Re-review of Whole O's Cereal

On my initial review of this product I mentioned that it didn't have refined sugar. It was the reason why I sang its praises and why I kept buying this cereal - until recently.

One of these days, I was looking at the bigger package of this product (the one that comes in a plastic bag) and I noticed that it had refined sugar. I thought it was odd that the big container had refined sugar and the small one didn't. So I grabbed the box from the shelf and checked the ingredient list - and there it was: sugar (disguised as "granulated sugar cane juice").

So I never bought this product again. It's sad to see that this company sold itself out (to the pressures of sugar producers? or to the pressures of uneducated consumers who are addicted to sugar?) and decided to add refined sugar to this product. This was the only product that I still bought from them (all the other ones already had sugar in the recipe). Now I have no reason to buy anything from them. Goodbye, Nature's Path.

Review of Daiya's Cheezy Mac - Deluxe Cheddar Style

I bought this product because I love trying new things, and I do enjoy the shredded and block cheeses from this company.


My first disappointment came when I opened the box. There was another package for the pasta inside. These days I am working on being more conscious of my waste footprint by making an effort to avoid buying products that have a lot of unnecessary extra packaging (for example, individually wrapped toilet paper). So it was disappointing to have to open (nevermind throw away) another package just to get to the pasta.

The instructions were clear and easy to follow, for the most part. I almost missed the "drain" step because of how their instructions are formatted: one column with the verbs and the other with the rest of the sentence (for example "cook" and then "for 7-8 min"). But in the "drain" step, the sentence next to it is not the rest of the sentence (like "pasta using a colander") but rather another step ("return to sauce pan"). In my opinion, that verb ("return") and the rest of its sentence ("to sauce pan") should be in a new row.

The other thing I noticed was how smaller the macs were when compared to regular original Kraft Mac and Cheese (from what I remember - it's been years since I've had it). However, after mixing the cheese, they did look just like the original one.

Looking at the package, I was disappointed to notice that it has refined sugar (and wondered why I had bought this product if that was the case). But since it is listed as 0g in the nutritional facts, I thought it might be ok (and maybe that's why I bought it). I was wrong. Hours after eating it I kept getting the same addictive urge from my brain that I get when I eat refined sugar: I want to have "more, more, more".
It was disappointing because their cheeses don't have refined sugar. I don't know why they decided to add it to this product.

The cheese sauce itself didn't taste completely creamy. I felt some grains in my mouth (like when you put a but too much cocoa powder in your milk and it doesn't all dissolve). Or maybe I just didn't keep it in the pan for long enough?

It does taste almost the same as the Kraft M&C (from what I remember). But that also means it still tastes kinda unhealthy, artificial, chemical.

I think if I just buy the separate mac and put their own cheese into it, it will taste better than this product - and wont have sugar.
Either way, I wont be buying this product again.

I'm sad to give such a bad review because I do like this brand. But I have to be honest with my readers and myself.

Review of OrganicVille's Ketchup

This ketchup tastes amazing! The seasoning is very good.

However, I don't know how refined Agave Nectar is, so I don't know how bad that sugar really is. But I've seen it as a liquid for sale, so I know it's not nearly as bad as the white refined powdered sugar.

I would buy this brand all the time if I could actually find it for sale.

Review of Go Lo's Sugar Free Dark Hazelnut Spread

Since I've stopped eating sugar, I've been wishing for a sugar-free equivalent of Nutella.

So when I saw this spread on sale, I had to try it!

It tasted good, very close to the taste of Nutella. But something was missing: sugar. It is sweetened with Erythritol, which is an artificial sweetener. Artificial sweeteners can be just as bad as refined sugar, because they are a concentrated sweet with no surrounding components to help your body digest sugar (dried fruit, for example is sweet but is wrapped in fibre).

I would prefer if they used a more natural sweetener like apple juice.

Overall, it tastes good, but I wouldn't eat it often.

Review of Kiju Organic's New Cranberry Pomegranate Blueberry Juice

I love this brand because their juices don't have refined sugar in them.
So I was excited to try this new flavour.

After trying it, though, I was a bit disappointed. The juice tastes a lot like cranberry, somewhat like pomegranate and a very little bit like blueberries. I had to make an effort to taste the blueberry flavour.

It does taste good, though. But I expected more of a combination of flavours instead of a strong dominant one.

I will definitely buy this again, but more when I feel like having cranberry juice than when I feel like having a mix of flavours.

Review of Amy's Kitchen's Frozen Mean - Thai Red Curry Flavour

I'm not a big fan of frozen, processed, food (even if it's organic). But we all have emergency situations when we need a quick meal.

As with other Amy's Kitchen's products, this one doesn't disappoint. It tastes really good.

However, it has quite a bit of ginger. So if you don't like ginger, this is not for you.

Additionally, this is one of the few frozen foods that look very similar to the picture on the box.

So I'm glad to say it met my expectations.

Review of Nakd Raw Fruit & Nut Bar - Cocoa Delight

This is my second favourite flavour from this brand. It is a bit more bitter that the Orange one, but still sweet enough. It's also drier than the Orange bar, so it is good for when I am craving something not too oily.

Like the Orange, I buy the 18-count box frequently, and would really love to be able to buy even bigger quantities with bulk discounts.

I love it because it is a healthy replacement for chocolate bars (which are full of refined sugar and processed, chemical products).

I can't get enough of this bar!

Review of Daiya's Cream-"Cheese" - Chive-Onion Flavour

Since I stopped eating dairy, I've missed eating something like philly cream cheese. I've seen this in the store before but have always thought it was too expensive.
So when I saw it on sale last week, I jumped at the chance to try it!

And I was not disappointed! This spread tastes remarkably similar to regular cream cheese, and has the same consistency too.

I was also pleasantly surprised with the ingredient list: no sugar. Score!

Conclusion

I would highly recommend this to anyone who has a dairy-free diet.

Review of Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer - with Refreshing Coconut Oil

I received a free sample of this product and decided to try it. It is not the kind of product that I usually buy, because I know this brand uses a lot of harmful chemicals.

I tried it after the shower before drying my body, as the instructions directed. The first thing that I noticed is that it does smell nice and sort of natural (which is the appeal of this brand).

But when I looked at the list of ingredients, I was not thrilled.

Searching them in EWG's Skindeep, I noticed that 5 out of its 16 ingredients are classified as Moderate Hazard:

• CETEARETH-20 - Hazard Level 3
• METHYLPARABEN - Hazard Level 4
• PHENOXYETHANOL - Hazard Level 4
• ETHYLPARABEN - Hazard Level 4
• SODIUM HYDROXIDE - Hazard Level 3

And one is High Hazard: PARFUM - Hazard Level 8!

Having said that, my skin did feel hydrated, even for several hours after the shower.

Conclusion: the product does deliver on its promise, but at a high price to the consumer's health. I strongly recommend using something else.
 

Review of "Made Good Granola Bar - Mixed Berry"

Sweet but not too much. More mushy than crunchy. I like it because it has no refined sugar. Can definitely taste some raspberry flavour. Smaller than other bars.

What's in an egg?

After I've started eating healthy, one of the things I do when I crave unhealthy food, is go through its ingredients in my head and ask myself which one am I actually craving.
I will write a more detailed post about this technique in the future.

So I've been craving chewy, moist dough (from cookies or pastry) for the past few days now. After much googling I found out what makes a dough chewy.

And after analysing my craving it seems like my body wants eggs.

So I wanted to see what exactly is in eggs, or why exactly do I want them.

I found this great article explaining what is in an egg - most specifically in an egg yolk. It seems to be mostly fat and vitamins & minerals. The protein seems to be only on the whites. Interesting.
Since I haven't eaten chicken, red meat or dairy in about 2 months, I think it would make sense that I am craving animal fat.

I like the article because it also gives tips on what to look for in egg labels/packages.

Side note: I don't eat paleo, but a lot of my eating habits match paleo. For those who are curious, my diet consists of just avoiding what my CCM Dr. told me to avoid (sweets and foods high in animal fat).

Review of Van's Gluten Free Original Waffles

Review of Van's Gluten Free Original Waffles

Let me be clear that I did not buy this because it is gluten free. I don't like this gluten free hype (I'll rant about that on another post). My advice is that if you want to go "free" of something, go sugar free. It will change your life. It has completely changed mine.

Back to the waffles, I bought them because they don't have sugar (in the "original" flavour).

This is actually the only frozen waffle I've seen so far that doesn't have sugar (or it's euphemisms like "cane juice"). So kudos to Van's for making something that is really healthy instead of just cashing in on the gluten free hype.

The waffle tastes great and is not too sweet (it is sweetened with fruit juice).
It heats up quickly straight from frozen, which is great when you are starving and have a busy morning ahead.

The directions in the package are right: you need to heat them up on a very low setting (on a toaster) two times in order to make them completely crispy. However, it tastes great even when not completely crispy (so if you're in a hurry you can just heat it once).

It stays firm either way, unlike most other gluten free foods I've tried that tend to be very crumbly.

I had them with 1/2 cup of raspberries on the side, and a mug of soymilk. A great healthy and delicious breakfast, that takes care of 1 serving of fruit, 1 of dairy alternative and 1(?) of carbs.

I'll definitely buy the waffles again.

Review of Kettle Brand's Real Sliced Potatoes

Review of Kettle Brand's Real Sliced Potatoes - Sea Salt

Wow! I haven't had chips that taste so real in a long time!
I think part of the reason is because it's not loaded with spices like most chips, so you can actually taste the potatoes.
It's not loaded with salt like most chips either.
You can see the potato skin still on the chips too, so you know they are real.
The list of ingredients is short and pronounceable (potatoes, oil, salt) - just the way I like it.
Bonus for having them certified GMO free.
The only improvement I would recommend would be using organic potatoes.

Also, there is a great story on the package about the company culture and what they stand for. It's written by an employee who's been with them since their second year (the company was founded in 1982!) And it even lists his email. It shows they are genuine and don't mind if people contact them with questions.
This is the kind of company I want to buy from (and would love to work for too!)