Saturday, March 31, 2007

Healthy Choice: Chicken in Red Pepper Alfredo Sauce

More completely Grilled White Meat Chicken in Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo Sauce over Linguini Pasta with broccoli florets. I'm pretty sure that doesn't leave much out. This is a very good dish indeed. One of my favorites. The alfredo sauce is creamy and flavorful. The grilled was moist and plentiful. There is lots of protein and not much fat. The downsides are that the broccoli is plain, no seasoning, and I would like a few more noodles. That said, if you are trying to keep the calories down, better to skimp on the noodles than the chicken. (240 calories; 5g fat; 23g carbs; 22g protein 25% sodium; 4 weight watchers points)

Friday, March 30, 2007

Melissa & Doug chunky Wooden Safari Puzzle


This all-wood puzzle has chunky animals that fit into the cut-outs on the puzzle. Both the puzzle and the animals have a thick coat of bright paint and the area under the cutout has the same animal painted on it so your toddler will know what to put where. The edges of the animals will get the paint chipped off with
use, but that pretty much goes without saying. My kid loves this puzzle, especially the blue rhino and purple hippo.
View at Amazon

Nestle flavored water

I have tried the "Nestle Pure Life Raspberry Splash water Natural Fruit Flavored water beverage with other natural flavors" (note much too much to type). I didn't like it very much. the flavor seemed a bit 'fake' and although it smelled vaguely of raspberry, it didn't taste much like it.

They Claim "Nestle PureLife Natural Fruit Flavored Water Beverage" combines the goodness of pure refreshing water with the delicious taste of natural fruit. (I repeat, that is way too long a product name). First off, if your adding stuff to the water it isn't pure refreshing water anymore is it, second, although natural fruit may be delicious, the flavors they add weren't.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Pretzel Goldfish


Hmm, what should I compare this to? Regular goldfish or pretzels? They are the same size and shape as goldfish, but a bit denser and harder. Of course they also taste different, more like pretzels. I think the closest pretzel comparison is medium thickness pretzel sticks, not the really thin ones or the really thick ones either. Aside from the fun shape, why choose one over the other? I don't know, but you might have a preference. (130 calories; 2.5g fat; 3g protein; 24g carbs; 18% sodium; per 43 piece (1.1 ounce) serving)

Healthy Choice Chicken Margherita


White Meat Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta & Roasted Garlic in Balsamic Vinaigrette Sauce. Another decent Healthy Choice microwave meal, definitely above average, but not perfect. They sauce is light, but still flavorful. The chicken is good but the pasta was a bit gummy. There also weren't many vegetables, a few red pepper pieces and some garlic, that was it. It could really have used more. Lots of protein, not much fat, but a considerable amount of carbs. (240 calories; 8g fat; 43g carbs; 23g protien; 23% sodium; 7 weight watchers points)

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Melissa & Doug Flapping Duck Push Toy

This is a cute little push along duck that flaps it's wings as you push it. It seems like the perfect toy for toddlers, they love walking around pushing things and this sturdy wooden duck is just the ticket. However, all is not well in toyland. The part that makes the wings flap also makes it much too hard for a 2 or 3 year old to push. An child will probably outgrow this toy before they can use it effectively. View at Amazon

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Cattle Drive Steak Beef Stew


A nice hearty stew is just the thing to keep you going on a rainy day. This is decent stew-from-a-can. I wouldn't serve it to company, and of course, it is nowhere close to home-made, but it is great to keep a can or two in your desk or pantry for those days when you want something hot in a hurry. A can of this is filling and satisifing. Each can has two servings, but you are unlikely to eat half a can. (210 calories; 8g fat; 16g protein; 18g carbs 36% sodium per 1 cup (half can) serving)

Monday, March 26, 2007

Cattle Drive Chicken Chili with beans



There is lots to like about this. It is 99% fat free, lots of protein and tastes good too. Chicken Chili never seems as good as beef chili to me, but this stuff isn't bad, especially when you take into account the fact that it comes from a can. Each can has two servings, but you are unlikely to eat half a can, and, if you eat both servings you have made it through 90% of your daily allowance of sodium. (190 calories; 1g fat; 17g protein; 27g carbs; per 1 cup (half can) serving) (image)

Campbell's Italian-Style Wedding Soup


Another long-named one. Campbell's Select Healthy Request Italian-Style Weding meatballs and spinach in chicken broth. Little round pasta pieces, bits of leafy greens, small lumps of sausage, all in a green broth. It may not sound like a recipe for a good soup, but it is. It is different enough from you mainstream soups that it stands out, but doesn't offend your palate. You probably think those are lofty things to say about a Cambell's soup, and you are probably right. In any case, it is worth trying. The 'Healthy' portion of the name refers to it being 98% fat free and 40% less sodium. You won't miss the extra salt, there is still plenty in there. (120 calories; 2.5g fat; 7g protein; 15g carbs 20% sodium; per 1 cup serving. There are two servings in a can, be prepared to eat them both)

Trader Joe's Organic Ketchup

Ketchup, but organic. It is a bit darker red then most ketchup (or Catsup), but it tastes the same. If you are into organic food, this fits the bill. (serving size 1tbsp 0g fat, 0g protein, 15 calories)

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Twix candy bar

Twix packages have two narrow candy bars in them. the backbone of the candy is a cookie. On top of that is a ribbon of caramel, then the whole thing is dipped in chocolate. This is a good candy bar, It is crunchy, and creamy, and chocolatey, it is a good coombination of flavors and textures. Try it.

Trader Joe's BBQ shredded Chicken




This is all white meat shredded chicken with barbeque sauce. It comes refridgerated, not frozen so the shelf life isn't too long. I have been looking for a BBQ chicken that is really good, all the ones I have tried haven't tasted quite the way I want them to. This one was no exception, nothing I could put my finger on, but my search must continue. (70 calories; 1g fat; 7g protein; 7g carbs; 13% sodium per 2 ounce serving)

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Goldfish 100 calorie pouches.



These come in a box of five packets, each one is one 100 calorie 0.75 ounce serving. They taste just like regular goldfish (because they are), cheesey, a bit dry, and a little airy. overall pretty good. In line with cheese nibs, but not quite the same. They of course charge you much more per ounce than a bag of goldfish, but if you like goldfish but have trouble limiting your serving size, you should try these. (100 calories; 3.5g fat; 3g protein; 14g carbs; 7% sodum; per package)

Morning Star Farms: Veggie Bites Country Scramble


Nuggets of Egg whites, veggie sausage, red and green peppers, onions, and cheddar cheese in a multi-grain breading. These were suprisingly good, almost like a mini omlete. There were plenty of different tastes and textures wrapped up in these nuggets, the breading, although not crisp, added some real flavor. each nugget is about one ounce and three nuggets make a serving. It seems a little small, so expect to eat something with them. (Maybe some fruit?) Don't ask what is in them, the ingredient list takes the whole side of the package. They also have a lot of sodium, 23% of your daily allowance. But did I mention they were tasty? They also come in eggs florentine flavor. (8g fat; 11g protein; 17g carbs; per 3 oz serving)

Friday, March 23, 2007

Kraft Velveeta Cheese

You can question whether or not this is really cheese, after all, the package never says that it is cheese (though it does say it Melts better and has 1/3 less fat than Cheddar Cheese). The first thing you will notice is that it is much softer than regular cheese, even softer than blocks of cream cheese. And it is lighter colored. And it doesn't really taste like cheese. I think it is wrong to compare it with cheese, since you can do stuff with it that you can't do with cheese, like it melts really well. If you compare it to a jar of nacho cheese or the powdered cheese you get in Mac & Cheese, it comes out much more favorably.

I recently bought a big block and made nacho cheese dip. I cut the cheese into chunks and dropped it in a small crock pot with salsa (you can also microwave it) It came out pretty well, and if I made cheese dip again I would probably use Velveta. As an aside, you can overheat the stuff and it gets lumpy.

Healthy Choice: Lemon Pepper Fish

A fish fillet crusted in bread crumbs with lemon pepper flavoring,
served over a bed of rice pilaf, with broccoli florets on the side
and an apple/cherry dessert. The fish was tasty and a the crust was
a little crunchy, just the way it should be. the broccoli and the dessert
were also as expected. The rice pilaf was a bit of a disapointment.
Even though it had some wild rice and red bell peppers, it was tastless
and dry. Overall, I will get it again, but wish the rice were better.
(4.5g fat; 13g protein; 53g carbs; 310 calories; 6 weight watchers points)

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Campbell's Tomato Soup


It seems that as we get older, we don't have as much condensed soup. We have more soups like the Campbell's Chunky and Progresso soups. This is a condensed soup that is just as good, if not better than the non-condensed stuff. Simmer up a can of this with three quarters of a can of milk. If you want more flavor, you can add minced garlic or dried italian seasoning. Cream of tomato soup goes great with a grilled or toasted cheese sandwich. It is the perfect lunch for after you shovel snow or on a rainy spring day.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee

What makes Dunkin' Donuts coffee good is the cream and sugar. It makes the iced coffee good too. I tried the iced coffee for the first time and it was good. Usually iced coffee seems a little more bitter and more watery than regular cofee. This iced coffee didn't have either problem. The lack of bitterness probably had do to with the cream and sugar I got it with and the not watery part is probably because they use twice as much ground coffee as you would for hot coffee. Take all this together and you get a very refreshing and satisfying drink. (16 oz: 6g fat, 2g protein, 16g carbs, 120 calories)

Snyder's MultiGrain sunflower chips

These are a direct competitor of Sun Chips. They have the same wavy, square chip shape. I think they are a little bit crisper than sun chips. They also have a more uniform flavor. They claim 40% less fat than regular potato chips and no trans-fats. I don't have a preference between these and sunchips, they taste slightly different, but I like them both just as much. Snyder's of Hanover.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Bigelow Lemon Lift tea

This is a surprisingly good tea. A hint of lemon really adds flavor to it. It is regular, caffeinated black tea, not some weak herbal tea. It was much better than I expected and I will have it again.

Lean Cuisine: Chicken enchilada suiza

Chicken enchilada with a sour cream sauce and mexican style rice. I liked the sauce, it had a smooth, creamy texture and good flavor. It is clearly the highlight of the meal. The enchilada wrapper was doughy and soggy and the filling was bland. Plus, there wasn't much chicken in it. The rice was decent, not great, but not bad either. The cooking time is also anoying, 8 to 9 minutes at 50% power. I think if the enchilada were better this would make a good microwave lunch, but since it isn't, I can't recommend it. (4.5g fat 10g protein 47g carbs, 270 calories, 5 Weight Watchers points)

Monday, March 19, 2007

That's one way to get a first-class upgrade

A woman on a flight from Delhi to London died en-route so they moved her body and her family up to the first class cabin. I guess you have to do something with corpses. I found it suprising that British Airways says that about 10 people die on its flights each year. You don't really expect to happen, but it does. And often enough that they have a policy about it, They can't be put in the galley or blocking aisles or exits and there must be clear space around them. [March 19, 2007]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070319/ap_on_fe_st/in_flight_deaths

Chi-chi's Salsa

I eat a lot of salsa, I really like it, and put it on lots of stuff. chi-chi's isn't my favorite, it is around middle of the list. I find it a bit tomato-pastey, however, you can get it in 64 ounce bottles which makes the price pretty cheap. I sometimes mix it with Ketchup to make it even thicker so it sticks to french fries and hamburgers better. They carry it at Costco and I occasionally see it in the supermarket. If you really eat alot of salsa, this is a good deal, otherwise, I would go for a better one.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Trader Joe's Spinach Pie

Spinach and Feta and cottage cheeses wrapped in Fillo dough. Very tasty, a good way to get your vegetables without having a soggy mass of spinach on your plate. The only real downside is it takes about an hour to cook in the oven, you aren't supposed to microwave it or cook it in the toaster oven. Four servings (4g fat, 13g protein, 240 calories)

Friday, March 16, 2007

Vlasic Tabasco flavored Kosher Dill Spears

These things are actually spicy. Usually the mass-market hot stuff isn't very hot, but by the time I was halfway through the pickle, I was noticing it. They aren't super-hot so they are pretty good. The only annoying thing is the serving size, 1 oz, which is about 3/4ths of a spear. Who's really going to do that? why didn't they just make the serving size 1 and 1/3 ounces? (0g fat, 0g protein 5 calories per 3/4ths of a spear)

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Healthy Choice: Creamy Dill Salmon

Penne pasta with salmon and a dill cream sauce. On the side is broccoli. The sauce is lightly flavored, but you can taste the dill. The salmon came out perfect. I liked this entree. The only downside is that it has only 240 calories (6g fat, 19g protein, a good mix) Cooking time is 4 minutes, stir 1 to 1.5 minutes more. I liked this much better than the Lean Cuisine Salmon with Basil, only 10 more calories, but it was more filling and seemed to have more salmon.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Lean Cuisine Swedish Meatballs

Swedish meatballs usually have a heavy cream sauce and are loaded with fat, so it is unusual to see them in a healthy dish. Cream sauces are very hard do do without fat, they usually come out watery, or tasteless. I was a bit suprised that the cream sauce was pretty good. Not as good as the heavy cream sauce of real swedish meatballs, but better than I expected. The pleasant feeling didn't last long though because the meatballs were not very good. They didn't have a good flavor and the texture was little like meat. The cooking directions were also disappointing. I really don't like microwave meals that take a long time to cook and use 50% power. Total cooking time 8 minutes at 50% power. I doubt I will buy these again. (7g fat, 23g protien, 280 calories, 6 Weight Watchers points)

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

V8 Vegetable Juice

There are good things and bad things about V8 juice. You get lots of vegetable goodness from a can of it, and you can drink it on the go. I don't know if you have ever tried eating a tomato while driving your car, but drinking this sure sounds easier. It also has a variety of vegetable juices in it, so you get lots of stuff. I am sure there is some good stuff in vegetables that doesn't come out in the juice so it isn't perfect. Some people don't like the flavor of it, and it does have a thicker texture to it. If you've never had it before, I'd recommend buying a single can or two and seeing how much you like it before committing to larger quantities. I find the taste interesting and different, which combined with the vegetable goodness is enough to get me to drink it.

Price's Pimiento Cheese

I seem to recall that as a child, I liked pimiento cheese. we'd get it in a little jar (4oz or 6oz, I can't remember) and I'd spread it thinly on some bread. I recently got some more, first time I have had it in a long, long time. This version is different from what I had as a kid, it is a bit creamier and it has chunks of cheddar cheese in it. It has a good pimiento flavor, but you can't really taste the cheddar in it. I have decided that I no longer like pimiento cheese. I don't really think that it is the fault of this product, just my tastes have changed.

This round container has a couple of marketing slogans on it that are the type that annoy/worry me. First, the ever popular "New Look, Same Great Taste". Great, a big sign that says "nothing to see here, move along". Second, "Made with REAL CHEESE". Really? you mean your Pimiento Cheese is made with cheese? how novel. Wait a minute, I don't see a little badge that says "Made with REAL PIMIENTO", did you fake that part?

Monday, March 12, 2007

Just Cherries

Dried Cherries, made by the oddly named company Just Tomatoes. These cherries are crisp, not chewy, they have been made much drier than your standard dried cherries. They are also still cherry shaped, not the flattened circle you usually see. They are tart, there is no sugar added, and very cherry flavored. I like them, they make a good snack, but some people will find them too bitter. Ingredients: Cherries, nothing else.

Lean Cuisine: Glazed Turkey Tenderloins

Glazed turkey tenderloins with whipped sweet potatoes and dressing, by Stouffer's. This is a tasty dish, there is lots of variety of flavors and textures. The gravy has just a touch of sweetness, but isn't too bad. The stuffing still is a bit crunch because the sauce doesn't cover it all. Somewhat unusual for Lean Cuisine, there are two sections to the dish. The other section contains a substantial serving of whipped sweet potatoes, which could be a bit less sweet in my opinion. Standard complaints apply, I would like a few more pieces of turkey and a few more calories overall. (5g fat, 13g protein, 250 calories)

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Sun Chips

Sun Chips are multi-grain snack similar to potato chips. They are wavy and square. They claim 30% less fat than regular potato chips and no trans-fats. They really don't taste like potato chips, but they are good and when I am picking up a bag of chips to go with lunch I will usually pick these over regular potato chips. They come in several flavors, but the ones I like best are 'Original' and 'Harvest Cheddar'

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Lipton Hot Spiced Cider

This is a small packet of stuff that dissolves in hot water. It has a sweet, appley taste, as you would expect. They actually do a pretty decent job on making this taste like hot cider. Keep in mind, this is really just flavored sugar water. It isn't like this counts as one of your servings of fruits and vegetables or anything. Nutritionally, you are probably better drinking a cup of water, or even tea. That said, it makes a nice change of pace and is a reasonable treat every now and then.

Baby Lima Beans & Butter Sauce

This is a Green Giant frozen vegetable. Lima beans in a creamy, buttery, sauce. I was expecting it to taste like lima beans with butter on them, but the sauce was a bit too thick it stuck a bit too well to the beans, too much of it was on every bite. I think the lima beans could have been better too, I can't quite pin it down, but I was a bit disappointed in the dish. 2.5 servings per container (1.5g fat, 5g protein, 100 calories)

Friday, March 9, 2007

Veggie Patch Meatless Garlic Portabella Burgers

Yup, fake hamburgers, from the fine folks at Veggie Patch. They do have a mushroom flavor, though not much in the garlic department. On their own I think they are a bit boring. You really need some flavorful condiments to go with them, like fried onions, or salsa. The texture is thick and smooth, not crumbly, it gives you something to chew on, which I like. Overall, decent, if you add good condiments. (4.5g fat, 12g protein, 100 calories)

Bigelow Earl Grey

A rich tea with lots of varied flavors. This has much more body and is darker than Lipton tea. It smells and tastes good. Just because it has lots of different flavors doesn't mean that it is some 'peppermint camamile lemon fizz tea", this is traditional tea flavor. If you like a flavorful tea, and like the convenience of tea-bags, you will like this tea.

Baja Burrito

This is my favorite burrito from Baja Fresh. Actually, it is pretty much the only one I like. it has meat (chicken, steak, or pork carnitas). Monterey jack cheese, guacamole and salsa. Notice the lack of rice. Most times when you buy a burrito from a place such as this, they load it up with rice and go light on everything else. The best part about Baja Fresh is the salsa bar. Three different types of salsa, plus jalepenos, and cilantro that you can pile on as much as you want. It is why I like Baja Fresh better than Chipotle's. Since there is guac on them, they have a hefty amount of fat, plus the chips, which have even more, don't eat his every day. (the Steak one has 46g fat, 49g protein, 437 calories; the chicken one has 38g fat, 52g protien, 440 calories; the chips have 9g fat, 3g protein, 210 calories)

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Stagg 'Silverado Beef' Chili with beans

This is a two-bean beef and tomato chili. It is 97% fat free. I like a good chili, and while chili from a can can't compare with home-made (or Hard Times Cafe) chili, this is still good. lots of meat, not too many beans, tomato-y a little spice (but be prepared to add some hot sauce if you like it real spicy). Not totally loaded with fat like most other canned chili. It only has 250 calories, which really is a bit short, but toss some cheese on it, or have a slice of toast with it and you'll be good. Overall, a quick, tasty lunch. (7g fat, 17g protein, 250 calories)

Thomas' Squares Bagelbread

They are square, they are bagel-ly, they have a belly-button, not a hole. If you like thick, chewy bagels then you might not like these. These are softer, but still much thicker and chewier than regular bread. They are also pre-sliced and are really good for making thick sandwiches out of. Each one has 2 grams of fat and 10 grams of protein! Of course, it has 300 calories to go with it. Nevertheless, these are a good and tasty change of pace from just having bread.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

MetroMint orangemint water

Water, but flavored with orange and mint. MetroMint managed to avoid the biggest problem with flavored waters, their's isn't too sweet. In fact, it isn't sweet at all. This is a good thing. It has a little mint flavor and just the slightest hint of Orange. It is pretty good, but, aybe I am old fashioned, but I really like water. Plain water. Given the choice I would probably take a nice glass of regular water over this. Not a stunning endorsement I know, but if you don't like sweet waters, and also don't care for plain water, you should try this.

The meat-eating cow

Dozens of chickens went missing in Kolkata, India, people thought dogs were eating them, but Ajit Ghosh, who owned the missing chickens, solved the mystery. It seems his cow (which is considered a sacred animal for Hindus like Ajit) was sneaking into the coop and dining on fresh live chickens. Odd as that sounds, it can happen. A great quote from Ajit: "The local vets said the cow was probably suffering from a disease but others said Lal [the cow] was a tiger in his previous birth."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070307/od_nm/india_cow_dc

Healthy Choice: General Tso's Spicy Chicken

Tempura Battered chicken breast in a spicy brown sauce with a rice and vegetable medley. Unlike most Healthy Choice entrees, this one doesn't come with a divided dish. The brown sauce is also more sweet than spicy. It is decent. It also has mroe calories (430) than most dinners. Not great, not bad either. I will eat it every once in a while, but it isn't one of my standard choices.
(9g fat, 17g protein, 430 calories)

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Hard times Cafe

Hard Times Cafe is a chili parlor. What does that mean? Well, most of their menu is chili, and variations on chili. If chili is what you do, then you better do it well, and Hard Times does it well. They have four kinds of chili, Vegetarian (soy based), Texas (no tomato), Cincinnati (red, a little too sweet for my taste) and Terlingua (another red chili, also tasty) My favorite dish there is the Chili Mac (chili served over spagetti) with cheese on top, they call this the three-way. Even better is getting it with half Texas Chili and half Vegetarian Chili. Sooo, good.

Pepsi One

The soft drink companies are getting better at hiding the aftertaste from artificial sweetners (this one uses Splenda). Better, but not perfect. It still tastes a little bit odd. I would say it is on par with Coke Zero and which you like better depends on if you like regular coke or pepsi better. I wouldn't go out of my way to get this again.

MorningStar farms Buffalo Wings

Just the fact taht it is from Morning Star should let you know these are veggie buffalo wings, no chicken here, its soy protein. They do a pretty good job at it, someone could probably convince you that it was chicken nuggets. The breading has a crumbly baked texture to it. It does have downsides though. First, it isn't very spicy, bring an extra dose of hot sauce to pep it up a little. Second, even though it sounds good for you, there is still a lot of fat in it. 9 grams of fat to 12 grams of protein. A box has 3.5 servings of 200 calories, but a serving is only 5 wings, so you will probably eat more than one serving.

Monday, March 5, 2007

Healthy Choice: Mushroom Roasted Beef

Healthy choice entrees are generally pretty good. They also have better presentation than most others since the tray is divided into three parts. The main part is the chunks of beef with egg noodles covered in gravy. The vegetable for this one is Green Bean and Carrot Medley, this was good, but there were no spices or sauce of any kind on the vegetables. It also has 330 calories (3g fat, 21g protein). So far so good. Now the down side. The gravy over the Beef and noodles is bland. Too bland. If the thought of bland food makes you salivate, then rush out and buy this. Otherwise, there are better Healthy Choices.

Oatmeal

Yup, that old-fashioned canister of rolled oats. None of this 'instant oatmeal'. I haven't noticed a difference in taste between brand names and generic, so I'm not going to single out Quaker Oats. Oatmeal is good, surprisingly easy, and cheap. I buy the standard oats, not the quick cooking ones. To make them, I toss in a little brown sugar, some cinnamon, and a dash of salt (don't forget water and oats). Then into the microwave they go for about 3 minutes. A great tasting hot breakfast that I can make and eat at work in no time at all.

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Uncle Ben's Ready Rice

I tried the "roasted chicken" flavor. This is a pre-cooked rice in a plastic pouch that you microwave for 90 seconds. You can't beat the convinience, however, this is just an OK rice. It doesn't stand out in any way, plus, they added a lot of fat, and it is much more expensive then regular rice. It is nice if you are in a hurry, otherwise, don't bother.

Baskin Robbins Smooth and creamy hard candy

And that isn't even the full name of it, which is Baskin Robbins Sugar Free Smooth & Creamy Hard Candy Fruit Medley. It has three flavors, Strawberry, Orange, and Raspberry. They come in a bag full of individually wrapped candies. I am not sure how they do it, but these candies really are a bit creamy. It isn't like they have a cream filling, they are hard all the way through, but somehow, creamy. If you like hard candy, you should give these a try.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Ikea

Ikea is suprisingly kid friendly. I have always known about their play area (for toliet trained kids, three and up), but I recently went there and noticed that the eating area, in addition to the normal high-chairs, has free disposable bibs, a bottle warmer, and a microwave. The bathrooms not only have changing tables, but also free diapers.

Espresso Macchiato

Macchiato is Italian for "marked" This drink is an espresso that is marked with milk froth. There are a lot of coffee drinks you can make with espresso in it and you may find you like some but not others. Roughly speaking, going from most espresso like to least, you find: Espresso, Macchiato, Cappuccino, and Latte. I like latte's but don't care for the rest of them. A Macchiato is really just an espresso with just a little bit of foamed milk on it. If you like espresso you will probably like a macchiato, but if you don't like expresso, you won't like a macchiato either.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Annie's Homegrown: Real Cheddar Bunnies

Like goldfish, but in the shape of a bunny. Also a little flatter, it isn't as puffed up as a goldfish. Tasty and cute. The main pluses for this product is that it is made with organic wheat flour, has no hydrogenated oils, and it is baked. It still has 7 grams of fat for 3 grams of protein, so it isn't a health food, but it makes a good snack. PS: They mean real cheddar, not real bunnies.

Archer Farms Garlic & Herb chicken breast skewers


This is one of Target's frozen products. it is chicken kabobs with garlic and herb seasoning. They are easy to cook and tasty too. I like them.

They aren't cooked, and you are supposed to thaw them before cooking, which is a bit of a downer, but the cook in about 15 minutes.

Bigelow English Teatime

A dark, full-bodied tea. This is much richer than Lipton tea, it also has a hint of bitterness. But if you like tea with lots of flavor, and the convenience of tea-bags, this is worth trying.