Tags: sunflower seeds

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! : )

6 Nov 2010, Comments (0)

Manna Organics Fig, Fennel & Flax Manna Bread

Author: Healthnuttxo

Source

Mmmm carbs. How could anyone not like carbohydrate-rich foods? I know I may not be a “pasta person”, but I do love bread!

For today’s review, it’s the Fig, Fennel & Flax Manna Bread from Manna Organics. I have tried a few of them in the past, and thought they were okay, but I’m always up for trying new flavors. I was provided this loaf from Manna Organics to try for free as well.

I opened up the package and saw a loaf covered in seeds- pumpkin, sunflower, poppy seeds and sesame seeds. Oddly enough, I didn’t see any flax seeds or figs (go figure). Anyway- I cut off a slice and divided it into 3. I was going to try it 3 ways..

Cold and plain- eaten this way, the bread was rather dry, bland, and had a slight poppyseed and rye bread flavor.

Then, I warmed up a piece in the microwave- this way was a bit better, as some of the fig flavor came out and made it lightly sweet, and I tasted more of the seeds as well.

The best method of the 3, was warming it up and putting a little bit of apple butter on it. Delicious! It was chewy and soft, and complemented the sweetness of the apple butter very well.

Overall, I’m giving it 3 stars. It was really only good with the apple butter on it, and I wish it had a stronger fig flavor. One thing I did like was that I didn’t detect much flaxseed flavor, a flavor I really don’t like as I  think it can taste fishy sometimes. But this bread has a lot to offer. It’s organic, and according to the package, is “Free from Added Sweeteners, Salt, Yeast or Oil“. A versatile bread!

1 2 oz. slice is 120 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein.

What’s your favorite type of bread? I’m a fan of banana bread 🙂

27 Feb 2010, Comments (3)

NuttZo Multi-Nut Butter

Author: Healthnuttxo

I’m sure everyone has heard of NuttZo, the multi nut butter. Not only does it have peanuts, it has cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds AND flaxseeds, all in one spread. I have seen that it’s very popular in bloggie world, so I was excited when the company sent me a jar of their organic nutty spread.

Some facts about this nut butter before I begin…
1. It provides 50% of your daily needs of ALA Omega 3 per serving with 650 mg.
2. all the ingredients are organic & kosher
3. There is no sugar added (yay!)
4. This nut butter is actually stored upside down for easy stirring (it’s about time a nut butter company got smart!! 😉 ) All you have to do is open, stir and then refrigerate with the lid up (the words will be upside down).
5. NuttZo is also a sponsor/supporter or ProjectLeftBehind.

Okay, so it has some awesome facts. But how does it taste?

Well, if you like love nuts and seeds, you will like love this nut butter! Seriously- I opened up the jar, and there were TONS of nuts and seeds. Think of Skippy Chunky Peanut Butter- and then multiply by 5. You CANNOT get a tablespoon without a nut or a seed on it, ESPECIALLY flaxseeds. There are some serious flax seeds going on in this jar.

look at all those nuts & seeds!

Anywho- aside from the sort of offputting appearance (in my opinion, anyway), the taste really isn’t bad. It’s very crunchy (obviously), and has an almost buttery taste. THe most prominent nut flavor to me was the flax and hazelnut. I really didn’t taste any cashew or almond flavors, but it did have a wee bit of a peanut taste, that was slightly sweet due to the fact that they were Valencia Peanuts. This nut spread certainly is satisfying, and you really only need 2 tbsp. in one sitting. I had mine straight out of the jar and on a piece of hearty whole grain bread, drizzled with honey. Since there is no sugar, it is a bit bland, so the honey played up the nutty taste quite well.

Overall, I give this 3 stars for taste, and 4 1/2 for nutrition, so a total of  3 1/2 stars. While the nutrition is excellent, I wasn’t crazy about the numerous amounts of flaxseeds, and I’m not too fond of the taste of flaxseed as well. The crunchiness was nice, however, and it was certainly satisfying. I prefer my nut butters a bit sweeter, and creamier, but if you are a fan of crunchy of chunky nut butters- give this a shot!!

Do you guys like NuttZo? What is your favorite way to eat it?

1 serving (2 Tbsp) is 180 calories, 16 grams of fat, 7 carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein.

Organic Valencia Peanuts, Organic Flax Seeds, Organic Hazelnuts, Organic Cashews, Organic Almonds, Organic Brazil Nuts, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Sea Salt, Vitamin E, Natural Tocopherols.

23 Feb 2010, Comments (0)

Dave’s Killer Bread Sin-Dawg

Author: Healthnuttxo

 

Who likes cinnamon buns? I do! I do! 😀

But they really should be called sin-namon buns, now shouldn’t they? Loaded with refined flours, sugars and fat, a traditional cinnamon bun may be heavenly on your taste  buds, but no so much on your heart.

Enter Dave’s Killer Bread. This company managed to make the “Ultimate Sinnamon Roll”, making a 100% all natural, organic, whole grain cinnamon roll that still promises taste and satisfaction. It has no animal products, is a good source of fiber, and has 850 mg of Omega-3 per serving.

So it has all the health in the right place, but, what about the taste? Well, that’s where I (and some trusty friends) come in. So let’s dig in!

When I first got this in the mail, I was a bit taken aback. It was a long, bread roll, almost like a french baguette, but was absolutely COVERED with seeds and rolled oats. In fact, I’m not going to lie, this thing is ugly. Do I really want to eat this? I said to myself. See the close-up picture of a piece below, but this thing was COVERED in the seeds, which gave it an off-putting appearance (in my opinion at least). Honestly, I just don’t picture cinnamon bun + seeds/oats together- MAYBE cinnamon bun and chopped pecans- but sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin seeds?

Anyway- despite the appearance, I cut myself a piece. Ooh- now that’s what I’m talking about. Once you cut a piece, you see a gooey, cinnamon sugar  filling. I licked a bit of it- yum!! It was sweet, and had a brown sugar taste to it. There were raisins in it too that were nice and plump. So, I decided to take a bite of it as a whole. Ooh- this is good! It was chewy, sweet and had a strong cinnamon flavor. Honestly the seeds don’t offer much extra taste to the roll, so I could take ’em or leave ’em. If anything, they help provide protein, fiber and the omega’s, so I guess some extra health benefits can’t hurt 🙂

The roll suggests cutting it up into “mini” cinnamon rolls, which I also suggest to do (maybe even heat them up slightly?). The drawback to this delicious bread is the small portion size.  I cut myself a piece which I thought was reasonable, and it was 4.1 oz, only to find that ONE portion size was 2 oz. at 200 calories! Yikes! My little cinnamon bun would have been about 400 calories! :O

Overall, I give this a 3 1/2 stars. It definitely is delicious. I also love the fact that there are’t any refined sugars, it’s organic, whole grain and is a good swap for your ol’ friend (*cough *cough* enemy *cough*cough*) Cinnabon, but the portion size is kinda tiny, and the seeds are a bit off-putting. I had to persuade both my brother and my friend to try it after they saw it. But hey- they always say- never judge a book by it’s cover! 🙂 

1 serving (2 oz) is 200 calories, 8 grams of fat, 31 carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, and 5 grams of protein.

Organic whole wheat flour, organic raisins, water, organic evaporated cane juice, organic canola oil, organic molasses, organic sunflower seeds, organic flaxseed meal, organic sesame seeds, organic whole grain oats, organic wheat gluten, organic cinnamon, yeast, organic pumpkin seeds, salt, organic vanilla extract, organic rice bran extract.

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