Categories: Cereal & Breakfast

16 Dec 2017, Comments (0)

Nocciolata Organic Hazelnut Spread with cocoa and milk by Rigoni di Asiago

Author: Healthnuttxo

source

Did someone say…Hazelnut spread??

Okay, so I know almost everyone likes “chocolate” hazelnut butter…. & if you don’t, well…I’m  not sure what to say actually because I have never encountered anyone who hasn’t.

While I’ve had plenty of the typical brands on the shelves, I have yet to see this brand, Rigoni di Asiago. Now that’s probably from one of a few things. 1. I am in the ZONE when I shop. I need xyz brand and I don’t look at other brands. 2. I am oblivious sometimes or 3. perhaps the store actually doesn’t have it. However, there is a little specialty store by my house that I have a feeling will definitely carry this product, and I  100% want to buy it after trying it.

This product is a product of Italy, gluten free, made without palm oil, non-GMO,  organic, and does NOT contain hydrogenated fats (yay!), or artificial colors, flavors or other additives. According to the pamphlet I got, the hazelnuts are selected by the Rigoni family…which I think is both amazing quality assurance and…well…adorable.

Now this is not a health food by any means, BUT, it is a much better alternative to a more processed version of hazelnut spread, because we all need our sweet fix every now and then.

Here are the nutritional facts:

note…the jar is empty…oops. Perhaps I *inhaled* this jar? + my family found this jar and decided they were going to inhale it as well. Le sigh.

Anyway, this is well worth the “cheat”. Smooth, creamy and sweet. It is definitely on the sweeter side, but in a way that is a good thing, because it’s hard to eat a lot of something when it is su indulgent. The jar is pretty small… so make it last!

The saturated fat isn’t terrible, I’ve seen much worse in other hazelnut spreads which I am contributing to the fact they didn’t use palm oil. Which I also like- because it didn’t have that “oily residue” on top that I’ve seen before.

I was also sent a pamphlet for recipes, and here is one of them

UNFORTUNATELY, my family got to this jar before I could make the recipe. But, if anyone gives it a try let me know! Otherwise, this is a hit in my book. In moderation, of course 🙂

4 star

DISCLAIMER: This is an unbiased review. I received this product for free.
17 Aug 2017, Comments (0)

Banana Wave Dairy Free Banana Milk

Author: Healthnuttxo

An alternative for those bored of soy, almond, or can’t tolerate regular milk, in comes BANANA MILK!!! I love the concept of this, every now and then when I make oatmeal or something, I like the flavor of banana but I HATE warm bananas– changes the consistency and bleh — but something like this would come in perfect.

Banana Wave is made with actual bananas, so none of that artificial flavor banana stuff. That also means you get the added benefit of Potassium with your banana milk, a pretty important mineral to prevent muscle cramping and maintain proper conduction of your heart, etc.  This milk is vegan, kosher, gluten free, and has no artificial colors or flavors.

I tried it 2 ways– in my morning coffee in the place of milk, and with my oatmeal (again, in place of milk).

The milk itself is mild in flavor, and has the consistency of a thicker almond milk. In coffee, it was okay. I usually use whole milk in my coffee, because I like it light and sweet, and hate the bitterness of a cup of Joe. The flavor is pretty mild so a little bit of banana flavor came through but unfortunately the coffee flavor still predominated and the bitterness remained.

In the overnight oats, it provided mild sweetness and banana flavor, which went fantastic with peanut butter. Seriously, what a great find. I used it with overnight oats– so I didn’t actually “cook” the milk– but put 1 cup of Banana Wave with 1/2 cup of oats and 2 Tbsp of peanut butter in a container and let it sit in the fridge overnight, and then just put in microwave for 30 seconds in the morning to take the chill out and melt the peanut butter. Delish!!

Here are the nutritional facts: more or less the same as a banana in terms of calories, but does have added Cane sugar so a serving will cost you 18 grams of sugar (Forgot about this when I had my oatmeal –> high blood sugar… whoops)

However, a good alternative to almond/soy/cow’s milk and good to spice it up every now and then. But watch your sugars!

4 stars

 

DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free from the company. This is an unbiased review.
22 Dec 2016, Comments (0)

Just Granola Products

Author: Healthnuttxo

Hi there!

Today we are reviewing one of my favorite things… granola. In yogurt, out of the box, in bar form, UGH LOVE IT. I could eat it all day. I won’t…because it’s usually loaded with sugar…but here’s hopes to Just Granola filling the void for granola, that is both healthy and nutritious.

Note: If after this review you decide you want to try some, you can head over to the website and first time customers get 20% off with code “launch20”.

So a little backstory, Just Granola offers a variety of products, bars and actual granola, and some of the products are made without animal products, gluten or nuts. This appeals to a wide variety of people, whether you have to go gluten free or you are vegan. (note: some of their products DO contain nuts/animal products. AND- These products ARE made in a facility that processes gluten, nuts and animal products. ALWAYS Read the label!)

First up, the Peanut Butter Granola bar. BOY WAS I PUMPED FOR THIS.
Healthnuttxo fans will know…by now…hopefully…that I am a nut butter addict. So now combine my favorite food (spread? I mean it’s technically peanuts…) with granola?!?! Let’s get to it.

NOTE: THIS BAR CONTAINS PEANUTS, WHEAT/GLUTEN.
It was a Chewy and dense bar, little bit of cinnamon flavor to it. Did not taste much peanut butter to it to be honest, which is sort of disappointing for a peanut butter granola bar. It tasted more “oat-y” and “cinnamon-y” than “peanut butter-y”. I just made those words up so…follow along! 🙂 It wasn’t *bad*, it just wasn’t exactly my favorite. A bit on the bland side, and really not enough of a peanut butter punch that I need in order to be satisfied with a peanut butter product. 2 1/2 stars.

1 bar is 3 servings (which is SUPER easy to eat when it looks like a cookie!) at 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 16 carbs, 2 grams fiber, 6 sugars and 4 grams of protein.

Next up, the Oat & Raisin Granola Bar.

Got this pic from their website ^
This one is made without nuts, gluten or animal products ( but is made in a facility that uses these ingredients so be careful!)
I liked this one better than the peanut butter bar. It was chewy, and again, had a nice cinnamon flavor. It wasn’t too sweet,  but with the raisins gave off an oatmeal raisin cookie type of feel. It was soft, but had like a very “toasted” almost slightly “burnt” flavor to it that was predominant. However, not bad. 3 stars.

Lastly, the oh so delicious, Apple & Cranberry Granola.  I had just a tiny bit of this after having my wisdom teeth taken out and LET ME TELL YOU, it was such a tease, because after an extraction you are not supposed to have any foods that may “get stuck” so I had to patiently wait until I was fully healed to enjoy the rest of the bag! The cinnamon flavor (again) is strong but really works here. It was a sweet and “soft” granola, as in, not crispy./crunchy which I guess is due to not using tons of oil.
It had a nice honey flavor as well, and sweetness was provided from bits of dried apple and cranberry.
I also detected a nice, light brown sugar flavor.
It was really quite nice straight from the bag. I actually didn’t eat it any other way. I demolished this straight from the bag 🙂
4.5 stars

One serving is 100 calories, 3.5 g fat, 15 carbs, 7g sugar and 3 grams of protein.


Overall, I think the products are worth a try. I am a granola fan, and I like the idea behind these products. I also liked that they weren’t overloaded with fat or added sugars. Always a plus in a my book!

 

Note: I received these products for free from the company. This is an UNBIASED review.
18 Dec 2015, Comments (0)

Modern Oats All Natural Oatmeal

Author: Healthnuttxo

Mmmm oatmeal!!! Who doesn’t love a nice bowl of oats? Even though “winter” by me is unseasonably warm, I still could go for a nice bowl of oatmeal any day!

Modern Oats sent me some samples to try for free of their on the go, individually portioned and flavored oatmeals.  I got 6 flavors- 5 Berry, Nuts and Seeds, Apple Walnut, Goji Blueberry, Chocolate Cherry and Mango Blackberry. All of these sounded exquisite!!

All flavors are Gluten and GMO free, Vegan, and bursting with whole grain goodness.

I was most excited about the Apple Walnut, so I decided to try that first. IMG_7261IMG_7262

Here is a pic of it before I added the boiling water:IMG_7263

 

And here is a picture of the oatmeal after I left the cover sit on it for 2-3 minutes as directed:IMG_7264

How did it taste? Honestly, for 17 grams of sugar, the sweetness was lacking. It was very lightly sweetened, mostly from the baby apples. The brown sugar seemed to stay at the bottom even though I mixed it. It was chewy, and I think it needed a bit more water than recommended. Once stirred, more brown sugar came to the surface, as well as raisins, which provided some sweetness, and some pumpkin and sunflower seeds. There was a mild walnut flavor, but needed more. However, I did like it. 3 1/2 stars

Next up, Mango Blackberry.

 

IMG_7309

This one I added more water to, and I think it worked well, as it was creamier. However, this one was kind of bland. It tasted like lightly sweetened plain oatmeal. The mango flavor was lacking, and the mango that was in there was not sweet. There was only one blackberry in the whole cup. The sweetness was very mild, and flavor was lacking. 2 1/2 starsIMG_7310

Next up, Chocolate Cherry.IMG_7480

This one I added a WEE bit too much water too. However, I did not like this one regardless. It just did not taste good. The chocolate flavor didn’t seem to fit, was too bitter, and needed sweetness. There was a few cherries, which were good, but too little. There was some nuts which were good, but the chocolate overall ruined the cup. 2 stars.IMG_7481

Next up, 5 Berry. Unfortunately, I lost the pictures of the last 3, but nutritional information and appearance was generally the same.

This one had a light sweetness, and some crunch from sunflower seeds and nuts. There was a mild tart flavor from the berry, which had cranberry, strawberry and raspberry flavor. I liked this one! 3 1/2.

NEXT up… Nuts and Seeds. This one I predicted to like the least but was pleasantly surprised. There was a great texture from all the crunchy nuts and seeds and soft cooked oats. There was a slight taste of cinnamon, and again, it was slightly sweetened. I really enjoyed the pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and liked how they stayed crunchy. 4 star

Lastly, Goji Blueberry. Again, lightly sweetened (seems to be a theme here), with a tiny crunch from sunflower seeds. I did not taste the blueberry really, and it was majorly lacking. There was a small berry in the oatmeal every now and then, but without flavor. The goji also did not provide much flavor. I think this would have been better sweeter. 3 stars

 

Overall, the oatmeals were good, but needed improvement. The flavors are there, but lack something to bring out the sweetness. Perhaps some spices or salt would help the sweet flavors come out to play. They are good if you are used to a “natural” palate, but you will be a tad disappointed if you are used to the generic super sweetened oatmeal. However, they were all easy to prepare, and a good portion to stay satisfied.

 

I received this product to try for free from the company. This is an unbiased review.
29 Apr 2015, Comments (14)

General Mills & Star Wars Review & Giveaway

Author: Healthnuttxo

IMG_1247

General Mills and Star Wars have come together with….#CerealWars! Now, for a limited time, you can get a super cool Star Wars posted inside of some of your favorite General Mills cereals in specially marked boxes 🙂

IMG_1248

I got sent two yummy cereals, including my favorite Reeses Puffs, alongside some pretty cool Star Wars posters. The posters were about 1.5 times the length of a cereal box, and of good quality.

IMG_1249A shiny finish, and the perfect size for a kid to hang up in his or her room after having his or her favorite cereal in the morning.

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Now…YOU can get a chance to win! General Mills will ship you some cereal with a Star Wars poster inside!

RULES:

1. leave a comment saying who your favorite Star Wars character is!
2. for an extra entry, add me on Instagram at Lisa_liftsx. Must also comment that you did so.

3. For another extra entry, TWEET about this giveaway, mentioning my handle “liisa_tee”. Must also comment you did so.

U.S. only. Giveaway ends May 4th 2015.

 

This product was given to me for free. This is an unbiased review.

 

 

27 Feb 2015, Comments (25)

General Mills’ Skylanders Game Review + GIVEAWAY

Author: Healthnuttxo

Skylanders!

The nice folks at General Mills sent me a package with Reeses Puffs and Honey Nut Cheerios which included the new Skylanders game to do a review of. In the box comes a box of Skylanders cards, which contains a coin (to see who goes first), the directions, and 10 Skylander opponents. You cut the game board out from the back of the specially marked cereal boxes, such as Reeses Puffs or the Honey Nut Cheerios I received for free.

After cutting out the board, you deal 5 cards to each player. You then flip a coin to see who goes first. You take turns, one at a time, playing one of the pieces on the board. Each piece has a different amount of arrows, and you “attack” with the strength. For example, if I placed a RED card with 4 arrows next to a BLUE card with 2 arrows, I flip my opponents card, and now my color is on the board.  The objective of the game is by the time the 9 spaces are filled, to have the majority of your color on the board.

It was actually fun! They are quick games, but it was a game of strategy and quick thinking. I think it’s a great game for a Mom or Dad to play with their kid. Plus who doesn’t like Reese’s Puffs, which is where you can get the game! (I may be biased here…Reese’s Puffs is my favorite cereal ever!)

These specially marked boxes will only be available in March, so if you are interested in playing, better go grab a box!

Now…GIVEAWAY TIME!

General Mills is offering the same gift set of cereal with Skylanders game inside to one lucky winner. To enter,

1. leave a comment below with your favorite General Mills cereal.


2. For extra entry, follow me on Twitter at LiiSA_tee to stay up to date with all reviews (and well…my tweets about life haha). *MUST leave a comment saying you did so

Must be U.S. only. Open until March 2nd, 12 pm.

21 Aug 2012, Comments (4)

Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon Chex cereal

Author: Healthnuttxo

I admit…I’ve been in a Special K rut for years. Now I hardly have cereal for breakfast, but every now and then (especially high cardio mornings) I like to have a bowl with some milk for some carbs and protein to keep me going. Well…since I’m trying to refrain from wheat, I skipped the Special K and went for the Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon Chex cereal (I still love you, wheat!)

So I poured a bowl (err…1 cup). I noticed some chex were very sugary/cinnamony and others quite plain as the picture depicts above. Dry…I LOVE the cereal! The plain ones added some crunch, but were, well, relatively plain and bland. The sugary and cinnamony ones were so good :] They tasted like Cinnamon Toast Crunch Squares and were sweet and delicious. I noticed a light apple flavor but nothing too overpowering. When I poured milk onto the cereal…the cereal’s flavor went quite downhill. The flavor dissipated and the cereal was basically crunchy squares (at first at least) that tasted like Corn Flakes.

Overall, a good cereal. I wish it was a bit more “apple-y” in flavor, and I wish the flavor didn’t vanish so much in milk, but I suppose that can’t really be prevented (who knows? I know nothing about the cereal making business haha). The serving size is also a bit small (3/4 cup) and the cereal is low in fiber, with 8 grams of sugar per serving. That being said, this cereal gets 3 1/2 stars overall.

13 Mar 2012, Comments (3)

Kellogg’s Chocolate Krave cereal

Author: Healthnuttxo

Cereal is a staple for me. Every day, every morning, a bowl of the stuff with some almond milk, and usually a sliced banana. It’s delicious, and light enough to let me go to the gym after without weighing me down or feeling sick. So, needing a change from my usual (love you, Cinnamon Pecan Special K <3) I wanted something to channel my inner child. Something sugary, something chocolatey, something new.

What fit the bill? New Krave cereal!

I’ll admit. The whole “K” in place of “C” kind of bothered me. A lot. I always have this internal resentment when companies spell things wrong on purposely, whether it’s supposed to be cute or creative or not. It bothers me, because I’m nuts about spelling, and when people spell things incorrectly. It happens. And…I bought it anyway.

In the ride home, I grabbed a handful. I almost always try a new product right when I get it. Why I couldn’t wait for the drive home beats me, but hey, I was also hungry.

First I looked at the size. Tinier than I expected. For some reason I had mini-wheat sized squares oozing with chocolate filling in my head. What I got? Not so much. More of the size of my fingertip, with a very slight chocolate filling (aka barely any).

However, just because the inside wasn’t oozing, didn’t mean the chocolate flavor wasn’t there. These little guys were crunchy, sweet, and had a milk chocolate flavor.

In fact….I felt like I’ve eaten this before. WHAT did this taste like? I ate more and more trying to figure it out, but couldn’t. It wasn’t until I threw the box to my brother and had him try some that he said “these taste like Cookie Crisp” that the lightbulb went off in my head.

A-HA!!!! COOKIE CRISP! So if you are a fan of that cereal, you’ll love this one. Chocolatey, yet hint of vanilla, and that salty sweet flavor going on as well. I think they are WAY too sweet for a morning cereal (I tried, and instantly put it back in my pantry) but for snacking, they are delicious! I didn’t even need milk, and I just ate them straight from the box.

I know what you’re thinking. Surely this cereal is full of fillers and yuck and yadda yadda this and yadda yadda that. WRONG! I hope you are pleasantly surprised. The ingredients aren’t half bad!

YES, sugar is listed before whole grain oat flour which is a bit of a letdown, but I’ll let it slide….for now.

So, all in all, 4 stars. Yum!

And the nutritionals…

30 Jan 2012, Comments (2)

Batter Blaster Organic Original Pancake & Waffle Batter

Author: Healthnuttxo

Since I had such success with the last Batter Blaster I reviewed, I thought, why not? Let’s try another variety of the stuff and see which one I like best! Off to the store, and a friend of mine  picked up the Batter Blaster Organic Original Pancake & Waffle Batter for me, partly because she said it was the only option to choose from. Well…that works, including I wanted to try the original variety anyway.

This morning post gym, I brewed up some coffee, sliced an apple, and then cooked some egg whites and 1 large pancake (as opposed to 2 small ones as the nutritional information suggests). I cooked up the pancake with some butter/buttery spray as I did that last time and found it helped with the flavor. Here’s what my giant pancake (about 42 grams or so of batter) looked like.

Annnnnnnnd the inside…..

I made more of a BIG pancake (probably the size of my face) so it cooked quickly and wasn’t super thick. It cooked evenly and all it took was a little non-stick spray and the pancake gave me no trouble at all.

Post frying pan, I transferred to a plate with my scrambled eggs and put some SF syrup (would love to use a little of the REAL maple syrup, but I’m a diabetic and have to refrain from sugar!). I tried a bit of the pancake plain first, and well, it tasted just that. Plain, kind of bland, not sweet and not a whole lot of flavor. However, I feel like pancakes in general, unless flavored, don’t have a bunch of flavor. Nothing a little butter and syrup couldn’t fix!

With the butter/syrup the pancakes were really quite good. Slightly crispy on the edges, super fluffy, and yummy. They reminded me of IHOP pancakes.

I do like that these pancakes were organic, relatively low in calories and fat, and like the bottle says “No Mess- No Cleanup!” which is true for the most part, since I still have to clean my frying pan and my spatula. However, these pancakes (by themselves) lacked flavor, and lacked fiber.  So, overall, not bad, but I think I like the Buttermilk version of this much better. 3 1/2 stars

What’s your favorite toppings for pancakes? I just like butter and syrup! Mmm :o)

18 Nov 2011, Comments (3)

Batter Blaster Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Batter

Author: Healthnuttxo

I FINALLY tried this stuff. I pass by Batter Blaster Pancake & Waffle Batter in a can all the time at the stores. I always see it, I always wonder, ponder for a few minutes or so, and end up not buying it. But WHY?!

I don’t know. I’m a creature of habit.  My brain reasons with me, Why buy this if it might be bad?… I usually eat cereal for breakfast…I don’t even really like pancakes….then I’d have to clean the pan…. (LAZY)

But this time, my friends, THIS TIME I bought it. Batter Blaster Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Batter went into my shopping cart, up to the register, and then home with me.  I want to say it was a bit pricy…maybe 4 or 5 dollars or so, and I bought it at Whole Foods.

The other day I wanted something other than oatmeal. A girl can only have cereal or oatmeal so many times, and since I don’t own a toaster that puts a damper on my breakfast options. (Ever try “toasting” a piece of bread in the oven? Yea, 15 minutes for one slice of bread is so not worth it….)

I cooked up one large pancake instead of two small ones as the serving size suggested, along with some eggs. I saw that there was very little protein/fiber in the Batter Blaster Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Batter, so I knew I needed something to hold me. And what better to pair up pancakes with than eggs?!

Here’s the outcome…

Look yummy? Yes? Well….

IT WAS.

It was SO good. I cooked it over medium heat with a little Pam/buttery spray. The result was crispy edges, a fluffy  and soft middle, and just overall delicious. I only needed to add a bit of SF syrup (would probably be even better with REAL maple syrup, but you guys know I am a diabetic!) and it was perfect! It had a yummy buttermilk flavor, and honestly tasted exactly like Ihop pancakes. In fact, I think Ihop uses this pancake batter….. ; )

And, well,  it was SO EASY. A college dormer’s/lazy person’s/my brother’s dream. Literally shake the can, turn it upside down over a pan, and cook. Voila!

Obviously, the nutrition facts could be better. More fiber, less sodium. But these are SO good, so like I said, pair them with some eggs for lasting effect! Or yogurt, whatever floats your boat =) 4.5 stars

Pancakes or waffles? Which one is your favorite? Normally I’m a waffle person, but this batter blaster has CONVERTED me!!

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