Week 14 done of my US National Food challenge with 5 out of 7 accomplished! Add that to a new full-time job and still trying to figure out this living in the US thing … not bad, I do believe!
September 10 – TV Dinner Day
Just no … not going to happen! Highly processed food on a tin tray … not my idea of a good meal!
September 11 – National Hot Cross Bun Day
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I loved this excuse to make hot cross buns at a time nowhere near Easter! I have only made them once before, when we were in Chile, and they were really yummy! This was a chance for me to try the recipe again and see how I went this time round. So they weren’t the traditional hot cross buns that you can get in the shops, more like fruit buns with a cross on top. Still ok to eat, though! |
September 12 – National Chocolate Milkshake Day
| For those of you following my quest, you will remember that the last time I made a milkshake, it was yummy, but it didn’t agree with my stomach very well. I was going to sit this day out, but at the last minute, realised we had some ice cream, some chocolate chips and I just felt like making it. So I did, and the family loved it! |  |
September 13 – National Peanut Day
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I could have used this day as an excuse to make some cookies or slice with peanut butter (yum!), but I thought I’d do a savoury dish this time around. So I made my peanut satay sauce (recipe here) with some chicken, rice and veggies. A more healthier option, considering the other days in the calendar! |
September 14 – Eat a Hoagie Day & National Cream Filled Donut Day
| Not being American by birth, I didn’t really know what a Hoagie was. But then Google is a wonderful thing – I found it was simply a submarine sandwich. So I used a gluten-free hot dog roll, toasted it, and added my favourite toppings, turkey, avocado, sun-dried tomato and spinach. Yum! (and healthy!) |  |
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Again, something I wasn’t planning on doing, but found some gluten-free donuts, put some Cool Whip on the bottom and pressed down (thanks to Grant’s suggestions!). For a gluten-free processed product, the donut actually wasn’t too bad … not that I’ll be having too many of them though! And two days in one done … does that count double for my quest? |
September 15 – National Linguini Day
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One advantage of living in the US is being able to find lots of gluten-free pasta, even linguine. I found some quinoa linguine in Whole Foods, and topped it with my favourite bacon and broccoli sauce (recipe here), using real bacon! A family favourite for sure! For those of you playing at home, you will realise this is a recycled photo – I DID take the photo of the linguini, but somehow must have deleted it from the camera … |
September 16 – National Guacamole Day
I would have loved to have done this day, but considering I’m the only one in my family that likes avocado, I’d have to eat all the guacamole I made for myself, so I decided not to!
Coming up next week:
- September 17: National Apple Dumpling Day
- September 18: National Cheeseburger Day
- September 19: National Butterscotch Pudding Day
- September 20: National Rum Punch Day
- September 21: International Banana Festival / National Pecan Cookie Day
- September 22: National Ice Cream Cone Day
- September 23: National White Chocolate Day
Stay tuned to see which ones I choose to make/eat and how successful (or not) I am!
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