Amande - A non-soy alternative to Vegan Yogurt

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Have you ever heard of Amande?

It's a vegan, non-dairy, GMO- and soy-free alternative to yogurt that's based on cultured almond milk. Interesting...

There are some pretty mixed reviews out there, so when I got the opportunity to sample it, I decided that I may as well throw in my two cents. The more the merrier, right? :P

I like plain yogurt the best, but there is only one store in my town that carries Amande and they didn't have the plain flavor. Boo, Earth Fare, boo! :(

Even though the sugar content is as high as that in other yogurt (15g in my cup of raspberry yogurt), there's no refined sugar in it - those sugars come from the fruit and the fruit juice concentrate used to sweeten it. That's way better than Yoplait yogurt with high fructose corn syrup.

Liquid separates to the top (like with regular yogurt), but what's underneath looks semi-jello-ish (unlike regular yogurt). When you mix it up, it looks pretty lumpy:

But I'd rather have this than have them add something strange to make it look smoother. Especially since, even though it looks lumpy and odd, it tastes smooth and sweet and delicious.

The raspberry flavor here was intense and delightful and I really couldn't taste that much of a difference between this and regular yogurt. It made a fabulous base for granola and walnuts, a la my lovely yogurt messes! :) To tell the truth, I much preferred the taste and texture of Amande cultured almond milk to soygurt.

So how is it nutritionally?

The raspberry flavor had:
150 calories
15g sugar
2g fiber
3g protein
30% calcium

Okay, so the protein is a little wimpier than other yogurts and the sugar is a bit higher than plain yogurt (comparable, or even a bit lower, than other flavored yogurts). But I'd read somewhere that they don't have any calcium - not true! Maybe it's changed? Either way, I'm happy to report that they do! And as far as the sugar goes, it's fruit sugar so...fine, whatever.

And as for the protein, you can just whip up a protein-packed purple creamy dreamy shake, eat some beany chocolate chip cookie pie, or throw in some protein cereal and you'll have your bases covered. ;) People do tend to think they require more protein than they really do (I'm not talking to you with this if you're an athlete, in recovery, etc.).

Have you ever tried Amande?


Do you have lactose

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Awesome Foods Product Review

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Following with the whole raw food theme, I got some samples to review from Awesome Foods, a raw food company based in suburban Pennsylvania.

Bruce and Marsha Weinstein started Awesome Foods in 2005, when they realized that many raw foods are made with dates, honey, and other very sweet foods. Both have hypoglycemia, so they wanted to be careful about foods that cause strong insulin reactions - and so Awesome Foods was born!

I'm a big fan of "underdog" type food companies. Somehow, a parfait from a local cafe tastes better than a Starbuck's one. :P

Anyway, sweets-lover that I am, the first things that I had to try were sweet!

So basically its an almond and apricot based Larabar-type thing without dates? I'm not a huge fan of dates, so I was pretty excited!

Don't get me wrong - I like Larabars. But they can be a bit cloyingly sweet (I find that I always have to eat them with a slice of bread, or it's just too much).

First of all, pretty bar! You can see everything in it and I love that.

And flavor? YUM! The flavors of the dried fruits mesh nicely with the almonds and you can *actually* taste the apricot. Is it just me, or does apricot flavor usually get lost in multi-fruit bars?

The almond fig bar was just as good, but less sticky - which is cleaner for eating on the go, but also messier since it crumbled a bit!

It was deliciously sweet (amazing crumbled on greek yogurt with raw oats, in place of the usual granola topping), however, so it was worth it. :)

Next up were the Sweet Potato Delights with Cashew Nut Butter:

Ingredients: Jewel Yams*, Soaked Almonds*, Red Peppers, Carrots*, Soaked Sunflower Seeds*, Cashew Nut Butter*, Agave Nectar*, Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil*, Vanilla Extract*, Cinnamon*, Ginger*, Himalayan Crystal Salt. *Organic


The ingredients look great to me! And these are rich little bites - one is quite enough for a dessert. The cashew butter filling is delightfully creamy and the "cookies" are dense and sweet and full of sweet yam flavor. Think sweet potato or pumpkin pie and then healthify it.

I enjoyed them a lot, but my parents were *crazy* about them. I guess they're for a more sophisticated, adult palate?

They're like healthified whoopie pies. Score.

Oh, and neither of these resulted in a sugar high/crash, so that's always a plus. ;)

Awesome Foods also makes savory stuff, like these Vegetable Tempuraw Chips:

All vegan ingredients (and gluten-free), these are a pretty healthy snack!

Since they're dehydrated, not fried/baked like potato chips, they're not crispy - more like hard with a little bit of a chew.

But the cashew paste and seasoning paired with the dehydrated raw vegetables is quite tasty. I liked them and my dad loved them. He's a fan of garlic. :P

The Kale Chips were really good, but half the bag crumbled.

It's okay. I ate it with a spoon. :P My mom kept asking if there was parmesan in it. 'No, but there is parmesan in this.' No, mom. It's vegan.

Do you like whoopie pies?


What's your favorite underdog food company?


Do you like dates?

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Merry Christmas (and a product review)!

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I hope all of you are having a very merry Christmas with your friends and family!

As I'm currently enjoying Christmas with my family, I scheduled this post ahead of time. It's a review of a tasty protein bar that I got to try earlier this month!

Because who wouldn't love getting bars in their stocking?

ThinkThin bars are high protein, no sugar bars that actually taste good. They taste like candy bars, not cardboard, and with ~230 calories, 2g of fiber, and 20g of protein, make a handy snack!

While they also have more granola bar-esque bars (their Crunch and Crunch Fruit & Nut lines) and Bites (mini protein bar pieces), I got to try their traditional protein bars and was happy about that - I really like the smooth protein bar texture!

My favorite kind was:

The brownie crunch was super chocolaty and reminded me of a fudgy chocolate bar (or maybe a super fudgy brownie).

The ingredients list is a little longer than I'd like, with a few more hard-to-pronounce ingredients and artificial sweetener, but it's still good as a now-and-then treat, just like candy bars. And for vegetarians (I'm a vegetarian) the 20g of protein (a combo of whey and soy proteins) is super handy! These aren't vegan-friendly.

Looks like a chocolate bar, tastes like a chocolate bar...

Has the rich, sweet taste of a protein bar. :)

Though the name is ThinkThin and it's undoubtedly a good option for those watching their weight, with its 0g of sugar and 20g of protein, I definitely wouldn't call it a diet food. And not just because it doesn't taste like one - but also because, at 230 calories, it's a good sized snack for those maintaining their weight, too.

I try to avoid artificial sweeteners, so this wouldn't be a daily snack for me, but it's really yummy, so I'll definitely go to ThinkThin for a tasty, convenient snack. Compared to  other candy bars, it has a lot more good fuel for my body - I bet these could be a lifesaver during finals week (ugh, why am I think about exams during Christmas break?).

Do you like protein bars?


Have you ever tried ThinkThin?


What are you up to today? I hope that, whatever it is, it's merry! :) I made such a yummy breakfast, that I just *have* to post the recipe. Tomorrow. ;)

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Frosty the Snowman...!

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OMG IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!!!!!!!

I like Frosty the Snowman yummy frozen treat!

Have you ever heard of Arctic Zero? I hadn't - until I sampled their tasty frozen treats! Think protein shake in ice cream form: YUM. Especially for someone like me, who enjoys her daily ice cream. Rich premium ice creams are definitely part of a healthy diet ;) but probably as a more occasional treat - and, unless you're trying to gain weight, aren't necessarily meant to be enjoyed a pint at a time. Arctic Zero is!

A whole pint has 14g of whey protein, only 20g of sugar (that's including naturally occurring ones) and 150 calories - pretty much the nutritionals of one scoop of regular ice cream, except with a ton more high quality protein!

Arctic Zero has a ton of pint flavors and several bars, but my favorite pint flavor was:

I'm definitely a cookies and cream girl! I'm pretty sure that's always been my favorite ice cream flavor! :P Arctic Zero is less creamy than ordinary ice cream (it's fat free and cream = fat) but it's smooth, sweet, cool and definitely "hit the spot." Ice cream tooth? Satisfied.

My only 'meh' about this was that there weren't any cookie chunks - it was more cookies and cream flavoring throughout. Which I guess was necessary to keep the nutritional stats as they were...

Okay, my favorite bar flavor was:

That's the 85 calorie vanilla bar with chocolate coating! Yum. :) Here are the nutritionals:

The bar reminded me of the Breyers slow-churned bars - just with fewer ingredients, more protein, and all that jazz. :) Again, ice cream tooth? Satisfied.

But you know me - I like my ice cream, like my issues (haha, jk), complex:

Ice cream sundae time! That's cookies and cream Arctic Zero with a sprinkle of cinnamon, some peanut butter (some more joined the party mid-way through) and two of my beans 'n greens brownies. Healthy, delicious, and sooooo satisfying!

Now that I think about it, I could have just used their chocolate peanut butter flavor... :P

Or you could make a sundae out of a chocolaty, peanut buttery, melty Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip VitaTop and coffee ArcticZero (so good), toped with peanut flour sauce.

I think it's pretty good looking. And it tastes even better. ;)

You can check out Arctic Zero's website, add them on facebook, or follow them on twitter to find out about special offers, promotions, and new flavors!

What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?


Have you ever tried Arctic Zero? Favorite flavor?


Has it snowed yet, where you live? No snow here - I have to make my own shivers with ice cream. *Sigh.*

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Quick S'Mores Idea

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I don't have any pictures of the final thing, but I my big sister came up with a brilliant snack idea : microwave smores!

Nuke a Hershey's bar and a giant marshmallow on one Vanilla Honey Graham cookie, then sandwich another cookie on top. YUM.

I don't have any pictures of the completed S'mores, because we wolfed them down.

Cookie samples? Gone.

Lucky for us, Enjoy Life has a few other types of gluten-free cookies, too:

We didn't like this quite as much - all of the Enjoy Life crunchy cookies are sweet and non-hippie tasting (though they do include millet and buckwheat flours in their gluten-free flour mix), but these had a bit of a side flavor. Maybe from the different flours? The sugar crisp cookies had that taste, too, though my little sister loved them, anyway.

The crunchy double chocolate cookies didn't though. Just very chocolaty, tasty goodness.

I'll definitely have to pick some up the next time I visit my Celiac friend (does that sound offensive? She calls herself that, though, and 'my friend who suffers from Celiac's disease' is just way too long).

Do you know anyone with celiac's disease?

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Soylful Snackin'

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That was supposed to be a pun on soulful, but I don't think it worked. *Moving on.*

I know the whole soy thing is a top of hot contention in the nutritional sphere, but here's my opinion, via a quote from my middle school English teacher (it was about adjectives then, but you can apply it here, too):

"Don't over-do it, stupid."

He didn't really mince his words. :P Yes, too much soy isn't good for you. But neither is too much water, too much sugar, too much stress, too much fiber, etc. Just don't over-do it! 

But soy has some health benefits, too (after all, it's a big part of some Asian diets that are considered healthy). They contain Omega 3 fatty acids, iron, fiber, a variety of vitamins, and isoflavones. 

Anyway, I made a soy-tastic bowl today:

Whole Soy & Co Soyogurt with oats, Sunfood Incan berries, fresh blackberries, and half of a sample bag of Glenny's Caramel Soy Crisps. 

A bag has two servings and they taste just like caramel corn from the county fair (*sigh,* nostalgia) with the same texture as rice crisps only a little bit denser. For that, it has 10g of protein, 2g of fiber, only 2g of sugar (how??? There's no other sweetener and yet they're so sweet!), and only six ingredients. 

Ingredients:  Low fat non-GMO soy flour, rice, mid oleic sunflower oil, sugar, natural flavor, sea salt.

It made for a very tasty bowl. :) They also have other flavors (BBQ, Cheddar, Creamy Ranch, Multigrain, etc.) but I'm a sweet over savory person. My sister and mom liked those, though (my little sister was all over the cheddar). 

What a yummy afternoon snack! And wonderful fuel for an afternoon of writing. 

In my opinion, you can enjoy tasty, healthy soy as long as it's in moderation. 

This is an exaggeratedly flippant statement, but some soy here and there isn't going to make you grow a third breast. It is possible to read too much into things.

Source: Uploaded by user via Chrissy on Pinterest

What's your favorite county fair food?


Are you ever  hypochondriac? It's okay. :P

What's one random saying from a previous teacher? Preferably something funny...

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Pumpkin (Microwave!) Breakfast Cake

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I just made up this breakfast cake and I really like it - it's quick, easy, healthy, and can be prepared the evening before (just mix everything together in your microwave-safe bowl and stick it in the fridge)!

Plus, a whole serving of veggies before the day even starts? And then having them taste like a doughy cake? Yes, please! :)

Oh, and guess what?

They're vegan. :)

Pumpkin Breakfast Cake

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Microwave Time: 3 minutes

* 1/2 cup canned pumpkin

* 1 Tbsp. nut butter (alternately, you could use oil)

* 1/2 cup oats, ground in blender (alternately, you could use oat flour or any other type of flour)

* 1 tsp. baking powder

* 1/8 tsp. baking soda

* 1/8 tsp. nutmeg

* 1/8 tsp. cloves

* 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

* 1/16 tsp. salt

1) Mix the dry ingredients in your microwave-safe bowl. 

2) Add the nut butter and canned pumpkin (mix, don't overmix).

3) Microwave for 3 minutes. Enjoy!

I ate it straight out of the bowl, but if you wanted to put your cake on a plate, be sure to oil the bowl first - otherwise, the cake will stick to the bottom!

It was delicious with some fresh blackberries sliced on top and a mug of hot chocolate on the side, but I could also imagine it tasting good frosted, iced, with sprinkles, or crumbled into yogurt...Let your imagination be your guide. :)

Does anyone else quote Disney movies? It's just irresistible sometimes! :P

What's your favorite type of blog content? I like useful stuff (reviews, recipes, and giveaways), but sometimes WIAW or surveys can be fun, too. :P

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Product Review: MiracleNoodle

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I've seen shirataki noodles out and about in the blogosphere a lot lately - but I had no idea what they tasted like, how to use them, etc. MiracleNoodle sent me some samples to review and here's what I think of their Garlic Herb Fettucini (a unique flavor that I think might be unique to them?).

First off, don't forget to rinse them when you take them out of the packet! They're stored in a water-filled packet, to keep them moist, I suppose, but when you first cut the packet open, there's a very strong smell of brine.

Then you boil them for a minute, pat them dry (I just drained them again, because I take shortcuts with food prep sometimes) and they don't taste like brine at all!

I don't like pasty very much because the texture just puts me off - not my thing. This has a completely different texture, though! It has the fun-to-eat strands of pasta (these are super long, though) but they're chewier and almost a little bit...gelatinous?

I liked the seasoning in these, because I got the garlic flavor (yum) without the garlic aftertaste (not yum). There was something though - maybe fennel? - that kind of stood out a lot, making this not a great choice to pair with a tomato or cheese sauce. You'd want to stick to a plain variety for that.

I had mine with green beans, olive oil, and ketchup/horseradish mustard on the side - don't go light on the olive oil, because the noodles themselves have only a little over 30 calories for the whole packet (about 2 servings) and you need some energy with your food! I'd say this would probably be a good choice for diabetics, since it has a low carb content and won't really affect blood sugar very much. Just a thought...

Oh, and like with peanut flour, stevia, and raw food, I'm not suggesting this as a replacement food - I'm suggesting it as a food to enjoy along with other foods. After all, the goal is to expand ones food repertoire and not narrow it! :)

They're pretty filling, so if you (like me) don't need to lose weight, since you're already at a BMI of over ~19 and at whatever weight your doctor approves as right for you, you might want to stick to just half a packet.

That way, you have space for a hot fudge sundae as dessert. ;)

Have you ever tried MiracleNoodles?


Do you like garlic? Fennel?

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(Greek) Yogurt Face-Off!

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I wanted to try a bunch of different yogurts for NaNeFoMo, so that I could find the *best* yogurt out there. Today, I'm focusing on plain greek yogurt. Several yogurt companies sent me yogurt to sample, so I got down to stuffing my face business.

Yes, I ranked the yogurts and gave them superlatives - I'm obviously super weird cool. :P Anyway, here are my findings!

1) Chobani - The Creamiest

The cup is 6oz (170g) with 18g of protein (wowza - 36% of the daily value!), 7g of (naturally occurring) milk sugars, and 100 calories.

But more importantly:

It's creamy (not clumpy), a little sour (in an awesome way), satisfying (probably because of all of that protein), and an awesome base for yogurt messes.

It's really no surprise that Chobani is so popular! It's absolutely delicious. :)

2) Stonyfield Oikos - The Most Flavorful

The cup is 5.3oz (150g) with 15g of protein (30% of the daily value), 6g of (naturally occurring) milk sugars, and 80 calories.

But, again, more importantly:

Smooth and creamy-licious, too. :)

It's pretty similar to Chobani (they're both delightfully delicious), but has a stronger yogurt flavor and, as it's more flavorful, is a better stand-alone in a yogurt parfait, just like that, as a dip, or in any other 3)

Oh, and that's an organic yum. :)

3) Fage - The Thickest

The cup is 6oz (170g) with 18g of protein (36% of the daily value - just like Chobani!), 7g of (naturally occurring) milk sugars, and 100 calories.

Oh. Wow. This was so thick, I seriously thought I was back in Germany eating quark! Since it's so thick, it's a lot more satisfying - I crumbled a beans 'n greens brownie in and topped it with some melted peanut butter - such a good sundae! Why haven't I tried this before????

Oh, right. Because it's the most expensive of all the yogurts. Price aside, this would be my favorite - but the price is a bit high for a cup of yogurt (it varies depending on the store, but is consistently higher than the other two). You get what you pay for? Though it's a bit of a splurge for this college student, I definitely see Fage cropping up now and again in my future, as a special treat during finals, on my birthday, etc.

OVERALL: I really liked them all! Stonyfield Oikos was the most like regular yogurt, but it also tends to have the best sales in the grocery store and it's organic (big thumbs up). And Chobani is kind of like the trusty, tasty everygirl's yogurt. Fage is the luxury. :P

What's your favorite brand of yogurt?


Have you tried Chobani, Stonyfield Oikos, and Fage?

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Beans 'N Greens Bars

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First off, I made this at night with terrible indoor lighting for photographs. So which photograph is (slightly) less awful?

Without flash:

With flash:

Awful lighting or not, I bet you get the idea - chocolaty fudgy decadence.

Whether you wish to call these brownies or energy bars, they are a tasty, healthy (and convenient!) way to get those beans and greens in!

If you want a super-sweet and insubstantial brownie that will give you a sugar high and the giggles (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that!) this recipe isn't that.

But if you're looking for an alternative to an energy bar, a quick and healthy snack, or some way to get some more veggies and protein in (while making your tastebuds think that you're eating dessert), then this is an awesome option!

Beans 'N Greens Bars

Ingredients:

2 c. canned black beans, rinsed

4 to 5 c. field greens, rinsed

1/3 c. milk (can sub almond, soy, rice, or coconut milk)

1/2 c. quick oats

1/2 c. olive oil (can replace with any other vegetable oil - possibly even nut butters?)

1 c. NuNaturals MoreFiber Stevia Baking Blend

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. cocoa powder

2 Tbsp. flax seeds

1/16 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. Enjoy Life semisweet chocolate Mega Chunks

*OPTIONAL EXTRAS for extra yumminess include: nuts, M&Ms/candy, caramels, potato chips, or whatever else you can come up with!*

Directions:

1) Blend the beans, greens, and milk in your blender/food processor.

2) Add in the oats and olive oil, blend until smooth.

3) Add in all remaining ingredients, except the chocolate chunks and (optional) extras. Mix, don't over-mix.

4) Carefully stir in the chocolate chunks and extras. 

5) Pour into a greased 11" x 7" glass pan (or whatever baking dish you have handy - you could even do these as muffins, if you wanted extra convenience, you'd just need to adjust baking times).

6) Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for ~35 minutes, until not very much sticks to a tester toothpick. There will still be a little bit that sticks, since it's a fudgy bar and there are melty chocolate chunks throughout (yum). 

6) Cool, then slice into 24 squares (or however many makes the right size for you).

If you *don't* want nutritional information, skip over the next little bit (until after the next picture)! 

If you do, though, as I know some of you will be interested in comparing this to packed bars and energy bars, here is what each bar pretty much is, based on 24 servings:

133 calories

32% fiber (8.0g)

5.7g protein

3.5g sugar

33% Vitamin A

10% Iron

5% Calcium

So low sugar, high fiber, high protein, and vitamins/minerals to boot! Sounds like a pretty healthy bar to me, no? 

Good thing, too, because these are so amazing that eating just one (or two) isn't really an option. ;)

They're filling, energizing chocolaty awesomeness with melty chocolate chunks throughout (I definitely prefer chunks to chips, as you get a nice block of chocolate at once - so satisfying) and a hearty beany, whole grainy, veggie-loaded health punch!

This is definitely a pat-myself-on-the-back moment. Or maybe I'll just celebrate with some yummy beans 'n greens bars. A la mode, of course. ;)

Do you like having the nutritional stats for recipes? Should I post them?

Do you bake with veggies?

What's your favorite kind of baked good? Muffins, bars, pies, cookies, etc.?

And here's a non-food-related funny:

Source: macromeme.com via Erin on Pinterest

BWAHAHAHAHA! Earth-friendly energy is the way to go. :)

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