Stir-fry Tofu n'Sauce - Parve BC Kosher

My wife picked up two 250g packages of Sunrise Soya Foods "Stir-fry tofu n'sauce" teriyaki the other week. Knowing that each package would make a nice meal for one we used both of them plus rice to make a complete and yummy meal.

On the back of the packaging is a cooking method including which vegetables to use, I veered away from this and did it my way with vegetables that are more to my liking. While I'm sure their suggestion of broccoli and carrots would be great, I used string beans, mushrooms, a variety of peppers and some garlic.

Overall, I must admit that on the surface it's the convince of the combined tofu and sauce that got our attention. However, once it was all cooked up the real winner was the nice firm tofu pieces. What Sunrise has done is put the tofu right in the sauce instead of selling with the sauce in a separate package like some other companies. This means that the tofu has been sitting in the teriyaki sauce since it was packaged and as a result it's been absorbing all that flavor. Unlike when you cook tofu and sauce from scratch at home where the tofu barely absorbs any flavor this tofu is reasonable flavorful.

While the packaging boasts that it is ready in 5 minutes, take that with a grain of salt and assume 3-5 minutes once your veggies are just about ready.

The teriyaki flavor was as expect sweet but not too sweat and very pleasant & easy going on the taste buds.

Overall I give this product 4.5 out of 5 because flavor, texture and convenience.

Note this product is available in a variety of other flavors of curry, sesame ginger and Szechuan.

Boom Choco Boom - Parve

The boom CHOCO boom snack bar from ejoylifefoods.com was a real find. Before I even opened the package, I notice very large and clearly printed symbols designating the bar as vegan, kosher parve and certified Gluten Free. At last a snack bar from a company that gets it. Now vegans, kosher, lactose intolerant and gluten intolerant people can all enjoy a common snack.

OK enough about the packaging and on to how the product tastes. The key to this chocolate bar is that it is made from rice milk. So a quick sampling of the bar reminds you of a milk chocolate candy bar. While not being overly sweet, it still had enough sweetness to make most sweet tooths happy and the inclusion of rice crisp gave it a a great crunch. I could have easily eaten several in one sitting simply because they're that good.

Another pleasant surprise is the break down of all ingredients: Evaporated Cane Juice; Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter; Natural Chocolate Liquor (Non-Alcoholic); Rice Milk Powder (Rice Syrup Powder, Rice Starch, Rice Flour, Salt, Carrageenan); Salt.For a change, I didn't need a dictionary or a chemistry book to know everything that it contains.

A finer read of the back of the packaging goes on to state that the bar doesn't contain 8 of the most common allergens including no: wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy , fish or shellfish. We tip our hat to Enjoy Life Foods for thinking of the needs of the greater community instead of just the mass market.

For the bar's overall taste and the company's concern for the digestive needs of many different kinds of people we give the boom CHOCO boom a 4.5 out 5.

Munchies® BBQ Flavour Crunchy Coated Peanuts - Circle U

I picked up a large bag (210 g) of "Munchies® BBQ Flavour Crunchy Coated Peanuts" from Frito Lay Canada in Toronto last week. While I wasn't looking for a "healthy snack" I was looking for something different to try and since I love almost anything BBQ Flavored I decided to go with these.

I don't know what I was really expecting from a crunchy coated peanut perhaps something along the lines of a beer nut, but that's not what I got. My first taste revealed something so salty and almost void of any BBQ flavor what so ever. There is a bit of heat, and some our nondescript flavor, but I guarantee you its doesn't taste like any other BBQ flavored snack I've ever had from Frito Lay. I barely managed to eat a bit more than 2 handfuls.

I will say this about the snack, they are definitely crunchy! Whatever they used to coat the peanuts gives them an almost a potato-chip like crunch. The picture on the packaging shows the coating very clearly.

I looked around the Frito Lays Canada website trying to find a great picture of this product and some additional information, but was very hard pressed to even find the one I used. There is virtually no information about this product other than its name and when I looked at the US version of the site, it didn't even mention it. My guess is that they are testing this product in Canada.

To that I can say lucky for the US. While I'm sure I will eventually finish the bag I purchased, I'm in no rush. I can only recommended this product if you really like over salted snacks with just a touch of heat.

I give it 1.5 out 5.