Our Favorite Foods of 2009...

Happy 2010, Y'all!! Welcome to another exciting year!! We drove back to Georgia from Louisiana on Saturday night, and I spent Sunday morning frantically trying to catch up on laundry before I returned to work on Sunday night! The whirlwind of unpacking and housecleaning is always a generous spoonful of the return to post-vacation 'ordinary' routine, but I'm so fond of our home and our everyday lives that I'm perfectly content to drift from vacation back to our never-mundane day to day events, which makes me feel very blessed indeed!

Speaking of ushering in our return home and our first week of 2010, I'm very excited about a New Year's event invented by Gina, of The Candid RD, who recently wrote a list of her Favorite Food Products of 2009! I'm so enchanted with the idea that I decided to write my own list! Thank you, Gina, for the inspiration!

First on my list, without a doubt, is Almond Milk (also on Gina's list! :-)

Prior to 2009 we always had soymilk and 1% milk in the fridge, as almond milk had seemed a bit pricey for everyday consumption, but one magical day we noticed 1/2 gallons of Almond Milk sitting cheerily in the refrigerated case at our nearby Kroger, even cheaper than the soymilk we'd been purchasing every week! Now we always have Almond Milk in the fridge - vanilla for baking and for sipping in the evening, as we think it tastes like chai tea, with much less sugar than an actual chai tea mix, and chocolate for an equally healthful and less sugary hot chocolate treat when I'm fancying a little something akin to dessert...

Fat Free Greek Yogurt!

Greek Yogurt has become one of the darlings of the blog world, and with good reason! When I finally caved in and brought some home, it was like magic - the perfect way to add the illusion of decadent creaminess without any added fat, and plentiful calcium and protein!

Steamed Broccoli

Thanks to the handy little Tupperware steamer Miss Brenda gave us for Christmas last year, it's simply the work of a moment to conjure up the perfect two-serving batch of steamed broccoli, which we now enjoy with nearly every meal... and we haven't gotten the least bit tired of it's simple delights yet!

Roasted Green Beans

If we're not having steamed broccoli as one of our supper-time veggies, we're sure to have roasted green beans... The caramelizing action of putting simple frozen green beans with just a drizzle of olive oil into the oven at high heat produces an addictive, crispy treat that we are quite convinced is literally better than French fries!

Endangered Species 88% Cacao Dark Chocolate

88% Cacao Dark Chocolate. Need I say more? ;-)

Trader Joe's PearSauce

Pears are one of Zach's favorite fruits, so when I first spotted the TJ's pear-sauce I was quite excited to bring some home for Zach to try! Zach was completely awed, and his reaction was so enthusiastic that I went zooming back to Trader Joe's to pick up 6 more packages! Not only do we love that the sauce is made simply from unsweetened pears, but it also contains just the right amount of lemon juice and lime juice for a springy, bright flavor...

Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane Green Tea!

This tea has rapidly become an obsession for me - the flavors of mint, green tea, vanilla, and chicory all in concert together...

Finally, a very new favorite, discovered on Christmas, to be exact...

Chili Garlic Olive Oil!

The story of this magic ingredient, a cooking class from Zach's brother Scott, and a tapas recipe, all soon to follow in my next post... ;-)