Saratoga Spring Water

Saratoga Spring Water is one of the best sparkling water I ever tasted. The carbonation is perfect although some people may find it heavy. This is an upscale water and often not found at local stores.

The taste is like fresh soda without any sugars or flavors. The award winning cobalt blue glass bottle make the whole experience even better.

Wholesale prices has it at less then $1.00 per 12 ounce bottle but retail it is often up to $4.00 per bottle.

This bottle had some 150 anniversary promotions but I think that contest was over back in August. Still they have a dedicated website and events tied into horse racing.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

Anna's Almond Thins

Got this box of Anna's Almond Thins cookies from a friend at work. I love ginger cookies even though I have found they are not the favorites among most people. Since I was a kid ginger cookies were one of my favorites but I rarely encountered a plate of cookies at school, homes, or work that had gingers.

Although these ginger cookies have almonds in them they are not overwhelming. It is a subtle flavor of almond and each cookie is thin and crisp but not brittle. The cinnamon is very noticeable and the entire cookie is delicious.  

At $2.99 per box your expected to eat 6 cookies per serving, about 36 in a full box. They are just sugar and fat and mostly natural ingredients. Although I found no ginger in the list of ingredients the odd term "flavor" by itself must mean that is where the ginger is hiding.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

Trader Joe's All Natural Chicken Drumsticks

Probably one of the most amazing deals in New York City. Trader Joe's All Natural Chicken Drumsticks are high quality, great tasting, and super cheap. I bought drumsticks from every chain store and national sellers and they are either cheap and nasty or expensive and tasty, included is Purdue on the nasty list.

The price is beyond exceptional. Here is six drumsticks for $2.07, at the time it was $1.49 a pound but price varies from $1.29-$1.79. Often I pick up four packages, that is 24 drumsticks for less than $9.00. If they are out asking one of the workers there will produced just packed pieces from the back. It is so amazingly cheap even some of the workers at Trader Joe's are shocked when they see the price.

The rest of Trader Joe's meat selection is ridiculously expensive but for some reason this is a bargain. I hate sharing great secrets like this but I have to write this to remember that things can sold in NYC for cheap without compromising quality.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

Chips Ahoy! Chewy

Chewy Chips Ahoy! is the ultimate in pre-packaged chewy chocolate chip cookies. I do not like hard cookies and try to look for either chewy or crumbly. Often I buy bakery cookies since they have the best texture. On those rare occasions where I want a cookie and a bakery is not nearby then I know Chewy Chips Ahoy! are going to have the same awesome flavor no matter where I go.

Now be careful when picking up the packs because chewy is in a red pack but there is also oatmeal chewy which are not as good. Original is blue and comes in a reduced fat variety, chunky is brown and comes in white fudge, gooey is multicolor and red and comes in choco-fudge, caramel, mega-fudge, and brownie filled, and a bunch of candy filled varieties that are ever changing.

At the end only chewy is worth the $4.99 price tag. Health-wise they are mostly natural and have too much saturated fat bit nothing awful. a bag could last a person 3 weeks if you do not eat them everyday. As I prefer salty foods it does last me a while.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

Cool Ranch Doritos Chips

The holy grail of tortilla chips is cool ranch. It is like dry dip on each chip. The whole things taste artificial, as

it can never be found in nature, but who cares it is great.

I really have to force myself to eat an apple or two just like that I do not stuff myself with these chips. That side of me that wants to eat healthier will lose if these chops are around. Thanks to their partnership with Taco Bell there is a resurgence in cool ranch flavors and that is a good thing. If they can make a cool ranch breading for chicken I would be thrilled.

One day I will make kale chips and abandon all these pre-packaged goods. Hopefully my heart will not give out before then.

At $4.29 per large bag they are expensive but usually a local pharmacy/convenience store has them on sale for 2/$5.00 so keep an eye out. Often when chips are needed for a party these are ideal to get.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

Birds Eye Voila! Garlic Chicken vs. Homemade

First up Birds Eye Voila! Garlic Chicken:

This bag of precooked pasta is so easy to make. First you buy a package for about $6.00 or less depending on sale. Then you open it and put into a non-stick pan, which I do not own so I lightly oiled a regular pan, and heat for about 15 minutes depending on pan thickness. After that you serve and eat.

It comes out very good and the corn makes it slightly sweet. Good texture and so simple I thought I could have made it.

Next Homemade Garlic Chicken Pasta:

I used snap peas since I like them better than corn in food. My chicken was cut a big fat and was not as flavorful. The pasta and chicken had to be cooked 20 minutes earlier. The peas and broccoli were fresh frozen and I threw them into the final pan after the chicken and pasta were done. Sauce was soy sauce and light spices with a bit of flour for thickening. After about 10 minutes it was done.

While it was edible it was not as good as the bag food. Granted it was enough for six portions the price and time seemed to be more than just buying three bags of Birds Eye. About $12.00 for the homemade but the time and lack of great taste made it a waste.

I am not a chef in any term but recreating a simple pasta dinner should have been easier. I may try again but as long as Birds Eye offers coupons and free samples I will keep buying bags of meals until I get married :) .

Recommendation: Buy it if you can. Avoid making it home.

Coco Cafe

It was a hot and sunny summer day on the not-so-mean streets of Brooklyn. After waiting an hour in an unshaded line to get to the Bushwick Block Party (technically Williamsburg) I was in need of some refreshments. I spot the free Coco Water booth but I hate the taste of coconut water so I start to walk away until I hear Latte.

Apparently the awful coconut water has been mixed with delicious coffee. These were chilled and very cold. I asked for the original latte flavor and braced for overwhelming coconut. Luckily the flavor was not there it was just a hint of coconut and smooth weak coffee. It tasted cold and refreshing but nothing was distinct. I actually liked the original latte enough that I would buy it in the future.

The mocha was not as good but I never been a fan of mocha drinks. There is always a bittersweet cocoa flavor to mocha drinks and his was no different. I really want to try the vanilla since that is usually the best but I am going have to wait until the next free stand at some local festival.

Very little information on the Coco Cafe website but the drink seem healthy enough. Some calcium and potassium and surprisingly a bit of protein. Vita Coco is the main site but that equally lack any detailed information.

Josh Rubin over at Cool Hunting thought it was good and raved about the hippie-ness of the the fair trade and natural stuff. I do not trust all the fair trade all natural stuff since it is more of a fad.

While over at Food Junk both the writer and visitors seem to miss the coconut kick and found it greasy because of the carrageenan which is a seaweed thickener that gives drinks a milky texture. Yes you feel that greasy quality to Coco Cafe but that was expected as the coconut water on its own is to sharp and watery.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

Chiquita Banana #4011

#4011 is the standard yellow variety officially known as the Cavendish Banana. While Chiquita is the number one world banana seller. Of course they sell other fruit but they are famous and sometimes infamous for their bananas.

While politics should rarely invade food blog you have to know that Chiquita has had past problems paying workers fairly. Also the sub-contractors have also been heavy handed when farming. I believe they have honestly been improving but are still far from a great company.

All that aside I did get these bananas because they were super cheap and the organic bananas I've been eating were not the best. Chiquita has perfected bananas especially with refrigerated shipping. While I tend to avoid imported, this is from Guatemala, items I have to say these taste great and worth the price. Hopefully Chiquita will continue to improve and the quality of their fruit will stay high.

See I eat food that has not been prepackaged just highly modified.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

LAY'S Classic Potato Chips

Compared to every other healthy chip I reviewed these greasy bags of salt were the best. Classic LAY'S Potato Chips are the standard to which all chips strive to be. Made with potatoes, vegetable oils, and salt they need nothing else. This small contains 10-15% of your bad choices for the day but it may be worth it.

There is a perfect grease to crisp ratio that few chip makers can match. Since they are more or less natural the chances of finding brown or black chips is high, although the smaller bags contain less bad chips.

The website over at Frito-Lay gives lots of information and nutritional facts. I know what the foodies may say about such a name brand item but good is good, mass production means little to my taste buds. If I could make them at home I would.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

Avocado Oil Potato Chips Sea Salt

From the same people who brought you the Olive Oil Potato Chips Rosemary I reviewed last time this is the Avocado Sea Salt chip. Good Health Natural Products markets this with all the health benefits of Avocado oil.

Avocado oil has lots of good fats and vitamin E but that is usually best when applied to your skin. So maybe after eating these chips I should have rubbed my face to get my money's worth. Still they had a good flavor that was not to salty or greasy. That kettle style was still annoying but that is expected when not using corn oil to fry stuff.

At $2.50 a bag it is in line with other chips but it does have 50% vitamin C which again is not bad for a snack. I like the few Good Health Natural Products chips but they lack that intense flavor I get from name brand chips.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

New York Pizza

Classic and known around the world as one of the best types of pizza. Virtually any neighborhood pizza joint is the same as long as they were once Italian owned. Now for you non-New Yorkers I will address your concerns.

This pizza is meant to be folded and eaten on the go and I would recommend some garlic powder and may some red pepper or whatever spice they have floating around you local pizza joint.

The complaints are usually that they are too greasy, saucy, and not crisp. All of these so called problems are from people who never had a proper slice. The grease can be blotted off or just let it drain off the end of your slice. The sauce is what makes a pizza, if there is no juicy sauce then you just have cheesy-bread. As for crispness the crust should be tough to crisp but the the center should bend a bit. I pretty sure nothing about this meal is healthy.

NY pizza is the best but that does not mean other styles are not good too the just fall short of a true pizza. I am not sure about the myth that NYC water makes the dough better but there is a logic to that.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

Double Dark Chocolate Zone Perfect Bar

I went through dozens of energy bars when I started seriously walking/jogging. I wanted something that is high protein and that could be a replacement meal. Zone Perfect Bars are great for that unfortunately I found most of their flavors horrid.

While I was not a chocolate person I did try their dark chocolate bars and they were great. There is a coffee ground flavor and texture that you may need to get use to but there entire dark chocolate series is worth it. I have eaten them as lunch and also as a snack. They will give you some energy but proper meals are still a must.

Now look at that list of ingredients and nutritional facts. This small bar is packed with goodness and made in the U.S.A., although in a lab. The Double Dark Chocolate page is packed with information easily available on the product page and not hidden like other sites. On average the bars are about $2.00 each but of course buying in bulk is better, the bigger the box the cheaper they get. Double Dark Chocolate Zone Bar on Amazon is the best but many vitamin and drug stores also sell the big boxes.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

Olive Oil Potato Chips Rosemary

I do love chips even if I am not a big snacker. I promise I will start to review real food soon. Until then here is another bag of chips I recently picked up. Good Health Natural Products Olive Oil Potato Chips Rosemary is a long name for bag that is half empty.

Were I a real foodie I would have a bowl of the chips displayed too.

The chips are made kettle style meaning they are thicker and more crisp, translation means extra fried. They had a good crispness without cutting your mouth like other kettle chips. The top chips barely had any rosemary but the bottom ones were overwhelmed with it. I guess shaking the bag a bit may help but these were very unevenly seasoned. They are reasonable greasy and overall I enjoyed them but they are not my favorites.

Available in more locations than I thought and online these Good Health Kettle Style Olive Oil Potato Chips go for about $2.50 per 5 ounces. The website actually has a lot of information from preparation to nutritional info. Heavy in salt and fat is expected these are chips of course, surprising is the 20% Vitamin C guessing from the rosemary. Four ingredients potatoes, rosemary, sea salt, and olive oil make it all-natural.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

The Peanut Shop Virginia Peanuts Lightly Salted

The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg, not the Brooklyn Williamsburg made these tasty treats. These peanuts are the closest nuts I ever had that tasted like peanut butter. Oh and I do not like peanut butter. Still they were good although they lacked salt so I had to add a little more. Lightly salted should be changed to barely salted. I like roasted and unroasted nuts of all kinds so I would like to try more of these if I can find them again.

There is a lack of nutritional both on the can and on the website. I did love the allergy warning. It turns out these peanuts contains peanuts! May also have traces of tree nuts, milk, wheat, egg, and soybeans. American made they were about $5.00 for the 10.5 ounce jar and they had an oxygen remover pack inside to keep them crisp. They also had a refrigeration after opening suggestion which I found odd.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.

Regine's Multigrain Tangy Ranch

Regine's Multigrain Tangy Ranch pita chips are actually quite good. Claiming to be all-natural they are with 7 grains, rye, wheat, oats, barley, corn, sesame seed, and flaxseed. They are crunchy but not like rocks which tends to happen with pita chips. I cannot quite place the tangy flavor and did not read the ingredients so all I can say is that they are sharp and does not require dip.

Pita chips and hummus have been making quite a splash lately and these chips would be great with bland hummus. This is an American made product although the Regine website is lacking nutritional information. Available at $2.50 or less they can be hard to find but I did pick up a bag a Home Goods.

Recommendation: Buy it if you can.