If you like a little granola crunch with your yogurt, or anywhere else, you’ve probably been perplexed about why it seems to be impossible to find a delicious and not crazily calorie-filled granola.  The low calorie ones taste awful.  The high calorie ones taste good…. but they’re SO high calorie!

I’ve been into “Greek” yogurt for a long time, and I usually make it myself by draining plain yogurt until it’s really thick and then adding a bit of salt.  I usually top it with honey or granola and it’s really delicious.  Orange Blossom honey on yogurt is wonderful, but sometimes you’re just really craving a crunch.

A couple of weeks ago I was looking through the granolas in the cereal section of the supermarket and wasn’t finding anything interesting. “Fruits and Nuts” equals “High Calorie.” “Low Fat” equals “Tastes like Cardboard.”  (They all seem to have cinnamon, too, which I don’t like in granola.)

It occurred to me that there’s cereal in the “healthy” section, and I found quite a few, most calorie laden or sounding pretty cardboard-y.  But, here was one I hadn’t seen before, “Cascadian Farm Organic Dark Chocolate Almond Granola.”  What I found interesting, aside from the addition of dark chocolate, was that the portions were based on ¾ cup, rather than ½ cup, making the calorie count lower (or at least equal to) other granolas.

All I can say is its crunchy and delicious, and I’ve just finished my THIRD box.  I’ve had to hold back from buying another because I’m afraid of blasting through it like I did with the previous three.  Once I have better control of myself, I will definitely buy another!

Give it a try….and hang on to your hat!  Delicious as a topping, or straight out of the box!

Guest Review by
“Pretty Veggie” Mindy
www.PrettyVeggie.com
@Pretty_Veggie

It can be pretty difficult to find kosher “Asian” or “Eastern” spices, curries, cooking sauces, etc., and these were a huge surprise.

I was doing one of my periodic perusals of the “Asian” section of the supermarket and was drawn to the bright boxes and packets of the “Tasty Bite” section.  I’ve used their products before, but hadn’t noticed that so many of them are kosher.  Their packaged “meals” tend not to be kosher, but most of their side dishes and cooking sauces are!

Since I really love Asian and Eastern flavors I was wary of the cooking sauces but was amazed at what I found.  In both cases I followed the easy directions on the package, but “doctored them up” a bit by adding a package of mixed vegetables (to the veg “chicken” I used in the recipe), vegetable broth, and some additional spices because I like things spicy, but they were delicious even without the extra touches.

The cooking sauces were quick and easy to use, and surprisingly good.  I’ll bet the side dishes are just as good, and from what I saw on the “Tasty Bite” website, it would be so easy to heat them and pour them over rice for a really quick and easy meal.

I did find these in a good, local supermarket, but you can also order directly from their website.  www.TastyBite.com

Guest Review by
“Pretty Veggie” Mindy
www.PrettyVeggie.com
@Pretty_Veggie

“Flourless Sprouted Grain Bread.” Pretty Chi-Chi Fou-Fou, huh?  Or Hippy Dippy, if you remember those days.

I’ve been a lover of good bread for years, and was really in heaven while living in Europe because of all the great, fresh breads. (Great chocolate helped, too, but that’s another story.)

Grainy, nutty, bread, with a bit of “tooth” is pretty hard to come by, and the packaged breads leave a lot to be desired.  But this “Flourless Sprouted Grain Bread” is really good!

Ezekiel Bread (my favorite is the sesame version) produced by Food for Life is organic, all natural, and has no preservatives.  It’s full of fiber, no sugar, and has a really nutty taste and chewy texture.

Its great at breakfast, either straight out of the bag or toasted, with butter, jam or almond butter (grown up peanut butter), and because of the fiber and “tooth” you really feel like you’ve eaten something that’s not only good for you, but filling.

One note- Because the bread is preservative free it can be found with other breads in the freezer section of the supermarket. I leave it out on the counter to defrost and it never has a chance to spoil because it’s gobbled up so quickly!

There are four varieties of the bread, all kosher and parve, but my favorite remains sesame!

Guest Review by
“Pretty Veggie” Mindy
www.PrettyVeggie.com
@Pretty_Veggie