25 Jan 2016
by linettefm
in Exercise, Food, Health and Beauty, Influenster, Living, Nutrition, Product Samples, Product testing, Review, Samples, Subscription Boxes, Uncategorized
Tags: #ItsYourThing, 4 pk, Acai Fruit Powder, Almonds, Ascorbic Acid, ASIN: B016ZG0PGG, ASIN: B016ZG0PKC, biotin, Brown Rice Syrup, Buttermilk, Calcium Caseinate, calcium pantothenate, calcium phosphate, Canola Oil, Carrageenan, Cellulose Gel, Cholecalciferol, Chromium Chloride, Cinnamon Powder, Citric Acid, Coating: Sugar, Cocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali), Crisps: Wheat Flour, Cyanocobalamin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Nut, Dieting, Diets, dl-Alpha-Tocopherol Acetate, Dried Cane Sugar, FD&C Yellow 5, FD&C Yellow 6, Ferric Orthophosphate, fitness, folic acid, Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Glycerine, Green Tea Leaf Extract, healthy eating, Holiday Weight, Honey, Influenster, Inulin, Isomalto-Oligosaccharide, lattice acid] and sunflower oil., Losing Weight, Maltodextrin, Managing Weight, manganese sulfate, Milk Protein Concentrate, Mono and Diglycerides, Natural and Artificial Flavor, NATURAL FLAVOR, Natural Flavors, Niacinamide, non fat dry milk, Nonfat Milk Powder, Oats, Onion Powder, Palm Kernel Oil, Parsley, Pea Fiber, pea protein isolate, pea proteinisolate, Peanuts, Per package: crisps (dehydrated potato, Phylloquinone, Phytonadione, potassium chloride, Potassium Citrate, Potassium Iodide, Potassium Phosphate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, rice flower, Rice Starch, Salt, salt) Seasoning [whey, Sea Salt, Skim Dry Milk Solids, Slim Fast, Slim Fast Bars, Slim Fast Bars Review, Slim Fast Crisp Review, Slim Fast Crisps, Slim Fast Products, Slim Fast Shake Review, Slim Fast Shakes, SlimFast Advanced Nutrition 10g Protein Meal Replacement Bar, SlimFast® Advanced Nutrition 100 Calorie Snacks Drizzled Crisps in Cinnamon Bun Swirl flavor, SlimFast® Advanced Nutrition 100 Calorie Snacks in Sour Cream & Onion Baked Crisps flavor, SlimFast® Advanced Nutrition Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Meal Replacement Bars, SlimFast® Advanced Ready to Drink Shake, SlimFast® Advanced Ready to Drink Shake in Creamy Chocolate flavor, SlimFast® Advanced Ready to Drink Shake in Vanilla flavor, Sodium Ascorbate, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Molybdate, sodium selenite, Soluble corn fiber, sour cream (cultured cream non fat milk), Soy Lecithin, Soy Protein Isolate, Sucralose, sugar, Tapioca Starch, Tapioca Syrup, thiamine mononitrate, UPC: 008346802029, Vanilla Creme, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin and Mineral Blend: Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E Acetate, Vitamins and Minerals: Magnesium Phosphate, VoxBox, Water, weight control, YEAST EXTRACT, Zinc Gluconate

Being part of the Influenster network, allows members to qualify for VoxBoxes. My latest one arrived in late December, which featured an array of Slim Fast branded products. Being the new year we all want to lose weight or at the very least get rid of that holiday poundage brought on by cookies and treats. I gained 6 pounds in the last week of December because I behaved from Thanksgiving to Christmas but once Santa came, he brought treats, candy, chocolates (I’m surprised I did not consume the stocking) and it seems I ate them all between Christmas and New Year’s Eve!

I’m pretty good at restricting myself and believe with all the advancements in food today, that leaving food as it is, meaning less to zero processing allows us to eat pretty much anything (with portion control) and not suffer the consequences. I eat my weight in salads and I’m not even a fan of most dressings, as I think they tend to drown the freshness out of the produce as it is. I love avocados and find them to be nature’s dressing. They are creamy and never ruin a salad like a fake creamy dressing can. I have those days though where I am in a snacking mood or just running short on time, so I pick the brands I trust carefully. I look for meal replacement or snack products that are not full of fake sweeteners or loaded with sodium. Finding real ingredients is “my thing”, so let’s see how the Slim Fast VoxBox did.
The Slim Fast VoxBox included:
- SlimFast® Advanced Ready to Drink Shake in Vanilla flavor
- SlimFast® Advanced Nutrition 100 Calorie Snacks in Sour Cream & Onion Baked Crisps flavor
- SlimFast® Advanced Nutrition Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Meal Replacement Bars
- SlimFast® Advanced Nutrition 100 Calorie Snacks Drizzled Crisps in Cinnamon Bun Swirl flavor

First, I tried the items that were easy to munch on and that was the Sour Cream and Onion Baked Crisps to satisfy the salty urges and for the sweet cravings, I tried the Drizzled Crisps in Cinnamon Bun Swirl. First thing I noticed with both bagged products, was the large amount of “dustings” in the bag. I call that the powdery and broken up bits in a bag that barely resemble the whole product you see pictured in the front of the bag. Like the posters for drive-thru burgers, my product did not resemble the picture on the bag. The Sour Cream and Onion crisps had the higher amount of “dustings” that I wondered if I should just use the contents as a batter coating! I taste a pinch-full of what these crisps use to be and the flavor and texture resemble closely to those chips that come in a canister….but more broken up. The odd part was when you ate the product, it tasted good enough to satisfy a chip craving but when you drank water, you had an odd aftertaste that lingered. The taste was not like potato or the sour cream and onion coating, think more milk solids or dry milk and it was what it tasted closely too. Each bag is 100 calories and states it comes with 18 to 20 crisps. I am not kidding when if I say I got 4 whole ones and that is counting the ones that were 3/4 whole. The breakage takes away from the enjoyment and if you get past that, the aftertaste did me in. I did not finish the bag but I figured that means I consumed less calories!

Next, came the Cinnamon Bun Swirl crisps. These were a little more in one piece but the drizzle on top was mostly on the bottom of the bag. The sweetness is not overwhelming and the cinnamon had a nice balance to it. Again, the odd aftertaste was present but you could overlook this one more. The crisps had a pleasant crunch and like some products on the market, these did not leave you with a cotton mouth after you ate them. I could actually see myself picking up a bag if a sweet craving hits me that is overwhelming because a bag is just 100 calories for 20 to 22 crisps. These were also 30% whole in the bag!

SlimFast’s Ready to drink shake that comes in an easy to go bottle. The bottle idea I like because sometimes messing with powder and a scoop can be a pain, but I usually take a bottle water (or almond milk) and just scoop into a shaker bottle when I am on the go. I then combine the ingredients (wet/dry) when I am ready to consume them, so this way I don’t end up with chocolate powder that found it’s way out of a plastic baggy and went poof in my purse! I made sure to try the drink cold from the fridge and upon opening the bottle, the Vanilla scent is not very Vanilla like. I take a sip and the drink is about 4 out of ten when it comes to overall taste and flavor. I have had much better and this drink had an odd thickness to it. I made sure to shake it just in case and the thickness left a film in my mouth that was not very vanilla or real milk tasting, or even a nut milk flavor! It took away from the enjoyment and even with time, I could not get use to it. Being able to get 20 grams of protein on the go is a plus, but when I priced it out, weighed in the flavor/texture and the ingredients, I would still opt for a premium powder mix that is usually higher in protein. I did fix the flavor by adding part of a scoop of powdered Peanut Butter and Chocolate, and that is when I noticed that my PB and Chocolate powder had a better quality of chocolate and real flavor than what the Slim Fast drink. I then felt I wasted a scoop of the “good stuff” on trying to make the not so good stuff better! I also noticed there is natural and artificial flavors but no where but the title of the drink says Vanilla. It’s called Vanilla Creme but nowhere is Vanilla listed! I then stopped looking at the ingredients because they made my tummy rumble more. 😦

Last but not least, the bar in Dark Chocolate and Sea salt. This is a meal replacement bar and has 10 grams of protein and 200 calories. Ninety of those calories come from fat and the protein derives from Soy, not Whey. I look at the list and there are so many other bars on the market with better core ingredients and even protein impact, and with less fat! This bar is super sweet and off in taste, plus costs more than the better bars. The Dark Chocolate has a waxy texture and is of poor quality. I did not go past the one bite because my calories and fat matters. The bar is filled with syrups derived from everything from brown rice, tapioca and simple cane. They added Inulin as a source of fiber, plus Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil to hold it all together. Let me add the above comes before the Cocoa itself and Oats was still listed before the chocolate! They might as well called the flavored Sweet Oats-y. The only positive is that it has Almonds as a first ingredients but I felt they were ruined by the rest!

Final Verdict:
I love the VoxBoxes and Influenster! I am not so in love with Slim Fast. I think back and they are a company that his been around a long time but I feel they are always playing catch up and still stuck in the motto of “portion control baggies”. Most people that are serious about losing weight and/or managing their weight, can portion out an individual serving. They sell containers to baggies to help you out that serve as a carrying vessel and probably keep the products in more decent shape. You can use a scale or like I do, I still use a scale but I test myself first to see if I can visually guess-estimate on my own and then verify with the scale. I notice I usually serve myself a little under the 1 serving a packaging lists. I can do math, so I don’t need someone doing it for me. Next, the ingredients used are “old school” but not in a good way. Cheap sugars, bad oils, artificial flavors and dyes, and poor protein sources is not what I call healthy eating. Yes, you get less calories but that is barely the entire picture when eating well. You need good fats, a good source of protein and more to stay energized. Yes, the Slim Fast products come with vitamins and minerals but again a multi-vitamin can do that for you if that is what you desire! I looked at the products as a whole and asked myself is this a balanced diet? Slim Fast does not state just eat our food solely but the 1 meal or 2 real meals you add in a day should not make-up for everything you did not get. I want energy and I’m not even asking for a boost of it from products, just keep me going in the day. If I started with a shake, ate a bar for lunch (maybe 1 or 2 crisp snacks) and then ate dinner…..well, when my body is suppose to be winding down is when my body got the better fuel. Yeah, that did not sit well with me! Then I saw the price points because convenience comes at a price and Slim Fast was more expensive than the “golden dietary products” on the market. Um, I’m paying more to eat less better is what entered my head. Yeah, I prefer paying the bills Santa brought and managing my weight with other products than paying for products that are sub-par both in how they were made and how they came out of a bag!
I received the above product(s) free of charge from Slim Fast and Influenster. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.
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12 Nov 2015
by linettefm
in Baking, Cooking, Food, Product Samples, Product testing, Review, Uncategorized
Tags: #TRYAZON, algin or sodium alginate, ammonium chloride, and seeds. Rhodes does not use any tree nuts, Ascorbic Acid, Baking, Beta-Carotene, BROWN SUGAR, carob bean gum, cheese culture, Cinnamon, Cinnamon Rolls, Citric Acid, Corn Syrup Solids, cream cheese (pasteurized milk and cream, DAIRY Individuals with food allergies: This product is manufactured in a facility that processes foods containing wheat, DATEM, desserts, Easy Baking, enzyme (for improved baking). Cream Cheese Frosting: powdered sugar, ferrous sulfate or reduced iron, Fish, folic acid, Freezer aisle, Frozen Cinnamon Rolls, Frozen Desserts, Frozen Foods, high fructose corn syrup, malt, margarine, margarine (palm oil, meat, milk, mono & diglycerides, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Neighborhood Walmart Store, Niacin, Nonfat Dry Milk, or shellfish., Peanuts, Rhodes Bake-N-Serv™, Rhodes Breads, Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls, Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls Review, Rhodes Rhodes Bake-N-Serv™ Review, riboflavin, Salt, sodium benzoate (to preserve freshness), sodium phosphate). CONTAINS: WHEAT, sodium stearoyl lactylate, Soy, soy flour, Soy Lecithin, SOYBEAN OIL, soybean oil and/or canola oil, thiamin mononitrate, Unbleached enriched white flour (wheat flour, Vitamin A Palmitate, Walmart, Water, wheat gluten, Yeast, yeast nutrients (calcium sulfate

I have always been a fan of frozen foods, like vegetables and fruit that go out of season but are readily available all year round. Sometimes even perfectly frozen blueberries will cost less that fresh ones and be in better shape, so the freezer aisle to me is not something I completely avoid. Even companies offer organic meals nowadays from the freezer aisle. I have picked up many “artisan style” breads that come frozen from a local bakery because you just pop them in the oven, bake and have fresh baked bread in 20 minute’s time! Simple ingredients I am fan of and being a cook and baker makes you become familiar as to what goes in what you are making/eating. The freezer aisle is only bad if you purchase ready made meals to baked goods that are more chemicals than real ingredients! This is where we get lost and it’s disappointing because convenience comes at a price and sometimes it’s not even that convenient in the first place.
I tried the microwaved cinnamon rolls before from Rhodes and reviewed them here. Not bad for a microwaved baked good. On the same trip I picked up a bag of the bread loaves, and a bag of the cinnamon (individual) rolls. Two items I bake at home from scratch, so I was looking forward in using them on a busy week. This week, was a very busy week!
Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls (Bake-N-Serv™) with Cream Cheese Frosting
Preparation-
I open up the bag and notice that the individual cinnamon rolls are really partnered in twos and threes. I had a hard time at the store feeling the bags and was hoping I picked well enough because I noticed some were more blobs than others. I travel with two coolers (one for frozen goods and one for fresh), so things defrosting in the truck just does not happen. I can buy ice cream and still shop for 2 to 3 hours without it even it defrosting on the top! I try my best to seperate the rolls, but they seem very attached to their companion, so I do my best.
The directions were simple and opted to go by the one that resembled closest to the time it takes to bake them from scratch. My cinnamon rolls take 1 hour for the dough to rise, you make the roll and cut, then another 30 to 40 minutes for them to rise again, plus bake for 20 minutes! Simple and easy. I put the frozen cinnamon rolls from Rhodes in the oven, which was pre-warmed to 170 degrees. The directions stated it takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes for the rolls to proof and double in size. I’m 2 hours in and watching these frozen rolls more than I do those made from scratch and they are oozing larger in size but not rising. My oven is less than a year old and I check the temperature. Holding at 95 degrees and no change when it comes to rising…..just oozing bigger. I take them out and they are technically double in size (flat wise), so I warm the oven to bake the rolls.
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Baking-
In they go and use convection mode and set the oven to 325 degrees. Directions are clear about not over baking and leaving them in for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are light brown in color.
My house smells bread-y but not that yeast dough you associate with cinnamon rolls. I look in the oven and the rolls look like they are swimming in yellow oil, so I go and look at the ingredients. I shouldn’t have! You have a chemical concoction that makes the cinnamon rolls out of tubes look like saints. You have everything from oils, corn syrups, sugars in every way they can be made down to margarine and so forth. I just don’t see the waiting time worth it when I saw what was in these rolls. I remind myself I ate onion flavored puffy ring chips yesterday, so sometimes chemicals taste good 🙂 . I allow the cinnamon rolls to bake 25 minutes to get a light brown color and notice the dough has pockets that resemble bread, not the ribbon texture you associate with yeast dough, but I’m committed and now it’s too late to bake anything since I have to start dinner.

This is after “incorporating” the bag’s contents more, as they like to separate.
Frosting-
I allow the cinnamon rolls to cool and get a baggy of the frosting. It’s yellow in color and not just a faint hue, it’s yellow. I turn over the bag and I recalled right, it states cream cheese but this is not like any cream cheese frosting I have ever seen. The directions state to incorporate the icing and I do the “smashy thing” but it still looks undesirable. I cut the tip off the bag and I taste it……..it’s so sweet and the texture of cupcake icing, not at all like what you put on a roll. Also, cream cheese is there in words but your taste buds just does not pick it up.
Taste Test-
I serve us each a roll and even my Husband says the icing is just so wrong. I take a bite and this is one oily roll that is dry at the same time and you see and smell cinnamon, but you really don’t taste it. I did not finish my roll. Not worth the calories and my Husband does not either. I use to buy the cinnamon rolls in the refrigerated section when we dated. They were fine but never like the bakery, so I began learning to bake and trying recipe after recipe. My Husband will at times even pick-up a tray from the grocery store’s bakery and they are edible and a nice treat for those days I was too tired or busy to bake. The Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls were not unfortunately, not worth the effort and I just don’t get why they are frozen to just be a disappointment. I also don’t understand the amount of poor ingredients that I can respect chemicals to produce let’s say a Spicy chip that tastes like a taco or something. You get your junk food fix and you will crave a bag in 3 to 6 months time again. These cinnamon rolls did not even satisfy a craving as such! Sad…….very sad because in this house we do think sweet goods are worth the calories and fat, but rule #1, it needs to taste good!
I dislike having to give a negative review but honesty comes first and when the cinnamon rolls in a tube taste better and you can find better (i.e. real butter, ect.) ingredients in brands like Trader Joe’s to even the giggling doughy guy, I just can’t say at least these were easy to bake, so you should get them. Taste matters and I don’t expect to get nutrition out of cinnamon rolls, but my taste buds need to be happy and cinnamon rolls are the type of food you eat with a smile. These=no smiles :(. The Rhodes microwave variety were passable and I would have never imagined since these required more time and came from an oven.
Connect with Rhodes at:
I received the above product(s) free of charge from Tryazon and Rhodes. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.
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13 Oct 2015
by linettefm
in Baking, Cooking, Food, Home, Product Samples, Product testing, Review, Samples, Uncategorized
Tags: #RhodesBread, #RhodesCinnamonRolls, #TRYAZON, ammonium chloride, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, Beta-Carotene, Calcium Sulfate, caramel color, carob bean gum, cheese culture, Cinnamon, Cinnamon Rolls, Citric Acid, cornstarch, cream cheese (pasteurized milk and cream, desserts, Easy Baking, enzyme (for improved baking). ICING: powdered sugar, fast baking, ferrous sulfate or reduced iron, folic acid, Freezer Foods, Frozen Desserts, Glycerin, granulated sugar, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil, lactic acid, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, Malted Barley Flour, margarine (palm oil, microwave baking, Microwave desserts, Molasses, mono & diglycerides, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Neighborhood Walmart Store, Niacin, Nonfat Dry Milk, Powdered Sugar, Rhodes, Rhodes Bake and Serve, Rhodes Bake-n-Serve, Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls, Rhodes Microwave Cinnamon Rolls, riboflavin, Salt, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate), sodium benzoate (to preserve freshness), sodium phosphate), sodium stearoyl lactylate, Soy Lecithin, SOYBEAN OIL, sulfite) dextrose, sweet treats, thiamin mononitrate, Tryazon Party, Unbleached enriched white flour (wheat flour, Vitamin A Palmitate, Walmart, Water, wheat gluten, wheat protein isolate (wheat gluten, wheat starch, Yeast

Oh, what a title can say in just a few words can illicit a person to salivate instantly. That is exactly what occurred when I received first notice that this event was up for grabs. When I was accepted, it was a mix of drooling and happiness at the same time.
Rhodes is known for their Bake-n-Serve breads. This company is one of the first brands that made me feel comfortable with an oven. Fresh baked breads are always a crowd pleaser but sometime the pleaser is short on time and/or energy. It does not mean I love my family any less and this is why sometimes I need an “emergency stash”. Yes, we have emergency situations when an unplanned event or even the clock got the best of me and I have no after dinner treat. When you are the baker in the family and you have to share you did not bake anything for that day……oh, those eyes you get can just break your heart. My Husband has yet mastered the oven but is an expert at grilling and smoking meats. He also mastered the art of using a microwave and failed in patience class, so 60 seconds of wait time was made for him.

Cinnamon rolls is something I make at home but it takes time, so I probably do not bake them as often as would liked. Also, there are days where someone is in a cinnamon-y mood while another person has a fruit craving. I make fruit based rolls too but I’m not making 2 batches to satisfy every craving, and don’t even get me started on who eats what type of a nut and the other person doesn’t. I need an out! A form of salvation for the sweet little monsters in my life!

Rhodes created the answer and a 60 second promise for a product that is often seen in stores cold, laying in a silver colored tray, and usually dry. Rhodes took everything everyone wants in a cinnamon roll, a warm gooey roll all your own and when you want it. Magic!
Now, I wish my microwave could deliver. I did experience some difficulties in locating the product and Rhodes does have a store locator, down to what product is offered in each store near you. The only obstacle was that the New Microwave rolls were not a product option you could select from the drop-down menu. I finally started hitting stores and located the rolls (one bag) 20 miles away and when I arrived at the Neighborhood Walmart Store, they had more items than what the product locator reflected. I called stores at the end to avoid wasting gas too and I highly suggest in doing so. Just kindly ask for the “freezer” department when calling and that you are looking for the Microwave Rhodes Cinnamon rolls. Not to be confused with the Ready to Bake Anytime cinnamon rolls. The new Rhodes Microwave Cinnamon Rolls come in a bag (not a tray) and the bag is brown-orange in color with a large 60 number on the front of the bag.

Verdict:
I found literally the last bag they had and always check the back of the freezer. I reached until I got a frozen paw but that bag had my name on it. I always see low stock on a product as a good sign. It’s popular and probably well liked, and that tends to make me want to try them. Each bag holds a count of 6 cinnamon rolls, so even though my weekend get-together had more people, we figured we share (it’s a new diet we are trying 😉 ). We had only one roll in the bag that had stuck to another but all the cinnamon were in a nice shape and intact. We played it safe and microwaved one roll at a time and I put toppings out, to even a separate type of frosting (cream cheese) with soft caramel swirls in case someone wanted a different topping versus the icing it came with. You can toast pecans and add that too, to even fruit that is fresh or from a jar. Customization is really easy to do. Everyone tasted the frosting and except for one person, they were the only one that opted to use the icing the rolls came with, so I was happy to have both options available. Once you microwave the product, the roll does increase in size a little bit about 25% larger, however the cinnamon roll is fair in size overall. Feedback was 50/50 when it came to how the product tasted and texture. The roll is soft and gooey, but for some it was a little to gummy while others felt the cinnamon roll begins to dry out (not harden thankfully) a little to quick for them as it cools down. The sweet factor was a little high for some and others felt the cinnamon was not strong enough, but agreed when I mentioned the idea of sprinkling a dash on top of the icing/frosting could fix that. My cream cheese based frosting was very liked and that seem to make up for what I consider to be small short comings for a roll that is ready to enjoy in 1 minute’s time. You may have to eat it a little faster if you worry about the dough drying out but I can share one thing that does have some value, everyone ate their serving! So even those that did not consider this to be their favorite cinnamon roll did not feel it was not edible, it was just not like others they have had. I myself have had worse from bakeries but for a product with no time constraints and no mess other than the plate you are eating it from, I think Rhodes did as well as you can do with microwave dishes. Nothing will be as good as from the oven but this little cinnamon roll satisfied my sweet tooth! I fought for my 1 bag of cinnamon rolls, so that meant I had 2 more coupons left when it came to trying Rhodes products and I picked out 2 different ones. So, stay tuned because I will be reviewing and sharing those with you too.
Connect with Rhodes at:
I received the above product(s) free of charge from Tryazon and Rhodes. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.
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14 Jun 2015
by linettefm
in All Natural, Exercise, Health and Beauty, Living, Natural, Non-GMO, Nutrition, Product testing, Review, Supplements
Tags: All Natural, Amazon Suppliments, and Purified Water, anti-aging, anti-aging benefits, ASIN: B00STNR4KE, Coenzyme Q-10 (Ubiquinone), cognitive issues, Decrease production of damaging free radicals, energy boost, Free Radicals, gelatin, Healthy lifestyle, heart health, Heart healthy, Made in the USA, mental decline, natural, Non GMO, POWERFUL ANTIDIOXIDANT, Promote Good Health, Rice Bran Oil, Soy Lecithin, Supllimend CoQ10, supplements, Supplimend, SUPPLIMEND CoQ10 (Coenzyme-Q10), Supplimend CoQ10 Review, Supplimend Nutraceuticals:, Supplimend Vitamins, Supplimend™ Nutraceuticals: Coenzyme-Q10, Suppliments, Titanium Dioxide (color), Ubiquinone, UPC: 806802051512, vegetable glycerin, Vitamins


CoQ-10 is a heart-healthy enzyme that has been a staple of this household for years now, and when the opportunity arose to try out a new brand, Supplimend, I was very eager. I’m always looking to find something better than what I’m already taking, or save a few dollars on like kind and quality.

The ingredient list reads like every other brand out there, so there’s no step down in quality from my usual brand, Kirkland.
Ingredient List (as posted on-line): Coenzyme Q-10 (Ubiquinone), Rice Bran Oil, Gelatin, Vegetable Glycerin, Soy Lecithin, Titanium Dioxide Color, and Purified Water
It’s not some giant horse pill I have to choke down with half a glass of water. So that’s always appreciated. There’s no smell, no funky tasting burps, and I didn’t notice any drop off from how I felt taking my original brand.

Where this one falls a little short is price. At $17.95 for a 30-Day supply of 120 milligram capsules, it’s nearly triple what I pay for my Costco brand, and for 1/3 as much. This is also the price point via Amazon, and I found other places had the product for $24.95. That is very, very expensive. Like, “this can’t be part of my supplement routine anymore” expensive, and I can’t figure out why. The Supplimend brand is GMO lab certified, the Costco one USP verified. Both have similar ingredients, same dose size. It’s unfortunately a deal breaker. And that’s a shame. Made in the USA, and a good, quality supplement, but undone by an unrealistic price point. My hope for Supplemend is that as they grow, they can start manufacturing their products more in line with what the market will bear. At $17.95, it’s a no-go for me.
Connect with Supplimend™ Nutraceuticals at:
I received the above product(s) free of charge from Supplimend. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

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06 Oct 2014
by linettefm
in All Natural, Food, Health and Beauty, Home, Living, Non-GMO, Organic, Product Samples, Product testing, Samples
Tags: 100% Natural, 23 Vitamins, All Natural, Almond Butter, Almonds, AND OTHER TREE NUTS, anti-aging, Antioxidants, Apricot, Assorted Flavors, Banana, Banana Nut Bread, Barley Malt Extract], beauty, Black Cherry Almond, Blueberry Crisp, Carrot Cake, chocolate, Chocolate Almond Fudge, Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch, Chocolate Chips (Dried Cane Syrup, Clif, Clif Bar, Clif Bar & Company, Clif Bars, ClifCrunch® (Apple Fiber, ClifPro® (Soy Rice Crisps [Soy Protein Isolate, Cocoa Butter‡, Cocoa‡, Coconut Chocolate Chip, cookie, Cool Mint Chocolate, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Energy, energy bar, Energy meals, Fiber, fitness, Flavors, Food, Health, health and beauty, healthy eating, Healthy living, Iced Gingerbread, Inulin [Chicory Extract], Luna Bar, Luna Protein Bar, Maple Nut, meal rplacement, minerals, natural, Natural Flavors, Natural Vitamin E (Antioxidant). ALLERGEN STATEMENT: CONTAINS SOY AND ALMONDS. MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF MILK, Non GMO, Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, organic, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Cane Syrup, Organic Fig Paste, Organic Milled Flaxseed, Organic Oat Fiber, Organic Psyllium), Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Soy Flour), Peanuts, Protein, Review, Rice Flour, rolled oats, Sea Salt, snack, snack food, snacks, Soy Lecithin, The Better Bars, Unsweetened Chocolate‡, Vanilla Extract, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamine, WHEAT

We started on a little journey here with Clif Bar & Company. And as we already established, Clif Bars rock. But what about another line from Clif Bar & Company? Like their Luna Bar and Luna Protein lines? Do those rock too? I’m here to say a big and enthusiastic “Yup!”. These rock almost as hard, if not harder. Because chocolate. This is a choco house, as any regular reader knows. And adding chocolate turns almost everything up to 11. So let’s turn it up to 11 right now.

Luna bars are the take anywhere for any meal plan bars that I have eaten and munched on for years. There are sooooooo many flavors to choose from, I challenge you to say you can’t find one you like. It just can’t be done. I’ll just blindly reach over into the heaping pile of yum Clif Bar sent me, and grab a random flavor as an example.

Peanut Honey Pretzel. 9g of protein, 3g of fiber, vitamins A, B(1,2,3,6 and 12), C, D, and E, 70% organic, Core 4 essential nutrients (Calcium, iron, folic acid and vitamin D), it’s a perfect snack, quick meal on the go, of addition to any meal at any time of day. Oh, a day did I mention, these taste good too? Big chunks of fruit, whole nuts, whole grains, just a touch of
sweet and sometimes chocolate. There’s nothing in these I don’t love. Even Hubby has snuck a few from time to time (Stop it, girly man. These are for US!). Usually he snakes the ones with peanut butter or some variation of that theme. Luna bars are also filled with ingredients that Clif has gone out of their way to source from non-GMO suppliers. Thanks for that, because I’m tired of Franken-food. Even this time year. (boo!)

The fun didn’t stop there, though. Because there’s an offshoot of the Luna line. The Luna Protein bar. Packed with the same Core 4 nutrients, non-GMO sourced ingredients, and normal looking foods, there’s now 12g of protein in a smaller snack-sized bar. Grabbing again at the plethora of delicious Clif was so kind to send me yields me a Chocolate Cherry Almond bar.
Coated in luscious chocolate, filled with dried cherries, whole almonds, whey protein, macadamia nut butter and organic vanilla extract, this bar is decadent. This 1.6 oz. bar only has 180 calories. But for those of us in a rush (and we established in my last post that we all
are, for better or worse), these bars are heaven sent. Fills you up without making you sluggish and has enough good stuff to keep you powering through to the next meal. Heap big win.
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Flavors? Psssh. There’s one for everyone. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Chocolate Peanut Butter. Lemon Vanilla. Chocolate Coconut Almond. Trust me, Luna’s got you covered.

The long and the short of this is, skipping meals rarely does you any good. In our go, go, GO world, we need the fuel to keep our “get up and go” from having “got up and went”. A bag of chips won’t do it. An “energy drink” is just a seizure in a can. Candy bar? Do you really hate your body that much? Luna bars are an affordable and smart option. Throw it in your purse, pocket or bag. It fits. Not just it’s size. It fits your life.
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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Clif Bar & Company And Luna Bars. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.
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17 Sep 2014
by linettefm
in All Natural, Food, Health and Beauty, Kids, Living, Non-GMO, Organic, Product testing, Review
Tags: 100% Natural, 23 Vitamins, All Natural, Almond Butter, Almonds, AND OTHER TREE NUTS, anti-aging, Antioxidants, Apricot, Assorted Flavors, Banana, Banana Nut Bread, Barley Malt Extract], beauty, Black Cherry Almond, Blueberry Crisp, Carrot Cake, chocolate, Chocolate Almond Fudge, Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch, Chocolate Chips (Dried Cane Syrup, Clif, Clif Bar, Clif Bar & Company, Clif Bars, ClifCrunch® (Apple Fiber, ClifPro® (Soy Rice Crisps [Soy Protein Isolate, Cocoa Butter‡, Cocoa‡, Coconut Chocolate Chip, cookie, Cool Mint Chocolate, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Energy, energy bar, Energy meals, Fiber, fitness, Flavors, Food, Health, health and beauty, healthy eating, Healthy living, Iced Gingerbread, Inulin [Chicory Extract], Luna Bar, Luna Protein Bar, Maple Nut, meal rplacement, minerals, natural, Natural Flavors, Natural Vitamin E (Antioxidant). ALLERGEN STATEMENT: CONTAINS SOY AND ALMONDS. MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF MILK, Non GMO, Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, organic, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Cane Syrup, Organic Fig Paste, Organic Milled Flaxseed, Organic Oat Fiber, Organic Psyllium), Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Soy Flour), Peanuts, Protein, Review, Rice Flour, rolled oats, Sea Salt, snack, snack food, snacks, Soy Lecithin, The Better Bars, Unsweetened Chocolate‡, Vanilla Extract, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamine, WHEAT

Every one is in a rush. I am. Hubby is. You are. It’s like we lost hours in the day somewhere. So when Clif Bar & Company offered to send me some products to test, I said “Yes, Please!”. As much as I love to cook and bake, when it’s this hot, a runnin’ oven is no bueno. Imagine my surprise when a box came loaded with treats from their Clif, Luna, AND Luna Protein bar lines! I did a little mental backflip of joy, because a physical one in this weather might just have killed me.
A small note, my bars were somewhat mushy and melty due to the extreme heat. This is in no way indicative of Clif’s Q.C. people. The weather is beyond everyone’s control and I’ve had enough Luna bars to know this is waaaaay outside of their norm.
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Clif bars are an awesome way to fill your food hole on the run. And it seems we’re all on the run anymore in some form or fashion. The first thing to suffer, after sleep, is usually nutrition. We grab something at the market to nuke or **shudder** drive through somewhere. Yes, even I’m guilty of that. How nice is it, then, that Clif packs enough good stuff in their bars to keep you motorin’ until dinner. Plenty of carbs, fiber, and protein and just around 200-250 calories per 2-3 ounce bar. A, B, C, and E vitamins. Flax seeds, rolled oats, real fruits and nuts, almond butter, fig paste, sea salt. Hey, I can pronounce these! Nice. And organic, rainforest certified and non-gmo sourced, too. Not too shabby at around $1.50 (or less) per bar! The texture is great (and remember, these had been stuck in nasty California heat for DAYS), the flavors rock, and it fits in your pocket or purse. It fills you up without dragging you down, and that’s win-win in my book. Clif says they pride themselves on “kitchen made” bars, and you can see, feel, and taste the dedication to that in every bite.
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Speaking of flavors, holy monkey are there a lot of good ones here. Black Cherry Almond. Blueberry Crisp. White Chocolate Macadamia. Chocolate Brownie. Seasonal flavors like Spiced Pumpkin Pie and Iced Gingerbread. I could go on and on. There’s a flavor for everyone, and they all ROCK.
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If I had one knock, it’s that the protein is soy-based. A lot of folks, Hubby included, are sensitive, if not outright allergic, to soy proteins. I would love to see Clif bars come out with a whey protein line as well, but for the price, they are tough to beat. I’ve been known to stock up during 5 for $5 sales, and the only hard parts are getting into the stores early to get my favorites and limiting myself to 5 or 10 at a time. Plenty of energy and punch to get you through the day with these little bars! You could do a lot worse with a midday meal or snack. You probably have. I know I have. I guarantee you hubby has. Now there’s really no excuse. Grab some Clif bars. Do it now. Go ahead, I’ll wait. I promise not to start my Luna Bar review without you.

Connect with Clif Bar & Company!
I received the above product(s) free of charge from Clif Bar & Company. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.
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