Let’s just get this out of the way upfront – I am the most flakey blogger of all time. I fully admit it. My posts come in sporadic bursts and then die off for weeks at a time. I wish I had a really awesome excuse, like I have a kid, or a boyfriend, or a really stressful time-suck job. Nope. None of the above. Just a single, kid-free lady living in the city of dreams workin’ the 9 to 5 trying really hard yo to survive… That’s a song right? Anyway. Yet somehow there never seem to be any free hours in the day! How is that?? It’s like I get home, want to go work out a little, come back, shower, make dinner, eat in front of a TV show, space out for another TV show, then OMG it’s MIDNIGHT! And I need serious beauty sleep you know? I guess I could cut out those TV shows huh… but anyway… I digress. The point is, I suck at blogging. Hopefully I’ll get better, but maybe I won’t… But let’s just cherish these special moments when I do choose to blog, shall we?
So for this special moment in time I have decided to put aside my regular recipe sharing post status-quo and instead share with you my thoughts on some recent foodie finds. Every time I go to the grocery store I feel I come back with about 85 new things that I’m just bubbling over with excitment about. So I feel I should put these shopaholic compulsive buying tendencies to good use by sharing my thoughts on all these thanggsssssss. Therefore maybe you won’t have to spend as much money as I do at good old Whole Foods. Nothing against them though, I love that place. Spending an afteroon there is literally a really enjoyable time for me. Is that pathetic? Slash weird? Probably a little of both. But anyway! I’m going to rate these on taste, price, and nutritional value, and roll it all together with a letter grade (cuz I just miss college so much…). Hopefully if any of you have been on the fence about purchasing some of these items, this will help you out one way or the other! I know I always love hearing others opinions on products before I buy… although clearly I usually just buy anyway…
Well, here ya go!
*NOTE: I paid for all of these products with my own moolah, and reviewed them out of my own free will. I’m not popular enough for anyone to send me free shwag or try to shmooze me into review writing – unfortunately (Anyone?? Anyone?? Please!?) 
Annie’s Gluten Free Bunny Cookies
Price: $4.39 at Whole Foods (6 27-bunny servings)
Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 27 cookies(30g)
Servings per Container: 6
Calories: 120
Calories from fat: 30
Total Fat: 3.5g
Saturated Fat: 1.5g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 1.5mg
Total Carbohydrate: 19g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 9g
Protein: 2g
The Good:
- So cute!!
- Decently yummy on their own – when plain like this I prefer the chocolate bunnies
- Delishhhh in almond milk, or as a topping for ice cream/yogurt/chia pudding
- Gluten Free!
- Fairly low cal (120 for 27 bunnies, so a good size serving)
- I love Annie’s brand so I support them whenever I can – very eco-conscious, majority natural/organic ingredients, and always a good quality product (who else was OBSESSED with their mac n’ cheese during childhood?? that was some good ‘ish)
The Bad:
- Kinda a weird after-taste when you eat a whole bunch of them at once plain on their own – comes with the gluten-free territory I assume, unfortunately (didn’t stop me from making frequent grabs into the box though!)
- Contains soy
Grade/Final Verdict: B+ / Okay on their own for a crunchy cookie-type fix, but even better as a topping…
Artic Zero Ice Cream (Flavor: Chocolate Peanut Butter)
Price: $4.49 at Whole Foods (Four 1/2-cup servings)
Nutrition Facts:
The Good:
- SUPER LOW cal! (132 in the whole pint!)
- Good with toppings…
The Bad:
- Lacks the “creamy” quality of ice cream, but this should be expected at the low cal count
- I didn’t taste any hint of a “peanut butter” flavor in here!!! Pretty much just plain chocolate. Wonder if other flavors are better…
- Definitely a more “processed” food than I usually like to consume
- Contains whey/dairy
- Kinda expensive
Grade/Final Verdict: B+ / Definitely needs toppings, but good as a low-cal dessert fix, especially on those nights you feel you could “eat the whole pint”; but should be enjoyed not so frequently, as it is not a “whole” food by any means
—-> *HINT* – If you couldn’t tell from the above two reviews, I enjoyed the Artic Zero ice cream with the Annie’s GF Bunnies as a topping! I also sloshed some almond milk in there too, which added a touch more “creamy” taste. This made the most optimal use of both of their best qualities. A very tasty and pretty healthy dessert to fix a chocolate craving! I estimated about 110 calories for 1/2 cup scoop AZ with 15 bunnies and 1/3 cup almond milk! Not too shabby for a little snacky snacker. 
Sea’s Gift Seaweed Snacks (Nori)
Price: $18.90 for 24 packages on Amazon (save an additional 15% with Subscribe & Save!)
Nutrition Facts:
The Good:
- SUPER FOOD! (I love saying that… I picture these flying around with a cape… is that weird?)
- 30 cals per package!
- Good ripped up as a salad topper
The Bad:
- If you’re not careful they get stuck to the roof of your mouth… not fun!
- Definitely have a taste of the sea…
- They are kinda boring on their own, and I’m having trouble thinking of creative uses for them… is there something I could roll up inside of them?? Other things to top them with?? Any ideas people??
Grade/Final Verdict: B+ / So healthy, but too boring on their own, but kind of an awkward size to do other things with them… but maybe I just need to be more creative!? And don’t let them get stuck to the roof of your mouth – for real! Not cool.
So Delicious Coconut Mini Sandwiches (Flavor: Banana Split)
Price: $5.49 at Whole Foods (for 8 sandwiches)
Nutrition Info:
The Good:
- SO. F-ING. GOOD.
- 100 calories per sandwich! And they snuck 2g of fiber in there which isn’t too shabby
- Dairy free and soy free
The Bad:
- Leaves you wanting more
- A little bit pricey
Grade/Final Verdict: A / So delish! Pretty small though, so you find yourself wanting seconds, but stay strong!! Definitely good for calorie controlled desserts if you can keep it to one. This flavor is SO GOOD but I haven’t tried any others to compare, but I definitely plan to! Worth the occasional splurge… and a whole box is cheaper than a serving at Pinkberry anyway, right?
Gnu Bars (Flavors: Espresso Chip, Lemon Ginger, Chocolate Brownie)
Price: $1.69 per bar at Whole Foods, or $23.99 for a 16-pack at Gnu’s online store
Nutrition Facts: (Chocolate Brownie shown)
The Good:
- Fiber central! (12g per bar)
- All natural
- Low fat (about 4g per bar, no sat. fat) and cal (130-140 per bar)
- My ranking of flavors I have tried: #1: Lemon Ginger (such a crisp and refreshing citrusy zing, and I love ginger, but this flavor might not be for everyone if you’re not into “interesting” flavors); #2: Espresso Chip (you can definitely taste the coffee flavor (mmmmm) and the chips add a nice crunch); #3: Chocolate Brownie (not as chocolate-y as I would like for a “brownie” flavor, and definitely not a brownie consistency. But if you don’t take the “brownie” flavor title too literally [as I clearly did], it does have a good enough flavor in its own right)
The Bad:
- Kinda a grainy texture
Grade/Final Verdict: A- / A tasty high fiber/low cal snack to keep your tummy running smoothly, even if the texture isn’t ideal
Price: $3.79 at Whole Foods
Nutrition Facts:
The Good:
- Great stats! 13g protein and 10g fiber for only 140 cals in a cup!
- Crisp-ity crunch-ity yumminess with a perfectly light touch of sweetness
- Great topping for yogurt/chia pudding
The Bad:
- Contains processed soy 
- Even with the touch of sweetness it is a littleeee bland, but easy to flavor it up with just some agave/stevia/cinnamon, or added to flavored yogurt etc
Grade/Final Verdict: A- / As long as you are not allergic to wheat or soy, this is a yummy and nutritious cereal! Starts your day off right.
Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders
Price: $3.50 at Whole Foods (about 10 tenders)
Nutrition Facts: (Note: 1 serving is about 2 tenders)
The Good:
- SO SO SO SO SO SO GOOD
- Protein packed vegan snack! 9g and only 90 cals for two chicken fingers
- Great for adding a protein punch to a salad!
- I bet kids would love ‘em, but once again, don’t have any, so who knows
- Pretty inexpensive!
The Bad:
- Contain processed soy
Grade/Final Verdict: A / So delish and healthy, it’s for sure worth a little processed soy every now and then! These will now be my processed soy choice for chicken nugget like products, over my previous fave of Morningstar Crispy Chick’n Patties. I try to keep processed soy protein choices like this to once a week.
Crystal Light Pure Fitness (Flavor: Strawberry Kiwi)
Price: $22.29 for 6 7-count boxes (42 packets) on Amazon (Save 15% with Subscribe & Save!)
Nutrition Facts:
The Good:
- Au naturel! Oui oui!
- Electrolytes added to keep you hydrated while you’re gettin big (or small) at the gym
- Tasty!
The Bad:
- This is definitely still processed (duh), even if “all natural”
- Does contain stevia, which I know some people don’t like the aftertaste… I don’t mind it however
- Not THAT many electrolytes… only 70mg sodium and 30mg potassium per packet, as compared to 660mg potassium in one of my other fave beverages, coconut water
- Almost a little TOO sweet
- A little expensive… one packet of this costs more than one Gardein nugget! Sheesh!
Grade/Final Verdict: B+ / I really like this stuff, mostly cuz I have a hard time drinking enough water throughout the day when I try to drink it plain… I get bored. I need some flavor in my life you know?? Also I really dig the attempt at adding even a few electrolytes, as these def are needed after a session of Bikram Yoga (my new exercise love) And it’s nice to be able to get the flavor and electrolytes for only 30 cals, and naturally
Phew!! Hopefully that was kinda worth the long blog draught. Oh wait, you didn’t even notice I was gone did you? That’s fine. Whatevs. Someday, you’ll miss me. Someday. So anyway, I kinda enjoyed review writing. I feel so powerful!!!! Although I would feel more so if anyone read this thang. But whatevs, maybe I’ll do this more often? I mean we all know I shop enough to support posts like this practically every week. If I wrote every week… this just keeps going in circles doesn’t it?
Alright I’m out! See ya in three weeks! JK. Hopefully more like a few days…
But no promises.
xoxo
Hilary
Wow! Crystal Light came out with a beverage that doesn’t have any artificial sweeteners? I hope that’s the start of a new trend for them! And those So Delicious coconut milk ice cream mini sandwiches are addictive! Their coconut milk almond bars are pretty amazing, too!
Yep!! And it really is quite tasty! If you’ve been looking for something like that you should def check ‘em out! And 100% agree on all things from So Delicious’s coconut ice cream line… total yum city!
Amazing post! Thanks for buying and reviewing the shiz I am too lazy/poor to buy (ahem, Arctic Zero!)!
Miss you girl!
It’s a dirty/delicious job, but somebody’s gotta do it
come visit me soon and i’ll give you bites of AZ!!
xoxo
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