FoodShouldTasteGood

New product to rant and rave about! Grabbed these chips in the lunch aisle the other day...seen them before?

Gluten Free. All Natural. Trans Fat/ Cholesterol Free. Good Source of Dietary Fiber...sounds like gosh darn good food to me!

The not so skinny: 210 cal, 11 gm fat, 1.5 gm sat fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 26 gm carbohydrate, 4 gm fiber, 2 gm sugar, 4 gm protein, interesting enough...6% calcium and iron

Now I call it the "not so skinny" because it is a pretty dense little cracker wanna-be! Afterall, the second ingredient is OIL! It may be all natural but it is pretty high in fat for a chip with a cracker consistency! It's no wonder, because the flavor profile is all there....cheesey (but not that fake cheese taste, phew!), crisp, satisfying and just like it's tortilla chip counter-part....once you start munchin' you can't stop : ) Made with great grains like quinoa, oat bran, brown rice, flaxseeds and many more whole grains. Sounds like a fiber party and everyones invited!

Although they may be slightly calorie heavy, I would definitely buy them again...at least to try them in a different flavor! Did you see how many they have!? 

I think next time I will try Sweet Potato; I can't turn down anything that has sweet potato in it!

Guest Blog

Hey guys, I would like to introduce to you, my friend Ashley Bailey, she too is an RD-candidate; she was so kind to share one of her new finds with me and I thought it'd be a nice treat and change if she'd go ahead and share with you too! Check it out...

Product: Buddy Fruits…Pure Blended Fruit to Go!

Buddy Fruits are a cool new find on the grocery store shelves. Marketed towards on-the-go eating, this all natural, no sugar added fruit is a true treat! Great for kids and adults alike, this new innovation makes meeting your 5-a-Day fruit and vegetable serving goal a lot easier! It has a re-sealable screw top, making it ideal for lunch boxes, car trips, and eating on the run. No refrigeration needed either (except after opening)!! It comes in several different fruit combination flavors and has no preservatives, additives, colorings, or anything else artificial and unnecessarily added.

I tried the Apple & Strawberry Buddy Fruits and was pleasantly surprised!! After getting over the fact that I was eating my applesauce out of a squeeze tube, it was tasty and fun! I think this would be perfect for kids and something a little different for everyone to try. The combination of apples and strawberries gives it a sweet, but tart flavor. It was a lot of fun to eat!!

Nutritionally, each pouch contains one serving of fruit and just 60 calories. No fat, very little sodium, and 15 grams of carbs, this snack really adds up! Ingredient list: apple, strawberry, blackcurrant juice, and concentrated apple juice---hard to find products like these on the shelves these days! This particular pouch was $0.89 at Harris Teeter. There was also a 4 pack available for $2.50.

Keeping an Eye on the Industry

The food industry is growing at a rapid rate to push new food items/ products out that meet the consumers needs/ wants and the fads of today's diets.

Keep an eye on your grocery store shelf for some of these finds...

Needs? Sara Lee is debuting a lower sodium deli meat- ranging from 25-32% less sodium then the USDA standards for similar non-reduced deli meats. The meats come in four varities: two kinds of turkey and two hams!

Wants? Chick breast bacon! A new way to enjoy your classic breakfast meat; Murray's Chicken has introduced a bacon product made from anti-biotic-free chickens. The skinny on this bacon bird: 35 calories and 1 gm of fat for a 1 oz serving

Fads? General Mills is giving Total cereal, a total makeover! Total Plus with Omega-3s, Honey Almond Flax Cereal, now that's a mouthful! This cereal will provide 160 milligrams per serving of Omega-3s (about 10% of the recommended daily value)!


Information adapted from ADATIMES, a publication for members of the American Dietetic Association

It's a Revolution!

I found this new yogurt at Fresh Market...Cultural Revolution.

I love the name! It's so hip! I couldn't turn it down, the container, the name, the explanation...just irresistible!
Read for yourself...it promises...
is organic yogurt that's naturally sweet and creamy without all the sugar, carbs, calories and sodium like most other yogurts. How is this possible you ask? It's made exclusively of organic whole milk and rich, creamy butterfat that contains vitamins A and D and is gently processed however, never homogenized.
The Skinny: 1-6 oz container: 72 calories, 3 g fat, 2 g satfat, 27 mg of sodium, 9 g carb, 7 g sugar, 2 g protein. 22% Calcium and 2% iron...hiyyo!

I brought it to work originally as my breakfast but it turned into a snack this afternoon. I had 1/3 of the yogurt with fresh strawberries and my [other new item] granola (more on that later).

I was so ready to dive into this yogurt but as soon as I peeled back the lid I got a little turned off. The cream was sitting right on top which hey, that's okay but then it WOULD NOT blend in, I have issues. It mentions on the container enjoy the cream off the top or blend it in- either way it's a pure and natural treat; well as I mentioned, it would not blend! I decided to grin and bear it and just pour some onto my fruit and...I'm still alive (okay, a little dramatic, but seriously)!

So, let's get down to business...FLAVOR PROFILE:

It is a very subtle vanilla flavor (did I mention, I got vanilla?) and tastes very natural which is nice (as opposed to oversweetened with added sugars)...without the fruit and granola I don't think I could just chow down...but obviously, one container will last a while, so it's wallet friendly, waist friendly, it tastes friendly and mixes well with others ; )

Want to read more? go ahead and indulge here 

Product Watch

Hey guys, funny story! The other day in the elevator (I only take the elevator to the 5th floor otherwise I do stairs...I knew that's what you were thinking) this woman got in and was drinking this funny looking drink. I guessed energy drink but I thought wrong...being the Smart Snacker I am I asked for her to turn the can so I could catch a glimpse of the label...

So here it is..."Fizz Ed." It's the newest carbonated fruit juice by Apple and Eve.
If you check out the link about it will show you all the flavors it comes in and the nutritional low down.

Your Smart Snacker weighs-in: First of all [as we just learned] we want our juices to be 100% fruit juice, second the sugar content is rather high. I'd almost just rather have some sparkling water with fresh lemon squeezed in it! How about you? On the up side, I can read all the ingredients in the label and actually pronounce them ;) Before I can say much more, I would have to try one.
I think Apple and Eve is using this in their School Nutrition line; so as opposed to soda, I'd say yay but whatever happened to milk or H2O?

Side note...the other funny thing about this story; the woman who was drinking it said she got this drink out of the hospitals "healthy vending machine." I'm sorry...I'm pretty sure I have never seen one of those before. Anything that can sit in a vending machine for months probably isn't all that "healthy," HELLO PRESERVATIVES!



Sorry for the quick post...came home a little early from the hospital today because I am feeling a bit under the weather. Going to fill up on fluids and rest for the remainder of the day!

Smart Snacker blog-worthy find!

Yes, ladies and gents this is the newest blog-worthy find by your smart snacker! I bought this mouth-smackin' favorite at Trader Joes. It is a peanut butter alternative. "Better'n Peanut Butter.

-All Natural

-No Saturated Fat

-No Trans Fat

-Gluten and Dairy Free

-No cholesterol

-No preservatives

-Basically a nutrition junkies dream!!-

and drum roll please...

The Skinny: 2 Tbsp. 100 calories, 2 g fat, 2 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 4 g protein
85% less fat and 40% less calories than regular peanut butter

This Better'n Peanut Butter would make a great snack with a banana!

Noteworthy: this banana (large) would be equal to two of your daily fruit servings.
(Diabetics!! That means...2 carbohydrate servings = 30 grams of carbohydrates = approx. 120 calories. Who ever said you can't just eat half and save the rest for later?).

Munchies

So if I had a “Smart Snacker” award this would win it…nutrition facts aside these little chips are tasty as ever!

Rice Works Parm and Sundried Tomato flavored chips...to...die...for!

 
Available in a ton of flavors and are gluten-free/ celiac friendly! wahoo!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

If you squint hard enough you can see but I'll just hit the noteworthy points...

Serving: 10 chips
140 calories
6 g fat

Lacking terribly in the fiber and protein departments...but hey like I said these taste delicious and that's more important sometimes :)
 
 
 
 
 
Just realized I have got to run...spin is in a half hour! yikes!
TGIF bloggies:)