together. Ingredients are local sourced and grass fed animules, making you feel a bit at ease for what you are consuming. Food waste is cut own bu the pre-packaged format as well. If you’re looking for a culinary adventure with less effort, we suggest giving Marley Spoon a try! Use the Promo Code CHIORGANIC for $35 off your first box.

Meatless Monday Recipe Roundup: Sweet Potatoes!

Posted on January 25, 2016 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

Sometimes veggie cooking can get a bit boring so we hunt the interwebs for new ideas. With winter on our cold minds, our thoughts have been on fireplaces, s’mores, root veggies and anything toasty and easy….after all, cooking can be … Continue reading →

Bake 425º Pizza Review

Posted on November 30, 2015 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

For once the suburbs beat Chicago to something yummy. New local business, Bake 425°, promises Farm-to-Crust Bake at Home pizza and operates in Highland Park, Hinsdale, Evanston, Glencoe, Winnetka and Lake Forest. Bake 425° took over the hole left by HomeMade Pizza Kitchen but with a modified format. Owner, Bill Borneman, decided to keep the ease of the pre-made ready to cook pizza but shift to locally sourced, small batch and organic ingredients. Specialty diets are honored with gluten free crust and vegetarian pizza options. For traditionalists, classic cheese, Margherita and “pick your own topping” choices begin the menu. Adventurous pizza monsters (like us) will be pleased, however, by the unique menu items like Poblano and Chicken Sausage pizza or the Earth Lover pizza with truffle oil, Yukon Potatoes, Portabello mushrooms and Béchamel.

Bake 425° gave us one pizza, one salad and a cookie to sample and review. We chose the Go Green vegetarian pizza, Sunshine salad and chocolate chip cookie.

What we liked:

Pizza: The Go Green pizza comes with pistachio pesto sauce, brussel sprouts, quartered cherry tomatoes, garlic oil and mozzarella. Pesto sauce on pizza is a total thumbs up and the brussel sprouts were (thankfully) roasted and crisp. Crust is whole grain so some consumers may not be used to the dough’s heartier taste compared to white flour.

Salad: The Sunshine salad was filled with spicy arugula greens, roasted butternut squash, pine nuts and shaved mozzarella. Lemon oil dressing complimented the mix with a tart and bright flavor. The salad did need a little bit of salt and pepper to balance the sour lemon.

Ease of Cooking: Bake 425° gives you everything you need to cook your ‘za, except an oven of course. Instructions are clear and you are provided with parchment paper for cooking, eliminating the need for any pans or clean up!

Serving Sizes: We fed three people, which averaged about $10 dollars a person…not bad for a quality take home meal.

What we would change:

The Chocolate Chip Cookie: Nothing really against the taste of the cookie but after eating a pizza, maybe the gelato that Bake 425° offers would balance out the meal better than ending with more dough. We were so stuffed from the pizza, we barely touched the chocolatey dude.

Why would you try it?

When you are having one of those “I wanna stay in my blankey and bake on my couch” kind of nights, Bake 425° can simplify your night without compromising your taste buds.

Chi Organic Girls

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Chiorganicgirls Meatless Monday: Grillable Veggie Burgers

Battle of the Burger: