Review: Nature's Path Organic Envirokidz Peanut Choco Crispy Rice Bars

I've seen Nature's Path products in my local Kroger stores for quite some time, but I've always stayed away from them because quite frankly, they cost more than I'd typically like to spend.  Part of that is that you are paying a premium for something that is supposedly super healthy, organic, gluten free, etc., but since I'm not particularly fanatical about being healthy, I stay away.  That said, occasionally one of these kinds of products will pop up on closeout and that's what happened in the case of this box of Nature's Path Organic Envirokidz Peanut Choco Crispy Rice Bars that I was able to pick up at Kroger for $1.99.  Ordinarily, these bars would be in the $4.00 plus range, but I guess today was my lucky day.  Each of the six bars in the box was 1.0 ounces and came in with 120 calories and two grams of protein.  It's also gluten free, wheat free, organic, etc.

Review: Weight Watchers Smart Ones Chicken Enchiladas Suiza

I used to eat a ton of these microwave meals, but once I taught myself how to cook, I stopped eating them all that much.  Every now and then though, I'll feel completely lazy and not even feel the desire to make something as simple as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so I always keep a few of these in my freezer for those moments.  I had one of those moments recently and that led me to try out this Chicken Enchilada Suiza meal from Weight Watchers Smart Ones.  I've had up and down experiences with the Smart Ones products in prior reviews, so going into this, I knew that it could go either way.  Prior to its residence in my freezer, I picked up this meal on sale at Meijer for $2.00 and it's 9.0 ounces and 290 calories and scores a seven on the Weight Watchers Points Plus scale.

Review: KIND Plus Cranberry Almond + Antioxidants Bar

I've had some success with KIND bar reviews on this blog.  I've always found them to be extremely crunchy due to the tasty nut component, but sometimes I find the fruit component of the bar to be questionable.  That said, I was interested to try out another one of their flavors, this time from their Plus line of bars called Cranberry Almond + Antioxidants.  As usual, I got this through a KINDING Mission, so I didn't pay for it, but it does weigh 1.41 ounces, contain 190 calories and three grams of protein.

Review: Weight Watchers Smart Ones Teriyaki Chicken & Vegetables

I've gotten complaints via e-mail that all I seem to review on this blog is ice cream and protein bars and while that definitely is not the case, I do end up reviewing a lot of those products.  So, in an effort to diversify, I've tried to start reviewing more "real" food products and that leads me to this Teriyaki Chicken & Vegetables entree from the Weight Watchers Smart Ones Bistro Selections product line.  It's not my first Weight Watchers review that I have completed and I'm guessing it won't be the last either.  I picked this one up on sale for $1.99 at Marsh and it weighs in a good-sized 9.0 ounces.  It contains 230 calories and for you points watchers, this one is six points on the Weight Watchers Points Plus scale.

Review: Lean Cuisine Simple Favorites Sante Fe-Style Rice & Beans

I know it seems like all I review on that blog are bars, yogurt and ice cream, with the occasional veggie dish thrown in, but I'm trying to branch out more and do more reviews of "typical" food products that are angled more toward the calorie watching crowd.  I've done some Weight Watchers product reviews, but this is my first Lean Cuisine review and I'm focusing on on of their Simple Favorites collection of products in this Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans.  I have no idea what "Santa Fe-Style" means specifically, but I'm guessing it means that this is a Mexican dish.  Regardless, I picked this meal up at Meijer on sale for $2.00 and in the 10 3/8 ounce entree, there are 290 calories.  Since these products are for the calorie counters, it scores a seven on the Weight Watchers Plus points scale.  There's no preservatives in here too and since this is a frozen meal, I'm not sure how that is possible, but whatever.

Review: MorningStar Farms Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burgers

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I bought a lot of these MorningStar Farms products all at the same time due to a triple coupon event at my local Marsh, so this review of the Spicy Black Bean Veggie burgers is one of the many that I've done or plan on doing.  These "burgers" come in a box of four patties with two patties to an individually wrapped package within the box.  I guess MorningStar Farms feels that you should be eating two of these at once and being that they are 2.36 ounces and 120 calories per patty, that's not necessarily a bad thought.  With the coupon, I picked these up for $3.00.

Review: KIND Fruit & Nut Delight Fruit & Nut Bar

If you haven't figured it out from reading this blog before (if you are a regular reader), I love nuts.  No, not that kind of nuts and please get your mind out of the gutter.  This is a family friendly blog.  I love nuts like peanuts, almonds, cashews, etc. (although peanuts are not technically a nut, but instead a legume), but surprisingly am not a fan of walnuts.  Anyway, any time I come across an energy/protein/nutrition bar that includes nuts, it is right up my alley and that's what leads me to this KIND Fruit & Nut Delight bar.  Well, that's not entirely what leads me to it...KIND has monthly "KINDING Missions" where they pass out free bars to fans if you give them your e-mail address (follow the link and join the movement yourself to get a free bar).  Being that I have many different e-mail addresses, I always end up getting at least one of these every few months and that's how I got my hands on this one.  If you were to purchase this at the store though, it would probably run in the range of $1.00-$1.50.  As for the pinup model measurements of this one, it's 1.4 ounces and packs 180 calories and a minimal five grams of protein.  So, it's not a protein bar and it's not an energy bar, so that basically leaves this one out there as a nutrition or snack bar.

Review: Kozy Shack No Sugar Added Rice Pudding

I've covered here before that I like rice pudding a lot.  It's not for everyone because of its odd texture, but I personally like it.  In terms of store bought products, the only ones I've ever had are the JELL-O pudding cup versions (Creme Brulee review is here).  I've never had any other brands and when I saw that this Kozy Shack No Sugar Added Rice Pudding was on sale at Meijer for $2.00 for a four pack (normally $3.00 or more), I was intrigued enough to make a purchase.  Each cup weighs four ounces, which makes it smaller than a JELL-O pudding cup.  On the calorie front, each pudding cup contains 70 calories.

Review: JELL-O Sugar Free Creme Brulee Rice Pudding

As I've stated before, I love pudding, so next up in the JELL-O sugar free pudding cup review series is JELL-O Creme Brulee Rice Pudding.  Now, most people think gross when they hear rice pudding and I was one of those people for the longest time.  I had never had rice pudding, had no desire to try rice pudding and therefore, had no use for rice pudding.  Being the wacky adventurer that I am though, I decided one day that I would finally give it a shot after seeing it in the store.  JELL-O offers it in the Creme Brulee flavor in six packs and it's seventy calories per four ounce pudding cup.  I picked this one up on sale at Meijer for $2.50.

My picture doesn't do the greatest job of showing it, but rice pudding is as you would expect it to be after hearing the name...it's pudding with white rice in it as you can see above.  Now, if its the first time you've seen that, it can be a little unsettling.  I mean, who would have thought to put something starchy like rice in with something creamy like pudding?  Odd, but people seem to like it.  If you can get over that and give it a try, you are a step ahead of the game.

After you get over the visual uneasiness and take your first spoonful, you are going to be a little uneasy there because the texture is not really something that you'll expect to feal in your mouth.  Pudding normally isn't chewy, but rice pudding is definitely that because of the white rice involved.  Once you get over that and start to chew though, I think you'll fnd this enjoyable.  The chewiness adds an increased texture to something that usually just swishes around in your mouth and then straight down your throat.  Also, the Creme Brulee (French for "burnt cream"; yes, I looked it up) flavor, while somewhat tame, is just strong enough that you actually can taste a faint "burn" in the pudding.  The one thing that I missed though is a caramel taste that you would ordinarily find in a Creme Brulee and that was disappointing.  It may have been there and may have contributed to the flavor, but it was clearly not noticeable.

Buy It or Fly By It?  Personally, I would BUY IT.  Sure, it's a weird feeling in your mouth, but in an odd way, I like it.  It breaks up the normal monotony of pudding and if you can get over that, I think you'll like it too.

BUY IT!!