FitSugar

Taste Test: Brendan Brazier's Thrive Foods Direct

Anna Monette Roberts — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:10:11 PST

A few months back, we spoke to Brendan Brazier about his latest book Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health. Most recently, Brendan has developed Thrive Foods Direct, a food delivery service that offers fresh and organic meals that coincide with his nutritional philosophy. Whether you are looking to cleanse, feel clueless when it comes to plant-based cooking, or are traveling, the food delivery service offers whole, vegan, and nutritionally dense meals that are sent fresh to any home, office, or hotel in the United States.

The menu changes every week, and the recipes are straight out of Brendan's book. While it's on the expensive side, starting at $45 a day or $225 a week, these meals are organic, fresh, and delivered straight to your door. We were sent a few samples of the meals to taste for ourselves: keep reading to see what we thought of Brendan's latest food venture.

Taste Test: Low-Cal Skinnygirl Margarita

Heather Dale — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:59:24 PDT

While perusing the liquor store last week for libations to enjoy with old friends, bottles of Bethenny Frankel's much-touted Skinnygirl Margarita were staring me in the face. I love a good margarita as much as the next gal, so I decided to take the plunge and bring two bottles to my friend's house.

Heavily tipping the calorie scale when compared to most cocktails, margaritas are what I would call a caloric nightmare. A 10-ounce regular margarita can run upwards of 700 calories. The high calorie count paired with the fact that preprepared cocktails are generally made with high fructose corn syrup, yellow dye #5, and preservatives convinced Bethenny she needed to create a low-calorie, all-natural prepared margarita. And that she did. With only 110 calories and 4g of sugar in a four-ounce serving of Skinnygirl Margarita, you can get your margarita fix without consuming all those calories. For how it tasted and a more complete nutritional breakdown, keep on reading.

Taste Test: Pepperidge Farm Milano Melts

Susannah Chen — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:28:17 PDT

Like Oreos or Nutter Butters, Milano cookies - Pepperidge Farm's irresistible, oblong, chocolate-ganache-filled biscuits - are a piece of American nostalgia that appeal to both children and adults alike, ourselves included. Despite our attempts to cut back on the cookies, we've found ourselves both sampling new flavors and attempting to make our own version of Milanos at home.

It comes as no surprise, then, that we sought out Milano Melts, the new line of Milano cookies that are filled with a "rich, velvety chocolate creme." Did they live up to their enticing description, or did our enthusiasm for this cookie quickly melt away? See for yourself when you read ahead.

Taste Test: Jalapeño Jack Sun Chips

Susannah Chen — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:43:10 PDT

From Mexican curtido to lamb-stuffed poppers, I'm a sucker for all things jalapeño. So, when I spotted a new flavor of Sun Chips - Jalapeño Jack - on a trip down the Walgreens chip aisle, I couldn't help but drop one into my shopping basket.

Sun Chips and I have held a long, stable relationship that dates back to infancy. I eat the original, harvest cheddar, and french onion flavors with gusto, although I've spent moments wishing the fourth flavor, Garden Salsa, could've added more spice to my life. I enjoy the chip's zesty, tomatoey taste, but can't help but wonder why, like a real bowl of salsa, this chip doesn't have more bite.

With the new Jalapeño Jack variety, I will wonder no more. There's something about its invitingly tangy smell, its white farmstead cheese flavor, and the lingering kick of some seriously substantial jalapeño that keeps me reaching back for another bite. It's official: the new Jalapeño Jack variety is my favorite Sun Chip flavor. What's your preferred jalapeño-flavored chip?

Taste Test: McDonald's Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

Susannah Chen — Thu, 26 May 2011 13:33:21 PDT

Who's ready for summertime? McDonald's is. Just ahead of Memorial Day, it's added a new Frozen Strawberry Lemonade to its McCafé lineup. "It's a little bit of brrrrrrrrrr mixed with a whole lot of mmmmm," the fast food chain called out. Of course, on the warmest of Spring days, we couldn't resist giving this new product a whirl.

Here's how the frosty beverage comes together: McDonald's starts with a lemonade base (made with, among other things, lemon juice, orange juice, and lemon oil), then pulverizes it to order with ice and strawberry syrup (consisting of ingredients such as strawberry purée and artificial flavor and color).

At $1.59 plus tax and 210 calories for a 16-ounce cup, it doesn't do too much damage to your calorie bank - or your real one. But what about your taste buds? Find out right this way.

Food Review: Healthy Asian Chicken Frozen Dinners

FitSugar — Fri, 20 May 2011 11:57:39 PDT

It's a fact: frozen dinners happen. We know life is busy and you can't always whip up a home-cooked meal. When pressed for time, microwaveable meals make for an easy option, but the frozen-food aisle can easily overwhelm your senses of judgment. With so many choices, it's hard to figure out which frozen dinner will truly be a tasty, healthy meal.

To take the guess work out of your next trip to the supermarket, we've nuked and tasted five Asian-style frozen chicken meals, from sesame chicken to a gingery stir-fry. Read on to see which meals are worth putting into your grocery cart and which ones aren't worth the time it takes to heat them up.

Flickr User danorth1

MGD's Low-Cal Lemonade Beer Hybrid Tastes Like It Sounds

Susannah Chen — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 04:11:14 PDT

Just in time for warm-weather cookouts, MillerCoors has announced the launch of a new drink, MGD 64 Lemonade. That's right: MGD 64 flavored to taste like lemonade. We got our hands on a preview of the limited-edition drink, which hits shelves come May 1, and is expected to be in stock through Labor Day.

This drink tastes exactly like how it sounds - like it's half-beer, half-lemonade, and all low-calorie. Scratch that: it's a little heavy-handed on the lemonade, meaning it's more like 20 percent beer and 80 percent artificially flavored lemonade. "My 18-year-old self would've loved this!" Katie exclaimed. "It's a little too sweet," Lauren added. "I'd rather just have a regular beer."

Personally, I'd opt for a genuine shandy instead. Nonetheless, the MGD 64 Lemonade was refreshing with a bowl of chips and salsa - and without the malty, yeasty flavor of a traditional brewski, it'll be an ideal gateway drink for somebody who'd rather drink a Mike's Hard Lemonade than a hoppy beer. Will you buy it once you see it on shelves?

Taste Test: Starbucks Petites

Susannah Chen — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 08:59:06 PST

Earlier this week, we discovered that, in addition to launching a new anniversary brew to mark its 40th year in business, Starbucks was also rolling out a brand-new food line of eight tempting baked goods and treats under 200 calories.

This morning, I headed to Starbucks for my daily coffee fix but wound up leaving with all eight of the treats in tow. (If you feel tempted as well, hold out until the afternoon, then score some of them for free.) Did the newest Starbucks menu offerings satisfy that sweet tooth, or leave something to be desired? We put them to the test to find out.

Nuking Up Amy's Light and Lean Pasta and Veggies

Angelica Marden — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 03:05:21 PST

I try to eat fresh foods whenever possible, but when I need a quick microwavable meal fix, I typically turn to Amy's. The brand offers a range of vegetarian and lactose free options and is my go-to if I want to satisfy my marinara and pizza craving at home without eating pizza. The company recently put out a range of "Light and Lean" products so I decided to nuke up the Light and Lean Pasta and Veggies and try it out.

Was it as flavorful as the regular versions?

A Taste of Dunkin' Donuts' New Cocoa Yeast Donuts

YumSugar — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 03:03:38 PST

We'd love to start off the morning with a little fuel from Dunkin' Donuts, but sadly, it's not possible to do here on the West Coast. So we felt a twinge of agony when we heard the East Coast chain would be the first to launch chocolate yeast doughnuts, which we could admire, yet not try.

The chain's new, limited-edition cocoa yeast flavors are here just in time for Valentine's Day and available through the end of February. The editors at Slashfood were lucky enough to sample the three flavors: Cocoa Confetti, Reverse Boston Kreme, and Cocoa Kreme Puff. How did the new stack up to the old? Browse the pictures and full review at Slashfood to find out.

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