Categories: 3 Star

27 Jan 2012, Comments (0)

Smart-meal snx FRUITMANIA Mixed Berry Fruit Drink

Author: Healthnuttxo

How many fruits and veggies do you REALLY eat daily? No, I don’t personally count the 3 pieces of freeze-dried fruit in your cereal or the bag of potato chips you had as a fruit or vegetable serving, although some may. I try to eat as many fruits and veggies as possible, but understandable, sometimes it is hard to reach that quota of a daily reccomended serving.

SO, I was excited to try Fruitmania Fruit Drink, a free sample I got that also came with Smart-meal snx PROGEL, which I shall review at a later date. According to the box, this is a drink that has “12 fruits and vegetables and essential nutrients”, “No artificial sweeteners, no artificial coloring, no preservatives” is dairy, fat, lactose, gluten, wheat, yeast and cholesterol free AND has “no aspartame”. To top it all off…the letters on the box say “over 2 lbs. of fruits and vegetables packed into every bottle!”

Hmm. I was skeptical. I’m always skeptical. Even if there are this many fruits/veggies, how would it taste?! Bitter? Overly sweet? Like spinach juice? Here’s a closeup of what it looked like.

Not exactly appealing…however, it smelled kind of like a cherry/strawberry fruit-roll up I used to eat as a kid. But how did it taste?

Not bad, but not exactly fantastic. It had a strawberry-cherry flavor, and was sweet yet toned down at the same time. It left an after-taste in my mouth, kind of like when I drink an artificially flavored/sweetened fruit drink or something like that, although it stated it had no fake sweeteners on the box. It had the texture of an almond milk, where it was smooth but had a little bit more thickness than water.

It was only a 2.5 oz bottle, so I think if I had this again I don’t need to sip on it slowly, and can just drink it rather quickly, or maybe add it to a smoothie. It didn’t taste bad at all, but didn’t taste as “natural” as I thought it would.

After reading over the ingredients, I saw it had Stevia in it, which I would account for that less-than-just-fruit-juice flavor. However, it really isn’t bad, and if given in the future I would drink it as a pre or post gym pick-me-up. I also read the fine print- which said “1 Bottle is infused with: 12 concentrated fruits and vegetables and 5 grams of prebiotic fiber”. So, the mini bottle is basically just fruit/veggie concentrates, with a few other ingredients, which doesn’t give me the same satisfaction as actually eating the whole fruit or veggie, but still isn’t bad.

So overall, 3 stars.

How many fruits and/or veggies do you eat every day? I’d say most days I get 2 servings of fruit, 4-6 servings of veggies. Not bad if I don’t say so myself!

13 Dec 2011, Comments (8)

Justin’s Nut Butter Maple Almond Butter

Author: Healthnuttxo

I finally bought a jar of this stuff. I pass by it almost every time I go to Whole Foods (probably because I ALWAYS go down the nut butter aisle).

What stops me? This jar of Justin’s Nut Butter was so good, so why not buy another?

the 10 dollar price tag. My wallet cries everytime I buy nut butter. So pricy. But so worth it. Keep on crying, wallet.

So I bought this nut butter, and home it went. I opened it up and noticed considerably oil separation, so a little stirring and I stored it upside down ( a trick I learned from a friend! keeps the oil on the bottom!!) until I got to try it.

Yea I eat my nut butters with plastic forks. Don’t you?

The first thing I noticed- it was THICK. I tried this when I was already a bit thirsty, and that was a mistake. It literally stuck to my mouth. So, have some water on hand!

It had a mild sweetness, and mild maple flavor. The predominant flavor is definitely ALMOND. It has the gritty texture I find most almond butters do, and every now and then a rush of salty flavor would happen. It was a bit “pasty” but not bad.

And while it’s quite good, it’s not amazing. I wish it was sweeter, or saltier, or both. I wish I could taste the maple flavor more, because I’m not sure I would be able to say “this is MAPLE almond butter” if I was given a blind taste test. And you know me (or hopefully you have picked up on) and that I LOVE maple flavored things. (Like these cookies? YUMM!)

Overall, 3 stars. I don’t know if I would buy this again, especially since it is 10 dollars,  but I want to try more Justin’s Nut Butters! Just have to save up some money first…. =P

Whats the most you EVER spent on nut butter??

9 Nov 2011, Comments (10)

Robert’s American Gourmet Chocolate Pirate’s Booty

Author: Healthnuttxo

I LOVE PIRATE’S BOOTY! Cheesy, puffy, salty delicious-ness. So I was in Whole Foods browsing the snack aisles, and saw Chocolate Pirate’s Booty. At first I was a bit taken aback/weirded out. Wait….cheesy and chocolatey? I was almost going to buy pita chips instead, but then I decided to give it a try. Why not? Maybe it would be delicious!

mmm. puffy.

I picked up a piece- probably one of the more chocolatey ones. It had almost a chocolate dusted film on it. I ate the piece, and could say it certainly had more of a cocoa flavor than chocolate. And to calm my cheesy-chocolate fears, there was no cheese flavor, but there was the flavor of the corn puff. (PHEW- imagine how gross it would have tasted if it was cheesy AND chocolatey? EW!)

I tried a few more. Crunchy, light and typical texture of Pirate’s Booty. It was mildly sweet, some had a bit of a vanilla flavor. They overall to me tasted like less sweet, bigger and more puffier pieces of Cocoa Puffs cereal. They weren’t bad, and the more I ate them, the more I think I liked them.

I look forward to trying them with peanut butter (oh c’mon, you saw that one coming!) and I also think they would be really good in a “trail mix” type, or paired up with a peanut butter cereal, like PB Cap’n Crunch! So overall, 3 stars. Not bad, but not ahhhhhmazing.

WHAT’S your favorite chocolate snack? (other than chocolate!!) Mine?? Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins =)

Oh. And I fail miserably at taking photos of the nutrition facts, I KNOW. Sorry =P

6 Nov 2011, Comments (9)

EnjoyLife Sunbutter Crunch Chewy Bars

Author: Healthnuttxo

Yay for new products to try! I was sent a few boxes of EnjoyLife Chewy Bars to try to review for free. Of course I agreed, as I am always up to try new things. Plus….I eat granola bars like crazy! Even more…these bars are dairy free, wheat free, gluten free, fish free, egg free, soy free, and nut free!

I decided to try the Sunbutter Crunch bars first. Why? I don’t know. They called to me. They reminded me of baseball games when I was little where I was given sunflower seeds to munch on. At the time I didn’t know you supposed to take the shell off. I was literally chew-chew-chewing the seeds with the shell on. HA!

But anyway, I opened one up and took a look. The texture is quite weird. They feel almost rough to the touch and dry, and don’t bend well. If you bend the bar, it breaks off into pieces automatically.

These smell EXACTLY like sunflower seeds. Which I suppose they should…they are made from sunflower seed butter! I broke off a piece, and it seemed like a very dense and kind of dry bar. The only way to know for sure was to take a bite. I went for it, and…I can’t say I was a HUGE fan, but I can’t say I hated it either.

At first, it was kind of bland, and it was chewy and dense, with a puffed rice krispie texture thing going on as well. As I chewed, the bar became sweeter and sweeter. As expected, the bar was kind of dry, but not so bad where my mouth was calling water uncontrollably. These were actually kind of good! They had a mild sunflower seed taste, but tasted like peanut butter at times too (no worries- these are NUT free!!).

As I continued to eat the bar, I liked it more and more. A rather unique flavor, but really quite good! I liked it more than I thought I would, as I thought there would be an overpowering sunflower seed taste, but there wasn’t! My only complaint is these are TINY!. Here’s a pic of it in comparison with a pen. Blue ink only, guys. I’m biased and will only write in blue. ; )

See…tiny! But they are only 120 calories each, so I could eat one (or 1.5 of them!) before a workout as a snack and I feel like it would fuel me up just fine. Or pair one with a glass of milk! (unless you have milk allergies of course!) Overall, 3  stars. Recommended to try, especially if you like sunflower seeds!

Do you like sunflower seeds? flavored sunflower seeds? sunflower butter? Tell me! : )

8 Oct 2011, Comments (6)

Dancing Deer Baking Co. Peanut Butter Cats and Chocolate Bats cookies

Author: Healthnuttxo

YES! Halloween is almost here!

Time to hand out candy to kids dressed up in ah-dorable costumes, and get props as one of the best houses that hands out candy. We go all out. Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Butterfingers, Snickers….you know the good stuff. And not the mini barely more than a bite size- the bigger pieces! Ever since I was little we always handed out “good” candy. And we give a LOT of candy per person. One might call this egg/shaving cream insurance.

Say what?

As in, we hand out yummy candy, so our house doesn’t get egged or  shaving cream all over it. It hasn’t failed us yet! Although I still think we should hand out an apple or two and promote some health.

Just kidding. I want all the apples for myself. HAHA.

Anyway- At Whole Foods the other day I spotted Dancing Deer Baking Co. Peanut Butter Cats and Chocolate Bats cookies. HOW CUTE!!! I thought. And despite the $6.99 price tag (my wallet is still mad at me for that), I bought them.

I took some out, and sure enough, such cute shapes! But…what was up with the “eyeballs”? Some cats/bats barely had any, and some were smeared off…


Ha. The cat one vaguely looks like it has a mustache
from the chocolate crumbs. No? Don’t see it? Alright, maybe I’m crazy…
;  )

I tried the peanut butter one first. Obviously. You know my obsession. It was crunchy but thick, and mildly sweet. But…it tasted like a shortbread cookie, with mild peanut butter flavor. Really. A friend of mine tried one and confirmed the very mild peanut butter flavor, which was rather disappointing to me. I felt like I had to smear some peanut butter on it to give it peanut butter flavor! It definitely made me crave a glass of milk, however, as it was a “dry” cookie.

Next up, the chocolate. This one I liked better than the peanut butter cookie. It was sweet but not too sweet, and almost had a dark chocolate brownie flavor to it. It was pretty yummy! I think it would go great with milk or…a smear of peanut butter. But what DOESN’T taste good with peanut butter, really? Obviously, the chocolate ones were better, as they were sweeter and more flavorful.

Hmm….

Perhaps I’m slightly biased. I dont like cats. Maybe if they made the cats chocolate and the bats peanut butter I would have liked the peanut butter cookies better? ….

Ok no I wouldn’t have, but I’m just saying ;)

Overall, 3 stars. These cookies were ok, but nothing special. And where does the 12 grams of sugar come from!? These really aren’t that sweet! But at 3 cookies per serving, not bad! Although the  7 dollar price tag really hurts. It really, really hurts =(

What candy do you hand out/like getting the most on Halloween? Reeses PB Cups for me!!!

24 Sep 2011, Comments (4)

Alexia Waffle Cut Sweet Potato Fries

Author: Healthnuttxo

Source

Oh yeaaaaa. Sweet potato fries. I saw these at Whole Foods and was immediately excited! Of course, at the time I didn’t take into account that I DONT have a pan to cook fries on at home, so these were purchased very quickly after discovering them at the store.

I say discovering because that’s what I feel like it’s like when I go to Whole Foods. I never actually know where ANYTHING is. Even when I normally get a few of the “regulars” in my shopping cart, sometimes the store changes, or I go to a different Whole Foods, or sometimes there are just foods that are “hidden” and need a little extra searching to find :)

ANYWAY (I like to go off on tangents apparently….), I made these Alexia Waffle Cut Sweet Potato Fries last nights with some chicken-less chicken nuggets (courtesy of Trader Joe’s), carrots, and way too much ketchup (oh well!).

I cheated a little bit. I didn’t follow the cooking instructions 100%, and put them on broil after it was cooking for a while. (I was hungry!)

My gut feeling said curly fries. My taste buds agreed.

Upon first bite, I thought, uhh? Did I buy curly fries? Are these really sweet potato fries?

Straight from the oven, these had crispy edges, with a softer middle, and were certainly quite greasy. There was a peppery flavor, which caused me to be suspicious that they were curly fries. They had a very mild sweet potato flavor, which really disappointed me! I didn’t want a peppery, savory tasting fry – I wanted a sweet potato fry!!! I think the “curly fry” aspect of the fry’s flavor came from the kick/ bit of spice they had. They also needed a pinch of salt (but really they didn’t, at 330 mg of sodium per serving!), which I think would help enhance the flavor of the sweet potato. They did go pretty well with ketchup, but, between the nuggets and these fries, I went through an awful lot of ketchup last night =P

Overall, these were ok. I liked they had some fiber and were relatively low in fat and calories for a serving. I dont think I would buy them again, but I’ll finish the bag. 3 stars

If you had to choose….. sweet potato fries or curly fries? I would pick sweet potato fries, but maybe this version instead (click here)

1 cup (85 grams) is 130 calories, 5 grams of fat, 330 mg sodium, 20 carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

15 Sep 2011, Comments (11)

Clif Bar Iced Gingerbread Energy Bar

Author: Healthnuttxo

Ahhh gingerbread. Brings me back to memories of Christmastime, either getting seriously sticky and messy decorating a gingerbread house, or baking delicious gingerbread cookies. I happen to be a fan of the deep taste of ginger and the slight crunch, and then a bit of frosting to add some sweetness. Delicious!

This particular bar is a seasonal one, and I’m assuming it’s available only around Christmastime. Why  I’m reviewing it in the beginning of September beats me, but, HEY- let’s just say I’m hopeful for the winter season to come (even though I DESPISE the cold. Gimme summer year round!! 8-) )

I opened the bar and was a bit surprised at what I saw. When I thought of “Iced” I thought there would be a layer of icing. Instead, it was more of a slight drizzle. A slight drizzle, in fact, that I barely tasted in the bar (was it really there? Or was it a figment of my imagination??)

As you can see, a few raisins scattered throughout the bar, with a light layer of icing.

The bar itself, was, eh, ok. It had a mild ginger flavor, but overall did have the flavor of a Gingerbread cookie. It was soft, and chewy, and rather dense. The raisins added a little bit of sweetness to the bar, but not much in terms of flavor. The taste actually reminded me of an oatmeal cookie, but with ginger.

It was ok, but certainly not my favorite. I dont think I would buy this in the future, for it was sort of lackluster, but it didn’t necessarily taste bad.  And, another thing to point out, 22 grams of sugar in one bar. OUCH! As a diabetic, I have to watch out for my sugar intake. I understand that some of the sugars may be from the raisins, but the first ingredient is Organic Brown Rice Syrup. Organic or not, sweetener is sweetener to me. And 22 grams is a bit much. But then again, this IS an energy bar- that energy has to come from somewhere!! (And I certainly had a ton of it during my spin class!!)

Overall, 3 stars.

What’s your favorite pre-workout snack? I usually stick to granola bars- easy on the stomach!!

26 Jul 2011, Comments (4)

Ian’s Wheat Free/Gluten Free Mac & NO Cheese

Author: Healthnuttxo

I’m not a pasta person – I’ll take rice, bread and pretty much any carb over pasta. However, an exception to the rule is macaroni and cheese. How can anyone possibly turn it down? Gooey, cheesy and super comforting – what’s not to love?

Ian’s Natural Foods is a brand that I happen to like, so I figured I would try the Ian’s Wheat Free/Gluten Free Mac & NO Cheese that I saw at the store. According to the sticker on the box, I paid $5.19 for it, which is a bit steep, but I also know from experience that gluten free foods tend to be expensive.

So I cooked this by the recommended method, via the microwave. Which, let’s be honest, even if it WASN’T the recommended method and the oven was suggested instead, I’d probably still pick the lazy route and use the microwave. So it was convenient for me the microwave WAS the preferred method =)

As it was cooking, it smelled like chicken noodle soup. Huh? I mean I knew this was called “Mac & NO Cheese”, but I was still hoping for a cheesy smell! After the cook time, here’s how it looked straight from the oven

I wont lie and say it was the most attractive looking entree. It looked kind of...mushy.

Now, finally onto the flavor. What happened to me is the sort of thing that I hope has happened to more people other than myself. When there are 2 cups on the table, say one with water and one with soda, and you go to drink the soda cup but accidentally grab the water cup, take a sip, and then are completely taken aback it’s not soda.

That’s what it was like with this mac and cheese. Or, rather, “Mac & NO Cheese”.

I was expecting at least somewhat of a cheesy flavor. However, I got nothing. It tasted like chicken noodle soup. Weird, I know. But honestly, it had the flavor of chicken noodle soup, but with a creamy sauce and noodles like macaroni and cheese.

I’m not saying it was bad, it was just unexpected. The noodles were pretty good, but had spots of funky-ness going on. Like some noodles on the edges were over cooked, and some on the bottom fell apart and were “piecy” almost.

The rest of/majority of the noodles were soft and had that baked, home-made mac & cheese consistency. The sauce surrounding the noodles was creamy, and not too salty, and there as a good quantity. So overall? I’ll give it a 3 star rating. I might eat it again, but it won’t satisfy a macaroni and cheese void for me.

If you had to choose only one to eat….would it be pasta/noodles, rice, or bread? I’d pick bread, hands down. =)

15 Jul 2011, Comments (8)

Snackwell’s Fudge Drizzled Caramel Popcorn

Author: Healthnuttxo

I know what your thinking.

What are these doing on a healthy food and product blog?

If it’s any consolation, I didn’t buy these. A friend of mine did. But I took a peek at the ingredients, and well, they were natural. And, well, I was in the mood for a sweet treat. See the connection? =)

So out came Snackwell’s Fudge Drizzled Caramel Popcorn.

I tried a few pieces, and thought they were so overly sweet. They tasted like caramel popcorn, but very sweet caramel popcorn, with the added “fudge drizzle”. I don’t think the fudge drizzle is really even all that necessary, because while the flavor is there, its not that prominent. It was sort of like a chocolatey undertone.

There is only about 3 grams of fat and brown sugar is first ingredient, so it definitely has more of a candy appeal than a savory. It does have a slightly salty flavor as well, but certainly mostly sweet.

The popcorn is crunchy, which is good, and I would estimate about 25-35 pieces of popcorn per bag, which isn’t bad for 130 calories. Instead of eating straight up, I’d like to mix this in something. A trail mix, or even a bag of buttered popcorn as a “treat”. I think its way tooooo sweet to eat by itself, but if super sweet’s your thing, you’d might like this!

A friend of mine tried this, and she really liked it. But then again, she is guilty for buying carrot cake solely to eat the entire icing off the top and throw away the cake. Although she won’t admit it, but I’ve seen her do it.

I on the other hand, probably wont eat this again. There is 18 grams of sugar ( which I believe is 4 and a half teaspoons!) in one little bag, so really, it was way too sweet for me. In fact, I think I feel a cavity coming on ( just kidding). 3 stars


23 Jun 2011, Comments (5)

ProScotti Mocha Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Author: Healthnuttxo

Courtesy of ProScotti, I was sent a few flavors to try for free of there biscotti! I received Mocha Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Orange Almond Biscotti , and Almond Orange Flavor. What I liked about these, is that on the package it stated that they had “Omega-3″, were “Low-gluten” and had “more protein than 2 whole eggs”. That’s my kind of biscotti!

At first I thought, WOW, these are really  THICK pieces! They reminded me of banana bread with the way they looked. Then after taking my first bite  I realized there were 2 biscotti in a package. Ooops! (:

The Mocha Chocolate Chip was the one I tried first.

At first, I INSTANTLY thought of coffee. Now, mind you that I am NOT a big coffee drinker, but when I do drink it,  I like it with milk or soy milk and I like it SWEET :)

This was just that- a soft biscotti, that wasn’t super moist, even a touch on the dry side. It had  a great coffee flavor, and also pretty sweet! It was actually pretty good! There were baby chocolate chips as well, which added a little chocolate flavor, and I think I tasted a hint of vanilla as well.

Eaten at night. Can you tell by the darkish yet still light lighting?

Overall, for the Mocha Chocolate Chip Flavor, I give it 3  stars.I do love the protein, but they are a bit high in sugar. Although, I think there is a typo on the package- it states 29 grams of sugar but only 28 carbohydrates? Confusing, but I’ll roll with it for now.

1 package is 202 calories, 5.7 grams of fat, 28 carbohydrates, 29 grams of sugar, and 12.4 grams of protein.

How do you like your coffee? I can’t imagine drinking it without milk and sugar!! But soy milk and sugar is my favorite =]

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