Snack Attack: Operation #eatthemall

Another Saturday, another long shift at the running store. It is usually Saturday where it hits me at how long and fast paced my week was. Luckily, a morning run (sans running partner) should wake me up a bit before work.

I can’t say I am in total great spirits. Some sad news from home is leaving me feeling a bit.. lost. I know we all deal with shit, it’s life, but when things happen out of your control you realize just how good you have it. Yet at the same time, I tend to not take advantage of that. I need personal time but have not made space for it, leaving me unable to really process it all. But that’s my ramble.

As I said, these Snack Attacks are starting to slow but doesn’t mean I don’t have some of my favorite hits coming up, including the first one today.

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Quest Bars

Where have I been? I am kicking  myself for not finding these sooner because I don’t think I can live without them. (However, I am struggling to find them near me – deeply hurt by this) All of the bars have 20 grams of high quality protein with only 4 grams of non-fiber carbohydrates.  They are soy-, gelatin-, sugar-, sugar alcohol-, trans fat-, and of course gluten-free. Even the little trick to heat them in the microwave for 15 seconds make them a delicious cookie type bar. With these types of stats you only wonder about that dreaded bar after taste but I can assure you there was none. Not even close. A chewy texture with a little crunch here and there. The flavors are out of this world – Peanut Butter & Jelly, Chocolate Brownie, Mixed Berry, Apple Pie, Vanilla Almond, Peanut Butter, Coconut Cashew, Strawberry Cheesecake, Cinnamon Roll, Lemon Cream Pie and Chocolate Peanut Butter. (I have heard of a few news one out there like Chocolate Chip Cookie dough but I have yet to get my hands on that gem!)

Seriously, I struggle to pick a favorite. I did adore the Vanilla Almond – just such a delicious vanilla taste with a hint of almond that was not too overwhelming. The Cinnamon Roll was gosh darn drool worthy, there were even swirls of cinnamon flavorings you could see. That my friends is how I want to eat my cinnamon rolls. Even the Peanut Butter was pretty stand out, the girl who usually can’t take peanut butter flavored stuff. You don’t understand how badly I need to get my hands on more.

As you can tell I highly recommend these, great stats and great taste. The one thing that breaks my heart is their price tag. I seriously wish I could afford to have one of these every day (or more than one…), they are that good. Maybe I should make an operation 2013 to win a lifetime supply? A girl can dream.  Check out their website to learn more about these Quest Bars.

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Breakstone’s Butter

I like butter. I said it. I know people may be all about that coconut butter, nut butter, olive oil, blah blah but I just like my good old fashioned butter. Since 1882, Breakstone’s has been making kosher quality butter with only the purest ingredients to get that signature creamy taste. Keller’s Creamery has created a product line that includes spreadable, meltable and eat worthy butters including Whipped Salted Butter, Whipped Unsalted Butter, Organic Salted Whipped Butter, Salted Quarters, Unsalted Quarters, and Breakstone’s Spreadables.

I am a huge fan of whipped butter so was pretty stoked that they had whipped butter in their line. I immediately picked up a tub of the whipped salted butter and put it to good use. I added it to egg beaters to make a nice scramble, put it in a sauce for spaghetti squash, spread it on a rice cake or even my favorite melted over homemade popcorn. When they creamy signature taste, they meant it. It had that wonderful buttery taste that enhances any ingredients you use it with. Even my mini protein donuts benefited from adding some Unsalted Quarters butter to the batter. So freaking tasty. I have to say that I appreciate they make an unsalted version of their butters. I really hate overly salty things so I tend to go towards the unsalted when cooking. It didn’t lack any of the taste, only the salt.

I will be a butter girl for a long time to come and Breakstone’s is a great compliment to that. Check out their website for more info!

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Rice Dream 

I am constantly experimenting with dairy type beverages just because too much dairy is never good for my system. Almond based has been my go to for so long but I thought it was time to venture out of that sphere. Rice Dream is a line of rice based products that comes from the same company that makes Almond Dream, Coconut Dream, Dream Chocolate Bars, Dream Blends and Soy Dream. I was sent some shelf stable Rice Dream products and their newest Dream Blends shelf stable drinks. These rice based products have the creamy texture of dairy but are all rice based. Many are made to have the same calcium as milk, low fat, all natural and some even enriched with Vitamins A, D and B12. Most of their varieties come  in sweetened and unsweetened so based on your taste you can choose what works best for your need.

I was able to try the Rice Dream Enriched drink which was an awesome addition to cereal, eggs or even smoothies. It had a creamy texture that didn’t lack any flavor, plus the addition of calcium is always welcomed. The Dream Blends really intrigued me – they come in Enriched Coconut, Almond & Chia, Enriched Rice & Quinoa, and Enriched Almond, Cashew & Hazelnut (with their unsweetened counterpart as well). The taste was so interesting, very difficult to describe because you got that nutty undertone from the nut variety but still a creamy taste. I could actually drink a glass of these, which I find pretty difficult to do with some other almond or soy drinks. It also gave great flavor when paired with fruit in a smoothie or protein powder. Their shelf stable nature make them an awesome alternative for me because they are easy to keep and don’t cost that much compared to a whole gallon of a refrigerated kind.

Give these new varieties a try, I think you may be sold. Not going to lie, I am dying to try their ice cream – next on the list. Check out their website for more info.

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Hope you all have a great Saturday ahead! Let’s pray the weather doesn’t take a turn for the worst like they keep predicting.

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