FitSugar

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

Food Review: Kashi Cranberry Walnut Fruit & Grain Bars

FitSugar — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:00:53 PDT

Is it odd to count a food brand as one of my best buds? Made with real ingredients, I find tasty Kashi products have become something I rely on, and I stash the company's bars in my purse, desk drawer, or gym bag - they make for great pre or postworkout snack to enjoy. If you're a fan of Kashi's TLC Fruit & Grain bars, check out this new flavor, Cranberry Walnut.

To find out what surprised me about this bar

read more. Amazing! Four grams each of fiber and protein, and only 120 calories. It's also pretty low in sodium and sugars, but definitely not low in taste! The bold cranberry flavor is dessert-like, and seriously, I almost felt like I was enjoying a jam-covered cookie instead of a granola bar. I also love the contrast of the soft fruity jam topping with the crunchy chewiness of the granola bar. I am already a huge fan of this flavor, as they have become my new favorite go-to snack. The other flavors are equally as healthy, as you can see from the chart below. Which flavor appeals to you more?

Serving size: 1 bar	Cranberry Walnut	Dark Chocolate Coconut	Pumpkin Pecan	Raspberry Chocolate
Calories	120	120	120	120
Total Fat (g)	3	3.5	3	3
Saturated Fat (g)	0	1.5	0	.5
Cholesterol (mg)	0	0	0	0
Sodium (mg)	50	50	50	50
Carbs (g)	22	21	22	21
Fiber (g)	4	4	4	4
Sugars (g)	8	7	8	7
Protein (g)	4	4	4	4
Iron (%)	6	6	6	6

Calories in Kashi Cereal

FitSugar — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:30:15 PDT

I had a small addiction to Kashi's GoLean Crunch! Honey Almond Flax cereal, so I thought I should branch out and try a new variety. They have 25 different cereals to choose from though, so which one should I buy? Fiber and protein content are important to me in the morning, so I made this handy chart to figure out which cereals contained the most.

Granola	Calories	Total Fat (g)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)
GoLean Crisp! Toasted Berry Crumble (3/4 cup)	180	3.5	125	35	8	10	9
GoLean Crunch! (1 cup)	190	3	100	37	8	13	9
GoLean Crunch! Honey Almond Flax (1 cup)	200	4.5	140	36	8	12	9
GoLean Original (1 cup)	140	1	85	30	10	6	13
Good Friends Cinna-Raisin Crunch (1 cup)	170	1.5	105	41	8	13	4
Good Friends Original (1 cup)	160	1.5	110	42	12	10	5

Don't see the Kashi cereal you're looking for? Then continue reading.

Treat Belly Bloat With Whole Grains

FitSugar — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 08:00:20 PDT

Here's another reason to eat whole grains: it will help put an end to the dreaded belly bloat. Eating too many refined grains like white rice, enriched pasta, or white bread slows down your digestive tract, which causes that bloated feeling. I don't know about you, but I hate getting dressed when my belly is full of air.

For the next few weeks, swap out any refined grains in your diet with whole grains, and see if you notice a difference. Whole grains are full of fiber, which helps keep us "regular" and our digestive tract moving along at a normal pace. By doing this, you should find that you'll have much more energy during the day since your body won't be working overtime to digest food.

I know that eating whole wheat pasta may not sound delicious to some of you, but there are a lot of easy and tasty swaps you can make instead. Choose whole wheat bread over white, and eat a whole grain cereal like Kashi or muesli. I also love the taste of quinoa, which is a hearty grain filled with fiber. Why not try this curried quinoa salad for dinner tonight?

Free Sample Alert: Kashi Cereal and Granola Bars

FitSugar — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:00:28 PST

If you're a fan of Kashi, I've got great news! The brand is offering free samples of three of its products: GoLean Crisp! Toasted Berry Crumble (its newest cereal), TLC Dark Chocolate Coconut Fruit & Grain bars, and GoLean Crunch! Honey Almond Flax cereal.

If you're not familiar with Kashi products, here's your chance to try them out without spending a dime. And if you're already a Kashi lover, then it'll be fun to try out one of the brand's new foods. Just go to the Kashi website and select which sample you want to try (you only get to choose one). Then enter your name, address, and email, and your sample will be shipped to you in four to six weeks. Yay!

Food Review: Kashi GoLean Crisp!

FitSugar — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:30:28 PST

I always have a box of Kashi GoLean cereal in my cupboard, whether it be regular GoLean or GoLean Crunch. These cereals are a great source of fiber and protein, full of wholesome whole grains, and taste great in milk or on their own. If you too are a fan, then you'll be psyched to hear that a new version is hitting shelves now - GoLean Crisp!

Curious to know how it compares nutrition and flavor-wise? Then keep reading.

Label Able: Vegetable Glycerin

FitSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:30:50 PDT

I was going on a trip and picked up some Kashi TLC Trail Mix bars. I trust their products completely so don't feel it's necessary to read labels before buying them. While in the car, I happened to check out the list of ingredients and saw vegetable glycerin.

If you're curious to know what it is or why it's used keep reading

Food Review: Kashi Heart to Heart Crackers

FitSugar — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:00:34 PDT

If you're a fan of Triscuits, you're going to love Kashi's new Heart to Heart crackers. Both flavors - Original and Roasted Garlic - contain plant sterols to help lower cholesterol, and six natural antioxidants including green tea and grape seed.

To find out how they compare with the crackers you grew up with,

read more. As you can see from the chart below, these Kashi Heart to Heart crackers contain half as much sodium as Triscuits, which is great if you're trying to keep your blood pressure at a healthy level. They're also lower in saturated fat and contain more fiber. What's more, the Kashi crackers also contain .4 grams of plant sterols per serving, which are natural compounds found in fruits, nuts, and veggies that have been found to help lower cholesterol. Other nutrients such as beta carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin C have also been added to these little crackers, which help fight free radicals and keep your arteries healthy. The Kashi crackers and Triscuits are actually very similar in taste and texture. Even though the Kashi crackers are lower in sodium, they don't taste like they're lacking in salt or flavor. I'd definitely recommend giving these a try if you're a cracker fan. They're delicious topped with hummus and veggies, cheese and apples, or homemade salsa.

	Triscuits (6 crackers)	Kashi Original (7 crackers)	Kashi Roasted Garlic (7 crackers)
Calories	120	120	120
Total Fat	4.5 g	3.5 g	3.5 g
Saturated Fat	1 g	0 g	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	180 mg	85 mg	75 mg
Carbs	19 g	22 g	22 g
Fiber	3 g	4 g	4 g
Sugars	0 g	0 g	0 g
Protein	3 g	3 g	3 g
Ingredients	Whole wheat, soybean oil, salt, monoglycerides.	Whole grain wheat, expeller pressed canola oil, plant sterols, cornstarch, sea salt, dehydrated vegetables (onion, garlic, and roasted garlic), spices, decaffeinated green tea extract, decaffeinated white tea extract, alpha tocopherol acetate (vitamin E), grape seed extract, parsley, autolyzed yeast, malic acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), citric acid, spice extract, natural flavor, mixed tocopherols for freshness, beta carotene (source of vitamin A), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12, folic acid.	Whole grain wheat, expeller pressed canola oil, plant sterols, sea salt, decaffeinated green tea extract, decaffeinated white tea extract, alpha tocopherol acetate (vitamin E), grape seed extract, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), natural mixed tocopherols for freshness, beta carotene (source of vitamin A), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12, folic acid.

Food Review: Kashi Tuscan Veggie Bake

FitSugar — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:00:00 PDT

A quick and healthy meal is always appreciated in my life. Since I've had great luck with Kashi's frozen entrées like Pesto Pasta Primavera and Black Bean Mango, I was excited to try its Tuscan Veggie Bake ($5).

This entree is vegan, so it's low in saturated fat and cholesterol. How does it taste though? To find out

Food Review: Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:00:00 PST

You just can't go wrong with foods made by Kashi. Not only does everything they make contain whole grains and real ingredients, but they're always full of flavor too. A while back, I was thrilled when they began making frozen pizzas and entrées. The ones I've tried I really liked, so when picking up a couple boxes at the store, I discovered a new dish - Mayan Harvest Bake.

Talk about a unique meal. It's made with plantains, kale, and amaranth polenta. Want to see what it really looks like? Then