Tag Archives: Product Reviews

How to Make Your Own Perfectly Roasted Chickpeas with Help from 2Armadillos Crispy Chickpeas

2-armadillos-chickpeas

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a staple Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and African cuisine, making them second only to the soybean as the most widely eaten bean in the world. The primary ingredient in hummus, chickpeas are a great source of lean protein and filling fiber: a one cup serving of chickpeas contains 268 calories, 12.5 grams of dietary fiber, 14.5 grams of protein, and 4.2 grams of fat.

Mild in flavor, it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like a chickpea, unless it’s the mushy texture that turns them off. When roasted, however, they can offer a healthy, low-carb crunch to your favorite meals. If you’ve ever tried to roast them on your own, you are probably painfully that without the right recipe you’ll end up with scorched, bitter bits with a mushy center.

2Armadillos Crispy Chickpeas makes hand-roasted chickpeas that crunch like pretzels and taste like chips. They use nothing artificial, no preservatives, no junk and they offer a variety of delicious flavors like Tomato Basil, Spicy Cayenne, and Cinnamon Toast. Passionate about their chickpeas, 2Armadillos’ relationship manager Candice Cook shared with us her expert secrets to make your own delicious roasted chickpeas at home, plus tons of flavor combinations and unique uses you’ve probably never thought of. (more…)

Posted on March 26, 2024 by Kelly

Jenny Craig Wins the 2024 Diet Taste Test!

jenny-craig-logo

Which meal delivery diet really stands out in taste? For the fifth year in a row, Next Advisor held its Diet Taste Test, which focuses on providing a better look at  the most popular dieting services in the country. The goal is to learn how the food actually tastes to real people. This year, Jenny Craig was the big winner, beating  bistroMD, who won 2024’s Taste Test.

The test is performed when a week’s worth of standard meals from each dieting group is consumed anonymously. A group of 12 men and women are asked to try the food, rating it on a scale of 1 – 10 for taste, as well as appearance. The tasters are unaware of which brand they are eating at the time, considering all labels are taken off before the tests are performed. The anonymous tasters tried food from bistroMD, Jenny Craig, The 17 Day Diet, Nutrisystem, and Diet-to-Go. The other factors taken into consideration for the test are price, customization, availability of fitness tools, strength, and availability of support provided to the consumer. (more…)

Posted on February 3, 2024 by Jessica Tholmer

Better Oats is the Best Darn Microwave Oatmeal: 4 Easy Microwave Oatmeal Recipes

The best part of waking up is oatmeal in my daughter’s bowl. The morning is the most routine part of her day and she sticks by it with military precision. This is her own doing. She rises at 8, requests a bowl of oatmeal, and then gets dressed. Every single day. Her penchant for oatmeal used to be a sticking point for us; I had to boil the water and prep the oatmeal from scratch. This wasn’t feasible every morning.

better-oats-raw-oatmeal-review

Have you looked at microwave oatmeals? Honestly, they’re gross — at least to me! For something so pure and natural, most of those boxes read like a chemistry experiment. So we reserved oatmeal for the mornings I had time to make the real thing. Until I discovered Better Oats Raw Pure & Simple Oatmeal. I swear this isn’t sponsored; my endorsement is as organic as the oats themselves! I found it on the shelf at my Kroger one day, and at $1.99 per eight-count box, I couldn’t afford not to stock up. Now it’s a staple on the grocery list and for six months my daughter has had a bowl of this oatmeal every single morning.

better-oats-raw-oatmeal-pouches

Each pouch is filled with raw, pure oats and a blend of quinoa, flax, and barley. We buy the “Bare” — just plain Jane oatmeal. It takes two minutes to prepare: Oats in the bowl, water, microwave for 1:45, and serve. We’ve found that using a little less water than recommended and cooking for less time gives a thicker oatmeal, which my kiddo prefers.

cinnamon-pear-oatmeal-better-oats

What she actually ends up eating is anything but plain Jane. She has a standard recipe that we abide by: butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, dried fruit, fresh fruit. (more…)

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Natalie K

Rise Offers Affordable Personalized Nutrition Coaching Through your iPhone

Rise-app-review

Would you like to have a nutrition coach cheering you on toward your chosen goals with you all the time? As a busy professional and mom to an active kid, fitting in one more appointment — even social activities — isn’t very easy. I welcomed the opportunity to review the app 1:1 Nutrition Coaching by Rise.

It is a food diary app that allows you to log your meals and snacks with photos and/or descriptions, but the big difference that Rise offers is a personal nutrition coach who reviews what you are eating, asks questions, and makes suggestions to help you meet your goals. You can request a supportive coach or a tough coach, but even my tough coach was kind. No one is going to be yelling at you or even messaging you in all caps.

I chose my own goal — decrease sugar — and she offered suggestions and general tips both as feedback to my meals and in separate messages. As someone who lives with food allergies and centers my diet on vegetables and protein, I wondered what kind of advice I would be given since my diet doesn’t meet the general guidelines. When you sign up for 1:1 Nutrition Coaching by Rise, you can enter in dietary restrictions, and she must have paid attention to them because it never came up. She seemed excited by the amount of vegetables my family eats regularly and unconcerned by eggs for breakfast and steak for dinner. (more…)

Posted on November 5, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

Food Patriots is the Food Movie For Everyone, Improving Health 10 Percent at a Time

food patriots

Food Patriots is the food movie for people who aren’t in to food movies. It takes a simple, non-preachy approach to the topic at hand; which is ultimately eating better, healthier food.

The documentary centers on Jeff and Jennifer Spitz and their two sons, Sam and A.J. A few years ago, Sam got sick after eating contaminated chicken. What should have been an easily-treated case of food poisoning was actually an antibiotic resistant bacterial infection that caused the football player to lose an alarming 30 pounds in 4 weeks.

After the health scare with their son, Jennifer knew the family had to make a change. Food Patriots follows the family as they make small, meaningful changes to their eating and shopping habits, finding plenty of other Food Patriots along the way.

(more…)

Posted on October 29, 2023 by Elizabeth

Bulletproof Coffee May be the Hottest Cup of Joe Around

bulletproof coffee

Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, spent over 15 years and thousands of dollars perfectly brewing his hot idea. And though it we call it “coffee,” it is so much more than that.

Bulletproof Coffee has all of the perks of coffee–the energy, the robust taste, the delicious aroma–but it has features that no other coffee bean boasts.

The beans used in Bulletproof Coffee are processed mechanically rather than under the sun, as you would expect of most other coffee beans. By mechanically processing the beans, Bulletproof Coffee has fewer bacteria and less mold, which happens to be in most other coffee beans you already consume. Though any traces of mold or bacteria in other coffee roasts will not hurt you (a little mold never hurt anybody!), there is definitely a crisper taste to the beans in Bulletproof Coffee. And while some people likely prefer the coffee down and dirty–that old fashioned percolater taste–if you are not a fan of deep, dark coffee flavor, Bulletproof definitely does not have that classic coffee taste. (more…)

Posted on August 13, 2023 by Jessica Tholmer

Trader Joe’s Gets Juiced and Jumps on Board the Cold Pressed Juice Trend

trader joe juice

Trader Joe’s has always been a wonderful grocery option for people who like to eat healthy and eclectic foods. Quirky and honest, Trader Joe’s has always offered a quality range of new and exciting choices.

Recently, Trader Joe’s joined the pack of grocers and coffee stops offering green cold pressed juice. Cold pressed juice extracts juice from fruits and veggies by crushing the produce without using heat, causing the juice to be thicker with far more nutrients than regular juice. Green juice is growing in popularity because it is the easiest way to consume your servings of fresh produce every day.

Pulp Fiction: Why My Misadventures in Juicing Left Me Feeling Terrible

Trader Joe’s will carry a line of cold pressed juices that are the same colors as traffic lights.

  • The red juice contains beets, cucumber, apples, celery, and carrots.
  • The yellow juice contains apple, pineapple, yellow pepper, cucumber, lime, and mint.
  • The green juice contains kale, spinach, apple, lemon, and ginger.

The juice is simply called “Trader Joe’s Cold Pressed Juice.” (more…)

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Jessica Tholmer

So Delicious Coconut Ice Cream Lives up to the Name, Surpasses Tastebud Expectations

While So Delicious provided sample product, this review is not sponsored or influenced in anyway and remains the author’s own opinion.

Dairy-free, soy free, gluten-free, vegan….the list of food sensitivities is growing more rapidly than ever. More and more people are becoming aware of what their bodies feel best on. For an ice cream lover like myself, finding out I was sensitive to dairy seemed like a death sentence. But fear not! This does not mean you cannot still enjoy your favorite frozen treats.

I’ve tried many of the ice cream alternatives out there– and let me be the first to say that soy ice cream doesn’t exactly do it for me. I’d even become willing to settle for frozen smoothie popsicles or blended frozen bananas. My favorite is still these Chocolate Banana Popsicles to make at home on a hot summer day.

so delicious vanilla bean

But then I heard about and tried So Delicious coconut ice cream and the tables were turned forever! As someone who doesn’t love coconut-flavored things, I was hesitant. Much to my surprise, the vanilla bean flavor ended up at the top of my list. I tossed on some fresh raspberries from my local u-pick berry farm and could really not tell there was coconut milk involved! Regular dairy ice cream eaters tried this flavor and they thought it tasted like Dairy Queen vanilla. Score!

My other top pop pick from So Delicious were the mini fudge bars, for a few reasons. (more…)

Posted on July 15, 2023 by Katie McGrath

The Only Fitness Tracker Review Guide You Need for 2024

2024 Fitness Tracker Review Guide Available Now!

Within the last few years, the market for wearable computers has exploded. Today, we’re looking at five such devices that help you monitor your physical activity, stay in shape, keep track of your sleeping patterns, and go everywhere you go. You see, the best innovations are those that are exceedingly simple to use and assume a natural place in your life.

I looked at the latest and greatest fitness gadgets for this post: the Fitbit Force, the BodyBugg LINK, the Jawbone UP, the Nike FuelBand SE, and the Ssmart Dynamo. By and large, they do many of the same things, so how do you decide which one is right for you? Here are ten key features about each to help you decide which fits your lifestyle.

fitness tracker review

get the code to embed this graphic

A few key takeaways from the data I gathered.

The Nike FuelBand SE has the longest battery life. If you’re on the go more than you’re at home, this is something to consider. With the FuelBand, you can expect 12 days between charges.

If you already use a smartphone app to track your fitness or food intake, you’ll want one that plays nicely with your favorite app. The Fitbit Force, BodyBugg LINK, and Jawbone UP are the three models to look at for this.

All models have a pedometer function to track your steps throughout the day. And all models, except the FuelBand, include sleep monitoring and calorie tracking. (more…)

Posted on December 4, 2023 by Mike

Jump in to a Les Mills Bodypump Class to Reshape Your Body

When I initially decided to join a gym about ten years ago I pretty much only ever stayed in one very small area of the building: the cardio section. I would walk in, jump on the treadmill or elliptical trainer for about 45 minutes and leave. I wasn’t really sure what to do in the weight room and found it to be pretty intimidating, so I steered clear of it altogether. But then I got bored. I decided that I wanted to start doing exercise in the form of strength training to build some muscles! And then one day, as if by fate, I noticed a flyer for a new class that the gym was offering: Les Mills Bodypump.

Les Mills Bodypump

Bodypump is described as the original Les Mills barbell class and will sculpt, tone and strengthen your entire body, fast! The classes use a specific formula of resistance training that is referred to as “The Rep Effect.” This essentially means that the classes focus on using low weight loads and high repetition movements for effective fat burning and production of lean muscle tissue. (Or, in my own words – it’s an hour of strength training combined with cardio moves that will kick your butt and re-shape your body.)

Nervously, I decided to give Bodypump a try, and I loved it! Even though the class was nearly an hour long, it went by super quickly and I enjoyed every heart-pumping minute. I immediately became hooked and found myself faithfully attending the class three times a week. I loved it so much in fact that I eventually decided to become a certified Les Mills Bodypump instructor! (more…)

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Lauren Martin

Just Do the Nike Training Club for a Challenging, Safe, and Fun Workout

Nike is an obvious leader in the sports industry, running the game from shoes and apparel to tech gadgets and major league sponsorships. Now they are not only dressing you in the gym, they’re meeting you there with Nike Training Club. In addition to being an app available on Google Play and Apple’s App Store, Nike Training Club, or NTC, is a group fitness class featured in a variety of universities and gyms across the US, with one of the biggest gyms being 24 Hour Fitness.

nike training club
Nike’s idea for the class is amazing: Get a variety of trainers to put together a killer 45-minute routine with a variety of functional movements and athletic drills, using simple equipment to get everyone moving. Some of the tools employed are dumbbells ranging from 2 pounds up to 15 pounds, medicine balls, body weight, and common equipment used in any sports practice (e.g cones, small hurdles, and agility ladders). The instructor uses all of these elements together to come up with a unique exercise experience.

The quality of the class, while founded on Nike’s principles, will vary by trainer. Nike only wants its name to deliver the best of the best and they constantly send in representatives at random for quality control, but still, some instructors unfortunately fall under the radar.

I’ve experienced one great class where the instructor gave simple modifications to accommodate those who needed them, but were still able to work the same muscle groups targeted in the original programming. When I checked back later that week, I was greeted with new choreography to match the same high intensity I experienced the first time around. (more…)

Posted on October 31, 2023 by Ben Sweeney