Try This Bar!!

Good morning, lovely readers!

So, y’all know that I am a devout Larabar lover. But I just have to introduce to you this bar that I had the opportunity to try this weekend. This Kardea Nutrition Bar was sent to me last week from founder Rob Leighton along with a few others to try …. people must know I just love my bars. I had one of these babies pre-workout on Friday, and I have got to tell you — it is YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY! I went in with the intention of eating just half, but ended up gobbling the whole thing down! (; The chewy texture and banana flavor was just right.

Here are the stats for the Banana Nut: 150 calories, 5 grams of fat (0.5 saturated), 7 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar. 7 grams of protein and 0 mg of cholesterol.

The bonus is, of course, that the bars also help with cholesterol managment which is more than important to help maintain cardiovascular health. A perfect fit, seeing as how September is Cholesterol Awareness Month!

Kardea also carries supplements, such as Omega-3 and Whole Psyllium Husk, and olive oil pumped with 500mg of sterols.

Now, I just have to try the lemon ginger, chai spice and cranberry almond ….

Strawberries + Cereal = Mmm, mmm, mmm!

OK, so I have a new favorite cereal. I know, can you believe it?! Something other than my beloved shredded oats. (: I just found these babies yesterday, and, boy, are they yummy. Just the right touch of strawberry flavor! Every 1.9-oz. serving of Kellogg’s Smart Start Strawberry Oat Bites cereal is 200 calories,2.5 grams of fat, zero grams of trans fat and 6 grams of fiber.

If you can get your hands on a box of it, go for it. And the even better news: My grocery store had it on sale, so, hopefully, yours does, too!

Seven-Grain, Crunchy, Yummy Beakfast!

So, I tried a new cereal this morning that I just have to share with you. I am a big-time lover of Kashi products, and this granola just made me even more excited about the company’s seven-grain goodness:

Now, I have not yet tried the Summer Berry, but if it is anywhere near as good as the Cocoa Beach, than I am excited! And the nutrition facts are even better — especially for granola! What I mean is that I love the oats and crunchiness of most granolas, but the calories and fat are often a bit overwhelming.

But check out the stats for these ones:

A 1/2 cup serving of the Cocoa Beach granola is 230 calories, 9 grams of fat (1.5 g saturated fat), 6 grams of dietary fiber and 11 grams of sugar. A 1/2 cup of the Summer Berry contains 210 calories, 6 grams of fat (1 gram saturated), 6 grams of dietary fiber and 9 grams of sugar.

I know the Cocoa Beach has a little more fat, but the saturated fat remains low, and the chocolate flavor makes this an ideal snack when compared to the typical brownie!

Now, I cannot wait to try the Mountain Medley and Orchard Spice granolas!

Like It, Love It, Gotta Have Ice Cream Now!

I hugely indulged last night — something that was very much so unnecessary after my New York City cheesecake binge.

But I did it anyway.

Dan and I decided to “get out of the house for a change” and apparently that equates taking a trip to Cold Stone Creamery.

Now, if you are unfamiliar with this joint, lemme brief you a bit. Cold Stone is a wondrous place where one has the ability to not only choose the flavor of ice cream he or she wants, but to also choose what goes into it. These magical treats have been cleverly dubbed “mix-ins” by Cold Stone. Really creative, right?

Anyway, one nutrition-wise aspect of Cold Stone is that one does have the ability to lighten the caloric damage a bit by choosing “Sinless Sans Fat” ice cream and lighter mix-ins like fruit or chocolate shavings.

I did nothing of the sort.

I, instead, created this beauteous concoction which consisted of full-fatty, straight to the hips mint ice cream, a brownie, chocolate chips, chocolate fudge and Oreos:

I know — it really was that good.

But, as if to make matters worse, when I got home — we got our ice cream to go — I decided to take a quick peek at my Eat This, Not That book BEFORE I ate my ice cream.

Turns out I am not the best of decision makers when I am faced head-on with 18 different ice cream flavors and more mix-ins than Willy Wonka could have ever dreamed of creating.

But for those of you who are much wiser, and actually think before you shove your face with ice cream, here are the suggestions that Eat This, Not That recommends you choose — and completely skip all together — when visiting Cold Stone:

Eat This

Cake Batter Light Ice Cream (with Chocolate Shavings Mix-in — 6 oz. “Like It” size) 330 calories, 11 grams of fat (6.5 g saturated), 39 grams of sugar
Sinless Sans Fat Sweet Cream Ice Cream (with yellow cake, strawberries and blueberries — 6 oz., “Like It” size) 250 calories, 2.5 grams of fat (.5 g saturated), 23 grams of sugar

Chocolate Light Ice Cream (with Smucker’s Fudge mix-in in a waffle cone) 480 calories, 13 g fat (7.5 saturated), 54 grams of sugar

Raspberry Sorbet (with raspberries and Nilla Wafers — 6 oz., “Like It” size) 270 calories, 2.5 grams of fat (0 g saturated), 44 grams of sugar

Not That!

Cake Batter Ice Cream (with Cookie Dough Mix-In — 6 oz., “Like It” size) 560 calories, 28 grams of fat (13.5 g saturated), 58 grams of sugar

Our Strawberry Blonde (with Strawberry Ice Cream, graham cracker pie crust, strawberries, caramel and whip topping — 6 oz., “Like It” size) 595 calories, 26.5 grams of fat (15.5 g saturated) 57 grams of sugar

Dark Chocolate Ice Cream (in a dipped waffle cone) 650 calories, 35 grams of fat (22 g saturated), 60 grams of sugar

Raspberry Ice Cream (with graham cracker pie crust — 6 oz., “Like It” size) 520 calories, 28 grams of fat (14.5 g saturated), 38 grams of sugar

I really don’t even want to know how many calories were in mine, seeing as how I got a “Love It” (They come in “Like It,” “Love It” or “Gotta Have It”) size and many more mix-ins than the “Not That!” suggestions list here.

I guess I will just have to tell myself that a little indulgence is OK every now and then, right? And, hey, it’s not like I picked the “Gotta Have It.”

Although, I have done that before, too . . .

A Quick Health Check … and Then Some More!

So, today I am offering up a quick health check for y’all, but then I will be posting about some changes, updates and fabulous additions that will be coming to the blog. I also would like you guys and gals to join in on a survey about what YOU would like to see more of on this blog.

But that’s later, this is now. Here is your health check:

You can save 16 grams of fat by baking your next pie in a Keebler® Graham Ready Crust instead of choosing a Pillsbury® Refrigerated Pie Crust. Only one question goes with this factoid: Whatcha waiting for?