Sunday, June 29, 2014

Quest Creation - Cookie Dough Pretzel Pops

I firmly believe that salty & sweet is the best flavor combo! I don't know what it is, but the two just taste amazing together! If you agree, you are going to love these Cookie Dough Pretzel Pops.
Oh yea, there is also a generous amount of chocolate in these! Sweet, salty, and chocolatey!!

These could not be easier to make.  You only need two ingredients and about five minutes.
Cookie Dough Quest Bar and pretzel rods are all you need! 

Unwrap the bar and do your best to not eat it right away!! Just admire the chunks for a minute...
Place bar on a microwave safe plate and warm up for about 10 seconds.  If you have parchment paper that is helpful, but do not try using a napkin or paper plate!

The bar will be soft enough to work with now.  Break the bar into pieces and just mold it around the pretzel rod.  
I like to leave the bottom of the pretzel uncovered so I can hold it like a lollipop.

Place your covered pretzels in the fridge for a couple minutes just to let the chocolate set up a bit.  If you are impatient like me, just stick them in the freezer for a minute.  
Or just eat them right away!!! That first bite is fantastic! The pretzel is crunchy and salty.  The Quest Bar is chewy and sweet.  And all those melted, swirly chocolate chunks...Perfection!
 These make a great snack or dessert! The best part is you can eat all three with no guilt! That's because these awesome bars are low sugar, high protein, and "junk" free! If you have been living under a rock and have not tried Quest Bars yet, you can order some here!
You can thank me later :)

Cookie Dough Pretzel Pops
  • Cookie Dough Quest Bar
  • Pretzel rods (3 or 4 depending on size)
  1. Place unwrapped bar on microwave safe plate and warm for 10 seconds.
  2. Tear off a piece of bar and wrap around the pretzel rod. Leave one end uncovered.
  3. Place in fridge for a few minutes to allow chocolate to set.
  4. Enjoy!
For 3 Pops - 245 calories
8g Fat
33g Carb
21g Protein 

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

Strawberries and summer! They go together like peanut butter and jelly, milk and cereal, and scrambled eggs and ketchup! Ok...maybe not everyone agrees with the last one. Don't knock it til you've tried it!! Anywho...back to strawberries! How about some delicious Strawberry Cheesecake Bites?!
These are my new favorite summer snack! So easy, so tasty, and so healthy! 

All you need is Fiber One Original cereal, fat free cream cheese, vanilla, sweetener, and of course strawberries!
You can also use graham crackers or any other type of cereal you like! 

Start by cutting the tops off the strawberries and rinsing them well.  
I am not a germ-a-phob my any means, but I always wash my fruit extra good.  I always picture all the crazy old ladies opening the strawberry containers and squeezing the berries looking for the best package...

 Next, take a knife and hollow out the strawberries.  
You can leave most of the strawberry, just make a nice little hole for some creamy filling.

Speaking of creamy filling...
This is so simple to make.  Just mix together some fat free cream cheese, vanilla, and sweetener if you want.  You could also add some cocoa powder or cinnamon to make some crazy flavored creamy filling!

We also need to make the "crust" part of the strawberry cheesecake bites.  I love using the Fiber One Cereal but use your imagination and grind up whatever you like!
I threw in one sweetener too.  Just add your cereal to a blender and get it nice and fine.  

 All ready to assemble!!!
Silly me...using a white bowl to show white cream cheese filing...Oh Kim...

 Just spoon a little of the filling into the hollowed out strawberry.
I usually stuff them pretty good!! The crust needs something to hold on to so it's ok if the cream cheese is sticking out a bit.

Dip into your crust...
And there ya have it!! Easy peasy strawberry squeezy!!! Ok, doesn't flow off the tongue quite so well...

How awesome do those look!!!
 The best part is that this whole plate is only 120 calories!! I picked the biggest strawberries too!

Feeling crazy?!
You can dip these in all sorts of things!! Chocolate chips, sprinkles, nuts, coconut...

What is it about sprinkles that make everything look so fantastic!?
So pretty and colorful!

How amazing would these look sitting out at a picnic, BBQ, or party?!
I think for the 4th of July I am going to make them and dip in blue sprinkles!! Red, white, and blue!!

That first bite is perfection! 
They are cold, creamy, and sweet! Yum!

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites
  • 6-8 strawberries (148g)
  • 2 T fat free cream cheese (66g)
  • 1 T Fiber One Original cereal (7g)
  • 1/2 t vanilla 
  • sweetener to taste
1. Cut tops off strawberries and rinse.
2. With a knife, cut out the middle of the strawberries. Set aside.
3. Add cereal and sweetener to blender grind it up til it is very fine. Set aside. 
4. Mix together cream cheese, vanilla, and sweetener.  
5. Fill strawberries with cream cheese and dip in cereal.
6. Eat! Refrigerate any leftovers in a tupperware.

For 6 Bites - 120 calories
1g Fat
22g Carb
9g Protein

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Vitalicious

I love breakfast foods...bagels, pancakes, waffles, eggs, and muffins! Some may disagree, but I strongly believe that you can enjoy these foods at any time of the day! Pancakes for lunch? Yes! Eggs for dinner? You bet!

Given my love for breakfast type foods, you can only imagine my excitement when a big box of VitaTops arrived at my door!
VitaTops are just one of the many products that Vitalicious carries.  They also have regular muffins, cakes, brownies, mixes, pizzas, and sandwiches.

In case you haven't heard of VitaTops before, they are like muffins, but only the tops! Duh, the best part of the muffin! Genius!  They sent me all kinds of goodies to try and review.  Good thing I was hungry!
I got to try 4 flavors of VitaTops and 2 flavors of the mini VitaCakes.  

I was already in love with these treats because they come in a box that says "store in freezer".  Why does that excite me? Well, I hate when I buy baked goods like muffins or cakes from a store and they go bad so quickly.  
These are all packaged individually so you can just take one or two out of the freezer when you want! The rest will keep frozen and fresh for a very long time.

You can let them thaw by sitting out, microwave for a few seconds, or toast them!
Toasted muffin tops! So good!

The Wild Blueberry was one of my favorites.  I loved all the blueberries and crumbles on top!
I ate this one after just letting it thaw on the counter for a bit.  So soft and such a great flavor!

Calling all chocolate lovers! Deep Chocolate! That's right, not dark chocolate or double chocolate, but Deep Chocolate!
This was basically like eating a chocolate chip brownie! Except this brownie is only 100 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 26 grams of carb, and 4 grams of protein.  Plus, all Vitalicious products are Kosher certified and all natural with no artificial additives or preservatives.

Speaking of brownies...
These mini VitaCakes are basically like a soft chocolatey brownie but much better for you! They are only 50 calories a piece too! I definitely did not just have one! Fudgy Chocolate and Chocolate Rasberry. Yum!

They were both very tasty but I really liked the Fudgy Chocolate one. The raspberry one was very similar but with a nice fruity flavor too. 
So many chocolate chips packed into one cake! These are excellent warmed up in the microwave for a couple seconds.  I plan on putting a scoop of vanilla ice cream on one for dessert very soon! VitaCake al a mode! 

I was very excited to try the Chocolate Peanut Butter top! Just about anything containing peanut butter is going to get a thumbs up from me!
Two thumbs up! I also microwaved this one and the peanut butter chips got all melty...It was so soft and chocolatey and simply delicious! 

Last but not least was a good old Chocolate Chip top.  You really can't go wrong with such a classic flavor.  Especially when you put that many chocolate chips in something!
This was really good toasted!! I just love the convenience of these too! 

Having them be packaged individually makes them perfect for tossing in my lunchbox. I have mentioned before that I always pack my food for work.  In case you were wondering, I am a nanny :) Notice my Tinkerbell tuperware...
I love that I can take them right out the freezer, toss them in my lunchbox, and they are thawed and ready to eat when I get hungry! Only one problem...the kiddos see me eating them and want some for themselves! Can you blame them?? Now I know to always pack extra!

I also always take snacks with me when I am going on a road trip.  Short or long, I never leave the house without a snack! You just never know when hunger will strike.
Take a VitaTop that may still be slightly frozen, place it on the dash in the sun, and you have yourself a warm and healthy snack in no time!

Clearly these are great just out of wrapper, microwaved, and toasted...but there is much more you can do with them!!  I have confessed to my peanut butter obsession in the past...
Uh yea...this was heavenly...

Chocolate Peanut Butter VitaTop, slightly warmed, with a big glob of peanut butter!
Awesome snack, breakfast, or dessert! 

I also have a slight obsession with cream cheese.  I put that stuff on everything! I knew it was going to be fantastic with the Wild Blueberry VitaTops!
I love being right! Kinda like a bagel, but much better!! Most bagels will run you about 350 calories...both of these VitaTops are only 200 calories! Add a little fat free cream cheese and you got yourself one tasty breakfast for only about 250 calories! 

I cannot say what my favorite flavor is because there are still so many more I need to try!! These were all amazing but the VitaTops also come in flavors like Banana Chocolate Chip, Carrot Cake,  Triple Chocolate Chunk, Mint Chocolate Chip, Apple Crumb, Golden Corn, Banana Nut, Blue Bran, Cran Bran, Deep Chocolate Pomegrante, and even Sugar Free Velvety Chocolate!!
Now you see why I cannot choose a favorite just yet!

I definitely plan on doing some more taste testing in the future! I think Carrot Cake and Apple Crumb are calling my name...
Many grocery stores sell Vitalicous products in the freezer section.  You won't get all the variety though so I suggest checking out the Vitalicious site and ordering some online!

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Protein Bakery NZ

Two things I love...protein and cookies! My parents own a cookie bakery so I started baking and tasting at a very early age! Let's just say I know my cookies! I also love baking with protein powder.  I am a vegetarian and it is such a great way to get more protein into my diet without just drinking protein shakes all the time.  I would much rather eat a protein cookie instead of drinking a shake.  I was very excited when I stumbled across The Protein Bakery. I was even more excited when they sent me a huge box of goodies to try and review! This company was established in 2005 and is based in Wellington, New Zealand.  Right now they mainly ship to New Zealand and Australia. They are working with a site called Netrition and should be distributing to the states by late July 2014! However, If you contact them now, they will be happy to help you place an order. 
So many treats to try! I was blown away by the generosity of this company! I will be eating cookies for a long time.  And yes, I am perfectly OK with that!

They have so many different flavors, sizes, and types of cookies.  
These seem to be their most popular cookies.  They are the biggest and come in flavors like raspberry 'n' white chocolate, chocolate chip, ginger 'n' spice, mochaccino, and chocolate fudge. These remind me of those Grandma's Cookies that you can buy individually packaged.  Main difference is that these are much better for you! The macros vary a little depending on the flavor but are around 240 calories, 15g protein, 12g fat, and 5g carb.  And yes, they taste great!!

I love these low carb cookies.  Each one has about 190 calories,12g protein, 10g fat, and 5g carb.  The caramel flavor was my favorite!
These are such a nice alternative to all the protein bars I eat! Don't get me wrong, I love my protein bars, but I really love cookies that are packed with protein! 

They also have a mini LO CARB cookie.  These are the perfect size for a snack.  They come in flavors like double chocolate chip and white chocolate caramel. Yum!
These cookies are so soft and only 3 carbs a piece! 

You can also get bags of Protein Minis.  I love that they are still all individually packaged!
I hate when I open a bag of something, don't eat it all right away, and then half the bag gets stale.  Don't have to worry about that with these cookies!  Chocolate chip and raspberry 'n' chocolate!

They also sent me a ton of individually wrapped cookies in just about every flavor you can imagine! I was very excited for the epic tasting party that was about to take place. Here we have chocolate chip, peanut butter, caramel white chocolate, and chocolate fudge. 
These were all super soft! The chocolate chip and caramel white chocolate ended up being two of my overall favorites! The chocolate fudge had chunks all through it that gave it a great texture.  

The peanut butter one had peanut pieces and little chewy peanut butter chunks throughout.  
Of course I had to try putting peanut butter on my peanut butter cookie! I may have a slight obsession with the stuff... This was amazing!

I had to stop myself from eating the whole plate.  
I had more tasting to do!
Here we have some vegan options! Gotta love that.  There is vegan vanilla spelt, vegan brownie, and a vegan vanilla bean shortbread.
The vegan treats were not quite as soft as the first plate and a little chewier.  The vanilla spelt cookie had such a great vanilla flavor!

Of course, shortbread is supposed to be a little bit of a harder cookie.  Flavor was spot on! 
 This would be great with a cup of coffee!   

I decided to get a little creative with the brownie.  
I warmed it up in the microwave for about 8 seconds and topped it with some fat free cream cheese.  Talk about a guilt free dessert! 

Yes, there is more!! I call these the "crazy" flavors! How about lemon chia, chia seed honey, cocoa coconut, vegan macaroon cacao coconut, black forest superfruits, and almond amore?
The almond amore had an amazing flavor!! It was a little crunchy on the outside and then it literally just melted in your mouth! This one easily made my top 3 list!

The chia seed honey and black forest superfruits are considered breakfast cookies.  

I can see why! These would make a great breakfast.  Very hearty with big chunks of nuts and seeds.  These were a chewier cookie and had just the right amount of sweetness.  
The lemon chia was the softest cookie out of the bunch!
 I usually don't like lemony things but the lemon flavor was quite subtle and quite nice! 

You could actually see all the coconut flakes in the cacao coconut cookie.
Really nice flavor! The coconut and chocolate go really well together!

I was starting to get pretty full from all the tasting, but I knew there one more thing I had to try!
Who doesn't love milk and cookies?! Especially when they are packed with protein, have healthy fats from the goodness of almonds, are high in fiber and calcium, are wheat and gluten free, and have no aspartame, no artificial colorings, and no preservatives!

I will definitely be packing some of these in my lunchbox daily! 
With so many great flavors, it is going to be really hard to decide which one to eat first! 

Oh, and did I mention puppies love them too!
Don't worry, she did not consume any chocolate :)

Since I received such a generous box of goodies, I decided I could share a few with my husband. 
Thumbs up from the hubby!

This is what was left after the initial tasting party.  
Don't worry though, we will continue to taste and enjoy all these cookies! No bits or morsels will go to waste!

 I highly recommend checking out the Protein Bakery! They truly are a great company with a great product! Now I am off to eat more cookies...
Thank you Protein Bakery!