Review - Purely Elizabeth Granola

Brand:  Purely Elizabeth

Flavor:  Original Ancient Grains Granola

Where to get it: here @ PurelyElizabeth.com

                This is my new favorite thing - unique, tasty, really just flat-out spectacular granola. It tastes great right out of the bag, but I especially like to dump it into my yogurt. It has enough grains that it will sog up a bit if you let it sit in there long enough, which I love to do. It also has enough “other things” that it doesn’t completely sog up into a worthless carb-bomb. The ingredients are also not your “every day” panel of oats and sugar, you’ve gotta love being able to work millet and amaranth into your diet. I can confidently say that if I never ate another type of granola, I’d be satisfied with this one for the rest of my days.

                 

               

Tastes like:  The best granola in all the land

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Gluten free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Non-GMO, Certified organic

What’s in it:

Review - Susie's Smart Breakfast Cookie

Brand:  Susie’s Smart Breakfast Cookie

Flavor:  Gingered Apple

Where to get it: here @ SusiesSmarCookie.com

                These are called “breakfast” cookies for a reason – they have enough carbs, fat and calories in them to truly be your entire breakfast...and maybe then some. I’m not really a person who can just eat a compact little cookie and be good to go until lunchtime, but if you ARE one of those people, these are quite tasty. I didn’t taste a ton of apple, but I also didn’t taste a ton of ginger, which is really good. Ginger is a force to be reckoned with, and if it’s overdone, it ruins whatever you put it in. The oat is strong in this one, which is GREAT, but it doesn’t just taste like an oatmeal cookie. Texture-wise it wasn’t dry at all, and the ingredients aren’t scary at all. Worth a try.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Complicated oatmeal

Taste rating:  7/10

Qualities:  Kosher, Vegetarian

What’s in it:

Review - Caveman Cookies

Brand:  Caveman Cookies

Flavor:  Mayan and New World

Where to get it: here @ Abe's Market

                I love chewy cookies. I think most people do. My person doesn’t though, he will literally take a perfectly good cookie, and put it in the refrigerator with no covering so that it dries out and gets hard. WEIRDO. He would hate these Caveman cookies. They are SO chewy, I actually had a hard time tearing off a little piece to sample. Whatever these folks are doing to achieve this kind of texture, they are doing a great job and I hope they never stop. Taste-wise, I find these to be very unique in a sea of “breakfast/trail/power” cookies. The New World flavor tasted like a more natural, molasses-y (from the maple syrup, I assume) oatmeal cookie.  The Mayan has a bold, slightly bitter chocolate flavor, with a chili powder buddy bringing up the rear. Good little cookies, and if you can get the tiny ones (pictured), they are only 70 calories.              

                 

               

Tastes like:  Some oats and seeds went on a vision quest

Taste rating:  7/10

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

What’s in it: (Mayan)

Review - Detour Smart Bars

Brand:  Detour Smart

Flavor:  Whole Grain Oatmeal

Where to get it: here @ Bodybuilding.com

                I bought this bar for the package. I cannot tell a lie. I love the packaging so much. But then, only 130 calories per bar? Okay! I have been legitimized and it feels so good! Smallish bars, good for a snack, and the calories are right on the money for a casual snack that you’re not going to agonize over if you’re trying to be strict with your diet. They also have 10g of protein, which legitimizes me even more. LEGITIMACY, RAIN DOWN UPON ME! They taste good, fruity, oaty, nice and safe in your mouth. You don’t always have to get crazy to be special.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Fruit and oats, oh yeah-oats!

Taste rating:  8/10

Qualities:  Gluten-free

What’s in it:

Review: Plum Kids Jammy Sammy

Brand:  Plum Kids Jammy Sammy

Flavor:  Apple Cinnamon/Strawberry Jam & Peanut Butter

Where to get it: here @ Amazon.com

                Tiny little squares of fun! By now I think I’ve made it clear that I’m a tinyphile, and these Jammy Sammys fit that profile oh so perfectly. I really liked the Apple Cinnamon ones, the PB & J not as much. I felt the PB addition to the “breading” dried it out a bit. At only 110 calories, these are a great little snack for just about any time of the day or night.

               

Tastes like:  A more compact Nutrigrain bar

Taste rating:  6/10

Qualities:  Organic, Kosher

What’s in it: (Apple Cinnamon)

Review: Sunrise Fresh Dried Cherries

Brand:  Sunrise Fresh

Flavor:  Dried Cherries

Where to get it:  Looks like just CA and NC Costcos, and local CA markets, unfortunately

                Little snack packs of air-dried Bing cherries (and nothing else), what more could you ask for? Bing cherries are naturally more sweet than tart, and that carries over into the dried form as well. They kind of taste like large raisins to me, maybe a tad less sweet, but pretty close. I like raisins and I rarely eat them as a snack so I always find myself thinking, “I forgot how good these are!” If you also like raisins, I’d love for you to give these a try, and then let me know if you agree, or if I’m even weirder than previously assumed because I just described a cherry as a “large raisin”.

               

Tastes like:  Big raisins (I'm not backing down!)

Taste rating:  8/10

Qualities:  Vegan, Vegetarian, all natural, Made in the USA, Non-GMO, Gluten-Free

What’s in it:

Ingredients:  Bing cherries (that's it!)

Review: Flap Jacked Protein Pancake Mix

Brand:  Flap Jacked

Flavor:  Buttermilk Protein Pancake Mix

Where to get it: here @ Flap Jacked

                Being a type 1 diabetic, I think I can appreciate the difference in this pancake mix more than your average Jane. If I ate pancakes made with a typical mix, the spike in my blood sugar would be immediate and quite prolonged if I didn’t preload with a bit of extra insulin. I don’t WANT to take extra insulin on purpose unless I’m at a party, and there’s CAKE. After I ate this mix, even with REGULAR syrup (I just can’t with the sugarless syrup), my blood sugar was just as fine as if I had eaten a breadless breakfast, like I normally do. So, this mix is basically amazing.

                But how does it taste, dude? If it tastes like crap, we don’t really care if it makes you blood sugar levels happy. Well, put your caring pants on, internets, because it tastes pretty much like pancakes. The texture was a little less cake-y, which I actually preferred. And I cooked these mofos PERFECTLY too, so I feel like I got a really good sample-set. The batter smells a little strange, but the taste was quite good. I put Land O’ Lakes light whipped butter and Eggo syrup on mine. (I know, it’s not even real syrup. I just can’t let some things from my childhood go, stop judging me!)

                I have already purchased more of this mix, and plan on using it exclusively when I want pancakes. The Buttermilk flavor could be easily added to with fruit or PB2 or what have you. They also have an apple cinnamon mix that I’m dying to try, as well as a banana hazelnut one. Thanks, Flap Jacked, I’m so totally in! 

               

Tastes like:  Pancakes that don’t make you feel like you ate a lump of dough

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Vegetarian, Made in the USA, No artificial ingredients

What’s in it:

Review: Grandma Hoerner's Big Slice Apples

Brand:  Grandma Hoerner’s

Flavor:  Big Slice Apples, various

Where to get it: here @ Grandma Hoerner's, also available at Target

                I LOVE baked apples and pears, even better if they’re spiced. But…that takes a lot of time and actual planning. These are just as good, and way more versatile. Good hot or cold, plain or with stuff! I dumped some All Bran in a pack to add a healthy crunch. They are also really, really good on waffles or pancakes – if you have a good protein pancake mix that you depend on (I highly recommend Flap Jacked), dump a packet of these warmed up on top instead of agave or syrup and make your knee-slappin’ morning. Good lord. I feel like you could do almost anything with these, and I could go on and on about the possibilities. At some point you’ll stop reading though, so I guess I’ll just leave it at…this is my new favorite thing. 

               

Tastes like:  All of your best dreams, translated into apples and spices

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Non GMO, Gluten free

What’s in it:

Review: Mudd + Wyeth Yaff Bar

Brand:  Yaff Bar

Flavor:  Banana Peanut Butter

Where to get it:  here @ Mudd + Wyeth (or here for single bars)

                My first thought about this bar was kind of an odd one:  “This is a bar you could eat and not pay any attention to it at all.” It’s just…mellow. Safe. It won’t let you down. You won’t devour it without chewing, and you won’t rush to the store to buy it by the case, but it’s solid. It’ll make you happy without giving you any extra adrenal action. Great texture for breaking off little pieces if you do indeed want to share it with your dog, as the label suggests. I adore that notion, by the way. If you’re just snacking and not hiking or doing something where you’re trying to get some extra carbs for energy, there are over 200 calories in the bar, so sharing with your dog might not be a bad idea. Or just bag up half for later. I realize this has been a totally weird review, but I mean everything I have said in the most positive of ways. I’m glad Yaff is around.

               

Tastes like:  When a breeze that’s just the perfect, soothing temperature tousles your hair.

Taste rating:  7/10

Qualities:  No artificial ingredients, Made in the USA

What’s in it:

Review: Cocomama Quinoa Cereal

Brand:  Cocomama Quinoa Cereal

Flavor:  Banana Cinnamon

Where to get it: here @ Abe's Market

                First of all let me just say that I really like the packaging on these single-serving quinoa cereals. According to the package, you can eat them at room temperature or heat them up. They’re wet-ish in the package, and you don’t need to add anything to them, MRE-style. Maybe I was too excited, but wow, I did not like these. The honey almond was better than the banana cinnamon (and I love banana), but no. Just no. Saddest, little broken-hearted breakfast baby of all time, right here. Quinoa is basically a blank slate, so I don’t know WHAT made these so awful. I love the idea, so now I’m basically on a quest to find single-serving packets of steel-cut oats like this.

               

Tastes like:  Dirt

Taste rating:  2/10

Qualities:  Gluten-free, Non GMO, Made in the USA, Vegetarian, Vegan, No artificial ingredients

What’s in it: