Snacks

I know it's been a while! Hi again! I took a summer class for about 5 or 6 weeks and that kind of took over my life! However, I didn't stop eating! & so I have been saving wrappers & things that I have been wanting to write about!  This entry is going to be dedicated to snacks..not sure what else to call it.  I definitely prefer to eat actual foods, but sometimes if you're in a rush, it's nice to have a snack!

We'll start with the first items:

I spotted these at Commodities (health food store) and thought they sounded interesting! I had never seen them anywhere else, and still have yet to see them anywhere else.   It's hard to see, but in the bottom right hand corners it says "Energy Balls", so that also made me interested!  I loved both of them! I think I liked the almond butter slightly more, but they were both really good & I'd get both again.  There are also almonds in the Spirulina Ginseng ones, so they both kind of taste like marzipan! They are a mixture of soft and chewy.   They are both 170 calories and 80 calories from fat. I don't love that they have agave in them .  I try to avoid agave.  This is a good post about why agave is bad.  Not sure I would run to get them, but I would get these again though. They were very yummy.

omg this is SO GOOD! I discovered this at Juice Generation. I actually don't think I've seen them elsewhere.  The first time I had one..now I unfortunately can't remember which one it was! It was awful so I must have blocked it from my memory! I went back shortly after and asked the woman working "do people like these?" and she recommended the cocoa crunch..I hesitantly bought it..and I am glad I did, because it's SO good!  I love products that have rice crisps in them, I love the crunchyness of them. All their bars are vegan and gluten free. This bar has 12g of protein! 200 calories and 80 calories from fat. It's a great pre or post workout bar & they don't use any refined sugar.  It's sweetened with coconut nectar. Yum Yum Yum. Read more about them & where to buy them on their website.  They donate some of their profit to the non profit Not for Sale which helps to fight against human trafficking.

Lara Bar came out with protein bars! I've just recently discovered these.  Have seen them at Commodities & Westerly.  On their website, they show 6 protein bars, but I haven't seen the other varieties yet. These are both really good, and also really filling!   They use pea protein for their protein source, and these have 10g of protein them. I always liked Lara Bars because they have such few ingredients.  These do have slightly more, but not a lot compared with most bars! (only 8 ingredients!) On the wrapper, it says "1 bar= 1/4 cup of fruit" I think I like the chocolate chip macaroon more, but they're both really good!

Aside from  Lara Bar coming out with protein bars, they have also come out with granola! I actually can't remember where I got this! I'll have to keep my eyes open. I liked the handy single serving bag it came in, and only 5g of sugar! (Granola often seems to have lots of sugar added!) This is made of almonds, sunflower seeds, coconut, pumpkin seeds, cocoa nibs, cashews and cocoa powder are the main ingredients.  I had half in a smoothie bowl and half in some coconut yogurt. It was delicious! If I can find it, I'll definitely buy it again!

I had previously posted about the Chia Bars, but they have just came out with 2 new flavors!! I was excited when I saw them in Whole Foods!  The mango one is good, but I don't think I will get it again.  I think I prefer my mango plain, and not in things.  Oddly, I don't like eating cherries but I love cherries in things, and cherries and chocolate together? So good! I loved the dark chocolate cherry bar & have already gotten it again since getting it the first time.  I love these bars!

Really Goods , gotta love the title "raw fruit and nut thing" at least, I did.  Found this at Green Symphony a store/salad bar/juice bar/hot bar etc. in Times Square.  I occasionally work in Times Square, so I love coming here sometimes to get some healthy food or snack before work. Raw, gluten free, refined sugar free.. made of walnuts, bananas,  pecans, macadamia nuts, coconut, raisins, and sweetened with coconut nectar.  170 calories, 12g of fat. Crunchy and really tasty! I checked the website and it doesn't even list it as being sold in New York, I'll have to check if it's still at Green Symphony! I'd definitely recommend it.

 I was really excited about trying this! I love lemon poppy & liked that there were no "bad" ingredients in it, then when I took it out of the package to see its shaped in a heart..look how cute it is!! I was even more excited. Sadly, it was not "the Great Tasting Energy Bar".  It was SO dry! I took a couple of bites and then gave it to my mom, who wasn't a fan either.  If you see it, skip it.







Lastly [for now], Rave Bites.

These are SO good!! Found them at Westerly. All natural ingredients: dates, cashews, sesame seeds, coconut, raisins, chia seeds, cocoa butter and orange extract.  That's all, 8 ingredients. No added sugars. 5 pieces are 120 calories and 60 from fat, so it's not too bad.  They are so delicious! They have several other flavors, I'd like to try the others, but these were so good, I bought a second bag after I was done.  Super healthy delicious snack!

Vegan Protein Shakes

I recently found out about the vegan protein shakes, Svelte. They have apparently been around since 2009, but I am only now seeing them. They are soy based so I was a bit apprehensive about trying it (my body doesn't always like soy!), but I decided to give it a try.

They have 5 flavors: French Vanilla, Spiced Chai, Chocolate, Cappuccino and the new Banana Creme.  I'm not into coffee so I don't really have any interest in trying the Cappuccino, but I have become in love with the Spiced Chai and the French Vanilla! & best of all, my body seems totally fine with it! yay!  The chocolate tastes just like chocolate milk.  I'm not drawn to really drink chocolate milk often & it's heavy, so I've only had this one once.  I  wasn't a fan of the banana creme (they're the only protein shake on the market that uses real bananas, according to their website). I think this is a personal preference though, and not something wrong with this flavor.  The vanilla though is SO good, it is so creamy, really just love the taste. Love the spiced chai as well, the spices are perfect.  It is how I always want chai to be. I just bought a 6 pack in Vitamin Shoppe (they were on sale, a 6 pack for $9.99! They always have coupons on their site & if you buy them at Westerly in NY they come with a $1.00 off coupon on the container) All of the flavors are smooth and creamy. I've been having them on my busy days in between meals and they help keep me full until the next meal. I recently had one for breakfast with my oatmeal and it kept me full for a long time! I haven't tried to use them as a full meal replacement or after a workout but I'm sure I will drink them that way at some point.

All their products are 260 calories, 11g of protein and only 6g of sugar.  There is also B12 and Vitamin D in it, as well as calcium.

Interestingly, while looking for Svelte one day in Whole Foods, I discovered new vegan protein shakes by Orgain.  Orgain has been around since 2008 and until very recently, have only had dairy protein shakes.  They have now come out with 2 vegan protein shakes.  These are brand new!

I was pretty excited to try these .  Not only are there 16g of protein, but the protein comes from brown rice, hemp, chia seeds, and flax seeds  (on the back it says there is also pea protein but that wasn't listed in the ingredients..)  They also have fewer calories: 220,  and less fat.  (Slightly more sugar, 9g &slightly less calcium, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D)  I was also excited about them because they both have 10 certified organic fruits and veggies (kale, beets, spinach, carrots, tomato, blueberries, banana, acai, apple and raspberry.) As well as 21 vitamins and minerals! Sounds pretty awesome, right?

However...the taste...not so great.  I'm not really sure what these tasted like...the vanilla bean had no vanilla flavor and actually there is no vanilla listed in the ingredients list, so that is a bit strange. I am a bit puzzled by that fact. I keep re-reading the ingredients to see if I somehow missed "vanilla" as an ingredient, but nope, no vanilla in the vanilla bean.  I really can't describe what the taste was like, there was no recognizable flavor, it was just strange.  The chocolate you could taste the chocolate so it was better than the vanilla, but still had an odd taste.   The consistency is not as creamy as Svelte, whereas Svelte reminds me of a shake, Orgain is a lot thinner.

What's better though?  Taste or ingredient list?  I have been drinking a lot of Svelte, but am thinking maybe I should try Orgain again because I'm a bigger fan of what's inside them.  I also did read that if you put them in the freezer and drink them ice cold they are apparently a lot better...

Interested in hearing other people's reviews of these products!