Growing up in the late eighties and early nineties, diet soda was The Thing. As pre-teens and then teenagers, we drank it like it was water, swapping cans of Diet Orange Crush and Diet Muggs Root Beer in an attempt to quench our sugar cravings and keep the weight off. In college, I drank it for the caffeine, when I couldn't stand another cup of mediocre cafeteria coffee.
After college, my soda habit slowly died off as I switched to water, tea and coffee (I've yet to kick that caffeine habit). I'd occasionally have a diet soda, but as the news reports about the dangers of artificial sweeteners flooded media outlets, I tried to stay away.
Virgil's the maker of micro-brewed root beer, cream soda and other classic soda combinations, has recently released a line of small batch Diet Real Cola that uses stevia as the sweetener in place of more common ones like Splenda or NutraSweet. Stevia is an herb that is native to Mexico and South and Central America. There has been some controversy over the safety of stevia, but unlike other sugar substitutes, it has never been found to cause cancer in test animals.
When I opened that first bottle of Virgil's Diet Real Cola, the first thing I noticed is that is doesn't have the metallic scent that comes with just about every other cola on the market. Instead, it smells sweet and a little spicy. As I tasted my initial sip, I noticed that it wasn't as aggressively sweet as traditional sodas. As I kept drinking, my taste buds adjusted and I started to really enjoy the flavor and fizziness of the soda. As I finished the bottle, I was already looking forward to the next.
For those of you who are attached to your Diet Coke, this soda is probably going to taste strange and unwelcome to you. However, I think that this flavor will really speak to the people who want to indulge in a bit of soda on occasion but who don't want all the sugar and caffeine. For you folks, I highly recommend it.
Granola was one of the staples of my childhood. It was always in the house and we ate it with milk for breakfast, with yogurt for lunch and straight out of the jar as an afternoon or evening snack. Sometimes my mom would make batches of it up from this recipe but as life got busier, she would resort to buying bags of it from the bulk bins at the local health food store.
So going into this particular taste test of Bear Naked Native, I brought along with me my years of granola eating experience. My first encounter with these two new flavors (Mango Agave Almond and Yumberry Goji Currant) were during lunch. I settled down with a bowl of yogurt (Pequea Valley, to be precise) and sprinkled a few spoonfuls of the mango flavor on top. I crunched my way through and then did the same with the yumberry variety.
For more than a year now, Starbucks has been working on improving their breakfast offerings. In spring of 2007, they launched a line of breakfast sandwiches, only to announce a year later that they were pulling them from the stores (they then changed their minds again, announcing that they were only going to retool the sandwiches). Earlier this summer, they started selling a line of whole grain pastries, cups of "perfect oatmeal" and a platter that lives in the refrigerated case that contains a hard boiled egg, a small whole wheat bagel, a few slices of cheese and some fruit.
This morning, they launched the latest addition to the breakfast line-up. Called the Piadini, this savory breakfast pastry comes in two varieties - Portobello Mushroom or Sausage, Egg and Cheddar. Energized by a Starbucks-led breakfast and coffee pairing event I attended last week, I stopped by my local Starbucks today to try out this new breakfast option.
I don't actually drink a whole lot of soda, so when I indulge in a bottle of carbonated sugar-y syrup, I want it to be good. I want it to be as bubbly and flavorful as possible, because I sometimes go months between tastes. I was excited to receive this sample pack of Thomas Kemper, mostly because they've recently switched to sweetening their sodas with cane sugar (down with high fructose corn syrup) so there isn't as much guilt in drinking this beverage as with the conventional stuff.
On first taste, the root beer flavor was everything I look for in a soda. Fizzy, strongly flavored and creamy, I was ready to keep on drinking it. However, I was really disappointed by the other two flavors (and I hate saying this, since I really do like the Thomas Kemper company). The Black Cherry lands on the wrong side of the cough syrup divide and the Ginger Ale just doesn't have enough punch. My boyfriend was willing to finish the bottle of Black Cherry, but neither one of us wanted to kill the Ginger Ale. It was sort of disappointing.
I have always been a fan of root beer. When my sister and I were kids, our intake of sugary drinks was actively monitored by our mom and so there wasn't much in the way of soda in our house. When we'd go out to eat, my dad would often get a root beer while we had to content ourselves with milk. We'd beg for sips from his glass on those occasions and so I associate root beer with comfortable family outings and special treats.
When I heard that Thomas Kemper, craft brewer of quality sodas (out of my hometown of Portland, OR) had developed a low calorie root beer that was sweetened with Splenda and honey, I was really excited to taste it. The box arrived last week with three artfully arranged bottles of soda and I popped the whole thing into the fridge to chill.
A couple of hours later it was cool and ready to taste (I must say that drinking soda out of a glass bottle is far more satisfying than out of a can). Twisting off the cap, I took a long pull and swallowed. It was nice and fizzy, but sadly didn't live up to the flavor profile of Thomas Kemper's sugar version of root beer. It is missing the sharpness that root beer typically delivers. This product is totally drinkable and for those folks who are watching their calorie and sugar intake, I would say that it's a terrific option. But personally, I would rather have a single, sugar-based root beer once a month than drink this version on a more frequent basis.
This root beer is available starting this month, and they will be following it up with low calorie versions of their ginger ale and black cherry soda in April.
I grew up with health food store peanut butter. The kind that is essentially just ground peanuts and a little salt, where the oil rises to the top and either has to be stirred in or poured off before you can make a sandwich. I was always envious of my friends who had jars of Skippy or Jif in their cabinets (our peanut butter had to be stored in the fridge so that it didn't go bad). These days I now prefer the peanut butter I grew up with, loving the flavor of the nuts and salt without any added sugar or fats.
The folks over at AOL Food threw themselves on sword of bad food and tasted 35 different jars of peanut butter in order to find the very best of the best. Their winner was Whole Foods 365 Brand Crunchy Peanut Butter. I'm not a huge fan of crunchy peanut butter typically, but hearing that a collection of reliable foodies determined that it was the best of the bunch makes me curious to give it a shot.
Okay folks, what do you think? Did the AOL Food testers get it right? What's your favorite peanut butter?
I feel like I need to apologize in advance for this because the kind people over at Reyka vodka were nice enough to send a bottle of their new vodka to me to try, and presumably, it flew all the way over here from Iceland! However, I can't promise that I have the nicest things to say about Reyka Vodka.
Reyka Vodka's bottle design is what struck me first -- there is absolutely nothing sexy about the packaging at all. Unlike so many of the new vodkas that are being marketed these days that are tall, sleek, and smooth, sometimes opaque to hide the elixir inside, Reyka is a rather short, squat bottle that has a slight bluish cast, like a soda bottle. The label is plain white paper that almost looks like stationary, with simple black block lettering. I suppose, in a way, it's a little bit refreshing to come across something so straightforward.
More often than not, when people talk about cupcakes and the bakeries that specialize in them, New York and Los Angeles are the two cities that come up. From Magnolia Bakery and Buttercup Bakeshop in NY to Sprinkles in LA, the rest of the country gets passed over like plain cupcake for a cream-filled one. But non-coastal residents should know that there are plenty of cupcakes to choose from elsewhere in the US and, to prove this point, the Detroit News conducted a taste test of local chocolate cupcakes. Each shop was scored on a scale of 1-5, with one being poor and 5 being excellent:
Papa Joe's Chocolate Cupcakes (4.5, $1.89) - "Sinfully wonderful!"
Peanut butter preference can be a very personal thing. Some people like theirs chunky, others prefer theirs to be creamy and smooth. Some would rather have natural, others enjoy the familiarity of commercial brands that they ate growing up. Growing up, my family solved the problem of preference by having multiple jars of peanut butter on hand at all times, ensuring that everyone had something they liked for toast and sandwiches, in addition to making sure there was something to use for baking peanut butter cookies.
Chicken sausages are lower in fat and calories than most pork or beef sausages, but they aren't known for having as much flavor as the two meatier varieties. This isn't to say that they're bad, just that they tend not to be as crave-inducing as their counterparts. But because some chicken sausages aren't all that satisfying doesn't mean that none are. EatingWell magazine set out, in their most recent issue, to do a taste test of 27 different varieties of chicken sausages to find out which ones were the most worth-eating, both when it came to flavor and health.
After an exhaustive and filling trial, EW's tasting panel narrowed the field down to eight top picks from five manufacturers. They all had approximately half the calories and one third of the fat of the average pork sausage, but were still very tasty. The winners included:
Al Fresco: Buffalo Style, Sweet Italian Style, and Teriyaki Ginger
Harry & David is known for their gourmet gift baskets and the high quality fruits, nuts, chocolates and other goodies that they ship out. They are not the "go-to" source for Valentine's Vay chocolates, however, because many consumers feel that they will get better chocolates from a source that specializes only in chocolates. This decision, although seemingly logical, is not necessarily the right one to make. A multi-brand taste test in Money Magazine placed Harry & David's chocolates above those from Vosages Haute-Chocolate, Whittman, Godiva and Target's Choxie.
Brands from all different price categories were chosen and evaluated for quality of the chocolate, the "accuracy of flavors," packaging appeal and value by a group of women (since they are somewhat more likely to receive chocolates on Valentine's Day than men).
The specific chocolate selection used in the taste test was Harry & David's 1-lb. Grand Collection, which includes a variety of milk and dark chocolates with nuts, caramels, toffees, fruits and berries. It retails for $29.99.
The most widely available non-dairy nog is the Silk brand Soy Nog, although Vitasoy and Oregon Chai also have non-dairy nogs available. All three are good choices for anyone who is vegan, lactose intolerant or simply looking for a healthier - lower fat and lower calorie - alternative to traditional eggnog. I picked up Silk Nog, along with "light" and regular nogs (Rockview Farms brand from Trader Joe's) for an impromptu taste test.
The regular eggnog was the thickest and most yellow - no doubt to reassure the drinker as to the number of egg yolks - and the others were progressively less so. Personally, as I have a preference for thinner, uncooked eggnogs, I liked the "light" version better than the full fat. Neither had a strong egg flavor, but both had the feel of custard and a nice nutmeg-y taste, although there was an almost minty quality about them that seemed like it would work well with alcohol (I tasted all these plain). The Silk nog was not too sweet and was drinkably thin, making it more refreshing than either of the eggnogs. It also had a much milder taste to it, which I preferred. Overall? An eggnog aficionado is not going to be satisfied with the Silk nog and will probably enjoy the heavier stuff, but the Silk nog is tasty - and at only 90 calories and 2 grams of fat per serving, it's a holiday treat worth having.
While I have experimented with different butters in baking, I'm not sure that I'd want to participate in a butter taste test - particularly not when one of the tastings involves eating butters plain to "experience their melting properties directly on the tongue." That being said, I do appreciate the efforts of the tasters from Cooks Illustrated who participated in a premium butter tasting, eating butter both plain and on baguettes to try to pick out the top butter.
The butters tested all had butterfat contents of at least 82%, higher than the standard 80%, with the exception of Land O'Lakes, which was included as a benchmark. Every single butter tested - seven unsalted and six salted - were recommended including the non-premium benchmark butter, so it sounds like you can't go wrong by choosing a name-brand butter or a butter that is "european-style." The butters were ultimately ranked by preference, but not one was a loser:
We first heard about Cacao Reserve chocolates, the new premium line from Hershey's, a couple of weeks ago. It is the first Hershey's-branded premium chocolate line, since up until this point, all of the gourmet products from the company have been produced by Scharffen Berger or Joseph Schmidt Confections, the two luxury chocolate brands that Hershey's acquired. Cacao Reserve is all-natural and, like so many other new chocolates, is categorized by cacao percentage, not just "milk" or "dark." They seem to carry the full line, although I did not see the "country of origin" bars (with beans from specific countries, at Target and I picked up a couple bars to try.
According to their mission statement, sweetriot's goal is to "create a more just and celebrated multicultural world for our next generation." A fine mission, to be sure, but what they actually do is sell a line of chocolate covered cacao nibs. Appropriately named "peaces", all of their products are all-natural, gmo-free, dairy-free, kosher, gluten-free and feature only fair trade chocolate. In addition to carrying a social cause, they also taste great. The nibs come in three primary flavors, divided and named by the cacao content of the chocolate that enrobes the nibs. Flavor 50 is a mild dark chocolate and almost similar in flavor to milk chocolate, though it is dairy-free. Flavor 65 is a classic dark chocolate and flavor 70 (pictured) is extra dark and boosted with a bit of espresso.
My favorite way to eat them is to mix the three different peace mixes - 50, 65 and 70 - together. The sweeter 50 takes the edge off the dark 70, while leaving a nice espresso taste. Basically, they all just get along - and there's no need to overthink it because it tastes so good.
If you want to give them a taste, the Happy holly-days pack and Hanukah packs deliver one tin of each flavor and also make great little gifts. You can also try the newest flavor, 70cinn, which is a limited edition flavor released just for the holidays.
Growing up in the late eighties and early nineties, diet soda was The Thing. As pre-teens and then teenagers, we drank it like it was water, swapping cans of Diet Orange Crush and Diet Muggs Root Beer in an attempt to quench our sugar cravings and keep the weight off. In college, I drank it for the caffeine, when I couldn't stand another cup of mediocre cafeteria coffee. 
I have always been a fan of root beer. When my sister and I were kids, our intake of sugary drinks was actively monitored by our mom and so there wasn't much in the way of soda in our house. When we'd go out to eat, my dad would often get a root beer while we had to content ourselves with milk. We'd beg for sips from his glass on those occasions and so I associate root beer with comfortable family outings and special treats. 
I grew up with health food store peanut butter. The kind that is essentially just ground peanuts and a little salt, where the oil rises to the top and either has to be stirred in or poured off before you can make a sandwich. I was always envious of my friends who had jars of Skippy or Jif in their cabinets (our peanut butter had to be stored in the fridge so that it didn't go bad). These days I now prefer the peanut butter I grew up with, loving the flavor of the nuts and salt without any added sugar or fats. 
More often than not, when people talk about cupcakes and the bakeries that specialize in them, New York and Los Angeles are the two cities that come up. From 
Peanut butter preference can be a very personal thing. Some people like theirs chunky, others prefer theirs to be creamy and smooth. Some would rather have natural, others enjoy the familiarity of commercial brands that they ate growing up. Growing up, my family solved the problem of preference by having multiple jars of peanut butter on hand at all times, ensuring that everyone had something they liked for toast and sandwiches, in addition to making sure there was something to use for baking 
Chicken sausages are lower in fat and calories than most pork or beef sausages, but they aren't known for having as much flavor as the two meatier varieties. This isn't to say that they're bad, just that they tend not to be as crave-inducing as their counterparts. But because some chicken sausages aren't all that satisfying doesn't mean that none are. 
Harry & David
The most widely available non-dairy nog is the Silk brand Soy Nog, although 
While I have experimented with 
According to their 
Soy and chickpeas might help stroke victims
The world of pie and tart crusts
Starbucks launches the Piadini 
