Snack Attack + Better News than Not

Well, my mom may be sick in bed but my dad is making the drive to DC to deliver my couch and dining room table. He is staying for the weekend so for once I will have a car to do errands. Guys, this is huge. I will be able to food shop and for once stock up. I honestly think this will do wonders for my sanity. Yes, my mom may not be coming but I want her to get better rather than truck here and run around with me. My dad better be ready though for various trips to everywhere I haven’t been able to get to. This being said, I may be MIA this weekend on the blog till he leaves. I am currently just feeling so miserable, stomach is out of control and I can’t find food that sits well on it. I miss good food. Let’s hope the GI doctor sheds some wonderful light on this. Maybe just having food on hand will help. Who knows.

As work picks up, these will be getting a wee bit smaller. Work has already been getting busier with later nights and some weekend commitments. It only gets worse from here. But I still have a few gems I must share. (Make sure at the end of the post to check out my final review for each). Enjoy your Saturday!

Michael Season’s Baked Cheese Puffs, Cheese Curls and Popped Black Bean Crisps

Enter new addiction. How have I never had these before and seen them before until now? My 22 years of life have been missing out.

The Season’s Snack products are all about feel good snacking. Their products contain all natural ingredients, no preservatives, no artificial colorings or flavorings, no hydrogenated oils, no MSG and oh duh, a great taste! The Baked Cheese snacks and Popped Black Bean Crisps are gluten & wheat free, all natural and reduced fat. They even sell them in individual size served snacks (these I need to find, like now!) If you check out their site they have even more flavors that I wasn’t able to try – flavors that I will get my hands on. Hello Jalapeno and Hot Chili Pepper. Where are you hiding?

Now, I like my cheese puffs. I would say if you get me some gluten free cheese puffs, you would be one of my best friends. These did not disappoint. I actually found the puffs cheesier than the curls. The Baked Puffs were a perfect size for munching with a 1.5 cup serving to boot! The cheese taste was delicious and very apparent. Best part, lick the cheese off your fingers! The Baked Crisps great as well, less cheesy taste, but a soft crunch that made me want more. Love at first site for both. 

The Popped Black Bean Crisps come in Sea Salt, Roasted Red Pepper and Nacho Cheese. THESE are where its at. I was a little skeptical when I saw the black saucers (resembling pop chips) but their taste was so good. The flavor was spot on, even the Sea Salt. It had a crunch without being too dry.

Who wants to be my best friend and buy these for me? Please? Check out their website and Like them on Facebook.

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Trubar from the Bakery on Main

So the non-bar girl I am, I have to say I was skeptical to give these bad boys a try. I hate the fact that bars have no flavor, are kind of one mushy texture-less log and are overly sweet. These were everything but that. I was seriously impressed by the six flavors where you could literally see each and every ingredient they were made of. 

Trubars are fruit and nut based bars that provide a good source of fiber and Omega, made with low GI ingredients, and are dairy and casein free. They are also low in sodium, contain no trans fat or cholesterol, certified gluten free, Non GMO Project verified and Kosher Parve. These can only be found to order online at http://www.bakeryonmain.com with free shipping, plus 25% off sleeves of 12 bars. So who is Bakery on Main? They were founded in 2003 in a small bakery on Main Street in Glastonbury, Connecticut. They kept hearing celiac customers complaining about their lack of delicious tasting food, only having options that lacked flavor. Now, they produce these bars to fit such dietary needs.

 

Their six flavors include Hazelnut Chocolate Cherry Bar, Walnut Cappuccino Bar, Fruit and Nut Bar, Raspberry Chocolate Almond Bar, Coconut Cashew Bar and Apricot Chai Bar. What I love about these flavor options is that there is such a variety for all taste buds. If you don’t like chocolate, they have a fruity version. If you are not a fan of one type of nut, there is a bar with another type. I was literally drooling over the Coconut Cashew Bar. I usually am not a cashew fan, I never eat raw nuts period. But this bar was heavenly, so coconut-y with a smooth yet crunchy texture. I was even won over by the Hazelnut Chocolate Cherry Bar where the round, chewy, plump dried cherries made a great appearance in the taste and sight. Holy yum.

A bar convert? We will have to see. Visit them at www.bakeryonmain.com to order your own!

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Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Crunch Granola and Mega Chunks Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

What am I doing? The non-chocolate girl willing to try *gasp* chocolate. Enjoy Life though won my heart with their Plentils so recruited some buddies to give these a try.

As in all Enjoy Life products, these are gluten free and allergy friendly, containing no wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, shellfish, potatoes, sesame, sulfites or casein. The Double Chocolate Crunch is a nut free granola that is loaded with their semi sweet mini chips. The actual granola was not as chunky as I  most granola but had a serious chocolate punch. You would swear you were eating a bar of chocolate yet in healthy form. I was seriously surprised by that factor. The fact that it is good for you kind of blows me away. Again, the non chocolate fan I am made my co worker jump up and down because she devoured this bag. Not only did she eat it straight from the bag, but she had it in milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and even into cookies. She couldn’t stop praising its goodness.

The Mega Chunks semi sweet chocolate chips are premium quality chocolate that is great for baking, or as they say, just eating from the bags. What I liked about these is that they were not too sweet. Again, my coworker could not stop raving how these made her chocolate cookies not only have more of a chocolate punch but taste better. She also made a healthy trail mix with the bag. I think she is sold on using these from now on. Plus, they are the perfect size chunks. Not too massive but some tiny block. 

I am telling you, if you are a chocolate fan you will be drooling. Check out their website, follow them on Twitter and like them on Facebook!

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Hi, I’m Skinny by Cornfields, Inc. 

Hi, I’m Skinny is a new skinny snack line that is the latest non-GMO, grain based snack with a long skinny tube like shape. They pack up to 17 grams of heart healthy whole grains per serving with up to 40% less fat than normal potato chips. They use sunflower oil and some wicked seasonings to make the flavor pop in each of their six flavors. Even better, they have two flavors that are gluten free (the Veggie Tortilla and Sweet Potato). 

I am sorry but I FREAKING ADORE THESE. I had never seen them before and actually had just heard about them once online. I have had veggie sticks before and what I disliked about those are the lack of flavor. These blew away all my past  expectations, I was addicted for all the right reasons. Of course, because of the gluten allergy, I was only able to try the others but I did devour the Sweet Potato bag. Oh my goodness me I can’t even describe the crunch, the flavor power, the personality these had. The other non gluten free flavors include Multi Grain Cheddar, Tangy BBQ, Sweet Onion and Sea Salt. Truth? I had to try the Sweet Onion and Tangy BBQ. My friend had to rip the bag away from me because I wanted more. The Sweet Onion was probably the most unique flavor I had ever had. The Tangy BBQ was like a backyard BBQ in a bag. Get your hands on these or I will find them and eat them all. No joke team, no joke.

I am desperately searching for them around me. I am on a search and it won’t end until they are in my hands. Check out their website, Like them on Facebook and Follow them on Twitter (@HiImSkinny).

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Popcorners 

I had seen these floating around in the gluten free blog world. Never had I really given them a try. I am sure glad I did because what I was expecting was so different than what I actually got. To me, I thought it was would be a sad excuse for my love popcorn. Oh no, these are far from that. They are crisp triangles of goodness that have a crunch of popcorn, the crisp of a popped chip and the flavor of a loaded chip. I mean a total score.

Popcorners are all natural, gluten free popped corn chips. They call themselves the new shape of popcorn. I was lucky enough to try their snack size bags of each flavor – flavors I have not even heard of until now. Their flavors include Butter, Caramel, Kettle, White Cheddar, Cheesy Jalapeño and Sea Salt. For the first time, I have to say it is hard to pick a favorite flavor. I more of each one of them. The White Cheddar of course was bomb, it had that subtle cheesy flavor that resembled some of my favorite white cheddar snacks. The Kettle was super unique and definitely had that salty/sweet combo nailed. Even the Butter was like eating a bowl of buttered movie theater popcorn. Could you ask for more?

I need to find these snack sizes around me because they are great for on the go. Picking one flavor to buy would be too hard to decide! Check out their website, Like them on Facebook and Follow them on Twitter!

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And the wrap up… probably the most important part of any review.

• Michael Season’s Feel Good Baked Snacks: If I found the snack packs, I would buy them. I haven’t seen them though around me. The black bean popped crisps were really good but it was kind of a bummer that the chips only took up a quarter of the bag space. Black hole much? But I loved the flavor.
• Trubar from the Bakery on Main: If I didn’t have to order them and I could find them in a store I would buy them. Never have I been about bars but these are actual ingredients I see and  not too high calorie. I liked them a lot.
• Enjoy Life chocolate products: While I would never eat the chocolate granola because I personally don’t like granola, I would buy the chips for baking. They are a great non dairy, gluten free alternative and great for that purpose. Perfect size too.
• Hi I’m Skinny: If I saw these near me, again I would buy them in a heart beat. Really freaking good. Really good.
• Popcorners: Again, snack packs with all the flavors and easily portioned pouches would be mine if I saw them around me. I haven’t but I am on the look out now. I am such of fan of these.