|
| |
Quick and Healthy Food Products
Written by: TheCelebrityCafe.com Staff
We are always in search of those culinary products that make our meal planning quicker and easier while helping us maintain healthy eating habits.
Unfortunately lots of things we come across are loaded with preservatives and are not healthy at all. We sampled some pretty overall good for you products and here are our favorites:
The Spice Hunter Products
Quality ingredients for a quality meal stars here.
The Meals in a Cup are a variety of stuffed potatoes, soups, pastas and risottos as well as hot grain breakfast cereals in the just-add-water category but a little bit off the beaten path. The flavors are definitely original and include Roasted Garlic and Mushroom Mashed Potatoes, Potato Leek Soup, and Spinach and Garlic Risotto. You know the routine; add water, stir, wait, and stir. Easy and fast, these are perfect for those quick meals and lunches on the go.
Fresh at Hand herbs, vegetables and blends are flash frozen to ensure the best quality. Let your nose be a guide, open the jar and smell. Heaven is just a whiff away. They make a variety of products in this category including basil, dill and an Italian Herb Blend. Grill Shakers are the best way to add a little something special to your grilled, meats, poultry and vegetables. They come in some great varieties like Poultry, Hamburger and Fine Sea Salt.
Salt Free Seasoning. This is what I am waiting for: salt free. Now that I have to watch my salt intake it is sometimes difficult to find the salt free stuff. I’m told that most people have to cut down on their salt so if it is so common why don’t they have a salt free section in the supermarket??? Spice Hunter has a Curry, Key Lime Pepper and an all purpose blend that I have tried out for dinner on chicken. I kind of like the key lime pepper for the sudden smack of lime. Interestingly, to me, it is a very clean taste. Pass more chicken I want to try the curry.
www.FantasticFood.com
www.olivado.com
Fantastic World Foods
I guess the fast food boys are running scared since the country smartened up and started to read labels. In the old days microwaveable soup cups required a chemical degree to read the ingredients, today Fantastic Foods gives us something to eat with a world scope. The sweetest sixteen instant meals a vegetarian will love. Don't eat them cause their vegetarian; eat them because they're good. You can always put the cup between 2 slices of bread and add steak sauce if the body really needs the jolt. I picked the Split Pea because it was the lowest in salt and had 0% cholesterol to avoid as many dietary problems as I can. The office staff split up the Vegetarian Chicken Noodle, Southwest Tortilla Bean and the Hot & Sour. The march to the water cooler looked like a religious procession and in a few minutes the lip smacking sounded like a new language. The Tortilla Bean came with little tortilla strips that made the mail boy chuckle.
Olivado Gourmet Foods - Gold Avocado Oil
The Oil made from avocados, comes from New Zealand and has nothing to do with sheep. I didn't know which fact was more unbelievable! So I sampled a few. The Avocado Oil infused with Chili & Bell Pepper was quite smooth, not an overwhelming taste but the chili is there. Basil, Lemon, Rosemary are all infused in the Avocado Oil. Each has their own distinct flavor carried by the oil and adding a lilt in its use. Included in the product selection is a very interesting Omega Plus, which is a combination of Olive Oil and Flaxseed Oil carried by the Avocado Oil. All of them are used in the typical dishes of salads, cooking and dipping. This is "special oil" for "special friends" which often means I eat alone. Selfishness is not a virtue but practical skill.
The Zone Products
Ok I am not my ideal weight, lazy and only watch the joggers go past the office windows but is that any reason for me to try nutritional products? After all, to give the products a fair shot I would have to be on them for several weeks. So here my only goal is the taste. If they don’t taste good, then even if they worked, I may not continue to use them.
I started with the Zone Shake. The portion package is covenant: just pour it in a container, add the weird milk and shake. Since I do not have any fancy mixing jars I used a large plastic container. Mix it all in, snap cover and it’s done! Hint: as long as the soymilk or (2% milk or whatever) is really cold there is not an offensive taste. The Chocolate does have a hint of sweetness to it and does not taste dietary. It comes in vanilla and strawberry and both of these have a hint of the flavor without any whelming chemical taste.
Another product I tasted was the Omega Zone Bar. They come in four flavors: Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Chocolate Raspberry and Lemon Chiffon. The Lemon Chiffon does have a taste of lemon while the Chocolate Raspberry smacked my face with flavor. Hint: after opening an end, smell the encased bar before unwrapping it fully. The raspberry smell fills the nose and tickles the toes.
Zone Cereal has been invented. Mornings around my house start with cereal. The bars I can take as a snack and the shake I drink at midday but to get the engine started, I really do need a bowl of something. Maybe it is psychological but I like to hear the crunch and feel the soymilk go down the throat. I want to feel filled. The Honey Almond did just that for me. In fact, it was good enough to eat dry when I was on the computer, although I don’t think the company recommends it. The crunch is due to the toasted flakes, granola and almond slices. It is even low in sodium which for some folks is a major concern.
As with all Zone Products they are part of a structured eating plan. By going on line to www.zonelabsinc.com nutritional help is just a click away.
Zola Açaí Antioxidant Power Juice
Right of the bat, this is a fruit juice from Brazil. It seems the people stopped wearing fruit on their heads and started to drink them. A Carnavale idea takes hold! Why not save the rainforest by farming these wonderful Amazonian açaí berries. The drink contains unfiltered açaí juice mixed with guaraná powder for natural energy. Some of their info is very impressive: over 50% more antioxidants than pomegranates. The big dog has to move over. Brazil is making its move.
Hint and Hint Kids Water
What’s in the California water? Nothing - Just a little taste of real fruit. For kids who drink soda or sugary products here is a lifestyle hint: stop it! You’re driving your parents nuts. Society blames parents for fat kids, noisy kids or kids who bounce off the walls. Stop the sugar or fructose or anything else that gives a sugar high. We see your kids in the market and the mall: spoiled brats, demanding constant attention and amusement. “Hint”, “Hint”, “Hint”, how subtle can we be? “Hint” is the name of a new water product with the added benefit of natural fruit. Tropical Punch, Apple, Grape, Strawberry-Kiwi for the kids and Cucumber, Tangerine, Lime, Pomegranate-Tangerine, Raspberry-Lime, Pear and Cranberry-Orange for the parents.
If the parents and kids agree, they can even reverse it. Who cares? What we do care about is getting them to drink more water and here is a special drink for the special kids: my kids and your kids. Read the label, go over the ingredients and notice the common thing: nothing. It says 0% across the board with no exceptions listed. Pay for nothing, get nothing and like it!
Icelandic Glacial Water
The fact is that we pay more for water than gasoline so why not buy the best: the cleanest location, cleanest production, wins international water awards and a bottle that makes a fashion shout. People wake up. Global warming needs global refreshment. Icelandic Glacial is the most global one can get. Check the map, Iceland is the most uninhabited place in the world…and they like it that way. They have 128,000 acres of nothing. Nothing! Nothing! I think even when they speak they can’t use dirty words. This water is called “super-premium” - a new word for a new standard. Go hydrate yourself.
Bora Bora Organic Snack Bars
When I was a kid in Brooklyn we used to run over to the candy store for sesame honey bars. The owner would break off a piece, weigh it, we’d pay and then we’d sit on the curb and eat away: sticky face and hands with sesame seeds. Now that I am older I really want to live better. I can’t afford to be sick so I guess I have to make choices. Why choose to eat a lot of sugar and artificial ingredients? These Bora Bora Bars come in flavors that relive my old days with some added sparkle: Peanut Peanut, Sesame Raisin, Almond Sunflower, Cranberry Crunch and Cinnamon Oatmeal. These products do not contain any genetically modified organisms, are gluten free, have no preservatives and are all natural. Remember, I grew up without very many chemicals in the food. I guess the circle came around.
Ruth’s Hemp Bars
Along with environmentally responsible living is the option of eating in an environmentally responsible fashion. No, I don’t mean chew your food ten times before swallowing. I am talking about renewable sources of foods like plants as well as working with family farms using true natural ingredients and no chemicals I can’t pronounce! I never met Ruth but if her snack bars are a sample of her cooking then keep going girl! The Hemp Bars are a chewy and nutritional alternative to any sugar stick. The Chocolate Raspberry and the Cranberry Almond are a refreshing change. The first ingredient is oats. The rest is pronounceable including the name of the fruit inside the bar. The bar is mostly gluten-free, while Flax and Maca are all gluten-free and that is a very important element for people with gluten intolerance or allergies. Look you want your kid to be popular so let them go to school with a socially responsible snack bar. Start the next generation of taxpayers off in life with good eating habits, they will live longer and support us longer.
Crum Creek Mills
What are these dots on my hand? Real chocolate in a soy nut mix? First off, snacking on Soy Nut Mix is a noisy habit because they are so very crunchy that you can eat them while at work. They provide healthy nutrition while the crunch keeps you awake. And let’s face it if you have to work then stay awake. I am eating some now! The Soy Bites come in two flavors Outrageous Onion and Superb Sesame. The Sesame is superb and the onion is outrageous. (All that alliteration is making me hungry.) There’s no salt so it fits my diet. I have even put them in soup instead of bread based croutons. Crum Creek Mills uses soy beans in their products to add to their nutty flavor and enhance their nutritional value. There are a few more soy enhanced products like their pancake and muffin mixes. Now, let’s go crazy with the soy. There is even pasta with soy protein: angel hair and fettuccine. You cook them the same way as normal but wear a smile since it is healthier for the family.
AltiPlano Gold
California has the habit of being at the fringe of the future when it comes to nutrition. Based on the west coast, AltiPlano Gold produces a quinoa based instant hot cereal. They take an ancient Ecuadorian crop and bring it north to help a nation get back its health. 100% gluten and wheat free, a great source of vegetable protein, calcium and fiber, almost a miracle food that wasn’t entirely destroyed in the Spanish conquests. What else is out there that we could use, I’m sure that AltiPlano Gold will find it and bring it to market. Start out with the Variety Pack and use it as a way to sample their flavors. I took the Spiced Apple Raisin with me on a camping trip which was almost a big mistake since it was promptly stolen as soon as the smell hit the air. Next time I’ll eat in the tent. I volunteered to clean up the dishes and waited until everyone was out of the campsite. Then I tried the Oaxacan Chocolate. Funny, choosing between quinoa and my friends wasn’t as hard as I expected. I’ll share with them tomorrow…maybe.
Dole Fruit Parfaits
Let me start by saying that these little fruit parfaits were fought over and strategically hidden in our office refrigerator by some. These fruit parfaits combine fruit with a great tasting light crème. They come in three varieties- Peaches & Crème, Pineapple and Crème, and Apples & Caramel Crème. Although the Apples and Crème tasted like pie, my favorite is the Peaches & Crème Parfait which is only 110 calories, low in fat and provides 30% of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. These Fruit Parfaits are great to snack on when you are craving something sweet or refreshing- we think they taste best after being refrigerated although it is not necessary to keep them chilled. They also make a great addition to your lunch because they are very portable- you can just throw one in your bag.
BirdsEye Steamfresh Vegetables
This is one of our favorite products because we all agreed that these are the best tasting frozen vegetables any of us have ever had. I would even bet that some people out there won’t be able to tell they come from the freezer. Let me start by telling you that BirdsEye just came out with 9 varieties of these vegetables and they are so easy to make. You place the bag in the microwave, cook for 4 to 7 minutes depending on your microwave, cut open the bag and serve. We tried a few of the varieties and they were outstanding. Some of our favorites included the sweet mini corn on the cob and the broccoli, cauliflower and carrots blend. All the vegetables had great color and texture which as said earlier was surprising for frozen vegetables. Hands down these BirdsEye Steamfresh Vegetables are the fastest and tastiest way to get your family or even you to eat your veggies.
|
|
|
|
|
|
