Eat In. Barbara's Shredded Oats.

A little over a month ago, my great friend Ashley gave me a dry square of Barbara's Shredded Oats to try in her Hell's Kitchen kitchen. I've been hooked since--I get my fix in a little bowl with 2% milk.

It's a delicious and healthy start to the day, and available at plenty of supermarkets, like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.

With a box of Barbara's in your cupboard, there's no excuse to miss the most important meal of the day.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Eat In. Smoky fusilli goodness.

Last night for dinner, I tried to re-create a pasta dish from one of my favorite Italian restaurants in L.A. The "Fusilli con Melanzane e Scamorzaa" at Pane e Vino is so delicious. Before having it, I was not particularly a fan of smoked cheese. The smoked mozzarella in this dish though, gives the vegetarian meal such heft (in a good way).

On their menu it's simply described as "corkscrew pasta, smoked mozzarella, eggplant, tomato sauce". Simple enough--but a great combination I honestly wouldn't have come up with on my own.

I had an unopened jar of Trader Joe's Traditional Marinara Sauce in my cupboard, but stopped off at Gelson's for the other ingredients: De Cecco brand fusilli, a small eggplant, and both fresh small mozzarella balls, and smoked Gruyère (I couldn't find smoked mozzarella and didn't want to forgo the smoked flavor).

I rinsed, sliced into discs, chopped (into about 1/2 inch cubes), then rinsed again, and salted the eggplant. Apparently (in some quick research I did) eggplant has a tendency to be bitter, and rinsing and salting can help. I let the rinsed, salted eggplant sit in a colander for 10 or so minutes as I got everything else ready.

The rest was so easy--I just cooked the pasta, drained it, poured it into a large bowl with some marinara sauce at the bottom of it, threw in the eggplant and cheeses, tossed it all together, adding some more sauce along the way, then put it in the oven (at 325° F) for about 20 minutes for the cheeses to melt.

Delizioso!

Pane e Vino is located at 8265 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. Info: panevinola.com, (323) 651-4600

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: panevinola.com

Check It. Trader Joe's tea tree face wash.

If you're looking for a nice clean, refreshing face wash the Desert Essence tea tree oil face wash sold at Trader Joe's is wonderful.

Tea tree oil is great for clearing up blemishes, and this face wash gets skin squeaky clean. It's a bit counter intuitive -- using an oil to clean/clear up skin -- but it works amazingly.

Also it's a pretty affordable alternative to other high quality skin products out there.

-- Lauren Williams

Photo credit: the BEAT.

Eat In. Trader Joe's candy cane / cookie ice cream.

So, apparently (according to a radio ad I heard this morning), there's an ice cream that has these in it. At Trader Joe's. A quart for $3.99.

Definitely on my Christmas grocery list. Or maybe even a 'this weekend' grocery list.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: thekitchn.com

Eat In. Trader Joe's European Style French Vanilla Mint yogurt.

Trader Joe's is always coming out with new items, often hit-or-miss. I just spotted this in the refrigerated section and decided to try it.

I imagined it tasting a lot like Middle Eastern yogurt that often comes with mint in it, which can be very strong and pungent, coming on the side of a main dish.

This however has neither of those qualities. Smooth, creamy, with a French vanilla flavor at first and a minty aftertaste this is one of my favorite of Trader Joe's recent new products.

And like many of their yogurts, the new cups of French vanilla mint cost $.99 each.

-- Lauren Williams

Eat In. Trader Joe's Vegetarian Pad Thai.

Trader Joe's has many great frozen dinners that aren't depressing to buy and eat.

Their Vegetable Pad Thai is a relatively new item, and it is one of the best on the shelves. An employee there recommended it to us when he was re-stocking, and he was so right. It's flavorful (in a Thai-peanut kind of way), has a nice texture, and I like that it's vegetarian without being overpowered with large tofu chunks. It has small pieces of tofu, but the noodles are really the majority of the dish (rightly so). This is a great buy for anyone that remotely enjoys Pad Thai.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: nashvillescene.com

Check It. Tea tree oil.

I've known about the wonders of tea tree oil for a while. It cures cold sores, canker sores, and I've heard that adding a drop to your shampoo can cure dandruff, lice, or just leave it squeaky clean.

But recently I put a dab of the stuff on a blemish and within an hour there was a noticeable improvement. Although it's oily when it first goes on, something in this wondrous oil started healing my skin instantly. Within a very short time, things were already looking better.

Tea tree oil is very versatile in treating all kinds of skin problems, definitely worth having a bottle for any kind of skin emergency.

It comes in small 1 oz. bottles at Trader Joe's or can be found at Whole Food's Markets.

-- Lauren Williams

Eat In. Trader Joe's Heart Healthy Whole Grain Cranberry Oatmeal.

I find it starts the week out well to have homemade coffee and breakfast on Monday morning.

A quick, healthy and budget-friendly option is the delicious Trader Joe's Heart Healthy Whole Grain Cranberry Instant Oatmeal (first introduced to me by none other than fellow 'BEAT' blogger Lauren Williams). The individual portion-sized packets are easily mixed in a bowl with 1/2 cup of cold water and microwaved for just about a minute to create a meal that really carries you well through lunchtime.

One serving has 2.5 grams of fat, 160 calories, and 10 grams of sugar. Eating this before heading out the door stops mid-morning cravings for greasy foods or donuts.

If breakfast really is the most important meal of the day like we keep hearing it is, put some thought into it--which doesn't have to mean a lot of time or money.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT