Soup | Girl Meets Life | a lifestyle blog by Gracie Gordon

perfect pairings {with new TWISTOS Snack Bites} + a giveaway!

27 March, 2014 by Gracie

After a long day at the office or running around on meetings, there’s nothing better than a relaxing evening at home, complete with a comforting meal. I don’t know about you, but a big bowl of soup is just about as comforting as it gets.

The other day I came home after a snowy, work-filled Monday, so I decided to make a big pot of one of my favorite soups – Easy Butternut Squash Soup. I’ve followed this recipe a few times, and it really is so easy! But more importantly, it is comforting and delicious. I finish mine off with a drizzle of Sriracha.

Whenever I have soup, though, I always like to pair it with something crunchy and flavorful. I was recently sent a bag of TWISTOS™ baked snack bites to try, so I figured I’d see if they paired well with the soup.

The TWISTOS™ snack bites turned out to be such a great pairing to go with my soup! The combination of the warm soup and light & crispy textured snack bites made for the perfect addition to my soup. Not to mention the creamy goodness of asiago gave the TWISTOS™ a delicious twist to the sweetness of the butternut squash.

The TWISTOS™ were so great on my soup that I topped my salad with them too. The TWISTOS™ Parmesan & Garlic flavored snack bites made for a fun alternative to croutons, adding the perfect crunch and sharp Parmesan flavor to every bite.

TWISTOS™ baked snacks come in three flavors: TWISTOS™ Parmesan & Garlic Flavored Snack Bites, TWISTOS™ Asiago Flavored Snack Bites and TWISTOS™ Bruschetta Flavored Snack Bites.

I added the Asiago flavor to my soup, Parmesan & Garlic to my salad, and really enjoyed eating the TWISTOS™ Bruschetta Flavored snack bites on their own. The tomato, garlic and basil flavors almost taste as if you’re eating real bruschetta!

What creative way would you enjoy eating TWISTOS™ Snack Bites?

Leave your answer in the comments section for the chance to win a bag of each flavor of TWISTOS™ snack bites for yourself!

How to enter:

1) Leave your answer in the comments section
2) Tweet about the giveaway: “I entered @alagracie’s #Twistos giveaway! http://tinyurl.com/oxhoyh9” and leave a comment with the link to your tweet.

~~The giveaway will end on Thursday April 3rd, so get your entries in! The winner will be randomly selected from all eligible entries. Good luck~~

Winner has been chosen and contacted!

This post is brought to you by a partnership with Frito-Lay & Girl Meets Life. All opinions are my own.
Please note I was compensated for this post.

#LEAN14: how to not hate vegetables.

24 January, 2014 by Gracie 15 Comments

I must pat myself on the back for doing really well with regularly eating tons of vegetables so far this year. I’m really planning on keeping it as a habit throughout Lean in 2014.

My “secret” to doing so is pretty simple – I’ve learned how to make vegetables taste as good as possible. And I’m not just talking about salads (because – let’s be real – you can make anything good by covering it in salad dressing).

In the past I would just force myself to eat veggies in any form because I knew it was good for me, but that never lasted. So instead of making vegetables just bearable, I’ve realized what a difference it makes to have vegetables taste delicious - something I actually want to eat!

Here are my 5 tips for making vegetables tasty (and not hate eating them).

1. roast them.

Roasting vegetables is hands down my favorite way to cook them. Here’s a great guide to roasting vegetables:

My favorite roasted vegetable is definitely butternut squash with a bit of salt and cinnamon. It gets all caramelized and sweet!

2. add avocado.

I love adding avocado to just about everything. It adds great flavor, a buttery texture, and healthy fats. I actually prefer avocado over salad dressing – if you use a really ripe avocado you can mash it up into a “guacamole dressing” of sorts.

3. add butter.

Butter seems to have gotten a really bad rep, but I’m a huge fan of it. First of all, just a little bit of butter goes a LONG way and can add incredible flavor to vegetables. Secondly, I fall in the camp that believes saturated fat is not bad for you. Not to mention that fat helps your body absorb nutrients, and you want to get the most out of those veggies, right?

4. “pizza-fied.”

One of my favorite ways to enjoy vegetables is to PIZZAFY them. Simply add:

* marinara sauce
* Italian seasoning
* parmesan cheese

This works especially well with steamed greens, roasted broccoli, brussels sprouts, and spaghetti squash. Obviously this is no replacement for real pizza, but it’s still delicious!

5. in soup.

Most soups already have vegetables in them, but I like to take it up a notch by adding my favorite greens (spinach or kale) in the mix. I actually prefer chunky over thin/watery soup, so extra vegetables help bulk it up while adding nutrients at the same time.

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What’s your favorite way to eat vegetables?

reader request: a full day of eats.

4 October, 2013 by Gracie 18 Comments

Back in the day, I blogged a lot more about my daily eats. I’d say it was a combination of a) being more interested in nutrition b) I cooked at home more and c) readers just seem to eat those posts up. Pun intended.

Lately I have been getting a handful of food-related questions for ask G, so I thought posting my meals here and there might be something you all might like. Yes? No? Anyway, here’s a look at what I ate yesterday.

Breakfast. A bowl of Kashi cereal topped with sliced banana, slivered almonds, some dark chocolate chips, and almond milk.

Plus a big cup of coffee…x 2.

Lunch. A variety plate of sorts: Ezekiel bread topped with a fried egg, sliced apple with cinnamon and peanut butter, some grapes, and vanilla Greek yogurt.