Tags: healthnuttxo

15 Nov 2017, Comments (0)

Snow Monkey Superfood Ice Treat

Author: Healthnuttxo
With low calorie/ light Frozen treats “ice cream” with a bit of protein being a current hit with not only my fellow fitness peeps, but everyone seems to like them, you see tons of new brands popping up with new varieties to try. I’ve tried a couple. Some are well worth the 6$ a pint and others you
may as well throw your 6$ in the trash …along with the pint. 🙂
 .
In comes a new brand I haven’t heard or saw just yet in the freezer section— Snow Monkey. Of the two varieties I was sent, Goji Berry and Cacao, both are dairy free, gluten free, non GMO, vegan, paleo and have 20 grams of protein per pint at 99 cals a serving.
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The Goji Berry says I️t has potassium in I️t, however there’s only 140 mg a serving aka 4% of your daily needs to make sure you always read the fine print 🙂 —although I guess that’s what I’m here for!
 .
Let’s get to the breakdown before the taste.
Goji berry has 99 cals a serving, 2 grams of fat, 17 carbs, 2 g of fiber, 14 grams of sugar—but 0g added sugar— and 5 grams of protein.
 .
Cacao has 99 cals a serving, 3 grams of fat, 16 carbs, 3 g of fiber, 12 grams of sugar—but 4g added sugar— and 5 grams of protein.
 .
Where is this sugar coming from….
BANANAS! Bananas are the first ingredient for both varieties, followed by juice concentrates. I️ definitely like the fact of using fruit as a sweetener and a base—help me add a little extra fruit to my diet in an indulgent way. Hemp protein is main source of protein.
 .
Now for these you have to let them sit for a solid 15-20 minutes before you can even get a scoop out of the container. For real. But remember the base is fruit and not dairy so that’s why.
I cheated and used the “soften” feature in my microwave. Because I am a hungry girl and I am impatient. That’s why.
 .
NOW THE TASTE!
Cacao- is amazing. Literally. Tastes like a chocolate covered banana. Once defrosted, it is smooth and creamy and everything you could want for a frozen dessert, including the fact it has fiber, protein, and the base is a banana. It it sweet but not overpoweringly so. Like this is the type of “dessert” you eat and don’t feel like crap about after, because hey, it’s actually NOT bad for you! I could also barely taste any protein flavor, so that’s always a plus for me. 4.5 stars
 .
Goji Berry- however, this one I was not a fan of. It is just…odd. It has a banana- raspberry-ish flavor, and you can definitely taste the hemp protein, and detect the consistency of the protein powder. I would pass on this one and go straight for the Cacao. 2 stars
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Overall, I am a fan. I would like to see what other flavors they come out with. Love how versatile they are, and how they appeal to those who cannot eat dairy!
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DISCLAIMER: this is an unbiased review. I received these to try for free.
11 Apr 2017, Comments (0)

B- free Stone Baked Gluten Free Pita bread

Author: Healthnuttxo

 

 

STOP!!! 🙂

Don’t be afraid of this post. I know. It says gluten free. & when people see gluten free/ wheat free…THEY RUN.
WHY?
years ago they definitely had some…questionable gluten free products… cereal that would fall apart, “mealy” consistency for bread…or just plain awful.
However, insert B Free products. A serious improvement on gluten free breads and products.

The company sent me some pita breads to try. A LOT actually (thanks guys!)

So I hooked my friends up with some and let my family try as well. And let me tell you…they were a hit.

 

I can’t take any credit for these beautiful photos. Taken by a friend with some serious photo skills (that I lack….sorry guys!)

 

Anyway, we tried these toasted, non toasted, with eggs, bacon, tuna fish, and cold cuts.
They are soft and did not taste “fake” at all. My mom is one of the biggest skeptics with gluten free bread, and she had NO CLUE they were gluten free. They actually do just remind me of a wheat pita bread.

The texture was spot on– not too doughy or chewy, and not so hard that it fell apart. It wasn’t dry, and relatively moist. Loved that it didn’t fall apart while eating it as well.

The taste is really subtle, it will remind you of a “wheat flavor”– without the wheat — but this is good because it makes the pita bread super versatile.

Overall, these were a hit with at least 5 people, so with that…these have to get a 5 star rating. I’m not a *huge* sandwich person, but I appreciate when a bread is not only gluten free with awesome texture and nutritional stats, but also one that is durable.

Allergy sensitive? Well you’re in luck because these are also nut free, soy free, wheat free, dairy free AND egg free.

Gluten sensitive? Or just want to try a new pita? Give these a shot!

 

I received these pita breads for free. This is an UNBIASED review.

20 Jul 2015, Comments (0)

Doctor’s Best EstroG-100 Menopausal Support Supplement

Author: Healthnuttxo

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Alrighty! So I got Doctor’s Best EstroG-100 Menopausal Support Supplement to try courtesy of the company, but…I am NOT going through menopause (that would be kind of evil in my 20s, right?…actually it’s rather evil in general!). So, I passed this supplement along to a person who is going through menopause and is a very trust source. She experiences hot flashes, irritability, mood swings, and night sweats. As a disclaimer, she was already taking Black Cohosh supplement and did not want to discontinue it. So these supplements were taken at the time time.

The bottle contains 30 pills, and you take one per day. They are NON-GMO and Gluten free.

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According to the bottle, they provide “Relief from hot flashes, helps [to] manage mood & energy swings, [and] helps [to] alleviate night sweats and promotes restful sleep”.

She has been on the supplement for almost a month. She claims the pills are easy to swallow, despite their semi large appearance, and do not repeat on her or cause any GI distress.

Has she still had hot flashes? Yes, but she said they have decreased in intensity. Not frequency, but the intensity has decreased. This is a good thing!

Has she still had irritability? Yes, she reports still being irritable and having mood swings.

Has she had night sweats? Yes, but she said they have also decreased in intensity.

Has she had relieved sleep? No, she reports no change in sleeping patterns (but she has always been an anxious sleeper, and this can’t really be blamed on menopause alone).

Overall, I asked how many stars would she rate the product out of 5, and she said 3. It did help, but not to an extent she had hoped for.

So, if you are going through menopause, perhaps this supplement is worth a try! Menopause is never a fun thing, so if you know someone going through it, maybe offer an extra hug or an extra cookie will help alongside a supplement too 🙂

3 stars

Here is the ingredients:

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22 Apr 2015, Comments (11)

Blake’s Hearty Beef Stew

Author: Healthnuttxo

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Saw this at Target today (the best store in the world, duh) and decided to give it a whirl. I often stay away from frozen dinners for a few reasons…
1. Full of sodium (hellooooo bloating)
2. Full of preservatives (how about some BHT with your carrots?)
3. Teeny portions for a lot of money

And while this one looked small, the sodium levels were low, and it was a natural dish so no preservatives or colors added. I’ve also had Blake’s chicken pot pie before and it was scrumptious. So I decided to give it a whirl.

Suggested cooking method is the oven. Did I use the oven? Of course I did….the microwave oven (see what I did there?) 😉

Here’s what it looked like:
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Smaller than I thought. Frozen dinner? How about a frozen snack….

There was literally 3 pieces of beef in here. THREE. TEENY. PIECES. I am a big girl (okay, I’m not a big girl, but my stomach likes big portions), and I can easily down a plate of meatballs, steak, hamburger, etc. And still be hungry. So I knew this wasn’t promising.

The first piece of beef was scrumptious. Soft, tender, flavorful. Bits of garlic and pepper, perfectly complimented with the gravy. Reminded me of the stew my mom used to make…mmm.

The other two pieces of beef were fatty. Half fat I should say. White, visible fat. Chewy and bleh. Some people like fatty meat. I am not one of them. Moving on…

The carrots and peas were on point. Carrots were perfect consistency, and peas were nice and crisp. It reminded me of the inside of a pot pie. Both flavorful and fresh. Very good.

The square potatoes were an epic fail. These were supposed to be red skin potatoes? They tasted like the super starchy brown ones you can make french fries with. They were essentially a block of mush. Starchy mush. Awful.

The gravy was thick, but gelatinous, which probably meant it had a high fat content. And seeing as my mere 3 pieces of beef could not possibly contribute all 12 grams of fat, I assume the rest of the fat was in the gravy. Which I will admit, was delicious and flavorful. It held the dish together nicely and went well with everything. Even those awful potatoes.

Overall? Meh. Hearty? Hardly. I wasn’t even hungry when I ate this and I think I am hungrier post meal. Would not buy again, but if bought for me I would eat it. 2 1/2 stars

 

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Follow me on INSTAGRAM for short snippet reviews! Lisa_liftsx

25 Nov 2011, Comments (2)

Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Biscotti

Author: Healthnuttxo

Who’s obsessed with Starbucks!?!

meeeeeeeee.

I’m definitely guilty of going to Starbucks every week (err, day) to get my caffeine fix. What’s a girl to do when she has to do 8 million things in one day and needs caffeine to keep her going? It HAS to taste good and Starbucks does coffee right. Perfect in fact. So yummy.

Anyway, I got a caramel frappuccino and saw the Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Biscotti waiting at the counter. Oh, Starbucks, you are so sly. Not only am I spending over 5 dollars for a drink, now I am spending additional money on a biscotti that I probably don’t need. But, I saw it, it looked interesting, and well, I bought it. I. Am. An. Impulse. Buyer.

Moving on,

Here’s what it looked like.

There were three “layers” of the biscotti. A white layer on top with some sort of drizzled frosting, a middle thin brown layer, and a bottom layer that was frosted. The top layer tasted like a plain biscotti, nothing special. Crunchy, with a tad bit of vanilla flavor in it. The middle layer was also relatively bland, but had more of a coffee flavor to it. The bottom layer, my favorite, was sweet and had a coffee/caramel flavor to it, as well as being slightly softer than the rest of the layers as it had the frosting on it.

I wouldn’t say this biscotti was amazing, but it was ok. It was crunchy as a biscotti should be. I probably would have liked it better had the whole thing been frosted rather than just the bottom, just because I think without the frosting the biscotti would have been rather boring and bland. A good dunking-in-your coffee kind of cookie, but I also bought this with a frozen drink so that was a tad difficult (FAIL!!)

Overall, I would skip this biscotti. It probably wasn’t worth the additional 170 calories, as it was kind of small and lacked amazing flavor. If you want an amazing treat for around the same number of calories, I HIGHLY suggest this product I reviewed in the past. SO. GOOD!

I also don’t think this was worth the 15 grams of sugar and 3.5 grams of saturated fat. Really?? Where did THAT come from!?! So overall, 2 stars

1 Biscotti is 170 calories, 6 grams of fat, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein.

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!!!

26 Sep 2011, Comments (0)

Birdbath Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie

Author: Healthnuttxo

I shouldn’t have done it.

Coming home from the gym today, I passed by this bakery, Birdbath Bakery. I have such a weak spot for cookies. Cake? dont need it. Ice cream? pass. Brownies? no thank you. But cookies? I. Cannot. Resist. Cookies.

So after I elliptical-ed (is that a word? It is now!) for an hour (ok, ok, 45 minutes) I wanted to take a peek inside the bakery. Maybe get a muffin or something. And then I saw a stack of cookies in various flavors. Some of them were vegan, and some weren’t I ended up getting 2 vegan cookies, and 1 not vegan- the chocolate chip, for 5 dollars.

The staff was very friendly, and I overheard that if you brought your own container in, you get $1 off your purchase AND, I read on the website you get 25% off if you come by skateboard or bike! Eco friendly alert!! 🙂

You can check out their website here- they are pretty amazing!

ANYWAY, back to the goodies. I already froze the other two cookies to eat later, because I KNOW I would eat all 3 in one sitting if they were in front of me.

This cookie. Was amazingly-amazing.I mean, really, HOW could this (half a cookie picture- wonder where the other half went?? =p ) taste bad?!?

Also note the grease spots on the bag. THATS how you know something
tastes good!

This cookie had the slightest crisp on the outside, and was soft, gooey and rich on the inside. It had a buttery taste, and was rather sweet, but very delicious. I noticed it even had a slight pretzel taste to it- weird – but it worked. It added that very slight salty taste that accompanied the big, gooey chocolate chunks.

Overall, a delicious cookie. Aside from the pretzel taste thing going on, a perfect chocolate chipper in my eyes. And at 3 for 5 $, thats a little over $1.50 per cookie, which isn’t too bad. Plus I’m loving the eco-friendly aspect of this place!!!

I kinda love this place.

I kinda couldn’t stop eating this cookie. In fact I demolished it in about 5 minutes.

I kinda can’t go here unless I went to the gym that day.

I kinda dont want to know how many calories, fat and sugar is in this cookie.

Because…I kinda dont care.

It’s that good 😉

SO, if you ever have the chance to go to Birdbath Bakery, I highly recommend the chocolate chip cookie! This was the non-vegan version, but they HAVE a vegan one as well!!  5 stars

Ever been to a vegan bakery? Which one? What did you get?

1 Sep 2011, Comments (4)

Oogie’s Gourmet Popcorn White Cheddar

Author: Healthnuttxo

So far, I’m a fan of Oogie’s Gourmet Popcorn. The ever-so delicious Smoked Gouda **highly reccommended**, pretty yummy Movie Lover’s Buttered Popcorn, and also pretty good Hatch Chili Con Queso flavors. I was excited to try the White Cheddar.

You see… I sort of had an obsession with White Cheddar popcorn when I was younger. There would always be a bag of it in the house, and I was known to demolish the whole bag (yes….the WHOLE thing) in a sitting. Who counts serving sizes or calories when they are little? I sure didn’t!  ; )

Then I just grew out of the bag a week White Cheddar popcorn phase. And then when I received Oogie’s Gourmet Popcorn White Cheddar for free to try in the mail, my love was rekindled. YES. White Cheddar Popcorn we meet again!!

So I opened the bag, and here’s how it looked.

The popcorn itself was light and fluffy, with a great crunch. Just as popcorn should be. It left a slight residue on my hands, but not so much where I had to wipe my hands all over the couch cushions (KIDDING!). I wouldn’t say the flavor screamed White Cheddar , and in fact some pieces I questioned to myself what flavor was it exactly?

It wasn’t really salty, and had a mild cheese flavor. It also had a bit of a buttermilk flavor that reminded me of Ranch dressing. It was certainly a unique flavor, where some pieces were very flavorful, and others left rather bland.

So does Oogie’s Gourmet Popcorn White Cheddar live up to my past of White Cheddar popcorn love affair?

Not exactly, but it was still good. I would eat it again, and would buy it if I saw it in stores. 4 stars

How do you like yo eat YOUR popcorn? sweet? salty? Let me know!!! 🙂


11 Jul 2011, Comments (9)

Meals to Live Shrimp Jambalaya

Author: Healthnuttxo

Growing up, I had two favorite types of fish. Shrimp, and tuna in a can, and that was pretty much it. I’m going to be honest and say I haven’t eaten fish or meat in quite a while, and when I do it’s very sporadic. Just not digging it as much as I used to.

However, hunger rolled around 5 pm today, and looking through my freezer, the Meals to Live Shrimp Jambalaya meal popped out. Mmm. This sounds good- I haven’t had shrimp in forever! I thought. So after steaming up some veggies (since I had a feeling the meal would be small), I cooked this gluten free entree.

How yummy does this look??!

A little dark, I agree. I couldn’t get a pic with good lighting since people were eating at my kitchen table and I didn’t want to be rude.

I transferred to a plate and then added veggies on the side. There was actually more food  than I had expected, which was a positive for me. Also, I noticed there was some extra juice/liquid that I just discarded.

It smelled pretty spicy, so at first I was a bit worried. I tried a piece of shrimp first, expecting a juicy, plump shrimp. However, that is not what I got. It was very tough and chewy, and had a fishy taste to it. I know, I know, “it’s seafood!”, but I have had shrimp before that tasted very good, and not fishy. I moved onto the rice, which wasn’t bad. It was fluffy in texture, but just very bland. It had no salty flavor to it whatsoever, and more tasted like bland rice with some spices. There was a bit of heat, but not as spicy as I thought it would be. There was also some peppers in the meal, that didn’t really add or take away from the meal.

Overall, I was not a fan of this meal. I liked this meal from Meals to Live much better, and would prefer it over this one. The Shrimp Jambalaya gets 2 stars from me, because I happened to enjoy the rice even though it was rather bland.

What’s your favorite seafood to eat? Or if you are a vegetarian/vegan, did you used to have a favorite?


I was provided this meal to try for free from the company.

25 Jun 2011, Comments (8)

Peas of Mind Veggie Wedgies Baked Carrot Fries

Author: Healthnuttxo

The other day I went to Whole Foods (which is quite a bit of a drive from my house) with $12.00. I had intentions to only buy one thing (a pot pie) and then leave. I have no idea why on EARTH I thought it was a good idea to go in with only $12.00, as that was the day it seemed my Whole Foods had a whole bunch of new products. Since I had enough to buy one other thing, I was torn  between these Peas of Mind Veggie Wedgies Baked Carrot Fries and a few others. However, these looked the most unique, and at 4 servings a bag, I thought I could eat them at least more than once.

Some info on these fries from the bag…

I baked these in the toaster oven. I noticed that they really didn’t get super crispy, and there was literally NO grease at all (which makes sense, since they are fat free).

They reminded me of sort of a bread stick in texture, they were smooth on the outside but sightly crunchy on the edges. I decided to have a cheese omelet and some ketchup with these fries as well

I have no shame. I had multiple=

I have no shame. I went for multiple servings of ketchup that night.
Good thing we buy the economy sized bottle =)

So, onto the taste. I was so excited for these for a few reasons- low in fat, good way to get some extra veggies in, gives me an excuse to eat ketchup (just kidding). I tried one as is, no ketchup no nothing. And, well. bland. Very bland. Disappointingly bland. I really only tasted a hint of carrot flavor, and the first thing I thought was that these needed salt. They were slightly crunchy/smooth on the outside, with a more mushy interior. Kind of weird, actually, but not too bad.

Next, I dunked them in ketchup. This would explain why I went through, oh, I dont know, a good 1/4 of the bottle of ketchup that evening. They were good, but only when there was a lot of ketchup.

Overall, these were ok. I might eat them again given I had something to dunk them in or season them with, but I probably won’t buy them again. I do like that they are a healthier option to greasy french fries and that they are versatile in seasoning them up. However, they were not amazing enough for me to want to buy them again. 2 1/2 stars

My question- how do you think I should eat the other half of the bag? Any ideas? I was thinking about going the sweet route, and maybe adding some butter and brown sugar? 😉

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