Energy Bar and Frozen Yogurt Craving

This week I had a crazy craving for energy bars and frozen yogurt. When I mean craving, I mean that is ALL I wanted to eat. Random, right?

Choco-walla!

I initially had a craving for Odwalla's Chocowalla Bar.

Looks like a chocolate cookie---only it's good for you!

The bar has the texture of a double chocolate cookie, since you can taste the semi-sweet chunks of chocolate, but it is so healthy for you! (There are so may vitamins and minerals listed on the back of those bars!!)

Banana Nut!

But that wasn't enough for lunch, so I had to have the Banana Nut Bar.

Banana Bread molded in rectangular easy-to-eat perfection!

It had a similar texture to the Chocowalla Bar, but tasted like banana bread (maybe even better than the old-fashioned recipe that calls for butter and eggs!)

Clif Bar Cranberry Apple Cherry

For "dinner", I had the insistent craving for a Clif bar, so I decided to try a flavor that I hadn't tried before, which was Clif's Cranberry Apple Cherry. It is lighter in calories and fat, since it is a fruit-based flavor rather than chocolate or peanut butter (even though those are good as well!)

My trail mix mosaic :)

After opening the wrapper, the gorgeous pieces of fruit stood out like shiny pieces of a trail mix mosaic. Yeah, my attempt at an analogy, but the bar tasted like a scrumptious trail mix cookie that would fuel me for my late afternoon classes.

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I also had a frozen yogurt craving over the weekend that needed to be sated. I was able to drop by Tuttimelon and help myself to some self-serve fro-yo.

The perfect cup?

My concoction was: original tart yogurt, strawberries, MOCHI PIECES (my absolute FAVORITE FRO YO TOPPING!), and a piece of lychee, just for taste. The original tart flavor was a perfect compromise since the strawberries and chewy mochi pieces added sweetness. The lychee was pretty random, since it kind of brought it's own flavor to the mix. Overall, the result was satisfying since my craving was extinguished (at least for a couple hours :) )

Coconut Bliss Vegan Ice Cream!

Yes, there is such a thing as vegan ice cream, and I tried it! It's called Luna & Larry's Organic Coconut Bliss, and it tastes great!

Dark Chocolate

I happened to try the dark chocolate flavor, and could see the chocolate pieces as I was eating it! I believe I had a 1/4 of a cup but a serving is 1/2 a cup, and 14g of fat per serving. Maybe on the high side, but who can argue with an organic dessert? I mean, you are doing a service to the planet as well as doing a favor for yourself (:!

Amy's Kitchen Products I've Tried

Amy's Kitchen is a great brand that makes vegetarian products that encompass many different cuisines. The products are convenient since they can be microwaved in minutes! Here are some meals that I've tried (and remembered to take pictures of!)

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Black Bean Enchilada Whole Meal

I had a coupon for $0.75 off a whole meal, so I purchased the Black Bean Enchilada Whole Meal from Wal-Mart. The meal comes with an enchilada packed with a mix of rice and bite-size vegetables (presumably corn), Spanish rice, and beans. The enchilada sauce was amazing for being a microwavable dish! My favorite part was the garnish, it made my meal look amazing =)

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Country Cheddar Bowl

I had a coupon for $0.75 off any Amy's Kitchen product, so I purchased the Country Cheddar Bowl. It is a toss of tofu, brocolli, carrots, red peppers, and rotini pasta with cheddar cheese sauce. It packs 400 calories and 19 grams of fat, but makes a yummy meal! After I microwaved, I tossed it in a bowl and enjoyed each bite. Cheese, vegetables, and chunks of tofu make a perfect combination!

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Black Bean Vegetable

I had a coupon for $0.55 off any Amy's Kitchen pantry product, so I purchased a can of low fat black bean vegetable soup. It was hard to microwave since I didn't have a cover for my bowl, so i ended up having to clean up my microwave as my soup cooled. It has a mildly sweet taste, but you could taste the chunks of vegetable and black beans. A great organic alternative :)

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Creamy Deliciousness + Sweet Bites

I visited the local co-op on a day when I felt like I needed to stock my micro fridge with frozen organic goodies. I have been waiting to find Amy's Kids Meals...and I finally did! Amy's Kids Meals: Mac n' Cheese to be exact :). The mac n' cheese came out cheesy and creamy, a burst of milky delicious flavor that I haven't consumed in a while (since I haven't had a good ol' plate of mac n' cheese in FOREVER). The broccoli added great texture and who can not love the two mini apple turnovers?

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Layers of Organic Goodness!

Another yummy product I recently tried was the Amy's Kitchen Tofu Lasagna. After a quick pop in the microwave, I separated the layers and admired the filling of cheese, vegetables, and pieces of tofu. Yeah, it was 11g of fat, but courtesy of the tofu. And I made some room for it. All-in-all, a delicious Italian treat---veggie style!

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Not exactly the poor thing's best picture...

I have also been wanting to try Amy's Tamale Pie, so I did for lunch one day. The picture I posted isn't too appealing, since it was taken while the pie was still cooking in the microwave, but the taste was the complete opposite. The top layer tasted like a soft corn tamale while the filling was warm and helped with the flavor. The filling was full a yummy vegetables and beans, so even though it looked like a meat lover's pie, it certainly was not!

Somersaultin' Samplin'

(This post is about a month overdue from when I originally wanted to post it, but better late than never c:!)

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I recently requested to try samples from the Somersault Snacking Co. They make these amazing bite-size snacks that are made of sunflower seeds and packed with flavor. So after requesting some samples, I was surprised with a box in the mail!

Yes, a box full of samples!

I immediately dived for the Santa Fe Salsa flavor which is my most favorite.

Santa Fe Salsa Sample

It is slightly tomatoey, but it has a spice blend which is super tasty (and makes you crave for it).

Santa Fe Salsa Bite

I tried Chez Cocoa next, which is the perfect flavor if you want something sweet and crunchy.

Chez Cocoa Sample

It doesn't have a "chocolate" flavor like one would guess cocoa to have. You can actually taste cocoa.

Chez Cocoa Bite

The third flavor they sent was s.s. sea salt. It is comparable to an "original" flavor I suppose, but it is the classic go-to afternoon snack.

s.s. sea salt Sample

I still have yet to try the salty pepper flavor* but I guess that's what my 50 cents off coupons are for ;D

s.s. sea salt Bite

I DEFINITELY recommend these snacks! They are the healthiest, crunchiest yummy bites ever.

All three flavors c:

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While I spent the month sampling sunflower seed bites, I also found my love for Target's Archer Farms granola cereal brand line, especially the chocolate chunk hazelnut biscotti! The mix of hazelnuts, chocolate chip chunks, and perfectly sweetened granola bites mix wonderfully together. This has been my snack of the summer ;D

My snack of the summer c:

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*UPDATE! I had the privilege of using one of my $0.50 off any somersault product on the salty pepper flavor!

The 12 oz. bag

I ate up the 12 oz. bag within two days of purchasing it! I could definitely taste the pepper. What else can I say? They were so filling, they kept me full till dinner (I had 1/3 of the bag as breakfast one day :3 )

Aww! Come into my stomach! Muahahaha!