FitSugar

Label Able: Vegetable Glycerin

FitSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:30:50 -0700

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 -0700

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 -0700

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 read more.

I really enjoyed the savory, slightly spicy tomato basil sauce, and the noodles made from Kashi's seven-whole-grain flour were the perfect consistency - not mushy at all. Sandwiched between lasagna noodles were large bits or roasted summer quash, eggplant, onions, and sweet potatoes, which I really appreciated. Another interesting addition to the dish were the lentils that help this meal provide eight grams of fiber and eight grams of protein. When I read the label, I was so pleased to see the dish was under 300 calories and contained no cholesterol. If you're not a fan of onions and eggplant then you won't love this meal since it was chock full of them. Overall this meal was OK, but Mayan Harvest Bake is still by far my favorite.

Serving Size	1 entrée
Calories	260
Total Fat	9 g
Saturated Fat	1.5 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Sodium	700 mg
Carbs	42 g
Fiber	8 g
Sugar	8 g
Protein	8 g

Food Review: Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:00:00 -0800

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 read more.

This has to be my favorite Kashi entrée yet. The amaranth polenta had a satisfyingly creamy texture, and the baked sweet potatoes and cooked kale made this meal seem homemade. The plantains were delicious, very sweet and soft, and they complemented the spicy ancho sauce so well. I loved the sprinkled pepitas (pumpkin seeds) on top that added a crunchy texture. This meal is warm and savory, perfect for a quick Winter meal. It's also vegan, so it contains no cholesterol and is low in saturated fat. It's pretty low in sodium too, which I was happy to see. The fiber content is not too shabby, but I would have thought it contained more protein since there were tons of black beans mixed in. Overall, I loved this Mayan Harvest Bake and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes bean and veggie dishes.

Serving Size	1 container
Calories	340
Total Fat	9 g
Saturated Fat	1 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Sodium	380 mg
Carbs	58 g
Fiber	8 g
Sugar	19 g
Protein	9 g

Food Review: Kashi Honey Sunshine

FitSugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:00:28 -0700

Honey Sunshine is the newest cereal to join the Kashi family. I am a huge fan of anything made by this company, especially its TLC Party Crackers and frozen pizza. I always keep a box of Kashi cereal in my cupboard, because they're so high in fiber and flavor, so I was eager to give this new cereal a try. When I turned over the box to have a look at the nutritional info, I was shocked. To find out why, read more.

This Honey Sunshine doesn't have as much protein as I expected, but check out the fiber! Six grams per serving. You usually only find high amounts of fiber like that in boring, flaky cereals. Even though this cereal doesn't look like much, it tastes surprisingly delicious. It has a ton of sweet and subtle honey flavor but, as you can see from the chart below, only six grams of sugar per serving.

The flavor actually reminded me a little of a cereal I liked when I was a kid, Cap'n Crunch. I love the crispy, crunchy consistency of these bite-size pillows. For only 100 calories a serving, Honey Sunshine makes a great breakfast or on-the-go snack. This is my new favorite cereal.

Serving Size	3/4 cup
Calories	100
Total Fat	1.5 g
Saturated Fat	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Sodium	140 mg
Carbs	25 g
Fiber	6 g
Sugar	6 g
Protein	2 g

Free Sample Alert: Kashi Cookie

FitSugar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:00:00 -0700

Kashi, one of my favorite brands, is giving away free samples - yay! And this time it's cookies! Its new TLC Tasty Little Cookie combines the seven whole grain blend Kashi is famous for with ingredients such as peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, cranberries, walnuts, shredded coconut, flax seeds, and dark chocolate. Get your free sample of a chewy cookie at Kashi.com, and when you do let me know what you think below. Testers beware: at 130 calories per cookie, these cookies are not low calorie. But if you're looking for a sweet fix, they do make for a healthier option than most cookies on the market.

Source

Food Review: Kashi Moroccan Curry Whole Grain Pilaf

FitSugar — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:00:00 -0700

One of my go-to brands is certainly Kashi. I am a fan of almost everything they make and I appreciate their use of whole grains. Kashi breakfast cereals and granola bars are a staple in my house, but they've expanded beyond breakfast and snacks and now make frozen entrées and pizza. Now they're making side dishes like their 7 Whole Grain Pilaf. It's a little packet of food that you just pour into a bowl, microwave for a minute or so, and you have an instant side dish. To find out how it tastes read more.

This Moroccan Curry had a sweet and savory aroma once it popped out of the microwave, but I have to say, it didn't have a very strong flavor. It was a bit spicy, but I was expecting the currants to add more of a sweetness or the curry to add more punch and pizzazz. I do love that it has so much fiber and protein per serving, but I wish it tasted as good as it smelled. This whole grain pilaf does come in other flavors, and since I liked the chewy texture of these cooked grains so much, I'd definitely give them a try.

Serving Size	1 cup (2 servings per container)
Calories	220
Total Fat	5g
Saturated Fat	2.5g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	400mg
Carbs	42g
Fiber	7g
Sugar	3g
Protein	8g

Granola Breakdown

FitSugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:00:00 -0700

You know how I feel about breakfast. It really is the most important meal of the day because it jump starts your metabolism and feeds your brain so you're more productive during the day. It helps people maintain their weight and eating breakfast gives you energy to exercise later in the day. Breakfast eaters are also more likely to consume their daily amount of fiber since so many morning foods are full of whole grains, like cereals and bread.

Granola is one of my favorite breakfast foods, but some can be high in fat or sugar. To see how some popular granolas compare, read more.

This is the nutritional info for 1/4 cup of granola.

Granola	Calories	Total Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)
Bear Naked Peanut Butter	140	6	17	3	4	4
Bear Naked Fruit and Nut	140	7	18	3	5	3
Bear Naked Peak Protein	140	7	16	2	6	5
Bear Naked Heavenly Chocolate	130	3.5	19	3	6	3
Bear Naked Banana Nut	140	7	18	2	5	3
Bear Naked Apple Cinnamon	140	5	17	3	7	2
Bear Naked Fit Vanilla Almond Crunch	110	3	18	2	3	4
Bear Naked Fit Triple Berry Crunch	110	1.5	20	3	3	4
Cascadian Farm Cinnamon Raisin	79	1.1	16	1.1	6	1.9
Cascadian Farm Maple Brown Sugar	83	1.9	16	1.1	5.3	1.9
Cascadian Farm Oats & Honey	87	2.3	16	1.1	4.9	1.9
Kashi Cocoa Beach	115	4.5	16.5	3	5.5	3
Kashi Mountain Medley	110	3.5	18.5	3	6	3
Kashi Orchard Spice	110	3.5	18.5	3	5.5	3
Kashi Summer Berry	105	3	18.5	3	4.5	3
Kellogg's Low Fat Granola with Raisins	87	1.5	18.6	1.5	6.8	1.5
Kellogg's Low Fat Granola without Raisins	72	.95	15	1.5	5.3	1.5

Fit's Tips: When comparing granola on your own, check the serving sizes. Although the info above is based on 1/4 cup servings, serving sizes tend to range from 1/4 cup to 1 cup. So you may think a granola is low in calories, but the serving size may be small.

Kashi Pizza: Original-Crust vs. Thin-Crust Pizza

FitSugar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:00:00 -0700

I like to keep frozen pizzas in my freezer just in case my family needs a quick meal. I love ones made by Kashi because the crust is made with whole grains and they're really flavorful. They used to only make regular-crust pizza, but then they came out with thin crust.

If you want to know how these two compare then read more.

As you can see, the one on the right definitely has a thinner crust. It was so thin that it took less time to cook, and it had a much crispier texture than the regular, chewy crust.

	Regular Crust	Thin Crust
Serving Size	1/3 pizza	1/3 pizza
Calories	290	260
Total Fat	9g	9g
Saturated Fat	3.5g	4g
Cholesterol	20mg	20mg
Sodium	570mg	630mg
Carbs	37g	29g
Fiber	4g	4g
Sugars	4g	4g
Protein	14g	14g

Nutritionally speaking, the thin crust pizza does has fewer carbs and calories, but it also contains more sodium. I guess it comes down to personal preference because they tasted so much alike. Personally, I prefer the regular crust because it fills me up more, and the thin-crust pizza feels less like a meal and more like an hors d'oeuvre. If you haven't tried either of them, they're definitely worth checking out.

Free Sample Alert: Kashi Mountain Medley Granola

FitSugar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:00:00 -0700

I've already raved about Kashi's Mountain Medley Granola, but in case that wasn't enough to get you to try it, you'll be happy to know that Kashi is mailing out free samples. How sweet is that? All you have to do is fill out the form here and you'll receive your free single serving of this delicious granola within six to eight weeks. It's full of whole oats, almonds, and raisins, and tastes amazing with vanilla yogurt. Plus a half cup serving contains 6g of fiber and 6g of protein. I'd definitely give it a try and now you can for free.