Food Review: Gardenburger BBQ Riblets

I had to find something for dinner last night since I hadn't eaten or gone grocery shopping, so I stopped in Walmart. I didn't want something breaded and saw the Gardenburger BBQ Riblets. Chris, my non-vegetarian taste tester, said they were ok, not bad but not the best. I think they were pretty good. The barbeque sauce was a little too sweet though. You really also want to watch how long you cook them. Chris' microwave cooks quite quickly so they were a little over cooked on the ends. There are two individual packets in the box. At 220 calories per packet, they are a good deal for the protein in them and they will fill that BBQ craving most of us Southerners get.

Food Review : Annie Chun's Sushi Wrap! Kit

I'm addicted to sushi. My friend Lauren got me started on it in April and I've been addicted ever since. I'm a broke college student, so I don't have the money to enjoy it as often as I'd like, so I decided to try it after finding it at Whole Foods. On a fluke I thought to look in Walmart, since I was going to prepare it with imitation crab meat I was buying there. Walmart had it for $2.99 compared to Whole Food's $3.99. I also bought some spring rolls to have with it since this was to feed myself and my partner in crime.

I followed all the instructions provided on the packaging, which were very limited. The sticky rice sticks to everything. Overall the product is awesome for 10 pieces of sushi. However, the price is a little steep for so few pieces. My man loved it and actually used chop sticks instead of his hands or a fork! This is a big step for him =D.

I'd recommend this for someone who just wants to have the experience of having sushi at home but with the ingredients of their choosing. Next time, I'm going to make my own sticky rice and make true sushi!

Diet Food Review: hi*ball Energy: Sparkling Energy Water

I'm trying to get past the Monster Energy drinks. I'm completely addicted to them. They taste like liquid Smarties. Those just happen to be one of my all-time favorite Halloween candies! But the high-fructose corn syrup and other additives make them bad for me and so I'm trying to find a healthier alternative. So I'm trying new energy drinks that I find at Whole Foods (see links at bottom).

The first I'm trying is called "hi*ball ENERGY" and I'm having the orange flavor. It's a sparkling water with orange flavor. A long time ago I found I hated sparkling waters due to their obnoxious flavor and texture and general bad after taste. As I'm drinking this, the only time I taste orange is the after taste. The sparkling part of the water is slightly annoying, but like coffee it will grow on you. Overall, I'd say it's ok.

For a product with only 10 calories, the "energy" for the cost is amazing. It doesn't leave you feeling gittery or spike your blood sugar like the main stream energy drinks do. One of the main reasons I'm wanting to look for a substitute for the Monsters is that diabetes runs strongly in my family, and I'm trying to avoid it via my diet. My only real complaints of the product is that it comes in a glass bottle, which some places will not allow you to have and it's only 10 oz. I'm used to my 16 oz Monster which lasts me about 2 hours. However, the fact that I'm taking in more water than suger is a facture that I take into consideration.

My recommendation is that if you like sparkling water and want to give up the mainstream energy drinks, this may be the one for you. The company has a whole line and even has mixers. I have links below.

www.wholefoodsmarket.com

www.hiballer.com I've had difficulty just typing this one in, but had to Google it to get to the actual page.

Diet Food Review: Special K Protein Water

As I begin to try new foods as I change my diet, I will write reviews of the items I have tried, especially if I hated it a lot or if I love to the extreme. Today's review is on the Special K Protein Water, the Ice Tea Flavor.

I hated it! First off, it taste like overly sweetened instant tea, which for all Southerners, is nasty. Secondly, it feels really thick in the mouth. A girl in my Grammar class last night said it has to do with the added protein and fiber, but I disagree. I've had protein enriched juices and they do not have this texture issue. It is something apparently with this product. In addition to these issues, the product states it helps with the feeling of fullness when used in conjunction with a high protein/high fiber diet, as I have, it does not.

The only person I would recommend this product to is an individual that just needs something sweet but needs few calories. This product has only 50 calories per bottle. But for that kind of intake, I'd rather have a Vitamin water which for the full bottle (not the 32 oz size though) is only 125 calories and tastes a million times better.