2 Product Reviews: Antioxidant Smoothies & Fruit Leathers

So I recently found out that being a food blogger gives you free license to either ask for free stuff, and occasionally get offered free stuff. What a wonderful blogger world this is!

POM Wonderful recently sent me some cute little 8 oz. bottles of their 100% pomegranate juice. Tart and delicious, I don't usually buy them because they can be rather expensive, but they are loaded with good-for-you antioxidants. My only concern is the packaging. Although very cute and identifiable, it seems like a a bit wasteful to buy small containers of this stuff, if you can afford to buy one large one. Just my eco-thoughts.

Anway, since it is now a searing 96 degrees here in Davis, what better way to utilize this beautiful elixir in a nice frosty smoothy! ...Just add some more antioxidant-rich fruits to kick some free-radical ass!

Blend together:
8 oz. POM 100% pomegranate juice
1/2 C. fresh blackberries
1/2 C. fresh blueberries
1/4 C. strawberries
1/4 C. red seedless grapes
1 red apple (cored, and skin on)
1 large banana
1/2 C. vanilla soy milk
1 1/2 - 2 C. crushed ice

makes one pitcher

Mmmmmm......refreshing!

Now, what could bring you back to childhood faster than fruit roll-ups? The "healthy" snack that our moms got for us, when we begged for candy bars and pixie sticks. Back then, it was like injecting straight sugar into our veins- oh, what a rush! To avoid our bug-eyed hyperness, mom would opt for the fruit, and we would sigh heavily for a moment of unappreciative borderline tantrum, but then jump in happily with our new food toy. We unrolled it, played with it, tore it up into strips, poked holes in it, re-rolled it, sucked on it, and finally ate it with glee.

Mom just didn't realize that those fruit roll-ups probably had just as much sugar as, well.. sugar.

Well, now there's a truly healthier alternative from Chef Robert's All Natural Snacks, home of Matt's Munchies Fruit Leathers. An "adult" version, but still fun. And not all that added sugar and artificial flavoring!

Chef Roberts sent me a sample pack of the following flavors:
Apple Pie, Choco Nana, Ginger Zest, Banana, Mango, and Island Mango.

Here's the review: Favorites in my household (from most liked to least liked) are Island Mango, Mango, Banana, Apple Pie, Choco Nana, and Ginger Zest.

Surprisingly, we didn't like the Choco Nana as much as we expected, but I thought they were all pretty good, and not surprisingly- the 12 packs were gone in a few days, with maybe a couple partials left.

I thought the ingredients were spectacular with the organic fruits, and would definitely recommend these snacks over their sugary and artificial counterparts!

My only wish is that they were a bit easier to peel, and maybe in larger sheets to play with ;)

Vegan Raw Green Smoothie... for my cold! (sniff)

First cold of the season- ACK! So if you're supposed to starve a cold and feed a fever, what if you have both? ...Drink a Green Smoothie! (and don't starve yourself). There's something comforting and quite empowering about imbibing good raw nutrition through a straw. It feels like all those vitamins and nutrients are somehow going straight to my blood stream.

Of course, I probably wouldn't be sick in the first place, if I hadn't replaced the good nutrients with cupcakes as I have been. So, back on the green wagon it is!

Actually, this banana-kale smoothie is quite tasty and naturally sweet. If you have more of a sweet tooth, you can add a little squeeze of agave nectar. It's also quite easy to make, which is much appreciated when your feeling like I do- ugh!

Makes 1-2 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 C. ice
1 large banana
1 kale leaf, stripped from its stem
1/2 C. vanilla soy milk
1 tsp. ground flax seeds
squeeze of agave nectar (if desired)

Spinz:

Put ice, banana, kale, and flax seeds in a blender. Add the soy milk. Blend until smooth. Drink before it gets to room temp.

Feel free to experiment with different greens, fruits, etc. You might want to stay in the same color scheme to avoid a weird brown (gag) unappetizing color... which is NOT what you wanna see when you're sick! ...or just drink with your eyes closed.

... feeling better already!