Reviews
Review: True North Almond Cranberry Vanilla Clusters
By Andrea | Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
Almond Cranberry Vanilla Clusters
Let me introduce you to my new crack. Daily Eats readers have seen these bad boys pop up every now and again and know full well that I love them and am addicted to them.
I’ve spied the True North items here and there in the grocery store but in all honesty the flavors listed didn’t really appeal to me so I passed them all up. However one fateful trip to Sam’s and I saw this ginormous bag of Almond Cranberry Vanilla Clusters (say that five times fast!), now that flavor appealed to me!
It wasn’t long after we got back home that I tore open the bag and dove in. As soon as the bag was open I was hit by the smell. It was a very sweet enticing scent. Not something that came across as fake or processed. We’ve all smelled fake vanilla and it doesn’t smell pretty. I was very pleased by the size of the little square clusters, perfect for quick snacking and easy to portion out. I ate one and was in heaven. It was so good! And then I proceeded to eat a bunch more because I couldn’t stop.
I allowed myself that day of indulgence and vowed from then on to practice moderation. I will tell you right now it’s hard because these babies are so damn delicious. Checking the True North website, I can’t find mention of this product. Should this make me nervous? Perhaps it really is crack?!
cluster of delicious
My guess is this is some sort of limited edition item which I don’t understand because it’s amazing. Like mentioned previously, I found this bag at Sam’s. If you’re a member, or perhaps a member of another warehouse store, check around to see if you can locate some. Or heck, maybe even just email them and ask because this stuff is seriously that good.
The texture of the little clusters, which are actually more squares like, remind me a lot of brittle only not as hard and tooth cracking. Just enough umph to hold the clusters together but easy enough to chew and enjoy. These would be perfect to put out for snacking during a holiday party or cookie exchange. Or even a gift wrapping party!
Because of their size they are easy to portion out and they are easy to tote around if you were looking to keep some at work or in your bag for a quick snack if needed.
I think I might even have to go back and snag a couple more bags just in case they do go away. At which point, I’m sure I will cry and start carrying around a clipped piece of the bag in my purse. Oh okay, I probably won’t cry.
I fully recommend seeing if you can find some and snacking to your heart’s content!
Topics: Reviews | 11 Comments »
Review: Smart Ones Breakfast Quesadilla
By Andrea | Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
Breakfast Quesadilla
Hi guys! Bryan, over at Cheaplander asked me to do some product reviews from time to time and I could not turn him down. First, I’m all over free food. Second, I’m a fangirl of his. I’ve been reading his stuff for years, since I first stumbled on his Cheap Eats site. I was hooked immediately. And then he started Cheaplander right around the time I started OHC.
If you haven’t taken a look at these sites yet, go now! I’m sure you’ll love them just as much as I do!
My first review is up over there and it’s about the Smart Ones Breakfast Quesadilla. I’m sad to say that I did not eat my way through an entire serving but you can read about my attempt here.
I’ll be sure to post a notice here letting you all know when I post a review for Cheaplander so you can keep up with all of my foodie adventures. 
Topics: Reviews | 1 Comment »
Review: Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown
By Andrea | Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
Fireside Nut Brown
When it comes to alcoholic beverages, I only like two categories: beer and wine.
With wine, I’ll drink whatever you throw at me. With beer, I’m a little more picky. I like darker beers and I do not dig on wheat beers (of course there are exceptions). I never drink a light beer because I might as well just drink water. And I don’t drink cheap beer. I will try everything at least once, maybe twice, just so I can be certain in my opinion. Really when I break it down, it doesn’t seem too picky. Right?
I am a sucker for seasonal beers and I’m a sucker for flavored beers. I will head straight toward them like a moth to a flame.
My love for trying seasonal items explains why I have this Fireside Nut Brown by Leinenkugel’s in my possession. As I was perusing the beer aisle at my local grocery store (Thank you Ohio for allowing us to buy beer at the grocery store!) my eye fell up on this. I have had some Leinenkugel’s beers in the past and they have been good beers. The description of this beer talked about sitting by a fireside on a cold night and warming up with this beer. You had me at fireside, Leinenkugel’s! I picked up a sixer and was on my way.
Rich dark coloring
The first time I tried this beer I was in love. The flavor doesn’t hit you right away, it’s very subtle and at the end. There is a nice caramel flavor with a punch of roasted nuts. But it’s not a fake nut taste, you know how nut flavored coffees or creamers can have a really nasty fake flavor. This has none of that. It’s a good hearty beer while at the same time not being overwhelming or too pungent. This has the perfect beer flavor, full bodied with a touch of sweetness at the end.
The color of the beer is an amazing dark amber color. I think if you served this at a party in some nice frosted glasses, the recipients would be very impressed. I would be impressed if someone gave this to me!
This easily has become a favorite beer of mine and sadly I only have one left in the fridge. I will be going to the grocery store soon and I have already informed Scott that we need to stock up on some of this. He wisely did not protest.
Guys, if you like beer and you can dig on trying some different flavors, I would highly suggest trying this out. The beer is amazing and is perfect for holiday parties or just kicking it back at home. It has a short seasonal run, only available November through December (Why must you torture me so Leinenkugel’s?!), so pick some up while you can and give it a taste.
Topics: Reviews | 3 Comments »
Review: Kashi Roasted Garlic and Thyme Crackers
By Andrea | Wednesday, November 12th, 2008
Healthy Entertaining
“It’s the holiday season, with the whoop-dee-do and hickory dock and don’t forget to hang up your sock…” is the song that runs through my head constantly during this time of year. Yeah, I’m a sucker for holiday music. Old school only please.
With the holidays comes entertaining and social gatherings where there is food and if you’re lucky, drinks are involved. It’s cocktail parties instead of sit down dinners. Eggnog instead of a cold brew. If you are the host of such a party this year and are looking for a different type of cracker so that you can avoid the same old tired Ritz crackers (sorry Ritz, you had a good run), Kashi has your answer.
They have a new line of entertaining crackers out that I had to try because I am in love with Kashi crackers. And also because the box had that nice little “New!” stamp on it which pulls me in every time. A very quick way to my heart and to ensure my devotion to you is to present me with a plate of cheeses and crackers. Oh sure most girls like chocolates and yeah that’s okay. But cheese and crackers and I will adore you. If you also give me wine then things could turn crazy.
Because of my obsession with cheese and crackers, you can see why I had to try these out. And I have no shame in telling you that they impressed me as soon as I took them out of the box because they were huge and size matters
Wow!
While I may have small hands, they are not abnormally teeny. Just typical chick small. As you can see by the picture, one cracker takes up the whole palm of my hand! That’s a big cracker, holy cow!
What you see is the Roasted Garlic and Thyme flavored variety. Garlic is my lifeforce, so I had to try these first. I had the crackers straight up and in short, they are awesome. Very light and crunchy with a huge amount of flavor to them. The flavor isn’t overwhelming and would pair nicely with just about anything.
These crackers are perfect for entertaining because they are a larger cracker. That may sound weird but they are the perfect size for cocktail and appetizer type foods. You could make these into anything. Small fancied up mini-pizzas? Sure! Chi-chi brie and cranberry sauce appetizers? Certainly! Or you can serve these straight up and allow your guests to top them however they like.
Sometimes when the crackers are smaller, you feel like you’re loading up if you have more than three. Or maybe that’s just me. With the bigger size of these, two is plenty and depending on what you use for toppings, can be a very filling snack or first course.
If you are looking for a different kind of entertaining cracker or just a different cracker to have on hand, give these a try. Plus you can feel better about eating them since they are made with whole grains!
Kashi has three different flavors of these crackers that you can try. I know that I will be picking up more!
Happy healthy entertaining guys!
Topics: Reviews | 9 Comments »
Reviews: Tumaros Low Carb Multi Grain Tortillas
By Andrea | Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
Award Winning Tortillas, or so it says
I have decided to liven things up a bit on the reviews. I try lots of things out that are either brand spanking new or just new to me. And I love doing reviews about products. Now inevitability there are times that I come across something that I do not like. In all fairness I figured that not only should I share with you the things I love and use a lot, but also the things I have tried which I do not love. At all. Does that sound cool? Okay, let’s get started!
One of my many trips to the grocery store I stumbled across these tortillas in the deli section. They sure are a flashy group, aren’t they? The package screams lots of things:
- Low in carbs!
- Multi Grain!
- 94% Fat free!
- 0 Trans fat!
- Winner of best of health foods award!
- Voted best tortilla by Mens Health Magazine!
Holy cow that’s a lot of stuff. In my quest to continually find products that are better quality and healthier for the family, I picked these bad boys up. I love tortillas and making things with them. Stuff a whole bunch of things into it, roll it up and call it a sandwich. Or a burrito! Or whatever you like, but tortillas are a very versatile thing and I adore them.
The first thing I wanted to do with these was make a wrap for lunch. I opened the package and pulled out two. “Oh”, I said, “These are really small. And thin. And why are they shiny like plastic?!”
This was not getting off to a promising start. These tortillas, and my mistake I should have taken a picture so you all could see, were just very small. They were not a nice 8-inch burrito sized tortilla, no these had to have been probably 4 inches across. Tiny. And so thin that I didn’t think it was going to work.
First I made Scott’s wrap and as I tried to do it burrito style, it wasn’t big enough. I just barely got the ends tucked and it resulted in a very tiny wrap. I had to be careful as I filled it as well, because it would only hold so much.
Wrap = fail
When it came to my wrap, it just wouldn’t go. I ended up eating mine as an open-faced tortilla. You can see Scott’s in the background, how the sides came untucked.
Okay, so it didn’t wrap well, no biggie. I just wanted to eat it! I took a bite and tried to hold back my grimace. Guys, there’s no way to sugar coat this, it was the worst tortilla I have ever eaten. It didn’t even taste like a tortilla, I don’t know what this was. It was mealy and fell apart as soon as it went in my mouth. There was no chew to it, it just broke down into little grits. And I know this is going to sound weird, but just hear me out, remember how I said it was shiny? Well along with being mealy, for a split second before it dissolved into little grits, you could taste the shiny! I know, I know, but I am very serious when I say this.
So as not to be discouraged yet and because I hate throwing out food, I decided to try and work with them a little bit and see if I could do something else with them. I decided on making some tortilla chips. Real simple, right? I cut them up, brushed them with olive oil, a little salt and chili power, and tossed them in the oven at 400. My first batch burned and set my smoke alarm off. I was standing right next to the oven too! They literally were in there for about 2 minutes and they burned up that quickly.
I knocked the oven down to 375, put the other batch in and bent over watching them through the oven door the entire time. They weren’t going to burn this time! I pulled them out and once cooled I took a bite figuring this did the trick and now I have nice healthy tortilla chips.
I am not kidding you when I say that I ran to the trash can and spit it out. It stayed mealy and gritty, just now it was a crispy mealy gritty chip! I saved one for Scott to try and his response was, “Yeah, that’s a pretty bad chip.” He didn’t spit it out though because he’s a dude and can toughen his way through situations. I could tell he wanted to though.
Second batch got tossed. Now that I’m thinking about it, I should have saved it to give to my little birdies outside to see what would happen. If they didn’t eat it, you know it’s not good!
There you have it kids, Tumaros Low Carb Multi Grain Tortillas. Don’t try these at home!
Topics: Reviews | 7 Comments »
Peanut Butter & Co. :Dark Chocolate Dreams
By Andrea | Wednesday, October 15th, 2008
I <3 You
I am a lover of PB. I have always loved PB ever since I was a kid and a PB sandwich was a staple in my lunch growing up. Not PB&J because not only do I find that a gross combo (ew!) but the jelly takes away from the PB flavor too much. When I was a kid, I used to take the PB jar and a bag of pretzels and dip. I was ahead of my time. 
I have tried other “butters” but PB is where my heart is at. I have a jar of almond butter sitting in my fridge that’s only been used twice. Sorry almond butter, you just don’t make the cut.
You know what else I like with my PB? Chocolate. I love that combination. When he was in courtin’ mode, Scott used to bring me PB eggs when he would visit me at school. A sure fire way to my heart is bringing me some chocolate and PB goodness. He scored points with that move!
Despite the fact that I have a major love affair with PB, I’ve never been interested in PB flavors or mixes. Either they had too much sugar, oils, or it didn’t appeal to me. Why would I buy a honey flavored PB when I could just add some honey to my own?
I have seen other bloggers talk about a dark chocolate PB that they have eaten but honestly, I never really paid attention to what they were saying (sorry bloggers!). It goes back to my non-interest in flavored PBs. If it was flavored I figured it was probably icky. During one of our many outings to the grocery store, I stumbled upon Peanut Butter & Co.’s Dark Chocolate Dreams.
I stopped to check it out because I was in a major chocolate craving mode (ahem) and you could have knocked me over with a feather. All natural PB! With dark chocolate! No crappy sugars, no HFCS. No junk, just straight up real stuff. I bought some right quick.
I tasted it as soon as I got it back home and fell in love. Head over heels, giddy, stupid-grin kind of love. It tasted exactly like all natural PB with some chocolate added. Which is basically the description on the jar. Not overly sweet or sugary, which was my fear. Immediately I started incorporating it in my breakfast. I first had it on some Kashi waffles, yum! But typcially I eat a spoonful of it mixed in with my morning oats, as the daily eats readers know. It’s a divine and perfect addition to my oats.
Sadly, their products are pretty limited around my area. This is one of the few flavors that are around here. I would love to try some of their other flavors out as well and see what they are like.
So if you happen to like chocolate and PB but don’t want to give up the good all natural PBs, give this a try. You just might be surprised.
Topics: Reviews | 13 Comments »
September 30th, 2008: Lunch and Dinner
By Andrea | Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
Hi guys! Let’s get moving and recap the second half of yesterday!
Mammoth
For lunch I made us HUGE salads! It was soo yummy, I only left a few bites on my plate. It had:
- Romaine
- Spinach
- Cabbage
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Red onion
- Banana Peppers
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Sunflower Seeds
- 2 TBSP of some small pasta
- And some roasted chickpeas
Mmmmm! I topped it with a wee bit of Ranch dressing. I made the chickpeas by draining and rinsing a can of them and put them in a baggie. Then I added some olive oil, garlic powder, S&P, and chili powder and shook it up. Tossed them on a cookie sheet and roasted them at 350 for about 20minutes. Yummy! I prefer this method as opposed to heating them via a skillet as the seasonings seemed to stick better roasted. I would have roasted them longer to get crispier but we were both hungry and Scott had a conference call so I needed to bust out lunch. If you like chickpeas give this a try!
Unfortunately as with most salads, if I don’t get protein with it, the salad doesn’t hold me over very long. I needed some sort of snacky and opted for an apple.
Fall
I think this was a gala apple but am not positive. I forgot to check it when I pulled it out of the fridge. However galas are typically what I buy. That held me over for a bit and then I had to figure out something to snack on before MT class.
PB cookie
I tried the Luna PB cookie protein bar. Ick! Again way too chalky and I don’t care for that coating stuff they have on the bottom of the bars. I gave it to Scott who also didn’t like it. No more Luna bars for us. Now if I can only find some Lara bars!
Alternative
Since I had to eat something else, I decided on having some blueberry muffin mini wheats. After the pic I added some vanilla soymilk.
MT class was small last night which was okay because that means we could have our pick of the bags! I don’t know what happened but somehow I bruised up my left shin by my ankle. It’s got to be from kicking but I can’t think of when I would have done that. We worked on throwing elbows at a different angle and it took me a while to get the hang of it. It shouldn’t have but for some reason my brain just wasn’t making that connection. 
I was looking forward to dinner all. day. long. And could not wait to eat once we got home.
Leftovers!
We had leftover turkey burgers and some sweet potato fries. I heated the burgers up in Gracie’s bottom oven and did the fries in the top oven. They are store bought frozen fries and they were very good. I sprinkled them with a little chili powder. Dinner was fantastic and I ate all of my burger first and fries second as we watched last week’s epi of Fringe. I would have eaten all my fries but saved a few for Rocks.
After dinner and Fringe I headed up to bed. I laid there for about 10 minutes talking to Scott and then decided I needed some sleep. I was wiped out!
Topics: Daily Eats, Reviews | No Comments »
Grey Poupon Hearty Spicy Brown Mustard
By Andrea | Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
New Favorite
I am not mustard’s biggest fan. There are occasions where I need mustard as a side to something, such as kielbasa or other types of sausages. And there are occasions where I need mustard as an ingredient to something, such as salad dressing. But mustard is typically not something I reach for first for sandwiches or as a topping to burgers. I am a mayo girl.
However, Scott is a mustard kind of guy. He goes for mustard first on sandwiches or to dip a bite of lunchmeat into. Because of this, mustards have become something that I pay closer attention to. Yes, my husband will gladly accept regular yellow mustard on his sandwiches, but sometimes I like to spice things up for him and make things a little more interesting. As a result I have started liking mustard more and more.
Exploring different types of mustards, I have learned that I personally enjoy a spicier grainy mustard as opposed to a smooth mustard for sandwiches and as a dip for sausages. I really like a good honey mustard for chicken. One that is thick and creamy that hits you with sweetness first and spiciness last. Mustard, something I never though I would enjoy, I now actively seek out. Thanks, Scott!
During a shopping trip, as I was perusing the mustard aisle, I stumbled across this mustard. I am not a huge fan of dijon mustard. I can only eat it if it is an ingredient in something; I cannot eat it as a dipping sauce or on a sandwich. The taste is just not very palatable to me. I much prefer the more grainy country dijon mustard when I can find it. However, this mustard looked interesting to me. Spicy brown mustard is right up my alley. I tossed it in the cart and went about my business.
I used it in my first dish and fell in love immediately. This mustard has it all! It is thick and a little bit grainy. It has a nice spice kick to it and has little bits of onion all through it. I stocked up on it the next time I went to the grocery store. When I ran out, I went back for more and to my horror the store was out of it! I silently pitched a fit and kept going back to check if the stock had been replenished.
Now when I shop, I buy two to three jars at a time. I will not be caught without it ever again. If you like mustards give this one a try and let me know your thoughts. If I post a recipe that calls for mustard, it’s this mustard that I’m using. My very favorite mustard ever.
Topics: Reviews | 10 Comments »