Somersaults September 17, 2009

I received a free sample of Somersaults from the company website.  I was very excited to try these, but I’m not sure the product lives up to the hype.  The ingredient list is simple and straighforward and each serving has 6 grams of fiber.  However, they are tiny and the bag was tiny.  I think I’d have to eat way too many to be satisfied.  I was hungry and ate them as a snack, but my stomach was still completely empty afterwards.

I’m interested to try some different flavors, however.  I could change my mind about these…that happens sometimes with me.

You can request your own sample on their website at http://www.somersaultsnackco.com/.

Bear Naked sample September 2, 2009

Request your free sample here:  http://www.bearnaked.com/discover/giveawayform.asp

I love this stuff!  I’ll have to do a formal review once I get it.  I requested the Banana Nut flavor.  Hurry, hurry!

Kashi cereal sample September 1, 2009

Sign up here to choose your free sample of Kashi cereal.

http://kashi.com/surprise

popchips August 27, 2009

Yes, I did find my camera but the battery was dead.  I took this picture a couple weeks ago. 

These are interesting little chips.  They aren’t fried and they aren’t baked?  What are they you ask?  They are POPPED through a combination of heat and pressure.  I’m not exactly sure what this means, but they are pretty tasty.

I’d say these are good for my at home cravings for chips.  I might even buy them somewhere like Subway if they had them.  However, I don’t know if I’d serve them at a party or anything like that.  No particular reason other than they are not “potato chips” like everyone expects.

The bag I ate is long gone, so you can see the nutritional information here: http://popchips.com/potato-chips/salt-and-pepper-potato-chips.html

Happy crunching!

M.I.A. August 25, 2009

I haven’t seen my camera in at least a week.  That’s the reason for my lack of new posts.  I’m sure it will turn up – things usually (mostly) show up around here!  I blame my 2-year old.  She’s quite the photographer, but she also puts things in weird places (and clearly has no supervision while taking pictures)!

Archer Farms – dark chocolate peanut butter August 20, 2009

Heaven in a jar!  That’s what it is – plain and simple.  It makes me want to sing….Heaven isn’t too far away……closer to it every day (anybody remember Warrant?)

Since this is Archer Farms obviously I buy this peanut butter at Target (SuperTarget to be exact).  I am a peanut butter freak (almond butter freak too ).  I put it in everything from smoothies to yogurt to oatmeal and a plain old spoonful isn’t half bad every now and again.

The ingredients are as follows:  roasted peanuts, sugar liquor, molasses, and pure vanilla.  That’s simple enough!  I’ve been really impressed with Archer Farms lately, so I’m sure you’ll see more of their products in the future.

Nutritional info (per 2 tablespoons):  180 calories, 13 grams of fat (3 grams of sat fat), 2 grams of fiber, and 7 grams of sugar.

The verdict:  I think that goes without saying.

Arnold’s Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins August 19, 2009

Arnold’s sandwich thins

These are so yummy and delicious that I have to come right out and say it.  I find these in my local SuperTarget.  There are a couple different varieties, so read the labels carefully.  I don’t believe the whole grain version’s first ingredient is whole wheat.

 

The skinny:  each roll has 100 calories, 1 gram of fat (0 sat), 5 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of sugar.  The ingredient list is quite long and there are some ingredients I can’t pronounce.  I wouldn’t use these in place of bread.  I like them as a change from bread or I like using them in place of hamburger buns (because I’ve yet to find a good hamburger bun with actual fiber).  I love eating these at breakfast with an egg and a little cheese in the middle!  My 2-year old thinks they are fun too!

Pirate’s Booty August 10, 2009

Ok, these were just weird!  I am a huge fan of white cheddar popcorn, so I was instantly drawn in by these Pirate Booty snacks.  They are a mixture of both corn and rice.  I expected something crunchy and similar to popcorn, but these were more like those styrophoamy cheese balls.  The texture really did nothing for me and the cheese flavor wasn’t very pronounced at all.  I can’t recall all the nutritional information.  My family and I snacked on these while driving to an out-of-state wedding this weekend.  My husband and I both agreed they were pretty nasty (but kept eating them out of boredom ), but my 2-year old kept saying “yum” and asking for more.  Clearly her taste buds need some more development time!

The verdict:  Pretty yuck-0.  I won’t buy them again.

Amy’s California Veggie Burger August 7, 2009

I found Amy’s Organic California Veggie Burgers at my local Super Target.  I have been pretty loyal to Morningstar’s Veggie Pattie, but I wanted to try something new, which is sometimes scary with veggie burgers because some of those on the market are heinous!   

These veggie burgers are vegan, although I don’t care about that (and I cooked mine in butter ).  They are made of mushrooms, onions, bulgar wheat, celery, carrots, oats, walnuts, wheat gluten, sea salt, potatoes, safflower oil, and garlic.  Each burger has 140 calories (Morningstar’s veggie pattie has less calories BTW), 5 grams of fat (0.5 sat fat), 4 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of sugar.  Overall, these seem to be quite healthy.

I think the picture of the avocado drew me in....even though there are no avocados in the burgers!

I wasn’t thrilled with the appearance of these burgers.  They just looked blah.  Probably because I’m used to seeing all the vegetables in my regular Morningstar veggie burgers.  But, I kept my mind open and (after cooking it in butter) ate my burger on a toasted Arnold’s sandwich thin with ketchup, mustard, and dill pickle slices.  In my opinion, these would be pretty good for my own personal lunches.  I don’t know that I would serve them to my family for dinner because hey are just not exciting enough.  Maybe I could get creative with the toppings.  I really was kicking myself for not having an avocado in the house after seeing the picture of an avocado on the box!!  Oh well.

The verdict:  One thumb up.  Not bad.  Not too exciting.  I would probably try the other versions of Amy’s veggie burgers before buying these again.

Free samples! August 5, 2009

I love free samples.   Absolutely love them!  I find them great for snacks – especially for my 2-year old.  She gets so excited about her own personal sized snacks.  They are perfect for her to eat while she’s in the childcare room at the gym!  Here are a few that I’ve found recently (and signed up for myself)!

Total Blueberry Pomegranate Cereal http://freesample.totalcereal.com/TotalFY10/Default.aspx

Fiber One Honey Clusters Cereal http://freesample.fiberone.com/FiberOneFY10/default.aspx

Yoplait Whips Yogurt http://freewhips.yoplait.com/YoplaitCoupFY10/Default.aspx

EAS Myoplex Bar or Nutrition Shake https://eas.com/Registration

Emeril’s Original Essence Seasoning http://bestemeril.com/sample.asp

Honey Nut Cheerios http://sample.nonchallenge.com/HNCFY10/Default.aspx

Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee https://dunkinathome.safeprocessing.com/(S(i5ahwwephfiak4r4l5nscw55))/Offers/DunkinAtHome/131/Offer.aspx

Actually, as it turns out I have already received my free Dunkin’ Donuts sample.  I don’t recall this, but they (the Dunkin’ folks) tell me I have.  Oh well. 

Enjoy!