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Hello friends, The spring semester has come and gone, and with it, I have a little more time to devote to this lovely blog. I wanted to share some really awesome products that I’ve tried over the past SIX MONTHS (because yes—geez!—that is how long it has been since I’ve written anything on here). Kite Hill Cream Cheese—Chive Flavor Back in November-ish, I wrote about the original flavor of this almond-based cream cheese. I take it back; I thought it was good, but ALAS it was NOTHING when compared to their chive cream cheese. Oh holy moly, this stuff is the equivalent of the flavor of an everything bagel condensed down into a spreadable topping that you can lather onto bread, bagels, crackers (a spoon?).  Simple Truth Ice Cream - Salted Caramel So I’m walking around my local Kroger, diligently grabbing items and crossing them off my grocery list, when I approach the freezer section of the “healthy food/organic/gluten-free stuff” area. I always check out what they have because their gluten-free selection is one of the best of the grocery stores I go to (I especially love their ice cream section because they usually have my favs on sale). IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when I look at their frozen section and see an almond-milk based Salted Caramel ice cream by Simple Truth, Kroger’s “healthy” line. Of course, I opened the door and grabbed a container. I needed to try it…for the blog. It was quite good! Although I have an allegiance to all things So Delicious when it comes to ice cream, this store-brand, alternative approach to frozen treats was actually pretty yummy! (The empty container in my trash can said that too.) Daiya Dressings These dressings make my life. I love salads. Not only are they one of the easier options to order on those rare occasions when I eat out, but I also love making them at home because I can pile on whatever toppings my heart (and stomach) desire in that moment. My mom and I made a dinner every once in a while that consisted of a large, luxurious salad with a healthy side of waffle fries. No guilt for the side of fries when combined with a giant salad, right? I’ve continued that tradition in my own apartment, usually on a Friday night. One of my favorite dressings is Caesar, but I haven’t had it in forever because it’s a dairy-based dressing, much like ranch. God bless the people at Daiya for creating such delicious-tasting dressings that mimic so well that originals. I always have these two dressings in my fridge. Daiya also sells a “Blue Cheeze” version, which I definitely purchased for the sake of this blog post, and it did not disappoint. I seriously don’t know how they do their magic. It tastes JUST LIKE BLUE CHEESE dressing, but without the dairy, eggs, gluten, and soy. Nature’s Path Chia Plus Waffles—Quinoa and Amaranth I’m a sucker for breakfast food—but basically just waffles and pancakes. Since I don’t currently own my own waffle maker, but I do own a toaster, these waffles were an awesome treat on a Sunday morning, making my breakfast just a little bit better before going to work out. I smothered them in almond butter and drizzled on some local honey and was quickly transported to breakfast-food bliss. I love that Nature’s Path includes these superfoods like quinoa and amaranth, too! They have a few other options (Homestyle and Buckwheat Wildberry) that I’d love to try.  So Delicious Ice Cream: Chocolate Cookies ‘N’ Cream Ah, so you thought I’d make it through a blog post about some of my favorite new items without talking about So Delicious, did you? AH-HA! I could never because they’re constantly creating amazingly yummy things that I definitely always need to try. I actually found this flavor at Kroger (again) and was so freakin excited because I haven’t had a cookies n’ crème ice cream since my mom made it for us once when I was a kid. The first week of my May class was particularly stressful, so I promised myself a relaxing night of laying in bed, watching stand-up on Netflix, and indulging in this frozen delight. I literally talked about it all week—so much so that my mom was like “Thank goodness it’s Friday. You can finally eat your ice cream!” And then she said how surprised she was that it was actually gluten-free, and I had a small panic attack. I thought I remembered checking if it was, since I do that automatically with everything all the time, but then I couldn’t remember because it is an automatic thing I do. I was walking back from the gym at the time, so as soon as I got back to my apartment, I raced over to the freezer and on the front of the ice cream it said “gluten-free.” That night was glorious. Cashew-milk based ice cream is always better—much more like dairy, so much creamier. The chocolate flavor itself was DECADENT and rich, then throw in those bits and pieces of cookies and I died after that first bite. I had to tell myself to slow down because I wanted it to last forever (I think it lasted for less than 10 minutes). 10/10 would recommend and DEFINITELY purchase again. (I actually did purchase this again between writing this blog post this past weekend, buying the ice cream again on Saturday night so that I could show my parents how amazing it is, and then publishing this post today!)  Comments are closed.
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