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??

NYC: Ice Cream and Sushi

I got back to Florida yesterday from visiting my friend who just moved to Hoboken, NJ. It's only a 10 minute train ride into New York City. We did a lot of exploring and ate some really good food. Today and Wednesday I'll post the highlights of my food adventures. It was a yummy trip.

The first journey was through Chinatown. I've been to NYC several times but have never ventured there. It was a mob scene! It was the most crowded of anywhere I went to the whole trip. Tourists and vendors were crowding the streets. I was thinking of buying a purse, but the huge crowds in every store deterred me. I really didn't need a purse anyway. I wanted to get some solace from the hordes of people, and it was a hot day, so ice cream sounded great. I remember hearing about Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, so we asked around and finally found it. We walked up to the store and there was a line out the door, so it had to be good! They had a list of flavors, "exotic" and "regular". The exotic flavors were flavors Americans are born and raised on like chocolate chip, pistachio and cherry vanilla. The regular flavors were asian favorites like red bean, green tea and lychee. I wanted to try one of each so I settled on almond cookie (regular) and coconut fudge (exotic). They were both excellent! The flavors were both very creamy. The almond cookie had very small bits of cookie with a great almond flavored base. The coconut fudge had the perfect amount of coconut flavor (I hate that "suntan lotion" taste I usually find in coconut products, which is overpowering) and a rich fudge swirl. You could taste each of the flavors in each bite.



Now onto the sushi...We ventured back into Hoboken and were ready to relax. We were starting to get hungry and I hadn't had sushi in a while. My friend said, "Nothing will be as cool as Dragonfly" (Dragonfly is the BEST sushi place in Florida, it's in Gainesville). I agreed with her, but thought we should try it out anyway. So we headed into the Sushi Lounge. It's very unassuming from the outside, but then we walked in and it was a very modern, dark atmosphere with a DJ playing house music. I turned to my friend and said, "It's exactly like Dragonfly". It was pretty crowded, the bar was full as were most of the tables. They had a good selection of martinis, and I had one which was a combo of sake and plum wine. The menu was great! They had a big selection of innovative rolls. I had one with tuna, salmon, avocado, mango and a sweet miso sauce (that's the large roll in the picture). My friend had one with lobster, mango and jalapeno. The service wasn't the best, but I wasn't in a rush so that was okay. I'd highly recommend it and I'm sure I'll be going back next time.

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.

Miami Beach: Tantra

I was so excited about the Miami Spice preview week so of course I had to try it out. After looking at all the menus, we decided to go to Tantra. None of us had ever had a meal there, and the menu looked really good. So Tantra here we come! (Sorry no food pics...I forgot my camera).

We had reservations at 9:00 and were seated immediately. The path to get to the bar and dining room is grass, real grass! It's pretty neat. The hostess told me they replace it once a week. The decor is Indian themed, with rich colors and subdued lighting. They have an ample dining area, but it was only about half full. I was surprised it was that empty. We were seated and handed menus, but the menus we were given did not include the Miami Spice menu. We had to ask for it, and our server did not look too pleased. In my opinion, they should include it with their regular menus. It seemed like they were trying to fool the guests (When I looked around, it seemed we were the only ones who even knew about the menu). Also, the regular menu seemed a little but pricey. Appetizers were about $15, entrees were about $40.

The service was very good. After we ordered, we were immediately brought warm bread with olive oil and raspberry vinegar to dip. The water was constantly being refilled at the table. The first course came out and it looked great. It was a Thai Style Shrimp Cake. It was okay. It was served lukewarm, and the cilantro was a little bit overpowering. My entree was the Kobe Sirloin wrapped in bacon and served with roasted sweet potato wedges. It was delicious. The steak came out perfectly cooked and was very tender. The bacon was a nice touch and added a good flavor to the steak (come on...everything is better with bacon). The sauce they served with the sweet potatoes was perfect! It tasted like a garlic aioli with cinnamon, sounds a little strange but it tasted great and accentuated the flavor of the sweet potatoes. Now onto the grand finale...dessert. The server described it as "chocolate cake with ice cream", which did not do it any justice. The dessert was the highlight of the dinner. The ice cream was creamy and just sweet enough for the cake, which was a pyramid shape of dense, bittersweet chocolate. It was rich and slightly undercooked in the middle...which was perfect for me! Overall, it was a great dinner, but I would not come back for the "regular" menu, which was too expensive. Our bill came to $70 per person, which included 2 drinks each & tip. Not bad for a 3 course decadent meal.

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.