Tropical Traditions Coconut Butter Review

There are not many flavors I like better than coconut and peanut butter. So when I came across Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter I knew it had to be a winner. The nice people at Tropical Traditions were nice enough to send me a jar to review.

I could not wait to open up this jar and dig into it. There was quite a bit of separation. I made a bit of a mess stirring it together. But that didn't bother me. I didn't let any of it go to waste. I licked it right off my hand. Yes, I said I licked it. And before you think anything if you tasted it you would do the same thing.

The balance of coconut and peanut butter was perfect! The flavor is very strong. Some other nut butters I have tried get lost when you mix it in with things. Not this one! I put it in my pineapple smoothie and could still taste the deliciousness! It made a divine addition to my smoothie!

This is a very diet friendly food too. 1 teaspoon = 1 Weight Watchers Point

Artisana Organic Raw Macadamia Cashew Butter Review

I am more than half way through the samples of Artisana. Tonight I tried Organic Raw Macadamia Cashew. Finally one with the big chunks in it! It was very tasty! This is one of the higher fat choices. But if you want something you have to chew this is for you. I like some crunch every once in a while!

This one packs a punch with 6 Weight Watchers points per packet.

Artisana Walnut Butter Review

Another nut butter pleaser from Artisana! I am not a huge fan of walnuts. But Artisana Raw Walnut Butter might just change my mind! It is so smooth and packs a punch of delicious flavor!

From the Artisana website...

Walnuts can be considered a super food because they contain a full complement of vitamins, including B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and folic acid. They also contain a wealth of minerals, such as iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc.

Walnuts contain Vitamin E#alpha, beta, delta and gamma-tocopherol, making it exceptionally high in antioxidants.

Nutritionists tell us that Omega 3 fatty acids are found in only a few plant food sources, yet are essential to a healthy body. In a 2,000-calorie diet, 3 tablespoons of walnuts will provide our daily requirement of these Omega 3 fatty acids.

This makes this yummy nut butter a perfect edition to a healthy diet!

1 packet = 5 weight watchers point

Artisana Cashew Butter Review

Here is another review of Artisana Nut Butters. Again, I am amazed at the generosity of all of the samples Premier Organics sent me. This is like a dream for me! I love sampling all the different nut butters!

Cashini is still my favorite so far. But the cashew butter is a VERY close second. It is so smooth and creamy! I am definitely going to hunt out these packets on my trip out west next month. I think nut butters with cashew have worked their way to the top of my favorites list!

1 packet = 5 Weight Watchers Points

Artisana Pecan Butter Review

Let me start off by saying I had to use the image off of Artisana's website for this review. I took a picture on my phone. But I dropped my phone and broke it so I can't get the pic.

On with the review! The Pecan Butter was FANTASTIC! The packet was the perfect amount of pecan goodness! It was not oily. It had little bits of pecans. This in a chunky version would be amazing! The pecan version is higher in fat which makes it not as diet friendly. But on days that you have eaten well all day this is a perfect treat!

1 packet = 6 weight watchers points (Good thing my sample was a packet. Otherwise I would have been on the couch with the jar and a spoon. It is that good!)

Artisana Almond Butter Review

This is my second Artisana nut butter review. Tonight I tried the Raw Almond Butter. I have tried a lot of different brands of almond butter. I love the Artisana individual packets! It was a lot easier to knead a small packet versus trying to stir up a messy jar. The Raw Almond Butter was a little drier than other almond butters I have tried. But the flavor was GREAT! It had a very fresh almond taste.

1 packet = 4 Weight Watchers Points

Artisana Cashini Nut Butter Review

Yesterday I got a large box from UPS. I had no clue what it was. I was very surprised when I opened it and saw all of this. Premier Organics was very generous and sent me a variety of their products to review. I am so excited about this being one of many reviews about Artisana Nut Butter from Premier Organics.

Here is a little bit of information from their website:

What makes our Nut Butters so special?

Taste – Simply put, they taste the best

Unique variety – In addition to our superior Almond Butter and Tahini, we make five unique varieties: Walnut Butter, Pecan Butter, Cashew Butter, and Macadamia/Cashew Butter. Our coconut products include the ever popular Coconut Butter and it's related "Bliss SuperFood Blends... as well as our NEW Extra Virgin Pure Coconut Oil.

Fresh – We hand-select only the finest new-harvest nuts, seeds and coconut for our butters - our almonds and walnuts are the best California has to offer

Quality – All of our nut and seed butters are hand crafted in small batches in Berkeley, CA with careful attention to detail.

Organic – We only use 100% certified Organic nuts, seeds, and coconut meat which means no toxic pesticides, chemicals, or genetically modified organisms. (Certified by QAI)

Pure – We don't add any extra ingredients. No salt, sugar, preservatives or artificial flavors - Nothing. Which means that all you get is the clean, fresh taste of nuts and seeds the way nature intended.

Raw – The ingredients which comprise our products are raw, not roasted, and made into butter with a low temperature process. This means that all of the enzymes, proteins and vitamins are intact, in their natural state and fully utilized by the body. Heat destroys these sensitive nutrients.

Powerful – Forget caffeine! Packed with energy-laden nutrients, our nut butters are a great source of sustained energy.

Healthy – Nuts and seeds in the form that we make them - totally raw and organic and processed into butter (purée) - are among the most basic and healthy foods one can eat on the planet, offering to the consumer:

*Non-animal proteins and enzymes

*Vitamins and Minerals

*Essential fatty-acids (including Omega-3, of which Walnut butter has the most)

*Fiber

... All in products more readily digestible than whole nuts...making them truly whole foods.

PEANUT, GLUTEN, and DAIRY FREE

Kosher – All of our products are KSA Kosher certified.

Storage – None of our products need to be refrigerated

I had a very hard time trying to decide what to try first. I ended up going with the Cashini. It is a very smooth blend of cashews, sesame seeds, and sea salt.
Here is what the packet looks like opened.
I put most of the Cashini in a smoothie. But it was so good I licked every last morsel of it from the wrapper. I have never tasted anything quite like this. I am super pumped Premier Organics sent a large jar of Cashini along with this packet. If you haven't tried this go get some now! This shows where you can get it online.

For those of you that track Weight Watchers points a packet is 5 points.

Kettle Hazelnut Butter Review

This is another jar of nut butter Kettle Brands was nice to send me. I posted a review on Kettle Almond and Cashew butter a few weeks ago. I opened up the Kettle Hazelnut Butter last night. I was so excited! Back in my chocolate eating days I loved Nutella. This was super oily. I made a big mess trying to stir it up. I hate to say it, but the hazelnut butter just isn't for me. I didn't like the taste of it. I love hazelnut flavored things. I am surprised I didn't like it.

Kettle Cashew & Almond Butter Review

I LOVE nut butters! It doesn't matter what kind it is as long as there isn't chocolate in it I love it! I used to always stick to Peter Pan until they had the contamination issue. Now I have branched out and love trying any and all kinds. Kettle Brand was nice enough to send me samples to taste and review.

I was very excited when I came home from a weekend away and saw the box of Kettle Nut Butters on my front porch. The peanut butter was in the box upside down and the oil leaked out a little. But I just wiped it off and turned it over.

I had a hard time decided which jar to open first! I decided to dig into the cashew butter. The cashew butter did not have much separation. It was super easy to stir up. I am big on serving size. The jar said 1 oz. I understand that is the most accurate way. But it is very helpful to put approximately 1 tablespoon or something like that beside it. I got out my food scale to make sure I didn't go overboard on my serving. That is VERY easy for me to do with a jar of anything!
After tasting a little bit of the cashew butter I put in in my smoothie. Oh my was it good! This was my first time trying plain cashew butter it was VERY creamy! I would definitely recommend it and will be buying it again!

Next I decided to try the almond butter. It was harder to stir together. It is very good! But it is very thick. My favorite way of having it so far is with a little bit of heated brie and an apple. The strong almond flavor is great with the cheese!

The jars all say to refrigerate after opening. I don't want to have four open jars in the fridge. As soon as I finish the first two I will open the peanut and hazelnut butters and do another review.

First Ever Giveaway Funky Monkey Snacks!!!!

This is my first ever blog giveaway! I got an email this week from Hungry Girl about Funky Monkey Snacks. Jennifer at Funky Monkey was nice enough to send me a sample pack. One lucky entry will also get a sample pack.

We just broke into our first pack, Pink Pineapple. My kids are sitting beside me begging for more. It is so good! The flavor is great! It is by far the best freeze-dried fruit we have ever tried! I am going to try some of the Bananamon in my oatmeal in the morning.

Funky Monkey snacks do not have any added sugar, preservatives, color, or flavoring. I am super pumped about the no added sugar! The kids and I love dried fruits. But it is so hard to find it without a bunch of junk on it. Each pack contains 3 servings of fruit!

There are seven scrumptious flavors...

Applemon (Apple with Cinnamon) Points 1

Bananamon (Banana with Cinnamon) Points 2

Carnival Mix (Banana, Pineapple, Apple, and Papaya) Points 2

Jivealime (Pineapple with Lime) Points 2

MangOJ (Mango with Orange Juice) Points 1

Pink Pineapple (Pineapple with Guava) Points 2

Purple Funk (Banana with Acai) Points 2

For those of you that do Weight Watchers I listed the points value for a whole bag beside the flavors. This is an awesome healthy snack!

To enter the contest please leave a comment telling me:

-Why you should win the sample pack

-Which flavor you would like to try the most

-How you are going to eat it (plain, in some type of recipe, etc)

Contest ends Tuesday, June 15th at noon.

Amano Chocolates

I won free Amano Chocolates from Blake at http://www.blakemakes.com/. I was hoping to get it in time for Andrew's birthday cake. But it didn't make it. It came FedEx first thing this morning. I don't eat chocolate. My first thought was to make Andrew chocolate ice cream. But my grandma was coming over so I decided to make chocolate chip cookies and have a taste test with the different chocolates.

Andrew and my grandma both liked the chocolates in the same order. Below they are ranked with #1 being their favorite:

#1 Cuyagua Limited Edition Dark Chocolate: Rich chocolate flavor with flavor notes of spice and melon.

#2 Ocumare Grand Cru Dark Chocolate: Rich chocolate flavor with flavor notes of red fruit.

#3 Madagascar Premium Dark Chocolate:Light chocolate flavor with intense flavor notes of citrus and raspberry.