Categories: 3 Star

1 Sep 2010, Comments (0)

NoNuttin’ Double Chocolate Chunk Granola Bar

Author: Healthnuttxo

 

NoNuttin’ makes snacks that have a lot to offer. For example, according to the package of the Double Chocolate Chunk Granola Bar I was sent to try from NoNuttin’, this bar alone is “Gluten Free, Peanut Free, Tree Nut Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free”.

Well? Let’s give this a try!

The bar is on the smaller side, long and somewhat thin (about the width of my two fingers). It’s brown in color, with visible oats, and pices of chocoalte on the top part of the bar. It has a rather soft consistency, and fell apart easily as I lifted up the bar after I took it out of the wrapper. The chocolate on top tasted like a dark chocolate, and was more bitter than sweet. The texture of the bar is chewy, and the oats sort of have that rolled oats consistency, like how they are before I make homemade oatmeal. The taste is better than the texture. It has a sweet, chocolatey flavor, with a hint of vanilla.

I probably would have enjoyed this bar more if it wasn’t as chewy, and the chocolate pieces were sweeter. I’m giving it 3 stars. I DO like that it has a lot of things, such as being gluten free and dairy free, and that there is only 6 grams of sugar per bar.

1 bar (30 grams) is 120 calories, 4 grams of fat, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein.

29 Aug 2010, Comments (5)

Country Choice Organic Fit Kids Instant Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Cinnamon Toast

Author: Healthnuttxo

Oatmeal! While I love a good bowl of home-made rolled oats in the morning, there are times when instant oatmeal hits the spot. It’s often much faster/easier to make (quicker clean-up, too!) and often has tasty flavors!

Country Choice Organic sent me some of their instant oatmeal from the Fit Kids line, like the Chocolate Chip and Cinnamon Toast flavors. Yes- Chocolate Chip and Cinnamon Toast! I was SO excited to try these- they sounded like dessert for breakfast!

I tried the Chocolate Chip flavor first. At first I was a bit disappointed- there were only a few chocolate chips, maybe 3 or 4? in my packet. I was sort of hoping for more. After cooking it, I noticed it didn’t really thicen up like I’m used to with rolled oats, and was sort of loose (on another note- I noticed if you Microwave it instead of using hot water- it thickened up much better!) After cooking, the chocolate chips also sort of melted. I wish that the chocolate chips were on the side as a mix-in once the oatmeal was cooked. As for the taste? It really wasn’t that sweet, and sort of tasted like a hot cocoa flavored oatmeal. I did add some mix-ins, like crushed pretzels and sliced bananas, which made it more heartier and more filling for me, as well as a bit of stevia to sweeten it up a bit. 3 stars

Cinnamon Toast- this one I decided to cook in the microwave, and it had a much better texture. It cooked and sort of puffed up quite nicely! However, I was a bit disappointed again. It just wasn’t really that sweet tasting! It really kind of reminded me of plain oatmeal, with just a hint of cinnamon. I decided to add some maple syrup and sliced banana again, and found it much better. 3 stars

Overall, I do like that these are all natural, have 3 grams of fiber per packet, but they just aren’t sweet enough for my preferences as is. However, I found with a little bit of stevia to sweeten it, and some mixins like fruit, these were actually quite good!

*Do you have a favorite flavor of oatmeal? Or, what’s your favorite oatmeal mix-in?* Please leave a comment below if you’d like to answer! =)

1 packet ranges from 130-150 calories, 1.5-2.5 grams of fat, 26-28 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 11-13 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

28 Aug 2010, Comments (1)

Marie Callender’s All Natural Corn Bread Muffin Mix

Author: Healthnuttxo

Along with the tasty Biscuit Mix I was sent to try from Marie Callender’s, I was also given the All Natural Corn  Bread Muffin Mix in the 7oz variety.

Now I was excited for these. I LOOOVEE corn bread, and really rarely get to eat it! I love how it’s moist and super tasty with a little smear of butter. Delicious.

So, I preheated my oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and starting making this mix. I decided to go for the swaps suggested on the back of the mix “to make a healthier version”, and switched 1/4 cup applesauce for 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup skim milk for 1/4 cup milk, and 2 egg whites for 1 whole egg, and mixed them together. Then I added the corn bread muffin mix to the bowl, which mixed very easily. Hardly any lumps whatsoever!

Then I sprayed my muffin tin with some noncook spray and added the muffin mix. I cooked it for about 16 or 17 minutes, and let it cool slightly.

These muffins were moist and soft, which was a plus for me. They were mildly sweet as well. I do prefer my cornbread to be a bit sweeter, and I sort of wish they used honey over sugar since I prefer a honey taste as well. They also had a bit of a tang to them, that I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. Not super noticeable, but it had a bit of a tangy aftertaste. By themselves, I would assign this to be  a 3 star rating, but after I put a little butter on one, I liked it more, which would bring these muffins up to a 3 1/2 star rating. I did like that they were cute medium sized muffins, but didn’t like that they had 0 grams of fiber in the mix, and that the first ingredient was sugar.

Do you like cornbread? What’s your favorite way to eat it? Or do you have a favorite brand? *If you’d like to answer, please leave a comment below!*

 

ANNNNND… as a special bonus, here is a COUPON CODE for a purchase! By using the code  LHN01MC  you can recieve 10% off your next purchase! Woo-hoo! (can’t be combined with other coupons, and expires SEPTEMBER 14th, 2010)!

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.

14 Aug 2010, Comments (0)

Nature’s Path Organic Vanilla Almond Flax Plus Granola

Author: Healthnuttxo

GRANOLA! One of my favorite things to eat (which if you are an avid read, I’m sure you know that already! :) ).

So today’s granola review is Nature’s Path Organic Vanilla Almond Flax Plus Granola, sent to me generously from the people at Nature’s Path! : )

So I opened up the bag, and discovered a lot of rolled oats, a good amount of tiny flaxseeds, and little slivers of almonds. This looks pretty good! I took a handful and discovered that this granola had a light vanilla flavor. Really quite light actually. I sort of wish that it had a deeper vanilla flavor, as I certainly am a fan of vanilla! I also discovered that it had a very mild sweetness- so I did actually wish it was a little bit sweeter as well.

What I did like about this cereal was that according to the box, it was an “excellent source of Omega-3″ and “Contains 0.9 g of Omega 3 per serving, which is 69% of the reccommended daily value of 1.3 g”. That’s really awesome! I know sometimes it’s hard for me to get all of my daily reccomended value of Omega 3’s, so this may be a good option for me!

Overall, this cereal gets 3 stars. I also did like that a serving is 3/4 of a cup, and that it had 5 grams of fiber per serving. Woo-hoo! : )

3/4 cup is 250 calories, 9 grams of fat, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein.

Organic rolled oats, organic evaporated cane juice, organic soy oil, organic brown rice flour, organic flaxseed, organic almonds, organic oat syrup solids (organic oat syrup solids, tocopherols), natural vanilla flavor, sea salt, organic molasses.

10 Aug 2010, Comments (2)

Manna Organics Cinnamon Date and Carrot Raisin Manna Bread

Author: Healthnuttxo

Well, although I do eat a lot of  bread, I think it’s safe to say I have never had Manna bread before- neither was I really sure what it was! Manna Organics sent me some of their Manna breads to try, including the Cinnamon Date and Carrot Raisin. According to the website, Manna bread ”is a cake-like, sprouted bread, yeast free bread, organic bread, free of salt, no oils, no sweeteners, no leavening agents. Manna is a moist and delicious, high in protein and fiber.”

Cool! These sound interesting. No oil, salt or sweeteners? This I gotta try : )

Each loaf was smaller than I had expected, but very dense, thick and quite chewy. I also found each loaf to have a grainy-ish texture.  I did like that both loaves had a high fiber and protein content, and were made with really good and minimal ingredients! : )

Carrot Raisin-  There were lots of raisins and visible pieces of carrots which I liked. The raisins were very plump, and provided really the only sweetness for the bread. I only detected a very mild carrot flavor. I do wish it was a bit sweeter, but it still was pretty good. It says on the back of the loaf package that “It is delicious heated or toasted and served with nut butters, jams, and natural cheeses, or just eaten as is.” I tried this one as is, but I feel like it would taste really good with some cream cheese! 3 stars

Cinnamon Date- I did like this one a better, as I found it a bit sweeter. I also decided to heat this one up in the microwave, and it sort of reminded me of a  more textured slice of cinnamon raisin bread! It also got a much softer consistency, almost like a muffin, once I removed it from the microwave.  3 1/2 stars

*What is your favorite type of bread? If you’d like to answer, please leave a comment below~*

Carrot Raisin- 2 oz. is 130 calories, 0 grams of fat, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Sprouted Organic Whole Wheat Kernels, Filtered Water, Organic Carrots, and Organic Raisins.

Cinnamon Date- 2 oz. is 150 calories, 0 grams of fat, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 8 grams of protein.

Sprouted Organic Whole Wheat Kernels, Filtered Water, Organic Dates (Dates, Oat Flour), Organic Cinnamon.

7 Aug 2010, Comments (1)

Bora Bora Organic Foods bars

Author: Healthnuttxo

Bora Bora Organic Foods- doesn’t the name just make you feel like you are on vacation? I know it did for me! Bora Bora Organic Foods sent me some of their bars to try (along with a cute mug and t-shirt- thanks, guys!! =) ), and I must say they were quite unlike anything I have tried before. These bars come in a variety of flavors, and, according to the website, fall under 3  categories- “SUPERFOOD”, “ENERGY”, and “ANTIOXIDANT”. I tried the Tribal Cinnamon Oatmeal and Tiki Blueberry Flax bars.

Tribal Cinnamon Oatmeal- this one falls under the “ENERGY” category, and is also vegan and gluten free. I must say this one was certainly DELICIOUS! Chewy and sweet, it reminded me of an oatmeal cookie. I just loved the cinnamon flavor- absolutely delicious. There were also little crisp rice pieces throughout the bar, and chewy, sweet apple pieces. I also loved that this bar was only 5 grams of fat. Woo! 4 1/2 stars

Tiki Blueberry Flax- this one falls under the “ANTIOXIDANT” category, and is also vegan and gluten free. Not as sweet as the Tribal Cinnamon Oatmeal bar, but still pretty good. I liked te big, crunchy almonds, which balanced nicely with the chewy crisp rice. The raisins and the blueberries added the sweetness, although it was mild. I also tasted a little bit of flaxseed aftertaste, and a pumpkin seed flavor. 3 stars

Tribal Cinnamon Oatmeal- 1 bar is 170 calories, 5 grams of fat, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

Tiki Blueberry Flax- 1 bar is 180 calories, 9 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

26 Jul 2010, Comments (0)

Granola Gourmet Energy Bars

Author: Healthnuttxo

Energy Bars- I either love them, or, well, could do without them. Some are really tasty, but the ingredients aren’t so good, and some have great ingredients, but, the taste isn’t so good. I have found a few energy bars that I do enjoy throughout the years, and here’s hoping to add something new to my list…

Granola Gourmet makes all natural energy bars, but that also offer a bit more. What’s really cool is that according to the package, “A portion of your purchase helps fight diabetes!” I love when companies give back to other things like funds, or the environment. That’s great!! : )

 I was sent the Brownie and Very Berry flavors to try from Granola Gourmet.

Brownie- according to the package, these contain no dairy, no wheat, and no refined sugar. I opened the package, and was pleased with the smell.  It sort of smelled like a chocolate fudge- yum! Each bar is a bit tiny, about the size of a business card in length, and about 1/2 inch in thickness. These have a light chocolate flavor, more of a fruity taste. I let my mom try a piece, and she even asked if there were raisins in it! It has a good amount of sweetness, and there are just tons of visible flaxseeds,oats, and sunflower seeds. It wasn’t dense, more of a “fudgy” tasting brownie. It kind of reminded me of a chocolate covered fig, or date. Like I said it is a bit small, and 150 calories for 1 serving. I could easily eat 2 ! 4 stars

Very Berry- According to the front of this package, these have no sodium no dairy and no wheat. This one was definetely chewy and provided a ‘nutty/grainy’ texture. It wasn’t as sweet as I had hoped, and was a bit bland. It sort of reminded me of the flavor of plain oatmeal, but chewy, with just a bit of strawberry flavor. 3 stars

Overall, these are good. I like that they provide some whole grains, are dairy and wheat free, and are all natural! I think the Brownie flavor is the better of the two, as it had a good amount of sweetness and helped me when I was craving something chocolatey. If you would like to buy these bars, you can visit this website.

For more information on  nutrition of these bars, you can visit the website here

14 Jul 2010, Comments (0)

Mi-Del Cookies- Bite Size Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Gluten Free S’mores, & Maple Munchies

Author: Healthnuttxo

Cookie time! Cookie time! :)

Cookies are amazing. Chewy, soft, crunchy, chocolatey, sweet, buttery, there are all SORTS and kinds of cookies! What’s REALLY awesome, is when the cookies taste good, AND they are good for you. Which leads me too..

Mi-Del Cookies! This company makes a bunch of products, including the 3 that they generously sent me that I am going to review today. The lucky three today are the Bite Sized Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, the Gluten Free S’Mores cookies, and the Maple Munchies cookies. Let’s begin!

Bite Sized Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies- well, first off, I think bite sized is just tooo cute! These are tiny, about the size of a penny each, which means a serving size is  23 cookies (30 grams). That’s my kinda serving size! They are a light brown in color, with mini chocolate chips. I tasted a few, and I certainly could taste the oatmeal part of the cookie. It was slightly salty and buttery tasting, and really not too sweet. What was a tad disappointing was I didn’t really taste much of the chocolate part of the cookie. However, I think these would be good with a glass of ice, cold milk. 3 stars

Gluten Free S’mores- The package states these are “Chocolate Graham Cookies with Marshmallows”, and these come in 90 calories packs. I was actually impressed, because I got a decent amount of these cookies for 90 calories! Each cookie is a dark brown in color, with little white specks. They are about the size of a half- dollar, and actually quite thick. How’s the taste? ….
AWESOME! I really enjoyed these. They were crunchy and crispy, and a sweet chocolate cookie. The little marshmallow bits tasted like little bits of vanilla icing. Really tasty, and I really enjoyed the CRUNCH these provided. The only down side in my opinion was that they lacked fiber, and contained corn syrup solids. Otherwise, 4 1/2 stars!

Maple Munchies- the package describes these cookies as “Maple Shortbread Cookies”, and these come in a 100 calorie pack.  Now, I’m a big fan of maple, so I was happy to try these. They are about the same size as the Gluten Free S’mores cookies, but not as hard or crunchy, and a much softer melt-in-your-mouth cookie. They did have a buttery, shortbread taste, with just a slight maple taste. I do wish they had more maple flavor, and were a just a bit sweeter, but they were still quite good. 4 stars

Overall, Mi-Del Cookies certainly do not disappoint! I highly reccomend trying at least the Gluten Free S’mores cookies, as those were very delicious. I think I might even dip them in some marshmallow fluff for some added enjoyment! :)

Bite-Sized Oatmeal Chocolate Chip- 23 cookies (30 grams) is 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 18 carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 7 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein.

Gluten Free S’mores- 1 pack (23 grams) is 90 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 17 carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar and 1 gram of protein.

Maple Munchies- 1 pack (23 grams) is 100 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein.

For more information about Mi-Del cookies, you can click here.

 Barbara’s Bakery Beanie Puffin Giveaway!* ends FRIDAY!

13 Jul 2010, Comments (4)

Alvarado Street Bakery Essential Flax Seed Bread

Author: Healthnuttxo

Bread. What a wonderful thing. Whole wheat bread, potato bread, rye bread, homemade fresh-outta-the-oven bread… I could go on and on! Nothing’s better to me than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on two slices of soft, fluffy bread.

So, I was excited to explore some new bread options for me, offered by Alvarado Street Bakery. They sent me some coupons to try some of their products for free, so I decided to pick up a loaf of the Essential Flax Seed Bread. What caught my attention for this bread was that it was a sprouted whole grain bread, and only had 100 calories for TWO slices! Some of the breads I have are about 100 calories PER slice, so that was certainly a change!

I opened up the bag and took out two slices. Each slice was soft, and a pale yellow/white in color, with a brown crust, and tiny flax seeds and other little pieces scattered throughout. Each slice is on the thin side, but about the average size in length of a piece of prepackaged sliced bread that I normally buy at the store. I took a bite of the bread as it- it was a bit bland, kind of plain. It was chewy, and the flaxseeds added a bit of texture, as well as a flaxseed taste. Overall, it kind of reminded me of a mix of white bread and whole wheat bread flavors, but was also a lighter/not as dense bread.

 I decided it needed something flavorful inbetween, so I had some hardboiled eggs with hummus on the inside to make a sandwich. Not bad! I think this bread is best with something powerful, or even savory/salty on the inside, because as is, it’s a bit bland.

Overall, I give it 3 stars. I really like that I can have 2 slices for only 100 calories, and that the ingredients are awesome. I also like that there are flaxseeds in this bread, and according to the website, this bread is ”A great source of Omega 3 and 6!” I think this bread may be good toasted, with some sweet fruit jam, or even with a fried egg and a slice of cheese :)

1 serving, (2 slices/ 45g) is 100 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 15 carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar and 8 grams of protein.

Sprouted Organic Whole Wheat Berries, Filtered Water, Wheat Gluten, Sprouted Organic Whole Flax Seeds, Soy Fiber, Organic Dates, Fresh Yeast, Organic Raisins, Soy Based Lecithin, Sea Salt, Cultured Wheat.

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