Categories: 2 1/2 stars

21 Jan 2011, Comments (2)

Manna Organics Millet Rice Manna Bread

Author: Healthnuttxo

I’ve tried some Manna Bread in the past from Manna Organics, like the Cinnamon Date and Carrot Raisin varieties , and I think they are quite unlike any bread I have ever eaten. On the package, it says it is “Free from Added Sweeteners, Salt, Yeast or Oil”.

So, I took this loaf out of the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator. A dense, thick bread, with a brown color. It had little specks thorugh out, which I assume to be the millet. I decided to try it two ways- plain, and with some maple syrup on it (honestly, what DOESN’T taste good with maple syrup on it!?! =P)

Plain, I found it to have a rather grainy texture, that was bumpy and chewy. It was also soft, and had a nutty flavor. It was really kind of bland by itself, so I moved on to the piece with the maple syrup.

The maple syrup covered piece was delicious! It soaked up the maple syrup quite well. It was chewy and sweet, and had a unique flavor. Pretty good!

Overall, a unique bread, but not my favorite. I felt it needed something sweet on it, which was why the maple syrup was perfect.  I do like that this was organic, and was “100% sprouted whole grain” according to the package. 2 1/2 stars.

2 oz is 130 calories, 0 grams of fat, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Have you ever tried any foods made with millet? Or millet on it’s own? I think it was my first time trying millet, I’m curious to see how else it could be eaten or prepared!


I was given this bread to try for free from Manna Organics.

11 Jan 2011, Comments (1)

Lean Cuisine Four Cheese Pizza

Author: Healthnuttxo

Browsing the grocery store, all of a sudden I thought Pizzzzzaaa. I want some pizza!! So I decided to try something I haven’t tried before, a Lean Cuisine Pizza. I picked this particular one because the ingredients looked pretty good, and there was 20 grams of protein in one of the pizzas.

I pulled it out of my freezer around 4:45 thinking I could put it in the oven for 40 minutes or so and then have it for dinner, but when I went to refer to the box for directions, it ONLY provided a microwave option! So microwave it was. There were directions to follow on how to open the box with a silver part of the box facing up that I would then put the pizza on. Well, to be honest, it took me a minute or so to figure out how to open the box. I’m also what they call “an eager beaver” and opened up the wrong side of the box before I read the instructions. So. Anyway-

I put my pizza and my steamed broccoli (broccoli? When do I ever eat that?!!?) on a plate. I was impressed that the pizza did in fact crisp up- no soggy bottom! So, first I took a bite of the crust on the outside, expected something tasty, garlicy and delicious. How was it? BLAND. I can’t even describe how bland the crust was. Almost like a flavorless crouton. It really needed something- even just some garlic or a dusting or parmesan cheese.

Moving on to the inside of the pizza, the first thing I noticed when I took a bite was the sauce- it was a sweet tomato sauce that was seasoned pretty well. The cheese was also good, I detected mostly a parmesan flavor. It was a bit salty, not stringy or greasy at all. In fact, this whole pizza wasn’t really greasy at all.

Overall, 2 1/2 stars. The crust was such a let down to me, it wasn’t even really doughy, kind of airy. The cheese and the sauce were pretty good, but the pizza as a whole reminded me of a typical frozen pizza. I did like that my hands weren’t all greasy when I finished the pizza, and that it also had 30% of calcium needs in 1 pizza.

1 pizza was 340 calories, 6 grams of fat, 51 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar and 20 grams of protein.

Ever tried Lean Cuisine products? Which one is your favorite?

9 Jan 2011, Comments (0)

Meals to Live White Chicken Burrito

Author: Healthnuttxo

Following my last Meals to Live review, last night I tried the White Chicken Burrito. It sounded delicious, and good for me too! It had 15 grams of fiber, 17 grams of protein, and only 5 grams of fat (and only 480 mg of sodium, which I don’t think is that bad!)

I opened the box, cooked it for about 5 minutes in the microwave, and took off the plastic. I saw a rather large brownish square with some green color on it as well from the green sauce. I then transferred it to a plate, and noticed that the “green sauce” as stated on the front of the box was more like a green paste or gel. It certainly didn’t have a lot of fluidity, and was just kind of like a spicy green jelly.

Anyway, I opened up the burrito to show you what it looks like. Here’s what I saw…

*apologies for the blurriness! I'm a horrible picture-taker :) *

As you can see, it took up the majority of my plate, and was rather large. The inside had quinoa, black beans, corn and more. I decided to try the tortilla first.It was actually pretty good- chewy, slightly crispy on the edges, and quite yummy. The green sauce didn’t really add much to it, aside from a little bit of spiciness.

Next, I tried the inside of the burrito. It was rather dry, and kind of pasty. There were also pieces of chicken on the inside which were chewy, but good, and not overly salty tasting. There wasn’t a lot of unique flavor going on because it was SO SPICY! Honestly, I couldn’t really distinguish flavors of anything because it was so overly spicy. Perhaps if you like the heat in foods, you would like this, but so not for me. All I could taste was the spice!

Overall, it wasn’t exactly my favorite dish, but perhaps I would have liked it more if it wasn’t so SPICY!  And, it did have pretty impressive nutritional stats, leaving this dish at 2 1/2 stars.

1 package (255 grams) is 5 grams of fat, 58 grams of carbohydrates, 15 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 17 grams of protein.

If you could make the perfect burrito, what foods would  you put in it?


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


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?

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.

19 Aug 2010, Comments (1)

Betty Lou’s Just Great Stuff Organic Superberry Acai and Organic Fruit & Veggie Bars

Author: Healthnuttxo

BettyLou’s makes Just Great Stuff Bars that come in four flavors, Organic Superberry Acai Bar, Organic Chocolate Dream Greens Bar, Organic Cocoa Acai Bar, and Organic Fruit & Veggie Bar. The nice folks over at BettyLou’s sent me them to try, and today I’m reviewing the Organic Superberry Acai Bar and Organic Fruit & Veggie Bar.

Both of these bars are rather sort of gummy and chewy in texture, and certainly remind me of fruit bars or fruity type snacks. According to the package, they both are organic, vegan, and gluten free.

Organic Fruit & Veggie Bar- This one was a dark brown/greenish in color with little pieces of what I believe are cashews scattered throughout the bar. It had a very mild sweetness, and I really couldn’t taste much of the “fruit” part of this bar, only really the “veggie”. It kind of reminded me of a wheatgrass flavored drink, and I could taste the spinach. I love the ingredients of this bar, but wasn’t too crazy about the flavor. 2 1/2 stars

Organic Superberry Acai- okay, now this one was TASTY! Great sweetness and great flavor. It was a dark red/raspberry color, again with scattered little pieces of cashews. I really enjoyed this one, and msotly had a raspberry flavor. Delicious!! 4 1/2 stars

Overall, not bad! I love the ingredients put into these bars, and love that they are organic, gluten free, and vegan! Although the Organic Fruit & Veggie Bar wasn’t a hit for me, if I ever see the Organic Superberry Acai Bar in stores by me, I would probably buy and eat it again! =)

Organic Fruit & Veggie Bar- 1 bar is 170 calories, 6 grams of fat, 23 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Organic Dried Fruit Blend (organic raisins, organic dates, organic bananas [with organic rice flour]) Organic Raw Cashews, Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Freeze-Dried Vegetable Blend (organic carrot juice, organic spinach leaf, organic broccoli sprouts organic kale), Organic Rice Protein, Sunflower Lecithin, Organic Vanilla Extract, Organic Sunflower Oil, Sea Salt.

Organic Superberry Acai Bar-1 bar is 180 calories, 7 grams of fat, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Organic Raw Cashews, Organic Berry Blend (organic dried cranberries [with organic apple juice concentrate and organic sunflower oil] organic goji berries, organic freeze-dried raspberries, organic freeze-dried acai [with organic lime juice and/or citric acid]) Organic Dates, Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Rice Protein, Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Raspberry Flavor, Sunflower Lecithin, Citric Acid.

16 Aug 2010, Comments (14)

HappyBaby and YoBaby review plus GIVEAWAY!

Author: Healthnuttxo

Today is a combined review( and GIVEAWAY!) of HappyBaby and YoBaby products. I was sent coupons to try free products from both companies.

HappyBaby- I chose the HappyBites Mac + Cheese Bites. When I purchased them from the store, they came in a pack of three Mac + Cheese Bites. However, the company recently updated the product to have 9 bites per box. I actually quite enjoyed them. They reminded me of homemade baked macaroni & cheese. A really good and “gooey” cheesey flavor, with little lumps or pieces of what I imagine was both butternut squash and noodles. I do wish it was a bit saltier tasting, as it tasted a bit bland. I simply put a grind of sea salt on top and voila! Instantly better. Tasty, too! 4 stars

Happy Baby-  I also tried their frozen fruit of Smarter Squash + Wiser Apple. While I haven’t tried the Smarter Squash yet, the Wiser Apple was quite tasty. I am a really big applesauce fan, so I thought I would like these. They came in little compartments, so I defrosted and had 3 of them for a serving. The texture was sort of slushy, but also smooth. It was really sweet, which I absolutely loved, and barely any tartness whatsoever. It sort of reminded me of a “candy” applesauce- but the ingredients were JUST organic apples. Nice!! 4 1/2 stars
I also found out from Helen Bernstein who provided me the coupons something about the frozen HappyBaby. “Since these are for baby, there is never any salt, sugar, coloring or preservatives added.  Babies certainly do not need it and additives only train their tastes to eat processed food high in sodium and sugar. ”

YoBaby- I picked up a pack of the apple and blueberry flavored multipack. They were small sized 4 oz yogurts.

That makes me feel good eating such a pure and great product! : )

The Apple flavor was very mild. It sort of tasted like a plain vanilla, with a slight bit of tartness and slight cinnamon flavor. I also thought I detected a bit fo lemon flavor. I did like that it was thick, but sort of wish it was sweeter. 2 1/2 stars

I liked the Blueberry flavor much more. Again, same awesome thickness, with a nice tang. Good blueberry flavor, and it also tasted like I was actually eating cream! Very rich and delicious. I do wish it was a bit sweeter, but overall, enjoyable. Too bad it was a smaller size than what I’m used to! 4 stars

Now, onto the giveaway!

There will be TWO winners, one for HAPPYBABY prize, one for YOBABY prize. each below. I was e-mailed the prizes that will be given from Ms. Bernstein, who said
“HAPPYBABY
2 free trial coupons for HAPPYBABY, HAPPYBELLIES, HAPPYBABYPUFFS, HAPPYMELTS, HAPPYBITES
1 FAQ on DHA & Probiotics
1 Infant & Toddler Nutrition Guide, co-authored by Dr. Sears
1 HAPPYFAMILY Recipes

YoBaby
2 free trials for YoBaby 6-packs or YoBaby Drinkables 4-packs
1 Eric Carle Growth Chart”

You can enter by (please leave a comment for EACH)
*MANDATORY*
1. Do you eat baby food products? If so, which ones are you’re favorite/which one’s do you buy? (if not, you’re entry can simply be “no”)

Optional:

2. Add me to your blogroll/reader
3. follow me on twitter/ tweet about this giveaway!
4. for TWO entries, blog about this giveaway! (please leave a comment with the link).

Contest Ends FRIDAY, August 20th, 2010 12 PM. Open to US residents only.

15 Aug 2010, Comments (1)

Garlic Gold Sea Salt Nuggets, Parmesan Nuggets, and Italian Herb Nuggets

Author: Healthnuttxo

I’m all for flavor. Just because something’s healthy, doesn’t mean it has to lack flavor, right? : )

Garlic Gold makes which I think are great products to add flavors in a healthy way. They sent me some of their products to try, including the Sea Salt Nuggets, Parmesan Nuggets, and Italian Herb Nuggets, and I was actually quite pleased with them.

I decided to try them on my steamed broccoli that I was having with my dinner. I sprinkled a little of the Garlic Gold Sea Salt Nuggets on first. These were mostly brown in color, with little pieces of visible salt. They had a GREAT garlic flavor that I absolutely loved. It wasn’t so strong where it was overppowering or bitter, but just right. It also was blended perfectly with the sea salt. The nuggets themselves had a bit of a bite to them, and were a combination of being chewy/crunchy.  Yummy! 4 1/2 stars

I tried the Italian Herb nuggets next. These didn’t have quite as a strong garlic flavor, and were mostly the “Italian Herbs”. They weren’t too salty either. I think these would be better with a saucy dish, like as addition to homemade tomato sauce, rather than on stemed broccoli like I had it. 3 stars

Lastly, I tried the Garlic Gold Parmesan Nuggets. I noticed these had a little bit of tang, and a mild parmsean cheese flavor. They had a sort of bread-crumb consistency, and were kind of a bit chewy. I think I would have liked this flavor better if it was a bit saltier, because I LOVE parmsean cheese (especially on eggs and broccoli!). 2 1/2 stars

Overall, these were good. I also noticed that a little goes a long way, so even though 1/2 of a tsp. was 4 calories for the Garlic Gold Sea Salt Nuggets and Garlic Gold Italian Herb Nuggets varieties and 10 calories for 1 tsp for the Garlic Gold Parmesan Nuggets, and while that can add up fast, I really did not need a lot. I also loved that these were organic!! :)

For more information about Garlic Gold products, you can visit here.

4 Aug 2010, Comments (0)

Voskos Greek Yogurt

Author: Healthnuttxo

* Please don’t forget the newly posted  UNCLE SAM CEREAL GIVEAWAY *

I feel as if I start all my yogurt reviews the same way- saying how much I like love yogurt. So instead of doing that again (which…I guess I already did!), let’s just review! : )

Voskos Greek Yogurt sent me some of their yogurts to try, and of course I was excited! These yogurts are all natural, gluten free, and come in a variety of flavors. What I liked about all the flavors I tried was that each was thick and creamy,  and sweet without being too sweet.

Honey Vanilla Bean- this one was good. Thick like sour cream, it even had little black specks, which I would imagine is from the vanilla bean! It had a real vanilla flavor, that was sweet without overpoweringly so. It had just the right amount of a honey aftertaste too. DELICIOUS! 4  stars

Greek Honey- definitely more tangier than the Honey Vanilla Bean, and a much stronger honey flavor. It wasn’t as sweet as I had expected, surprising to me because I find honey very sweet. Still thick and creamy, and pretty good. 3 1/2 stars

Wild Strawberry- yum! This yogurt was awesome! I really liked that it tasted like one of those non-greek strawberry yogurts, but still had the creamy texture of a greek yogurt! Not only was there a really fresh and delicious strawberry flavor, there also was a slight pineapple/peach flavor. My favorite I tried! 4 1/2 stars

Wild Blueberry- aw, man. I really did not like this flavor as much as I had hoped. It sort of had a very mild blueberry flavor, but it was almost tart tasting and really not that sweet. I did add a little bit of stevia to sweeten it, and found it a little better. On the bright side, it still was quite creamy and thick! 2 1/2 stars

Overall, these were pretty good! I can see myself buying some Voskos Greek Yogurt in the future, if I see them in stores by me!

For more information about flavors, ingredients and nutrition, you can click here

9 Jun 2010, Comments (1)

Life Field Buckwheat Groats

Author: Healthnuttxo

LifeField sent me a bag of their Buckwheat Groats, which are all natural, have no preservatives or additives, and are both gluten and wheat free. LifeField also makes buckwheat cookies and buckwheat waffle/pancake mix.

As is, they look like tiny little brown chips, and are hard to the touch. They sort of resemble mini chocolate chips, but are a light brown in color instead.

So, how to approach the groats? Well, I followed the instructions on the back of the bag, which called for 2 cups of water, 1 cup of the groats, and then a bit of salt, except I reduced everything by half to make only 2 servings instead of 4.  Then I boiled some water and added the salt, stirred the groats into the water, and let it simmer. It suggests 15 minutes, but I let it sit for about 30.

Well, they certainly PLUMPED up! I didn’t expect them to expand as much as they did. They were much softer, and chewy in texture. The smell sort of reminded me of the forest for some reason. It just smelled and tasted kind of “nutty” to me. Of course, there are no nuts in the actual product, but that’s the only way I could really think to describe it plain. Other than that, it’s actual quite bland. It says you can use it as a morning cereal, and add milk. I tried adding some butter and sugar to see if I could up the taste, but sadly, it did not absorb much of the flavors.

Overall, it wasn’t bad, but I think I’ll be sticking to oatmeal and grains like that as of now. I did like that one serving provided 5 grams of protein and was low in fat, but it lacked fiber and, well, wasn’t too tasty by itself. Perhaps with some milk, a bit of sweetener and some fruit, this would be a good swap for cereal, especially those who cannot tolerate gluten or wheat. 2 1/2 stars

*Has anyone ever tried Groats? What did you think? Do you have any yummy recipes?*

1/4 cup (41g) is 140 calories, 1 gram of fat, 28 carbohydrates, .5 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar and 5 grams of protein.

100% Pure Buckwheat Groats.

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