Categories: organic

4 Sep 2010, Comments (0)

Alden’s Ice Cream Organic Strawberry

Author: Healthnuttxo

Growing up, I remember when I was little and my family would go out for icecream, I would very often get strawberry ice cream with peanut butter topping. An odd combination perhaps, but I loved it. I remember my favorite part of strawberry ice cream was the big chunks of frozen strawberries- delicious.

Well, I got a coupon to try a free ice cream from Alden’s Organic Ice Creams, and how could I pick any other flavor but strawberry? Would it be possible to re-live my childhood memories of strawberry icecream, with an organic ice cream?

Well, I took this container out of my freezer and immediately was pleased. It scooped out of the container relatively easy- which I was SO happy about. I HATE when I have to dig and dig at a carton of icecream because it’s so cold and hard, that it takes so much effort to get it out of the carton! It sort of makes me not want ice cream anymore! But- not the case here!

I slid the creamy ice cream in my mouth and thought now this is strawberry ice cream. Absolutely DELICIOUS. So pure tasting, the perfect amount of sweetness, and an awesome strawberry flavor. I just loved it. I even loved how I got an occasion strawberry seed which made this have a real, homemade feel. I also loved that I could taste the cream in this icecream. Just SO good!

Of course, ice cream isn’t exactly diet friendly, but if I’m going to eat ice cream, I want some real ice cream and this stuff is really good. This is getting 5 stars =)

What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? If you’d like to answer, please leave me a comment below! =)

2 Sep 2010, Comments (3)

Nature’s Path Envirokidz Organic Crispy Rice Peanut Butter Bar

Author: Healthnuttxo

Seeing as I really enjoyed the Nature’s Path Peanut Butter Panda Puffs, I was sure I would like the Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Bar that I was sent to try as well!

There’s yet another cute panda on the package of the bar, which made me feel like a kid all over again =) . The organic bar is also gluten free.

I opened up the package, and saw a brown colored bar, and a lot fo pieces that resembled puffed rice. The bar was a bit sticky, and held together quite easily. It was soft, airy, and chewy, and  not too salty tasting. It didn’t really have a savory peanut butter flavor, but kind of reminded me of a sweet peanut butter flavor, rather than the type I would eat from the jar. There was also a slight molasses flavor.

Overall, I would give this 3 1/2 stars. I consider it a rather light snack by itself, and think it would be good for those days I might not be hungry, but want something to eat. I do like that it’s organic, gluten free, and a decently sized bar for only 110 calories!

1 bar (28 grams) is 110 calories, 3 grams of fat, 20 grams of cabohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 7 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein.

Organic Brown Rice Flour, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Honey, Organic Peanut Butter, Organic Invert Cane Juice, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Soy Oil, Organic Acacia Gum, Sea Salt, Organic Molasses.

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.

22 Aug 2010, Comments (1)

Nature’s Path Organic Whole O’s

Author: Healthnuttxo

Nature’s Path is a brand that really has never let me down. I think they make delicious and healthy products, and have a LOT to choose from!

I was sent a box of the Whole O’s to try from Nature’s Path. Along with being organic,  this cereal is gluten free. I wasn’t really sure what to make of this cereal (before I tried it). There was only 4 grams of sugar per serving, so I wasn’t expecting a sweet cereal, and gluten-free products have sort of been a hit or miss for me.

Anyway-

So, according to the box, these were “Crunchy O’s of Organic Corn & Whole Grain Rice”. I opened up the box and saw little brown pieces of cereal, in the shapes of circles.  I tried a few by themselves and thought, WOW! I certainly agree that they are “crunchy”! I wasn’t really expecting them to be so crispy and crunchy! They had sort of a toasted flavor to them, and tasted like brown crispy rice cereal. They were airy and had just a bit of sweetness at the end. I tried them in milk next, and was still impressed. I chopped up a granny smith apple and had this cereal with some almond milk and was very happy.

Overall, I wasn’t expecting to like these as much as I did. The ONLY thing I was really disappointed about was that a serving size is 2/3 of a cup, and I wish it was a bit bigger, as I like to eat a lot of cereal : )  Otherwise, a winner in my eyes, and really good nutrition facts, too!  4 1/2 stars

2/3 cup is 110 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Organic Brown Rice Flour, Organic Corn Flour, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Pomegranate Juice Concentrate, Sea Salt.

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.

15 Aug 2010, Comments (0)

Yummy Earth Organic Gummy Bears

Author: Healthnuttxo

I’m in a fruit-snack mood today! :)

Yummy Earth sent me some products to try, including their Organic Gummy Bears. According to the package, these come in Pomegranate Pucker, Strawberry Smash and Sour Apple Tart. They are also “Made with Real  Fruit Juice” and have “100% Vitamin C”, as well as being “Gluten Free” and “Fat-Free”. SOunds like a good fruit snack to me!!

Each gummy bear is rather small, and they come in three colors, a red, yellowish color, and a pale orangey color. They were sweet, but rather chewy, almost dense in texture. The red gummy was the tartest, and had a berryish flavor. I would assume that that one was Pomegranate Pucker. The yellowish colored gummy bear almost had a citrusy flavor, and was a bit sour, so I would assume that it was the Sour Apple Tart. Lastly, the orangy colored gummy bear had a rather mild flavor, and was slightly sweet, so I’m guessing that was the Strawberry Smash.

Overall, these were good. I love that they are organic, and in my opinion, made with pretty good ingredients! I do wish they had a bit of a softer texture and weren’t as chewy, but overall, pretty good. I give them 3 1/2 stars! : )

*Do you like gummy bears? What’s your favorite color/flavor? If you’d like to answer, please leave a comment below!*

25 grams(about 10 bears) is 88 calories, 0 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

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.

11 Aug 2010, Comments (2)

Nature’s Path Organic Peanut Butter Granola

Author: Healthnuttxo

Presenting… one of the BEST granolas I have ever tasted! Nature’s Path sent me a box of their Organic Peanut Butter Granola to try, and all I can say is this is the yummiest peanut butter granola I have ever had (and I LOVE peanut butter!!)

According to the box, this granola is vegan, organic, provides 7 grams of protein per serving (3/4 cup or 55 grams), and is whole grain. I was so excited to try this- peanut butter? Granola? Organic? Let me taste it, please!! : )

The granola itself is softer than what I am used to, but still crunchy. There are also little peanuts scattered throughout the box, which I found quite enjoyable. It really added to the overall DELICIOUS, rich, and just a tad bit sweet peanut butter flavor this granola provided.

What really made me fall in love was that I got some “peanut butter chunks” in my box- as in melt-in-my mouth, soft, peanut buttery GOODNESS! They were quite big, too, and absolutely delicious. I was actually upset that there were only a few in the box, it was the best part!

Overall, this granola gets 5 stars. Seriously- if you are a fan of peanut butter, I HIGHLY recommend giving this cereal a try. The only thing stopping me from eating this straight from the box all day is that 3/4 of a cup is 260 calories, with 11 grams of fat. A tad bit high for my preferences for that portion size. Otherwise, this granola ROCKS!!!! : )

3/4 cup (55 grams) is 260 calories, 11 grams of fat, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.

Organic rolled oats, organic evaporated cane juice, organic soy oil, organic peanut butter, organic brown rice flour, organic roasted peanuts, organic oat syrup solids, sea salt, tocopherols (natural Vitamin E), organic molasses, organic rice bran extract.

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