Protein Anyone?

So I'm on this protein kick. I have really kicked up my weightlifting and from my research, I need more protein to do well, pretty much everything. I already love greek yogurt but I wanted to try more shakes. I have made my own in the past but I wanted the convenience of store bought ones.
I found this salted caramel protein shake from at Walmart. Now I like their yogurt so I thought that this would be a sure bet. It was about $1.50. It has 12g of protein and 130 calories per serving which is one bottle.Salted caramel seems to be the new "thing" and I have enjoyed it in various forms for the most part. But then there have been some real misses. In this case, it's maybe a 6 out of 10. The shake has the taste of slightly sweet flavored milk. Nothing like salted caramel, which I really wasn't expecting. I probably wouldn't purchase it again.
And then, I tried Smoothie Base Mix. It was about $4.00 for a box of five packets at Walmart. It's a powder, which usually isn't that good so there wasn't any appeal. Until, I saw that they had Vanilla Bean. I looooooove anything Vanilla Bean. It really is my favorite, especially in ice cream. No fancy mixtures or name, just plain Vanilla Bean, so this was a no-brainer. Each serving has 10g of protein and just 100 calories.The directions said it could be mixed in either water or milk. I wanted the maximum taste so I added it to milk. I actually didn't measure anything, I just poured a glass of milk and then the powder. I also half way mixed it all together, but boy oh boy. This shake was absolutely delicious. I actually tasted like a milkshake. It could have easily been a meal replacement. This shake was so good I would drink it just because. I give it a 10 out of 10 and I will definitely be purchasing again. Has anyone tried either of these? If so, what did you think? Feel free to leave a comment below!

New Product

Food Lion's Taste of Inspirations brand now has frozen Greek Yogurt. I have never tried any brand of frozen Greek Yogurt but some people swear by it. It comes in Strawberry, Pomegranate & Blueberry, and  Black Raspberry. If you've tried it let me know what you think. 

New Products!!

While doing my weekly shopping at Walmart I team across these new frozen treats. Since I am an ice cream connoisseur, I'll have to try these at some point. 

Skinny Cow Salted Caramel Pretzel Bars

Slowly but surely I'm becoming enamored with anything salted caramel. Lucky for me, that's a flavor that is growing in popularity. I'm not a huge fan of Skinny Cow. I find their products to be overpriced and usually stick with Edy's Slow Churned ice cream which I find absolutely delicious. I must admit when I passed by these Skinny Cow Salted Caramel Pretzel bars I was immediately intrigued. I've fallen off the wagon quite a bit in the past month, so the thought of being able to enjoy my sweet treats and not compromise my weight loss journey was extremely appealing to me. The fact that I was going to pay almost $4.00 for five ice cream bars was a bit disturbing to me but I decided to throw caution to the wind and take a walk on the wild side. When I tried the first bar I was a bit disappointed. The ice cream had no taste and the only redeeming thing was the combination of sweet, gooey caramel and salty pretzel. I certainly did not want to waste my money so I continued to eat them. By the third bar I decided I really liked them. For some reason the caramel and pretzel were really, really good. The cold, vanilla ice cream meshed perfectly with the crunchy salted, caramel pretzel. They were not big, but just enough to satisfy my urge for a sweet, junky snack. There were a couple of drawbacks - the price for instance. Next time I will definitely search for a coupon and/or a sale before I purchase these. Also, 160 calories per bar is a bit much for me to eat on a regular day. I would prefer something much more filling. I would give these ice cream bars a 7 out of 10.

 

Soda with no artificial sweetners?! Say it ain't so!

Since I have been on my weight loss journey I really hate drinking my calories. I would much rather save them for something tasty and salty I can snack on. I absolutely love pineapple juice but it isn't the lowest calorie beverage. Unfortunately most sodas, (or pop if you're in the Midwest), have some type of artificial sweetener. The only one that doesn't is Diet Rite and I like them, but I get tired of regular cola or orange. I have to admit I got really excited when I ran across a coupon for Zevia zero calorie soda. They claim there is no sugar and no artificial sweeteners - and this includes the controversial Aspartame. So what do they use as a sweetener? Stevia. They also have a number of neat flavors. *photo courtesy of Amazon.com*
It will probably be better for me in the long run if I cut down on my soda consumption but in the meantime, these sound like a nice alternative.

Thank you Cheesecake Factory!!

The Cheesecake Factory is my favorite restaurant - the Alpha and Omega for me. Unfortunately the closest one is about two hours from me so I rarely get to indulge in my very favorite dish - the Cajun Jambalaya Pasta. I have looked for copycat recipes online but always find some complicated mangled mass of foreign ingredients. Well I was so excited to find that The Cheesecake Factory had released their recipes on their website. My beloved Cajun Jambalya Pasta was on there but staying true to this site, I have to mention that they also have items from their Skinnylicious™ menu.

The SkinnyLicious™ Grilled Chicken has 560 Calories and 3 grams of fat. The SkinnyLicious™ Pear & Endive Salad has 500 calories and 23 grams of fat.

I have to admit, whenever I go to The Cheesecake Factory I have to have the Jambalaya but I may try these recipes at home. What's your favorite dish at The Cheesecake Factory?

Review: I'm in Ice Cream Bliss

Oh-em-gee. I cannot believe after months of searching I finally found the Edy's Salted Caramel Pretzel ice cream that I have been stalking the freezers of Walmart for.

The Food Lion five minutes from my house had it on sale 2/$5.00. I could not get home fast enough to tear into it. Upon first look it doesn't appear that there is that much to write home about. Just a swirl here and there, but upon dipping into the ice cream and first taste? Magic!

There is nothing special about the vanilla ice cream but what really makes this flavor happen are the swirls of caramel and the pieces of pretzel. They are big enough to give you that salty, crunchy satisfaction. It's something about the combination of sweet and salty that makes me feel like I'm indulging in my guilty pleasure. I hate the fact this is a limited edition flavor, but while it's in stores it will definitely be a staple. With 1/2 the calories and 1/3 the fact I don't feel like I'm missing anything.

Nutrition Info

Healthy food delivered to your door

Many people believe eating healthy is very expensive. Depending on your preferences, it certainly can be costly, but NatureBox is offering a less expensive alternative. For $19.95 you can have healthy snacks delivered to you. Each box contains 15 to 20 serving. Shipping is free and you can cancel at anytime. Seems like a great way to discover new snacks that will help you on your healthy journey.

Dollar Tree Has Jenni-O

I am on the fence about turkey products. I prefer pork bacon and beef hot dogs. I was surprised to see Jenni-O bacon and hot dogs at the Dollar Tree. If course you only get 5 hot dogs and about 10 slices of bacon so I don't know if its a good deal but I think it's neat to have that option.

Dollar Tree Finds!

I found some products while in The Dollar Tree. I think I'm going back to try the Cookies n Cream bars - they're only 140 calories each.

Blueberry and Strawberry Syrup at Dollar Tree

I'm a butter flavored syrup type of woman.

Not to knock those that like a little variety with their pancakes and waffles, but that's just not me. Perhaps that's why I wasn't impressed when I ran across this Strawberry and Blueberry Lite Syrup in the Dollar Tree. It's from Harvest Hill - the same company that makes my regular lite syrup. Not my cup of tea but you really can't beat a dollar for lower calorie syrup.

New Quaker product?

I'm vaguely familiar with Quaker's snacks. Years ago I think I tried one of their Popped chips but I honestly don't remember - guess they didn't make that much of an impression on me. While in the store last week I ran across these Popped chips. They had Salsa Fresco and Sour Cream n Onion. I didn't see them on the Quaker website and I didn't get their nutrition information but I'm sure its comparable to their other similar products. Have you tried these?

New Products from Healthy Choice

While in Food Lion I ran across some new Healthy Choice items that actually looked quite promising. As I stated in a previous post I am now a fan of greek yogurt. Healthy Choice now carries frozen greek yogurt. They come in a four pack for 4/$10.00 with your VIP card and the regular price is $3.49. They had vanilla bean and raspberry. I love vanilla bean anything so these are definitely on my list to try.

They also had Healthy Choice Baked Taste. I wasn't able to find this on their website but Food Lion carries the Four Cheese Ziti Marinara and Lasagna. I did purchase the latter and I'm looking forward to trying it. They were on sale 2/$4.00 regularly 2/$5.00. I'll review the lasagna at a later date.