The winner of the Zevia giveaway, selected randomly via www.random.org is…
MISSY! Congratulations! Please e-mail me your information so your package can be shipped! 
For everyone else, thanks for reading! I’m sure there will be more giveaways to follow!
Being the applesauce lover that I am ( I insist it’s not just for babies! =) ), how on earth could I turn down Musselman’s when they asked if I wanted to sample their new Healthy Picks apple sauce in GRANNY SMITH flavor? Obviously I didn’t! : )
What I like about Healthy Picks Granny Smith Applesauce is that they are a bit different than other applesauces that I have tried. Aside from being all natural, this applesauce also has THREE grams of fiber and 10% of daily calcium needs per 4oz. cup! Fiber, calcium, and good taste? I’m loving that!
So, last night I opened up one of these cups to enjoy with my dinner. It was a normal colored applesauce, perhaps just a tad more green/yellow than what I’m used to. I was a bit scared or hesistant at first- even though apples are my favorite fruit, I’m really not a fan of Granny Smith apples. In fact, I really only eat them in two conditions. One- with peanut butter or Two- with a bland/unsweetened cereal and milk for breakfast. I usually find them too tart and even too crunchy for my preferences.
However, I tried this applesauce and really enjoyed it! I could certainly taste the granny smith aspect of it, but it really wasn’t tart at all! There was a good amount of sweetness as well, which I certainly enjoyed. The texture was smooth, yet still had a little bit of consistency which I liked. It had the consistency of a fruit sauce, not a super smooth puree.
Overall, 4 1/2 stars! I would most likely buy this if I saw it in stores. I really love the extra fiber and calcium, and it’s great taste. It’s mild enough to eat with a meal, but sweet enough to also eat on it’s own. Delicious!
1 4oz. cup is 70 calories, 0 grams of fat, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar and 0 grams of protein.
*** ZEVIA GIVEAWAY ENDS TOMOROW!!! ****
Well, I’ll be honest. I’ve tried my fair share of protein bars in the past, and I usually find them to be sort of chalky, dense, or just very bland. However, after trying the Cookies ‘n Cream Bar from Promax, it made me rethink protein bars!
Seriously guys- this bar totally rocked. Not only is there 20 grams of filling protein per bar, it was actually quite big (75 grams)! I opened up the bar and saw a thin white coating, with a dark brown/black colored bar underneath. I took a bite, and was both surprised and totally pleased. This bar was SOFT! Like fudgy and chewy soft! So good, I really loved the consistency. But what did I also love? THE TASTE! Oh yea!! The coating tasted like a sweet vanilla icing, and the bar itself was sweet, slightly chocolatey, and also a slight peanut butter flavor. Just absolutely delicious- all the flavors went together really well.
Overall, 4 1/2 stars. This doesn’t get 5 stars from me because there are 30 grams of sugar in this 75 gram bar, and only 1 gram of fiber. It was very hard to not eat the whole bar in one sitting, which had 270 calories. Besides the awesome flavor and texture, I did like that it had 25% of the calcium needs, and only had 4.5 grams of fat. Nice!!
1 bar is 270 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 30 grams of sugar, 1 gram of fiber, and 20 grams of protein.
* What’s your favorite protein bar/brand? Please leave a comment below!
and..
*Dont forget- Zevia contest ends Sunday! Scroll down if you’d like to enter!
Hey guys! Juuuuuust letting you know there will be another upcoming CSN review! (woo-hoo!)They have tons of products to choose from, even something like a coffee table!
I’m excited- and I hope you are too!
I hope you all have a great day!
*ZEVIA giveaway ends Sunday!*
Along with the Carrot Raisin and Cinnamon Date bread I was sent from Manna Organics, they also gave me the Whole Rye. I’m not a huge rye bread eater, but I do remember when I was younger, I used to always eat bakery fresh rye bread during Thanksgiving with homemade mashed potatoes and a little bit of butter. Delicious!
So, I put this one in the freezer when I got it originally, and then thawed it in the refrigerator. Then I opened up the rye bread and noticed a good sized, brown loaf. The bottom of it was almost sort of wet and the top was a bit cakey and dry. I’m not sure if that was because I froze it and then defrosted it, or if it always comes like that.
Anyway- I cut a slice and took a bite. It has a very grainy and nutty texture, and there were pieces that almost looked like the brown popcorn kernels once they pieces are popped (Those little light brown flakes I guess I would call them?) To my surprise, it was still pretty soft. It was a dense and chewy bread, and not dry at all! A really good rye flavor, but I did miss the salt : ( It was a tad bit bland without it, so I decided to sprinkle just a little bit on top- Voila! Just the way I like it.
Overall, I’m giving this 3 1/2 stars. It’s organic, has 5 grams of fiber per 56 gram serving, and the ingredients rock- only “sprouted organic rye kernels, filtered water”. TWO INGREDIENTS? Nice. I was surprised to see 7 grams of sugar come from just sprouted rye kernels and water.. who knew?
2 oz. is 150 calories, 0 grams of fat, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein.
* Zevia giveaway ends SUNDAY! *
Along with the Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Bar I was sent from Nature’s Path, they gave me a few others, including the Berry Blast and Peanut Choco Drizzle bar. These bar is also gluten free and organic, and feature yet more cute animals on the front! The Berry Blast has a cheetah- and an adorable one at that! And the Peanut Choco Drizzle has a Lemur. I can see kids totally loving this cute little animal on the packaging : )
I also found out from the back of the Berry Blast bar’s packaging that “1% of EnviroKidz sales are donated to conservation groups like Wildlife Trust”. That’s awesome!
Now, onto the Berry Blast bar itself…
A good sized bar, pale in color, and looks like a ton of pieces of puffed rice with few sporadic blueberries and red berries (which after looking at the ingredients, I found out were raspberries). The bar smells sweet- fruity and marshmallow-y (if that’s word..) at the same time.
The bar was chewy and light, with certainly a fruity taste. It was almost a bit of a sour/tangy fruit taste, sort of reminding me of freeze-dried strawberries. The blueberry pieces were better- sweet and tasty. Although it was a bit of an odd taste, I actually kind of enjoyed it. I can see kids liking this fruity bar as well. I also liked that it wasn’t super sticky! It did lack fiber and protein, but only has 7 grams of sugar and 110 calories for a 28 gram bar. Not too shabby! 4 stars
Peanut Choco Drizzle-
Oh wow this one was TASTY! Peanut butter + chocolate are always good in my opinion, and this one sure did NOT disappoint! Sweet and slightly salty peanut butter tasting bar (the crispy rice part) with a sweet chocolate layer on top, that tasted like milk chocolate. They only thing I was disappointed about was I wanted a thicker layer of chocolate on top of my bar! There were also little peanuts scattered throughout the bar, which added a nice little crunch and a peanut-ty taste! Although not very filling on it’s own, I had this with my lunch as my treat and was certainly satisfied : ) 4 1/2 stars
Berry Blast-
1 bar (28 grams) is 110 calories, 3 grams of fat, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, 1 gram of protein.
Organic Brown Rice Flour, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Honey, Organic Soy Oil, Organic Invert Cane Syrup, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Corn Starch, Organic Acacia Gum, Organic freeze-dried raspberries, Organic freeze-dried blueberries, Natural Marshmallow Flavor (gelatin-free), Sea Salt, Organic Molasses, Natural blueberry Flavor.
Peanut Choco Drizzle-
1 bar (28 grams) has 120 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 8 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein.
Organic Brown Rice Flour, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Honey, Organic Peanut Butter, Organic Chocolate Icing (organic evaporated cane juice, [organic evaporated cane juice, organic tapioca starch], organic palm kernel oil, organic cocoa, natural flavors, organic soy lecithin, sea salt), Organic Invert Cane Syrup, Organic Roasted Peanuts, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Soy Oil, Organic Acacia Gum, Sea Salt, Organic Molasses, Tocopherols (natural vitamin E.)
*ZEVIA giveaway ends Sunday!*
Oh yeah- YOGURT MAKER!!
A little while ago, the generous folks at CSN gave me a 30$ giftcard to get the item of choice on their websites. I chose the Tribest Yolife Yogurt Maker, seeing as I LOVE yogurt and totally loved the idea of making any flavor I wanted (I’m thinking of doing a “peanut butter and jelly” the next time I try this machine!!)
So, I opened up my box, washed the containers and got ready to go.
Uh-oh. One thing missing. I needed yogurt cultures! So, I packed up the yogurt machine and went looking for yogurt cultures at some stores.
So after some searching I finally found some. Hooray! Now I can make tasty yogurt from home!
What kind of flavor did I want to make? Fruity? Savory? Sweet? (I ended up using 1/4 cup sugar, a little bit of stevia, 1 tablespoon of banana extract, and a little bit of vanilla extract as well to the milk.)
I heated 4 cups of skim milk in a pot (before a boil) and let cool. This whole process took about an hour or so.
Then I had to put the cultures in a separate cup with a little bit of the heated then cooled down milk, and stir. I noticed that it sort of smelled like cheese! Then I added that little cup of milk back to the pot, and mixed again.
I ended up filling 6 of the little jars that the yogurt maker came with the milk mixture, and put them in the yogurt machine (without the jars’ lids on), and then placed the cover on the machine. I plugged it in, set the timer for 12 hours and well. Now all I had to do was wait!
The whole process took about 16 hours. I started at 4pm Friday and took it out around 8 am Saturday. Then of course, I had warm yogurt, so I had to stick it in the fridge to cool off. I let it sit for 24 hours in the fridge, and then took one out. It sort of had a silken tofu appearance, or resembled when I once had a soy yogurt. It looked firm on top, but then when I scooped some with my spoon, it kind of fell apart. It sort of looked like watered down cottage cheese in a way. Perhaps the next time I try it I’ll leave it in the yogurt machine longer? Or use different ingredients?
Overall, this gets 3 stars. It was a little time consuming, and didn’t really give me the texture I wanted. I do like the concept of being able to make custom flavors, and being able to control the nutrition.
So, a question(s) for you readers! What flavor should I make next? Do you have any exciting or good ideas? Please leave a comment below if you’ d like to give me some ideas! =)
*also-Has anyone used a yogurt machine maker and can give me some advice on how to get firmer yogurt? I would appreciate it!
Although I have already done a review of Zevia soda in the past, I’m doing another. And guess what? A GIVEAWAY TOO!
For those of you who never heard of Zevia, here’s some info about it from the website “ZEVIA is the first all natural zero calorie soda. With only pure ingredients, ZEVIA contains none of the chemically processed artificial sugar substitutes, artificial flavors or artificial colors found in other diet sodas. ZEVIA is all-natural, has zero calories, zero net carbs, zero fat, and little or no sodium (depending on flavor).”
Zevia was even mentioned in the September issue of O magazine!
Well? Let’s get started! =)
I opened up the Ginger Root Beer first. Ah, a crisp, good flavor. Can definitely taste some of the ginger. It wasn’t super sweet, but rather just the right amount. I also loved that there was no caffeine in this flavor! 4 stars
Next up, Lemon Lime Twist. So refreshing! Also, not too sweet, but just the right amount. Also a really good blend of both lemon and lime flavors. Perfect to drink on a sunny, warm day! 4 stars
Next, Cola. This one was a bit sweeter, and not as carbonated/bubbly as the other flavors. It had sort of a cola syrupy taste to it, but was enjoyable. Went perfect with my dinner of pizza & steamed broccoli! 4 stars
Moving on to Orange- This one had a delicate yet tasty flavor. It was mildly sweet, with a tiny bit of zest to it. Yummy orange flavor! 4 stars
Next up, Dr. Zevia. Yum! I really liked this one. A good about of sweetness, and light cherry flavor. There was just a little bit of a zing or spice to it as well. It wasn’t super carbonated/bubbly, which I liked, and was quite tasty. This one gets 4 1/2 stars
Black Cherry- my other favorite, this one had a good amount of sweetness, was bubbly, and I could certainly detect a black cherry flavor. Refreshing! 4 1/2 stars
Now, THE GIVEAWAY!!
1 winner (United States Only) will win ONE SIX PACK of assorted flavors of Zevia!
How to enter:
Please leave a comment for each below. If the entry counts as two entries, leave two comments!
1. *Mandatory*
What if your favorite way to use stevia? If you don’t currently use it, then what is your favorite sweetener to eat/use?
*Optional*
2. two entries! Blog about this giveaway, and leave a link in the comment section!
3. tweet about this giveaway!
4. Follow me on twitter!
5. Add me to your blogroll!
Contest ends Sunday, September 12th, 2010 at 12PM.
Growing up, I remember when I was little and my family would go out for icecream, I would very often get strawberry ice cream with peanut butter topping. An odd combination perhaps, but I loved it. I remember my favorite part of strawberry ice cream was the big chunks of frozen strawberries- delicious.
Well, I got a coupon to try a free ice cream from Alden’s Organic Ice Creams, and how could I pick any other flavor but strawberry? Would it be possible to re-live my childhood memories of strawberry icecream, with an organic ice cream?
Well, I took this container out of my freezer and immediately was pleased. It scooped out of the container relatively easy- which I was SO happy about. I HATE when I have to dig and dig at a carton of icecream because it’s so cold and hard, that it takes so much effort to get it out of the carton! It sort of makes me not want ice cream anymore! But- not the case here!
I slid the creamy ice cream in my mouth and thought now this is strawberry ice cream. Absolutely DELICIOUS. So pure tasting, the perfect amount of sweetness, and an awesome strawberry flavor. I just loved it. I even loved how I got an occasion strawberry seed which made this have a real, homemade feel. I also loved that I could taste the cream in this icecream. Just SO good!
Of course, ice cream isn’t exactly diet friendly, but if I’m going to eat ice cream, I want some real ice cream and this stuff is really good. This is getting 5 stars =)
What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? If you’d like to answer, please leave me a comment below! =)
Here we go- a natural NON food review! And this time? It’s about soap! =)
Jason sent me some coupons to get $1.00 off a product, so I ended up using them on some all natural soaps. I prefer to use soaps from a pump or container rather than a bar of soap when it comes to handwashing, so I thought these would be pretty good. As a bonus, they were all natural, AND could be used on the face!
According to the website, here’s some notes about the Lavender, and Mango & Papaya soap I chose to buy.
“No Lauryl/Laureth Sulfates
Concentrated & Moisturizing
Never Dries your Skin
Natural Ingredients”.
I also chose the Cranberry scent, but those particular facts were not listed below the product on the website.
Anyway- onto the review!
Mango & Papaya- this one was thick and orange in color, with a light mango smell. It left my hands feeling soft, and left a very light scent on my skin. 4 stars
Lavender- this one had a stronger smell than the Mango & Papaya, but was actually quite refreshing! I loved the smooth and silky texture- a great soap! 4 stars
Cranberry- this one was my favorite of the 3. It had a very crisp, fresh and fruity smell. It sort of reminded me of fall and Thanksgiving time. I loved the sweet and fruity scent, and how it was gentle, and very clean feeling. 4 1/2 stars
Overall, I really like these soaps! I especially love that they can be used on the hands and the face- very convenient! They were a tad expensive though, I think it was about $8.99 for one at Whole Foods, so I was happy I had a $1.00 off coupon. Another person tried this soap who has sensitive skin, and she liked it as well! Bravo, Jason! =)
