Sunday, April 27, 2014

Review: Dang - Toasted Coconut Chips

These chips are so good. I can't find anything like it for sale here, so every time I make an iHerb order I get these.

You can eat them as is, or add them to your oats, cereal, yoghurt, salad etc.

Nutrition: 115 calories, 7g fat (7g saturated), 12g carbs (3g fibre, 8g sugar), 1g protein, 115mg

Ingredients: Coconut, Sugar, Salt

Taste: Since these are coconut chips, they obviously have a very strong coconut flavour, so anyone who doesn't like coconut will not like these. They are quite sweet, so you can taste the sugar in them, but it's not overly sweet.

Texture: They are the same texture as chips, although in this lot I did find there were a couple that were a bit hard.

Value: These cost $4.59 USD on iHerb plus whatever you pay for shipping. So to me, that is quite pricey for only 90g/3.17oz but definitely worth it. There is another brand of coconut chips on iHerb that is cheaper, but I much prefer these.

Overall: 9/10

The only complaint I have about these is the price/value of the product. But any coconut lovers must try these.

You can buy them here, remember to use my code LDJ484 for a discount on your first order.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Review: Cookies and Cream Quest Bar & Recipe



I tried my first quest bars about a year ago on my trip across the states, and I wasn't a huge fan. I felt like the bars and their taste was a bit over-hyped. Lets just say, I don't crave them. 

But then I bought a box of cookie dough quest bars, and learnt a new way to eat them....bake them into cookies!

So, this meant that Cookie Dough, White Chocolate and Raspberry, and now Cookies and Cream are actually pretty good. Read below for the recipe.

Now for the review.

Quest bars are a protein bar that are gluten free, high in fibre, and come in a variety of different flavours.

Taste: They have a strange taste, and it does have a slight artificial taste. You can taste the cookies and cream for sure. 

Texture: It has little bits of crushed up cookie in it, as well as some cookie chunks, and chunks of the "cream". Quest bars themselves can be a little hard depending where they are kept. Some people put them in the microwave for a few seconds so they soften up. 

Nutrition: 180 calories, 7g fat (3g saturated), 22g carbs (17g fibre, 1g sugar), 21g protein, 310mg sodium

A good amount of calories for a bar, reasonable fat, high carb - however if you are a net carb counter the carbs are quite low because of the fibre, low sugar, high protein, and moderate sodium. A good snack bar for on the go, after a workout.

Ingredients: The main ingredient is whey protein isolate. Other notable ingredients are; water, almonds, cocoa butter, erythritol, and small amounts of other ingredients.

Overall: 7/10

In comparison to other quest bars I have tried this is probably a little down the list. Nothing beats cookie dough flavour...However if you love quest bars and cookies and cream flavour I think this would be a good option for you.

If you want to try these, you can buy them from iHerb here. Remember to use my code LDJ484 for a discount on your first order!


Recipes: Cookies and Cream Protein Cookies 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius (350 farenheit).
2. Cut quest bar into 5-6 pieces and spread out onto a plate. Make sure they have a bit of room between them, as they melt a little bit.


3. Microwave for 10-20 seconds depending on the strength of your microwave. You just want them to be soft.

4. Pick up a piece and mould into a cookie shape.


5. Place them on a baking tray (still with space inbetween them....they puff up a bit).

6. Bake for 5-8 minutes...you pretty much have to watch them the whole time. They will go from uncooked to burnt fairly quickly.

7. Ta-da! Protein Cookies and Cream Cookies.


iHerb Order Arrived! 22/04/14

I ordered my latest iherb order on Good Friday and it arrived on Tuesday morning! All the way to New Zealand. 



  • Roasted coconut chips
  • Coconut Butter
  • White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter
  • Stacey's Pita Cinnamon Sugar Chips
  • Acai Powder
  • Cacao Powder

I probably shouldn't admit that the pita chips are gone already....

I have tried all but the cacao powder. So I will have a few blog posts over the next week reviewing some of my purchases.

Looking forward to another long weekend starting tomorrow for ANZAC day.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Food Review: Ceres Organics - Peanut-Almond Butter

I am a big peanut butter fan. I recently tried Justin's Vanilla Almond butter and loved it. But since my latest iHerb order was looking pretty pricey, I decided to just get a peanut/almond mix from the supermarket.

Ceres Organics is pretty much the only brand of almond butter we have at the supermarket here. 


I had tried their version of cashews before, since cashews are my favourite nut. But I found it was really dry and impossible to spread. But then I later tried a different brand of cashew butter and didn't like it either.


I had high hopes for this one, since it's half peanut butter - and I know I like that!


For my usual peanut butter I use Sanitarium no added salt/sugar.




First of all, there is so much oil in this jar. Even when I stuck a knife in and stirred it round (as it says to on the jar) it is still ridiculously runny. Very hard to spread on crackers etc because it is just so oily. I'm not a big oil fan either, so not a good start.


Ingredients: Peanuts (65%), Almonds (35%), Sea salt (0.5%)


All ingredients are certified organics.


Nutrition: 84 calories, 3.2g protein, 7.7g fat (0.7g saturated), 2g carbs (0.8g sugar), 42mg sodium




I tried it out yesterday on a vita-wheat cracker (with cinnamon, because I'm addicted). I have to say, I'm not a fan.

Taste: I think because I'm used to no added salt that this tastes really salty to me. Even though there is only a tiny amount of sea salt and only 42mg per serve, I can really taste it. You can definitely taste both the peanut and the almonds in it. 

Texture: If you like oily nut butters then this will definitely be a good one for you. However it is far too runny and oily for me, as mentioned above. 

Overall: 4/10

The oil ruins this for me. It has an alright taste, but it won't be something I will use that often and I won't be buying another jar for $10.00 (NZD). I'm better off sticking to my usual peanut butter, and paying a bit extra for Justin's almond butter.

What's your favourite nut butter? Do you prefer more oily ones?

Recipe: Beetroot, Pineapple, Carrot, Celery, and Ginger Juice


I've been into making juices at home a bit lately, and experimenting. Today I made a beetroot, pineapple, celery, carrot, and ginger juice.

Makes 1

Ingredients: 

  • 5 baby beetroot/2 medium
  • 3 small carrots (1 large or 2 medium)
  • 1/4 - 1/3 pineapple (depending how sweet you like it)
  • 1 (long) stalk of celery
  • small cube of ginger (depends on taste...I like it strong. add small amounts until happy with it)
Directions:
Juice all ingredients and pour into a glass. Add small amounts of ginger inbetween adding other ingredients.

Nutritional Info:
165 calories, 1g fat, 38g carbs (8g fibre, 26g sugar), 4g protein, 230mg sodium

This Weeks Eats - April 20


The easter weekend started off rainy, but today was gorgeous so I had a rest day from the gym and went for a walk in the sunshine.











Afterwards I came home and made a beetroot, pineapple, celery, and ginger juice. Recipe will be up later today.











Breakfast is always my favourite meal of the day, this week I mostly had oats, but the last two days I had greek yoghurt and fruit.









I love both meals since they are so easy to change up every day depending what you have with them.










For easter instead of giving me chocolate, mum gave me some manuka honey.









Coriander is my favourite herb, so I finally bought some real stuff instead of just using the dried herbs. I've been adding it to a lot of meals already.






I love making a healthier version of nachos. This week I made vegetarian ones, but I didn't have any cheese, so I'll wait to put up my recipe for these. I make the chips myself too using mountain bread.












I was doing a lot of work from home after work this week, so a couple of times I just had quick and easy meals like eggs, avocado, and tomatoes on toast.

Hope you all had a great easter weekend!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Food Review: R.A.W Food Bar (Cashew)

I've seen these R.A.W food bars around a bit, but never tried one. I got one the other day from the supermarket since it was on special.


Brand: Ceres Organics

Ingredients: Cashews (50%), dates. - Pretty raw ingredients! 

Nutritional Value (per bar): 217 cal, 4.9g protein, 12.3g fat (2.1g saturated), 21.4g carbs (18g sugar), 4mg sodium

While obviously high is fat and sugar, both ingredients are natural so it's still a good option for a treat (over a regular bar anyway).

Taste: Pretty good, it is quite small (50g) for the amount of calories, but it keeps you satisfied if you're looking for something small and sweet in the afternoon! The flavour isn't anything amazing, just a slight cashew taste. So I wouldn't bother if you don't like cahews.

Price: What you expect for a health bar. Around $3.00, sometimes cheaper if it's on special.

Overall: 7/10

I would buy this again for a good raw snack, I just wish it had more flavour.

iHerb - Online Shopping, Worldwide Shipping

It's no secret that my favourite online shop is iHerb. They sell a huge range of health foods, beauty products, supplements and more.

I finally placed another order today for the first time in a while! It's like Christmas when the box arrives :)


My most common purchases are: roasted coconut chips, cinnamon sugar pita chips, white chocolate wonderful peanut butter (a must for pb lovers), and quest bars.

In today's order I have a few new things to try out, so I'm looking forward to getting them - I'll be blogging about them here!

At the moment it seems they are having a 5% discount on all orders over $60 which is good. You can also get an extra 5% or 10% discount off your first order by clicking here.

Shipping is pretty good too, people have mixed reviews with the delivery times but I never pay much more than $8 per order and usually get it within a week (I have had a couple of orders which took 2 weeks, but it doesn't seem like that is very common).

Word of warning...you will find most of your wage going on this website after your first order!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Recipe: Protein Packed French Toast

I've actually only ever had real french toast once. But on occasion I make my own protein french toast. It's an easy, quick breakfast that makes a nice change every once and a while.

You can top it with a variety of toppings and use another flavoured protein for a different flavour.

In the image below I topped it with blueberries, maple syrup, and a mixture of greek yoghurt, peanut flour, and stevia.


Makes 1 serving

Calories/Macros per piece: (no syrup/topping)
320 calories
9g fat (2g sat)
30g carbs (7g fibre, 3g sugar)
26g protein
480mg sodium

(These values may change slightly depending on what brands you use)





Ingredients:
  • 2 slices of toast, uncooked
  • 15g (1/2 scoop) protein powder (I used vanilla whey)
  • 1 egg 
  • Dash of cinnamon
  • Toppings and fruit of your choice

Instructions:
  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius (350 farenheit)
  • Mix together protein powder, egg, and cinnamon in a wide bowl.
  • Lay first piece of toast in the mixture and coat both sides, repeat with second slice.
  • Place slices onto a lined baking tray and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until they are slightly crispy and toast it cooked.
  • Drizzle over your toppings and fruit.

Notes:
You may want to add stevia to the mixture if you prefer it sweeter. 
If you don't like eating the egg yolk, you could use two egg whites instead.

Enjoy! 

Monday, April 14, 2014

Recipe: Peanut Butter Protein Fudge

Instead of easter eggs this year, I'm going to be making my own fudge. I made it a few months back, and it was so good. The only problem - trying not to eat it all at once!


Makes 10 pieces

Calories/Macros per piece:
45 calories
3.4g fat (2g sat)
1.8g carbs (.4g fibre, 1.4g sugar) 2.3g protein
4.1mg sodium

(These values may change slightly depending on what brands you use)






Ingredients:
  • 20g (2.5T) coconut oil, melted
  • 15g (1T) liquid honey
  • 20g (3T) whey (I used vanilla, because I don't like chocolate whey - but that would be good)
  • 10g (1.5T) cocoa (or cacao) powder
  • 20g (2T) peanut butter (or any nut butter, I used crunchy PB which means there are little chunks of peanut throughout)
  • 10ml / splash milk or water of your choice
  • Stevia to sweeten if needed

Instructions:
  • Mix all ingredients together, until well combined. Add the milk/water until a good consistency.
  • Roll out on a large piece of glad wrap.
  • Fold the glad wrap over so it is covered and press down to smooth it out. 
  • Put in the freezer until frozen (not sure how long it would take, I put mine in overnight).
  • Cut into 10 pieces and store in the freezer.

Notes:
Because of the coconut oil it will melt fairly quickly when in room temperature, so make sure to keep it in the freezer. 

Enjoy! 

What is your favourite "healthier" easter treat?

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Review: Lorna Jane Fluro 3/4 Workout Pants

Every time I travel to Australia I always stop by the Lorna Jane shop. This time I went to Lorna Jane in DFO in Brisbane.


I bought these 3/4 workout pants on sale for $55 AUD.

They are made from "LJ excel Classic" which is apparently their best selling fabric, being shrink and fade resistant, quick drying, and breathable, among a couple of other things.

I wore these for the first time today, and for the ultimate test - it was squat day, so I could test how stretchy they were!



There is a handy pocket at the back with a zip (which I like, I always think things will fall out without one). There is no inside pocket on these pants.

They are pretty tight, but really stretchy. The big grey band around the top makes them comfortable and doesn't dig in and make big fabric marks on your skin. I like the length of them, especially since it's coming up to winter (boo!)

They were comfortable to squat in, and so far they seem like great workout brands. 



Final verdict: 4/5

While a little on the pricey side, you are paying for the brand, and hopefully long-lasting quality.