Review: 365 Woven Wheat Crackers
By Andrea | July 1, 2009
I was all set to review another cracker for today but I tossed that out the window because I need to talk to you about a cracker love affair I have going on right now.
It started with Triscuits. We all know Triscuits, right? The wheat cracker that puts on airs and pretends to be healthy for you. “But it’s wheat! And there’s fiber too!” I used to love Triscuits! The Rosemary and Olive Oil being my favorite flavor. They were crunchy, a little salty, and went perfectly with hummus. I thought I was doing alright.
Then I read the ingredients list.
Pfftttttt You’re not kidding me Nabisco, the Triscuit ingredient list isn’t so hot. That’s for the Rosemary Olive Oil flavor. Just in case you don’t want to click the link, here’s what the ingredients say, bolding mine:
Ingredients: WHOLE WHEAT, SOYBEAN AND/OR PALM OIL, MALTODEXTRIN, SALT, SPICES (INCLUDES ROSEMARY), MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (FLAVOR ENHANCER), ONION POWDER, NATURAL FLAVOR, OLIVE OIL.
Soybean AND/OR Palm Oil? It could have one or it could have both? Are we playing some sort of oil game? “Oooo which one are we going to get?” while crossing our fingers wishing it’s one or the other.
Maltodextrin is a starch that is used as a sweetener to foods. It’s an additive that isn’t needed. Don’t be fooled by articles claiming “it’s all natural and derived from natural plants or vegetables.” Same can be said for HFCS and we all know that’s not good stuff.
Monosodium Glutamate = MSG. I love how they sugar coat that by calling it a “Flavor Enhancer”. I don’t about you but I don’t want MSG in my food, thanks.
What is “natural flavor”? Does anyone know what that even means?
And then there’s olive oil which is good for you! But it’s at the end of the ingredient list and since ingredients are listed by weight that means there is very little of it present. Bonus, if we picked a winning box which contains both Soybean and Palm Oil AND Olive Oil, that’s a hell of a lot of oil in a cracker isn’t it?
You can see why I kicked Triscuits to the curb. And in case you’re curious, the ingredients for plain Triscuits are:
Ingredients: WHOLE WHEAT, SOYBEAN AND/OR PALM OIL, SALT.
Still playing the game of chance with the soybean and palm oil ingredients. Why would I want to do that?
Exactly.
But I loved them! So my plan was to find an alternative and that’s when I discovered 365 Brand Woven Wheat Crackers. Admittedly they could use a different name. Come on Whole Foods, Woven Wheat? Like someone’s going to pull something out of the box resembling an area rug their grandma made. Let’s work on a new name!
But in the meantime I am going through these crackers like they might not last forever. Check out the ingredients list:
Oh snap! Triscuit just got crack slapped by Woven Wheat! Woven Wheat has two ingredients.
TWO.
Whole Wheat and salt. None of this AND/OR bidness. No added oils, “flavor enhancers”, and no vague “natural flavor” addition, and no phoney “but it’s really okay” food additives.
Just wheat and salt.
YES! This is an ingredient list I can live with. This is the type of ingredient list I want on my foods. Short and simple.
Because I know you’re wondering, here is what Woven Wheat looks like. Totally not like Grandma Betsy’s area rugs. Unless she’s making one for Barbie and Barbie is into sensible neutral colors.
If you’ve done the Triscuit thing and you’re looking for a better alternative, please check these out. They can be found at Whole Foods stores which are all over the place. So go get yourself some Woven Wheats! And maybe together we can help them come up with a better name. Just kidding, Whole Foods! Woven Wheat is totally cool! (P.S. Not really.)
Tuesday Tip: Olive Oil dipping sauce
By Andrea | June 30, 2009
The first time I’ve ever had bread and oil as part of a meal was back in North Carolina, about 7 years ago. Scott and I had just purchased our first house and we were out having a celebratory lunch. The server brought out a basket of warm bread and a little dish that she poured seasoned olive oil into, then quickly scurried away.
Me: What do we do with this? Do I just dip the bread into the oil?
Scott: I think so. I’m not sure what other options there would be.
Me: Okay. Although dipping bread into oil and eating it is a little odd.
Scott: Totally weird.
The concept was so foreign to me. “You want me to what?! Dip this bread into some fat and munch away?”, was my thought process.
But you know what? It was fabulous. And of course olive oil is full of good heart healthy fats, so it all worked out! From that point on I started looking more at flavored olive oils and olive oils labeled as “dipping oil”. And you know what I found?
That stuff is flipping expensive! Most were over $10 for a very small bottle of flavored oil.
Um, no. I’m not spending that much unless it’s also going to wash the dishes when I’m done eating.
At this point I realized that I could make my own. I like having oils and vinegars multi-task at the HQ. Because of that I don’t flavor a whole bottle of oil. I do a quicker trick that is just as tasty and beautiful!
I pour a good quality olive oil onto a small plate. An oil that I would also use in salads specifically for the flavor. Then I sprinkle in some seasonings, whatever floats my boat that day. Typically they are:
- Garlic powder
- Red pepper flakes
- Italian Seasoning (salt free, Ms. Dash is the best in my opinion)
- Chili powder or a pinch of cayenne for extra heat
- Fresh ground black pepper
All of those to taste. I’m usually more heavy on the garlic and red pepper flakes. Give it a quick stir and surround the oil with your favorite type of bread. It’s unbelievably tasty and a very quick appetizer to put together. Since oil can be stored at room temperature, you can make this ahead of time for guests and the flavors will just mingle and increase the longer it sits.
Try making your own olive oil dipping sauce for bread! It’s quicker, cheaper, and darn tastier!
Review: Sonny and Joes Hummus: Part I
By Andrea | June 24, 2009
Hi gang! The lovely Elissa, from Sonny and Joe’s contacted me and asked if I would review their hummus for the blog. We love free products here at the HQ and we also love hummus, so heck yeah, I’ll review your hummus.
To my surprise, SIX containers of their hummus arrived on my doorstep. That’s a lot of chickpeas, yo. And in order to be able to provide you with the best review I can, I’m splitting this review up into two parts. That way you don’t have to read a huge report and it also gives me some time to test the products because I’m still working my way through the samples.
I’ve decided to start with my least favorite flavor going to my favorite flavor.
First up is the Galiee Olive Hummus. To put it mildly, I don’t like olives. The taste of them just does not sit well in my mouth. But I couldn’t not taste the sample because that’s not fair to you the reader, and to Sonny and Joe’s. I tried it with a cracker and, no, I don’t like it. The olive flavor is mighty powerful in this hummus.
However, Scott, who loves olives like they are crackpods totally dug on this flavor. And I’m not surprised because for those that like olives this would be an awesome hummus for you. It is loaded with olive flavor and bits of olive throughout the hummus.
I have to be honest here and say that first and second place are tied. Partly because I loved them both and also because they are two totally different concepts so I can’t compare the two. Pictured here is Sonny and Joe’s Just Hummus. You can see spices and herbs with some olive oil drizzled on top to make for a lovely presentation.
I really enjoyed this hummus which surprised me because I’m not one for plain flavors. Sabra is my favorite hummus and I can find it pretty easily if I hit the right stores. I was wondering how this would stand up to Sabra. I have to say that it could be possible that I enjoy Sonny and Joe’s a bit more than Sabra. Where Sabra is really creamy, Sonny and Joe’s is creamy AND has a thicker consistency making for a great dip and spread. Resulting in a hardier taste and like you could make this as part of a meal instead of just a dip on the side.
Last up is Sonny and Joe’s Babaganoush. I have never had babaganoush, so this was a brand new experience for me. Admittedly I was a bit skeptical. I’m not sure why either because I love eggplant so eggplant dip should be no biggie.
I will tell you right now that I have dreams about this stuff. I loved it! It is very creamy smooth with just a hint of tang and smokiness at the end. It is perfectly seasoned and I could probably eat my weight in this alone. I was so sad when we were out!
One of the things I didn’t like was that this dip contained mayo. I like mayo but I’m not a big mayo person and don’t want a lot of it. If this dip could be made without it, that would make it totally perfect in my eyes. That said, I will still gladly eat this dip even with the mayo because I love, love, loved it.
Sonny and Joe’s is a company based out of Brooklyn, NY and with each container of hummus there are little facts about Brooklyn and New York on the lid. Pretty neat! Check the website to find out where you can purchase yourself some hummus because I urge you to give it a try! Now I’m going to pester Elissa to find out where I can get some more of this hummus here in Ohio
Stay tuned for Part II of the review!
Tuesday Tip: Thoughts on Agave Nectar
By Andrea | June 23, 2009
Agave Nectar is a new thing to me. It is used as a sweetener and sugar substitute and is an all natural source. It’s not a nasty chemical like aspartame or some sort of Frankensweetener like splenda. It is sap from the Agave plant.
A lot of people like it for sweetening things from baked goods to coffee. I normally try to use honey when I can but sometimes even honey can be a little powerful in terms of flavor. There are times when I want to add sweetness to something without adding additional flavor. I decided to purchase some Agave nectar to see what it was all about.
Agave nectar has the same calorie makeup as honey, 60calories per tablespoon. I do not count calories but some do, so I’m providing the information. Straight agave nectar has a more neutral taste and really all I can taste is sweet. Whereas with honey or maple syrup, there are background flavors going on.
I have used agave in hot tea and it was just okay. I actually prefer to stick with honey in hot tea. However, I recently made my first batch of iced tea for the summer and needed to sweeten it. There was no way I was going to add a ton of white or even cane sugar to make the tea sweet. I just couldn’t bring myself to use that much sugar.
I’ve used honey before in iced tea but I’ve noticed that after about two days the honey starts to get a bit rancid in the tea creating a smell and causing the flavor to be off a bit. This time around I decided to test out the agave nectar in the tea. Part of the reason I used it is because it almost has a simple syrup consistency to it. Where maple syrup and honey are both thick and sticky substances, agave nectar is very thin and smooth. I knew that this would dissolve well in the tea and also not cause the tea to become cloudy.
It worked perfectly! I didn’t need to add a ton of the nectar because agave has a strong sweet presence and it dissolved very quickly. It resulted in a perfectly sweetened tea without the heavy syrupy taste that can sometimes happen with sugar or honey.
I’m looking forward to experimenting more with agave in baking. I have a feeling it will provide the right amount of sweetness to some cookies or muffins.
Consider agave nectar if you need a sweetener and are looking to get away from refined sugar or processed chemical sweeteners. I was able to purchase mine at Whole Foods but I can also get some at one of my local grocery stores. It is starting to be a bit more common as people are researching sugar alternatives.
With anything there are pros and cons. Research and decide on what’s best for you. I’m just sharing my opinion and experience with agave. Will agave replace other sweeteners in my house? The simple answer is no because different things require different kinds of sweeteners. It is just one of those things I like to have on hand. 
Feet on the Street: Heather
By Andrea | June 17, 2009
No review this week gang because I’ve got too much to do and wouldn’t be able to provide the kind of review that you all have come to love. So I bring you June’s Feet on the Street Feature and this month it’s Heather from Hangrypants!! I first stumbled across Heather’s blog because of a comment she left elsewhere. I hovered my curser over her name so the title of her blog would show up and instantly I was hooked. I totally knew what Hangry meant because we have all been there. And Pants? Scott and I add pants on to everything! “I’m chilly pants today!” for example. Loved it and had to see what was going on. Heather shares her blog with her love Mark, please check it out!
1. You mentioned before that you started running during law school to sort of help break up all the sitting and studying you were doing. Did you find that along with moving and exercising, it provided you with some alone time for thoughts and reflection, allowing your mind to think about life instead of law?
Tuesday Tip: Freeze grapes for a healthy snack
By Andrea | June 16, 2009
Frozen delicacy
It’s summer time at the HQ and along with all the fresh fruit in season, summer also means cool treats. One of my very favorite cool treats is frozen grapes which is something I just got turned on to last summer.
I love grapes but they always seemed to spoil faster than I could eat them. This was frustrating to me because I hate throwing out food and because fresh produce isn’t cheap. Then I came across a blog (I can’t remember which one!) where frozen grapes made frequent appearances.
Genius idea!
And I started freezing my grapes and haven’t looked back. I wash the grapes and pull them off the stem, toss them in a freezer bag and store the bag in the freezer. Whenever I want a snack, I dump some out in a bowl and ta-da, frozen healthy treat for a hot summer day.
They also last forever this way and there’s no more worrying about them spoiling before I have a chance to eat them. To me, they taste like a fruit sorbet with a bit of a chew because of the grape skin. This is easily, hands-down, one of my favorite snacks. You can even plop some in a drink to help keep it cool instead of ice.
If you like grapes and are looking for a new cool treat, give frozen grapes a try!
My thoughts on Almond Milk vs. Soymilk
By Andrea | June 14, 2009
A lot of discussion has been going on lately about the controversies of soy and how overly processed it has become. Most especially, soy products available in America verses soy products in Asian countries. The point being brought up is that soy products in America are severely overly processed and not any better for you than other processed foods. While the soy products available in Asian countries are not as processed providing better healthier options.
Another point that has been brought to light is the amount of hidden soy in products. When you take the time to read ingredients, you’ll notice the hidden soy. Soy shows up a lot as either straight soy, soybean oil, and soy protein isolate for example. It’s very interesting and when you are invested in your health and well-being, it’s paramount that you know what you’re putting into your body.
Hidden soy is new to me and something that I’m currently researching and trying to get a better handle on. Other than soymilk, my soy intake is pretty low. However, with hidden soy, that leaves me feeling less in control of what I’m ingesting. I want to be in charge of how much soy I take in and not leave it up to companies to hide in their products.
I decided to test out some almond milk. I know others who use it and like it and while I didn’t think it would replace soymilk in our house, I was willing to check it out. I’m open to new options and products.
I bought some Almond Breeze Vanilla Almond Milk to give it a try and to compare to my current staple, Silk Vanilla Soymilk. First I did a comparison of nutritional info and ingredients.
Almond milk nutritional info
Almond milk ingredients
Soymilk Ingredients and Nutritional Info
Please click on the pictures to see the lists more clearly. Looking at the nutritional info and comparing:
Calories: Almond milk 90 vs. Soymilk 100
Fat: Almond milk 2.5g vs. Soymik 3.5g
Saturated Fat: Almond milk 0g vs. Soymilk 0.5g
Polyunsaturated Fat: Almond milk No Listing vs. Soymilk 2g
Monounsaturated Fat: Almond milk No Listing vs. Soymilk 1g
Sodium: Almond milk 150mg vs. Soymilk 95mg
Sugars: Almond milk 15g vs. Soymilk 7g
Protein: Almond milk 1g vs. Soymilk 6g
Calcium: Almond milk 30% vs. Soymilk 30%
Both have their good and bad points. What I’m personally looking for in a drink is good fats, low sugars, calcium, and a decent amount of protein. Almond milk is not delivering that to me. Almond milk scores low in those areas and the fact that it doesn’t even list mono or polyunsaturated fats at all is a little disconcerting. And check out that sodium content per serving. Yikes! The only thing that is even is the calcium percentage but that’s not enough to sway me.
I don’t care for the saturated fat content of the soymilk. Even at .5g that’s per serving, so more than a cup and you’re taking in a good bit of saturated fat. While I don’t drink much in one day, my husband has two full glasses (not servings, but glasses) with dinner almost everyday. That’s more saturated fat than I’d like him to be taking in. I’m not sure how to combat this just yet.
Rice milk is out because I think it tastes nasty and it makes me gag. Almond milk is just not a viable option for us because it’s not bringing anything to the table that I’m looking for other than calcium. That’s lovely but what about protein and good fats? Right now almond milk seems like empty calories to me.
This means I need to keep researching and finding out what my choices are. I’d like to not have to go back to cow’s milk even if we bought organic because that doesn’t mean a whole lot. I would want free range, hormone and antibiotic, grass-fed cow’s milk. Can I find any around here? Maybe. The search goes on.
These are just my thoughts and observations on these two products. If you like almond milk then drink it! I thought it would be interesting to compare the two and thought that you might be interested in the results. If I can find some cow’s milk that fits my requirements, I’ll compare that to soymilk as well.
Review: Naturally Nutty Nut Butters
By Andrea | June 10, 2009
At the end of last year (2008 ), I won a giveaway on Bobbi’s site for some Naturally Nutty Nut Butters. I was totally blown away when the package arrived because I got four samples of their nut butters:
- Chocolate Butter Toffee Peanut Butter
- Vanilla Almond Butter
- Honey Roasted Cinnamon Peanut Butter
- Butter Toffee Peanut Butter
I love peanut butter so I was looking forward to testing out these beauties. I actually don’t care for almond butter much so I was least looking forward to that one. These aren’t just ordinary nut butters, they contain hemp and flax seeds which provide a ton of the lovely and awesome omega fatty acids that are great for our bodies and our systems.
I started with the peanut butters first, and chose the Butter Toffee flavor as my first choice because I love toffee. And toffee flavored peanut butter had to be the bomb, right?
Not so much.
I have no need to recap each of the peanut butters because I can just easily say that I did not like them. At all. They didn’t taste like peanut butter and the texture was gritty and grossed me out a little bit. Both of the butter toffee flavors didn’t even taste like butter toffee and the chocolate version didn’t seem like there was any chocolate in it.
Scott who doesn’t even like toffee was okay with these two peanut butters. He says they aren’t great and that the texture is indeed weird but to him they are edible. He has a small spoonful with his oats or oat bran in the mornings. Neither of us liked the honey roasted cinnamon and sadly had to throw that away.
I begrudgingly tried the almond butter to be a good foodie. I already decided in my head that I wasn’t going to like it. I don’t like almond butter anyway and vanilla? What kind of generic flavor is that?
I could not have been more wrong. This stuff is flat out amazing! I keep referring to it as my liquid crack because I could easily eat the entire jar in one sitting. It tastes like the perfect kind of icing or the perfect sugar cookie. It is smooth and creamy unlike it’s peanut butter cousins which are gritty icky. It has just a touch of sweetness and a hint of vanilla that isn’t over powering or fake tasting. Perfect for me because I’m not a big sweets person.
This almond butter blew me away and as of right now, is the only almond butter I’ll eat. I love it so much that I asked a local grocery store to please start carrying it because I couldn’t find it anywhere! The Hills Market said they would gladly start carrying it and now I’ve got my own almond butter crack supplier. I can buy big 15oz jars of it anytime I want! Score!
Even though this company is manufactured by our neighbors in Michigan, it is really hard to find their products. You can buy the product straight from the source which is great! I highly recommend trying the vanilla almond butter, especially if you’ve never had almond butter before. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I know a lot of people who like the peanut butter flavors but they were not popular in our house, so that’s totally your call.
If you do try some, let me know what you think!
Tuesday Tip: Using oat bran instead of breadcrumbs
By Andrea | June 9, 2009
I’m constantly on the lookout for healthy substitutions for things in cooking and in baking. Although admittedly, I haven’t baked anything in a very long time and I’m hoping to change that soon!
One thing I love is a breadcrumb topping. Either on baked mac ‘n cheese, or perhaps as a coating to something, I love the crispy crunchy texture it gives food. Crispy and flavorful is about all it brings to the table and these days I’m looking for multitasking. I turned to one of my good friends, oat bran. Oat bran is finely ground and in my opinion, resembles that of course bread crumbs. Why couldn’t I use this instead of breadcrumbs? I pondered.
I decided to find out.
I mixed it with a bit of seasonings, coconut and coated some tilapia with it.
The result was crispy baked tilapia. Not only did the oat bran work replacing empty calorie breadcrumbs but it’s also bringing protein and fiber to the table. Multi-tasking indeed!
Andrea’s Coconut Baked Tilapia
- 4 tilapia filets
- 1C oat bran
- 1/2C shredded coconut
- Sprinkle sea salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Small pinch of cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and place a metal cooling rack onto the lined cookie sheet. Spray the cooling rack with nonstick spray. In a large shallow dish, combine all the ingredients except the tilapia. Once the ingredients are combined, dreg the fish through the coconut mixture and place on the cooling rack. Once all the fish are coated, place in oven and bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Fish will start to flake with a fork when cooked. If your oven runs hot, knock the heat down to 375 and extend cooking time by a couple of minutes. The coconut can burn easily, so keep an eye on it. Allow to cool for 2minutes and then serve.
The oat bran worked amazingly well! I used sweetened coconut for some extra sweetness (and because I have yet to find unsweetened) but feel free to use whatever you like. If you are looking for a super coconut taste, add in more shredded coconut and a little less oat bran. Also you can add in whatever seasonings and herbs you like, the coconut and oat bran are just the base. Feel free to experiment!
My oat bran substitution for breadcrumbs was a success! I am definitely going to play around with this more and see what other things I can create! Give it a try the next time you need a crunchy breadcrumb topping! Or perhaps use oat bran instead of breadcrumbs for meatballs, veggie patties, and things like that.
Review: Snapple Lemon Flavor Iced Tea
By Andrea | June 3, 2009
Snapple Lemon Iced Tea
Hi guys! Today’s review is Snapple Lemon Tea and you can read all about it over at Cheaplander. Please stop by and say HI!
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