Four O'clock Organic Green Tea - MK Parve

Found this organic green tea in Toronto, and unfortunately the Four O'clock brand of teas is only distributed across Canada according to the companies web site (http://www.transherb.com/), so if you live in a border city in the Unite States you might be able to score some when you cross the border.

Four O'clock Organic Green Tea only comes in what they call a Green Tea Chest (60 bags). The cardboard box/chest does function nicely as a disposable tea chest and looks good even on the kitchen counter.

The individually packaged teas, have a very strong yet pleasant green tea smell when you open them. Once you add the hot water and let the tea steep a bit, the tea develops a delicious aroma. The tea has a stronger taste then the average commercial grade of green tea which to me is a good thing. As a bonus, there is almost no lingering aftertaste as well. The tea is great on its own or with a bit of honey added for those who like a sweeter tea.

We rate the Four O'clock Organic Green Tea a 4 out 5. After all, it's just green tea even if it is an above average tasting green tea.

Arrowhead Mills - Buckwheat Pancake and Waffle Mix - K Parve

Over the years we've used various Arrowhead Mills pancake and waffle mixes in our home. Our current favorite one is their Buckwheat Pancake and Waffle Mix.

Arrowhead Mills - Buckwheat Pancake and Waffle Mix is easy to prepare requiring an egg, some oil, a bit of honey and water. The package does recommend using soya milk (which we usually do) as an alternative to the water. (note: the mix does contain some soymilk powder). This allows the pancakes to remain parve and appropriate for vegetarians. If you're prepared or want to use regular milk you can and the pancakes will turn out just as perfect.

If you have a vegan in the house, you'll want to use an egg substitute. If you simply cut out the egg, you'll still get a tasty pancake, but the texture just won't be the same.

When it comes to taste, we like the richer taste you get with the buckwheat when compared to using regular white flour. As well, the convenience of a premixed saves a bit of time when preparing breakfast.

I also like to cut in one small banana and toss in a generous handful of parve chocolate chips to the pancake batter as well. This combination makes the most delicious pancakes. Just a reminder when doing so, you'll want to cut out or cut back on the honey used to sweeten the batter. Some other combinations we've tried and enjoy are simply substituting Almond milk or flavored soya milk (i.e. Vanilla flavored soy) for the regular soya milk.

From a health perspective, Arrowhead Mills - Buckwheat Pancake and Waffle Mix is organic (Certified organic by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), a rich source of fiber and calcium along with riboflavin, Vitamin A and iron.

I generally find Arrowhead products at my local health food or organic grocery store. I have on occasion spotted it at regular grocery stores as well.

The only negative is the packaging. The package does not come with some form of a resealing method. So I'd recommend pouring the contents into a glass container to keep everything fresh.

Arrowhead Mills - Buckwheat Pancake and Waffle Mix easily scores a 4.5 out fo 5.

Solgurt (Dairy Free Soy Yogurt) - Kosher Parve

Being lactose intolerant, I'm always on the look out for dairy alternatives and have tried many different soy based yogurt alternatives over the years. So when I spotted Solgurt from Sol Cusine a dairy free cultured soy product from a brand I had never tried before I decided to give it a try.

I purchased the unsweetened natural style in the 680g container instead of something in the smaller single serving size containers because it was just a better deal and there were no flavored ones available in the larger container available at the store.

To be fair, I've never been a fan of just plain natural yogurts so when I open it up and gave it a taste I was a bit taken back. The taste was very sharp and I started to wonder if it had gone bad on me. I then remembered, that it was suppose to taste like natural yogurt which in essence is sour milk. For my taste buds, I couldn't eat it in its natural state (I'm sure some people would just love it), so I quickly added a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup and mixed it in. The result was something much more pleasing to my tastes.

So now, I'll be experimenting with adding different fruits and flavors to to my Solgurt to find the one I like the best.

To Sol Cusine's credit this product comes with with 7 Active Probiotic Cultures and Prebiotic-Inulin (Chicory Fibre) making it an extra healthy item on my table. Being dairy free (Parve) means it is a great option for vegans plus if I find a meat recipe that calls for "yogurt" I now have a parve alternative.

Overall I'd give it 3.5 out 5 in the natural version and 4.5 once you add your own flavors.

I'm also curious of how good their flavored varieties taste.

Amy's - Organic Medium Chili with Vegetables - K Parve

We picked-up a couple of cans the other day of Amy's Organic Medium Chili with Vegetables (www.amys.com) simply because we are always looking for something quick and tasty for a healthy lunch.

Once you open the can you can see the quality of this product. Kidney beans (red beans) are plentiful and you see lot of corn. Upon spooning it into a bowl for reheating, other vegetables are evident, but hard to distinguish. Once heated (about 1 minute in the microwave) the tasting began.

The flavor of the sauce is perfect with a medium amount of heat. Perfect for my taste buds. During the tasting small pieces of potatoes were also spotted and tasted. They were still firm (not over cooked) and something green. Perhaps the green stuff was the bell peppers or jalapeno peppers listed on the can, but if so they were well cooked down and void of taste. There were no signs of the other vegetables listed on the can.

Overall the chili was tasty, convenient and worth what it cost. The only complaint is towards the overcooked bell peppers, it would have been nice to spot them in another form then as a tasteless mush. The overall rating for Amy's Organic Medium Chili with Vegetables is a 3.5 out of 5

COR Kosher Alert - Raisins

Just got this announcement from my Shul and thought I should share it with you.

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Over the last two weeks, there have been widespread reports of insect infestation in raisins. A few kashrus organizations in the USA have disallowed the usage and consumption of raisins in their certified products and for their constituents.

The Kashruth Council COR has conducted its own research and subsequently consulted with its Poskim (Halachic Authorities). The Kashruth Council's decision is to continue to allow the usage and consumption of raisins without further checking for worms or other insects. This opinion concurs with the opinion of many kashrus organizations across Canada and the USA, including the Orthodox Union (OU).

Please note that research into the matter is ongoing and further updates will be provided for any new developments.

One should always be careful to store raisins in cool, dry and clean environments so as to avoid any potential infestation.