Nijiya Market was full of tasty bento boxes this morning! I went to San Francisco to see Dr. Arya who is visiting from India. If you have any interest in seeing a REAL Ayurvedic doctor while he's in town (about one more week), please contact me and I'll put you in touch with him (anna AT annalou DOT com). My pulses have improved a lot since last fall, so no more special herbs, but I have to continue my vegetarian diet. So the above "Special Spring Selection", Spring Cherry Blossom Lunchbox, which was vegetarian, fit the bill for having after my session.

A too quick look at the bargain shelf had me bringing back a couple of these cute "Little Honey Bears". HA! I didn't notice the word 'blend'. Blend of what? CORN SYRUP and honey, and naturally the corn syrup took first billing in the ingredient list. Not in my tea! I'm supposing it'll do for a pancake topping, barely (pun intended)!

I went again to Greens, so I thought I'd pull this cute little container out of the fridge and share for today! Good Belly is a probiotic drink that also has vitamins. It's surprisingly tart, but has a nice taste and goes down in an instant. The product contains a Swedish probiotic, Lp299v, which is a patented probiotic used by Swedish gastroenterologists to help their patients recover more quickly from surgery. I picked it up at Whole Foods, and will pick some up again next time I'm there as it is a pleasant way to get an immunity boost as well as vitamins.

Well this fairly leapt out of the freezer case! I'm nothing if not a fan of Roxanne's. So when I saw this in Mill Valley Whole Foods it came right home with me.

Made with organic almond milk and cacao, it was smooth, sweet and soft. A delicious treat on a sunny day. Dad concurred. I hope your St. Patrick's Day yesterday held fun and laughter!

Roxanne is back! I was excited to learn the other day that Roxanne is coming back with a line of her delicious products!

Naturally I picked up something at Whole Foods as soon as I saw her name... I paired this Nutmilk Cheeze with the blanched asparagus and fresh carrot sticks as a dip. It was creamy and wonderful, not to mention rich and filling. I'll be going back for more soon!

What's that on my pancake? Wood shavings? I promise, it tasted better than that. I was just very intrigued when I saw this jam in my local Persian market.

This orange blossom jam runs like honey and the blossoms are tender-waxy. It was a lovely topping for some freshly made buttermilk pancakes.

Indian Treats. Dad & I visited the Farmer's Market at the San Rafael Civic Center on Sunday, and met some cheerful men who were inviting all to try samples of a variety of Indian dishes and snacks. I happen to be a big fan of Sukhi's vegetarian samosas, and there were some interesting snacks on display too.

Taking a chance. I picked up a box at 99 Ranch some time ago in one of my experimental moods, and it's been pushed into a corner of my pantry for some months. As I was reorganizing today, I pulled it out.

Soybean Pudding, hmmm. Reading the directions, it really looked fool proof - mix hot water with powder and let it sit.

Powdered Whole Eggs, Scrambled. As I mentioned in the post detailing my discoveries regarding powdered whole eggs in baking, I have been experimenting with using these as scrambled or fritatta eggs to see if they are suitable for this as well. In short, I understand why my mom used these in baking but not for our breakfast eggs. However, I've been experimenting with the powdered eggs, and found some tips that make these usable for this purpose as well.