And all through our house
“Are the sweet potatoes done yet!?”
I yelled to my spouse.
It’s so exciting! Kinda like Xmas, there’s so much anticipation in the air.
I was stuck in chem lab until 4:45 today doing this long lab where we made TRANS-FATS!! Lovely.
After lab I snacked on this yummy Clif Nectar Bar that I’ve had in my bookbag for a while. I wasn’t that hungry but I knew I couldn’t wait until our 7pm dinner without a snack. I really love Nectar bars but don’t eat them much. The Vanilla Cashew is great too. This one is just like a rich mocha brownie. I loved the almond chunks too. Really, it’s a brownie.
It took my hunger away for about an hour and a half.
Bison Burgers + Fries
I LOVE BISON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys know I am not a big meat eater. I just doesn’t fill a void in me and leaves me feeling kind of heavy and blah. I’d much rather have a big bowl of sweet potato, greek yogurt, butternut squash, brussels sprouts, kale, yogurt, cereal or soup. But bison? It does it for me. There’s just something so wonderful about it. It tastes like the best beef burgers I had as a child but with the puddle of grease squirting out. It’s got the super soft feel of beef fat (gross, but honest) but it’s super lean. I actually compared it to a down comforter at dinner when biting in. Click here for all the health and cooking info: National Bison Association.
To make our burgers we mixed 8 oz of ground bison with a small piece of minced Great Harvest High Five bread, some Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Then we seared them in a skillet until they were medium rare.
On the side we had sweet matater fries –
There are a handful of meals we always end with “That. Was. So. Good.” Included: burgers + fries, homemade pizza, and homemade soups. This was definitely one of ’em.
Birthday Goodies!
Gina of The Fitnessista was so kind to send me some homemade goodies for my birthcake!
A loaf of whole wheat banana bread – which is definitely some of the best banana bread I’ve ever had! It’s got plump golden raisins in it and is the perfect balance of sweet + bread. I can’t wait to have some for snacks! I had a taste of the bread as soon as I opened the package
And some homemade macaroons!! I LOVE anything coconut, so these were also a winner. I ate this one for dessert –
I’ve requested the recipes, so please hold your horses 
But the best part was this fantastic card Gina sent! I took a bite before I realized it was just paper 😥
I’m off to bubble bath and read.
I’ll leave you with one message: VOTE!
VeggieGirl says
Sweet potatoes + birthday goodies from Gina = yum!!
Roxana says
Wow that banana bread looks good!
Jena says
Hi Kath!
I was wondering… do you use the stair master or the stair mill? Do you recommend one over the other? Same for ellipticals, do you like the one with or without the arms?
Thanks!
Jena
Lida says
OMG… I HAVE THAT CARD. i didn’t know they were still selling it! in fact, it’s in my room because i didn’t want to throw it out. is the inside a nutrition label with different words on it?
Erica says
That is so sweet- Gina is awesome! Enjoy the treats
Runeatrepeat says
I have to admit, that burger looks good and I don’t really eat meat either.
Krista says
Awesome treats in the mail! Thanks for the info on bison! 🙂
Erin says
That is so sweet of Gina. She has such a big heart!
jess says
So I had been talking about wanting to try bison for about a year but could only find Very expensive, huge packages. One day my dad comes home from the farmers market with… 8 oz. of bison for me to experiment with because “i won’t stop talking about it” haha
I must say I agree with you 100%. I don’t eat a ton of red meat but bison is where it’s at.
I’m SO excited for the election tomorrow. Happy belated birthday (again) you deserve a baking extravaganza!
Megan says
Dinner looks so good. I have never had Bison burgers!
Great gifts from Gina! YUM!
Oh She Glows says
That card looks delicious! I would eat it too. 😀
Same with the banana bread! I think I am going to make some tonight. YUM.
Hil says
I completely agree about bison! So, so, so tender and flavorful and not the slightest bit greasy. I adore it. The husband likes it better than beef, but not so much that he wants to pay the extra money…at our store it’s a lot more expensive. I’m working on him. 😉
KatieTX says
omg that cake looks so real. I have a really hard time believing its not! wow. my fav too..yellow cake with chocolate icing.
Laura Jane says
Happy Birthday! When I first glanced at the picture, I thought the cake was real!!
Meghann says
I’ve had Gina’s Maccaroons before and they are AMAZING! The recipes for both are up on her blog 🙂
Madison (FollowMyWeigh) says
whoa that card seriously looks like a real cake! lol!
kath i tried bison and i liked it but when i cooked it i was surprised at how much fat came out while it cooked! not that i minded too much but the nutrition on the box (and that website you provided) shows that it has very little fat, so it was just weird!
gina (fitnessista) says
hey kath! i’m so glad you got the bday goodies already 😀 thanks for the shout out–
i’ll email the recipes to you tonight!
that bison almost makes me want to eat meat….
enjoy your evening <3
Jenny says
I’ve never tried bison, but as an burger lover, sounds like it’s something I need to try. Glad y’all enjoyed dinner 🙂
Enjoy the rest of your night!!
Mara says
YUM YUM YUM!!!
I cannot find bison anywhere near me… I may need to cave and hit WF for some soon.
caitlin says
gina is so nice… i love her! and those macaroons are divine!
LETS GO OBAMA!!
Mariposa says
oh wow! that dinner and the goodies look SO good! (I can’t eat coconut but they look like oatmeal on my screen here, so i will pretend they are oatmeal balls!!)
I’ve never eaten bison.. but that looks great!
Marianne says
Mmmmm….burgers and fries. Man, I wish I had the makings of that at my house. I would so be making me a burger and fries!
Betsy says
ahhhh!!!! sooo excited about tomorrow!!!!! the anticipation is killing me.
Laura says
Hi Kath,
I just started reading your blog a couple of weeks ago after I came across it via a comment on Eat Like Me. It’s one of my new favourites and I’m hoping you don’t mind if I ask a question about your study, which seems to be in Human Nutrition? I’m 23, live in New Zealand and graduated with a BA (Hons) in Art History in 2006. I’m currently an Art History PhD candidate; however, I’m doing some serious thinking about whether I really want a liberal arts career. I like art history, find a lot of it very interesting, but never really had a passion for it. I do, however, have a passion for healthy eating and I’m wondering if pursuing a career in Dietetics is something that I should seriously consider. One of the major worries that I have about it (besides going back to being a first year and starting all over again with a new Bachelors degree) is actually taking a science education and all of the chemistry, biology and statistics classes that it involves. I haven’t done any science since I was at high school and my brain would probably go haywire at actually having to deal with complex equations! Do you mind if I ask how intense your classes have been and how someone more used and more inclined toward the humanities subjects might cope with it?
Best of luck with your own studies!
Halie says
Yay macaroons! And golden raisins in the Banana Bread? They are like edible little jewels! I don’t know what it is about them, but they are better then regular raisins when it comes to being baked in things.
amyy says
Heyy Kath! Love the intro to this post! I’m trying to cut out all / as much as possible artificial sweeteners from my diet (thanks largely to your blog) and have eliminated almost every source BUT I really love the Fiber One sticks (‘twigs’?), and aspartame is listed as one of the ingredients. My question is:
In your opinion, is the amount of aspartame as an ingredient in the cereal enough to negate its benefits as a fiber source / to be concerned about or is it an insignificant (/insignificant-esque) amount of sweetening?
Sidenote, I read recently in an AOL health article that artificial sweeteners slow down your metabolism–another reason I’m glad to be cutting them out!
Thanks Kath!
amyy
Alexia says
I love the little riddle! Very cute!
Dinner looks great! I haven’t tried bison before but it’s on my list. I don’t think anyone seels it near me or atleast I haven’t ever seen it.
Gina’s goodies look so yummy. That was very sweet of her to send you some goodies.
I can’t believe we will find out who the next president is tomorrow. It feels like I was voting for the first time just months ago.
Have a great night!
bobbi says
mmmmm I love that Bison, I used to have it when I was a kid but haven’t had it in like FOREVER! Thanks for the reminder.
Molly says
I actually just bought my first clif nectar this weekend! I’m excited to try it, and glad you gave it good reviews!
Gliding Calm says
Amen to your message! It’s suprising how many people I’ve talked to that actually aren’t voting…but I’m doing my best to try to convince them otherwise!!
And can I tell you how awesome you are! Twas the night before election! HA! I love it. Hilarious.
By the way, check out my blog… I made an Ode to Kath’s Chandelier Coffee!
Happy Tuesday!
Miss Tiffie says
CUTEST little intro!!! I’m SOO excited for tmw 😀
Oh She Glows says
I’m excited for tomorrow and I am not even an American ;p
Maggie says
The way you feel about bison is the way I feel about venison – I’m not a big meat girl, but venison is just amazing for me.
I did actually try bison jerky from TJ’s the other day and it was delicious. I can imagine that the burgers are similarly wonderful 🙂
Have a great night!
Santa Barbara Dreaming says
Darrrrn! those goodies from Ms. Fitnessista look mouthwatering!!! 🙂
I’ve never tried bison. But this post makes me want to give it a try. What are the other uses for Bison? Do you use it like a steak?
Ashley C says
I’m actually pretty intrested in the trans-fat lab, could you briefly explain what you guys did?! (I’m going to be a nutrition major but haven’t gotten to start yet so I love getting a preview of what is to come for me!)
The treats look great- that was so sweet of her to send them, literally! 😛
Lara says
Your little intro is so cute 🙂
Sandy says
How do you make your sweet potato fries?
Gliding Calm says
P.S. Someone just mentioned on my blog something about photo etiquette when taking pictures from the web. In no way am I trying to start any trouble… so please let me know if you want me to go about citing you for your pictures in a different way. I figured since I bluntly said, “I stole these pictures from Kath’s blog” with your blog address, that it’d be okay…but let me know!!
happy tuesday!!!!!
Kath says
Jena ,
I use the step mill (the moving staircase), which I think is Stairmaster brand so that’s what I call it (and Stairmaster sounds more challenging!) I never use the “pedal pushing” machine. I think the step mill is the hardest cardio machine in the gym! For the ET, I always use one with arms, but I think you can get a good workout on ones without arms too.
Meghann ,
I promised I searched for them but didn’t find them! Oh well, she emailed ’em and they’ll be up here later.
Laura ,
Please send me an email KathEats at Gmail.com and I’ll forward you my “Questions about R.D. programs” email.
amy ,
I think you’re right to conclude the pros outweigh the cons. It’s probably a very small amount. But I started buying the Trader Joe’s kind instead of Fiber One’s because TJ’s does have aspartame in them.
Gliding Calm,
LOVED the coffee!!! And as long as you mention where you pulled the photos from, I think it’s all fair game.
Santa Barbara Dreaming,
I think you can sub it whereever you use beef. it comes in steaks and cubes too.
Ashley C,
Like most chem labs, it sounds way cooler than it was. We took olive oil, mixed in some chemicals, boiled it, cooled it, heated it, cooled it, melted it, weighed it, tested it. Blah!
Sandy ,
Just rub with canola oil, salt ad pepper and bake for 30-40 mins on a nonstick sheet pan.
Kath
zestycook says
I have nevert had a bison burger Kath…. It sounds and looks delicious…. the sweet potato fries look great too. I was wondering if I could have a piece of the banana bread. 🙂
zesty
Cat says
Wow, those treats from Gina look fantastic! And the bison burger & fries are making my mouth water… good thing I have a sweet potato packed for my lunch to satisfy part of that craving!
Teddy says
VOTED!! I love election days 🙂
WendyF says
Never tried bison. it looks yummy. It was really hard to tell the cake card was not real. I can not wait to vote this afternoon, then on to a 8 course tasting menu dinner for my fiance’s B-day. Double spinning tomorrow:-)
JJ125 says
I only cook with bsison for recipies that call for beef. The bison here is Colorado is all local so that is a plus. Bison chili= HEAVEN in a bowl!
runjess says
I got the same goodies in the mail! So yummy.
Carrie H says
He he, Kath, I have to tell you … My husband is going on a bison hunt this weekend. It is extremely rare to get a bison license but a family member did, and because the hunt is so labor-intensive, you need five or more men (or anyone willing, I guess) in the hunting party. I love bison and wild game and I am looking forward to a freezer full for the winter.
Happy Election Day!
Carrie H says
I forgot to add … Good thing my husband is a hunter. I always laugh when people say they can’t find game meat in their stores … There are no Whole Foods or other fancy stores where we live, so my husband is where its at for us!
Kath says
Carrie H,
That’s about as natural as it gets!!
Kath