Unexpectedly Vegan

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I know I'm *supposed* to be saving for Europe, but I was really feeling like spoiling myself with some of my favorite foods for dinner, not the penne pesto and stuffed peppers that seem to rule the eating scene here in the house. The best part about my favorite kind of eating out experience, is that casual dining = not so torturous for the wallet.

Casual, yes:

But I have wanted to try A & B Cafe, secreted away inside this natural food store - love that kind of cafe!, since I got here. And this is my second-to-last weekend! So it was high time.

Once I got inside, I had such a hard time choosing food. Everything looked delicious! It finally came down tofu sushi, buckwheat soba, a hummus sandwich on Ezekiel (yum) bread, and a Kale salad in a creamy dressing. So what did I choose?

None of them!

Sometimes if I can't decide, I just go in a whole different direction.

I was kind of in the mood for beets (a rare, but momentous, occasion) and come on - if you see something with a name like 'knish' can you really resist? I cannot. Nope. Not at all.

And it's good that I didn't!

This was DELICIOUS. The mix of durum flour (what you use to make plain old white pasta) and whole wheat flour made for a chewy, but flavorful crust (?) and the inner mixture of tofu, spices, chopped spinach, etc. was amazing. The texture was very much not tofu-y at all, but rather chewy and kind of like sausage, only waaaaaay better - and free of piggies :)

I'm German and I love my mustard, so slapping some of that on there really ratcheted this up to one of THE BEST SAVORY meals I've eaten in the past year. Scratch that, in my whole life. If you're near Bar Harbor and you think your taste buds might resemble mine (or even if they don't!) try this Knish NOW. There's only one word for it: wowza.

Oh, and is it just me, or is it weird that the organic mustard is beige? I was expecting yellow and this came out...but it was delicious! Also, it was dijon mustard - is dijon mustard always beige? I feel like such a bad German for not knowing...*blushes*

After such a tasty vegan meal, there was only one way to finish of:

Ice cream - or, rather, Rice Dream! I've been meaning to try the Rice Dream Pies for years, as they sounded like they'd be right up my alley, but somehow I just never got around to it. Until tonight. And again, wow am I glad that I did:

Hehe, it looks like a trucker's cap, doesn't it? I think that was just this one, though, not all of them (don't get your hopes up).

Actually, do. Because if you like ice cream and rice milk at all, you'll love this! The rice cream was creamy and delicious, with a welcome hint of rice milk-ish flavor (kind of malt-y, I guess?) and the oatmeal cookies were divinely soft and chewy - and substantial! The chocolate counting was melt in your mouth delicious, smooth, and rich - not icky like most ice cream coatings are.

Seriously, this was one of the best meals I've ever had and it came to under $10. So. Worth. It.

Plus, now I have less of an excuse - I could happily substitute my ice cream with Rice Dream. So it's really just yogurt standing between me and pursuing veganism. If I could find a vegan sub for that, I'd switch over to Rice Dream and call it a day :P

What's the best meal you've had lately?

What's your favorite kind of eatery?

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The Salad (non)Monster

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We’ve been woefully understocked in salad over at the house and me + no leafy greens = sad. So, when my mid-morning munchies arrived, I headed over to the lab café for my *first ever* trip to their salad bar! It’s pretty small as salad bars go, but still stocked with plenty of good stuff: mixed greens, lettuce, artichoke, marinated tofu, chickpeas, cottage cheese, cukes, tomatoes, bean salad, various cheeses, peppers, and a couple of other things that I can’t quite remember.

My stomach was feeling a little funny (I’ve had a headache since yesterday and those often go to my stomach—though, knock on wood, the headache seems to have left now)  so I stuck to a fairly simple salad:

It only cost $1.07 but was a great, filling snack! Wowza! That so trumps the $3 or $4 I have to spend to be satiated by vending machines…

A bed of mixed greens with chickpeas, marinated tofu (marinated in who-knows-what, but it was tasty!), and olive oil and balsamic vinegar drizzled on top.

I go through my phases with tofu. Sometimes I love it…and sometimes not so much. I’m in a love-it phase right now. But greens? I always love leafy greens, and never like going more than a few days without any—at least in a sandwich, wrap, green monster, or something.

Are you a tofu fan?

What’s your favorite type of salad base?

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Snacks, Bananas, Harry Potter, and Sparkly Skirts

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Do you ever have those hungry days? Today was one of them. Even though I packed my normal lunch and snack, I was still hungry! The vending machine sure made its money off of me:

I was busy at work, so I just kept the wrappers and took a picture later, at home. The Odwalla bar was tasty - but very sweet, which is unsurprising: the first ingredient (before even the grains!) is syrup. And the Nature Valley bar had corn syrup: boo! All in all, the almonds were the best - both in flavor and nutrition. But why do they add peanut oil? It seems unnecessary, considering that they're already almonds...Oh well, they still tasted fine!

When I got back from lab today, I had some very ripe bananas waiting for me:

The fruit flies were already all over them, but that's no reason to waste a perfectly good banana, right? Nomnomnom, I hope I didn't eat any fruit flies (gross).

Then I had my usual PB&Honey sandwich on bread butts (I seem to be the only one in the house that eats them) and my yogurt creation- but with extra knock-off cheerios under my granola this time!

What I don't understand is why we have knock-off Cheerios, but name-brand Chobani, Wheaties, Raisin Bran, Stonyfield yogurt, etc. Odd...

Oh, and sorry about the plastic plate/bowl/cutlery! It's absolutely horrid, but we were all out of clean dishes :( Yikes, my carbon footprint just grew :P

Anyway, while working on polishing off that carton of ice cream (holy guacamole, do I need to slow down with that ice cream! It's just sooo good), I did some reminiscing over old pics from my last trip to London (solo summer 2009). I stumbled upon a particular wizard:

He seemed different in real life, but I guess that's why they call it acting :P I can't remember his name, though, I always want to call him Draco Malfoy!

Also, I was there during the London Pride Festival and met a great assortment of colorful characters, in addition to seeing some interesting performers. Including these scantily dressed sisters (I think?):

I would have loved a tutu skirt like that when I was younger! Though I would have paired it with a top and probably would have like it a bit longer (so that I wouldn't have the underwear issues of the pink-skirted one). :P

Do you eat your food when it's a little overripe or otherwise past its prime?

Have you ever been to a *REAL* concert (I'm not counting the Pride Festival, as it was a festival with performers, not a stand-alone concert)?

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A Sugar Rush, Some Almond Butter, and 2 Product Reviews (!)

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That title just gave me  a serious case of nostalgia and I had to pull up my I-Tunes library before I could start writing. When I was younger (as if I don't any more? Who am I kidding?) I was a huge A-Teens fan. And, if you haven't heard Sugar Rush by the A-Teens, I suggest you YouTube it (yes, that's a verb) now. It's one of those syrup-y sweet group songs that just scream 90s/early 20s (??). Love it <3

And it's very appropriate considering the team of this post. Sweet stuff!

It started with my mid-morning snack, following a little online shopping for the Victoria's Secret Angel Wish perfume (Victoria's Secret hasn't made it to Germany yet, so my cousin wants to me to bring her a bottle of the stuff - it's her favorite scent). It seems that they have discontinued it? GAH! Anyway, mid-morning snack followed:

The only kind of cakes that I like are the really decadent, rich ones.

This muffin? Was rich chocolatey perfection, all the way :) The chocolate chips were melty and the cake was moist and sweet.

I read a bit (Happiness Key by Emilie Richards - not usually my kind of book, but it's sucking me in) and stared at a blank Microsoft Word document for a bit more. I'm trying to get started on a new project, but I just can't seem to think of anything that really gets me excited enough to commit to 2 months and ~60,000 words :/

So, rather than starting yet another two chapter thing to toss out (I have 23 story beginnings going, most/all of which will never be continued), I headed back down to the kitchen to prepare some lunch. I had some carrots and dip, a thick peanut butter and honey sandwich made with both butts of a loaf of bread (I'm a butt kind of a girl, haha), and a bowl of this:

Before you ask, this is not the same bowl I posted last time or the time before. See this?

YUMMARUMMY-IN-MY-TUMMY ALMOND BUTTER!

I bought it (six bucks) at Hannaford's yesterday, when I bought my ice cream :) I've had the Blue Diamond 'Easy to Mix' one before, but I wanted to try the homestyle. The difference is that this one is just almonds and salt, no palm oil. So when you first get it, the oil separates. A bit inconvenient to mix (take my advice - don't wear a white shirt while doing it. In fact, if you'r a klutz like me, wear an apron. I hope almond butter comes out of white tanks...) but afterwards it looks like this:

And I'm not sure if this is just my head, but I think it actually tastes almond-ier. I love it and I'm probably not going back to easy-to-spread!

You might have noticed that it's smooth, not chunky. WHAT? I know, I know, I'm normally a 100% chunky fan, but I actually like almond butter just as much smooth. It has a bit of a grainer texture than peanut butter anyway, so the smooth isn't too smooth. One thing? I'd refrigerate it - it definitely tastes better chilled :)

I'm an almond butter fan, but I'll still eat my daily (tons of) peanut butter. Almond butter has a really strong flavor and is good at times, but not something you'd want spread thick on a sandwich more than once a day. It's better in smaller amounts.

Anyway, after that I went into town to do comparative pre-gift shopping. Am I the only one that does that? You know, walks around with a notebook and a pen, jotting down products from different shops and their prices, so that I'm sure I'm getting the best deal when I buy? I have a ton of people to get gifts for, though, and all that maple syrup and wild blueberry pancake mix can add up!

After all that shopping, this was waiting for me:

I opened it yesterday:

So there was already a generous portion missing :P Anyway, I scooped out a bowlful:

And proceeded to devour it. For research's sake, of course. Doesn't that look like research to you?

It's certainly a lot prettier than the tumors I work with in my real research!

And, though I've never actually tried eating the tumors in my research, I'm sure it was much tastier :P

The ice cream was perfectly creamy and rich, with a smooth vanilla taste and none of that icky ice-crystallizing business. I hate when ice cream does that! Or when it tastes 'light'? Ick, not worth it. Then again, I also am not that big a fan of the super-heavy Ben & Jerry's stuff on a really hot day (that's better for winter, late fall, or early spring), and this was just the right intermediate.

The caramel swirls and praline crunchies were also very present - good for me, as I'm a big fan of mix-ins! All in all, this is definitely one of my top five packaged ice creams :) At home, Edy's costs $6.50 per tub. Here it only costs $3.50!! WTF? All other groceries are so much more expensive up here (it's a tourist trap, so that's to be expected). What gives?

Maybe it's because every other business up here is an ice cream shop and otherwise they'd never sell any packaged ice cream?
But seriously, that's less for the whole carton than a single scoop at CJ' Big Dipper, Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium, or Mount Desert Ice Cream! I'm definitely sticking mainly to this, as that means more spending money for Europe :)

And you know I can't resist TopShop. Who can?

What do you think of the more casual product review style above?
I prefer this type of review, do you mind it?

What's your favorite  type of packaged ice cream?

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I wanted to do an Ice Cream Bar Review...but my camera died :(

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I just had a yummy (for a packaged vending machine ice cream bar) chocolate eclair and was all psyched to suck it up and take a pic - at work!
But then my camera battery died. How anticlimactic. :P

So you'll just have to take my word for it - the Popsicle brand Col. Crunch Chocolate Eclair is creamy vanilla ice cream around a smooth chocolaty core, covered with sweet cake crumbles. It's nothing fancy, and it's not amazing ice cream, but it's pretty good for what it is. And, at $1, the price is right (again, for a vending machine ice cream bar).

What's your favorite 'nostalgia' ice cream bar?

Has your camera ever given out at a really inopportune time?

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I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for (CJ's Big Dipper) Ice Cream

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Hi guys!

Today was a real scorcher - well, at least for Bar Harbor, ME - so I knew just what I needed as an afternoon snack. After another Kashi granola bar (man, am I powering through that box!) dipped in some Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter (likewise for those jars!), I hopped on my bike and rode the mile to town...for ice cream!

So here's the thing - being a tourist destination and all, Bar Harbor is not a cheap place to get ice cream. One scoop will set you back about $4 - yikes! So, if it's going to cost that much, it better be the creamiest, yummiest, richest, biggest scoop of your life. And there's only one place where that's guaranteed:

CJ's Big Dipper! I go here waaaaay too much, especially for someone who's supposed to be saving money for an EXPENSIVE fall in LA (don't even get me started on the absurd rent I'm being charged for my shared bedroom at University Gateway - think FOUR DIGITS!!!!).

But who can resist? Their small (note that there's no mention of a single scoop, just a small, medium, and large) is FOUR WHOPPING SCOOPS of the richest, creamiest, yummiest ice cream you'll ever taste (sorry, Coldstone).

I went with the Heath Bar Crunch (as I always do):

Can you blame me? As you can tell, the ridiculous heat was not making my ice cream cone very happy! I had to eat a bunch of it before I could even take the picture (yes, it was even BIGGER than this) just because it was melting all over the place!

Seriously, it was like I was eating in a race! It was nice to have the cool ice cream on a hot day, but I think that I'll try to stick to cooler days from now on. If I'm going to spend $4 on an ice cream cone, I want to be able to take my time and enjoy it - not have to throw it back like I'm in an ice cream eating contest! I almost got a stomachache from eating so fast.

But, anyway, the ice cream base is super creamy, the portions are super generous (I've got to admit, I wish I had the option of one or two scoops for $1 or $2 - do I need 4 scoops at once? No. But, of course, I ate every last delicious drop and every last delicious crumb of the cone!), it's packed full with huge chunks of Heath bar (there was one that was literally the size of my finger near the middle), and the cone is much better quality than the ones you usually get.

My verdict?

If you're on Mount Desert Island, be sure to swing by CJ's Big Dipper - you won't regret it (though your wallet might)!

What's your favorite kind of ice cream?

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PRODUCT REVIEW: Kashi TLC Honey Almond Flax Chewy Granola Bar

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I promised I'd post a review soon, so here it is! Since I didn't take pics when I ate it at work (and I wanted the bar to be fresh in my mind while preparing the review) I had to eat another one.

*Sigh.* The things I do for you guys....haha, just kidding! It was delicious!

And now for a little closer look at the texture, before I begin:

Now, without further ado:

Flavor- If there's one thing you can tell from the pics, it's that there's a whole lot of syrup (it's positively glistening!) holding those bars together! Lots of syrup = a very sweet bar! I almost liked this one better than the Trail Mix bar, because it didn't have the dried fruits and so the syrup made it really sweet, but not too too sweet. However, I still think they could reduce the sweetness of the bar a bit and I would like it better. Don't mask the yumminess of the grains, guys! Alternately, the super-sweet almonds were deelish: they tasted like the candied almonds you get in Germany at Christmas time! And, as the sweeteners are all natural stuff like molasses, sugar, etc. at least you're not like 'ahh! too sweet!' and 'ahh! HFCS!' I did miss the little bit of freshness that the dried fruits provided in the Trail Mix bar, however...Three and a Half out of Five Nuts!

Size- Again, Kashi knows sizing! It was just the right size to take the bite out of my rumbling tummy after work, without filling me up before dinner. Five out of Five Nuts!

Texture- Again, excellent. :) I really like feeling the different grains, and the hard almonds added a nice contrast agains the puffed and flaked grains, as well as the hard little flax seeds. Five out of Five Nuts!

Visual- It looks good, don't you think? But somehow I miss the color variation. I'm not talking neons (please, don't!) but I just like having a little natural color variation. I liked that better about the Trail Mix bar. And the syrup? I think it's a little weird when my granola bar glistens...Less is more, guys! Still, with all the grains, nuts, and seeds, the bar deserves a solid Four out of Five Nuts!

Nutrition- With 7 grams of protein, 5 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of fiber, this bar looks even a little bit better than the other! As they're both made of largely natural ingredients, however, and the higher sugar content of the other bar may have likely been due to the dried fruit (both of them have evaporated cane juice, brown rice syrup, etc. pretty high up on their ingredient lists so I'd say the added sugars are the same), I'll call this one a tie. Three and a Half out of Five Nuts!

Price- Well, it's the EXACT same deal for this. If you want more info, look at the product review for the Trail Mix bars. Cut to the chase: Three out of Five Nuts!

That brings the Kashi TLC Honey Almond Flax Chewy Granola Bar to an overall score of 4.08333 Nuts out of Five Nuts!

A good score? For sure.

A good snack, to be revisited? Definitely.

The perfect granola bar? Not quite - I'll keep looking.

Nom-nom-nom, dinner time approaches. :) Until next time!

P.S. I kind of feel like I'm talking (er, writing?) to myself here. Am I? Am I pretty much the only one that reads this blog? If you're out there, and you're reading this, please let me know! Just a 'hi' in the comments is enough!

But, of course, if you have any suggestions regarding content or anything you want reviewed, please let me know! Do you want to see more junk food? More ice cream? More healthy stuff? I eat it all, just let me know what you want me to post!

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PRODUCT REVIEW: Blue Bunny Chips Galore! Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich

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I had another Kashi granola bar as a snack this morning (the one that I had promised to review), but couldn't bring myself to whip out my camera at work! Grr!

But I finally overcame my camera-shyness when lunchtime rolled around and I bought this for dessert:

YUM. Two thick chocolate chip cookies with a very generous vanilla ice cream layer, studded with mini chocolate chips, in between them. It was the perfect happy ending to  my lunch. :) Especially as it was unusually warm - 80s! - today. So here's a picture of the actual sandwich, as I know the wrapper looks great, but the ice cream is better:

I'm not going to give this a nut rating, as it's (a) a dessert, so with its whopping 47% daily saturated fat, 28g sugar, and several hundred empty calories, it's not going to be doing too well in the nutritional section and (b) I got it out of a vending machine, so DUH it's overpriced and (c) I just don't feel like the nut rating system would be fair for such a product.

So I'll just review it from an overall perspective: it tasted good. The cookies were chewy, had just the right amount of chocolate chips, and had that cloying sweetness that sometimes is just what you want to hit the spot. The chocolate chips pressed into the ice cream added a great kick of chocolaty-ness (word? probably not) but weren't frozen solid and tasteless, as some chocolate can get when cold. The ice cream was fairly creamy - not crazy creamy, but as good as you can hope for from a novelty ice cream product. The overall presentation was good and so was the experience.

My final verdict? I definitely enjoyed it, and I could see myself going in for another one at some point, but it's not amazing enough to tempt me to make it a daily thing (especially at $1.75 + $4.50 ATM fee, since my bank doesn't have an ATM on the island!).

I also think I'd try to keep it from showing up in my daily menu too often, price aside, as I wasn't too happy about the corn syrup and hydrogenated palm oil in it. Give me fat (and it did!) and give me sugar (and again, it did!) but give them to me in more-natural, less-bad-for-me forms. Like why not oil (or butter, if oil is a consistency issue) and sugar, instead of hydrogenated oils and corn syrup?

STILL: You only live life once and you have to enjoy things without obsessing over their health factor. Treats aren't going to kill you, and they're good for your sanity - eating pure, healthy stuff all of the time isn't good! Sure, those things taste good, too, but you need to be relaxed about what you eat. OBSESSION IS BAD! I see some food bloggers who are like 'I'll never eat HFCS or hydrogenated oils' and, sure, they aren't great for you. But it's just as bad for you to put all that effort into abstaining from them and to deny yourself simple little things that really? There's no need to feel that guilty about! Food guilt (and sanctimonity) is soooooo dumb. I hope you have a lovely day, and enjoy some ice cream or cookies - or better yet, both! :)

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Product Review: Kashi U Black Currants & Walnuts

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So this morning I decided to mix things up a bit. And boy am I glad that I did! Kashi U - Black Currants & Walnuts was an absolutely scrumptious alternative topping for my Chobani!
Here's a quick pick of my yummy-yummy bowl (at 6am!):

And here's a nice close-up of the yumminess:

Do you see those glistening bran flakes? Those amazingly flavorful currants - somehow not all dried? Yup.

I sprinkled some Cheerios knock-off cereal on top, just to add a little fluff to an otherwise dense cereal, but it would be great either way :) So, now for the break down:

Size - The serving size is a whole cup, which, let me tell you!, will fill you up. Usually with dense cereals like this one, the producer will try to artificially minimize nutritional stats by suggesting a size a two year old wouldn't even be happy with (granola tends to come in around 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup - are you kidding? I definitely eat a cup, at least! I'm a growing - okay, maybe not - girl!) Five out of Five Nuts!


Flavor - OH. WHOA. The wheaty bran flakes, nicely sweetened, with the super-sweet (somehow juicy!) currants and crunchy clusters of granola blow your tastebuds away - but wait! What's that? WALNUTS? They're chopped up pretty small, the perfect size to add a buttery, nutty burst to your mouthful of pure YUM. The only thing that I would change is - oh, wait. I wouldn't. Though flax seeds might add a nice, subtle burst? Four and a Half out of Five Nuts!

Texture - Again, the dense bran flakes, crunchy granola clusters, crunchy-chewy walnut bits, and tender currants make for an all around stunning mouth feel. On some creamy greek yogurt, it's an absolute texture symphony. Five out of Five Nuts!


Visual - I don't know about you, but I think it looks pretty great! It looks wholesome, not like those scary, radioactively colored sugar cereals (you know what I'm talking about) and the currants add a nice burst of (natural) color. Five out of Five Nuts!


Nutrition - Nit-picky nutritionists tend to recommend cereals with around 5 grams of sugar, so the 10 gram figure for this one isn't too stellar. Then again, some of that sugar comes from the currants - it would be interesting to know how much. That aside, the knock-out 7 grams of fiber blow my mind, the 5 grams of protein are super useful for my vegetarian self, and the cereal covers you pretty well for vitamins and minerals. Particularly for vegans: one serving contains 100% of you daily value of B12! And mothers-to-be? 100% of your folic acid. And it's tasty! Further, it's whole-grain, has no high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated/trans fats, and contains brain-boosting Omega-3s from those yummy-yummy walnuts! Four out of Five Nuts!


Price - Again, this is where Kashi drops the ball. They make such yummy, pretty healthy products, but then they price them such that they aren't really a viable option for a lot of people! The box only holds six servings, but costs $4.99! That's close to a dollar per serving! Okay, okay - 83 cents, but chances are you aren't eating it dry. So you'll have to tack on the cost of milk, yogurt, etc. Again, coupons, please? You'll have to wait for a sale, but in my experience, sales on Kashi U are pretty rare... Two and a Half out of Five Nuts!

That comes to an overall score of Three and a Half out of Five Nuts! And, really, it's the price issues that bring that down (this is, after all, a college kid's food blog). I know Kashi probably has to charge an arm and a leg for their products, considering how much their quality ingredients probably cost them and the fact that they're still, first and foremost, a for-profit business, but I do wish they'd work out some kind of coupon deal with retailers. They're a little slow to jump on the bandwagon with that one!Still, I'll be eating this again - that's for sure!

*Hint, hint* I see a Kashi Honey Almond Flax Chewy Granola Bar product review in the near future... :)

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PRODUCT REVIEW: Kashi TLC Trail Mix Chewy Granola Bar

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Because of my light lunch (for me) yesterday, I was ready for dinner around four. And once I got started, boy did I realize how hungry I was! I had a few slices of cucumber with sweet sauce, a peanut butter and honey sandwich, a YGCPB (don't you just love how handy acronyms are?), and a bowl of Friendly's vanilla ice cream (meh, not worth it - it's just not Edy's creamy; I'm not doing that again) with cheerios and craisins on top.

Since dinner was so early, however, I needed a snack later in the evening to tide me over. Ba-da-ba-bum-bum-bum: the Kashi TLC Trail Mix Chewy Granola Bar!

Now, just so you know, I tend to be a huge fan of Kashi stuff. The folks at Kashi just really know how to make a granola bar (and cookies...and frozen dinners - and I'm not even a frozen dinner kind of person)!

Anyway, I was super psyched to try this:

I just love how the sun stays out so late up here! At this altitude, and this time of year, it's out until around 8:30. I got it on its last legs, but I think the natural lighting still does wonders for the pic :)

I managed to keep the hunger in my tum-tum at bay while I snapped a quick pic, but man I was ready to rip into that sucker!

Not a shabby first impression:

Chock full of nuts and grains and held together with a sticky, sweet syrup. But where's the dried fruit?

Yay, craisins to the rescue!

So here's the break-down, using my five-nut rating system:

Size - Perfect, not too big and not too small. It satisfied me without leaving me overly full, weighed down, or wondering 'when is this bar ever going to end?' LOL, have you ever seen those massive granola bars that are about eight inches by three and a half inches? Enough said. Five out of five nuts!

Flavor - I'm not a huge fan of the really-sweet granola bar (seriously, beware of the Nature's Path granola bars - you'll be left brushing the cloying sweetness off of your teeth for a good quarter hour). I found the sweetness of this granola bar to be a bit much. The craisins were plenty sweet, so the folks at Kashi could really have cut back on the syrup just a little bit - I want to taste the almonds more, and not feel like I'm eating a candy bar. If I want a candy bar, I'll eat a candy bar! That said, it's still really tasty. The grains give a good base to balance the nummy-nummy almonds off of (and they are very generously represented in the bar) and the craisins contribute their signature sweet-tart flavor that I go gaa-gaa for. Three and a half out of five nuts!

Texture - Love it. The oats, dried fruit, and nuts make for a really great, really satisfying mouth feel with a great combo of crunch and chewiness. And the random other puffed grains add a great lightness to a dense bar, keeping it from feeling like eating a mass of grapenuts. :P Holding the bar can get your hands kind of sticky, though, so just keep it in its wrapper while you eat. Unless you like sticky fingers! Five out of five nuts!

Visual - What can I say? She's a beauty. I just might have liked to see a bit more of the dried fruit on the outside, as it all seemed to be packed in towards the center. Though that might vary from bar to bar... Four and a half out of five nuts!

Nutrition - With 6 grams of protein, 6 grams of sugar, and a whopping 4 grams of fiber, as well as a nice mix of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats from the nuts, I feel like the bar packs a pretty solid nutritional punch. Especially considering that its candy bar-esque properties. However, I'm going to have to knock it a bit for having brown rice syrup as the third ingredient and evaporated cane juice crystals as the fifth. Not only does that seem a bit high to me, but it's also totally unnecessary! Cutting back on the syrups would improve the flavor of the bar, IMO. Three and a half out of five nuts!

Price - Ever heard of coupons, guys? That's my main gripe with Kashi. A box of six costs $4.29 and, using coupons and sales, I can get a box of six Quaker or Nature Valley granola bars for $2 - sometimes less, when Harris Teeter does triple the coupons! So the price is a little hard for me to swallow. But, then again, the Kashi bar is way yummier and uses better ingredients - no high fructose corn syrup, as I'm shocked to find in some of its rivals' products! *Gasp* And, when it comes down to it, that's just about 72 cents each - really not too much to pay for a handy snack that both tastes good and is good for you. If you're lucky, you can find it on sale for $3, making that just 50 cents per bar. Three out of Five Nuts!

That brings the Kashi TLC Trail Mix Chewy Granola Bar to a total score of 4.083 nuts! I'm definitely going to be revisiting this as a handy-dandy snack option for hikes, class, travel, and when i'm just feeling to bum-ish to whip anything up at home. :)

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The Ice Cream Sandwich Review that Almost Was...

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I just had an okay ice cream sandwich and was pretty tempted to write a review. I mean, it was just a standard Hood bar (think two cakey chocolate cookies with a generous layer of so-so vanilla ice cream in between) and it really wasn’t even that tasty. The ice cream was not creamy, but it was still a bit too heavy. The cookies tasted super artificial and left my mouth covered in a thick film of sugar.

But it was my lunchtime dessert and sometimes you just want some low-quality stuff, you know? It’s like when people eat spray cheese – it’s probably not because they think it’s great cheese, but just because they’re in the mood for a little fun nostalgia.

Anyway, the point is that I didn’t write the review. Nor did I write a review of the killer roasted pepper hummus I had with my lunch (and I’m not a hummus fan, so it’s saying something that I liked it). Why? Because it just felt too awkward to whip out a camera and start snapping away at my food!

Do you photograph food in public? How do people react? Is it as awkward as it seems? Sound off in the comments, below – I’m looking forward to hearing your opinions!

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