Happy #thinkingoutloud Thursday! No idea what I’m going on about? Click here!
1. Can we please talk about the matcha craze that’s been sweeping the web lately? Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like I’ve been seeing it everywhere lately. Or maybe I’ve just been noticing it a lot more since I’ve never tried it and have serious FOMO as a result. What do you think? Do I need to give it a shot? Is it all it’s hyped up to be? Let me know!
2. What I have been using is kind of like matcha only without the “t” and “h” 😂 Lately I’ve really fallen into the habit of including a small spoonful of maca powder in my smoothies every other day, mostly because I found a baggie of it in my pantry and I don’t want it to go to waste. Maca is an adaptogen that’s supposed to help the body adapt to stress, as well as balance hormones, increase energy and stamina, improve mental clarity, and a whole host of other benefits. Sounds pretty awesome, eh? I don’t think I’ve been taking it regularly for long enough to really say much about it, but I definitely notice the improved energy bit. And because it’s a bit more of a potent superfood, you might want to talk to your doctor prior to using it if you’re dealing with any kind of hormonal issues, on any medications, or pregnant/breastfeeding.
3. Speaking of potency… maca also boasts a pretty strong taste that not everyone is going to love. It’s…uhm… earthy, nutty, and kind of what I imagine chewing on burnt tree bark would taste like. Yup. Burnt tree bark. You know that smokey smell that hangs in the air when trees burn? Take that and inject it into a powder, and you have maca. It’s bitter and kind of ashy, and the only way I’ve been able to tolerate it is to cover the taste with cocoa. That seems to completely mask it, and you’re left feeling like you’re drinking a dark chocolate smoothie. I’ll take it!
4. And while we’re on the topic of chocolate smoothies… I’ve been drinking one for lunch every day for about a week now, along with an almond butter and jelly sandwich on the side. What can I say? I’m a big kid at heart. That and I picked up this new jam that I’m kind of obsessed with. I’m normally a blueberry jam kind of girl, but this raspberry one from St. Dalfour is to.die.for.
5. Also! I finally got around to trying out that Costco brand almond butter that I told you guys about, and I give it two thumbs way up 👍🏻👍🏻 It’s got a nice and drippy texture with a roasted almond taste, and I love that the only ingredient on the label is “roasted almonds.” No oils, salts, or sugars in this guy; and you seriously can’t beat that price tag.
6. I feel like I’m constantly moving from one “kill it on repeat” song obsession to another, and right now it’s this remix of “Faded” by Alan Walker. The original is pretty awesome too if you want to give that a listen.
[youtube=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkvLpGfSdb8&w=640&h=427″]
7. What else, what else, what else… OH! Have you guys seen the new teaser trailer for Beauty and the Beast? They barely show us anything good, but the song gives me the feels so bad! I was 6 years old when BatB originally came out, and it’s always been one of my favourite Disney movies.
[youtube=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c38r-SAnTWM&w=640&h=427″]
8. So I’ve been munching on a bar of chocolate while writing this post and I’m pretty sure I just ate some of the foil wrapper in the process. Oops? And that, my friends, is the real danger of eating with distractions 😂
9. Very important question time! What are your guys’ opinions on nutritional info being included in recipes? I ask because, while I don’t care much for it personally, I know it’s important to a lot of people, and it’s probably the most common question I get asked regarding my recipes. I don’t like to encourage people to count calories or macros, but at the same time I realize that it’s what a lot of people do, and that not providing nutritional info isn’t going to encourage them to stop counting, but to move on to a recipe that has it. Then there’s the whole issue of people not caring so much about the calories, but about things like sugar and carbs (for those dealing with diabetes, for example). If I did end up adding it in, I’d probably put it on a separate page so that those interested could click over, and those not interested wouldn’t have to see it. Right now I’m leaning more towards adding it in, but I’d love to hear your guys’ take on it!
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I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am for the new Beauty and the Beast movie. Belle has always been one of my fave princesses (the other is Ariel) and I am so excited to see Emma Watson bring her to life. It’s going to be epic.
I always value nutritional information being included with recipes. Many people (myself included) are trying to lose weight or are tracking for one reason or another, so it’s very helpful information to have.
http://www.divaandthedivine.com
Oohkay, so I tried matcha powder in South Korea in 2011 and was instantly hooked. Problem was, it wasn’t a thing in Australia! I could only find the powder in Asian grocers at like $20 for 50 grams… So I was overjoyed when a cafe nearby started serving matcha lattes this year!! They’re smoky and sweet and just delicious… highly recommend!
I just picked up some more of that almond butter this past weekend. It doesn’t last long in my house!
I haven’t tried matcha but I do agree it seems to be everywhere lately. Another fad that will fade away quickly I bet.
I haven’t tried maca or matcha powder! The tree bark taste would probably turn me off, though. I’m not sure how I feel about the new Beauty and the Beast – I love the original one so much and they better not mess it up!
Hi Amanda,
No I don’t need nutritional info on your recipes, however, if you end up adding it, I like your idea of having a seperate link for it for those who don’t want to see it, yet, good for those who do need it.
I love your blog and have been a follower for several years! Keep up the good work 🙂
I’m not a fan of nutrition facts with recipes. Sometimes I want to just indulge in something and seeing the nutrition facts can take a bit of enjoyment out of that. Plus some people naturally make things bigger/smaller than others so that will throw off the nutrition facts. And lastly, there are so many nutrition facts calculators that all you have to do is dump in the URL and it does the work for you, it’s not hard and then you can also be sure that what it is calculating is the exact thing you’re using and number of servings that you actually get.
Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite Disney movies of all time! It’s probably a toss up between that and Aladdin for top spot!
Few things in life are greater than drippy almond butter hey? I also love that it doesn’t dry up until you’re literally at the very bottom of the jar. Hate it when AB fails me and stops being drippy halfway through. Hahaha
Personally, I don’t care if your recipes have nutritional info, but I’m confident most people would be interested. Just please don’t be all weird about it and make the recipe into 4892 serving sizes so everything “seems” like it’s only 100 calories. Real people serving sizes please. 🙂
Hope you’re doing well, by the way. Thanks for the snap the other night – we definitely need to catch up. Send me a note when you’re free! 🙂 xoxo
I have heard of so many different nutritional powders…everything powder or seed is the craze at the moment. I totally fall into the “I’ll try anything at least once” category 🙂 If a recipe doesn’t show nutritional information, or if I slightly modify a recipe, I will usually put it all into MFP to figure up the values…no biggie!
You have to try maca with cacao in golden milk! Just heat up some almond milk with a some turmeric, maca and cacao powder with coconut oil and a sweetener like agave in a pot on the stove. So easy and yummy!!
I’ve never heard of maca and I don’t know how I feel about something that tastes like burnt tree lol. I personally really like nutritional info for recipes it makes me feel like I’m making a more informed decision when I pick what to cook for the week
You know I’ve used maca for AGES and I don’t know if I really feel the reported benefits or not, but yah it’s easy to toss in my smoothies a couple days a week!
The song from the trailer gave me goosebumps, but I’m not a fan of Disney doing these live actions of their animated movies. I’m very much on the fence over BatB because it is my favorite Disney movie and was my first Broadway play. I just don’t know if I want to see this version.
Ohhhhhh….. don’t you just love Disney! Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favorites as well.
Curious what you decide about nutritional information. I also get asked to add it. I haven’t for basically the same reasons you mentioned.
Haha – “eating with distractions” can be hazardous to ya belly apparently! As far as the nutritional labels, I’m not a fan but they are requested – I’ve been using my fitness pal from time to time, but think I need a better label generator – any ideas?
BTW – I love matcha – it’s a strong, strong tea by itself and not for everyone, but if you mix it with chocolate or in a smoothie with berries and agave or condensed milk, it’s awesome – at least for me. I’ve never had maca powder though, I did see it at Sprouts but wasn’t sure about the taste – and now I know – hmmm…burnt trees might not go so well in a smoothie – eh?! And cup, Costco’s AB is seriously amazing! So so good! Speaking of which, hope you have a so so good day and weekend!
STILL haven’t tried maca/matcha/whatever, but the lattes people make are really pretty. I’m going to Whole Foods soon so maybe I’ll bite the bullet.
As for your question, it doesn’t bother me either way. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t 100% trust the nutrition info on recipes anyway, so I just skim over it and take it with a grain of salt.
I am totally in love with both matcha AND maca.Though I’ve been drinking matcha iced, both are really good in smoothies – which is how I sip them daily!
As for the nutritional info, as much as I want to say no, unfortunetly we live in a world OBSESSED with numbers – calories, fats, carbs, and it will only benefit your blog. Though it is more work for you!!
I have never actually had matcha or maca so I need to get aboard both of those trains haha. And YASSS to costco almond butter, that is the BEST AB hands down!
I think it’s up to you to include nutritional info or not! It can easily be calculated but it might be helpful for some who don’t know how. I don’t count calories anymore either and I don’t encourage it, but hey it’s your blog! 🙂 Either way I’m sticking around 🙂
I think including the nutrition info on a separate page would make everyone happy. Sometimes I like to see how much sugar is in something I’m making even though I’m not huge on calorie counting either. I think it would be really great for people with diabetes too.
I am soo excited about the teaser trailer…I was literally goose-bumping (that’s not a real word…it should be) I can NOT wait!
I like nutritional information in general but I think we go way over board sometimes. It almost takes the joy out of eating…. I have never heard of macs here in France but it takes a while for trends to make it to this side of the pond. And not all of them make it !
I love the Costco almond butter, it’s so good!! I’ve thought about trying maca powder but haven’t yet. I know I did one time at a friend’s house and she described it as adding a “malt” like flavor to her smoothies but I don’t really remember. I definitely could use it for the hormone balance but right now I’m in a world of black cohosh for that and I think it’s working…? Regardless the bottle says “menopause support” so I’m just further proving my “old lady” tendencies. ha!
Hi lovely – just tried to link up but it says I have no backlink (which I do) – have submitted anyway so hopefully you can give it the a-ok! 🙂
Can we please talk about how depressed I was when I saw the trailer for my all time favorite Disney movie with my FAVORITE HP actor and then realized it’s slotted to come out 2 YEARS from now. UHHHHH terrible.
Wait, it’s just next year, right? I thought it was 3.17.17! (And I got super excited because that’s like the best two-days-after-my-21st-birthday present ever 😊)
Interesting – I actually don’t find maca to have too strong of a taste and would describe it more as “malty” or “caramelly.” Maybe we got two different brands or something.
I think the idea to have nutritional info on a separate page is a good one. It gives both options and ultimately it is up to the individual whether or not they want/need to see. It could be beneficial to provide the option for those who do want it.
I’ve heard of maca! Now I want to try it! I love that jam!! Sweetened with grape juice– yes pls!!
I’ve never bought matcha powder but I’ve had it in things I’ve eaten. I want to buy it but it’s so expensive I am kind of turned off, haha.
I think nutritional information should be included. You can figure it out sure, but some people do care a lot about it and making it readily available for them to see makes them more likely to make/use your recipe.
Great question about nutrition info. I’ve been going back on forth on that one and actually very recently decided that I’m going to start including it, going forward—at least where appropriate. I’ve been noticing that a lot of my nutrition clients and editors for different publications I write for are asking for that information, so I often end up having to calculate it anyway.
I love green tea, I don’t like matcha. It is too grassy for me. And for some reason, it leaves me feeling like I have dry mouth. Is that normal? Don’t answer that.
That brand and flavour of jam is in my favorite- always reminds me of being a kid! In terms of nutritional information, it’s indifferent to me. If calculating isn’t too tedious for you, I’d keep them on- I’m sure many are finding it useful and those who don’t can just turn a blind eye to the numbers!
I haven’t tried matcha or maca but I also noticed the matcha trend lately! Definitely curious. And now I want that almond butter too!
I haven’t tried matcha either! I’ll see a recipe and think “Ooh, I’m gonna get me some of that!” but it hasn’t happened yet. XD Some day!
Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite disney movies too. Can’t wait to see the new one!
I am guilty of counting macros, but if a recipe doesn’t have nutritional info I don’t pass over it. It’s easy enough to calculate it myself.
Matcha is just as earthy as maca, but greener. The craze isn’t recent, though.
I would love to see nutritional info, personally. I wish I could just eat by feel, but trust me, after decades of yo-yoing, it doesn’t work for me, but weight watchers does.
I stay away from matcha powder. they sent it to me to review I think two years ago? I get so dizzy from green tea that I never tasted it since it’s a high concentration of green tea or something like that. and no, I don’t need nutrition info on your recipes! the ingredients are healthy enough, I don’t need to count it up.
I don’t think I have heard of maca powder before (or maybe I always just confused it with matcha powder!). Anything that provides an energy boost sounds good to me! I’ll just keep in mind to definitely mix it with cocoa- not sure I want to taste burnt tree bark!
Oookay, now I might just need to buy that raspberry spread to get jamming with 😉 – St. Dalfour is a brand we can actually get over here. Like you, I’m usually a blueberry jam girl. Or cherry respectively cherry when my grandma gifts me a jar of her homemade one.
Matcha is one of those trends I feel we’re somehow done with over here – surprisingly because the trends usually start overseas and people here jump on the train late. In this case, though, a popular vegan chef started promoting matcha first as a morning coffee replacement, then incorporating it in everything else years ago. I’m not a fan … oops.