YoCrunch Low-fat Yogurt (Strawberry Banana) Review

YoCrunch's trademark is the little container on top with some crunchies that you can add to the yogurt. Traditionally it was granola, but now there are containers with Oreos, M&Ms & even Butterfinger crumbles! But, I wanted to try a traditional variety this time, so I picked up a 6 ounce container of YoCrunch Strawberry Banana Low-fat Yogurt to try out.

NUTRITION FACTS
Serving Size: 1 container (170 grams)
Calories: 180
Total Fat: 2 grams, 3%
Saturated Fat: 1 gram, 5%
Sodium: 90 mg, 4%
Carbohydrates: 37 grams
Fiber: 1 gram, 4%
Sugars: 26 grams
Protein: 6 grams

The taste is so sweet, with a little hint of tartness, but nothing in the way of banana. There were a FEW bits of berries scattered throughout the yogurt, reppin' the strawberries, but the overall flavor was a generic SWEET yogurt. In fact, this reminded me a lot of Yoplait Original 99% Fat Free Cherry Orchard Yogurt (Review) - both are very sweet, so don't let the "low fat yogurt" spiel fool you.

Each 6 ounce container of YoCrunch Strawberry Banana Low-fat Yogurt provides 180 calories from 2 grams of fat, 1 gram of which is saturated (3% and 5% of the daily value), 1 gram of fiber (4% of the DV), 6 grams of protein and 26 grams of sugars.

The ingredients list (which can be seen at the product website) is surprisingly not very lengthy, but for those concerned, it does contain high fructose corn syrup, no artificial sugars or colors.

Although the YoCrunch Greek Non-Fat Yogurt (Peach) Review doesn't taste as good, I would prefer to have it - with almost twice the amount of protein, 1 gram more fiber and 7 grams less fat plus 6 grams less sugars - all at 10 calories less.

{Website: YoCrunch}

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Christmas Food Porn

I’m a Pinterest newbie, but I think I’ve got the hang of it. I’m still adding images to my Pinterest board entitled Greedy Beautiful Christmas Treats, but go on and bask in the delectableness. See what I’ve got there so far…

There’s no way I could ingest all of this goodness (dear gawd, I wish I could. I really wanna…). That would be sinister.

But I’m the kinda woman who loves for my eyeballs to indulge in food porn of the Merry Christmas variety. Yet my stomachs may indeed get a face to face appointment with the Christmas Tree Pancakes and Protein Cinnamon Rolls. And while I’m way too lazy to make the Red Velvet Christmas Cheesecake, I very much want to force someone else to make it for me.

Get on over there and check out the board.

Which Christmas Food Porn image of greediness is your favorite(s)?

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We Wish You A Greedy Christmas!

Let there be no shame on yo’ Christmas-eatin’ game. It’s only one day. Only comes ’round once a year ‘n stuff. So how greedy you gonna be? Not at all? A little bit? Or a lot? Perhaps a little bit of greedy video propaganda will help you decide…

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Biggest Loser Diet Tops U.S. News and World Report Best Diet Rankings

Diet co-authored by Cheryl Forberg, RD ranked No. 2 for weight loss, and No.1 for diabetics

U.S. News and World Report ranked The Biggest Loser Diet among the top diets for weight loss on its annual list of The Best Diets. The Biggest Loser Diet ranked No. 2 among all tested diets for weight loss, and was named the No. 1 diet for fighting and managing diabetes by the prestigious magazine.

Cheryl Forberg — a Registered Dietitian, James Beard award-winning chef, New York Times best-selling author, and Nutritionist for The Biggest Loser for 12 seasons, co-authored the diet and since the show’s debut in 2004 to season 12 2011, she individually counseled each of The Biggest Loser’s 250 contestants on how to transform their eating and cooking habits — consequently helping to change their lives.

Forberg has long touted The Biggest Loser Diet’s benefits to diabetics. In fact, one-in-four contestants have diabetes when they report The Ranch: But they all leave without it.

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10 Light Holiday Cookie Ideas from GreenLiteBites

Christmas is coming and in my house that means baking season is upon us!

One of my absolute favorite things to do is making cookies with the kids. It was one of my fondest memories as a kid.

Yup that’s me! Sick that Christmas that’s why I didn’t look too happy (accoring to mom,) but I remember loving every moment of it every year. It was something I couldn’t wait to do with my own kids.

Over the last few years I’ve experimented with a few cookie ideas that I can have fun making and feel good about eating and feeding my kids.

There’s nothing wrong with traditional cookie recipes, but making things just a little lighter and healthier is fun challenge for me. Why not try to minimize calories and maximize nutrition while indulging in holiday traditions?

I just don’t see the harm in it. If they don’t turn out than you could always fall back on the classics. I mean how many sugar cookies recipes exist anyway?

Here are 10 cookies ideas I’ve shared on GreenLiteBites. I plan on making at least 2 of these this weekend plus a new bread recipe Mom just shared. Baking starts tomorrow!

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Foods of Rosh Hashanah and Breaking the Yom Kippur Fast the Healthy Way

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a holiday of celebration, yet it also is the beginning of a process of self-examination and internal reflection and contemplation, which ends ten days later with Yom Kippur.

The traditional foods that are eaten on Rosh Hashanah hold a great deal of symbolism (and, if you are not careful, many calories). Apples and honey are perhaps the most well known traditional new year’s foods; they represent a sweet new year ahead. It is also a tradition for Jews to eat a slow-cooked stew, which may be made from the head of an animal, like fish heads, or cooked cows’ tongue. This symbolizes the “head,” or start, of the year.

Pomegranates are eaten during this holiday because of their many seeds, which symbolize fruitfulness. Not only do pomegranates symbolize good things, they are full of goodness. They are high in vitamin A and potassium, and a good source of fiber. They are also rich in polyphenols, a potent class of anti-aging and heart-healthy antioxidants.

Challah, a typical Jewish bread, is baked in a round shape on Rosh Hashanah. This is then dipped in honey. The roundness symbolizes wholeness and continuity, and again, the honey represents wishes for a sweet year ahead. It’s particularly important to keep challah and honey to symbolic portions — enough to respect your tradition, but not so much as to upset the balance of your diet.

Ten days after Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sundown on Wednesday, September 28, comes Yom Kippur. This is the holiest day of the year in the Jewish faith. It is otherwise known as “the Day of Atonement.” Jews will fast for a period of 25 hours (from sundown to sundown) on Yom Kippur. This is thought to help one focus on well being, asking forgiveness, and praying for a better year ahead.

Traditional foods eaten to break the fast on Yom Kippur are eggs, cheese and bread. Many times, a family will prepare the break-fast meal a day ahead, so they don’t have to deal with any food the actual day of fasting. Other families will only break the fast with cold foods, such as boiled eggs, cheese, bread, and cold meats. Again, the traditional foods might not exactly be up to your usual low-fat and low-carb standards. Boiled eggs, in moderation, are, of course, a wholesome food (you may even want to prepare my “deviled” eggs, where the yolk is scooped and replaced with hummus, a day in advance). Try to eat whole wheat bread and or bread made with other whole grains instead of their white-flour counterparts.

Keeping healthy foods on hand is important, as the urge to over-indulge and make the wrong food choices is always a danger when you are very hungry (as you might be at the end of a fast).

Find the recipe for my “deviled” eggs and five other quick, prepare-ahead snacks that would be ideal for breaking your fast here.

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Naked Juice Blue Machine Boosted 100% Juice Smoothie Review

I was at Starbucks the other day doing some work, when I impulsively decided to review one of the beverages they sell there. I picked up a bottle of Naked Blue Machine Boosted 100% Juice Smoothie which cost $4.27 - way more than I would normally spend on a (15.2 ounce) bottled beverage - so I was certainly hoping that this would not only be tasty and nutritious, but would provide some super-duper fuel for my workout later in the evening.

NUTRITION FACTS
Serving Size: 8 ounces
Calories: 170
Total Fat: 0%
Saturated Fat: 0%
Sodium: 15 mg, 1%
Carbohydrates: 40 grams
Fiber: 7 grams, 29%
Sugars: 29 grams
Protein: 1 gram

First off - this is not "blue" but purple-ish. But I really didn't care about that - what I can say is that this was one refreshing drink. The first sip and I could feel some of the tiredness evaporating from my body. The drink is thick, sweet and a little tart. I have not one complaint about the flavor as I enjoyed it immensely. I drank only half of the bottle in the morning, because I noticed that each 8 ounce serving provides 170 calories from 29 grams of sugars, 1 gram of protein and a surprising 7 grams of fiber (29% of the daily value).

Naked Juice Blue Machine has (according to the product page) 27 blueberries, 3 blackberries, 3 1/4 apples and 1 banana. According to the label on the bottle, this "no sugar added" juice smoothie has apple juice, banana puree, blueberry puree, fibersol-2 fiber (maltodextrin), blackberry puree, natural flavors, fruit and vegetable juice for color, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), vitamin E (AS acetate), niacinamide, D-Calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5), pyridoxine hydrochlroide (vitamin B6), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12).

The real question is whether I would buy this again - for $2.50 or less - probably - but for $4.00+ - nope. Too expensive and too much sugar - although I could see adding some water to it since it's so thick and making it stretch. I really did like this though, and if I had enough will power to not drink the entire 2+ servings at once, I would probably buy this more often.

No I just need to get a little extra courage to try the Naked Juice Green Machine!

{Website: Naked Juice}

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