Whole Foods Smoothie and Juice Recipes from Austin

There are many things which I want to write about here today. Much too much has gone on this past week to be able to consolidate everything into one blog post, so I'll start here, at the beginning because it's a very good place to start.

Last Thursday I woke up in sunny Austin, Texas. It was a cool city they said. Great food they said. Lots of things to do they said. Can we say understatement? I'm here to tell you Austin is a freaking awesome city with amazing food and tons of things to do. I'm ready to become a Texan ya'll!

Upon waking, I learned that our rental house was just blocks away from the original Whole Foods grocery store and that it was a mecca of sorts.

how idealic is this?


backyard backs up to a creek. Straight up.

Um, yes. Mecca is definitely the right word. This place was massive. Upon entering, you kind of just had to stand there for a moment to take it all in. It's what began a daily and sometimes twice daily trip to Whole Foods for our juices and smoothies at their bar.

Whole Foods headquarters is located just above


Our friend Chad was pumped. He knew what we were about to walk into.




The men with their first juices. They each had another (or two!) in the cart.


The juice/smoothie bar wasn't the only bar they had, guys. There was a gelato bar, A coffee bar, a charcuterie, etc, etc. And, there was a full on real bar in the middle of the store. Actually I'm pretty sure there were two bars, one for wine and one for beer. I should note I was there at about 8am or these seats would have been packed.



Don't drink? How about a cookie bar?




Or a gourmet oil and vinegar bar?


Need some spices or salt? Take your pick!


And I couldn't resist a picture of the flowers. If you look closely, you'll see my favorite flower in the world in the lower left corner. Ranunculus! A whole bouquet of just ranunculus!


This place was off the hook. I wasn't even embarrassed taking my camera into the store because if anyone gave me the stink eye it was kind of like, seriously? Look around you jaded jamoke.

There were quite a few smoothies and juices to choose from, but these were the ones we were most familiar with:



Blue Moon Smoothie-
soy milk
coconut water
blueberries
banana

Mild, creamy and dreamy. The color is the most beautiful shade of bluish lavender and tastes more like a shake than a smoothie. 

Chlorophyll Up Juice-
celery
cucumber
spinach
parsley
lemon
spirulina

This one was refreshing, although not the coolest color in the crayon box (think deep, sea green). It was salty and lemony, just the way we like it. The men drank quite a few of these when they weren't drinking straight up beet juice, and also, sometimes while they were.

Pretty In Pink Smoothie-
coconut water
pomegranate juice
banana
strawberry
raspberry
agave

Our friend Sabrina just couldn't get on the green juice/smoothies with green stuff in it bandwagon, so the pretty in pink was her go-to choice. She must have enjoyed five of these while we were there. I tasted it once. Pleasantly tart, and the color will slay you.

Banana Nut Smoothie-
soy milk
bananas
almond butter
maca
honey
cinnamon

I had my eye on this one the whole time and never ordered it! I had to include it here though since it taunted me so. Doesn't it sound like the most comforting thing ever?

Energize Me Green Juice-
parsely
celery
spinach
kale
cucumber
lemon

Pretty green color. Go heavy on the lemon or it has the potential to be bland. I got this one twice. Add a dash of sea sea if you make this at home.

***For a complete Austin, TX Wholefoods Smoothie and Juice Menu Click Here.*** 

Endless inspiration awaits.



After our Whole Foods extravaganza, our friend and tour guide, Chad, took us around the city. Chad knows whats up about everything.

Here is Lance Armstrongs bike shop, Mellow Johnny's! And here is Lady Bird lake! And here is Lances Bar, Hangers Lounge (we might like Lance), And here are some food trucks! 

And if he doesn't know just give him a hot second on his smartphone and he'll figure it out. He was awesome. Apparently, there is a place where couples take pictures. It's literally a string of words spray painted on the side of Jo's (cafe? restaurant?) in Austin. We all four illegally parked the car and quickly took pictures and ran back as fast as we could giggling like school children at our discombobulated switfness. It's great to be a tourist!



The day after we took this picture we saw a photographer out taking pictures of a couple under this wall. Tripod and the whole deal.

Jessica Alba's Go-To Green Drink (do not miss this one!)

There are some posts I get way too excited over. This would be one of them. I recently got Jessica Alba's new book and I think my favorite thing so far has been this recipe for her go-to green drink. We've all heard of green smoothies, but this is something different. I don't know what it is exactly, except that it's packed, and I mean packed with nutrients and antioxidants with plenty of whole food fiber to boot. And it's so delicious! I literally make this 2-3 times a week. It could easily be lunch, but I be 7 months pregnant, so it's a snack for me.

Since I've made this so many times, there are a few things I've learned:

1) Fresh ginger varies a lot in potency. The recipe calls for a teaspoon but I had been putting more until I got a super potent batch. Test your ginger to see what amount is right for you. You can always add in more but you can't take it out!

2) This drink separates as it sits. It just does. It doesn't matter how well you blend. In fact, I prefer mine not too overly smooth. Since we're dealing with lots of whole fruits and veggies this is just something you have to be okay with. I just keep mixing it with my straw and it's fine.

3) You use green fruit to sweeten this drink like cubes of honeydew melon or kiwi, but if you don't have that, watermelon works but keep in mind, it may change the color slightly. If you don't have any fruit, a pinch of stevia will do the trick. That's what both Jessica and I do half the time.

4) Make sure you add ice. This drink is best icy cold.



This drink is refreshing, pleasantly sweet, and you can really taste the green apple which I love. I tell my kids it's a green apple smoothie and they suck it down like champs. Until the end. Sometimes, because of the separation that occurs, the end can get a little thick and since Jeremiah is sensitive to consistency so he doesn't love finishing it. Isabella and I could care less. Truth be told you are supposed to "chew" your smoothies anyway for better digestion.

Feel free to play with this one. I added mint once and it was awesome. I bet a fistful of parsley wouldn't be bad either. You can always sub spinach for the kale, but honestly, you can't taste the kale at all so it's great way to sneak it in. Jessica says she likes to make a double batch and keep some in the refrigerator to sip on all day long. It's how she curbed her appetite while trying to loose baby weight.



Want to take a walk on the wild side? Last year I posted a recipe for my other favorite green drink. Be warned. It's savory, salty and lemony. It's different, but good! If your a sweet person, stay right here.

Jessica Alba's Go-To Green Drink
adapted from The Honest Life, by Jessica Alba

makes 1 large green drink

1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 cucumber, skin on, chopped
1 green apple, chopped
a big handful of kale (2-3 large leaves)
Juice from 1 whole lemon
1 teaspoon peeled fresh ginger (you can add more to taste)
3-4 cubes of honeydew melon or watermelon, or 1/2 a kiwi, or a pinch of stevia for sweetness 
5-7 ice cubes
enough water to blend

(add a handful of spinach or fresh mint if you'd like!)

Place all ingredients in a blender and add just enough water to get it going. Blend until smooth. Pour and drink right away with a straw. 

Just got back from our trip to Texas! More to come on that!

"Healthy" Reeses Chocolate Frosting

This post goes with the Healthy Chocolate Cake recipe that I posted yesterday. However, because I often get asked for a healthier frosting recipe when kids birthday's roll around and cupcakes are baked, I decided I should make this its own post.



So what exactly makes this recipe healthy, you may ask? Definitely the fact that it uses peanut butter as its base, for one. This step is only as healthy as you make it. We use organic, all natural peanut butter in this house (meaning very little sugar is added) instead of something like Jif or Skippy which can be very sugary, so I'll let you come to your own conclusions about which you should use. The point is to make this frosting healthier, after all. You can also use almond butter, although it will have a different taste. Secondly, no bad fats are added. Typically frosting starts with large amounts of butter. Here? No added fat. Cocoa powder is added for the chocolate, a smidge of maple syrup is used to sweeten (along with some Stevia, which doesn't count) vanilla extract and unsweetened vanilla almond milk finish it up, and what you are left with tastes like you melted a bunch of Reeses Pieces and frosted it thickly on a cupcake. Except this is less sweet. And I mean that in the very best of ways. You can always add more sweetener.

This frosting is thinned a bit extra with milk. It can be thicker though.


Like I said, you can use this frosting for any little thing your heart desires, but I used it on my Healthy Chocolate Cake and am in love. I mentioned this in the other post too, but for whatever reason, the combination of this frosting with my cake tastes a lot like my Cracker Barrel Coca Cola Cake. A healthier version anyway. Try it out! Let me know what you think!

In the rest of my life, I have officially entered into my third trimester of pregnancy. Week 28! Feeling good despite some muscle discomfort and back pain when I move around or stand a lot. I know that sounds pathetic like I'm a beached whale but I promise it's not that bad. I still do everything I normally do. I just can't take up running or anything. Which is fine by me because I would hate to take up running. And because I always state my opinions on this blog and then change them to the complete opposite a few years later, I will probably be a marathon runner come 2015. Check back for updates on that. True story- on one of my earliest blog posts I wrote about how I can't stand vegetarians. Although I have just started eating meat every now and then, I have been a vegetarian and many times eaten like a vegan for three years now. So...I'm not very solid? Or maybe I continue to grow and change? I'd like to think it's the latter. Lets go with that one. And then eat this vegan frosting. Yum!



Healthy Reeses Chocolate Frosting
adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

makes 1/2 cup

• 1/4 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
• 4-8 tsp pure maple syrup (I used 4 teaspoons, plus a pinch of stevia)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 4 tsp milk of choice (or more for thinner frosting- I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
• 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract 

Blend everything together with a fork in a bowl. Best to store uneaten frosting in the fridge, covered.

I'm in Austin, TX this week on vacation (and a bike race for the husband) with new friends this week! Yay for us. NO kids! Also, we get to meet up with some of our favorite people, Craig and Sally in Dallas! I am super excited!

Healthy Chocolate Cake

I struggled with what to title this post. Originally I was going to go with "guiltless chocolate cake" but that implies that low-fat ingredients are used or it's a low calorie cake. And it is, but it's more than that. "Healthy" chocolate cake implies that this cake is actually good for you, and therefore might taste kind of terrible as far a proper chocolate cake goes. That doesn't adequately describe it either. It's kind of a cross - except for the tasting bad part. It's totally amazing- because while this cake is much lower in calories than regular cake, it also uses very healthful ingredients to get there like Spelt flour, canned pumpkin, unsweetened almond milk and coconut oil. However, because this is a "proper cake" there is still some white sugar and an egg involved. I am sure this is why it bakes up so nicely. You can substitute flax seed for the egg if that bothers you. Just for comparison consider this:

This "healthy" chocolate cake calls for 1/3 cup of sugar

A normal chocolate cake of the same size would typically call for 1- 2 whole cups of sugar

The recipe subs a tiny bit of stevia for making up the sweet flavor. In the end, the cake is only mildly sweet but this is how my family likes it. If you plan to top it with the "healthy" Reeses pieces frosting that I'll be blogging about tomorrow -you lucky ducks, you- it works very well. You can add more stevia if you'd like yours on the sweeter side (or use a sweetened milk instead of unsweetened). This cake, with the frosting, actually tastes a lot like my Cracker Barrel Coca Cola Cake oddly enough. My husband who does not love frosting in general and doesn't appreciate the whole peanut butter chocolate combination that make up this frosting, preferred to eat his naked. -Insert inappropriate comment here about how my husband appreciates most things naked- He seriously loved this cake. And? When my kids come home from school today I won't feel guilty about feeding them squares of this cake (sans frosting) as an after school snack. It's too wholesome.



I promise, promise, promise you can't taste the pumpkin in here. It just helps keep everything moist while making up a lot of the normal fat called for in cake, like say, a whole stick of butter. This way we only need to add 3 tablespoons of coconut oil to the whole thing. Another plus? Coconut oil revs up the metabolism like no other. Bonus! And, as if it could get any better, the spelt flour is a whole grain so this cake will make you feel satisfied with a smaller portion. This can be served up in nine servings at 120 calories each (without frosting). Truth be told, I prefer my serving size a tad bigger, but at that rate, I don't really care to know the calorie count. I just know it's good and I shouldn't feel guilty. What the heck are you waiting for anyway?!



As you look over the recipe, you'll see lots of options for substitutions. This is just so you can fit this into your own personal definition of "healthy."

Healthy Chocolate Cake
adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

Makes an 8x8 inch pan

• 3/4 cup spelt flour or sub white flour (for less healthy) or Arrowhead Mills gf (120g)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (20g)
• 1 egg or 2 tbsp ground flax. You can omit; the cake just won’t rise as much.
• 1/3 cup white sugar (64g)
• 1/8 tsp uncut stevia (I use NuNaturals NuStevia) or 3 nunaturals packets (or 1/4 cup more sugar)
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate (60-120g) (Do not omit. The recipe just won’t be the same if you do.)
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted, or canola oil

Preheat oven to 350F, and grease an 8×8 square baking dish. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, and mix very well. Combine all liquid ingredients and the pumpkin in a mini food processor or mini blender and blend until super-smooth, so there are NO lumps whatsoever. Pour wet into dry, and mix until just combined, then pour into prepared pan and bake 30 minutes. Let cool completely. 

I frosted this with a "healthy" Reeses Chocolate Frosting.

The Best Maple Olive Oil Granola

You all. I've made many different granolas in my day and I'm happy to report the search stops here. This recipe is the one. I admit to being a bit thrown off by the olive oil. Not because I worried it might be weird, but wondered if it would even made a difference in taste (I don't think it does. I've made it with both canola and olive oil and each were great). I served this as part of the catering breakfast I did last week and people kept commenting on how good it was. When something like granola takes center stage at breakfast, it's time to pay attention.



This recipe comes from Molly Wizenburg of the blog Orangette, which originated from a recipe for Early Bird Food's granola in New York. She thinks the chief appeal is the way it crisps up in the oven and almost shatters on your teeth with it's delicate texture. It's addicting. Another of it's highlights is that it nails the sweet salty thing. Lest you be worried about your granola being salty, know that this is not a bad thing. The salt brings out the sweet and the combination together is pure bliss. This granola is sweet and I like it that way. However, you can always add less brown sugar if you like yours less sweet. I suggest making it the way it's written first though, since I deem it perfection.



I'm sort of picky about granola. You won't catch me buying it in bags from the grocery store where the flavor is lackluster and unnaturally sweet and texture is somewhat stale. No, for the amount of times granola is eaten in my lifetime I can make it at home. I love how the combination of nuts and add ins can be adjusted to whatever I have around the house. No almonds? Walnuts will do. No pumpkin seeds? I'll just add in more coconut. I prefer this granola without dried fruit added in, but if your going to do it, cranberries are the way to go. Raisins are too sweet.



The Best Maple Olive Oil Granola
adapted from Molly Wizenburg

300 grams (3 cups) rolled oats
125 grams (1 cup) raw hulled pumpkin seeds
130 grams (1 cup) raw hulled sunflower seeds, or whole almonds
50 grams (1 cup) unsweetened coconut chips
135 grams (1 ¼ cup) raw pecans,or walnuts, whole or chopped
85 grams (packed ½ cup) light brown sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
175 ml (¾ cup) maple syrup, preferably Grade B
120 ml (½ cup) olive oil or canola oil
Dried cherries, optional

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut chips, pecans, light brown sugar, and salt. Stir to mix. Add the olive oil and maple syrup, and stir until well combined. Spread the mixture in an even layer on the prepared sheet pan. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until the granola is golden brown and toasted, about 45 minutes. Remove the granola from the oven, and season with more salt to taste. Cool completely on a wire rack. If you'd like, stir in some dried cherries (I like mine without). Store in an airtight container.

Note: Will keep at room temperature for up to a month.

Yield: about 7 cups

Broiled Salmon with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

This week kicks off my second big catering job this year. I'll be serving one meal a day for five days for 12-13 people. Today I'll be knee deep in prepping roasted tomato and sausage lasagna, perfect Caesar salad and dulce de leche brownies. Tomorrow it'll be all be about orange scented brioche french toast, berry salad with mint, strong coffee and cream and some breakfast sausages for good measure. Soup and salad night is next, complete with a s'mores platter and hot chocolate for stargazing and so on and so fourth. But before all of this, I wanted to quickly share this simple Salmon Teriyaki I made last week. It's not so much a "teriyaki" as it is a soy-ginger-honey marinade, but Queen Gwyneth Paltrow calls it teriyaki, and so it shall be.

In other news, my sister made me order a bridesmaid dress for her wedding in June that is not actually a maternity dress even though it is technically an empire waist style. I will be 9 months pregnant. She has ordered me extra fabric in hopes we can rig it to fit over my belly. She has done this because it is absolutely necessary and crucial to her that the dresses all be the same color and fabric as her other non-pregnant bridesmaids. I realize this is a gamble. But it is a gamble to argue with my sister who is in the throes of wedding planning too. Her original thought was that I should order a size twelve dress so that it could fit over my belly and then we could just get the top part altered. I'm a four in real life and six in bridal, for reference. I said no. Because, obviously.



Yeah, so back to salmon because I'm a natural at writing transitions. This is a grown up teriyaki salmon with fresh flavors that don't completely mask the fish in an overly sweet sauce. It's light but has tons of flavor and a perfect fit for the upcoming Summer months. Gwyneth likes to cut cubes of fish for her kids before broiling to make "bites" with extra sauce for dipping. Next time I think I'll add a sprinkle of sesame seeds along with the green onion for garnish. Served with some brown rice and an Asian cucumber salad this was a winner, winner salmon dinner. I love how the salmon gets perfectly browned under the broiler.

You'll need to start the marinade about 1-2 hours before you need it but I recommend making it the day before so you can marinate the salmon in it longer. Read the recipe completely before starting. It's not complicated at all, but you should plan ahead with this one, even if it's only by a few hours.

Broiled Salmon with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
adapted from My Fathers Daughter, by Gwyneth Paltrow

serves 4

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon peeled and finely grated ginger
a fistful of cilantro, chopped
4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin discarded
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh chives, for serving

Combine the soy sauce, mirin, honey, water, ginger, and cilantro in a small saucepan over high heat. Once it boils, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the sauce cool down. Once it's cool, pour into a large bowl or plastic bag and add the salmon. Marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, up to overnight. 

When your ready to eat, pre-heat the broiler.

Put the salmon on a heavy baking sheet with whatever sauce adheres to it and broil until cooked to your liking, 7-8 minutes, but check after 5 minutes if your salmon is on the thin side. While it's cooking, strain the extra sauce into a clean saucepan, bring to a boil, and let it reduce. It won't ever get thick - just expect that.

To serve, drizzle the cooked salmon with some of the extra sauce and a sprinkle of chives.

Make it kid friendly: Cut some of the salmon into 1-inch cubes, broil alongside the larger pieces, and serve without chives. Kids love these, especially if you call the teriyaki "honey sauce"

The Best Caesar Salad. Ever.

In about 30 minutes of writing this post my friend Kel will be coming over for lunch. I am going to serve her the same thing I've been eating twice a week for two weeks now. Theres something addicting about this Caesar salad. When my sister was visiting a few weeks ago she told me she used to crave Caesar salads all through her pregnancy, but they had to be good. She talked about the croutons not being too dry and needing to be house made (no pre-bagged stuff) and the dressing needed to be real Caesar dressing which meant no overly milky concoctions that resemble something more like ranch. This is Caesar salad we are talking about and it should come with a proper Caesar dressing.



I don't order Caesar salads much because I guess, like my sister, I'm somewhat of a salad snob. With Caesar you only have a couple components going on (lettuce, dressing, croutons and cheese) so it makes sense that it would be important that all those things should work together in harmony. For my part, I like salads that are well tossed in a big bowls and served in the same. I love huge salad bowls to push the roughage around with my fork so I can orchestrate the perfect bite. Everything must be bite sized. I hate having to cut lettuce or croutons after I'm served. Of course, at a restaurant you can't control these elements. That's why I prefer to make a batch of this dressing on Sunday and leave it in the fridge to use whenever I get a salad craving. Of course, being the snob that I am, this means I need to make homemade croutons fresh right before I need them each time, but I don't mind since it take 4 minutes and only dirties a small saucepan. Plus, when I crush that garlic clove to infuse the olive and oil and small pat of butter where I'll later add my bread cubes, it makes me happy. I like to be invested in my lunches. Once the oil is infused, it's just a matter of tossing in cubed bread and crisping them up in the skillet. This method makes for chewy crisp croutons which are my favorite for texture. It pairs so well with the lettuce and they don't scrape up the roof of your mouth, which is always a good thing. I use Ezekiel brand english muffins for this just to keep my figure in check and to justify using that butter, but anything will work.



One thing most Caesar salad afficianattos will scoff at: This salad dressing does not have a raw egg yolk in it and it really should if it's a proper Caesar. There are rules to these things, you see. I'm fine with this because I'm pregnant and shouldnt have them. Plus, I really only care about the flavor which is spot on without said egg yolk. You can always add it. The other thing? I leave out the anchovies. I know, another no-no. Don't get your panties in a bunch becuase the recipe still calls for it so you can breathe a sigh of relief.



I love that my friend Kel is super talented. Like, when you invite her over for lunch and ask her to snap a few pictures of you preparing salad for the blog, she happily obliges, clicks a few times and that's it. Miraculously, every picture is in perfect focus. Photographers are not fair this way. It's like they don't even have to try. Even though I know she practiced and practiced and learned such things to make it look effortless. Or maybe she has no skills and I just have a stellar camera with phenomenal lighting in my kitchen. Except then I'd have to explain why my pictures don't turn out as well. There goes that theory.

The six-month bump


The Best Caesar Salad. Ever
adapted from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman

Salad Dressing:
4 whole anchovy fillets (optional)
2 tablespoons (and up to 3 tablespoons) Dijon mustard (I use 3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon balsamic or red wine vinegar (balsamic makes it nice and rich. I use this)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1/2 whole lemon, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 dash salt
Freshly ground black pepper


Croutons:
1/2 loaf crusty French bread (*see my note at bottom)
1/4 cup olive oil (I substitute about half of the olive oil for butter. I really recommend)
2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
Salt


Salad:
Hearts of romaine lettuce
Fresh Parmesan wedge

For the dressing: Place the anchovies into a blender or food processor (I use a magic bullet). Throw in the Dijon mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic and lemon juice. Pulse the processor or blend on low speed for several seconds. Scrape down the sides.

With the food processor or blender on, drizzle the olive oil into the mixture in a small stream. Scrape down the sides. Add the Parmesan, salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Pulse the whole thing together and mix until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate the dressing for a few hours (it just gets better!) before using it on the salad.

For the croutons: Slice the bread into thick slices and cut them into 1-inch cubes. 

Heat the olive oil and butter in a small saucepan or skillet over low heat.

Crush-but don't chop-the garlic and add them to the oil. Use a spoon to move the garlic around in the pan. After 3 to 5 minutes, remove the garlic from the pan.

Add the bread cubes to the butter and oil in the skillet. Mix together, and then sprinkle lightly with salt. Toss and cook in the pan until golden brown and crisp. 

For the salad: Wash and dry the hearts of romaine lettuce and chop into bite size pieces by cutting once vertically down the rib and then  horizontally. Use a vegetable peeler and shave off large, thin slices of Parmesan.

Drizzle about half of the dressing over the top of the lettuce. Throw in a good handful of the Parmesan shavings. Give it a good initial toss, just so you can evaluate how much more dressing you need.

Add more dressing and Parmesan to taste. Add the cooled croutons. Toss gently.

*Since I make this salad for one, I just use whatever bread I have on hand which is usually an ezekiel english muffin. This works fine. Also, I eyeball how much olive oil and butter I'll need to make the croutons, usually about a half tablespoon of each, and one garlic clove to infuse the oil. It's not rocket science, so don't be afraid to mess this up.