Taste Test Tuesday: True Delights

Being a part of Foodbuzz has some great perks! I was lucky enough to get some samples of Quakers new granola bar, True Delights. I got their three flavors and have tried two of them so far, they are good!


Price: $3.49/box (5 bars)
Calories: 140
Fat: 4.5g
Sodium: 65mg
Carbs: 23g
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 2g
Rating: 4 out of 5

My first bar was the Toasted Coconut Banana Macadamia Nut. I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised! There were huge chunks of banana and macadamia nut, and I could taste it in every bite. The only flavor that was muted was the coconut...darn. But besides the missing coconut, it tasted great and I would buy it for sure. It's a good size for a small snack...I bet it would be great crumbled in some yogurt!


The Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond was also better than I expected. There were bits of raspberry scattered around and lots of real dark chocolate chunks. The chocolate tasted like chocolate! The snozzberries tasted like snozzberries (oh wait....that's something else). It was another great granola bar that exceeded my expectations. I can't wait to try the Honey Roasted Cashew Mixed Berry.

Taste Test Tuesday: PB Puffins

I was in Publix in search of a snack to keep stashed in my pantry when I noticed that Puffins were on sale. I've heard good things about these on other blogs so I decided to try them out. Turns out there 100% natural too, sweetened with cane juice. I've become a peanut butter addict lately, so that's the flavor I opted for.


Serving Size: 3/4 cup (30g)
Calories: 110
Fat: 2g
Sodium: 230mg
Carbs: 23g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 6g
Protein: 3g
Rating: 5 out of 5

I was pretty tired on a Saturday morning and I wanted to make the easiest breakfast possible. Cereal it is! I skipped the milk part, for some reason I've never been a fan of plain milk to drink or with cereal...but that's another story. Anyway...I just ripped open the bag and munched away. I first thought, wow, the bag is pretty full, that's a good sign I didn't get ripped off. I put a few of the pb nuggets in my mouth and crunched away. They were delicious...perfectly crunchy and not totally filled with just air! They weren't overly sweet and had a really good peanut butter flavor. These are a perfect snack and I'm sure make a good, healthy breakfast with some milk.

Taste Test Tuesday: Kardea Bars

I was lucky enough to get a few samples of the new Kardea Nutrition Bars. I haven't seen them in the stores yet, but you can order them online on their website. This is what Kardea has to say about their Banana Nut Bar...Banana nut is one of life's great comfort food combinations. Kardea brings you this taste sensation in its heart healthy nutritional bar. 1g Plant Sterols, 7g Total Fiber, 7g Protein, Vegan-Friendly, Lower Glycemic Sweetener & Kosher Certified. The label also says "for natural cholesterol management". I guess that's what the plant sterols are for.

Calories: 150
Fat: 5g
Carbs: 21g
Protein: 7g
Fiber: 7g
Sugar: 11g
Sodium: 80 mg
Rating: 4 out of 5 (Banana Walnut & Cranberry Almond)

My favorite flavor out of the pack was Banana Walnut, so I tried that first. The size was about what I expected for a 150-calorie bar (not big), but that was fine. The texture scared me a little, it was very soft. It was mostly smooth with a few chunks of the nuts. But I took a bite and it tasted great. There was a strong flavor of banana and walnuts. The next day I was going to try the Cranberry Almond, so I put it in the fridge for about an hour to firm up. That helped the "floppiness" of the bar a lot. The Cranberry Almond was a hit too. But I'm not a huge fan of Chai or Lemon, so those two I didn't like. But if you are into those flavors you should try it. All of the bars were well flavored with the title ingredients. If I saw these in the store, I would buy a few. It's a great snack bar with a good distribution of nutrients and good flavor.

Taste Test Tuesday: Newman's Marinara

I saw a bottle of Newman's Own Marinara in my cupboards and thought of his recent passing. He was an excellent actor and very charitable. Newman established a policy that all proceeds from the sale of Newman's Own products, after taxes, would be donated to charity. As of early 2006, the franchise has resulted in excess of $200 million in donations. One beneficiary of the donations is the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut, a residential summer camp for seriously ill children. So buy more Newman's Own products! It's for a good cause.

Serving size = 1/2 Cup
Calories: 70
Fat: 2g
Sodium: 510 mg
Fiber: < 1g
Sugar: 11g
Protein: 2g
Rating 3.5 out of 5

I opened the jar and the thickness was good. Not too runny, not too thin. But I thought it would have more texture to it. I picture a marinara to have lots of chunks of tomatoes, but this only had a few. Now on to tasting...

Spaghetti Squash: I added a couple tablespoons to spaghetti squash and some parmesan. It tasted okay. It needed salt and garlic and maybe a little olive oil. The flavor didn't go as well with the spaghetti squash as I had hoped.

Pizza: Another day I made a mini pizza (recipe to come on Sunday). The sauce tasted much better this way, offsetting the saltiness of the cheese. It's a perfect consistency for pizza sauce because it's relatively smooth and not watery.
My favorite bottled sauce of all time is Barilla Green & Black Olive Tomato Sauce...thanks for getting me hooked on it Dad :) But I will keep trying out Newman's Own products to help support some great causes.

Taste Test Tuesday: Chicken Potstickers

First...SORRY I didn't do a Six on Sunday! I had a really busy day and totally forgot (I promise to behave this week). On to my taste test...I saw Ling Ling All Natural Chicken Potstickers at Publix Greenwise Market the other day and couldn't resist. The nutritional info looked decent. I love potstickers! Eventually I will try to just make them myself. But I love convenience...especially when I get home from a long day and am too hungry to wait around for food to cook.


Serving Size: 5 pcs
Calories 260
Fat: 6g
Sodium: 620mg
Carbs: 39g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 5g
Protein: 13g
Rating: 4 out of 5

The instructions were pretty simple, just put them in a pot with a little oil and water and let them cook for 8 minutes. While they were steaming...I eyed the sauce that came with the potstickers and decided against it. I ended up mixing some Veri Veri Teriyaki with water and honey (I mixed it with water because the sauce is thick with a lot of sodium). It came out great! It was a thin consistency with a slight sweetness. Now time for the dumplings! I made 7 of them...2 of them came apart at the seams slightly. The wrapping of the potsticker seemed a tad bit overcooked. The filling was great! It tasted exactly like what I would get at a restaurant. It was moist and flavorful. Seven was almost too many..I think next time I'll stick to the serving size of 5 and eat a nice salad with it. It was WAY better than having a Lean Cuisine!

Taste Test Tuesday: Almond Breeze

On other sites I've heard good things about Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla. I have scoured many a Publix store looking for it but it seemed like they always ran out. I finally found it at Publix Greenwise!

Serving Size: 8 fl oz
Calories: 40
Total Fat: 3g
Sodium: 180mg
Carbs: 2g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars : 0g
Protein: 1g
Rating: 4 out of 5


I was excited to try this out. I wasn't sure what to make with it, but I needed some coffee big time! I found a great recipe for a cool coffee drink on Hungry Girl. I adapted it a little bit to use the almond breeze and my magic bullet blender. The recipe is below. The texture is very similar to reduced fat milk (as long as you shake it up well). It's nice and creamy. There is definitely an almond flavor but it's not overpowering. The touch of vanilla comes through. I will definitely keep buying this for drinks and my sweet concoctions.

Cool Mocha Malt (serves one)
1/3 cup Hot water
1 tsp instant coffee
2 tsp malt powder
1 tsp cocoa powder
2 1/2 packets Splenda
1/3 cup Almond Breeze (vanilla, unsweetened)
1/3 cup ice cubes

Dissolve the dry ingredients with the hot water and put in your blender. Add the Almond Breeze and Ice and blend. It's a cool and refreshing coffee drink with around 70 calories!

Taste Test Tuesday: Ezekiel Bread

On to another healthy pick that I've been eating regularly lately. Buying bread in the freezer section of the grocery store kinda scared me. I thought it wouldn't be good. But I heard lots of good things about Ezekiel 4:9 and all of it's healthy ingredients. So I gave it a try. Now I'm hooked!


Price: $3.99/loaf
Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 80
Fat: .5g
Carbs: 15g
Protein: 4g
Fiber: 3g
Sugar: 0g
Sodium: 75 mg
Rating: 4 out of 5

They call it Ezekiel 4:9 because of this bible verse, "Take also unto thee Wheat, and Barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and Spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it...". It's 100% natural and organic. It's lightly processed, so your body processes it better than regular bread.

Now for the taste testing...It's kind of a pain to defrost because the slices like to stick together. What I usually do for sandwiches is just defrost the slices enough so I can pull them apart, then put my toppings on it then pop it into the microwave (for no more than 20 seconds) or the toaster oven. It tastes great warm and especially toasted. When warmed, it has a great nutty taste that regular bread doesn't have. But it's not great when it's cold. It's also a little more crumbly than regular bread (but who knows how chemicals are used to create "softness"). If you haven't tried it yet, give it a go to see if it's your cup of tea. One of my new favorite ways to prepare it is toasted with peanut butter and bananas!

Taste Test Tuesday: PB2

I forgot how I first heard about PB2, but my first thought was..."This stuff has to be gross!" If you haven't heard of PB2, it's a powdered peanut butter. They make it by extracting the oil from the peanuts (The same company sells peanut oil too). It's all natural, mostly peanuts, with just a touch of salt and sugar. All you do is add water to the powdered peanuts and voila, you have peanut butter. I read lots of good reviews about it, so I took the plunge and bought one jar on ebay to test it out (It's not in any stores around South Florida, but you can check on their site for a store near you).


Cost: $3.99/jar in a 4 pack from their website (plus shipping)
Nutrition Info for 2 tablespoons:
Calories: 53.2
Fat: 1.87 g
Protein: 5.65g
Carbs: 3.4g
Fiber: .48g
Sodium: 77.6 mg
Sugar: 1.66g
Rating: 5 out of 5

My box arrived and I was craving a PB&J sandwich so I cracked open the jar and was ready to go. I followed the easy directions...take 2 tablespoons of the PB2 and mix it with 1 tablespoon water. So far so good, at least it looked like peanut butter. Before I condemned by bread and jelly to an unknown fate, I had to taste a little bit. Wow...it was awesome! It tasted just like peanut butter and had basically the same texture (maybe just a little less "mouthfeel" because most of the fat was missing). I made my PB&J and was thrilled. I now have no reason to miss the real thing. I know regular natural peanut butter has healthy fats, but I get enough fat in other ways. So PB2 is now my new peanut butter staple. I have been eating this stuff every day...you gotta try it...you'll love it!

Taste Test Tuesday: Fruit & Yogurt Parfait

We stopped at McDonald's right before our drive to New Orleans. It was early in the morning, and my hunger was creeping in. I new the next 5 days would be full of delicious foods...andouille...fried shrimp...beignets. My heart told me to order the McGriddle (Mc D's best invention...damn you IFF!)...but my mind told me to order the Parfait. I decided to listen to my mind.

Calories: 160 (for a 5.3 oz serving)
Protein: 4g
Fat: 2g
Carbs: 31g
Fiber: 1g
Sodium: 85 mg
Sugar: 21g
Rating: 4 out of 5

When the person at the drive thru handed it over, my first thought was, "Whoa this is tiny!". You can see by the serving size...it's almost 2/3 of a cup. I think they should increase the size to 1 cup (or have a "large" option). That makes for a better breakfast if this is all you're going to eat. The fruit to yogurt ratio looked good. The fruit was mixed berries, and they looked fresh. I took the little packet of granola and poured it in. I mixed everything up and took a bite. I was very impressed! The yogurt is sweetened nicely. It has a slight vanilla flavor which goes very well with the fruit. The granola gave it a nice crunch. I would definitely get this again...maybe even order it as a side dish instead of fries. Give this one a try if you haven't yet.

Taste Test Tuesday: Abita

There's always Miller Lite, Bud Light, and a plethora of other beers that we consume all the time. But in Louisiana they have Abita. It's only been around for just over 20 years, but Abita has become a staple in New Orleans. Here is some information from Abita's website....

"Abita uses only the finest ingredients – British and American barley, German yeast, European and Washington State hops and the pure artesian water of Abita Springs. In Abita, we are blessed with the purest of water. Drawn from our deep wells, our pristine water is not altered in any way. Abita Beer has no preservatives, additives or stabilizers and is cold filtered. The result is beer that is the finest and freshest tasting as proven by our loyal customers and great chefs of the south who use Abita Beer in their recipes."

Sounds good to me!! Now it's time to try it.

Serving Size: 12 fl oz
Calories 145
Fat: 1g
Carbs: 1g
Sugars: 0g
Fiber: 0g
Protein: 0g

My first beer was Abita Amber. The bottle was ice cold, that's a plus. The beer is a light brown color. The first sip was like heaven in a bottle! It is extremely smooth and slightly malty. It's a great complement to all the spicy foods they serve in N.O.L.A. My second beer was Abita Restoration Ale. It was very hoppy and slightly bitter tasting. It was okay...but I wouldn't get it again. My third try was Abita Andygator. It's a golden colored lager. I really liked this one as well! It's a very balanced blend of hops and malt, and not overpowering in flavor. Overall, my favorite was Abita Amber...actually...I think it's now one of my all time favorite beers ever! You can buy Abita outside of Louisiana, but it's not so easy to find. If you have a Total Wine store near you, they carry Abita. Definitely take a look around for it, it's worth it!

For Tomorrow: My review of K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen

Taste Test Tuesday: Chicken Sausage

When I go grocery shopping, I'm always looking for healthy versions of my favorite fattening things. Cheese, Ice Cream...you name it! When my mouth was watering at all the hot dogs, my eyes fell on Al Fresco Chicken Sausages. The Publix I went to carried a few of the flavors. They were $1.25 off each so I thought I would pick a couple up to try. Plus they're all natural. I decided to go for the Sweet Italian and the Roasted Garlic (the one in the pic at the bottom is the Sweet Italian). Here is the nutritional info for the Sweet Italian.


Cost: $5.99
Serving Size: 1 sausage (4 per package)
Calories: 130
Fat: 7g
Carbs: 1g
Fiber: 0g
Sugar: 0g
Protein: 15g
My Rating: 5 out of 5

My first try was the Sweet Italian. The sausages are already cooked, but I opted to pan sear them. I sliced it up and put them on my hot pan. The aroma was great! I added some marinara sauce, cooked rice, and Parmesan cheese (sorry no pic!). The sausage was juicy and delicious. It had all the flavors and spices of traditional Italian sausage. I was impressed! The next day at work is when I tried the Roasted Garlic. I sliced it up and placed it in the microwave for 30 seconds, then put it in a wrap with some reduced fat provolone. That was delicious too! The flavor wasn't as strong as the Sweet Italian, but you could lightly taste the garlic which was something I really liked (strong garlic = bad for work!). The textures of both sausages were exactly the same, moist with a nice bite with the casing. These are by far the best chicken sausages I have tried!

Taste Test Tuesday: Skinny Dippers

I heard about these new Skinny Cow Skinny Dippers from Hungry Girl, and they sounded perfect! I love to try new low calorie treats when I get my raging sweet tooth at night. I finally spotted this box at Publix, so I snatched it up and sped home to try one.

Cost: $4.99
Serving Size: 1 pop
Calories: 80
Fat: 3g
Carbs: 11g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 7g
Protein: 2g
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I was excited to try these. The caramel pops come in the brown wrapper, the vanilla pops are in the white (the pictured one is vanilla). The first one I tried was the caramel. The chocolate coating tasted very good, like that chocolate dip from Dairy Queen. It could be thicker, but then again, it wouldn't be 80 calories. The caramel "ice cream" tasted really good, but it didn't taste like caramel to me. It actually tasted alot like the cotton candy flavor of ice cream they have a TCBY (I worked at TCBY in college...so I did alot of "quality testing" on the cotton candy). The vanilla pop was good as well, but it could have had a little stronger vanilla flavor. The texture is slightly icy, but what can you expect from an 80 calorie ice pop? I will buy these again...they satisfy the sweet tooth without busting up your diet.

Taste Test Tuesday: Greek Sesame Pizza

I was really in the mood for pizza when I went grocery shopping the other day. I was meandering about in the frozen food aisle when this caught my attention, A.C. La Rocco Greek Sesame Pizza. The box looked great...plus it was made with whole grain and had a lot of fiber. It had some great toppings too...sun dried tomatoes and artichokes...yum!

Cost: 5.99
Serving Size: 1/3 of the pizza
Calories: 250
Fat: 8g
Carbs: 40g
Fiber: 9g
Sugar: 3g
Protein: 12g
My Rating: 3 out of 5

I took the pizza out of the plastic wrap and was a little disappointed. The toppings looked scarce. Maybe all those yummy toppings were hidden under the cheese? I guess I'd have to wait to find out. Also, the pizza was a little smaller than I expected it to be. I thought I'd have to eat the whole thing...but I definitely didn't want to eat 3 servings! The pizza was ready and I sliced away. I guess the toppings weren't hidden under the cheese. The amount of cheese was adequate, but there were hardly any sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, olives, or sesame seeds. I mean...isn't this called Greek Sesame Pizza? But I took a bite of the pizza and it was pretty good. The crust was hearty and tasted fiber packed. The sauce and cheese were a little above average a frozen pizza. The good part was that I was full after eating 2 servings. All that fiber really does fill you up! I would probably try another one of their other types of pizzas if it was on sale.

Taste Test Tuesday: No Pudge Brownies

I was enjoying one of my new favorite pastimes, browsing the aisles of Publix Greenwise, when I spotted a mix for No Pudge Fat Free Brownies. My mind was racing, I knew I've heard great things of these before. I deliberated for a second...should I get the Original, Mint Fudge, or Cappuccino Fudge? Since I had never tried these before, I opted for the Original Fudge. I began to read the instructions for the brownies, and all it needed was fat free vanilla yogurt (I had plain yogurt and vanilla extract at home, so I decided to use that). I was slightly baffled, but was ready to give it a go.

Cost: 3.99
Serving Size: 1/12 portion
Calories: 110
Fat: 0g
Carbs: 28g
Fiber: 1g
Sugar: 22g
Protein: 2g
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5


I got home and immediately broke out the brownie mix. Just dump in a bowl, add the yogurt, and mix. How simple is that! The mix is super thick though, and my arms definitely got a work out. After baking in the oven for 34 minutes in an 8x8 dish, the brownies were ready. I let them cool for about 10 minutes, which was really hard to do! I attempted to cut them into 12 equal pieces according to the serving size. Since it was a Saturday...I let myself have 2 pieces..woohoo! I was impressed my the look of them. They looked moist and fudgy. Then I took a bite...it was SO good! The only reason I didn't give it a 5 was because it's a little bit too sweet (there are 22g of sugar per serving which is pretty high). But the chocolate flavor was great and the brownie was super moist and fudgy, just like it looked. I would have never guessed it was fat free! I will definitely be buying these again and again and again.

Taste Test Tuesday: Adora Calcium Supplements

I recently saw these Adora Dark Chocolate Calcium Supplements when I was in a vitamin store the other day. I was looking for a way to supplement my calcium. The bag does say "Calcium the gourmet way". So I figured, why not? Plus, I LOVE Dark Chocolate.


Cost: 6.99 for one package (30 disks)
Serving Size: 1 disk (500 mg calcium)
Calories: 30
Fat: 2g
Carbs: 3g
Fiber: 0g
Sugar: 2g
Protein: 0g
My Rating: 5 out of 5

I opened up the package and broke out a disk. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a hard chocolate and not chewy like other calcium supplements I tried. The trick for enjoying dark chocolate is to let it melt in your mouth...so that's what I did. It was just like a piece of dark chocolate! I couldn't believe it. It tastes very similar to a Hershey's Special Dark. I was very impressed. The only bad thing is that you can't have more than 2 a day because of the amount of calcium. I am very impressed by Adora and will continue to buy these. They are the best tasting calcium supplements I've ever had. They also come in Milk Chocolate.

Taste Test Tuesday: Luna Bar PB Cookie

The tagline of the Luna Bar is "The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women". It does have a good amount of vitamins and minerals and a good ration of protein, carbs and fat. It's also 100% natural which is always a plus. They are a good item to have on hand for a healthy snack.


Cost: .99 for one bar
Calories: 180
Fat: 6g
Carbs: 23g
Fiber: 3g
Sugar: 12g
Protein: 10g
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5

I'm all about a quick breakfast, so you'll probably see a lot of nutrition bars on here for my taste tests. This morning, I grabbed a Peanut Butter Cookie Luna Bar out of my stash for the week. The size is what I would expect for a bar with 180 calories (about 5" x 3"). It's enough to satisfy you for a couple hours. The bar contains soy protein crisps with a thin bottom layer of a yogurt-type coating. The bar has a nice, crisp texture. There is a peanut butter flavor, but it's not as strong as I would have liked. Also, the term "cookie" is a little bit misleading. The texture resembles rice krispies rather than a cookie. Maybe a better name would be Peanut Butter Crisp. But it is a very good snack bar and I'll keep trying new flavors (which there are alot of!)....what's your favorite flavor??

Taste Test Tuesday: Morningstar Corn Dogs

I've had pretty good luck with Morningstar products. I love their Chik'n Patties, so I thought I would try something new. I'm definitely a huge fan of corn dogs. Who can resist that deep fried goodness when you're walking through the fair? It's been a long time since I had a corn dog, so I wanted to give these veggie ones a fair shot.


Cost: $3.49 for a 4-pack
Serving Size: 1 corn dog
Calories: 150
Fat: 4g
Carbs: 26g
Fiber: 3g
Sugar: 4g
Protein: 7g
My Rating: 4 out of 5


The size of these is a little bit smaller than a regular corn dog. They are thinner because there is less cornbread on it than you would usually find on a corn dog. I was super hungry when I decided to eat one, so I cooked it according to the microwave directions. That was probably a mistake. The crust of the cornbread was not crispy as I would have hoped. It was a little bit on the chewy side when you bite into it. But that is my only complaint. Overall it was really tasty! The cornbread had the right amount of sweetness. There was a good proportion of the hot dog to cornbread ratio. The veggie dog tasted just like a real hot dog...I was in shock. It tasted great with yellow mustard. I'll be definitely eating this for my "healthy junk food" meals that I crave.

Taste Test Tuesday: Planters Daybreak Blend

This week I'm tasting the new the Berry Almond Trail Mix variety of the new Planters Daybreak Blend. I was looking for some healthy nuts to add to my diet, when I spotted this new product line from Planters. The package says "Start your morning with a delicious combination of crunchy granola clusters, tangy cranberries, almonds and other wholesome ingredients". Sounds good to me! It's always good to have a snack with a balance of healthy fats, fruit, and whole grain.
Cost: 2.99 for a 5 pack
Calories: 180
Fat: 7g
Carbs: 27g
Fiber: 3g
Sugar: 19g
Protein: 10g
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5


I was expecting lots of filler and a small amount of fruits and nuts. Then I opened up the bag and was pleasantly surprised. It looked like a great mix of almonds, granola, cranberries, and golden raisins. It was the perfect size for a healthy snack (probably 1/3 of a cup). The granola is crunchy, and the fruit and almonds also had great texture. If I could make one change to it, I'd reduce the amount of sugar. The sugar definitely sweetens it up a little bit and it's not overpowering, but I'm sure it would still taste great with a little less. Overall, it's a great snack that will keep your hunger at bay.

Taste Test Tuesday: Clif Bar

Happy Tuesday! I'm going to be adding another weekly feature to the blog...Taste Test Tuesday. I'll be sampling a product every Tuesday and writing my opinions on it.

My first victim is the Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Clif Bar. Here are some facts. This information is for 1 bar. You can buy these in cases as well, but I bought it individually.
Cost: .99
Calories: 240
Fat: 5g
Carbs: 43g
Fiber: 5g
Sugar: 20g
Protein: 10g
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5



I opened up the wrapper and unveiled the Clif Bar. It was a little smaller than I had hoped, but it looked like it had some substance. I took my first bite and it was good! Every bite has a little bit of the title ingredients, oatmeal, raisins and walnuts. All the ingredients were evenly dispersed. Even though the bar itself is fairly small, it is dense but soft, and fills you up more than you think. It had a great flavor as well, very similar to an oatmeal raisin cookie. This is great for a quick breakfast and will sustain you until lunch. Also, it's all natural and has vitamins and minerals, so eat up!