#2 – Dried Cherries, A little Bit of Honey and Pecans!! Thank you so much to everyone that voted. I have to be honest. I wasn’t expecting #2 to win. I am so glad I asked for your opnion. I really want the menu to reflect what the majority of our customers want to eat.

If you didn’t get a chance to vote – don’t worry! I will be doing more of this type of voting in the future. I love hearing your opinion and getting you all involved in the menu. It makes it more fun! Do you have an idea for another vote that we could do related to the menu? Let me know!

Thanks again everyone! I can’t wait for you all to try the new oatmeal. It is really going to be comforting and warming on cool fall/winter mornings.

This recipe is oh so healthy!

Oatmeal has soluble fiber which can help you lower your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels and possibly reduce your risk of heart disease.

Flaxseed is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.  Omega 3s are polyunsaturated fats, and you need them for good health.  Our bodies can’t make omega 3s, so we have to eat them.  That’s why it’s good to eat foods like flax, walnuts, and salmon.

Check out this link to see how The American Heart Association answers questions about “better” fats

Cinnamon may help lower cholesterol and help you maintain a lower blood glucose level, but the research isn’t solid yet.  One thing we do know is that it tastes great in oatmeal!

So what do you want on top of these wonderful oats?

Here are the options again:

#1 – raisins, a pinch of brown sugar and almonds

#2 – dried cherries, a little bit of honey and pecans

#3 – dried bananas, a little bit of maple syrup and granola

I can’t wait to see which topping wins!! Vote by leaving a comment.

I like to look at food trends to get ideas for new menu items. It is a really good way to see what is hot in the food world.

The annual National Restaurant Association survey of American Culinary Federation member chefs is a comprehensive culinary forecast and menu trends prediction report. More than 1,800 professional chefs ranked nearly 215 culinary items as a “hot trend,” “yesterday’s news,” or “perennial favorite” on restaurant menus in 2010.

The number one and number two top trends for the Breakfast/Brunch category were

1. Ethnic-inspired breakfast items

2. Traditional ethnic breakfast items (e.g. huevos rancheros)

If you are curious about this particular food survey. Click here: http://www.restaurant.org/pdfs/research/whats_hot_2010.pdf

I bet you can guess what our newest breakfast item is for the new spring, summer menu….

Yes! Our own version of huevos rancheros.

Layers of corn tortillas, eggs, black beans, Monterrey and cheddar jack cheeses, and fat free sour cream.

Good Measure Meals Vice President, Elston Collins and Senior Director of Program and Policy Development and Dietitan for Good Measure Meals, Charlotte Hayes taste the new breakfast with high approval.

Chris Mayer loves this new addition. Chris is Good Measure Meals Sales Support and does Customer Service for us too.

The results were unanimous – this one is good!

Let us know what you think.

Have you come accross any hot new food trends that we should know about???

I’ve been doing a lot of recipe testing this week. I’m working on the next spring, summer menu. It will launch at the end of March. Here is a preview of two new dinners.

Thai Mango Curry with Grilled Chicken over Brown Basmati Rice. This recipe was developed by one of our runner up winners, Benjamin Sessions, in our first annual recipe contest. Thank you Benjamin for this awesome recipe idea!

This is the vegetarian version (below) – made with sesame tofu.

Both will be served with stir fried vegetables.

AND

Chicken Piccata Pasta with a Lemony White Wine and Caper Sauce over Spinach Fettuccine Noodles.

The vegetarian version is similar but the chicken is replaced with a Cashew and Chickpea Patty.

These will be served with a sauteed vegetable blend.

Both of these recipes were evaluated by Good Measure Meals and Open Hand staff. I made minor tweaks to both recipes and retested them until I got the right flavor and everyone approved them.

Please let me know what you think. Are you excited for these new additions?

It is not too late to let me know what you want to see in the new menu. I will dedicate a meal to you. Just let me know what you want!

All of this cold and wet weather has got me thinking about tropical beaches on an island. What would I eat for breakfast if I was on an island right now? Coconut, bananas and pineapples, of course!

This was the inspiration for the newest breakfast bar idea for the 2010 Spring/Summer Good Measure menu.

I’m calling it “Tropical island oatmeal breakfast bar made with banana, coconut, pineapple and sliced almonds”.

Check out the pineapples, oats and bananas. The is just a small hint of coconut flavor.

Oats are an amazing and powerful little grain. They are loaded with soluable fiber. This is the type of fiber that helps lower LDL cholesterol, also known as ”bad” cholesterol. Soluable fiber appears to decrease the absorption of cholesterol in your intestines.

Eating 1 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal adds 6 grams of fiber. If you add fruit, such as bananas and pineapples you can add even more fiber. One 3 oz serving of this breakfast bar provides 7.5 grams of fiber! Cheers to oats, espicallially when combined and baked with such delicious ingredients.

Our dietetic intern, Brooke, gives it a try. She highly approves!