Afternoons at Starbucks: BOGO!

Happy Friday my friends!! I hope this finds you doing wonderful. I was planning on sharing some new kitchen faves I've found (thanks, Whole Foods!) and pre-Thanksgiving thoughts, but then I remembered I must share some coffee news! My other ramblings can wait. ;)

Starbucks has buy one, get one free on holiday beverages from 2-5 pm through Sunday (November 17th)! From what I remember, caramel brulée lattes are bomb. At any rate, its a perfect opportunity to share some coffee/holiday love; whose day isn't made by a free surprise coffee??

While still on the coffee topic, I've found a wonderful new one! Dunkin' Donuts apparently released a bakery series and it includes chocolate glazed donut coffee! I found it at Target and bought it as a thanks-for-all-the-coffee gift but got to try a cup (I sound like an awful gift giver, don't I?); it was SO good with a splash of vanilla creamer! Yumsville.

Next: I found my all-time favorite dressing at Whole Foods!! I discovered it among the lettuces and kale in the produce section and was super excited! Now, it IS oil-free, but that's not why I like it. I have nothing against oils and love using olive oil, but SO many salad dressings use soybean oil rather than olive oil and it is annoying. This is the first salad dressing I've been able to have (with the exception of ones I make at home) since I found out about my food allergies, and it is delicious! If any of you are like me and struggle making your own dressings (I somehow only make two servings worth...) you will appreciate this product even more. Plus its from Whole Foods so you know its preservative/lame ingredient-free! ;) If you need help finding it, check out the bottle.

image from http://garlicgirl.com/2012/01/07/purple-kale-chips/

LASTLY: I snagged some lovely purple kale on my last trip to Whole Foods (honestly, they don't pay me to advertise their awesomeness!) and tried it out on my fave kale recipe, aka kale chips. I think it might make even better kale chips than the curly-leaf kale I usually buy! Could this be solely because of its pretty color? Possibly (judge me if you will). But it seemed to have a slightly heartier texture that held up really well after being baked, making the chips crispier. Either way, it was purple and from an Iowa farmer and I was thrilled! Lots of veggies are green, so you mind as well switch it up with some purple. ;)

That's all I've got for today! Next time we'll talk allergy-free Thanksgiving recipes, YAY!! Have a splendid weekend. :)

--KQ