V8 V-Fusion Sparkling Black Cherry and Pomegranate

V8 vegetable juices have been around for as long as I could remember Surprise, surprise, it is owned by the Campbell Soup Company. As a kid they were always one of those things that you see in the store and you never buy. I remember looking at the original V8 juice and wondering how people could drink tomato juice. Now I like tomatoes, but I still don't like the idea of having them in a juice.

Well anyways, I found these Sparkling V8s on sale for 25 cents a can so I decided to give it a try.

The cans look like a small Starbucks Refreshers can; thin and tall. The flavor I got says: A sparkling black cherry and pomegranate flavored blend of 5 fruits and vegetable juices from concentrate with other natural flavors. Each can is 8.4 oz, 60 calories, 14 grams of sugar. I would think that V8 would have some sort of vitamin health benefit, but the can only contains 20% of your daily vitamin C needs. Which is nothing cause you can get over 100% of your vitamin C needs if you just had a tiny orange every day. Not to mention, juice from concentrate is not as awesome as real juice. All in all, this is an unhealthy snack.

So now for the taste, my mother thinks it tastes like medicine. I personally think it tastes just weird. I don't like it, I don't hate it. It's whatever. It reminds me of black cherry soda, and you do kinda get a hint of some pomegranate flavor. But somewhere in there is this funny vegetable flavor. It is bubbly, but not as bubbly as regular soda. It's truly "sparkling". On the bright side, it is much more flavorful than regular soda, and it leaves an aftertastes that is not entirely pleasant, but sweet nonetheless.

Personally, I don't like vegetable juices in general. Vegetables are sort of a salad, and food thing for me - not smoothies and juices. I do want a Jack Lalanne juicer one day though.

I give this a 3/10

Sambazon Protein: Chocolate

So I was at Whole Foods when I saw that they had  a sale on Sambazon drinks. I've never got into the acai hype that occurred two years ago because the products were so expensive. But since it was on sale, I was interested in splurging and trying something new. Plus, I'm in a position where I do not have a blender and thick drinks are something I crave at times. 

This particular shake is in their protein line, but you should not be expecting too much protein out of it. The bottle only contains roughly 10 grams of protein, which you can get for cheaper out of a glass of milk. But then again it is enough protein for this drink to be a little snack, along with almost 7 grams of fiber in this drink. The protein in there is hemp protein. 

It is made with over 100 acai berries which are blended in there. I don't know how big acai berries are but it can be hard to believe that there are 100 of them in there, but a company would not lie right? =/

Okay so texture wise, it is super thick, and slightly gritty. But the grit clearly comes from the berries and not the protein. It tastes chocolaty, but not too heavy in chocolate. It's dairy free so they use soy milk and chocolate powder to get that flavoring. You honestly do taste that soy milk in there, but it is super thick. I personally do not like soy milk that much, I've tried it many times but I can only down so much of it before I start getting sick of it. It's too think for me, but mixed with all this berries and whatever else is in there, it tastes delicious.

There is a slight berry - ish flavor associated with the chocolate. Not too heavy at all though, but you can recognize it in the background. 

It is pretty filling I guess. It will hold you out for another hour or two. I would consider it a good snack, not as a meal replacement. Each bottle has 250 calories. 

It's all natural, organic, vegan, and pretty good. I give the product a nice 7/10. I would give it an 8, but it is on the pricey side whether you buy it on sale or not. Let's just say you don't get in on sale, it would be $2.99 regular price. 

Grandma's Double Fudge Chip Cookies

We're all familiar with those Grandma's cookies by Frito-lay. Many of us find them on the little shelves in single serve packages while we wait in line at the store.

These cookies come in a box with 6 individual wrapped foil packs each containing 6 cookies, or two servings of three cookies. This is a popular thing with Grandma's cookies in that there are always two servings in each pack. Usually this is annoying when it comes to their homestyle cookies because I end up eating the whole pack for 400 calories when I could have just had one cookie for 200. But in this case I can have the pack of all size cookies for 300 calories - not too bad.

Since these cookies are foil wrapped you are surprised to find out what they look like when you open them. They look just like they look on the package, or like any traditional double chocolate cookies. They are crunchy, not chewy, which is a disappointment for me because I always prefer chewy cookies.

That was until I took a bite of these. I expected them to have that light cocoa flavor like many double chocolate chip cookies do; but these cookies are as chocolaty as brownies. The texture is almost flaky. Unlike the usual crunchy cookies, these don't crumble in your mouth like chips. Another amazing thing about them is that they don't taste artificial. They actually taste like they were baked by your grandmother.

They pair perfectly with coffee or milk. The best way to eat them is let them melt in your mouth and get chewy.

Lean Cuisine Roasted Vegetable Deep-Dish Pizza

My life is all about trying new things. Something I have never tried before is frozen pizza. What better place to start than the ever so famous Lean Cuisine deep dish pizza? I don't know about you, but I prefer deep dish pizza to the thin crust crap that people like to order. Honestly guys, the bread part is one of the best parts of the whole damn pizza; why would you take it away? Thin crust equals crunch crust which is the same thing as chips. I like my pizza with that moist, chewy, thick, bready crust.




So I chose the roasted vegetable kind because it was the only one to choose from. If it were up to me, I would choose the cheesiest variety out there, which I believe is the Three Cheese Pizza.

So those pictures up there are from the website. But it does not really look like that when you take it out.

The pizza was much bigger than I thought it would be. You get to eat the whole thing for 320 calories. The fact that it was so big for such a small amount of calories forced me to predict that this frozen pizza was not going to taste that great.

Well I took it out of its plastic wrap and placed it on the weird silver thing that you're supposed to place it on which comes inside the box and cooked it in the microwave.

The cheese at the edge was slightly overcooked and the cheese in the middle was not as cooked...if you get my drift.

Well I took a bite. Saltless is all I can say. But once I threw some more sodium chloride on there it brought out all the missing flavors and actually tasted good. I didn't taste the roasted part of the vegetables; and there was hardly as many vegetables or cheese as there is on the package on the actual pizza.

The bread was kinda dry too. It was sort of tough and not chewy like I hoped it would be. The bread also had not flavor.

Good thing I've never eaten this stuff before because it's a waste of time and money. It does not taste the price is all I can say. It's not even that filling.

Cocoa Pebbles Treats

I like Rice Krispies today, just as much as I liked it before as a kid. As a kid my parents could never afford to buy me packaged kind so we always just bought the cheapest cereal on the shelf and mixed it with marshmallows and butter to make our own homemade krispy treats. Granted they were quite delicious, but one thing I hated about them is the fact that if you did not eat finish them within two days after they were made, they tasted stale. Oh how I wished we could just buy the packaged kind.

And now that I am all grown up I and can take my ass to the store, I can pick whatever the hell I want to buy. To tell you the truth, I did not set out for Rice Krispies on my last trip to the grocery store. I was just on the search for something new to try and review.

I found Post Cocoa Pebbles Treats, thinking they were a new product because they still had the "New!" sign on them. Turns out they aren't that new considering that they were invented in 2006.

Well I paid $1.50 for a box of them which contained 8 bars. While I was there I also chose the Fruity Pebbles version as well, which I will review in another post.

So I opened the box and these tiny ass things came out. They were smaller than Snicker's candy bars, and therefore can hardly be called a treat.

Nevertheless I opened one and noticed the lovely chocolate drizzle at the top. I almost protested that the chocoalte drizzle was a waste of calories, and should be taken out to simply increase the size of the bar. But we all know that they threw in that drizzle to make this crap look more appetizing - which it truly does. But then I took a bite and realized that, for once, the chocolate was not a waste. It actually added a nice burst of chocolaty flavor to the bar.




Despite the delicious chocolate at the top, the bar still lacked the delicious chocolate flavor that I was craving from the Cocoa Pebbles. One thing about Cocoa Pebbles cereal that I love is the heavy-chocolate flavor compared to, oh let's say, Cocoa Krispies. But I cannot say which is better: Cocoa Pebbles or Cocoa Puffs. I have never had both at once to compare. Another project for later =]

The texture of the Cocoa Pebbles Treats were just as chewy and delicious as Rice Krispies. Many people actually prefer these to Rice Krispies, but, even a chocolate lover like me, has to say that I prefer Rice Krispies treats (the plain ones not the chocolate ones).


There is something oddly salty about this bar. Obviously the answer is that it is completely artificial; containing all the hydroginated oils and unnatural sugars. You can hardly say this bar is a healthy snack.

Don't be fooled by the 6 vitamins and minerals that are contained by this bar. You can get the same and more of those vitamins from a 10 calorie bite of an apple.

Basically, go into this knowing that you are getting nothing more than a brownie would give you.

Don't be misguided by my negativity though. These are delicious, but would probably taste better dipped in chocolate (Doesn't everything?). I at the whole box, if that means anything.

Ritz Crackerfuls Four Cheese

• I've been looking for something like this so I can enjoy fresh cheese and crackers whenever I want without having to eat the whole bag of crackers in one sitting because (a) they are so delicious, and (b) before the get stale
• Lower in calorie
• Portion control
• Only 130 calories
• Has four different types of cheese, which I am not sure what kinds of cheeses they are
• The more cheese the better.
• Cute little shape
• Great packaging with cool looking wrapper
• Package is easy to open
• Comes on a little white tray
• Cracker is crispy and cheese is soft
• Cheese reminds me of a dry feta cheese
• Taste is magnificent, almost like you are eating actual cheese and crackers
• The crackers don't taste like Ritz crackers, but nevertheless are still delicious
• Cheese is nice and salty, but does no taste like there are four different cheeses in there...it just tastes like regular cheese

• Too small
• Finishes way to quickly
• I cannot help but take big bites when I want to take small ones.
• Leaves a lot of crumbs
• Cheese gets all over your face cause it squirts out a little when you bite into the cracker.

Quaker Granola Bites Cinnamon

I'm not exactly sure how long Quaker Granola Bits has been around, but I am pretty sure it is a fairly new product that comes in a box with six pouches that contain 90 calories worth of granola "balls", as I would like to call them. The come in three flavors: cinnamon, chocolate, and peanut butter. Now I have a fixation for all of this flavors but the cinnamon one was on sale, so in this recession, we need to go for the cheap stuff.

Although I love Quaker's flavored and plain oatmeals, and tasty breakfast bars; lately I have been unsatisfied by many of their products. Their chewy bars pretty much suck due to their crumbliness and lack of sugar and flavor.

Turns out these bites are freakishly delicious. The cinnamon and sugar flavor is amazing and honestly tastes natural. Obviously, each package of twelve bites is filled with foreign chemicals, it's pretty impressive that it doesn't taste like it at all. Each bite is the about 50% bigger than a Cocoa Puff with the same texture as a Cocoa Puff. They aren't as hard as granola and they sort of taste like cookies.

But I don't know how you can stop at one pack. Only 12 pieces? I need about 3 packs to satisfy my munchies. Once again, this product is overpriced.

Temptations by Jell-O Apple Custard Pie

Kraft seems to own just about everything these days and one of their newest line of products is Temptations by Jell-O. On their taste testing website, people have ranked the Apple Custard Pie flavor the least appealing flavor of the varieties.

Well I for one think that those people are idiots. From what I understand, the Strawberry Cheesecake flavor seems to be the most popular of them all. Personally, that flavor made me want to vomit along with Mousse Temptations. Both have a rotten and airy texture that is simply sickening.

So back to the Apple Custard Pie. I have never been a fan of pie due to the mismatch of textures. The stale crust does not go well with the watery inside. But lately I've been trying some delicious pies and it has been growing on me.

I've always loved apples and frequently make cinnamon-apple compotes and oatmeal that taste better than any apple pie I know of. So I was appealed to this particular flavor of Jell-O Temptations.

Turns out this stuff is amazing. There is a nice, thick layer of jam on top of the little black cup of pudding that has little chunks of apple in it. The bottom is an extra creamy vanilla pudding like substance that obviously represents the custard. It has the perfect amount of tart in it that reminds me of frozen yogurt.

The after taste is just like regular apples with an odd twist.

Temptations by Jell-O, nevertheless, still hasn't put a lasting impression on me. I keep buying them with hopes that each flavor is better than the next. So far I am in love with the chocolaty ones.

Fresh & Easy Spiced Apple Cider

As a little girl I always thought of apple cider as a hot version of apple juice. The first time I tried it was at the pool facility that is part of my aunt's condominiums. I was pretty much in love. For a while I even preferred it to hot cocoa (which is huge because I am chocolate obsessed.

Yes, that was a crappy intro, but I'm not in a creative mood here so bear with me. I'll just cut to the chase and make it short.

I bought a 7 cup/ 56 oz bottle of spiced apple cider from my local Fresh & Easy supermarket. It's a new product that contains organic apple and orange juices mixed with seasonal spices. It was quite expensive for $5, but I guess that's what you get for organic.

For some reason I thought that if it came in a bottle from the refrigerator section, it should be drunk cold. So I did. It was absolutely fantastic! I must say I was highly impressed with the almost perfect combination of spices, sugar, and juice. Yes, there is a tiny bit of pulp in the bottle, but shake it before you drink it and it immediately goes away. I don't know why people are afraid of the pulp anyways?

Well I drank about half the bottle before I realized that it should be drunk hot, so I warmed it up and it tasted just as good. Some might say better because it brought out even more of the sugar.

It's a great product overall...too bad it's so gosh darn expensive. Well if you compare it to a cup of Starbucks for $5, it doesn't sound so bad.

Smart Ones Double Fudge Cake

Of all the weight loss programs out there, I would say Weight Watchers is most probably the best. Their science-driven program really gives you a life changing view on healthy and normal habits. Too bad it is too $%#^% expensive for my taste, and you can lose weight without making a multi-billion dollar company even richer. I did it myself a couple years ago but losing 40 pounds.

Now, although I have never joined the Weight Watchers program, I have tried some of their products from the frozen food aisle. Today's review will be on Smart Ones Double Fudge cake. Each box comes with two cakes in a square paper-plate like box with a thin plastic wrap film on it. There isn't much description of the product other than the face that it has chocolate sauce and shavings on top of each cake; which ended up being true once you opened the package and looked inside.

I wanted to eat one as a snack so I took one out of the freezer and popped it in the microwave for 10 seconds, just like the package says. After putting it in the microwave I expected the sauce to melt over the cake, but it just stayed there like frosting. I didn't smell anything chocolate and it honestly reminded me of those Betty Crocker Brownie Bowls.

I would have loved to eat it with a spork (spoon and fork), but since I had non available I decided to go with a plain old spoon. The flavor was nothing like normal chocolate cake. It was actually quite sickening at first with a heavy-processed unnatural flavor. It wasn't very sweet either, even though the 10 seconds in the microwave made the cake warm. The warmer things are, the sweeter they taste.

The chocolate sauce was probably the worst part of the entire ordeal. But I was glad to say that I love the little chocolate shavings.

Well I did not want to waste the other cake so I decided to put it in with my to-go lunch for the next day. I took the last cake down to thaw in the morning. According to the package I was supposed to take the film off the top and thaw it for an hour. As a rebel, I decided not to take the film off so my bag doesn't get caked up and take it with me. Two hours later I popped open the film and took a bite. It's like Weight Watchers read my mind and slipped into my house and switched the cakes. The cake tasted amazing. Maybe it was just me and my thing for liking chocolate, and only chocolate, cakes cold. But the frosting was suddenly magical, and the already good tasting chocolate shavings tasted even better. It went great with my hot coffee.

But this stuff is nothing compared to the All American Chocolate Cake from Costco. I wouldn't say I would pay for this again, mostly because it is expensive; but it was nice to try it (cold off course).

Serving Size 62g
Calories 170
Total Fat 4g
Cholesterol 30mg
Sodium 260mg
Total Carbohydrates 31g
Protein 3g

Cinnabon Caramel Pancakes

We often hear that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I must agree. We all know that a healthy breakfast consists of a good balance of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Which is essentially true; I know that when I eat a healthy breakfast I feel satisfied and prepared for my whole entire day. But many of us think that if you do not have a healthy option for breakfast, that you should not eat breakfast at all. At least half the dieters in this world would rather eat no breakfast than eat a doughnut because they believe it is healthier. This is a mistake. Skipping breakfast is about the worst thing you can do to yourself whether you are on a diet or not. You already don’t eat all night for 8-10 hours so when you skip breakfast your body thinks that you just could not find food and will start hoarding the fat in your body.
I remember this one time when I was a little girl – about 7 years old- and my aunt and cousin came over one morning. I was enjoying a brownie for breakfast and both started the shun this apparently “sinful” thing I was doing. My mom didn’t understand what was so bad about eating chocolate for breakfast, and my stupid family kept going “blah, blah, blah”. Well now they are obese and unhealthy. Clearly, eating anything for breakfast is better than eating nothing.
The reason I talk about unhealthy breakfasts is that I believe pancakes aren’t exactly the best breakfast for you They are just pure carbs with very little protein. Even whole grain pancakes aren’t the best choice. But they are one of the best tasting things in the world. I even had a phase last year that lasted two months where I wanted pancakes all the time. I usually make my pancakes but we all know that during business days we don’t have time to whip up a batch of pancakes. So I decided to buy a pack of Cinnabon Caramel Pancakes.
These pancakes are amazing. First of all, they have 4 servings in a box of 3 pancakes per serving. Each serving is in its own pouch so that (a) you have portion control, and (b) the pancakes don’t get a freezer burn as you leave it in the freezer. For only 270 calories, you get a delicious pancake experience. As you microwave the pancakes, which are supposed to be microwaved for 1 minute and 15 seconds, you get this wonderful cinnamon roll aroma in the room.
The pancakes are sweet enough so that you don’t even need to put syrup or jelly on them. In each pancake there are some white uncooked looking portions that are actually the cream cheese frosting that you find on cinnamon rolls. These little frosting balls make the pancake sweeter and actually add a good touch to the pancake. I have never tried Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls, but if they taste better than these pancakes, they must be heaven. There isn’t a strong cinnamon flavor in these pancakes, but they are definitely delicious.
The texture of these pancakes is absolutely perfect. They are chewy and soft at the same time. But if you aren’t into the chewy-ness of pancakes then one option would be to cook these pancakes for a less amount of time. These way the pancakes are more soft then chewy.
I love these pancakes and they are great for any time of the day.