Tag Archives: product review

An Oatsome Good Time

by

Highlights from this week include – a day trip into Brooklyn // tons of tortilla chips and salsas // a product review.

IMG_1754

IMG_1761

Oatsome sent me a carton of their oat-milk to try {I was provided no additional compensation and all opinions shared are my own}.  I have a three pronged review –

  • 1) Taste: the flavor is similar to skim milk in that it is not strong at all; I could definitely identify that oats were involved but it wasn’t “oat forward.”  It was inoffensive in coffee and cereal which is basically what I’m looking for in my non-dairy milks.  I could not get it to foam for coffee, likely due to its low protein content.  Tastewise, Oatsome is definitely my new favorite non-dairy option.  Typically I won’t order at coffee shops that don’t stock skim milk but I would consider places with oat milk more regularly now.
  • 2) Nutrition: one cup of Oatsome contains 130 calories and 2 grams of protein.  It does not contain dairy, nuts, or added sugars and it is gluten free.  It’s a low sodium option with 60 mg per cup.  Oatsome is fortified with calcium (provides 20% DRI), vitamin D (provides 10% DRI), riboflavin (provides 40% DRI), and vitamin B12 (provides 40% DRI).  For vegans, it is awesome that this is fortified with B12.  However, for anyone who depends on dairy to help meet their daily protein needs at 2 grams per cup Oatsome probably isn’t the best choice (versus skim milk with 8 grams protein per cup).
  • 3) Environmental impact: oats require 80% less water to grow than almonds.

IMG_1775

I had Oatsome in a cup of espresso roast with brown sugar.

IMG_1779

And in a bowl of Heritage Flakes with blueberries.

IMG_1801

Vanilla bean Greek yogurt with blueberries and a honey tangerine.

IMG_1788

An egg sandwich from Golda with muhumarra, kashkaval, dill, sumac’d onion, and beef bacon.  Plus a salted tahini oat milk latte!

IMG_20200302_120425_033

Baby carrots and roasted broccoli dipped in Asian ginger dressing.

IMG_1767

Homemade chilaquiles.  We used yellow and orange bell pepper, serrano pepper, sweet onion, leftover salsa, and tortilla chips.  Topped with eggs, homemade cilantro crema, and Cholula.

IMG_1794

Nacho night.  Tortilla chips, black beans, poached chicken thighs, sauteed onion and poblano pepper, cheese, Trader Joe’s salsa, and sour cream.

IMG_1803

Cafe Con Leche, Cerveza Con Calabaza

by

Adam came to visit me last weekend, aka I had the best weekend ever!  He probably won’t be back in Virginia until my cousin’s wedding next year so we made the most of the visit.  We went to several old favorites and couple new favorites!

IMG_20191027_110826_681

Weekend highlights include…

Saturday was National Pumpkin Day and Tropical Smoothie Cafe sent me a free coupon to try their Pumpkin Pie Smoothie to celebrate.  Made with real pumpkin, Ghirardelli white chocolate, cinnamon, and non-fat yogurt.  It was very pumpkiny without being boring and just sweet enough.

IMG_0485

Drekker‘s Everybody Love Everybody is a rainbow sherbet sour and it’s PINK!

IMG_0516

Hardywood had a Halloween-themed black IPA on tap – the Heebie Jeebies!  Plus I had a None of This Makes Sense double IPA (my current favorite beer) and a soft prezel with cheese sauce.

IMG_0496

Gaujiros Miami Eatery is Charlottesville’s new Cuban spot and it is damn good!  I had eggs with beans and rice plus fried cheese.

IMG_0501

IMG_0508

Plus a Cortadito that was so delicious I went back again the next day for another one!

IMG_0504

Quality Pie.  We split a Spanish Tortilla.

IMG_0518

And I had (super buttery, garlicy) foccacia with egg and cheese.

IMG_0522

Dinner at Comal with my cousin and her fiance.  I didn’t snap any photos but we had an absolutely amazing meal at this new Oaxacan spot in Belmont.

P.S. No more posts coming from me this week.  Tomorrow morning I’m on my way to Ohio to celebrate my grandma’s 90th birthday!

IMG_0511

Apple Of My Eye

by

It was a good week in theme snacks, snacks in general, actually!

Today is National Coffee Ice Cream day and since I love coffee, and ice cream, and coffee ice cream (and dulce de leche!) I jumped at the chance when My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream offered to send me a box of samples to celebrate.  My/Mo Dulce de Leche = coffee ice cream, wrapped in mochi dough, with a caramel core.  I 10/10 loved them.  Hands down the best mochi I’ve ever eaten.  Now I’m dying to find their seasonal flavors!

IMG_6365

Meanwhile, in Apple Month… I ate a bag of Trader Joe’s freeze-dried honeycrisp apples that I forgot to take a picture of but totally recommend.  Also, pink lady kombucha and Siggi’s with apple.

IMG_6297

Other snack highlights include… cold brew with salted caramel dark chocolate milk.

IMG_6278

Black sesame cheese crisps.

IMG_6289

Cookie dough Perfect Bar with a maple chicken jerky.

IMG_6324

Birthday cake marshmallows (while reviewing glycolysis!).

IMG_6338

I really loved my dinners this week, thanks in no small part to the fact that they were all smothered in Trader Joe’s zhoug sauce.  Salads with romaine, baby heirloom tomatoes, TJ’s Greek feta dressing, TJ’s turkey summer sausage, tabbouleh, zhoug.

IMG_6305

IMG_6347

The best sheet pan hash I’ve made yet – summer sausage, potato, sweet potato, green onion, and cabbage.

IMG_6331

IMG_6372

Local Love

by

Highlights from this week – my in-laws are in town and we had fun showing them Charlottseville one last time // we had some great dinners out, including a new spot that’s a new favorite // Wissotzky Tea Company – an international, family-owned tea company based in Israel with offices in London and the United States – sent me some of their inventive flavors to try…

Coffee for the week: Trader Joe’s espresso blend with sweetened condensed milk.

IMG_5722

Tea samples; their four newest, spiciest flavors: Ginger and Turmeric Spiced Chai, Pumpkin Spiced Chai, Salted Caramel Chai, Spiced Nana Mint Chai.  I cold-brewed my cups per the company’s instructions – a ratio of 4 cups cold water to 5 tea bags, covered in the fridge for 15-36 hours.

IMG_5634

Salted Caramel Chai with a splash half and half (added post picture).

IMG_5680

Spiced Nana Mint Chai with sugar and fresh lime.  <– fair warning, this flavor was too peppery for Adam’s tastes

IMG_5688

Tropical flavors from the Mexican ice cream place down the street: passionfruit, guava, and mamey!

IMG_5728

Plus I picked up these super interesting gummy candies.  They have milk in them and the texture is extra soft and very unique.

IMG_5736

Roasted green beans and TJ’s turkey corn dogs.  Apparently I love corn dogs, I couldn’t stop raving about how tasty these were!

IMG_5701

Sheet pan hash: potatoes, onion, bell pepper, shredded brussel sprouts, and maple chicken breakfast sausage.

IMG_5737

Smoked Kitchen and Tap: a bbq spot we love in Crozet.  I had smoked turkey, cole slaw, and creamed corn with smoked jalopeno.

IMG_20190710_181609_315

The Local: an amazing spot in Bellmont.  I had the best, most Southern plate – buttermilk-brined fried chicken with pimento cheese mac and cheese, collard greens, and house made hot sauce and a buttermilk-chive drizzle.

IMG_20190711_185757_337

Modern Nosh: a newish, super cute deli (which means I finally have a deli in Charlottesville!).

IMG_5754

I had a half turkey reuben and soup with the best matzoh ball of my life.

IMG_5752

Plus we split latkes that were wonderfully full of garlic.  Yum!

IMG_5747

Snack Assist

by

Serendipitously, on a week when my meal plan was absolutely anemic, I received an awesome box of goodies from deliciousness.com.  <– samples were provided to me free of charge but with no additional compensation, all opinions are my own

IMG_4674

CrrrunchBites Chili Lime Almonds.  It’s an almond, wrapped in a rice cracker, coated in seasoning.  They were crunchy and tasty (and not too spicy for Adam).  Very satisfying to snack on (though I also could have easily kept eating the whole bag!)  They’re vegan and gluten-free and there was nothing on the ingredients list that concerned me.

IMG_4697

 

Mozaics Popped Veggie Chips.  They are gluten-free, vegan, and primarily made of peas!  BBQ was good but Salsa was great; once again, flavorful without being too spicy or too salty.  The chips are popped instead of fried so a 1 oz/23 chip serving only has 100 calories and thanks to the peas each serving contains 3 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.

IMG_4690

Hope & Sesame sesame milks.  I think these fill a really big hole in the plant-based milk market!  The products are all vegan (and therefore dairy-free and lactose-free), soy-free, and gluten-free, and except for the chocolate-hazelnut flavor they are tree-nut-free.  A 1 cup serving has 8 grams of protein – just like cow’s milk, which is awesome because the low-protein content is my main concern about most alternative milks.  Plus they are creamy and taste like sesame.  We liked vanilla straight from the carton but hated it in coffee and loved the chocolate hazelnut all-round – in a cup of strong coffee the chocolate didn’t come through much but it was creamy without separating and left you with coffee’s roastiness but none of the acidity.

IMG_4707

Highlights from the week include…

Coffee coffee.

IMG_4733

IMG_4750

Mango beer line-up.  The sour wasn’t worth finishing but we enjoyed the IPA.

IMG_4755

We finally saw End Game!  We loooooooved it.  I laughed, cried, and enjoyed the heck out of Captain America and Captain Marvel’s uniform-clad behinds.  Our movie snacks weren’t bad either.

IMG_4721

Sandwich night.  We made simple sandwiches that were terrifically good – Trader Joe’s white whole wheat bread (untoasted), smoked turkey, havarti cheese, and mayo and yellow mustard.  Plus baby carrots and Salsa Mozaic Chips.

IMG_4740

Salad night.  These were the best salads I’ve made all year.  Sweet lettuce with Greek feta dressing / Mexican street corn salad / chili lime almonds / heirloom baby tomatoes / hot-smoked salmon.

IMG_4770

 

BBQ Chips, BBQ Beans, BBQ Nachos

by

Highlights from the last week include several new (to me) things…

I don’t usually show my at-work meals, but I wanted to share one of the perks of working in the South – biscuit breakfast sandwiches in the hospital cafeteria.  This had turkey chorizo sausage, a cage-free fried egg, and cheddar.

IMG_4497

These Don’t Go Nuts granola bars have the best texture, almost like a streusel.

IMG_4458

Other snack highlights include this assortment of bbq flavored crisped chickpeas and corn.

IMG_4439

Chocolate beers and hibiscus drinks.  I loved the s’mores beer, liked the tea, and hated the other two.

IMG_4433

IMG_4470

My aunt shared a recipe for Chicken Provencal Soup with us and we loved it for dinner.  It’s packed with potato, diced tomato, onion, carrot, and celery.  I dipped some naan in my broth.

IMG_4455

We made fantastic bbq bowls another night.  Collard greens and celery (sauteed with lemon, garlic, butter, and harissa hot sauce) // shredded chicken (cooked in the crock pot with ketchup, yellow mustard, brown sugar, cayenne, paprika, and red onion) // baby heirloom tomatoes // and smoked paprika candied pecans.  Remind me to cook more collards!

IMG_4482

We turned our leftovers into something fantastic with the help of these two products.  1) Hickory BBQ kettle chips that Boulder Canyon sent me to sample.  FYI – Boulder Canyon chips are – certified gluten free – trans fat free -vegan – kosher – made with green energy.  They had a good amount of smoke and tang and weren’t greasy at all.  Bonus, my bags, at least, had tons of foldsies!  2) Borlotti beans that we bought at Mekelburg’s just because the box was so pretty.

IMG_4518

 

BBQ kettle chips + beans + leftover chicken + roasted corn + sharp cheddar + smoked paprika = nachos!

IMG_4530

Peanut Butter, Chocolate, And Coffee

by

I took a long weekend, hence the extra-late post.  Adam takes attending call in a nearby town once a month and this time I tagged along!  I went out for lattes at an adorable coffee shop, had truly fantastic Thai food, and got a flight at a local brewery (complete with a margarita flavored Radler served with lime and a sugar rim!), but mostly I hung out at the hotel room so I had to pack the essentials.

IMG_4245

IMG_4253

You know, “the essentials,” peanut butter, chocolate, and coffee.

More on that peanut butter – B.Nutty offered to send me some samples and I jumped at the opportunity because, holy crap, white chocolate pretzel peanut butter!!  They also sent me Totally Toffee – made with honey roasted peanuts, toffee, milk chocolate, and almonds – and Blissful Blueberry – with blueberry and milk chocolate.  I haven’t opened the berry one yet but the toffee and pretzel flavors are both 10/10 delicious.

IMG_4190

All flavors are gluten-free (including the pretzel one) and trans fat-free.  I can’t stop eating them by the spoonful!

Also they’ve made great additions to snack plates and yogurt bowls.  Honeycrisp apple / cucumber / baby carrot / B.Nutty irresistible pretzel.

IMG_4218

Plain greek yogurt / blackberries / granola / B.Nutty totally toffee.  That’s Thai tea in the back.

IMG_4234

Other snack wins include… mocktails with club soda and bitters.

IMG_4158

This Peeps cereal that tastes like a bowl of straight up marshmallows.

IMG_4224

I don’t usually photograph the stuff I eat at work but I made an exception because this bbq Love Corn was so tasty.

IMG_4201

A whole set of Trader Joe’s wins – vegan jackfruit crabless cakes and bbq popped chips with roasted broccoli and homemade chili oil aioli.

IMG_4162

Have a great week!

 

IMG_4262

Cheese In All Its Forms

by

Highlights from a lazy weekend…

Chocolate Stumptown cold brew + a peanut butter chocolate chip Perfect Bar.  <– my two favorite flavors from each company

IMG_3955

Mild cheddar Just the Cheese snack.  <– my official favorite flavor from my box of samples

IMG_3949

Garlic and chive cheese + a chicken sesame bbq Epic Bar.  <– my favorite flavor from Epic

IMG_3919

Grilled cheese + maple vanilla coconut chips.

IMG_3911

Plain Icelandic yogurt with yellow plum and chocolate caramel sunflower butter honey.  <– do NOT recommend those honey packets

IMG_3934

I am still having a Brazo’s Tacos obsession.

IMG_3817

Chicken and Mexican-style street corn frozen meal + a guava kombucha.  <– my favorite Synergy flavor, other than grape chia

IMG_3925

I made the quickest nachos dinner ever, by buying bbq chips and then filling a box at the Whole Food’s hot bar with shredded cheddar cheese, black beans, corn, red onion, and roasted bell peppers.  5 minutes in the oven later…

IMG_3828

I Like My Snacks Like My Jokes – Cheesy

by

There was not a lot of excitement in dining the past week – I was fighting a cold over the weekend and my taste buds were out of whack, plus Adam has been out of town at a surgical conference the past week and I am unable to adult without an audience.  All that is to say I mostly ate take-out and crackers the past seven days.  I didn’t bother taking photos of my “meals,” but I did have several snacks worth sharing!

Snack themes include: cheese / coffee / chocolate + nut butter / yogurt bowls.

This Suju Uber Greens juice was the closest I got to a vegetable over the weekend.

IMG_3814

I received a verrrry exciting box of samples {these products were provided to me free of charge / no other compensation was provided / all opinions are my own} this week – Just the Cheese, aka 100% Wisconsin cheese baked into bars and mini bites.  They are gluten-free and trans-fat free and damn delicious.  Paired with an apple or some nuts they feel like a solid mini meal, the bars especially are quite satisfying.

IMG_3839

I believe I have tried every crispy cheese product on the market at this point and I can confidently say Just the Cheese is the best.  Per the company – “While most “cheese crisps” are air-dried, Just the Cheese® is oven baked, caramelizing the cheese which results in a cheesier flavor and crunchier texture.”  <– it’s true!

Aged Cheddar (my favorite flavor so far!), Grilled Cheese, and a honeycrisp apple.

IMG_3853

Wisconsin Cheddar and a side of Webster.

IMG_3896

Coffee combo for the week – Lavazza espresso and chocolate milk.

IMG_3881

This cold brew coffee drink from Koia was a caffeine failure; why is it so god-awful sweet?!

IMG_3880

Another loser was this almond butter chocolate bar, we are obsessed with Epic’s jerky bars in this house but this was too sticky for my tastes.

IMG_3865

Meanwhile, I am still obsessed with these dark chocolate almond Perfect Bars.  They taste like straight-up cookie dough.

IMG_3859

And I’m newly obsessed with these pb cups from Theo.  They are palm oil free and they are shaped like hearts!

IMG_3870

Liberte coffee bean yogurt with honey and peanuts.

IMG_3908

Plain Greek yogurt with banana, granola, and coconut cacao bliss.

IMG_3903

Hot, Hot, Hot

by

There is no condiment I find as essential as hot sauce (fyi – I normally like to keep an open Cholula in the mix as well!),

img_3357

so when Moore’s Marinades offered to send me some samples from their new hot sauce line I jumped at the opportunity.

img_3372

We loved them both, even Adam who is a bit heat adverse.  The sauces brought a lot of flavor with the spice.  I prefer a hot sauce that I can take a taste of without running for a glass of milk (think Sriracha in terms of heat intensity).

With the Harissa Hot Sauce I made a smoky harissa turkey chili.

img_3391

Ground turkey / olive oil / sweet onion / celery / bell pepper / poblano pepper / salt, pepper, smoked paprika / liquid smoke / harissa hot sauce / white beans / crushed tomato.  Topped with cheddar.

img_3401

On the side, I made dumb bread! <– from scratch!

img_3407

With the Spicy Mustard Hot Sauce I made hot honey mustard chicken nuggets.

img_3417

Homemade baked chicken nuggets (chicken chunks / dipped in flour / then egg / then breadcrumbs) tossed in the tastiest sauce I’ve ever made – honey, spicy mustard hot sauce, mustard, butter.

img_3426