Mauna Loa: Maui Onion and Garlic Macadamias

Macadamia nuts coated with a garlic and onion seasoning. I like macadamia nuts, however, they have a fairly subtle flavor that is easily overwhelmed by whatever they are paired with. Garlic and onion can both be strong, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to taste the Macadamias at all. Suprisingly, they the garlic and onion doesn't quite overwhelm the macadamia taste. I can't decide if I like them or not, but I do know that I like the unflavored macadamia nuts better. If you really like garlic or just want to try something unique, then give these a shot, otherwise, I would stay with normal macadamia nuts. (200 calories; 4g carb; 2g protein; 7% sodium; per quarter cup serving [28g])

Glad Corn: A-Maizing Corn Snack (original flavor)

It isn't often you find a snack that is simple (only three ingredients) but still has a unique and interesting flavor. It is even less often that you like that flavor. This snack fits the bill. It is partially popped corn kernels that have been cooked in oil. That isn't the most flattering description, I know, but it really tastes good. I'm not the type of person that picks through the unpopped popcorn at the bottom of the bowl either. I also don't care for corn-nuts. Each bite is salty and crunchy without being too hard. The only real downside is the corn shells can get caught in your teeth, much like popcorn. Glad Corn makes other flaovors too but I haven't tried them yet. (140 calories; 6g fat; 2g protein; 19g carbs; 7% sodium; per 1 ounce [one third cup] serving)

Smart Ones: Angel Hair marinara

One of Weight Watcher's Smart Ones "classic favorites" microwave meals. Lots of thin angel hair pasta with tomato sauce (or as they call it delicious marinara sauce, emphasis theirs) with spinach and yellow and green zucchini. Cooking went smoothly, you have to stir it part way through. The chunks of squash are good-sized and athough more would be nice, there was a minimally sufficient number of them. As is often the case with tv dinners, the squash was overcooked. Not totally mushy, but nowhere near crisp. There is lots of pasta, it is nice and thin, and didn't come out overcooked or hopelessly stuck together. The tomato sauce was good, it had good tomato flavor and wasn't acidic tasting like you sometimes find. Overall the separate elements went well together and the dish was better than just the sum of its parts. It only has 4 weight watchers points which is suprising given the amount of pasta it has in it. (230 calories; 4g fat; 40g carbs; 9g protein; 27% sodium; 4 weight watchers points)

Odwalla Bar: Super Protein.

This food bar has 16 grams of protein and 8 essential amino acids. It is crisper and harder than most other odwalla bars, although it isn't cruchy. There is a touch of sweetness, but not much in the way of identifiable flavors. The primary source of protein is soy, there is soy protein, soy nuts, soy butter, soy oil, soy protein crisp rice, and soy lecithin. The other major ingredients include grape juice concentrate, rasins, and date puree.

This energy bar is more like a Cliff bar than a power bar, but I didn't care for it all that much. I'm sure that if your primary concern is getting protein, this is a good way to get it, but I prefer the other, softer, more flavorful odwalla bars. (230 calories; 4.5g fat; 31g carbs; 16g protein; 7% sodium; per 2.2 ounce bar)

Odwalla Bar: Superfood

The first thing I noticed about this energy bar is that it is green.
It is a soft and chewy food made with organic rolled oats, date puree, rasins,
and grape juice conentrate. That is what gives it the fruity sweet flavor.
If you've never had an odwalla bar, it is similar to a Cliff bar but
chewier, and I think, much better tasting than a power bar.
Its claim to being a super food comes from it having Spirulina, a type
of cyanobacteria with high amounts of protien and lots of essential amino
acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.

Overall this is good, and if you think spirulina is a good dietary supplement,
then this is a good way to get it. I like some of the other odwalla food
bars better. (230 calories; 4g fat; 43g carbs; 4g protein; 5% sodium; per
2.2 ounce bar)

Just Veggies

A while ago I reviewed Just Peas and thought dried mixed vegetables would be good. It turns out they make them, and appropriately call them "Just Veggies" They contain dried peas, corn, carrots, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Since I hadn't tried the carrots, I picked some out of the mix and ate them separately. They were a little to hard and crunchy for me. However, when I popped a handful of the mix in my mouth, it was very good. The crunchiness of the carrots went well with the crisp airiness of the corn and peas. The flavors also complement each other. The plain dried corn is still my favorite veggie, but these are a close second. The 4 ounce tub contains 4 one ounce servings, but I find that I eat less than a serving at a time, probably only a quarter ounce. (100 calories; 1g fat; 21g carbs; 4g protein; 2% sodium; per one ounce serving)

Amy's Roasted Vegetable Pizza

This no-cheese pizza has organic shitake mushrooms, sweet onions, and roasted red peppers. I have a bit of trouble considering something without cheese to be pizza, but this is a very good dish. The onions are the best part, they are toasted and marinated and very flavorful. The artichoke hearts also are a positive addition to this Amy's pizza. Cooking time is 8-11 minutes in a 425 degree oven (410 calories; 14g fat; 11g protein; 62g carbs; 33% sodium; per pizza)

Whole Foods: Veggie Chips

These are fried slices of vegitables, much like potato chips, but, instead of potatoes, they are sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, green beens, and taro chips. These chips are thick and crunchy, there is just enough salt on them to bring out the flavor. you can really taste the different vegetables, they aren't bland like potato chips usually are. You might think that they are a healthy alternative to potato chips, but remember, they are still fried! (and potatoes are just as much a vegetable as these are.) It is more accurate to think of them as less unhealthy, they do have significantly less fat than most chips, but they don't have much protein. They come in a 9 ounce plastic tub. (135 calories; 6g fat 19g carb; 1g protein; 3% sodium; per 1 ounce serving)

Trader Joe's: Spinach and Feta Pita Pizza

A pita crust pizza with spinach, feta cheese, and red onions. This is pretty tasty, The spinach isn't too watery like sometimes spinach pizza is, an dthe feta cheese flavor comes through well. However, there isn't much to it, for some reason it seemed like it wouldn't make a full meal, this is despite having 440 calories (lots of bread in this pizza. Beware, the serving size is only half a pizza, who are they trying to kid. Cooking time is 12-15 minutes in a 400 degree oven. (220 calories; 6g fat; 32g carbs; 9g protein; 24% sodium; per half package)

Cedarlane: Three layer Enchilada Pie

Vegitarian enchilada pie made with organic beans, tomatoes and tortillas. Cheesy and tomatoey. The tortillas, are not suprissingly, not crisp. And they are fairly thick. They absorb most of the juices in the container. There are lots of black olives mixed in, that seems to be the primary non-cheese non-tortilla ingredient. There is just a hint of spiciness to it, it really could use a little more spice. There are two servings per package but I don't see anyone eating just half of this. I was most of the way through the dinner before I realized that, so consider it as having 430 calories. Other than that it is pretty tasty and a nice change of pace from what I usually eat. I have seen other people comment that theirs didn't have many olives at all, so I guess it is a bit hit or miss. (215 calories; 7g fat; 27g carbs; 13g protein; 25% sodium; per half package)

Red Tomato Cafe: Red Tomato sandwich

Fresh Mozzarella, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, advacado and black olive tapenade on tomato basil bread with a side salad. Very different from your typical sandwich, but also novel and tasty. The bread was sliced thick and had real substance to it. The advacado and olive tapenade added good flavor and a creamy texture. and the artichoke hearts added substance. Like all sandwiches that have tomatoes as a primary ingredient, whether they are good or not depends on if they were in season. I don't think I would get this sandwich in December, but I bet it is great in August.
Red Tomato Cafe is located in Bethesda, MD, it has some interesting sandwiches and salads, and a good selection of brick oven pizzas.

TGI Friday's Microwaveable Spinach, Cheese, and Artichoke Dip

Not T.G.I. Fridays the restaurant, but the frozen food you buy in the store. This dip has spinach and artichoke hearts in a creamy alfredo sauce with roasted garlic. It is easy to cook, only taking 3 or four minutes. The spinach tasted like frozen spinach, nothing great there. There was lots of small artichoke pieces, it would have been nice if they were larger. The sauce they were in was a bit thin. Matter of fact, I'm not used to spinach artichoke dip having a sauce, usually it is thick, and creamy, but not really liquid at all. That is probably why I was disappointed in this appetizer and wouldn't get it again. (45 calories 3.5g fat; 2g carbs; 2g protein; 5% sodium; per 2 tablespoon serving)

Just Peas

Dried Peas to snack on. These peas are dried, but not hard like split peas. They are also whole, not split or dried up. Suprise, they taste like peas. They were decent, but I found I like fresh peas much better than these. It would be interesting to mix them with the dried corn (previously reviewed) and maybe some dried carrots and have a dried mixed vegetable medley. Ingredients: Peas, nothing else.

Just Corn

Dried corn snack. But it isn't hard like corn left out over night. It is crisp and airy. Not only does it still taste like corn, but it tastes like fresh corn (but dry). It is crisp and airy. Pop a handful of it in your mouth and crunch away. This stuff is really good, much better than I expected. Ingredients: Corn, nothing else.

Kirkland signature: Fruit & Nut Medley

A Costco special Mix of dried fruit and nuts in a large (3.5 pound) bag. This mixture avoids the two bigest problems I see, that is too many peanuts and too many banana chips. There are a large variety of mixed fruits, Apples, Kiwi, Mangoes, Papaya, Pineapples, Strawberries, Bannannas, Cherries, and golden rasins. some of these (like kiwi) I had never had dried before. Representing nuts are peanuts, almonds, and walnuts. This is a good mix that I really like. every time I go to Costco I pick up a bag and spend the next week eating it. (140 calories; 6g fat; 18g carbs; 2g protein; 2% sodium; per quarter cup serving; 52 servings per bag)

Sensible Portions: Cheddar multi-grain crisps.

These look a lot like soy chips, however, they contain no soy (and no wheat gluten for those of you with Coeliac disease). These fairly thin baked disks with curled up edge chips are crisp, but airy, with most of the flavor coming from the powedered cheese on them, but some flavor appears to come from the chips themselves. They are good, better than many of the soy chips out there. They also don't have the rice-cake like dry mouth effect. The comparisons to soy chips are obvious and not always favorable, for instance, soy chips usually have much more protien then fat, and these chips have about the same amount of protein and fat. I find it ironic that the brand Sensible Portions comes in such a large bag, but since the crisps are so light, it only 16 servings in the bag. (120 calories; 1.5g fat; 14g carbs, 2g protein; 7% sodium; per one ounce serving)

Progresso: Tomato Rotini Soup

Mmm, tomato soup. I like a good tomato soup, and this is a good one. The rotini noodles are firm (how they keep noodles firm while sitting in a can of liquid I will never know) There are small chunks of tomato, and bits of spices. This thick soup is slightly acidic, but overall pleasant. Campbell's condensed tomato soup is still my favorite (it has less sodium, fat, carbs, calories, and protein) especially when made with milk, but if you want the un-condensed soup because it is easier to microwave, this is worth trying. (140 calories; 1g fat; 29g carbs; 4g protein; 40% sodium; per half-can serving)

Trader Joes: Kosher Sandwich Pickles

These are pickles sliced lengthwise into thin slices, perfect for putting on you sandwiches, but I like just eating them straight. The are very crisp and bright. The pickle flavor really stands out. I think they are better than most of the sandwich slice pickles. They taste very salty, but looking at the ingredients, I can see they don't have any more salt than most pickles (yup thats alot I know). (5 calories; 0g fat; 1g carbs; 12% sodium; per two slices)

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)

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)