Archives: December 2010

31 Dec 2010, Comments (4)

Archer’s Farms Vanilla Cranberry Peanut Butter

Author: Healthnuttxo

Well… it’s my last review…(of 2010! I’m not going anywhere! =P )

And to honor the great year of 2010 (thanks for all who read, comment and participate! you guys are great!), I’ll end it with one of my favorite things (hopefully you can guess…)

a peanut butter! (although you probably already knew that after you read the title of the review…but anyway…)

Archer’s Farms Vanilla Cranberry Peanut Butter is one of my favorite peanut butters. Honestly, just give me a spoon and a jar of this stuff and I’ll be happy : )

It has such unexpected, great flavor. It’s creamy, just like the jar says, and pretty thick, but still has that slightly runny consistency. It smells like peanut butter with a slight vanilla scent, and there are tiny pieces of peanuts and cranberries throughout the jar. The flavor is a rich peanut taste with sweet undertones. The cranberries are really good- sweet and not tart at all.I can really taste the vanilla too- just really good!

My favorite way to eat this is on toast (and straight from the jar, of course!). I feel a peanut butter isn’t good for me unless I can eat it straight from the jar. Incredibly tasty, I highly recommend it! Without a doubt, 5 stars.

2 tbsp (32 grams) is 170 calories, 13 grams of fat, 9 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar and 7 grams of protein.


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

30 Dec 2010, Comments (0)

New England Naturals Organic Maple Nut Chewy Granola Bar

Author: Healthnuttxo

Source

When it comes to snacks, I have to be in the mood for a granola bar. Most of the time I find I would prefer something crunchy or something I can sit and savor rather than a granola bar, which I view as a more on-the-go type of snack. However, the other day I wanted something substantial, and something tasty. I pulled out the New England Naturals Organic Maple Nut Chewy Granola Bar, in hopes it would taste as good as the last one I tried.

Some things to note, the wrapper states that this bar has “6 grams of fiber”, “11 grams of whole grains” and is “low fat” with “No trans fats”. It already was my type of granola bar. I opened up the wrapper and saw a decently sized ( 34 grams) bar, that was flexible and easy to bend. I was excited. This bar had maple in it, one of my favorite things.

I took a bite and it certainly had a chewy and dense texture, and sort of a disappointing maple flavor. It was sweet, just a tinge salty, and had sort of an awkward maple flavor. Not to say that I didn’t like it, but I didn’t love it either. I did appreciate the density of the bar as I chewed it, not too thick/dense, but just the right amount.

Overall, I do like that it was organic, had some whole grains and had 6 grams of fiber per bar. I can see it being a good snack to hold me over until my next meal, and perhaps a good lunch with some fruit and a yogurt. I do wish it had a better maple flavor, as that’s what I was hoping for in this bar. So, this one gets 3 stars.

1 bar (34 grams) is 120 calories, 2 grams of fat, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein.

What’s your snack of choice? Granola bar, or something else?

I was sent this granola bar to try for free from New England Naturals.

29 Dec 2010, Comments (1)

Vermont Bread Company 100% Whole Wheat English Muffins

Author: Healthnuttxo

One of my favorite lunches is a whole wheat english muffin with butter, with scrambled eggs, maple syrup and a nice big apple. I normally get the Thomas’ Whole Wheat english muffins as those are my favorite, but the grocery store was out. So, I decided to pick up another brand and give this one a try. They sounded pretty good- the label said “No High Fructose Corn Syrup” and “No Artificial Ingredients or Preservatives”. They sounded yummy! And I didn’t think they could taste that different from the other ones, right?

Well,….

I opened up the package, and saw that these were rather round and dense english muffins. When I split open the muffin to toast it, it wasn’t as soft as I would have liked it, but I figured it didn’t really matter since I was toasting it anyway. After a few minutes, the edges crisped up and the english muffin toasted quite nicely- no soggy spots or anything. I took a bite, and wasn’t that pleased. It had a very dry, wheat flavor, and well, was kinda very bland. I spread some butter on it, and that did help (of course butter helps!) Then I poured some maple syrup on it, and it soaked up the maple syrup quite well, and was good with that. It was like english muffin french toast, minus the cinnamon, and crunchy. So perhaps it wasn’t like french toast at all. Moving on…

The next day I had the english muffin with butter, a sprinkle of salt, and a fried egg rather than scrambled eggs, letting the yolk absorb into the english muffin (delicious!).  With the fried egg, it was better, but still wasn’t spectactular.

Overall, there are pros and cons to these. I did like that it was a doughy muffin, and after toasted it had a soft interior and crusty edges. I also like that it was HFCS free and all natural, along with being whole wheat. What I didn’t like was that it had a very off taste- cant quite put my finger on it. One of the ingredients is vinegar- perhaps that’s it? I wasn’t sure. Nonetheless, it had a very strong taste that I wasn’t too fond of, except when I had the fried egg and butter on it. I’m not sure if I would buy these again.  Overall, 2 1/2 stars.

1 muffin is 130 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 1 gram of sugar and 6 grams of protein.

What’s your favorite thing to put on an english muffin?

28 Dec 2010, Comments (1)

Meals to Live White Chicken Chili Relleno

Author: Healthnuttxo

Recently, I was asked to do a review of some frozen dinners by Meals to Live. While I love frozen meals for convenience (Amy’s Kitchen has my heart!), I also watch out for preservatives, excess sodium and additives when choosing them.  One of the reasons I agreed to eat Meals to Live as that the ingredient list seemed pretty good, and according to the  box, they were “a fundraising partner of Diabetes Friendly Foundation”.

Last night for dinner I chose the White Chicken Chili Relleno with Ranchero Sauce. It seemed like a large piece, but I also steamed some broccoli to have on the side. There was 15 grams of protein in one package (255 grams), with 480 mg of sodium and 5 grams of fat, so it seemed pretty good to me.

Frozen, it kind of reminded me of fried eggplant for some reason when I looked at it. So I cooked it for about 5 minutes in the microwave (and it sure smelled quite saucy/spicy as it was cooking!) and then sat down to eat.

First of all, I was like, what IS this? From what I could tell, it was a chili poblano that was breaded and covered with sauce and cheese with pieces of chicken, sauce and rice inside. The sauce was slightly sweet at first, and then it had a spicy/salty and oniony flavor. The chili poblano itself resembled a giant spinach leaf, which is what I thought it was at first until I read the ingredients again, and was spicy at some times, but then bland and a bit watery at others. It reminded me of a giant chewy noodle, in a way. The chicken and rice with the sauce was the best part. Flavorful, chewy and a bit salty, but pretty good. There wasn’t a lot of rice or chicken, but the amount given was quite tasty.

Overall, the meal reminded me of a stuffed pepper I ate when I was growing up. It was pretty good, and I am quite satisfied after eating it with some broccoli (ok, and a leftover Christmas chocolate chip cookie…). I wasn’t crazy about the outside chili part, but the insides were good. I do wish it came with a side, like rice or a vegetable, rather than just that alone. Overall, 3 stars.

1 package is 210 calories, 5 grams of fat, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber and 15 grams of protein.

I was provided this meal to try for free from Meals to Live

27 Dec 2010, Comments (0)

Announcing…. the winners of the coupons!

Author: Healthnuttxo

Here are the 2 lucky winners! Selected randomly via random.org,

1. Lindsay

and

2. Ashley S.!

Please email me your information so I can mail you the coupons to enjoy!

thanks for reading!! 🙂

-Lisa

26 Dec 2010, Comments (1)

Medora Snacks Tomato Basil Pucci Pizza Snacks

Author: Healthnuttxo

Are you a fan of pizza? And a fan of crunchy snacks? Well, you just might like these! Medora Snacks makes Pucci Pizza Snacks, which according to the package, are “baked with real cheese” and “extra virgin olive oil”. As well as having “no trans fat” and are “all  natural”. Sounds like a yummy snack to me!

Here’s a picture of the snacks. I even attempted to make a mini pizza with them! (Which I hadn’t noticed until after I made mine that the back of my bag made a mini pizza too!)

Then I tried a few. They were very crunchy and crispy, with a yummy cheesy flavor. They were a bit salty, and also had a slight tomato sauce flavor. I certainly detected the basil and  other spices as well.  They were kind of like a very crunchy rice cake, but with less of an airy texture, or like a soy crisp but slightly more dense. Unique, indeed!

Overall a good snack, but not overpowering or too salty/too flavorful. And, two servings per bag, with a good amount of pieces in the bag! They are low in fat (3.5 grams per 1 ounce serving), but 1.5 grams of that is saturated, and there is only .5 grams of fiber per serving. So, all in all, 3 stars.

1 ounce (28 grams) is 120 calores, 3.5 grams of fat, 17 grams of carbohydrates, .5 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar and 4 grams of protein.

GIVEAWAY ends TOMOROW!!

I was provided these snacks to try for free from Medora Snacks.

25 Dec 2010, Comments (0)

Merry Christmas!

Author: Healthnuttxo

Hey everyone-

just wishing you all a Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays! Enjoy the end of the year, it’s almost over! 🙂

and Here’s a fun link to enter a giveaway that ends pretty soon too!

-Lisa =]

24 Dec 2010, Comments (1)

Nonuttin’ Foods Chocolate Chip and Raisin Bars

Author: Healthnuttxo

I’ve reviewed some Nonuttin’ products here before, and to add to the list will be the Chocolate Chip and Raisin bars.

Here’s a picture I took of them below-So as you can see, pretty good with the toppings, and rather thin bars. According to the packages, the bars are gluten free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Tree Nut Free, and Peanut Free. Last time I tried one of these I remember the bar sort of fell apart as I ate it, so I hoped these bars would be better.

I tried the raisin first. The raisins were really tasty- chewy and sweet. This bar didn’t fall apart as I had expected and was actualyl quite delicious! It was crunchy and chewy at the same time, and sweet with a good cinnamon flavor. It reminded me of an oatmeal raisin cookie- Yummmy!!

Next up- chocolate chip. This one was also really tasty- sweet, milk chocolate flavor, that was also chewy and crunchy, but not as crunchy as the raisin, and overall really good. Delicious!

Overall, very good products! Sometimes when I get a food product that caters to so many allergies like being dairy free, gluten free, etc. it often has a funny texture or sometimes has an off taste- but these were very good! I would totally eat both of these as a snack, and they are both only 120-130 calories each. Sounds good to me! 4 stars!


Raisin- 1 bar is 120 calories, 4 grams of fat, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein

Chocolate Chip– 1 bar is 130 calories, 5 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein.

Oh, and if you haven’t entered the coupon giveaway and you want to, here’s a link to do so! : )

I was sent to try these bars for free from Nonuttin’.

23 Dec 2010, Comments (1)

Nature’s Path Organic PomegranPlus Granola with Cherries

Author: Healthnuttxo

Dont forget this giveaway here! 🙂

Source

Time for another cereal/breakfast related giveaway…. my favorite! Today I’m reviewing a box of granola from Nature’s Path- the Organic PomegranPlus Granola with Cherries!

This sounded so good to me before I opened the box. I was picturing a fruity, sweet yet tart granola with a bunch of cherries and whatnot. However, here’s what I got when I opened the box.

Where are my cherries!?!

As you can see, quite a bit of granola, not that many cherries.  I think I found 5 in the entire box, about the size of a pencil eraser each. So that was disappointing.

Anyway-

I still had hope. I was like, ok well maybe it will still taste really good. I took a big cluster (which points for Nature’s Path there- I LOVE when granola has big clusters. Great for snacking out of the box!). It was crispy and crunchy, but overall kind of bland. Very mild sweetness and a mild coconut flavor. I really didn’t detect any pomegranate or cherry at all 🙁

The few cherries that I did have were sweet and chewy. Throughout my box I even got a random flake in it which I actually found quite funny, what are YOU doing here I thought.

Overall, 2 1/2 stars. I do like that it was organic, had big clusters, and that the serving size is 3/4 of a cup for 250 calories. I just overall found it quite off, and quite bland. Certainly not one I would eat from the box, but perhaps with a flavored yogurt would be good.

3/4 cup is 250 calories, 9 grams of fat, 38 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 13 grams of sugar and 5 grams of protein.

I received this box of granola from Nature’s Path for free.

21 Dec 2010, Comments (15)

Time for a….GIVEAWAY!!!

Author: Healthnuttxo

YES! It’s that lovely time again! Time for a giveaway!

Nature’s Path was (and is) totally awesome and gave me a BUNCH of coupons for 1 dollar off a Nature’s Path/Envirokidz product and I’d like to share some of them with not one but TWO lucky winners!

My favorite product of Nature’s Path I think is probably the Peanut Butter Panda Puffs cereal. I’ll probably use some of my coupons on that cereal! Mmmm!

So how to enter?
*MANDATORY*
1. Leave a comment on any of my reviews! 🙂

*Optional*

2. Follow me on Twitter! (link is under the About Me page)
3. Tweet about this giveaway!
4. Post this giveaway on your blog post. Please leave a link! (3 entries!)

Open to U.S. Residents Only. Contest ends December 27th, 12 PM 2010.

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