Qrunch Spicy Italian Quinoa Burgers

I don't visit the healthy section of the supermarket to be healthier. That's just an added bonus. I like food and go there to find interesting and new foods. That's where I found these Spicy Italian Quinoa Burgers in Wegman's.

Originally price is what held me back. They're actually not that expensive, under $5 if I remember correctly. I mean, I like Quinoa. I like Hot Italian Sausage. But, what if I didn't like them?

A week or two ago I finally bought them and am happy to say I love them so much. The flavor is spot on. Kind of tastes a little like Italian Sausage. I like hot foods and this had a good amount of heat without being too heated... so they'll be good for most people.

You can fry them in a pan, bake them in an oven or toaster oven, or you can send them through a few cycles in a regular toaster! Microwave not recommended. I did a quick fry of mine in a pan with a little oil. They came out nice and crispy and held their shape without falling apart.

So far I tried them plain, with a little ketchup, and one time I made a side of home fries with hollandaise sauce. The sauce was amazing. The lemon was very nice with the spicy Quinoa Burgers.

You can see a picture of my dinner here:

http://instagram.com/p/Xay5ZNvQj7/

The hollandaise sauce I made in a cream whipper, which uses cartridges similar to what you'd find to shoot BB's out of a BB Gun. The air and sauce mix together and make it very light and fluffy.

Anyway, I think I'm going to keep buying the Spicy Italian I like them so much, unless I decide to make some sort of topping then I'll try Original flavor. I don't think the Wegman's by me carries original anyway, but maybe Whole Foods.

KABANG Energy Candy

These things were an impulse buy at the counter. They were 59 cents each. They come in Apple, Cherry, Watermelon, and Grape. I had Cherry (and later Apple) and a co-worker had Watermelon (and later another co-worker Grape). They contain 100% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamins B6, B12, and C, plus Ginseng. They're only 3 grams of sugar, 15 calories, 5 carbs, and no caffeine.

The outer coating kind of tastes like a flavored energy drink. I don't really like energy drinks to begin with, but this wasn't as bad as some of those drinks taste. Once you get to the center your tongue starts to tingle. It has sodium bicarbonate in it. At first, I loved the center and it was kind of neat to have my tongue tingle, because it was unexpected, but then I got massive heartburn. That's why I don't drink soda and why I won't eat these candies again.

I don't know if it's how they're made, but the apple one I had later had a stronger inside. It actually tasted like my tongue was on fire and I spit it out. My co-worker enjoyed her Watermelon, while the other person didn't like Grape. She liked the outer coating, but once she got to the middle she spit it out. She said it tasted like a sour candy.

Can I say this gave me energy? Nope. I was still at work yawning afterwards.

Life Recovery Wellness - Time Recovery Protein Mix

I bought some Time Released Protein mix the other day from Life Recovery Wellness. Their protein powder comes in 6 flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, Cappuchino, Strawberry, Banana and Cookies and Cream. They also have a customized diet plans to help you lose weight.

The protein powder is $45 for a thirty servings. That comes out to $1.50 per serving. I could post a lot of information from their website on how it's a 4 hour time release, has 24 grams of protein per serving, but honestly I don't know much about the subject. I've never had a protein mix before. It's best to visit their website for that kind of information and leave me to tell you what I know.

Today I received my Cappuchino. Tomorrow was be the first day trying it out, but I opened the container and it smelled so delicious I had to try it. Smells just like a cappuchino should. It's 9:15 PM here, but whatever I had to.

So, first off the packaging. It arrived safely via USPS Priority Mail and was shipped quickly. Erik was quick to answer me back of when my product would ship and if he's out of stock on a particular flavor. It weighed less than a container that size I'd have thought weighed. What do I know.

You'll want to read about why you should use almond milk instead of soy milk. The only thing I had in the house was regular milk. Since the supermarket is so far away, regular milk it is. I put in two scoops of powder and some milk. Check inside. Your scoop may have settled a little.

The company says this mixes in as little as 4 ounces of liquid, mixes quickly, and has no chalky taste. They've spent many years researching this. As I said before I've never had a protein mix so I can't say how it compares to others, but I can say it's everything they claim. Mixes easy, not chalky, and tastes great. I'm not a big milk drinker, so this will help me get that in my system too.

I first mixed it lightly for a few seconds and was left with a little residue in my glass.. even that reside was delicious as I took a small lick of the side of the glass. Not once did I ever think of chalk. Products like Nestle quick leave you with some clumps of powder in your drink sometimes. Not thing stuff. I then lightly mixed a few more seconds and my drink was ready to go. I promptly downed the rest and am going for a walk.

I've always been a skinny kid (very skinny), but getting older you know how that goes. I'm 229 - 230 pounds! Much more than I've ever been. I'm going to replace breakfast with a shake.. I'll have two or three shakes a day along with two meals and hope to get my life back soon. My next purchase will probably be.. oh well I want to try almost every flavor I can't decide. I'll probably just play a game of protein roulette to decide.

Very Cherre - Tart Cherry Blueberry

These were $2.49 for an 11 ounce bottle at the farmers market. I've never seen them anywhere else. Comes in four flavors.. Cherry, Cherry Pomegranate, Cherry Cranberry, and the one pictured above, Cherry Blueberry. Interesting bottle. That's not a bad graphic editing job on my part. The left side is curved a bit and bumpy, the right side really is flat.

I didn't check the label before I bought this and I'm always disappointed when ingredients say "grape juice". Kind of misleading when the front says "cherry blueberry". The image above was from their website, but the actual product color looks nothing like that. It's very purple.

The flavor was not tart and I didn't taste a lot of cherry. Blueberry and grape were most prominent here. I like cherry, but really only bought this because it said tart. Not something I'd buy again.

Green Giant Fresh Whole Baby Idaho Potatoes

I've never seen these in Shop-Rite where I normally go. I had just left Shop-Rite as a matter of fact, but forgot dog food.. so I hit up Acme on the way home.

These come in four flavors:

Roasted Garlic Butter, Three Chile Sauce, Mesquite Smoked Bacon, and Four Cheese.

They were $2.99 a bag and I think a good size as a side dish for two people, but they were so tasty I wanted to eat them all myself.

We had Roasted Garlic Butter so far and it was fantastic. The potatoes were really really tender and really really flavorful. Just the right amount of sauce inside. The red baby potatoes have sort of a sweetness to them I think.

Cooking them is easy.. pop in the microwave for about five and a half minutes.

Scope To Go

I don't know where I was heading, but I was on the road and wanted something to freshen breath. I bought this Scope To Go Breath Mist. They come in Mint and Peppermint flavor.

I would not recommend the mister. You turn to open it, spray, then turn again to close. The problem is when you put this in your pocket it fills up with dirt and lint. So, in effect I only got to use it once or twice before it because horribly dirty.

Sunshine Pet Treats Cheese Pup Corn

I bought some Cheese Pup Corn for my dog. They were a decent price for such a good sized bag (5 oz). Upon opening the bag they didn't smell very cheesy.. which is fine, but finally curiousity got the best of me and I tasted one. Not very flavorful. They taste like corn, but no cheese flavor to be found anywhere. I'm a little disappointed for my dog. I thought he was getting something good all this time. Don't think I'll be buying these again.

The Heat Is On - Spicy Peanut Butter

This peanut butter contains chili powder, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, and paprika, among other ingredients. I was surprised to see vinegar listed.

It was incredibly tasty, but I was also surprised to see that it was actually very hot. They didn't just mix in a little heat, this stuff is really hot.

On their website this goes for $6 a jar, but I find it in stores for $3.39 or so. Not a bad price and I'm ready to buy more.

I haven't tried their other flavors, but intend to: Mighty Maple, Cinnamon Raisin Swirl, and The Bee's Knees are just some of the others.

Aldi's Grandessa Signature Quattro Formaggio

Normally I like to keep Aldi Supermarket reviews in one post HERE, but this one was too good to pass up.

It's a pizza with four different slices. You get one with Mozzarella, one with Red Cheddar & Parmesan, one with Roquefort, and one with Goat's Cheese. I loved every slice!

The two most memorable slices were the Roquefort and Goat's Cheese. Roquefort is a blue cheese with a sharp tang and pungent odor. Very tasty. The Goat's Cheese was very tasty, but I don't know how to describe the flavor exactly. Was it nutty? Not exactly. It was a few small discs like in the picture. Wikipedia says it has a tartness, which I associate with a cherry and I don't think it had that. Whatever, all I need to remember is delicious. The other two slices weren't bad either, but the two above were amazing.

As for taste, this pizza was probably the best pizza I've ever had from a box. They're so good I'm considering going back to buy five or ten more! As for the crust, it was just average.

I ate this pizza by myself, but I think the worst part is if I had to share. I don't want to give either of those two slices away!

Italian Rose Salsa Ranch Dip

UPDATE 4/28/12: The company has replied to my post here and I'll post my comment down there. As stated originally I did like the flavor of their product. They explained what the globs were and I've given them another chance. Check out some of their other delicious looking products here: http://www.italian-rose.com/

This review has been a long time coming. I keep putting it off. I had sent an email to the company which went unanswered.

I couldn't find a picture to post here as their website is not working right now.

I was in a Sam's Club and found this. It was a huge container for $4.99 or  $5.99 I believe. I thought it was a great price for the large size.

At first I thought it was very good. The flavor was nice and it was very spicy which I liked. I had it as a dip, but was imagining what else I could use it for.

The next day I decided I'd make some mac and cheese and mix some of the ranch dip in. That's when I saw something that made me not want to ever use this product again!

Big blobs of a "gelatan" like substance. It looked like huge blobs of a clear vaseline like substance. There were two golf ball sized blobs in there! If you've ever seen Mythbusters or something like that, it reminded me of the clear gelatan like material they shoot bullets into.

That was enough to make me throw it out and the food I was cooking.

Is this normal for the product? As of right now I'm not so sure I want to give it another chance, even though part of me wants to have that spicy flavor again.

BodyArmor SuperDrink

These drinks have no artifical flavors or colors, no preservatives, and contain 10% coconut water. I tried Cherry Citrus flavor.

The flavor closely resembles  Gatorade red a lot. Not something I'd drink again. Gives me bad heartburn. I'm not concerned with all the vitamins. I just wanted to try something new. I can get Powerade red in a bigger bottle for 99 cents if I really wanted something of this flavor.

If you're interested in more than just flavor, I'll list below what was in my bottle. Not sure if all flavors have the same vitamins.

Hydration Blend:
Potassium: 620mg
Magnesium: 60mg
Zinc: 10mg

Protection Blend:
Polyphenols: 50mg
Catechins: 46mg
EGCG: 22mg
Fiber: 2 grams
Bioflavonoids: 20mg

Vitamin Blend:
Vitamin A: 5000 IU
Vitamin C: 48mg
Vitamin E: 30mg
B Complex: 132mg

Recovery Blend:
Folic Acid: 800mcg
Amino Acids: 20mg
L-Carnitine: 20mg

The ingredients list a bunch of stuff including cane sugar, coconut water, purple carrot juice, natural cherry citrus flavor, green tea, yerba mate, and more. The side of the bottle also lists Sustamine, which I've no clue what it is.

Mr & Mrs T Bold & Spicy Bloody Mary Mix

The best bloody mary I've ever had was the Bacon Bloody Mary from Zinburger, but that's over an hour drive one way for me. I wanted to re-create a similar taste at home and started trying different bloody mary mixes.

I tried four or five different brands. I don't remember them all, but one of them was Tobasco brand. Some of ones I tried were more expensive. In the end Mr & Mrs T was the only brand I liked. My Girlfriend agreed.

I can't describe why it tastes so much better. It just does. It's a more full bodied flavor. I see it has Chipotle in it, which may be one of the reasons. It doesn't have a lot of little particles floating in it like some other brands. Very smooth. Later on I noticed this brand was acquired by Motts, you know the juice people, so maybe that's one of the reasons to it's taste.

When making a bloody mary at home I have no desire to try any other brands at all. This is the winner for me hands down.

PS - If you're wondering how this re-created a bacon experience for me, I used Bacon Syrup as previously reviewed.

O'Keeffe's Working Hands

This is a hand cream sold in Home Depot and Lowes. I couldn't find it in supermarkets or drug stores. It cost me about $7.50 for a small 3.4 ounce container. If you break down that price by the number of days I anticipate using this (at least 60 days) then it actually isn't that expensive.. 13 cents a day.

It claims "guaranteed relief for dry hands that crack & split". From the package "The  odorless, concentrated formula stimulates the skin's natural repair process by hydrating the skin, adjusting pH balance and retaining moisture. It is chemically different than other hand care products. A difference you will feel within days."

Above you can see a picture from their website that shows pictures of people with really bad hands. Mine's nowhere that bad as I work in an office. I can't say weather it repairs cracks that bad, but I do know my hands aren't dry at all. It is indeed odorless. It doesn't leave my hands sticky like some other hand creams. I can tell something is there, I feel something on me, but it doesn't bother me. I use it on my elbows as well. They've never been so smooth! They make one for feet, as seen in the picture, which I can't wait to try.

They recommend putting some on at nighttime because skin temperature rises during sleep, resulting in increased circulation and healing.

So far I've been using this maybe a month or more and I have about half the container left. I use it almost daily as sometimes I forget to bring it to work or home. I use it a few times a day. Morning and night, but also after I wash my hands since the soap we have drys you out.

Mama Sita's Pang Gisá Sauté

I bought this in a filipino store. It's a little packet of spices including corn starch, cane sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, soy sauce powder, and some other spices. I don't remember the price, but I'm pretty sure it was under a dollar.

Opening the packet you get the wonderful sweet smell of the spices above.

The directions say to mix some oil with vegetables. Just before they're done you put in the spice mix. I put mine in potato soup I was making and it was awesome.

What's interesting is the packet has a label stuck on the back. It says Sodium 0mg, yet if I peel the label off I see Sodium 50mg. I'm thinking it should have some sodium because the Soy Sauce Powder ingredients say salt.

Either way I'll be buying this again very soon. I want to try it on vegetables next time like it suggests.

Bacon Syrup

Just received my bacon syrup in the mail. It's awesome! Opening the bottle you instantly get the smell of bacon. It's spot on exact. Strong scent too.

But how does it taste you ask? Awesome as well. Tastes a little sweet, kind of like a thinner maple syrup, but with a strong bacon overtone.

What am I going to do with it? I'm envisioning a lot of things. I was initially worried if it would taste good, but now my concern is that I want to buy a whole case or two of this stuff. My first experiment was in my coffee. My next experiment is I'm brewing my own beer called "Pig Piss".

That picture makes the bottle look small. They're pretty big. I had no idea how big 375ml was. If you order a 3 or 6 pack you save money. They shipped to me from Pennsylvania and it was very quick.

You can see or buy them here: BACON SYRUP! OMFG! GTFO! ARE U SERIOUS?!

Perfect Fit Button

This product sells for $9.99 in stores. It's a few sets of buttons that you can reposition in your pants to make them fit. So, if you've got a pair of pants that are close to fitting you can make them fit.

They give you 4 sets of buttons. I believe one metal looking, one black, one khaki, and one grey. The buttons are in two pieces. You are supposed to hold the button with one hand, and with the other hand push the back in and pull it off. This exposes a pointy tip that you can insert into your jeans and then put the backing on to hold it tight.

I could not get the back off! Everything is so small, it's hard to get an adult finger on it. Somehow the back of the button piece broke off. What a fail this product is. I'm returning it to the store.

People on the web report having to use a pair of pliers to get the back off, and to get out of their jeans. Who the heck wants to carry around pliers to go to the bathroom?

Mold Armor

Had some mold (or mildew?) above the shower in my bathroom. Black spots on the wall. Mold Armor cost me about $4 for a 16oz bottle (if I remember correct). It says "Instant Mold & Mildew Stain Remover". I didn't realize it actually is instant. I sprayed it on, walked to the kitchen and back and it was freakin gone! I really was amazed.. what a "WOW FACTOR!" this product has.

The only downside is it's pretty potent, so you'll want to make sure you get it sprayed pretty quickly and come back in 30 minutes or so. I left that vent fan thing in the bathroom running. I'm in the next room over and I smell it. I'm going to go open the windows and might even go outside.

Liquid Ass and Barfume Novelty Scents

 

 

I don't know where I originally heard about Liquid Ass, but as soon as I saw it I did some Google detective work. It's smells like shit. They also make one that smells like puke. It seems everyone thinks this stuff is the worst smelling stuff ever. From Howie Mandel to Howard Stern to just anyone. There's reviews all over of how bad it is. Some people say just opening the bottle is enough to make you gag and warn you to wear a mask if you're easily upset. Supposedly one squirt and the smell lasts for hours. I finally took the plunge and decided to place an order.

I bought a bottle of Liquid Ass and a bottle of Barfume. A small bottle is $7.95. I'm upset that they charged me $7.54 shipping, when it only cost them $1.73 plus the price of a padded envelope. Not nice!

I opened the bottle of Liquid Ass first and prepared for the worst. It was indeed nasty smelling, it really smelled like shit, but it wasn't as bad as people said. I didn't gag at all. I sprayed some on someone's carpet and took a whiff. I couldn't smell anything! Was the odor of this person's dirty bedroom even more powerful or was this product not that good? The following day I sprayed 3 or 4 sprays on that same carpet. Still nothing. I'm upset with the product. I'll have to take out outside and try spraying it elsewhere, but my tests so far indicate this product is a failure.

I opened the bottle of Barfume, but didn't spray any. It smells like puke, but with my disappointment earlier I decided to wait and spray it elsewhere.

MiO Liquid Water Enhancer

Kraft Foods has came out with MiO Liquid Water Enhancer. It's like those other mixes you put into water to make it flavored, but what sets this apart is that it's not a powder. It's a liquid and dissolves a lot easier. That makes it not have any gritty taste either.

There's 0 calories, and 0 carbs thanks to the sucralose and acesulfame potassium sweetners. Normally with some of these types of sweetners I get a sore throat almost immediately. I'm glad to say no sore throats here.

MiO is packaged in a small plastic bottle that's easy to carry. The lid clicks on twice to ensure a tight leak free seal. It squirts out similar to those no mess ketchup bottles and from my usage so far remains clean.

 
One MiO is about $3.49 and will make 24 servings of 8 ounce size. One squeeze per serving. You can make it as strong or weak as you like. If you do indeed get 24 servings out of it that would come to .15 cents per serving. Not too bad.

I've only tried Sweat Tea flavor so far, but they also make Peach Tea, Mango Peach, Fruit Punch, Berry Pomegranate, and Strawberry Watermelon.

One squeeze wasn't enough to make me think of a true sweet tea, so I added a squeeze or two more. Maybe my squeeze wasn't as long as their squeeze listed for the serving size. We'll find out how long this little bottle lasts and calculate if I think it's worth the price.
 
I started off trying MiO at work. I always keep a drink on my office desk and keep sipping throughout the day. So far I've had my bottle of MiO close to a week! Originally I was worried about the servings since I squirt more than it suggests, but man this little thing surprised me.. I originally thought I'd get only a few days use out of it. I should have kept track of how many glasses I drank so far, but I'm thinking over 24. I'm thinking 6 to 8 cups a day x 6 days so far.

Maybe I'll get this to take to the beach, hiking, or just walking around the neighborhood. It comes out a lot cheaper than me drinking a few 99 cent Arizona's each day.

For my house, it won't be cheaper than buying a huge thing of powdered ice tea mix, but on the go or at work I think it makes sense and I love the flavor I've tried so far. Who knows maybe I'll even lose a few pounds since I'm not drinking as much sugar any more.

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Technique Hard Anodized Dishwasher Safe 10-pc. Cookware Set

I asked for (and received) these for Christmas. Technique Hard Anodized 10 piece cookware set from QVC. I'm not sure who makes these, because I see only QVC sells them. They were normally $173.50, but on sale for $157.80. At either price I'd highly recommend them.

At the time I was looking at them there were 248 reviews. Out of 5 Stars rating they received about 4.9. Two reviewers said they had the set for about 10 years and one of them was purchasing another set just in case they discontinued them. Another reviewer said her Husband burned stuff on them and they still wiped clean with ease.

There's a 1 quart saucepan with spouts and glass lid, 2 quart saucepan with spouts and glass lid, 6 quart stock pot with draining lid, 4 quart/10" saute pan with spouts and glass lid, 8" skillet, and 10" skillet. The only thing I would have liked is a 12" skillet, which they sell separately.

From the QVC website:

"These Technique pots and pans are lined with a brand new Dupont(TM) Teflon(R) ScratchGuard(R) Ultra nonstick coating. This revolutionary interior layer provides five times the abrasion resistance of the Technique Hard Anodized I to withstand metal utensil use even better. That means food release is a breeze now--and will remain every bit as easy for years and years to come. Plus, for the first time on QVC, we're offering a hard anodized cookware set that you can pop right into your dishwasher. Cooking and cleaning has never been so effortless!"

I won't dare use metal utensils, but cleanup is a breeze. No matter what you do to these pans you can easily wipe them clean in the sink. No dishwasher necessary. I've pan seared a steak at high temperature, cooked rice and left it sit there for 4 or 5 hours, cooked a chili sauce for hot dogs and left that there too. Absolutely nothing sticks and it all comes out with ease.

All of these seem pretty heavy to me. This is my first nice set of cookware, so I can't really say how heavy they compare to others, but they seem a good weight and distribute heat nicely. You don't need to use as much oil when you cook either.

I have an electric stove in my apartment and if I don't put the handles over a burner that's on, the handles stay cool to touch. They're oven safe up to 500 degrees, but then you need an oven mitt or something.

One of the lids has holes in it to drain stuff like pasta. It locks on with a turn. The other lids are all see-through glass. I'm not sure if they're oven safe, nor am I going to find out.

I've used these EVERY day since I got them. I sometimes sit at work and dream up things to make that I've never been able to do before, like pan searing a rib eye or delmonico steak and then finishing it off in the oven. It must have been good.. my Girlfriend finished all of hers and I finished most of mine.

If you're like me and going from a $19 Wally World (click and see) 7 piece set of cookware, you'll never want to go back. I've owned 3 sets of those cheap pieces of crap. I could have invested that money into a nice set.