180 Snacks Pecan Trail Mix Crunch

General Information:

• 180 Snacks is a relatively new brand of snacks that makes nut clusters like True North.
• I got this little snack pack from the vending machine and it is about 1.25 oz of nut clusters
• All natural 
• gluten free 
• oven baked
• kosher
• 100% vegan
• No preservatives
• Ingredients: Oven Baked Nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans), pure can sugar, rice syrup, sea salt
• Nutrition Info: 180 calories, 15 grams of fat, 13 grams of carbs, 2.5 g fiber, 6 grams of protein

My Opinion:

• A bit small for a snack in my opinion but some people may like it
• Not enough pecan smell - I personally love pecans so it needs more in my opinion
• Mostly almonds and cashews
• Heavy cashew flavor which is also delicious and fantastic
• Slight sweet- like how wheat bread is slightly sweet
• Not salty at all, needs more salt in my opinion
• Pretty filling. Kept me for 3 hours till dinner
• Crunchy and fresh taste
• Creamy flavoring
• Great with a coffee
• Overall, good snack but needs to be bigger
• Should sell it in big backs 

That is how much comes out

Sorry for the crappy pictures...didn't have a good camera with me at the time

Newton's Fruit Thins Fig and Honey

Once again I review a product from the ever-so-famous Nabisco company. Fig newtons have been around for a long time. But it wasn't until Nabisco created their version that it was sold in markets. Nabisco created the popular Fig Newtons name. What strikes me as odd is that most other generic brands still call these cookies Fig Newtons. I don't know if there was just a lack of creativity in naming the generic brands or maybe it was thought that Americans would be confused if they called it Fig Cookies or Fig Bars instead.

Nevertheless, Newtons have been a success, and I must say I am a huge fan of them. I love anything to do with figs, to tell you the truth. But since Fig Newtons, Nabisco has added flavors like Strawberry and Raspberry, created Fruit Crisps (which I have never tried yet, but I can guarantee that the taste something like Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bars), and their most recent addition was Fruit Thins. Newton's Fruit thins are thin crispy cookies that contain whole grains and are baked with real fruit.

I have to admit, the first time I saw these in stores, I dismissed them because who would want to eat a thin crispy cookie when you can have a thick chewy one? But that was until I sampled some and fell in love. From what I hear, people have been downgrading these cookies a lot. They are awfully delicious and quite addictive to my taste buds. So I bought a pack of Fig and Honey to try this time.

The flavor is amazing and it really does taste homemade. It tastes very similar to this Mediterranean pastry that my family makes on the holidays. Many people compared it to the Fig Newton; but I ask why? Obviously the company would not make two different products that taste exactly the same.

The fig pieces were prevalent. They were extra chewy and added a nice dried-fig flavor the to cookie. The only thing that would make these cookies better are those little fig seeds that are crunchy and delicious.

Thirty cookies come in each bag for about $3.50. It is a bit pricey for me, especially because I ate 15 of those cookies in one sitting; but cheap when you think about spending $5 on Starbucks. I would definitely get these cookies again.

Panera Bread Carrot Walnut Muffin

Hey guys. It's been almost a month since my last post because I've been so busy lately. Today was actually one of the first days I got a good break from life.

So basically I went out shopping and around lunchtime I decided to drop by Panera Bread to get a pastry and some coffee. The Carrot Walnut muffin happened to catch my eye and they just happened to be placing fresh baked ones on the plate.

I was sort of reluctant to try it because I tried their Apple Crunch Muffin and I was not satisfied at all. That stuff had the nastiest apple filling that I have ever tasted in my life. Did I just get a bad one out of luck, or does everyone agree that it sucks?

Well anyways I got it along with some plain Hazelnut coffee. I sat at one of their nice, quiet, dark tables in the back with a good book and enjoyed.

The coffee was smooth, fresh, and had the quality of Starbucks coffee. I enjoyed every bit of it. The muffin itself was fantastic! I actually ate half of it before I took the picture cause it was so delicious. It has tons of walnuts on top and you can see the little carrot slices in the muffin. I'm pretty sure there was some apple in it as well as some plump raisins. The outside was a little tough, but it was perfect. The inside had a muffin-worthy moisture. In other words, it was not as hard as bread nor as soft as cake.

My only complaint would be that the walnuts were only on the top. I would prefer them to be within the muffin as well. A little more spice in the muffin wouldn't hurt either.

Calories: 500

Fat: 21g

Carbs: 72g

Fiber: 4g

Protein: 8g

Trader Joe's Dried Fruit Chile Spiced Mango

Known worldwide as the 'king of fruit', mango is a fruit with origins in India. It was first brought to California in 1880. Mangoes can actually be very sacred. For instance, the Hindu culture hanging fresh mango leaves outside the front door during Hindu New Year and Deepavali is considered a blessing to the house. In India it can also be a symbol of love, and the tree is believed to grant wishes.

Don't feed your mango leaves to cattle or livestock because it is poison to them. Distant relatives of mango plants include the cashew, pistachio, Jamaica plum, poison ivy and poison oak. Mangoes are high in vitamin C and vitamin A; but they also contain other health benefits.

Most dieters say that you should stay away from mangoes and bananas to lose weight; I disagree. An average whole mango that I buy is 100 calories for the whole thing. It tastes better than candy and it is a very healthy dessert.



On my last trip to Trader Joe's, I hit the fruit and nut section on my visit because dried fruit and nuts are the perfect on the go snacks. I like to pick up different things each time I go, and this time I chose the Chile Spiced Mango. Putting spices on fruit is a popular tradition started in Mexico. One of the best fruits to spice is mango; fresh or dry. These particular mango slices were covered in paprika, sugar salt, and cayenne pepper.

The mango pieces were very fresh and generously covered in spices. I love spicy food but hey could have put a little less; the spices overpowered the fruit. Nevertheless it still tasted good. It wasn't as hot as Hot Cheetos, but still spicy for those who don't like spicy food.


Nutrition Facts:
¼ cup (30g)
Calories: 110
Fat: 0g
Carbs: 27g
Fiber: 0g
Protein: 0g

So taking a look at the nutrition facts, it's not exactly the healthiest dried fruit option, but the spices did keep you full. It is a great pre-workout snack; which is usually when I would consume these.

Overall, they were pretty good. They could cut back on the spices a little. In the end I would prefer the plain dried mango (actually I would prefer fresh overall). But I would consider trying them out because trying new things is fun. It adds spice to life.

I give these a 5/10. They weren't anything memorable. A little overpriced too, but good.