Good Food in Cali

I just returned from my second to last trip of this very busy summer. Mr. Patton and I have been out of town nearly every weekend since the beginning of June (and two additional weeks in between). It's been so much fun, but also exhausting trying to stay caught up at home. We've learned there's a lot of truth to the phrase, "there's no place like home," but we have had some really fun adventures!

Last week, we were in gorgeous California. We started in Anaheim and drove down the coast, visiting Huntington Beach, driving through Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, and spending the day in La Jolla. In San Diego, we played the night away in the Gas Lamp district, basked in the sun and surfed on Coronado Island, and dined in Little Italy. Needless to say, San Diego has become one of my favorite cities for the fun and entertainment, as well as for the Good Food. That's one of my favorite parts of traveling to new places too, of course. The food.

I love trying new and interesting dishes. Mr. Patton isn't quite as adventurous, but we ended up at some great places. It was very difficult to choose and there are many more I'd love to hit up next time we go...whenever that may be. Thought I'd share a few photos:

Brockton Villa in La Jolla: Portobella Sandwich with roasted red peppers, goat cheese and avocado. I also had their "Epic (seafood) Chowder." All enjoyed from the deck overlooking the cliffs and ocean in La Jolla. Couldn't have been a more perfect lunch.

La Jolla

Duke's Huntington Beach: Seven Spice Ahi Tuna with papaya hot mustard, pickled bok choy and jasmine rice. We were also able to enjoy the ocean view here right above the pier overlooking the beach. The servers were super friendly and really knew their stuff!

Huntington Beach

Sammy's Woodfired Pizza: Brie and Mushroom Pizza with Truffle Oil (on the most flaky and delicious crust I've ever tasted). Oh yeah. This one made my top pizza list for sure along with some St. Louis faves (in case you're wondering...Pi, Adamo's, Fortel's and Dewey's). City dining at its finest, right in the heart of the Gas Lamp district. Yes, dietitians have their splurges too :)

Last but not least, I was not able to snap a decent photo of the delicious Sea Bass (my favorite) with Bay Scallops over Pasta Marinara I enjoyed at Buon Appetito in Little Italy.

It seems like every city creates its own unique dining experience. That's why I look forward to it so much! Where have you dined lately?

GF Taste Project: Justin's Maple Almond Butter

This delicious nut butter was the next sample up in my ongoing gluten-free taste-testing project. I received my sample compliments of GFree Connect, in one of their care packs. {If you follow a gluten free diet and haven't checked them out yet, click here. Their care packs are awesome!}

One taste of Justin's Maple Almond Butter was all I needed to fall in love. It had the raw, slightly grainy taste of a natural nut butter, which I love, thanks to the fact that it contains no hydrogenated oils. The palm oil, used in many products in lieu of trans-fat creating hydrogenated oils, adds minimal saturated fat. What makes Justin's Butter unique is the addition of just a touch of maple sugar, which lends the almond butter a slightly sweet taste. Just enough. And that's about it! This all-natural nut butter contains just four simple ingredients: dry roasted almonds, maple sugar, organic palm fruit oil and sea salt.

I love Justin's Maple Almond Butter as an alternative to peanut butter. It's great to mix things up now and then, right? I tried it this morning on my whole wheat waffle and here are some other ways I'll use it:

• On a whole wheat bagel
• On a sandwich with blackberry preserves
• On a sliced apple
• With celery sticks.

And I'll be looking forward to trying the other flavors too!

Justin's Nut Butters are available at Whole Foods and in the GoodFood store. They come packed in conventional jars or awesome portable, single-serving packs (as shown in the picture). That means they're great for travel, snacks or lunches-on-the-go. Plus the packaging is just so cute :)

The Maple Almond Butter is certified gluten free and dairy free. It's a no-go if you have severe peanut allergies, though, because the product could contain traces of peanuts.

Nutrition Facts (per pack; about 1 Tablespoon): Calories 90 | Total Fat 7g | Saturated Fat 1g | Sodium 30mg | Total Carb 3g | Fiber 1g | Sugars 1g | Protein 3g.

Find out more about Justin's Nut Butters here.

One of the perks of my job is receiving complementary samples of products or compensation for passing along my expert opinion as a Registered Dietitian. Please be assured that my opinion is my own and my review is not guaranteed to be positive solely because I have received compensation. I'm here to help you--the consumer--sort through the vast amounts of nutrition information available to find legitimate answers. This is my primary goal in providing product reviews and sponsored contests on my blog.

Brain Food Part 2: Breakfasts of Champions

In Brain Food Part 1, I encouraged planning ahead for quick and healthy breakfasts to start off your day (and the school year) on the right foot. Go back to this post to read more about criteria for builidng a healthy breakfast and some tips to get the whole family on board. I also promised 10 healthy breakfast ideas to get you started. Here they are! Portion sizes should be adjusted depending on the age of your child. If you're not sure what portion size is the right size, start with MyPlate or contact your dietitian.

Breakfasts of champions:

Breakfast #2 with Strawberries

1. Whole wheat toast topped with peanut butter and sliced banana, served with a glass of milk.
2. Bowl of whole grain cereal (like Cheerios or Wheaties) topped with blueberries, walnuts and milk.
3. Whole wheat pancake topped with sliced strawberries, walnuts and a drizzle of syrup, served with milk.
4. Yogurt layered with strawberries, blueberries, low-fat granola and slivered almonds.
5. Sliced apples served with yogurt for dipping and a side of whole wheat toast with butter.
6. Small whole wheat bagel with cream cheese served with milk and strawberries.
7. Oatmeal topped with raisins, walnuts and cinnamon, served with milk.
8. Slice of whole wheat toast with whole fruit jam, egg (boiled or scrambled) and a glass of milk.
9. Whole wheat waffle topped with peanut butter, sliced banana and a drizzle of syrup, served with a glass of milk.
10. Whole wheat toast topped with melted cheddar cheese, served with sliced apples and a glass of milk.

Click here for a printable copy of these breakfast ideas, brought to you by RDbyyourside.

Do you have any quick and healthy breakfast ideas to share? Leave your comments below!

Brain Food: Powerful Back to School Breakfasts

Brain food. That's what my mom always called breakfast. She was right! Breakfast is super important because it gets your systems going. It revs up the metabolism, aids in weight management, improves focus and is also a potentially terrific source of nutrients.

The morning may also be one of the most hectic times of the day, especially if you're trying to get the kids out the door for school and you're trying to get yourself to work on time too. There are two keys to successful breafast regimens:

1. It's quick.
2. You've planned ahead.

Sounds easy enough, right? It is as long as you've got your game plan. Start the school year off on the right foot by forming this habit right from the start. Even if you don't have children, these ideas will serve you well too.

1. Breakfast is not optional. Discuss the breakfast plan with the whole family and get everyone on board.

2. Put together breakfast meal options as a family. I like the index card system:

• Sit down together on a weekend and brainstorm different breakfast meals.
• Write each meal on a separate index card and store them in a box.
• Try to come up with at least 10 different options (that's 2 weeks full of different breakfasts). 
• Requirements: Each meal must include some type of whole grain(s), a fruit, a dairy and a healthy fat or protein.
• Example: Whole wheat toast with peanut butter, banana sliced on top, glass of milk. Done. (P.S. This is a great activity to do with the kids to help them learn about the different food groups and how to build a balanced meal. See the MyPlate website for more information).

3. Before each school week, take a few minutes as a family to select the breakfasts for the week. Pull out 5 index cards; one for each school day. Everyone should have a say in which items make the list. If you have two children, each child could select two breakfasts and mom could select one.

4. Use the meals you've selected to plan your grocery list and make sure you have all the necessary groceries on hand.

5. Prepare anything you can in advance. For example, wash or slice fruit ahead of time and store it in a container in the fridge. Make extra whole wheat pancakes on the weekend and store leftovers for the next school week. Hard boil eggs and store them in the fridge.

Try coming up with some breakfast ideas of your own and watch for Brain Food Part 2, coming this Friday. Hint: I'll be posting a list of 10 Back to School Breakfast Ideas!

My Fall Project: A Fall Garden (And How To Plant Vegetable Seeds)

I have dreams of being an expert gardener with a yard full of flowering and fruitful plants. As you know, I'm still working on it :) But out of this dream was born my next gardening project: a fall garden started from seeds. I've never planted vegetable seeds before and I'm a little nervous about it, especially since my summer garden hasn't fared so well. The only thing that makes me feel better is that I'm getting the same report from many other St. Louisans this year. So maybe it's the weather and not all me... Either way, I'm really sad that we have a very sparse harvest.

Hopefully fall will bring more bounty! I'm planting 2 types of lettuce, spinach, kale, cauliflower and radishes. (I wanted broccoli too, but the hardware store didn't have any.) By the way, in case you're more of a novice gardener than I, these are all cool-weather crops. They can't stand too much heat and will survive outside as the weather starts to cool.

I began this gardening adventure by starting some seeds indoors in this cute little tray. I hope to improve my gardening skill and also save money! Planting from seeds is much less expensive than buying plants. I'm considering this a practice round for next spring. Here they are just planted, last Monday night.

Many seeds had sprouted within 2 days! So last night (only one week later) I began the process of thinning the plants so only the best seedlings could continue to grow. Stay tuned to watch as I transplant them into the garden as the scorching heat of summer begins to dwindle to an end. And keep your fingers crossed!

Do you want to start a fall garden too? I may not be an expert at doing it yet, but I've got the instructions down pat. It's not too late if you're in the midwest or southern U.S. Here are basic instructions for planting vegetable seeds that you'll later sow into the garden.

1. Purchase a seed-starting tray (greenhouse) or small pots that are 1-inch by 1-inch or 2-inches by 2-inches. There are many different products you can use at your local hardware store. I opted for the tray because it has a single base tray to catch drainage, several planting trays with 1x1 "cells" and a lid. You can put water in the base tray, then set the planting trays in it and the lid on top. Moisture is contained to keep the seeds at ideal temperature.
2. Fill each pot 2/3 full with soil made especially for starting seeds. You must use clean soil.
3. Sprinkle 4-6 seeds in each cell.
4. Cover seeds with a thin layer of sand.
5. Fill the base tray with water and set the planting tray in it or set each pot in a bowl of water so soil becomes moist. Do not water the pots from the top; this increases the risk of fungus growing on top of the soil.
6. Cover the tray with it's cover or cover each pot with plastic wrap.
7. When seedlings begin to sprout, remove plastic cover. Remove weak seedlings so that only 1 to 2 remain in each cell. Eventually only one seedling, the strongest one, should remain. 
8. Keep seedlings indoors, under fluorescent lights for 14 to 16 hours per day. Water lightly every other day. 
9. Before taking seedlings outside to plant, you must "harden them off," or get them used to being outside. Take them outside, out of direct sunlight and wind, for a few hours the first day. Bring them back in. Continue to take seedlings outside for longer each day for about a week.
10. Plant them in the garden!

Lessons I've learned so far:

• Only plant a few seeds (like 4-6) in each cell. I way overestimated, mostly because I was afraid they all wouldn't make it, and had about 20 to weed through in each little planting cell! Way too many. Way too much time. And I couldn't help but feel a little guilty purging most of them.
• Definitely don't skip the step that entails covering the seeds with sand. This is recommended to keep the soil from becoming too moist, which breeds the growth of fungus. I didn't have sand. I skipped this step and used soil instead. In the words of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, "Big Mistake. Huge." My plants got fungus. Plenty of seedlings grew, so I continued anyway and am hoping that it does not eventually kill all my plants. If so, I guess I'll have to try, try again!

For more information, check these two resources: Yardener and Better Homes and Gardens.