Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Cheeburger Cheeburger: Burger and Onion Rings

Cheeburger Cheeburger sells Cheese burgers. You can also get them without cheese if you want, and they have a few other menu items. There are two things that standout about these burgers, the size (the largest is 20 ounces) and the toppings. They have a long list of toppings, over 20 that you can add. I got the second smallest burger, "The Semi-Serious", it is only a third of a pound. I topped it off with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, and Banana peppers. As you might expect, it was excellent. The meat was juicy and cooked just the way I asked for it (medium well) it had tons of flavor and the toppings, were once again, exactly what I asked for. The pickle slices deserve special mention, they weren't the limp green slabs that you get most places, they were crisp slices of dill pickle. To go with it, I got a small serving of onion rings. This could easily have served two. I actually had trouble finishing the burger and onion rings, even though it was 4pm and I was just getting to lunch. I did finish them, but I skipped dinner. The onion rings were also good. They didn't have a traditional breaded coating, but some other kind of 'secret' batter. It wasn't quite what I expected, but it was still good.

Monday, May 28, 2007

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)

Sunday, May 27, 2007

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)

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

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)

Friday, May 18, 2007

Lilit Cafe: Old Georgetown sandwich

I had the "Old Georgetown" which is Roast Beef, Ham, and Fresh Mozzarella. To top it, I added mustard, lettuce, and tomato. The lettuce was very finely shredded iceburge lettuce. The sandwich was good, roast beef and ham go together well.

Lilit Cafe was a beer/wine/deli that has been somewhat made over. They still sell beer and wine, but they also added some tables so you can eat there. You can also get food to go, which is what I did. They have a good selection of sandwiches, wraps, and paninis as well as fresh made gelato.

Just to try something different, I got the sandwich gluten-free. Very few places advertise that they have gluten free food, and this is one of them. In addition to gluten-free bread, they have a selection of gluten-free deserts. For those of you unfamiliar, some people have celiac disease or an intolerance of gluten or wheat. It generally makes it very hard to eat out since just about everything has gluten in it. The bread was frozen (they toasted it to thaw it out) and didn't taste bad at all, they also had gluten-free mustard to put on it. I watched as they made it, and they used a different toaster, a different cutting board, and a different knife to make sure that there was no wheat product contamination. It took a bit longer to make because of that, but it is good that they were paying attention to things like this.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Cafe Gelato: Neapolitan Panini

Cafe Gelato has gelato, soups, and sandwiches. I had the Neapolitan which is Herb coated chicken breast with fontina cheese, tomatoes, greens, and a creamy alioli sauce in Ciabatta bread. I go to this place occasionally and I like their sandwiches. This one is particularly good, the cheese and the sauce really make the sandwich. Cafe Gelato is located on St. Elmo Ave in Bethesda, MD

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Healthy Choice: Blackened Chicken

Blackened white meat chicken with fire roasted red pepper sauce, rice medley, and a Caramel Apple Crisp for desert. One of Healthy Choice's complete selections. The rice medley is rice with green and red pepper bits and some sort of flavoring that turns the rice brown. It came out dry and flat. The blackened chicken was very moist and you could taste the spices on it. The red pepper sauce is thick and also has corn and black beans in it. The sauce goes well with the chicken, each adding to the other. As you would expect from blackened chicken, it is a little spicy, but not all that spicy. The rice is helped, but not saved by adding the sauce to it. (310 calories; 6g fat; 46g carbs; 16g protein; 25% sodium; 6 weight watchers points)

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Doritos: Smokin' Cheddar BBQ

Another bold flavor of Doritos Tortilla Chips. These chips have a strong smokey flavor, a little spiciness and cheese flavor. Unlike most chips with BBQ flavor, these were not sweet, that is a major plus. That, plus the smoke flavor make these chips a winner. I like them and will get them again. (150 calories; 7g fat; 16g carbs; 2g protein; 8% sodium; per 1 ounce serving)

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

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.

Monday, May 7, 2007

Healthy choice: salisbury steak

Salisbury Steak with mushroom gravy, seasoned red skin potatoes, a vegetable medley and Caramel apple crisp dessert. the vegetable medley came out pretty decent, not the tastless mass that some of their vegetables are. The Salisbury steak was average, it could have used a bit more texture and flavor. The mushroom gravy did help the steak alot. The potatoes were, likewise average and helped alot by the gravy. They were a bit chewy with a slightly more chewy crust on them. (360 calories; 9g fat; 46g carbs; 20g protien; 25% sodium)

Sunday, May 6, 2007

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)

Campbells Healthy Request: Mexican Style Chicken Tortilla soup


A Campbell's select healthy request soup, 98% fat free, 40% less sodium. Soup with chunks of chicken, rice, black beans, corn and red peppers. I think this is a very good soup. It really taste like tortillas. The chicken chunks hold up well, they are big enough to really notice and still taste like chicken. Overall, this is a well-balanced soup. No one flavor overwhelms the others, but lots of flavors come through. (130 calories; 2.5g fat; 20g carbs; 8g protein; 20% sodium; per half can)

Friday, May 4, 2007

Stonyfield Farm: Raspberry White Chocolate Chunk Frozen Yogurt

An organic, low fat frozen yogurt. Sweet, sweet frozen goodness. This is a good flavor of frozen yogurt, there is a light raspberry flavor and large chunks of white chocolate. The flavors go well together, and the frozen yogurt is nice and creamy. I find it best to take a bite and let it melt a second or two on your tongue before eating it. I will be getting this one again, it makes a great desert, and is, relatively low calorie, many fewer than even light ice cream. If I could suggest improvements, they would be to have just a tiny bit more raspberry flavor, and to have more, but smaller chunks of chocolate. (120 calories; 1.5g fat; 22g carbs; 4g protein; 6% sodium; per half cup serving)

Thursday, May 3, 2007

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.

California Tortilla: Spicy Sunset Salsa Chicken burrito

California Tortilla is a small chain of restaurants in Maryland specializing in burritos. They have many non-traditional burritos as well as salads and tacos. One selling point is that they have at least 30 different hot sauces you can put on your food. I tried the Spicy Sunset Salsa Chicken, a low-fat burrito. it is a large burrito containing grilled mesquite chicken, mexican rice, black beans, salsa vinaigrette, fresh salsa and lettuce. As with most places, the rice makes up a good chunk of the burrito, but there is also lots of chicken. It is pretty good, with lots of different flavors. I think the rice could have been better, but other than that, a tasty lunch.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Ethnic Gourmet: Chicken Biryana


Seasoned white meat chicken cooked with cauliflower, carrots, and green peppers, served over brown rice. The rice came out a bit gooey, I think because of the yogurt sauce on it. The chicken was ok, the vegetables were pretty good. I am pretty sure that one of the vegetables was yellow squash, but that wasn't listed on the ingredients, odd. I don't have alot of experience with microwave indian food, so I don't know how it compares, but I do know that it wasn't nearly as good as an indian buffet. Ethnic Gourmet lists this as All natural, no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives and minimally processed. (390 calories; 12g fat; 54g carbs; 16g protein; 45% sodium)