Categories: 2 Star

1 Feb 2011, Comments (0)

Rising Moon Organics Macaroni & Cheese Original Dinner

Author: Healthnuttxo

Time for a good ol’ mac & cheese review! This time, one by Rising Moon Organics that I got for free with a coupon from Rising Moon Organics. I boiled some water, added the macaroni, and began!

After cooking it, I added the cheese powder and milk, but didn’t add butter. The cheese stuck on the macaroni no problem. Here’s what it looked like on my plate.

I was excited to try it- but unfortunately, was less than excited once I actually did. It had a very off cheese taste, almost like a soy cheese flavor. Not that cheesy flavor I normally got from boxed versions of mac & cheese. It kind of had that sharpness of flavor that white cheddar had, yet tasted also like yellow american cheese. Hmm….

It wasn’t very salty tasting, either. Just kind of an off flavor, I wasn’t really a fan. What I did like was that the noodles were soft and plump- really good noodles!

Overall, not my favorite. The only thing I really liked about the macaroni & cheese, besides being organic, was the noodles. 2 stars.

What’s your favorite brand of boxed mac & cheese?


18 Jan 2011, Comments (2)

Nancy’s Cultured Lowfat Cottage Cheese

Author: Healthnuttxo

Cottage cheese- I’ll admit I used to turn up my nose at the stuff when I was little. Slowly, yet surely, I broke down the wall and began to enjoy it- especially with fruit or jellies mixed in. Insert Nancy’s Cultured Lowfat Cottage Cheese- a bit different than any cottage cheese I’ve seen before. It has cultures in it, such as “Acidophilus” and “Bifidum” according to the package. Assuming these are similar to the cultures that are in yogurt, I was excited to try this. It was kind of like a two- for-one deal!

Before I tasted it, I really liked the package. It was pretty colorful, with fancy looking writing and stars on it. Pretty!

I opened up the package, and it sort of looked like rice pudding. A smooth top, with small curds of cottage cheese underneath. I took a scoop to taste, and instantly thought TART. I’m used to cottage cheese having a somewhat salty, slightly tart flavor, but this one was TART. It was almost as if greek yogurt (plain) and cottage cheese were mixed together. I’m not a huge fan of plain greek yogurt, I always have the flavored varieties, unless I mix the plain with something, for the very reason that I’m not a huge fan of the tangy aftertaste. Even after reading the lid of the carton of cottage cheese, it said it was a “fully cultured, tart’n'tangy taste”, so they certainly were telling the truth there!

Overall, while I love the benefits of cultures, can’t say I’m a big fan of the taste. Perhaps I will add some fruit or stevia next time to take off some of the tang, but as is, it’s too overwhelming for me. 2 stars.

1/2 cup is 80 calories, 1 gram of fat, 3 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar and 14 grams of protein.

What’s your favorite food that is tart? I do like some tart flavored frozen yogurt! =)

24 Nov 2010, Comments (0)

P.O.P. Candy

Author: Healthnuttxo


Source

Mmmm. Candy.
While I can’t say that I hate candy (that would be lying), I CAN say that I don’t appreciate it when there are trans fats, artificial flavors, preservatives or other additives and fillers in candy. I think it takes the “sweet” part out of eating a “sweet treat”.

But, with P.O.P. Candy, their candy is all natural, and the ingredient list for the things I tried really isn’t even that long. I got to try several of the Butter Crunches, along with the Chai Tea Granola Pecan Bar that P.O.P. Candy sent me to try for free. While I can’t say they are necessarily healthy, I do think they are a better option than some candies that may have not-so-good for you ingredients.

Anyway….On to the taste!

I tried the following Butter Crunch samples- Almond, Rosemary Almond, P.O.P. Mix, Pistachio and Pecan. Each of the crunches had generally the same sweet base/flavor, with variety with the add-ins, such as the nuts. They were crunchy, but not so hard like it was hard to bite on. They were sweet, buttery, and smooth, and left a very rich feel in the mouth. The Almond variety had a nice toasted almond flavor, that also added a little bit of crunch. The P.O.P. Mix was one of my favorites, sweet salty, with also a slight burnt nut flavor, but tasty! The Pistachio tasted slightly sweeter than the rest, and the Pecan variety had buttery and crunchy nuts. Of the 5 samples I was sent, I didn’t like the Rosemary Almond flavor- it had a little bit of too strong of a rosemary flavor for my preferences.

Then I tried the Chai Tea Granola Pecan Bar. All I could say was deeeeeee-licious! It wasn’t a very typical granola bar, as I coulnd’t really break it easily with my hands or pull it apart. It had the sweet buttery crunch, with crunchy nuts and then chewy pieces of fruit. What I didn’t detect, really, was any granola or any chai tea flavor (?). I was confused, but I still really enjoyed it. The raisins were plump, juicy and sweet, and the nuts added the saltiness and a nice crunch.

Overall, the butter crunches as a whole I would give 4 stars, but the Rosemary Almond flavor would get 2 stars. The Chai Tea Granola Pecan Bar would also get 4. The reason the butter crunches and the granola bar do not get 5 stars is, obviously, they are candy so they are not the most nutritious things one could be eating. But, I think it’s fine in moderation! :)

I didn’t have access to every nutritional information, but I was sent the information for the Almond Butter Crunch.

57 grams is 330 calories, 25 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

Almonds, Butter (cream, salt), Sugar, Brown Rice Syrup (Organic Brown Rice, Pure Filtered Water), Salt.

20 Nov 2010, Comments (0)

HOMEDICS Neck and Shoulder Massager review & the WINNER!

Author: Healthnuttxo

The lovely people at CSN stores offered me $35 gift card to pick out whatever I wanted at CSN stores. I was stuck between a few items, but finally I settled on getting the HOMEDICS Neck and Shoulder Massager. I couldn’t wait to try it- I’ve been craving a shoulder massage for so long! : )

I opened the package and took out the massager. Pretty interesting! You can only use the heat part of massager if it’s plugged in, but there is the option of using batteries. Unfortunately, it didn’t come with batteries, so first I had to rummage the drawers in my house to find the pack of batteries. Luckily, I found them and put them in the compartment under the zippered exterior. Then, I tried it both plugged in and with the batteries after placing it on my neck. It was a tad bit big for me, but not too bad.

There are two options for the massage, a High and a Low, and I preferred the low, lighter option. When I put it on the High option, it almost kind of gave me a headache. The heat was a nice touch, although slightly annoying that you can’t use the heat with just the batteries, and needed the plug. It was a mild heat, which felt nice.

Overall, I would call this a neck massager, not a neck and shoulder massager. It did little really for my shoulder, and mostly concentrated on my neck. Although I can see it being helpful when neck pain is a problem. 2  stars.

and… the winner of the Musselman’s apple cider and apple butter giveaway is KAYLA with the comment “i love apple pie a la mode! :) haha.”

selected via random.org! Congrats! Please email me your information so I can ship out the prize!

16 Jul 2009, Comments (2)

Enjoy Life Cran-Apple Crunch Granola

Author: healthnuttxo

*Sigh*. This, unfortunately, is going to be my first not-so-great review. Bored of my usual granola for breakfast, i picked up some of the Enjoy Life Cran-Apple Crunch Granola. Enjoy Life makes products that are pretty much completely allergen free.  The granolas are gluten free, soy free, dairy free, nut free, and casein free. Oats bother my stomach a little bit, so I figured I’d give this a try. I already tried a snickerdoodle cookie by Enjoy Life and that was DELICIOUS, so I figured this couldn’t be too far off.

But it kinda was. I took a handful out of the box, it was pretty good. Sweet, crunchy, but not really “granola-y”. I poured some in my bowl and added milk and took a bite. It was kinda bland to be honest. It also soaked up my milk really fast, i had to go to the refrigerator and pour more in my bowl! The cereal also lost it’s consistency in my bowl. See the picture-it turned almost “soupy”.

cran1

On the plus side, the apple pieces were really yummy. They tasted like the dried apple pieces you get in Quaker’s instant oatmeal. The cranberries weren’t bad either, they were sweet. This granola would be much better if it was paired with yogurt or eaten dry rather than with milk. I also liked the fact that i didn’t feel like i ate too much or “heavy/bloated” feeling after eating the cereal. It left me feeling light, which was good because i had a workout after breakfast.

Per half cup is 170 calories, 3 grams of fat, 32 carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, and 3 grams of protein. I added some crispy brown rice to the granola to stretch it out a bit more because 1/2 cup servings are a bit small for me.

Brown Rice Flakes; Brown Rice Syrup; Evaporated Cane Juice; Water; Rice Bran; Dried Cranberries (Cranberries, Sugar, Sunflower Oil); Dried Apples; Rice Crisps ( Rice Flour, Rice Bran, Raisin Juice Concentrate, Honey, Salt); Expeller-Pressed Vegetable Oil (Safflower Oil and/or Sunflower Oil); Natural Apple Flavor; Malic Acid; Ground Flaxseed; Rosemary Extract

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