Saturday, July 25, 2009

Luna Bars - Yummy, Nutritious, Organic!

From some of my previous posts, you can probably tell that I'm really into snack foods and meal replacement bars. It's not from lack of cooking, it's mainly for convenience when I'm having a busy week. Meal replacement bars allow me to get the nutrition I need in a convenient package.

This is the main reason I'm writing today. I discovered Luna Bars online and quite frankly, until that discovery, I hadn't heard about them. Since this time, I've seen them in the health and meal replacement section of several stores. On sale, these bars cost about $1 each and they all have under 300 calories.

What's great? They taste fabulous (I tried all three flavours available in Canada - Caramel Nut Brownie, Lemon Zest, and S'mores). They are made from 70% organic ingredients (always a bonus for me, but not really a requirement) and they are low in calories.

What's not so great? They are a little pricy and I find they don't keep me full for more than a few hours - usually this is fine because it coincides with my mid-morning break, but sometimes, I wish it would keep me going all morning until lunch. However, comparatively speaking, before finding these bars, if I consumed two granola bars, I think they would have a lower "fullness factor" than one of these bars (and be about the same calorie count).

At this point, I've decided that Luna Bars will be a new staple in my pantry for those busy, hectic mornings. I went to Target across the border (in the US) recently and found several more flavors and a box of 6 for $5 - what a steal - I bought 6 boxes and will make sure to add this to my list of things to buy on future trips across the border.

Monday, July 20, 2009

GOGO Quinoa

As part of my interest in good, whole foods, I recently turned my interest to GoGo Quinoa (I pronounce it "kin-wah"). A few years ago I was at a cooking demonstration and the chef prepared a rice dish and substituted half the rice with quinoa. Since this time, I have actively tried to use quinoa in my diet. When I make rice, I try to incorporate Quinoa. It has a great texture and adds a lot of nutrients to any rice dish (it has a much higher protein and mineral level than rice and other grains).

GoGo Quinoa has created many gluten free products from quinoa that provide much of the same benefit of regular quinoa. I tried soup, flakes, and even pasta and puffs. I used the flakes in a simple apple crisp and the results were great. In fact, unlike oatmeal, quinoa flakes don't get "gummy". This kept the crisp delicious for several days. I think I have found a permanant oatmeal substitute for crisps!

GoGo Quinoa also makes a dried soup product which was tasty and comparable to other dried soup products - only gluten free and with the nutrition of quinoa. The pasta fooled my husband who is a pasta snob so I consider that a hit. Finally, the puffs were light and similar to rice puffs. I added these to other cold cereals for added texture.

I've seen some GoGo Quinoa products in some stores but they can also be ordered online. The only real downside to GoGo Quinoa is the high price. But for anyone who has bought even generic quinoa in the past will know, this is a higher priced grain so the cost of the pasta and other unique products should not be a surprise.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

New Sun Cookies

There are many mornings when I just can't seem to get ready fast enough. Can't find the right clothes, can't find socks, car keys misplaced...for those types of days, it's great to have a convenient, on-the-go breakfast or snack.



Some weeks, I make muffins or power breakfast cookies for these days (which are starting to become almost everyday). But some weeks, it's just too much of a hassle for me with other things going on in my life.



Enter New Sun Cookies. These treats are packaged in groups of three which make for a quick breakfast on the go. There are several varieties to choose from and I think they work with varying degrees of success. The high fibre, meal replacement and energy cookies were excellent. They were crunchy, but not too crunchy and the texture was very pleasing. But the type of cookie I was most interested in was the sugar free - 92% fat free variety. Unfortunately, these were a bit of a letdown. They tasted a bit like eating sand (probably from all the wheat bran). They were also very crunchy (much more hard then I like), but I did find myself satiated from the treat.

Overall, I like these cookies for their convenience and high nutritional value. I think they make a great meal replacement, but I wouldn't consider them an indulgent snack.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Natural Sweeteners

I have a sweet tooth but I hate refined sugar. It's loaded in calories and so processed, it must be one of the worst things to consume - yet it's in so many foods. I will be looking at several natural sweeteners over the next few weeks and trying them in several applications (raw, coffee, baking) to see which natural sweeteners stand up and which fall flat.

Stay tuned to this blog for the results which I will be posting through August. If you have any suggestions for sweeteners for me to include on this test, please drop me a note and I'll see what I can do!

Salba vs Chia Seeds

There have been a lot of discussions about the differences between chia and Salba. I have tried both and today, I would like to share my opinions with you.

Salba is a specific type of chia seed that is grown and cultivated in Peru. Most of the chia I have seen are grown in Mexico. Looking at the seeds, the Salba seeds are more pure looking (in colour) and appear to be slightly larger than regular chia seeds.

Because of the strict cultivation process of Salba, if you buy this you can be sure of the source and strict processing methods used. Salba is also now available in organic (which I haven't seen of chia seeds).

But packaging and hype aside, could I find a difference between the two? Well, yes and no.

With Salba, I did notice that I felt fuller when consuming it and when mixed with yogurt, I found my heartburn decreased substantially. With chia, I found that I was fuller, but it didn't seem to last as long and it didn't help my heartburn as much. Both products also provided me with a noticable boost in energy. After work, I had lots of energy to garden, cook or do other activities on a regular basis - this was the best benefit I found!

While I did notice that benefits seems heightened with Salba, the cost difference between Salba and chia is quite large. A one month supply of Salba online costs about $30 (US) plus shipping. Chia ranges in price between $10 and $15 per pound.

So now it comes down to a difference in price. At double the price of chia seeds, is Salba really worth it? I think this depends on you. If you care about where your food comes from and how it's grown, it's probably best to stick with Salba. It's grown with selective breeding in a controlled environment for 135 days. If the source of your food and how it's grown is NOT important to you, stick with the less expensive chia seeds - just make sure to do some research on how it's grown and where it comes from.