Uncle Sam Cereal Review and Giveaway

A few days ago, Annelies from Attune Foods sent me a box of their Uncle Sam cereal to review. You all know I’m a cereal lover, so I was excited to try it out!

After sampling a few handfuls straight from the box, I decided to get creative in the kitchen and come up with a recipe incorporating Uncle Sam cereal. The result?

Uncle Sam’s Vegan Pumpkin Walnut Bread

Ingredients:

-       2 c whole wheat pastry flour

-       1 T cinnamon

-       1 t nutmeg

-       ¾ t baking powder

-       1 ½ c canned pumpkin

-       1 c maple syrup

-       ¼ c non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze)

-       2 T canola oil

-       2 c Uncle Sam cereal, plus ¼ c for topping

-       ¾ c chopped walnuts

Directions

-       Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheight

-       Grease 9x5 loaf pan with oil of choice (I used Earth Balance)

-       In a mixing bowl, combine pastry flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder. Set aside

-       In a separate bowl, mix pumpkin, maple syrup, non-dairy milk and canola oil until thoroughly combine. Add to flour mixture.

-       Fold in 2 c cereal and chopped walnuts. Stir until evenly distributed.

-       Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, sprinkle with remaining cereal and bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

I realize that I’m a few months early in breaking out the pumpkin, but who can resist a slice of pumpkin bread? This recipe is perfectly sweet without being too dessert-like. I enjoyed a slice with Earth Balance, almonds and blueberries for breakfast this morning:

Uncle Sam also has great stats. So many cereals are loaded with sugar and unpronounceable ingredients, so I love how simple this is. Plus plenty of protein and fiber!

Want to try some Uncle Sam’s for yourself? Annelies has generously offered a box of cereal to one lucky reader. There are five ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite cereal.

2. Add Une Vie Saine to your blogroll.

3. Add Une Vie Saine to your reader.

4. Follow me on Twitter (@uneviesaine)- click the icon on the left side of the page!

5. Blog about this giveaway in your next post, and leave me a link.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. You have until 6 pm on Wednesday, July 28 to enter. Good luck!

Coffee and Crack

It’s no secret I love my morning cereal. Crisp, crunchy and comforting, I’ve been enjoying a bowl nearly every morning since I was a toddler. Every once in a blue moon though, I’m in the mood for something different. Something like…

Overnight oats! Nutella raspberry oats, to be exact.

Growing up, Nutella was a pantry staple. I’m wise enough not to eat half a jar in one sitting anymore, but mix a heaping spoonful with coconut milk kefir, oats, raspberries and cocoa powder, and you’ve got one heck of a breakfast.

After breakfast, I got my sweat on with Jillian Michaels’ No More Trouble Zones DVD. I increased the weights from 3lb to 4lb, and definitely felt it. My triceps are already killing me. I kind of love being sore, though…

Lunch was a yogurt mess with So Delicious vanilla coconut milk yogurt. I added regular Puffins, a pound of strawberries and a whopping spoonful of Naturally Nutty cinnamon vanilla sunflower seed butter.

All mixed up:

When I got hungry mid-afternoon, I dipped some cucumber rounds and a whole-wheat tortilla into a bowl of hot salsa.

I also whipped up a batch of espresso bark for a birthday party I’m going to tomorrow. The birthday boy is a coffee lover, so this was a no-brainer! To make it, simply melt 2 cups of good-quality dark chocolate chips, stir in a cup of whole coffee beans, and spread the mixture into a pan lined with wax paper. Harden in the refrigerator before breaking into bite-sized pieces.

Of course, I had to sample a piece!

 I wanted something simple but different for dinner. After quickly browsing a few blogs, I came across Mama Pea’s crack wrap and knew I had to try it. I slathered a whole-wheat wrap with garlic hummus and a slice of Tofutti mozzarella-style cheese, and then browned it in a pan with a little Earth Balance. The result? Ooey-gooey goodness.

When it was done, I wanted another. So I went for it. Crack wrap #2, this time with spinach-artichoke hummus. Yes, we have multiple tubs open at once. We’re a family of hummus addicts.

It was just as good the second time.  Check out the melty innards!

On the side, I had some steamed broccoli, carrots and tomato with olive oil, salt and nutritional yeast.

Dessert was yet another pear with four squares of Hershey’s dark chocolate. My mom bought a dozen pears last time she went grocery shopping, and apparently she and I are the only family members who like them.

One thing I’ve been meaning to mention is that I always have several nighttime snacks! I eat dinner early, so it’s necessary. Peanut butter sandwiches, bowls of cereal, mixed nuts…I generally don’t photograph these foods, but I may start in order to help me overcome my picking problem. I still find myself picking occasionally, so maybe taking pictures will encourage me to have a real snack instead. I’ll give it a go for a while and see how I like it!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Is there a food you eat every day, whether intentionally or out of habit? I eat cereal, dark chocolate and apples pretty much daily, though strangely enough I didn’t eat cereal or apples today!

What foods does your whole family love? Hummus, peanut butter and apples are popular in this household!

To the other food bloggers: how much of your daily intake do you photograph? I document nearly everything until after dinner. Nighttime snacks definitely constitute a significant part of my intake though!

Leo Love

Last night after posting, I went to see Inception with my friends Jillian and Alexa.

Freaking amazing is all I can say. Suspenseful, unique, mind-grabbing…of course, I’m not surprised. Leonardo DiCaprio can do no wrong J I’ve read some reviews that call it confusing, but I paid close attention and understood it just fine. Seriously, go see it!

Getting off the soapbox…

Today Katie from Healthy Bites invited me to come with her to a taping of The 10! Show, a Philadelphia show she does cooking segments for. It was such a cool experience! The whole atmosphere of the set was far more relaxed than I’d anticipated it to be, and I was amazed at how calm Katie was beforehand. She’s been doing the segments for awhile, and also participated on the last season of The Next Food Network Star, so I guess she’s comfortable in front of the camera! I really admire her for how smart and confident she’s been in her career choices so far.

On the show, Katie prepared seared halibut with tomato and corn salad with basil vinaigrette. Check out the video clip of her presentation here, if you’re so inclined!

Breakfast before I left this morning was a bowl of Fiber One, fresh raspberries and almond milk:

Since I knew I’d be headed straight to the gym after the taping, I packed a smallish lunch to have in the car on my way there: Maranatha peanut butter on Ezekiel bread, plus a Gala apple.

At the gym, I kept it simple with half an hour of hills on the elliptical and some stretching. I usually just use my home elliptical for workouts like these, but the heat has been brutal!

Post-gym snacks were a big bowl of strawberries and a handful of almonds. A few peanut butter fingers may have slipped in there as well ;)

I spent the rest of the afternoon running errands for my mom. My brother will be living with us until his wedding on the 31st (his future in-laws are staying at the apartment he shares with his fiancée), so I had to stop at the grocery store for Velveeta, beef jerky, pepperoni pizza and lunchmeat. Makes me wonder if we really came from the same womb…

I also stocked up on veggies, including a big head of kale! I incorporated it into my dinner by making kale chips.

To prepare them, I just drizzled the leaves with some olive oil, then shook on sea salt and garlic powder. So tasty and so addictive- my dad loved them, too!

I also had a vegan “pizza” on an Ezekiel wrap with eggplant marinara, squash, tomatoes humnut sauce (3T each nutritional yeast, hummus and water), and red pepper & oregano flakes.

Dessert was a pear and some Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate. I ended up dipping the chocolate straight into the Maranatha PB jar- tastes just like a dark chocolate Reese’s!

Hope you all have a wonderful night- happy almost Friday!

Who is your favorite actor? Would you go to a horrible movie just to see them in it? As I said, Leo can do no wrong, but I’d support his mistakes too. Yes, I’m a little obsessed.

Favorite cooking show/chef? I don’t watch much TV, but I do catch an episode of Top Chef or Giada every once in awhile!