Buff Bake Protein Spread

Well, would you look at that? I found yet another nut butter in my snack collection.

This time? It's protein.

Also - I couldn't find pics of the small travel pouches, so I'm sharing images of the jars for reference.

With that said - let's see how this goes.

Chocolate Chip Protein Peanut Spread

Now... it doesn't say "knead packet" but since the other ones said to, and I'm a trained monkey after trying a few of these, consider it well-kneaded.

The smell is... odd. It's chocolate-ish but not really. I get hints of it, just like I do regarding the peanuts. It just doesn't smell like either chocolate or peanut butter.

The consistency is a little watery at the start, but then it starts to come out of the pouch a little thicker. The spread is the color of chocolate chip cookie dough (minus the chocolate chip).

It doesn't taste like... anything. The texture is a little grainy, too, but overall, it has a scent and taste of nothing like its label would suggest.

The serving size is one pouch which is 38g (11g of which is protein). The whole serving is 200 calories.

Snickerdoodle Protein Almond Spread - Chia + Flax

Kneaded to filth? Check.

Moving on.

It smells of almond butter, but it wasn't a strong smell - though more so than the other spread smelled of peanut butter. The consistency was less watery, and the taste was more distinguishable to almond butter than the other spread. It was also less grainy in texture.

The serving size is one pouch which is 32g (11g of which is protein). The whole serving is 150 calories.

*******

Now - I've tried alternate forms of food - like diet or fat-free... you get the idea. So perhaps the protein version of this was what made it taste the way it did. I'm used to nut-butters being sweet, even a little bit. Per the nutritional info, both spreads had sugar substitutes in them, but even those have some sweet factor - although with a funky aftertaste. But the sweetness - or lack thereof - of these spreads weren't the issue. They just didn't taste very good to me.

The pouches had illustrations on how to eat the spreads - like in celery or in a sandwich, etc, but I don't think that would've made a difference to me.

A while back I had tried the Unicorn Protein Almond Spread - really for novelty sake and also for the fact that it was a nut butter. I remember not liking that one either. It was dense and sweet-ish -and it also had rainbow sprinkles. It was also hard to spread and the scent and taste were weird and too strong.

The website no longer lists the spreads as a featured item for sale, but when looking at the recipe blog, there are some recipes that include using the spreads as one of the ingredients. So WTF with that?

I will say that I am curious to see what their other items are like (their bars and cookies - and they apparently have protein powder?) - but I'm in no hurry to go looking for them.

https://buffbake.com/

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

Little Buddy's Small Batch Nut Butter

I grew up with peanut butter. It's one of my favorite things. I suppose you can say I'm something of a pseudo-expert when it comes to peanut butter. It's one of my comfort foods.

I mean, come on! Peanut butter and jelly? That's my jam.

(And on a completely random but related to this post - I love Goober Grape and Goober Strawberry by Smuckers. In the world of nut butter conversations, I've heard hate on these two things, but I love them so... to each their own.)

Back to Buddy's.

I've known about other nut-butters for a long time, but my staple growing up has been the peanut variety. For a while now, I have dabbled in all sorts of nut-butters but have only tried a few - mainly almond.with a couple tastings of cashew and sunflower here and there.

Something I've seen a lot of have been the small travel size squeeze packs of nut-butters. I think every brand has them, and I've seen them everywhere - mainly at Whole Foods types of places as well as some of the people I follow on YouTube.

So I thought I'd finally try them.

In all honesty, the only one I've actually tried has been from the brand "Justin's" (almond butter), but to be completely honest, it was an impulse buy at Whole Foods, and I've snacked on their peanut butter cups more than the nut-butters.

But back to Little Buddy.

Cinnamon Raisin

Ingredients: roasted peanuts, peanut oil, raisins, raw honey, cinnamon, sea salt.

First off, you need to KNEAD the pouch well before ripping the pouch open for consumption, but even though I went to town on the thing, when I opened it, it was still a little watery.

Doesn't smell like much when I opened the pouch. My nose knows peanut butter, and it did definitely did give off a faint nut butter vibe.

It tasted a little thick, and I definitely tasted the raisins, but there was a real gritty/grainy texture that I didn't really like.

Chocolate Peanut

Ingredients: roasted peanuts, semi-sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, lecithin (soy) and vanilla), cocoa powder, sea salt, can sugar.

I kneaded this pouch harder than the first one, and it seemed to have blended better - but that could have been more to the ingredients than my hand strength.

The smell was definitely of chocolate, but I didn't get any notes of peanut butter at all - just chocolate.

There was still a little bit of "watery-ness" at first, but it came out that rich dark brown chocolate color, but the taste? The taste was pure chocolate to me. The consistency was thick, and there was some slight grainy texture, but the chocolate flavor was the most prominent flavor profile.

Honey Peanut

Ingredients: roasted peanuts, raw honey, peanut oil, sea salt.

I kneaded the hell out of this - like I was aggressively fluffing a pillow to make sure everything was evenly spread out to my liking.

When I opened the package, I saw success!!! The consistency was the least watery of the three - probably due to my abusive kneading technique.

There was the familiar peanut butter smell that I have been quite familiar with since childhood. I also smelled the honey which was nice.

*******

Of the three that I tried, I would say the basic tried and true honey peanut was my favorite. The taste was a little grainy, but it was much smoother than the other two, and the biggest take-away was that I tasted the peanuts, the sea salt, and the honey. With the other two, I tasted a gritty texture and raisins or just chocolate. Flavored peanut butter should still taste like peanut butter with other flavors added to it. When you lose the peanut butter flavor, then it's just something else.

Now I will concede that perhaps my kneading skills were lacking so I didn't properly blend them to get the best flavor profile, but I still feel I should have been able to taste something than just one note here and there.

The package says a serving size is two tablespoons which is the full pouch - which in the end 180 calories.

I might try them again later - or maybe just by a jar, but I always like to try a sample size of sorts before committing to a whole jar. Then if I end up not liking it, I'll have to trash a whole jar of product, and that's no good. So we'll see.

https://buddys-nut-butters.myshopify.com/

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

dang Toasted Coconut Chips - Savory Bacon

Okay. I found another coconut chip in my stash so hey - why not talk about it now?

First off - BACON!

I often joke being Filipino that pork is one of my basic food groups, but yeah - I love pork. Oddly enough I don't eat it as much as I used to, but I still partake once in a while.

Is it just me or does that sound similar to "I only drink socially"?

Anyway, back to these bacon coconut chips.

Once I opened the bag, I smell bacon right away. No coconut. Just bacon.

The coconut slivers look toasted - they have a light brown hue. And there's no powder on them.

Tasting one chip, I can taste a little bit of bacon, but this snack is vegan. So let me explain.

The ingredients are coconut, Bacon Seasoning, and Coconut Oil. The "Bacon Seasoning" is comprised of: Cane Sugar, Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, Pepper, Bacon Flavor.

What the frak is "Bacon Flavor"? I can understand calling something "Bacon Seasoning" and then listing all the spices that make up that seasoning. That's like with Pumpkin Spice or Chai Spice, but bacon flavor in bacon seasoning?

Anyway, moving on.

The bag is 2.82oz and lists one serving as an ounce - leaving three servings per bag.

Overall, this treat wasn't my favorite. As much as I love bacon, I would prefer bacon-flavored treats -vegan or otherwise - to actually taste like bacon. And these tasted like barbecue chips to me, and if I wanted those, I'd just buy those chips.

https://dangfoods.com/
https://dangfoods.com/collections/dang-toasted-coconut-chips

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

Hungry Buddha Coconut Chips

I will be perfectly honest - as much of a lover of coconut I am, I'm not really a coconut chip eater. Well... at least not solo. If it's in a trail mix or something, I'll partake - but this snack is not something that comes to mind when I feeling a bit peckish.

But when I saw the following two items, I immediately became intrigued so I picked them up to try later.

Disclaimer: I'm not a spicy person by any means. It's only been until my later years that I will randomly not only crave spicy food but tolerate it, but it's completely random. I can't have had - say a ghost pepper and be okay with it only to go to a restaurant down the road and order a ghost pepper dish there. Again - my body is random so I have to always do the meek taste test and if it's okay (aka I don't die or hack up a lung), then I can eat the rest of whatever else was offered to me.

Wild Wasabi

Smells okay. Granted the only time I've ever truly "smelled" wasabi was when I put too much in my soy sauce while eating sushi and almost snarfed it up. (I'm pretty sure in this context you can guess what I mean by "snarf" - and no, not the creature from Thundercats - but even if you're not exactly right with what I mean, I'm pretty sure you'd be close enough.)

Back to the smell - it smells okay, but I can't smell coconut. I do smell a little... something? - but not coconut or wasabi.

The coconut chip feels and looks toasted, the color a light brown hue. There's no seasoning dust or anything on it - just the coconut itself.

Ahhh... there it is. It's baked in. How? I have no idea, but it's really in there. It tastes like the coconut was dusted with wasabi paste or powder. The wasabi isn't overwhelming - only giving a hint of spice and that's it. There's a bit of a salty taste to it but again, not a lot - only a hint.

I really like these.

Smokin' Sriracha

Where I couldn't smell anything from the Wasabi bag, I definitely smell sriracha from this bag. No coconut - just sriracha.

They (of course) feel toasted. However, they look very much like a barbecue potato chip - slightly orange-red.

And the taste - THE TASTE?

I immediately thought "barbecue potato chip." The flavor is just as subtle as the wasabi - there but not overpowering. In the beginning, I wasn't feeling any heat. I tried a few more - still nothing. Then I grabbed a small handful, and that's when I started to feel the heat. But it's not too much. It's just enough.

These bags are 40g each and are 250 calories per serving - one serving being the whole bag.

I like these - I REALLY like these. I would say of the two, the wasabi was my favorite. Thank goodness they come in such small portions or I may make myself sick eating too much of them.

https://www.buddhabrandscompany.com/

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

Hammond's Mellow Fluffs

While working on tidying/reorganizing my home, I thought I'd take a break for some coffee and to relax a bit whilst plotting my next move (aka moving furniture around).

In my tidying, I came across my snacks collections - a variety of things I'd bought from a variety of places since they looked interesting and piqued my curiosity to try (and I like trying new things - hence this blog). There's lots to try so I thought I'd get to it to still be productive while on a break from my other productivity.

Blogging is productive, right?

*******

So the first item up for tasting: Mellow Fluffs

I saw these in a store recently, and I love me a good marshmallow, so I thought I'd snag one of each flavor they had and give them a try. And now, in no particular order...

Vanilla Bean

Right off the bat sniffing the bag after opening, they smell deliciously of vanilla... and oddly of Playdoh (which is a little disconcerting but I digress).

They are cut square, soft and smooshy to the touch as well as powdery though they don't make a mess or leave any kind of residue on your fingers. Their color is white with perhaps a little bit of a "vanilla bean pod" hue.

The sweet vanilla taste is noticeably there... and nothing else. (Granted I wouldn't know what Playdoh tastes like, and I have no intention of finding out, but I'm pretty sure vanilla and sugar would hardly mask that specific flavor profile). They are airy and fluffy as a marshmallow should be.

Birthday Cake

The smell of this marshmallow is strongly of birthday cake though it reminds me of the birthday cake frosting and not an actual birthday cake. These just smell super sweet. (And thankfully absolutely NO hints of Playdoh.)

They are similar in texture to the Vanilla Bean ones - soft and smooshy. They are square and white but are speckled with rainbow sprinkles (although they look more like someone took a mini hole-puncher to some Necco wafers).

Even though they feel soft, they taste denser than the Vanilla Bean ones, making chew a little more. Not sure if it's due to the sprinkles or not. I've never heard of sprinkles changing the chew consistency in baking.

Toasted Coconut

These just smell sugary sweet, much different than the other three, but I'm not getting any coconut at all, toasted or otherwise (which is sad since I LOVE coconut.)

The marshmallows are again square but feel denser than the first two. They are white and coated in toasted coconut flakes which shed a little when handling them.

They taste as dense as the Birthday Cake ones, but I'm still not getting any coconut flavor. Maybe - if at all - the coconut hits on the back end like an aftertaste, but I would think that if you name a treat "coconut" - it would be in the flavor profile right off the bat. (Don't think I'm asking for too much here.)

*******

Now... when trying to find product info, I found nothing on the internet. When I checked the bags, I saw that these were a product of Hammond's. (I'm familiar with Hammond's since I've had some of their treats.)  I went to the Hammond's site to search for these Mellow Puffs and still couldn't find them. In the "shop" portion of their site, they have a section for "Marshmallows & Caramels" - there you will see only three different flavors of marshmallows (Vanilla Bean, Toasted Coconut, and Chocolate Chip.

What the frak happened to the Mellow Fluffs?

From what I can search on the internet, there is nothing listed for "Mellow Fluffs." The official "Mellow Snacks" website is still up but everything is out of stock. (I've often wondered when something no longer exists and that thing has a website - why keep it up? Is it to keep the domain name or something? Or is it like the old mailboxes that they just paint green when they go out of service. They are taking up space. Remove them and use the metal for something else.)

At best guess, I think Hammond's rebranded some of their items - changing things around - and revised the packaging (THANK GAWD! Because the original bag design looked something inspired by a seriously bad acid trip.)

Also in looking over the bags again, they are listed as "marshmallow snacks" (Aren't marshmallows already a snack? Can't you just say "marshmallow"?) and are "under 100 calories" (Per the package info, they are 80 calories a serving. The bag is 4oz, the serving size is listed as half a cup, and the bag claims there are "about 4 servings per container.") Was the "under 100 calories on the front of the bag supposed to lead people to believe this was a healthy marshmallow? THEY'RE MARSHMALLOWS!!!

I'm always finding things that are either a one-shot or end up being discontinued for some reason or another, but they usually bum me out more when I REALLY like that thing whether it's edible or non-edible. But since Hammond's seem to have kept marshmallows in their repertoire, I will most likely try them again at some point... and other things from this company as well.

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

Rogue Soda - Honey Orange

So a few weeks ago I decided I was going to try and be productive. I had worked the opening shift at work which got me out of the office by 3:30pm. I thought "I'll be productive on the way home and get some things done."

I would like to point out that while my mind was saying "Let's Do This!" my body was experiencing that lovely monthly visitor (aka Powerloss) which left my body screaming back "Let's Go Home & Lay Down... Maybe Even Sleep?"

But I pushed through and made myself run my errands which consisted of mostly going to Target.

In reality there were maybe a handful of things I really needed to get, but I also like to take my time, check out the dollar bins, check out some clothes, maybe some hair products and various other departments to get some ideas about what to do with my apartment or some organizational ideas for my life.

I made my way around the store and was in the food aisle. PMS was demanding I get everything, but I said "No, we're being good." (Needless to say PMS pouted in the corner for a long time.)

Feeling like crap and holding myself occasionally like I was with child, I debated on getting something to drink, and I came across something that I thought was supposed to be in the beer section. But nope... it was a beer brand, but soda pop.

There were three flavors to choose from: Root Beer, Citrus Cucumber, and Honey Orange (the one I chose... initially for the honey orange part, but the coriander and chamomile intrigued me as well).

This delicious thing sat in my fridge for a bit, and I finally whipped it out tonight. I really liked it. It tasted sweet but not too sweet and rather refreshing. It reminded me of a light orange cream soda.

I drank about a third of the soda straight, and then I used the rest to make a float using the rest of my Blue Bunny Coco Mango ice cream. (So good!)

On the website, there's one suggested recipe for each of the sodas. I was going to post it here, but then I saw there were two (one from the site and an additional one) so instead of writing them both out, I felt lazy and posted a pic of them here.

One is called a "Main Squeeze" using vodka, orange juice, and bitters along with the soda.

The second is called "Brass Bee" which is to be combined with Rogue Farms 19 Original Colonies Mead.

Would I Ever Try This Again?: Abso-frakkin-lutely. I'm not only interested in trying the other two flavors but all the suggested cocktails as well.

Rogue Ales
Newport, Oregon 97365

www.rogue.com/roguesoda/
www.rogue.com

SPROGS - Rice Scooters Brown Rice Snack - Roasted Corn & Poblano

"borrowed" with love from Sprogs site ^_^

So a couple days ago I wrote about the Kale & Kimchee flavor.

Yesterday I had the Roasted Corn & Poblano. Very yummy indeed.

I always make overnight oats to take to work as breakfast though lately I've been so busy in the morning, I have no time to really enjoy or even start in on my single serving. By the time I do have a moment to start in on my breakfast, my lunch break is almost upon me so I end up saving my oats for a snack later and powering through until my lunch.

Feeling a little hungry, I ate my little rice snack to tide me over until lunch time.

This treat was a little less spicy than the Kale & Kimchee one, but it had a nice added spice (as in seasoning instead of heat) that was nice, and the roasted corn had a nice flavor as well.

Ugh. I'm getting addicted.

Guess what? I got a fever! And the only prescription... is more Sprogs!

Would I Ever Try This Again?: Absolutely. ^_^

Sprogs (Poetic Brands)

1760 Cesar Chavez St, Ste H

San Francisco, CA 94124

http://www.sprogsfresh.com/

http://www.sprogsfresh.com/collections/veggie-scooters/products/roasted-corn-and-poblano

SPROGS - Rice Scooters Brown Rice Snack - Kale & Kimchee

pic "borrowed" from Sprogs website :)

The other day I was on the hunt for peppermint oil, and my hunt ended at Whole Foods - one of my favorite stores. While there, I was getting a little snacky, and my tummy was telling me it couldn't wait until I got home and cooked something. 

I cruised the cold case to find a salad or sandwich or something, but I couldn't make up my mind. When it became a toss up between pork buns or a wrap, I saw these tiny little rice squares in all sorts of flavors. It was so hard to choose.

Tonight I tried the Kale & Kimchee, and it was SO YUMMY!!!

I love kale. (Side note: Whole Foods has some garlicky kale... my absolute fave!)

I've also had kimchee before but mixed with things like fries or salads and know it can be quite hot. But even with someone with my limited spicy taste buds, it didn't kill me. It was just the right level of spice and heat that didn't send me running for water. And the balance of the two flavors with the rice was great.

Also the portion for me was a great filler for a late night snack when it was too late to make a full plate of something since I would be heading to bed soon.

Well done, Sprogs. Well done, indeed!

Would I Ever Try This Again?: Most definitely. So many flavors to try. ^_^

Sprogs (Poetic Brands)

1760 Cesar Chavez St, Ste H

San Francisco, CA 94124

http://www.sprogsfresh.com/

http://www.sprogsfresh.com/products/kale-kimchee

Cheetos Sweetos - Cinnamon Sugar Puffs

Mine look more rings.

I've been on the road a lot lately for the holidays, etc, and usually when I go on a road trip, I stop off at a gas station to fuel up the car and also stock up on snacks. Sometimes I have leftover snacks that I haven't even touched since I try to get things that will sate my sweet, savory, salty - all my tastes and cravings.

Recently I saw this "limited time" and thought Why not?

Now I love cinnamon sugar things - I LOVE me some churros - but sadly not all sweets can do the cinnamon-sugar combo justice. Granted, how difficult could it be? It's almost a gimme. A wham-bam-thankyouma'am knock out of the ballpark. But sadly, some people lose in this field... so I was only slightly worried.

The first thing I smelled when I opened the bag was butter. Literally, as if I were sniffing a bouquet of long-stemmed butter pats.

The first thing I taste when I place a little cinnamon-sugar circle in my mouth?... is butter. And as I chew, I know there's cinnamon-sugar goodness there, but all I taste is butter... and sweet.

Now I like butter, and by no way is this an obscene amount of butter flavor that makes me gag or anything, but it's the prominent taste. When I hold the puff in my hand, I see the dusting of cinnamon-sugar goodness, but all I get is butter.

Yes, there is a sweet aftertaste, but it's just sweet. No cinnamon or sugar aftertaste - just sweet. I had expected them to be like crunchy churro bites, but they're just Butter-O's.

It doesn't taste bad or overpowering, but I do see this being a PMS treat as opposed to an every day/occasional snack.

Would I Ever Try This Again?: I'm not honestly sure. Though if someone handed me a bag during that special time of the month, I may just eat the bag and its contents whole... but I probably wouldn't go out looking for it on my own.

Cheetos-Sweetos Cinnamon Sugar Puffs
Frito-Lay, Inc.
Plano, TX 75024-4099

Game: Monument Valley

Ida - the faceless princess

Well look at this. Something that isn't food. Well golly gee!

So it's been a while that I've been eyeing this game in the app store. I'm a gamer, and even though I play practically all kinds, my favorite types of games are adventure/puzzle games.

Examples of adventure/puzzle games I have played (and enjoyed): Oddworld, Journeyman, 7th Guest, The Longest Journey, Dreamfall, Sanitarium, 9, Tesserae, Rebuzzle, Word Brain, Zuma, Intelligent Cube, Obsidian... and other games that have puzzle stuff in them like Tomb Raider.

When I check out the app store on my iPhone, I always check out the same two game types: Puzzle and Word. Rarely there is anything new that catches my eye. I've dabbled in the worlds of Fruit Ninja, Candy Crush, and Temple Run, but I can only play those for so long until I need a break from them... which is odd considering playing the game is supposed to be a break in itself.

"Hi! I'm addictive!"

One day I was checking out Monument Valley in the Google game store, and they had these "if you like this, then you'd like this" suggestions next to the game, and one of them was Skyward. It looked interesting enough, and it was free - so I downloaded it.

The environment design is essentially the same to Monument Valley (though MV's design is mind-blowing in its transformations.

Skyward starts off with a portion of track where you essentially have to alternating discs (which - to me - look like tiny Necco wafers) that you have to play leap frog throughout the maze. It reminds me a little of CrossyRoad in the respect that the game ends when you die. (So I guess you can say it's also a survival game, too?)

Monument Valley - from all the pics I saw online and in the app store - always made me think of the scene from Labyrinth where Sara is trying to find her little brother Toby in that Escher-type room of stairs.

The game is entirely like that.

Pretty

So remembering my iTunes gift card from back in the day, I said, "Frak it!" and used it.

THIS GAME IS AWESOMESAUCE!!!

It didn't take long to download the game, and as soon as I played the first level, I was hooked immediately. The worlds are so pretty. Each level, each structure, a piece of amazing art all on its own. (The two levels/puzzles that stick out in my mind from the game are "The Box" and "Observatory".) So pretty, and SO COOL! (And I really love her Totem friend. I want one!!!)

Over the course of the next few days, I finished the game in about a day's time (give or take). I had to force myself to not be an ass, put the phone away, and - ya know - be social and responsible. I downloaded the game Friday and finished it Saturday.

So Monument Valley only has 10 levels which made me sad since I wanted more.

Then after the credits were done and the game ad showed, it said "download Forgotten Shores" - WHICH I DID!!!

First I played "Ida's Dream" which was previously unreleased content. Very pretty.

And then it was off to Monument Valley: Forgotten Shores.

Ida & Totem

With this expansion, you get 8 more levels... which I finished quickly and then was whining inwardly like "WHYGAWDWHY?!?!? I WANT MORE MONUMENT VALLEY!!!"

Or something like that.

My favorite level in Forgotten Shores is "The Oubliette."

This level had me saying things like "WTF?" and "That's awesome!" and "SWEET!!!"

Now normally when playing puzzle games like this, there's usually a part in the process where I get stuck and can't figure out what to do or where to go. At that point, I get all tense, shut off the system and just walk away for a while.

I was surprised at how quickly I finished the game. Not to say that it was easy, but I was waiting for that "DAMMIT!" moment but most of those moments were from being at the office or driving or stuff like that.

I have since been playing the game over and over. Admittedly there were some things that I looked at and thought "I beat you dammit. Why can't I remember you?" - which is odd since once I've played a game, the muscle memory kicks in rather quickly.

Would I Ever Try This Again?: Of course, and I have! More, please? Thanks.

Monument Valley - Game Site:
http://www.monumentvalleygame.com/

ustwo
https://ustwo.com/