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!

Vegetarian Brand Name Foods List

I recently discovered that many common brand name foods contain animal-derived ingredients, even if the ingredients on the packaging do not say so directly. As a vegetarian, I discovered that ingredients like glycerin, mono and diglycerides, and gum base (just to name a few) can be animal or vegetable based. This can be tough to decipher if not given this certification in advance. Because of this issue, I've decided to list foods that are either vegetarian or non-vegetarian depending on certain ingredients.

I personally wrote to the companies of the products listed and give a summary of what I asked and their response. The foods listed are foods that I could not find as certified vegetarian from previous internet searches.

The list is based on replies I have received after e-mailing the product's company. Hopefully this "random" list helps you as much as it helps me!

*This list does not guarantee that the following products are vegan.

Vegetarian:

• Cow Tales - I am so glad this chewy, yummy caramel candy with a creme center is animal friendly (despite the name)! According to a reply I got from the company, they state that, "Our products do not contain gelatin or any animal-derived material. The mono and diglycerides are derived from soy bean." Yay :)
• Otis Spunkmeyer - Yes, the makers of those gargantuan chocolate chocolate chip muffins found at so many office meetings. I always shied away from them since they were dense in fat, but my sweet tooth kicked one day and I had to know if these were vegetarian friendly. They responded my e-mail with this: "Both are derived from non-animal sources. Hope this helps answer your question!" (Both pertains to mono and diglycerides and natural and artificial flavors). Yes, it does answer my question, and I can enjoy these without concern (except maybe for my figure..)
• Quaker Life Nutrition Bar - I received a sample a few weeks ago, but wanted to make sure the glycerin that was listed in the ingredients was indeed vegetable derived. I received this response: "I'd like you to know that the glycerin used in all Quaker snack bars is a vegetable source." So I assume this includes Chewy bars as well. I've always enjoyed Quaker products and now I can continue snacking without fear! Yay :)
  

Non-Vegetarian:

• Chex Mix (store brought, not home made) - I specifically asked about the Chex Mix Bold Party Blend, and received this reply, "Mono and Diglycerides are from an animal source in our products. To look up the enzymes, we will need the UPC code from the product." Just to be safe, I'll probably be making home made Chex Mix if I ever have a craving for it.

Japanese Kit Kat Party

My friend from Japan is so sweet! She remembered how much I've been dying to try Japanese Kit Kats and being as super sweet as she is, brought me back some! Three flavors to be exact: banana milkshake, blueberry, and regular milk chocolate. I decided to dive into the most exotic of the three first: banana milkshake.

Adorable packaging ^^ !!?

I was actually surprised at how orange it looked 0-0

Uh...banana flavor, right?

After consuming the bag over a course of a few short days, I decided to give the blueberry flavor a try.

Another adorable packaging

The packaging was a bit deceiving however. The Kit Kat (once opened) looked as if it were a regular chocolate Kit Kat!

*gasp*

But the essence of blueberry was strong, so I suppose the odor made up for the blue chocolate coating I was hoping for :(

But it tasted delicious ^^. I had 14 to experiment with so I used it as an addition to my yogurt. Chocolate + yogurt = amazing!

So cute together!

And of course, the regular milk chocolate flavor. Not so excited about this one, but the packaging is adorable so what can I say? I definitely spend good money on Japanese Kit Kat over American Kit Kat any day ;)

Milk Chocolate

That's it for the Kit Kats (so far). If I persuade my friend to buy some more flavors, then maybe I can post a part 2...haha...maybe...

On a side note, this is what happens when you leave your mango out too long o-O...

Ew

Catching Up...

Wow, was February the last time I ACTUALLY posted? I guess this is my catching up post...cause it is not like I STARVED for the past six months...

I've made and tasted some great treats during my "hiatus". Once cold Sunday back in April or so, I made hot chocolate with whipped cream and pocky! Tasty =)

Decadent!

But look what happened to the Pocky after sitting in the cocoa for awhile!

I'm MEELLLLLTTTINNNGGG!

My friends also bought a mini cake that day so we all took pieces from that. It was a chocolate cheescake with raspberry filling...and it was pretty disgusting (this is coming from a person that is not exactly the biggest fan of cheescake, okay).

Yum?

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In the spring, my Japanese friend invited us to go with her to Japantown during the cherry blossom festival. It was so much fun just hanging out but she actually treated us to some NOODLES! :)

Notice the arrow? Hmm, guess what I had??

We ate at Mifune as you can see, and I almost wanted to eat the food in the window rather than wait in the line that went out the door. The green cha soba caught my eyes IMMEDIATELY.

MORE FOOD!

After eating, we walked around, watched the parade, went to several stores, and got soft serve. We were all tired coming back (probably cause we were so soporific from all the food we ate), but my friend's mom was quick to treat us with some other Japanese treats like kopeito, custard...

Custard :)

...and almond cookies. We even got to take some home!

Almond Cookie