You didn’t think I forgot about you, did you? Of course, not! I had to bring you July’s Snack Easy round up. I planned to get this in earlier, but this month has been super hectic and virtually nonexistent. Yesterday it was the 4th of July and today it’s July 31st. I’m convinced the weeks in between didn’t actually happen. Why is time moving so fast??
Anyway, I had to come through for you this month because I’ve got some really good stuff on the list to share. For this month’s round up, we’ve got a fiber-packed granola bar, a string cheese, fig crisps, a Chobani flip yogurt, and an almond butter. Check out my thoughts on each below:
Trader Joe’s Rolled Oats & Chocolate Chips Fiberful Granola Bars
Bought at: Trader Joe’s
Price: $2.69
Repeat Purchase: (Yes, many, many, many, many, many times)
These are my bread and butter as far as breakfast staples go and I realized they could also make a great snack. My immediate older sister put me on to these a few years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. I remember the first time she told me about them. I scrunched my face up when I saw the box. You want me to try a chocolate fiber bar?? Isn’t that like eating chocolate covered cardboard? No thanks. But eventually I caved and was almost instantly a fan. On the mornings that I do have my Kashi cereal for breakfast, I always have one of these bars with it. I end up looking like a hoarder whenever I go to Trader Joes because I always buy like 5 or 6 boxes at a time (I live between 20-25 minutes away from the nearest TJs so I go once a month and stock up). God help me if Trader Joes decides to discontinue these. As you can tell from the name these have a huge amount of fiber, they’re chocolate covered, and really tasty. What more could you ask for?! One of these and you’re already a third of the way toward meeting your daily fiber requirement. Gotta keep things moving and grooving:) I’ve probably bought well over 100 boxes since my sis introduced me to them.
Wisconsin Pepper Jack String Cheese
Bought at: Walmart
Price: $2.98
Repeat purchase: Yes
It’s hard to believe I have a string cheese on the list. As a kid, the only time you could even think about getting me to eat cheese was when it came melted on top of nachos or with macaroni and cheese. I’ve definitely come to the dark side! This pepper jack string cheese is really good. One stick has five grams of protein and only 80 calories. I’ve purchased this several time since I first bought it because it tastes quite good, it’s well-priced, and it’s a pretty healthy snack. Bonus points for string cheese being fun to eat.
Big Spoon Roasters Almond Ginger Butter
Repeat Purchase: Yes
Purchased at: Whole Foods
Price: $13.99
I hate peanut butter but almond butter is my jam. I love my AB & J sandwiches as another breakfast option when I want to switch things up. Some months ago, I found out about this local nut butter company based in Durham and when I saw they had an almond ginger butter I knew I needed to try it. I spotted it in Whole Foods a couple weeks ago and quickly scooped it up. This was delicious with sliced bananas and a drizzle of honey as a healthier sweet treat (try it!). Also, for any fellow AB&J sandwich lovers out there, these help to elevate them to next level status. I had it with a peach pepper ginger jam and it was really good. Compared to other nut butters like Justin’s (which I love) this is not as sweet, but it does have these crystallized chunks of ginger throughout though that provide little bursts of sweetness. It’s not the cheapest of jars but almond butter tends to last me a while because I’m usually only using one tablespoon at a time on toast or with fruit. Nutritionally, I love the ingredient list. It’s simple with things I recognize and love – ginger, almonds, and sea salt. If you’re in North Carolina, you may be able to find one of these in your local Whole Foods. If not, they are available for purchase online.
Chobani Flip Pear & Honey
Bought at: Harris Teeter
Price: $1
Repeat Purchase: Nope
Typically Chobani flips have all of these crazy mix ins, which are great, but the simplicity of this one caught my eye – pear and honey. How can you go wrong with that combo? Unfortunately, this one missed the mark. I was pretty surprised by it too because Chobani usually always comes through. Even with the pear and honey add-ins this was way too bland. I got these for one dollar at Harris Teeter, but I’m pretty sure that was the sale price. You could probably doctor this up by adding some jams but at that point you might as well just buy the plain version. Nutritionally, it’s a solid snack though. One serving has 11 grams of protein and only 140 calories. Even with the good price and nutritional deets I just can’t get past its blandness. I definitely won’t be buying this one again.
Bonus opinion: Yesterday, I had a practice writing session for my comprehensive exams and my writing partner had just bought some of these. She was about to try them for the first time, and I told her I wanted to hear her thoughts first before I colored her expectations. After one bite, she agreed that it was too bland. Back to the drawing board Chobani.
Kii Naturals Fig & Black Sesame Crisps with Golden Flax Seeds
Bought at: World Market
Price: $4.99
Repeat purchase: Yes
Sometime last year I stumbled across these fig crisps at World Market and fell in love. They’re awesome on their own, but they’re also badass with either a jam or a pepper jelly and some goat cheese or brie. Nutritionally, these are neutral. They don’t have much of the good stuff (protein or fiber), but they also don’t have much of the bad stuff (saturated fat, sodium, or added sugar) either. These would make a great party appetizer, snack, or a side to soups or sandwiches. I love a versatile purchase. Price wise they’re middle of the road – not cheap but not terribly expensive either. As a result, I would (and have) bought these again, but I don’t get them often.
Happy Sunday!
See you guys next month (which is like tomorrow).
P.S. Today I can officially say my comps start next week!