Kellogg's Cinnabon Cereal

The box describes the cereal as a "Crunchy Cinnamon Multi Grain Cereal." I have to admit that when I saw this on the shelf, I was skeptical about what this cereal might taste like... I thought that it might taste nothing like the delicious taste of a real Cinnabon.. and frankly that would be disappointing because they are delicious!

When you open the box.. you find small cinnamon bun shaped cereal! They are actually pretty cute. This cereal is full of flavor... lots of cinnamon flavor! It is definitely sweet and probably will not appeal to those people who like their cereal to taste healthy... but it is great for kids or for adult snacking! The cereal has a nice light crunch and bite.. it is not too hard or crunchy . The cereal lasts for a few minutes in milk before the little cinnamon buns no longer have their crunch. Although there is no icing on the little cinnamon buns, the milk can serve as the creamy icing that you would find on a real cinnamon bun!

GREAT FOR SNACKING!

Crunchy Nut Roasted Nut & Honey

One of my earlier blog posts was on Crunchy Nut Golden Honey Nut.. I liked that cereal so much that I decided to try the other flavor.... Crunchy Nut Roasted Nut & Honey. While the other flavor was made with corn flakes... this type is a "sweet corn and oat" O-shaped cereal. Each O is topped with tiny pieces of roasted peanuts and is drizzled with honey.

The cereal is nice and crunchy.. great for snacking.. but also great with milk! The flavor reminds me a bit of the original Cap'n Crunch flavor.. but it is not nearly as sweet or artificial tasting. The cereal is frankly addictive to the point where you feel like you could eat the entire box. You don't have to feel bad about eating the whole box though because there are only 100 calories in 3/4 of a cup.

I might dare to say that this is my new favorite cereal!

Sierra Nevada Summerfest

Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi co-founded the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co in Chico, California. The brewery had humble root though as it consisted of dairy tanks, a soft-drink bottler, and equipment salvaged from defunct breweries. On November 15, 1980, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was formed and the first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was brewed. 

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. now makes not only Pale Ale year round, but Porter, Stout, Kellerweis, and Torpedo. They also brew seasonal beers such as Glissade (spring), Summerfest (summer) Tumbler (Fall), and Celebration Ale (winter). They also have other limited editions. I decided to try the summerfest!

Their website claims that: Summerfest^® is a refreshing, pilsner-style lager. Its incredible smoothness comes from an extra-long lagering period. Lighter in body than our ales but just as complex in character, Summerfest^® quenches your thirst with big aroma and a tangy hop bite.

I agree that it has a hoppy taste.. a little too hoppy for my taste buds. Its not awful though and I would drink it again.. it definitely goes down easily and is refreshing on a hot day. I also am not a big fan of its aroma.. some claim it smells like grass... i dunno about that but it is not  very enticing!

Triscuit Thin Crisps

So I don't know how many people reading this like the original Nabisco Triscuits, but if you do...I think that you will find that you like Triscuit Thin Crisps even better.

 There are three flavors of Original, Quattro Formaggio, and Parmesan Garlic. I decided to try the classic original flavor. They have the same great buttery flavor but aren't as overwhelmingly thick. They are thinner little triangles... great for snacking by themselves or with cheese!

It's hard to stop eating them.... they are so addictive!

Magic Hat Wacko

Magic Hat Brewing Co. is located in the great state of Vermont and began production in 1994. Magic Hat is probably best known for Magic Hat #9, which is one of their year round brews, but they have several other year round brews including Circus Boy and Single Chair. They also have 4 seasonal brews including Fall: Hex, Winter: Howl, Spring: Vinyl, and Summer: Wacko.

Since it is in season I decided to try Wacko! The website states that Wacko is:

Summer: Wacko — The Liquid Song of Summer Wacko is the liquid song of summer: Crisp like the morning, cool like the evening and quenching all day long. Pop the top and set your summer loose. Wacko is a delicious summer beer with a big malty aroma, a subdued hop bite and a clean, slightly sweet finish. 

• TYPE: Summer Beer
• YEAST: English Ale
• HOPS: Apollo
• MALTS: Pale

• ABV: 4.5
• GRAVITY: 11.00 Plato
• BITTERNESS: 15
• SRM: 5.0 

I tried it and actually really enjoyed the beer. I am a big fan of Magic Hat #9 and I though that this tasted a lot like that.. in that it was crisp and easily drinkable. It is a great beer for a summer day or a backyard bbq. I would definitely drink it again.. plus the bottle label and the cap are really neat!

Fat Tire Amber Ale

Fat Tire is a beer made by New Belgium Brewing based in Fort Collins Colorado. The name came from the fact that the Jeff  Lebesch, a homebrewer, rode his mountain bike with "fat tires" through European villages famous for beer. He eventually founded New Belgium Brewing Company. The first two beers were Abbey and Fat Tire. His wife, Kim, was also very involved in the brewing company... handling more administrative tasks.


 New Belgium Brewing now makes lots of different types of beer including Sunshine Wheat, 1554, Blue Paddle, Trippel, Ranger IPA, Mothership Wit, Le terrior, kick, etc... ( http://www.newbelgium.com/beer.aspx )


I have a few friends who really like Fat Tire.. so i decided to give it a try. It was delicious and reminded me of Yuengling.. expect a little lighter. It is a golden amber color... and a good everyday beer.. this is the kind you could have more than one of at a time (easily drinkable). It smells slightly sweet, refreshing, and goes down with a smooth aftertaste!

SweetWater Blue

At many grocery stores they have a cool little thing called " you pick six" with beer....this gives you the option to pick out six different kinds of beer to try instead of having to buy an entire six pack of something that you don't know if you are going to like. The next 6 posts will be of the different beers that I picked out.

The first is Sweet Water Blue. Sweet Water Brewing Co. is an Atlanta based brewery. The brewery was started by two college roommates who attended the University of Colorado Atlanta. The Brewing Co. brews many year round brews including Blue, IPA, 420, Sch'Wheat, and Georgia Brown. They also have what they call " Catch and Release" Brews including Happy ENding, Road Trip, Motor Boat, Festival Ale, Exodus Porter.

  Sweet Water Blue is described by Sweet Water Brewing Company as "Always the funky favorite at any outdoor beer festival, SweetWater Blue is a unique light-bodied ale with a hint of fresh blueberries. It begins with an appealing blueberry aroma and finishes as a surprisingly thirst-quenching ale."

I agree for the most part with the description. It is definitely a refreshing beer that is good on a summer day. It has a sweet blueberry after taste but it is definitely not a sweet beer. I'd drink it again but its the kind of beer that you only have one of at a time.

Newman's Own Lighten Up Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing

So this isn't going to be a long post.... this dressing is simply delicious. It is not too thick and not too thin or watery... it has a ton of flavor! It is sweet but spicy (not hot but flavorful). Please try it on salads and as a dip for veggies... I haven't tried it as a marinade but I bet it would be amazing.

Phildelphia Cream Cheese: Honey Nut

 I am not normally a huge bagel and cream cheese kind of person.. but my boyfriend was in town this weekend and when we were at the store he bought some bagels and Honey Nut flavored Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I personally had no idea that they sold that flavor.. but apparently they do. Other flavors include blueberry, sundried tomato and basil, original, chive and onion, garden vegetable, spinach and artichoke, and strawberry ( in the soft cream cheese form). They also have new cooking cremes that include flavors like italian cheese and herb, savory garlic, original, and sante fe blend!

Upon looking at the ingredients I discovered that they honey nut flavor actually has Pecans and Honey in it (yeah for real flavors)! There are actual chunks of nut in the cream cheese that you can see.. they have not been pulverized to tiny bits.

I personally have been using it a lot on the leftover bagels but also on potatoes ( i know it sounds gross but it is actaully just like a sweet flavored cheese).

I would personally highly recommend this to anyone who likes a little sweet.. but not too sweet flavor on a variety of things.

Kelloggs Crunchy Nut

 "So delicious you won't want to wait until morning "

This is the slogan for kelloggs new "Crunchy Nut" cereal. There are actually two types of Crunchy Nut... Golden Honey Nut and Roasted Nut and Honey. Crunchy Nut was introduced in the UK and Ireland in the 1980s but it just recently reached the US in 2011!

I opted to try the Golden Honey Nut!  It is a corn flake cereal .. the flakes are coated with honey and real small pieces of peanuts.

I usually have oatmeal for breakfast and like to snack on cereal so... yesterday afternoon I opened the box and poured myself a bowl of Crunchy Nut. I just ate the cereal dry.. and frankly I could have eaten the whole box! It is soo good. It is not overwhelmingly sweet and the pieces of peanut are just the right size.. not to big to be annoying and not so small that you don't taste them. Not surprisingly the cereal is also very crunchy/crispy and I can imagine that in milk it would stay crunchy because of  the honey glaze!

Nutrition: 3/4 cup is 120 calories, 1 gram fat,  130mg sodium, 45mg potassium, 27g carbs, 10g sugar, 2 g protein,  and a variety of vitamins/minerals

Overall a big success- way to go Kelloggs!! Buying this again..!

Sorry for the delay

There had been a brief hiatus in my food blog because I have been at home and have really just been eating whatever is here.. but not to worry!I will pick this "try a new food thing" back up when I move down to Knoxville TN at the end of this week!

BREAKSTONE'S 100 Calorie COTTAGE DOUBLES

In 1928, Kraft bought out Breakstone Brothers... they made fluid milk and cheese. Kraft also acquired Phenix Cheese Company (who made Philadelphia cream cheese) and the company changed its name to Kraft-Phenix Cheese Company. The name has changed so many times over the course of the years... as they have acquired and merged with other companies. Today it is called Kraft Inc.

Check out all the brands they own today--  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kraft_brands ( IT IS AMAZING HOW MANY COMPANIES THEY OWN)

Just recently, Breakstone's came out with 100 Calorie COTTAGE DOUBLES. There are 5 varieties, each has cottage cheese on one side and fruit on the other (Blueberry, Strawberry, Apple Cinnamon, Peach, and Pineapple).I personally love cottage cheese plain.. but not everyone does... most like it mixed in with fruit.

I bought four of the five and I decided to start with Blueberry! The cottage cheese alone just tastes like beautiful and rich cottage cheese... alone the blueberry section was way too sweet ( it was more like blueberry jam than fresh fruit). However when you take a little of the blueberry and mix it with the cottage cheese.. it is delicious and well-balanced in terms of sweet and salt flavors. YUMMY can't wait for the other flavors.... which one next?

Buddy Fruit: Apple and Strawberry

According to the founders of Buddy Fruit, "One of the best ways to eat fruits, especially when you are traveling, is through fruit pouches, a best-selling concept in France with a high demand from kids and parents."

When they discovered that these types of pouches did not exist in America.. they decided to bring the concept to the USA.

So what is in one of these pouches (comes in several flavors):

Apple, strawberry, blackcurrant juice, concentrated apple juice


1 pouch= 1 serving of fruit
100% fruit
no sugar added
no seeds, no peel

 When I opened it I was expecting a paste like substance but instead.... as I squeezed the pouch a liquid substance started emerging from the top! It was not super appetizing looking but..i decided to try it anyway.  It was okay.. kind of tasted like baby food though- i would much rather just eat the real fruit!

Gourmet Dining: Shrimp Scampi

So am I normally all about making food yourself.. however sometimes you just don't have the time or energy. Last time I went to the store... "Gourmet Dining" Frozen Skillet Meals were on sale. They had so many types to pick from... Garlic Shrimp, Shrimp Scampi, Shrimp Stir Fry, Shrimp Linguini, Beef Stir Fry, Chicken Fried Rice, Pork Stir Fry, Chicken Alfredo, etc.

I chose the 28oz Shrimp Scampi: It came with a sauce packet, a bag of shrimp, a bag of pasta and vegetables.

The preparation is really simple... simple thaw the sauce under hot water.. set aside

Heat the shrimp in a skillet.. add the pasta and veggies

Then add the sauce (can decide how much you want to add)

It was so easy! and quite good.. a little salty but that is to be expected! I would buy this again.. i might try another flavor though.. just to change it up!

TOSTITOS Multigrain SCOOPS!

Ok I am not writing a whole blog about this cause I actually didn't buy them... i just tried them when i was over at a friends house.

They are better than any other tostitos that I have ever had! They are very crunchy and thick.. salty and flavorful! NO DIP REQUIRED!

I literally couldn't stop eating them!

Kozy Shack Flan: Creme Caramel

Do not be intimidated by the word flan... many people do not know what it is.. and are therefore afraid of it. If you don't want yours I will glady eat it for you because I believe that it is amazing.

At its most basic level...Flan is made of milk, sugar, and eggs. What can be bad about that?

It is a custard like dessert that is made by baking eggs and milk that have been mixed together. One of the most popular additions to flan is a caramel sauce.. which is made by heating sugar until it become delicious and golden in color (Spanish Flan). But there is also English Flan which uses an open topped pastry shell that is then filled with custard and often mixed with different types of nuts/fruit.

I had flan before in a restaurant but I have never had it from the grocery store.. so I wanted to see if it was any good. I bought Kozy Shack Flan: Creme Caramel. Each package comes with two individual servings of flan.. but realistically it is easy to eat both in one sitting:-)

The flan tasted just like it did in the restaurant. It was smooth and creamy and oozing with caramel sauce. If you like custard types desserts then I would recommend flan.. even from the grocery store.

Lucky Duck Wine

Walking through Wal-mart I "stumbled" upon the beer and wine aisle..I still think it is weird that alcoholic beverages can be sold in grocery stores in North Carolina.. but anyways...I decided to look to see if there was any wine on sale. There wasn't but there was wine for a little more than $3.00... how do you pass that up?

The brand is called "Lucky Duck" (developed by Dragon Rouge) and they have 5 different types of wine from around the world including Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile, Chardonnay from South Eastern Australia, Shiraz from Australia and Malbec from Argentina."

I chose the Malbec variety because I have never had a Malbec wine before. The description on the bottle is: Malbec from Argentina: deep aromas of blueberries and chocolate. Enjoy lucky duck alone or paired with grilled meats, vegetables, or sharp cheeses.

 The labeling is quite attractive as there is a duck on each bottle that is adapted to the culture of each of the countries from which it originated!

So I didn't expect a lot from a $3 bottle of wine. But I was pleasantly surprised! It was tasty on its own... it had a fairly bold and fruity flavor. It did seem a bit on the dry but I definitely enjoyed it. Yummmy - WOULD BUY AGAIN!

Do don't bother to buy a $20 bottle of wine when you could buy 6 bottles of Lucky Duck for the same price!

Polenta fritta

Well I didn't buy it, but since it has been a weird schedule with Spring Break... I decided that I could just review a food that I ate that I had never had before.

For our 6 month anniversary, Rusty and I went to Prego's ( a nice Italian restaurant in Burlington). In addition to bread to nibble on they also gave us little cubes of polenta fritta. I had heard of polenta before but I had never tried it or seen it fried into little cubes.

Essentially polenta is a dish made of boiled yellow or white cornmeal. Originally polenta was thought of as a "peasant food" or food for the poor, but today it is viewed of as more of a gourmet food. It takes a while.. an hour or more.. to  cook the polenta (requires constant attention and stirring).

After the polenta is cooked it can be further prepared by being fried (balls, cubes, sticks, etc.)

So we were served this mystery food. I have to say that it didn't look to terribly appetizing.. it almost looked old and crusty. On the first bite I did not really like it because I did not think it had much flavor, but on the second bite I really appreciated the subtle taste.

I would eat it again.. but i don't know if I would order it if it wasn't free!

Ritz Muchables Pretzel Thins: Spicy Chipotle Cheddar

Ritz is one of about 20 + brands that are owned by Nabisco (other brands include Oreo, Honey Maid, Chips Ahoy, Wheat Thins, Triscuits, Barnum's Animal Crackers, SnackWells,etc.)....and Nabisco is a subsidiary of Kraft Foods!

Nabisco was originally known as National Biscuit Company..wow pretty cool..i had no idea where the name originated. The Nabisco factory in Chicago is a 1,800,000-square-foot facility and claims to be the largest bakery in the world!

The idea behind the pretzel thins is that there is a tiny Ritz cracker that is enclosed inside of a pretzel! There are three flavors...Butter, Cheesy Sour Cream and Onion, and most recently (so recent that is isn't on their website..concerns me a little) Spicy Chipotle Cheddar.

What I realized about these snacks is that they are very thin.. hence the name. I also think the name is a bit misleading because it isn't really very pretzel-like... the pretzel layer is very thin.. so it is more like a crunchy cracker. Despite this inconsistency, I did enjoy these pretzel thins, but the flavor did not quite live up to what I was expecting...they weren't as spicy as I would have liked them to be.

Buy again..maybe

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash has a variety of different names including "vegetable squash, noodle squash, and spaghetti marrow" etc. and it can also vary in terms of appearance (yellow, orange, or white). In the USA, I have only ever seen it be yellow.. but who knows!.

The reason that it is called spaghetti squash is that when you cook the squash the flesh/meat on the inside falls away into spaghetti like strands! SO COOL

I have seen chefs use this squash on TV all the time.. and I just have to try it for myself to see if it actually works.. and what it tastes like. It is often used as a low- carb substitute for pasta.

So I decided to give it a try.. still a bit skeptical that it would actually look like spaghetti! I cut it in half, baked it in the oven for 30+ minutes, and removed the halves. I then proceeded to scrape the inside with a fork and low and behold.. it came out just like short spaghetti noodles! The squash has a slight crunch to it, but was great alone.. or with some sauted peppers, onion, and some spaghetti sauce!

TRY THIS :-)