Tags: omega-3

Ever go grocery shopping, with the intent of buying one thing, and then letting your stomach decide what you actually buy?

Yea. That’s what happened here. That’s how this Kashi Margherita Stone-Fired Thin Crust Pizza ended up in my cart, then in the stove, and then eaten by yours truly. It sort of happened like this…

I figured I would walk by the natural food section of my grocery store, just to browse( for the record, browsing in that section is NOT wallet friendly for me. I spend a LOT of money on food!!) and then  I passed by this pizza.  I’ve seen this pizza over and over at the store, and just never bought it. And after eating it, I’m really mad at myself for not buying it sooner.

Doesn’t this look delicious? Because it was delicious x 10

While it was cooking, my kitchen transformed to normal kitchen to a pizzeria. Seriously. It smelled so good! After it came out, I thought I would be disappointed because it was a VERY thin crust, but rest assured, it was delicious. I cooked mine on a pan, so the edges were a bit crunchy, but the middle part of the crust was nice and soft.

The pizza as a whole wasn’t super greasy, so that made me happy. The crust was even pretty flavorful, with a bit of garlic and a bit of spice weaved in.  It even tasted “doughy” despite the fact that it was a thin crust. The tomatoes tasted unbelievably fresh, and were juicy, as if they were cut straight from the garden. There were garlic and onion flavors mixed in with the cheese, of which there was just the right amount of. Not drowning in cheese, and not so little that I had to wonder if the company remembered to put any cheese on at all, but just right.

Overall? This pizza rocked. It also has whole grains and omega-3’s according to the box. I had half of the pizza left over that I left on the pan, which was devoured by another person as soon as they came home. So much for leftovers… ; )   5 stars

21 Jul 2011, Comments (6)

ProScotti Almond-Orange Biscotti

Author: Healthnuttxo

I’m a total protein convert. Don’t get me wrong. I love my carbs (especially in the form of cupcakes and cookies…oh… and bread...=) ), but I’m much more into protein, especially since I have a high activity level. Greek yogurt? Yup. Cottage cheese? Yup. Protein shakes? You bet.

So, if given the opportunity to eat something dessert-worthy, like a biscotti, WITH protein? You know I’m going to be happy about that !

I already reviewed the Mocha Chocolate Chip ProScotti. These are soft biscotti cookies with protein and omega-3’s in them as the package states.

Next up, I tried the ProScotti Almond-Orange Biscotti. They came with 2 in a pack and had a really awesome aroma to them. I thought it kind of smelled like  a cranberry almond muffins my family used to always have in the house when I was little. Every Saturday morning someone would toast up the cranberry almond muffin, and the aroma would fill the house. The smell of these ProScotti reminded me of just that.

It was very soft and almost a bit crumbly when I bit into it. It was pretty sweet, and very delicious. It had a delicious orange zest flavor, but almond undertones, and a hint of vanilla as well. I certainly think this flavor will satisfy a sweet tooth, because I felt like I could taste the sugar in it. I looked at the nutritional facts and found there to be 20 grams of sugar in the pack, so it makes sense that they are sweet.

Overall, I like these! I liked them more thanI liked the Mocha Chocolate Chip Flavor. Even though I got these for free from the company, I would certainly buy and eat them in the future. I love the protein, the omega-3’s, and that they are made with pretty minimal ingredients. The only down fall is that the sugar content is a bit high. 4 stars

Oranges- do you like them? Or could you do without them? Personally, I hate eating oranges. I like orange juice, and I LOVE clementines (or rather, I like to eat the juice out of clementines!) but something about the pulp in oranges really turns me off. I’m much more of an apple kind of girl ;-)


1 package is 194 calories, 5.2 grams of fat, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 20 grams of sugar, and 12.7 grams of protein.

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

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 =]

20 Apr 2011, Comments (8)

Another giveaway!!!

Author: Healthnuttxo

Yea I said it.. TWO giveaways in ONE week here on HealthNuttxo!!

but first, a few words. I was provided two bottles, one of the NutraSea DHA and NutraVege for free from Ascenta Health.

The NutraSea DHA is according to the bottle, an “ultra-pure, great tasting omega-3” and “Beneficial for cardiovascular health and brain function” The NutraVege , according to the bottle, is a “high potency DHA, GLA & SDA vegetarian supplement”, and is a “vegetarian source of omega-3 fatty acids beneficial for the maintenance of good health“.

They both pretty much had the same texture and flavor. A pale yellow in color, very thick and oily in consistency, with just a very mild citrus flavor. I tried them by the spoonful, but I think the next time I use them I am going to mix it with something else that is flavored to make it more enjoyable.

Now, aside from this awesome Nature’s Path Giveaway here,  Ascenta would like to give one bottle of the NutraSea DHA to one lucky U.S. Winner!!

How to enter? Please leave a comment on this post for each entry

Mandatory

1. Leave a comment on any of my reviews!

Optional

2. Tweet about this giveaway with “@healthnuttxo” and the link in the tweet *may tweet more than once if you want- each tweet is one extra entry!!
3. Mention this giveaway on your blog
4. Add me to your blogroll

Contest ends Monday April 25th 2011 at 9am .

In the mood to bake something, I pulled out the Ella Scones Chocolatte All Natural Scone Mix I was sent to try for free from Ella Scones a little while ago. I tried another mix in the past, and was rather pleased, so I thought this one should be good as well. Plus, it has chocolate in it! One of the things I like about this mix is that on the package it says it is “rich in Soy & Omega-3, which in studies have showed to be beneficial in the prevention of heart disease”. If I’m going to eat a baked good, it might as well be helpful to my body!

There was the option to make muffins instead of scones, and I opted for that. It required 1 1/2 cups of milk and 2 T of sugar (I used a sugar alternative, and a bit more than 2 T because I like a sweet product!), along with the mix. It didn’t really have any instructions for making it the muffin way aside from how long to cook it and what to add (there were instructions for the scones),  so I just mixed in a bowl but didn’t overmix. The mix was slightly lumpy at first, and then was smooth in no time with medium sized chocolate chips. I scooped it out of the bowl into a muffin pan and got 12 muffins out of the mix.

While it baked in the oven, I wondered why chocolatte? Would it have some type of coffee flavor? Or would it be the perfect accompaniment  to a latte? Guess I wouldn’t know until I tried it.

Once out of the oven, they smelled like biscuits, and they had a very smooth and rounded appearance. I took a bite of one after I let it cool for a few minutes, and found it to be somewhat of a dense muffin. Not super crumbly, but certainly moist and actually pretty good. They even had that “fudgy” consistency that brownies sometimes have. They were not too sweet, but the chocolate chips added a nice touch. I could sort of taste a hint of an oily flavor, but not too overpowering.

Overall, 3 1/2 stars. They are made with wheat flour instead of whole wheat flour (I would prefer if whole wheat or white whole wheat was used), but I do like that they have Omega-3 in them. I also LOVE that they were so moist. Nothing is worse to me than a dry muffin! I think they are a good snack, and the chocolate chips make them feel dessert-like!

Here’s the nutrition for preparing it the scone method. 1 scone (makes 10 scones) is 199 calories, 7 grams of fat, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 9 grams of sugar and 7 grams of protein.

If you had to choose, scone or muffin?

Source

Nothing like a cold bowl of crunchy cereal in the morning. In fact, I find myself having cereal and fruit with almond milk almost every day of the week! Satisfying, crunchy, and just plain good!

I happen to love when cereals have little add-ins to them, like granola clusters, dried fruit, marshmallows…(gotta love the marshmallows!), so I thought Nature’s Path Organic Flax Plus Red Berry Crunch actually looked pretty good.

I opened up the box and saw flakes, little balls that resembled crisp rice, granola clusters with flaxseed, and dried strawberries. According to the ingredients, there were supposed to be dried raspberries as well, but I could only really distinguish the strawberries (which were rather small, as well).

I decided to try each of these components separately, and then together.

The flakes were the best part. Crunchy and sweet, with a strawberry aftertaste that was quite delicious. The granola clusters were crunchy, but had an overall flaxseed flavor that I wasn’t too fond of, only because while I do eat flaxseed for the nutritional benefits, I’m not a fan of the flavor of flaxseed. Next up, the strawberries, they were a tad bit small, not real “chunks” of strawberries, and were rather tart.

As a whole, the cereal was really good. Nutty flavored, crunchy, sweet and very tasty actually. I also read on the box that the cereal “contains 0.5g of Omega 3 per serving, which is 38% of the recommended daily value of 1.3g”- so not only tasty, but good for me too! : )

Overall, 4 stars. I liked the flakes the best, and overall a yummy cereal. I do wish the strawberry pieces were larger, and perhaps they had some granola clusters without any actual flaxseeds in them, just so I can taste the yummy granola :)

3/4 cup is 210 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein.

*I was sent to try this box of cereal for free from Nature’s Path*

24 Oct 2010, Comments (4)

Naturally More Peanut Butter

Author: Healthnuttxo


Peanut Butter. Not a day goes by that I don’t consume either A. some type/variety of peanut butter or B. apples. (what a coincidence that they go perfectly together!) I’m always up for new varieties to try, like the Naturally More Peanut Butter. I had tried the Organic Naturally More Peanut Butter, and really enjoyed it. I was hoping I’d like the original as well!

Some interesting things about this peanut butter, it has 4 grams of fiber and 10 grams of protein for a 2 Tbsp serving, with only 11 grams of fat. According to the jar, this peanut butter is “fortified with flax seed, flax oil and other nutrients” as well as containing “omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids. It’s What Peanut Butter Should Be!” Sounds good to me!

So I opened up the jar and noticed a thick layer of oil and floating flax seeds on top. Not the prettiest, but nothing a little stirring couldn’t fix. I stirred it up and placed it in the fridge to set for a little while. Then I opened it up later on and noticed a nice creamy peanut butter, with the oil seperation very minimal if any since refrigeration. I took some off a spoon and tasted it.

I would say this peanut butter has some pros and cons. I liked that it wasn’t too salty or too sweet, and had a pretty good peanut butter flavor. I liked that it was higher in fiber and protein than traditional peanut butter, and had omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. I also kind of liked the little bit of crunch that the flaxseeds provided, almost like a crunchy peanut butter.

But…

I didn’t really like the flaxseed flavor that was quite noticeable. I’m the type of person who likes to eat peanut butter straight from the jar, and while this peanut butter is good, I don’t think I’ll be eating it off of a spoon.  However, I did spread it on a chocolate muffin, and it was TASTY! I couldn’t really detect the flax seed flavor at all.

Overall, 3 stars by itself, 4 stars spread on something, brings this to a 3 1/2 overall. I think I’ll stick to the Organic Naturally More Peanut Butter for spoon and jar peanut butter consumption :P

2 tbsp. is 169 calories, 11 grams of fat, 8 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar and 10 grams of protein.

*I was provided this to try for free from Naturally More *

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.

 

One of my favorite things to do is to bake yummy treats. Cookies, cakes, cupcakes, brownies, etc. I love to bake for others not only to make them happy, but it makes the house smell delicious!

Which is why I was especially excited to recieve the all natural blueberry scone mix from Ella Baking Mixes. According to the package, “ELLA Scones are created in memory of our mother, who during the last few years of her life ailed from heart disease. The mixes are our tribute to ELLA, and it is her love for life that brings the heart healthiest scones to your table. ELLA scones are rich in Soy & Omega-3, which in studies have showed to be beneficial in the prevention of heart disease“.

The package gives you directions to make scones, or muffins. I opted for the muffin version, which instead of adding water, you can add either 1 1/2 cups of milk, or 3/4 cup milk + 3/4 cup fruit juice. I went for the milk method, and mixed in 1 1/2 cups of skim milk. It mixed together relatively easy, creating a batter than was slightly lumpy and creamy. What shocked me was that there was actually a light blue color from the pieces of blueberries! :)

I ended up being able to make 12 muffins, which were average sized. Not super big, but not mini either. They smelled delicious while they were baking- a lovely blueberry aroma.

Once they were done, I tried a piece. They had a mild blueberry flavor, were moist and fluffy, and lightly sweet. My friend tried some too, but she toasted hers and added a little bit of butter. She enjoyed them, and I ended up giving her some of the muffins to keep.

Overall, these get 3 1/2 stars. I like that they are a good source of Omega-3, and that I had the option to make either scones or muffins. I do, however, wish they were a bit sweeter and had more of a blueberry flavor. If I were to make these again, I would probably add a bit of sweetener or spread some blueberry preserves/jelly on the muffin once it was done. I also wish they were made with whole wheat flour instead of wheat flour, or at least half whole wheat, half wheat for a higher fiber content.

Ingredients in mix- Wheat Flour, Evaporated Cane Juice, Blueberries, Canola Oil, Soy Protein Isolate, Leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), natural flavor, buttermilk, fish oil MEG-3.

19 May 2010, Comments (2)

School Safe SoyButter

Author: Healthnuttxo

School Safe SoyButter is advertised to be school friendly because it is nut free, and more important, peanut free. I remember when I was in school not being allowed to eat peanut butter sandwiches sometimes because of kids who had allergies (which totally stinks! I love peanut butter!!). According to the website, “Forget anything you’ve tried before, there is no comparison! Our SoyButter tastes as good if not BETTER than Peanut Butter… you won’t believe it’s NOT peanut butter!”

Well- I don’t think ANYTHING can taste better than peanut butter, but I’ll give it a shot ;)

The company sent me a jar of their creamy soy butter, but it also comes in chunky. Each jar is all natural, gluten free, dairy free, nut free, and a good source of Omega’s. This particular jar was also processed in Canada. Cool! :)

I opened the jar and it honestly does look JUST like peanut butter. The texture and appearance resembles Jif or Skippy peanut butter. NO separation of oil whatsoever, and was very thick and creamy.

So it looks like peanut butter… But how does it taste?

Yummy! But not like peanut butter. It doesn’t taste like peanut butter really at all. But, it’s still really good! It’s a sweeter nut butter, but also rich too. Even though it’s made with soy, there isn’t an overpowering soynut taste- it’s actually quite delicious. It has a little bit of a bitter/salty aftertaste as well. I think it would be really good warmed on toast or even with some jelly for a PeanutButter (oops!) SoyButter &Jelly Sandwich!

Overall, I give it 4 stars. Although the jar claims “Wow! Tastes just like peanut butter!”, it doesn’t. Although, it does taste really good, so you should still give it a shot! There is, however, 4 grams of sugar per 2 Tbsp, seeing as there is added cane sugar. But I do like that it’s creamy and rich, and provides protein, fiber, and healthy fats like Omega’s. I’ll keep this in my nut/seed butter rotation! :)

2 Tablespoons is 200 calories, 15 grams of fat, 8 carbohydrates, 4 grams of sugar and 7 grams of protein. There is also 7.5 grams of Omega-6 and 1.5 grams of Omega-3 per serving.

Canadian Toasted Soy, Soy Oil, Granulated Cane Sugar, Monoglyceride (from vegetable oil), Sea Salt.

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