Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Review: Yotta Bars
Yotta bars are a snack food in the new tradition of hiding-vegetables-so-you-don't-notice-them. Each is a combination of granola with fruit and six to nine different vegetables. There's a bit of irony in the marketing, as they stress that they both "eat like a fruit" and "nothing beats the taste of fresh vegetables."
But enough quibbling. The bars taste good, and are certainly better for you than a candy break. I don't think that all the versions equally mask the presence of the vegetables. For example, the orange tastes just like that, but the cherry has some aftertastes that don't taste like fruit. However, those secondary flavors are pleasant, even if a bit unusual in their juxtaposition. You can get them at Whole Foods stores and various places online. List price seems to be in the $1.60 each range, though they're available for less.
But enough quibbling. The bars taste good, and are certainly better for you than a candy break. I don't think that all the versions equally mask the presence of the vegetables. For example, the orange tastes just like that, but the cherry has some aftertastes that don't taste like fruit. However, those secondary flavors are pleasant, even if a bit unusual in their juxtaposition. You can get them at Whole Foods stores and various places online. List price seems to be in the $1.60 each range, though they're available for less.
Labels: fruit, products, reviews, snacks, vegetables
Friday, December 19, 2008
Product Review: TRUFresh Shrimp [UPDATED]
We tested some frozen shrimp dish samples from TRUFresh Shrimp and wee reasonably impressed. Of course, making something well at home is going to be better than packaged food, but these individual serving packages were surprisingly good. There are two varieties: a green salsa verde, and lemon herb.
The salsa verde was pleasantly spicy (though not the thing if you like completely bland food), and was particularly favored by my teenage daughter. I like it and the lemon herb as well. The company emphasizes its quick-freezing process that supposedly avoid turning the shrimp into rubber. I found that they were slightly tough after the five minute heating in boiling water, but nowhere near the throw-it-on-the-car-as-a-tire stage.
The company provides instructions for heating in a microwave, but explicitly says that the recommended method is in boiling water. I stuck with the hot water bath. The products are supposed to be available in stores throughout the Northeast, but I'm not sure where and don't know how much they run. Overall, a good product, especially if you want access to a quick meal whose primary virtue is not how fast you can choke the thing down.
[UPDATE: I heard back from the PR people. Suggested retail price is $2.99 for a one-serving box, and as of 12 Dec. 2008, they are available in the Northeast of the U.S. at grocery chains, including Price Chopper, Hannaford, Kings, and ShopRite.]
The salsa verde was pleasantly spicy (though not the thing if you like completely bland food), and was particularly favored by my teenage daughter. I like it and the lemon herb as well. The company emphasizes its quick-freezing process that supposedly avoid turning the shrimp into rubber. I found that they were slightly tough after the five minute heating in boiling water, but nowhere near the throw-it-on-the-car-as-a-tire stage.
The company provides instructions for heating in a microwave, but explicitly says that the recommended method is in boiling water. I stuck with the hot water bath. The products are supposed to be available in stores throughout the Northeast, but I'm not sure where and don't know how much they run. Overall, a good product, especially if you want access to a quick meal whose primary virtue is not how fast you can choke the thing down.
[UPDATE: I heard back from the PR people. Suggested retail price is $2.99 for a one-serving box, and as of 12 Dec. 2008, they are available in the Northeast of the U.S. at grocery chains, including Price Chopper, Hannaford, Kings, and ShopRite.]
Product Review: George Foreman 360 Grilling Machine
This is the first time I've had a chance to try one of the George Foreman-branded grills. After trying it a bit, I can largely recommend it. On the plus side, it gets real hot, real fast, and cooking food from both sides speeds the time to meal. A good amount of grease does pour off the grill when you use the built-in tipping stand that causes the hot liquid to roll off the grill and into a receptacle. There are replaceable surfaces, so you can switch from a grill to a quesadilla maker to a baking dish. The surfaces clean up quickly, and we had great luck grilling burgers, pork chops, fish, and vegetables. There is also a lot of space, and you should be able to cook a 1.5 pound, or perhaps larger, steak.
Now for the cons. Be careful how you set the grill, otherwise you might have the grease container at the edge of a counter and accidentally knock it over, spilling a big mess, as I did. If you like rare or medium-rare meat, then this can get tricky. The grill will cook far faster than you're used to because both sides are getting heat simultaneously. Because of the speed, you won't get the same degree of grilling char marks on the surfaces, and if you look for those, a steak or burger will have already sailed into well-done territory. It's still worth using if you're in a hurry or if the surface appearance isn't so important.
We did try the baking dish for a deep-dish pizza, as the marketing lit says is possible, but I wouldn't even bother. The lid keeps the dough compressed, which makes for a heavy pie. I've yet to try it for a frittata, and suspect that will work well. It would also be good if there latches to keep the lid closed when moving it from a cupboard to a surface for cooking and back again. However, it's a fast way to make dinner with a lot less grease. Retail price is about $150.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Product Review: Tahoe Creamery Ice Cream
New England is a hotbed for great ice cream, even during the winter, which might make you wonder about the sanity of the populace. My family is cheerfully in the cold treat camp, and it means somethign when each of us is trying to get to an ice cream brand before anyone else. That's what it's been like with Tahoe Creamery ice cream - fabulous texture and marvelous flavors. The vanilla is as good as I've had, and that's saying a lot. I even liked the Coffee Crunchy Toffee and the Mint Chip, though I'm typically not a big fan of coffee or mint ice cream. Thumbs up also on the Flow Cookie Dough. I only wish that some of the blueberry flavor had been included, as I've become a convert to blueberry ice cream made with wild Maine berries, and a comparison would have been fun. If you're in the mood for a treat, head to the Tahoe Creamery web site. At $39 for six pints packed in dry ice (not counting shipping), it's not cheap. But it is really good.
