More Bang for Your Bagel Buck

Happy Tuesday all! Hope everyone is sailing through the week to another highly anticipated weekend. Hopefully you have some fun plans or some major relaxation scheduled! I’m still going to be prepping for my grad party that is less than 2 weeks away! Thank you all so much for all your recommendations with casseroles and such to make for serving. One thing for sure is I am making some type of pulled meat as Erica suggested(thanks so much for the long and YUMMY list btw), and my grandpa will be making some stellar chicken wings. I am so excited to present a “virtual” tour of my party to you guys! A neighbor is making the cake so I pretty much get to customize it to my liking and so far it is going to be adorable! But I better stop or I will give everything away spoil all the fun—so you’ll have to sit tight till June 20th. I know you will =)

On to some food business as usual. I loved how I received tons of feedback on how some recipes just can’t be tweaked or can’t keep that special taste by being healthified. I totally agree 101%, and today’s recipe is one that fits the bill. If I want a good bagel, well then I’m going to eat one regardless. Of course I did make these 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all purpose instead of all white. Wheat just has an unbeatable taste. But, if you’re not the type to make your own bagels (yeast rising, boiling + baking) you can always check out my review of Kim's Light Bagels if you missed it before & buy some ASAP. I just don’t understand how they can make such light bagels, but retain such a full and flavorful taste. Maybe one day I will health stealth em’. I decided to stab Einstein Bros in the back and any other bagel companies and make my own! Hello saving money and total customization anyone?

Homemade Bagels

Recipe adapted from here.

Yield: 8-12 bagels

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water (112-115 degrees F)
2 tablespoons dry yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt 
2 cups all-purpose flour + 2 1/4 C ww flour
8 cups of water, for boiling
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water

Optional add-ins: cinnamon, raisins, chocolate chips, walnuts, blueberries—basically anything that fits your fancy!

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, mix yeast, sugar and warm water together and let stand 3 minutes.

2. Mix 2 cups of flour with the salt in a large bowl; then add the yeast mixture. Stir until combined and slowly mix in the rest of the flour.

3. Knead dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes, adding additional flour if necessary. Dough should be fairly smooth and somewhat firm. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until double.

4. Punch dough down (if using additions, add these now). Divide and shape into 12 balls. (For larger bagels, make only 8 balls.) Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

5. Bring 2 quarts of water to boil. Make a hole in each ball of dough and pull open about 2 inches, making a bagel shape. Place the shaped dough onto a cookie sheet and cover for 10 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop 2 or 3 bagels at a time into the boiling water for about 45 seconds, turning each once.

7. Drain cooked bagels on a wire rack. Mix egg white and water; brush tops with egg white mixture and top with optional toppings, if using. Place bagels on greased baking sheets.

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, turning once half-way through baking. (If making plain bagels, you can flip the bagels; otherwise, just rotate.) Bagels will be lightly browned and shiny.

9. Optional step: My bagels were still slightly doughy in the inside after baking, so I sliced all of them in half and baked open face on 350 F for another 10 minutes; worked like a charm!

Toast and Enjoy!

Apparently my dog was hoping there was a bone flavored bagel in the mix—he was disappointed to say the least.

Good for You Goods: Kim’s Light Bagels

Yes, you read the post title right. Today is not a “Good for You Goodie”, but instead a “Good for You Good”. The difference you ask? On my blog a goodie is a savory or snack type food(cookie, chip, etc.) and a good is a good for you food product(pasta,breads,etc.). Today’s feature could be considered either really depending on what you eat on it, but overall by itself, it’s simply a good.

The Good for You Good: Bagels

The Company: Kim's Light Bagels

The Chew Review: I think something that is created by someone who, in this case is Kim Bensen, and that is fueled by a certain goal obtained (in her case was learning to beat the bondage of food and in the process lose 212! pounds), and then bringing out a great product to the world is a mixture for a superb company! So I was honored to get the chance to try her creation, Kim’s Light Bagels, because unfortunately no where near me sells them.(Which I am going to highly suggest they start!)

From the website:

“A year ago friends encouraged me to take to market one of my favorite products – a 110 calorie, high fiber, low fat bagel -- in six yummy flavors. Today we ship Kim’s Light Bagels to all 50 states and are in major grocery store shelves across New England, New York and New Jersey. Our goal? To get out of the shipping business and be in the supermarkets of EVERYONE who wants a tasty, portion controlled, New York style, kettle boiled bagel!”

Bagels can be a carb loaded food that can send your blood sugar for a rollercoaster ride, and in turn leaving you hungry an hour later. However, these bagels are very different. Clocking in at 110 calories(they are a full sized bagel also, not mini!), 4g of fiber, 5g of protein, calcium, thiamin, niacin, iron, riboflavin, and folate all stuffed into these versatile and scrumptious bagels! Plus it doesn’t hurt that they come in 6 flavors(Original, Wheat, Blueberry, Cinnamon, Onion, & Everything), so there’s guaranteed to be one you’ll like! Here’s my lovely stash all thanks to Kim!—>

Now I am not going to do a full-out post on every single bagel, because for one I do not like onion bagels(but my mom said it was fantastic), and two, the flavors are pretty close to a regular bagel which I am sure you have all had. But here’s some snapshots of my favorites!

Top left is the cinnamon bagel looking great all on it’s own! Of course I some microwaved apples and a dollop of vanilla yogurt to sandwich between the two which turned out to be more of a dessert-tasting creation! The cinnamon flavor was outrageously good in this bagel. And I can’t get over the great texture, chewiness, and wholesome overall taste in this line of bagels. Is it just me, or is healthy food no longer dull tasting?!

Top right is the blueberry bagel paired with some peanut butter for the ultimate blend of taste sensations. I could actually taste blueberry in every bite. Not some artificial blueberries either, but real and fresh tasting blueberries people!

Bottom is the wheat paired with some turkey and salsa. I toasted this one, but I found out I like it either cold or toasted! It’s not really your standard wheat taste though, it has somewhat of a hint of sweetness between bites that really makes it a bagel I ate 1 day, okay 4 days in a row! 8-)

The everything bagel and the onion were both tested by my lovely mom and dad who said, “They were both very good,” and when asked if there’s any left the reply was simply, “Nope, they’re all gone.” So you know they were good!

I had been playing with the idea of trying to make my own bagels, maybe some hearty whole wheat ones or something, but now that I discovered these gems, I don’t think I will have to do any work, other than click my mouse on over to buy these. Thanks to Kim and her delicious and nutritious bagels, I can enjoy great and healthy bagels without the time needed to make em’.

Question of the day: What is your favorite topping or way to eat a bagel?

And one last thing…if you are up to the challenge of making your own bagels, here’s a few link to get ya started—>

• Emeril's Homemade Bagels
• One at AllRecipes to try
• Great video for step-by-step instructions
• A blogger shares her bagel making adventure
• Bagel Recipe from Martha Stewart