Showing posts with label fruit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fruit. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Just Tomatoes etc! Fruit snack and powder review



Two years ago I discovered Just Tomatoes etc! company.  I did a review for them and I have been a fan ever since. 
Just Tomatoes etc! freeze-dried fruit and veggie snacks are flash frozen, then specially vacuumed to extract the water to keep their color, nutrients and intense flavor. Since their freeze-dried fruits are never processed above 90 degrees, they are considered raw. Raw food enthusiasts love them! They also make dehydrated products that are dehydrated at 125 degrees. Absolutely nothing is added! Just Tomatoes etc! snacks are all natural, nut free, GMO free, gluten free, vegan and kosher. 
They sent me a few baggies to review again which made me very happy since I am a big fan of their fruit snacks. Here are some things that I love about them. They are fun to eat! They are sweet, crunchy and delicious! 
They are healthy, convenient, vegan and raw snacks that are light and easy to carry on hikes or long trips, and they make a nice snack addition to a work lunch. They are an amazing topping for any cereal, rice pudding, yogurt or oatmeal. They are also great as dog treats for dogs who are vegan or have allergies to certain meat proteins, grains, or traditional dog treats. Just stay away from the grapes since dogs should not eat grapes. 
Just Tomatoes etc! snacks are pretty low calories so people and doggies can happily indulge on these without getting fat :-) I love that a 3oz pouch equals about 1 pound of fresh fruit so I get tons of antioxidants and nutrients in a smaller portion. They make a nice addition to pancakes, muffins, or ice cream dishes. The powder takes any boring oatmeal to a new level of awesomeness. I add about a tablespoon of fruit powder into my morning oatmeal and it blends very quickly and nicely. The strawberry powder smells just like ripe strawberries and it tastes like strawberries, nothing fake or weird about it. The fruit powder and fruit pieces soften when you submerge them in almond milk or other liquids. 
I like the small 50 calorie pouches since they give me more control over my daily calories, but I can easily eat two or three of those pouches in one day........

The Strawberry powder can be swapped for Raspberry powder in my Pudding recipe here


Healthy Rainbow treats! 


More treats and Strawberry powder 


Just Strawberries 'N Bananas 
Beautiful, crunchy slices of bananas and strawberries. Simple but delightful! 



Just Fruit Salad 
A delicious fruit picnic in a bag! Pears, apples, peaches, bananas, strawberries and red grapes make up a great fruit salad blend that is sweet, crunchy and tasty. 


Just Fruit Munchies 
 Sweet and tart fruit extravaganza that is made of apples, grapes, blueberries, sour cherries, mango, pineapple and raspberries. I love sharing the big apple pieces with my dog Shelly (picture bellow). This is a lovely colorful mix of tropical and local fruits that taste as good as they look.   






Strawberry Powder is crushed, freeze dried fruit which has endless possibilities for application. Everything from smoothies, cakes, oatmeal to raw desserts. I love adding it to my oatmeal or rolling banana pieces in it for a healthy raw dessert. I also make a really nice instant strawberry jam by mixing strawberry powder and a splash of water and letting it sit for a minute. 



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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Rishi Tea Review


Since I cannot have caffeine I often enjoy fruit, herbal, Rooibos or decaf black teas.
I have been a Rishi Tea lover for years so I was very excited and grateful when I received a package with samples of their organic, caffeine free tea blends.

Their botanical and Rooibos teas are beautiful, delicious and aromatic. From my personal experience many of these botanical tea blends are great for digestion (especially as a heartburn and nausea relief), relaxation, or as a refreshing energizing coffee alternative. I like the addition of natural essential oils in some of their teas. The essential oils give the tea very strong aroma and flavor.


TURMERIC GINGER
The intoxicating, lemony aroma hit me as soon as I opened the sample bag. It made my mouth water. The aroma almost reminded me of fancy, citrusy bath salts that I love. This tea has a spicy, full-bodied flavor with pungent ginger, zesty lemon and sweet licorice notes. I love the addition of turmeric which is a great anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory herb. This tea woke up all my taste buds and gave me a burst of energy.

CHAMOMILE MEDLEY
This tea is full of pretty chamomile flowers, just like the ones that I used to gather and dry back in the Czech Republic. This is very calming, lemon and honey-like tea with a gentle touch of spearmint. A wonderful evening, relaxing tea blend.

CINNAMON PLUM
Wow! This tea is heavenly! This is how I imagine a fairy tale garden to smell like. Very sweet, aromatic, plum tea with a beautiful touch of succulent currants, warm cinnamon and a hint of rum. I wish I could capture the essence of this tea and bottle it into a perfume. This is a perfect autumn tea!

PEPPERMINT ROOIBOS
When I opened the bag, the strong minty aroma woke up my senses. While brewing this tea I noticed a strong, pleasant aroma from the essential oils of bergamot and peppermint. This tea was very minty, even thought the bergamot mellowed down the peppermint a bit. Very refreshing blend that made my mouth tingle with peppermint sensation.

ROOIBOS
Smooth, mahogany infusion with sweet, nutty and honey-like notes.

UNITY
This is a lovely combination of lemony, minty flavors, warm and pungent ginger, beautiful cardamon, sweet licorice and a a hint of spicy black pepper. This tea has a wonderful lemony aroma with peppery notes.

BLUEBERRY ROOIBOS
The candy-like aroma of this tea is amazing! Sweet, juicy berries with smooth Rooibos. I love the addition of real wild blueberries and schizandra berries. This luscious tea had a lovely blueberry aftertaste that stayed in my mouth for a while.

TANGERINE GINGER
Very strong, pungent aroma with lovely tangerine notes. This beautiful red brew was sweet, tart, and spicy, bursting with tangerine and orange flavors, and warm, pungent ginger.

MYSTIC MINT
What a beautiful symphony of flavors! Pleasantly sweet basil and licorice root, with refreshing peppermint notes and a lovely touch of cardamon and clove.
I loved the mint, basil and clove aroma while brewing this tea.


They also offer black, green, Chai, Oolong, Pu-erh, white and Yerba Mate teas, along with more options of Rooibos and botanical tea blends. I used to enjoy their Yerba Mate, black and green teas before I had to eliminate caffeine from my life.
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