Review: Nektar Honey Crystals

Brand:  Nektar

Flavor:  Honey Crystals

Where to get it: here @ Abe's Market

                Well, these little dudes sure are cool. You know that no matter how carefully you handle that honey bear, you get sticky. The lid gets sticky. Your whole world gets sticky. Well, not anymore! Except when I want a peanut butter and honey sandwich at midnight. (We’re all weak, sometimes.) I tried these in my tea and on my cereal, and they were great. I also tried them on a crumpet with butter and didn’t much care for it. The taste wasn’t strong enough, and of course they were a bit grainy. All in all, keep Mr. Bear around for bread products, but use these for just about anything else.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Honey without the throat burn

Taste rating:  8/10

Qualities:   Gluten free, Non-GMO, Made in the USA, Kosher, All natural

What’s in it:

Review: Coconut Organics CocoBacon

Brand:  Coconut Organics

Flavor:  CocoBacon

Where to get it: here @ Coconut Organics

                I was a couple mouthfuls deep before I realized that the front of this package of deliciousness said “vegan.” Now, I’ve HAD vegan bacon before, and it’s pretty atrocious. I’m not a vegan (my hat’s off to you if you are), so I don’t scour the planet for vegan things. BUT THIS. First taste – salty. Second taste – savory smoky bacon. Third taste – mild coconut finish. IT’S SO GOOD, YOU GUYS. Eat it by the handful, but if you manage not to wolf down the entire package, put it on a shrimp dish. Shrimp salad, shrimp po’ boy, any shrimp noodle dish – I DIE. You simply have to try it for yourself. You will NOT be disappointed.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Delicious tropical BACON

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Vegetarian, Vegan, Organic, Gluten-free

What’s in it:

Review: Think Thin Creamy Peanut Butter Bar

Brand:  Think Thin

Flavor:  Creamy Peanut Butter

Where to get it: here @ Think Thin

                Now that’s what I’m talking about! Just put a picture of a giant glob of peanut butter on your wrapper. I appreciate that. It keeps my expectations reasonable, and it lets me know what your bar is all about. Oddly enough, this is the least peanut-buttery bar of all the peanut butter bars I’ve tried thus far. I’m not sure if it was the coating, or the blend of whey isolate in it, but it tasted a bit like coffee. And of course, I hate coffee. This bar is not really for me, but I don’t think it’s a bad bar. The texture was pleasing, it has 0 g of sugar, and 20 g of protein, which is pretty darn good for this mid-size bar. If you’re into the coffee/chocolate/peanut butter thing, you might really like this one.

               

Tastes like:  A protein shake with coffee in it

Taste rating:  4/10

Qualities:  Gluten-free, Kosher

What’s in it:

Review: Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Chips

Brand:  Sensible Portions

Flavor:  Garden Veggie Chips – Sea Salt

Where to get it: here @ Sensible Portions

                Flavor-wise, I’m way into these. But, like chips that have gone into my mouth before them, they aren’t all that they appear to be. They aren’t veggie chips, they’re potato chips. Yes, I realize that potatoes are vegetables, but you KNOW that isn’t what the marketing gurus mean by “veggie chips”. The veggie ingredients listed are more for color than flavor – tomato paste, spinach powder, and beetroot powder. They are slightly better for you, nutritionally speaking, than your typical potato chips…and let’s face it, they’re salty and delicious. Just ask yourself what you’re REALLY after in a crisp, because if it’s something healthier than potato chips, these are only a little bit better for you. Just be careful not to trick yourself and then wonder why you aren’t dropping pounds.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Salty potato chips

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Non-GMO, Kosher, Vegetarian, Vegan

What’s in it:

Review: Little Miracles White Tea Organic Energy Drink

Brand:  Little Miracles

Flavor:  White Tea Organic Energy Drink

Where to get it: here @ Amazon

                I don’t dabble in the field of energy drinks very often, because I don’t really like that “I could possibly have a heart attack right now” feeling. I drank this about 15 minutes before working out, as a sort of pre-workout without the freak-out hope. It tastes really good, which was a pleasant surprise. No weird “energy” aftertaste, and no punchy-sweet aspartame flavor at all. It has ginseng in it, but I think most of the energy comes from the carbohydrates, which is alright. Yes, I just said that carbohydrates are alright as a source of energy. SCANDAL. Jeez, media, calm down. It has just 90 calories in it, so that lets you know that you shouldn’t be freaking out about having some carbs. Plus it’s certified organic, so that’s even better. I can’t believe I’m saying this about an energy drink, but I will definitely be buying more of these for gym days.

                 

               

Tastes like:  A more flavorful fruit-infused water

Taste rating:  9/10

Qualities:  Certified Organic

What’s in it:

Review: Sigona's Hachiya Persimmons

Brand:  Sigona’s

Flavor:  Natural Hachiya Persimmons

Where to get it: here @ Sigonas

                I have very recently made acquaintance with persimmons. If you’ve never tried them, it’s hard to really explain what they taste like. They look a bit like a tomato, but taste nothing like them. I like to put salt on ‘em, big surprise there. I love the little 1 oz. package size that these came in, but I wasn’t wild about the taste. Perhaps it’s because I salt fresh persimmons, perhaps it’s because I don’t really like persimmons? I don’t know, I also missed the juice a lot. I think if you were a person who LOVED persimmons, you would like these a lot.                        

               

Tastes like:  Dried persimmons (sorry, I fail at comparisons today)

Taste rating:  5/10

Qualities:  Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free

What’s in it:

Review: Kur Coconut Cashew Bar

Brand:  Kur

Flavor:  Coconut Cashew

Where to get it: here @ Abe's Market

                There is a street fair in Palm Springs, CA called “The College of the Desert”. In addition to the terribly romanticized name, it’s a night time street fair. It’s magical, and Palm Springs is absolutely infested with date farms. The first time I ever tried a whole, fresh date (as opposed to the chopped and sugared ones from the bag at the grocery store) was here, and it was one that had been rolled in coconut. These bars are about as close as I think you can get to that absolutely divine treat. They are tiny little powerhouses of YES. Small but mighty, they will satisfy any sugar craving, and you’ll actually feel like you have eaten a much larger bar. If you like dates, you will adore these. I sure do!

PS – While I admire the fortitude of people who try to maintain a raw diet, I’m simply not strong enough to do so. However it is worth noting that these bars are 100% raw. They are also only the second 100% raw product that I have reviewed that I would eat just because they taste good. Impressive.

                 

Tastes like:  Those dates rolled in coconut that you can get at College of the Desert

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Organic, Gluten-free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Non-GMO, Made in the USA, All-natural, Kosher

What's in it:

Review: Seapoint Farms Dry Roasted Edamame

Brand:  Seapoint Farms

Flavor:  Dry Roasted Edamame

Where to get it: here @ Seapoint Farms

                Edamame is almost always a good snack choice, no matter what you do to it there’s a ton of protein there. I loved the portable snacking package size on this, but I felt it was under salted. If you’re not a total and complete salt hog like me, you should definitely add these into your snacking repertoire. I ended up dumping them into a bag of stuff I put on my salads because they weren’t salty enough for me to just mow down straight out of the bag.

               

Tastes like:  I want more salt!

Taste rating:  6/10

Qualities:  All-natural, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free

What’s in it:

Review: Snikiddy Baked Fries

Brand:  Snikiddy

Flavor:  Baked Fries, Cheddar Cheese

Where to get it: here @ Amazon.com

                When you’re dieting, you never get to have orange fingers. Sad panda! You never get to act like a savage and suck artificial orange powder off of your digits in blissful ignorance of what you’re doing to your body. *deep breath* These Baked Fries from Snikiddy made me forget all about that. I absolutely could not believe how tasty they were, and how many of them I got to eat for just 130 calories. These are my new favorite non-cracker crunchy snack. They have lots of other flavors too, and I intend to try several more. Yummy in my face.

               

Tastes like:  You’re not gonna believe the name doesn’t end in “-os”

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Non-GMO, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Kosher

What’s in it: