Vitalicious is currently hosting a Walk It Off In 7 Minutes Sweepstakes on their Facebook page. You could win a desktop treadmill or a case of VitaCakes! Click here to check it out. [...]]]> I couldn’t help myself. He was home from school. I had a review to do. Why not put him to work?

Vitalicious is currently hosting a Walk It Off In 7 Minutes Sweepstakes on their Facebook page. You could win a desktop treadmill or a case of VitaCakes! Click here to check it out.

Also, don’t forget to use the code RonisWeigh for 10% off any Vitalicious order! Click to check out thier other products.

Click here to see my other Vitalicious product reviews.

Full Disclosure: Vitalicious is a paying sponsor of Roni’s Weigh. However, all opinion expressed in this video and all my reviews are my own.

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My first video product review. How fun are these? Well, for me at least.

Less Writing = Less Typos. Considering my track record, that’s a bonus. HOWEVER, instead of a typo I made a ‘speach-o.’ Throughout the video I say “Peach” when I really mean “Apricot.” The three flavors are Cherry, Pear and [...]]]>

My first video product review. How fun are these? Well, for me at least.

Less Writing = Less Typos. Considering my track record, that’s a bonus. HOWEVER, instead of a typo I made a ‘speach-o.’ Throughout the video I say “Peach” when I really mean “Apricot.” The three flavors are Cherry, Pear and APRICOT. Not Peach. Oy vey.

Here’s the deal. Watch the video, leave a comment and be entered to win your very own box of That’s It to try for yourself. That’s 12 free bars! I’ll pick a winner on Wednesday. Sorry, U.S. residents only. :(

Disclaimer: This is a paid review. ‘That’s It’ compensated me for posting as well and provided the bars free of charge. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Larabar reached out to me after I posted a review for Pure Bars. Before Pure I never had this style of bar before. I always gravitated towards granola based bars, if at all. Pure [...]]]> These have been brewing for some time. Finally took a minute to get it all out of my head!

Larabars

Larabar reached out to me after I posted a review for Pure Bars. Before Pure I never had this style of bar before. I always gravitated towards granola based bars, if at all. Pure and Larabars are nut and date based. Their texture is unlike anything I’ve had before. The only way I can describe them is a sweet, soft and dense. Does that even make sense? Not sure if that actually sounds appetizing but I must admit.. I love them!

Most Larabars have about 2-6 ingredients. I LOVE that about them. I don’t need a medical dictionary to decipher the label. Here are a few examples…

• Larabar: Cashew Cookie – Cashews, dates.
• Larabar: Apple Pie – Dates, almonds, unsweetened apples, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon.
• Larabar: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough – Cashews, dates, chocolate chips, salt.
• Larabar: Key Lime Pie – Dates, cashews, almonds, unsweetened coconut, lime juice concentrate.
• Larabar: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip – Dates, peanuts, chocolate chips, salt

I could go on and on with this–they have 19 flavors–but I think you get the idea. The bars are fun and simple. I haven’t found a flavor I didn’t like although I prefer some over others. The ones I listed above are among my favorites.

Because they are nut based, Nutritionally these bars will be a bit higher in calories then you might be used to. Calories range from 190-240 per bar (3-4 WWP or 4-5 WWPP) and most have about 3-6g of protein and 4-6g of fiber. The Fat content is a little higher–8-14g but this makes sense based on the amount of nuts used.

For me they make a great snack between meals or even a quick breakfast when I’m in a hurry. I love that they are upping my nut intake which is something I’ve been wanting to do. In a way I look at them as a pre-portioned nut serving which is cool in my book as I tend to go overboard sitting in from of a pile of almonds.

Even the 5 (almost 6–yikes!) year old loves them. His favorites are blueberry muffin and chocolate chip cookie dough. Surprisingly he doesn’t like any peanut based ones. The kid has never been a fan of peanut butter. Isn’t that crazy?!

Anyway, I really do like them. My only complaint is price, as usual. Buying them individually at the grocery story can cost you around $2.00 a bar. You can get a better price buying them in bulk even on amazon but I wouldn’t suggest doing that until you try a few flavors so you know what you like.

Besides truly enjoying the product, I like the company. Like I said, they reached out to me, sent me samples and sponsored the FitBloggin’ conference. They are very accessible on twitter and responsive overall to emails and requests. I’m a big fan.

Uncle Sam & Erewhon Cereals (Attune Foods)

Attune, the company behind Uncle Sam and Erewhon was another FitBloggin’ Sponsor. They supplied breakfast for all attendees on Friday morning of the conference. This is another brand that is new to me.

I have two boxes of cereal left from the conference and I’ve been wanting to share both with you.

First up, Uncle Sam Original Cereal. This stuff is FABULOUS! My favorite part, as usual, is the ingredient list.

Whole wheat kernels, whole flaxseed, salt, barley malt.

You can’t get much simpler then that! And nutritionally it packs a punch (of fiber and protein that is.)

3/4 cups (55g) is 190 calories, 5g of fat, 38g of carbs, 10g of fiber and 7g of protein. That’s 3 WWP OR 5 WWPP.

The cereal is not sweet at all, as expected since there is no sugar added, but the texture is fabulous. It’s like a flake but better almost resembling an old fashioned oat.

It’s the kind of cereals that absorbs the milk and takes on the flavor of anything you add to it. It’s also fabulous on top of some yogurt. I love it with a splash of almond milk and a handful of blueberries. If I’m in a sweet mood I’ll use chocolate almond milk for a treat. Either way it’s one of my favorite breakfasts in rotation right now.

Even the Little Guy likes it! Although he LOVES the Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice- Gluten Free Cereal

Which has the same type of awesome ingredient list..

Organic brown rice, Organic brown rice syrup, Sea salt.

This stuff is just like rice crisipies but better!

1 cup (30g) is 110 calories, .5g of fat, 25g of carbs, 0g of fiber and 2g of protein. That’s 2 WWP OR 3 WWPP.

Add some fruit to bump up the fiber and you have a fabulous breakfast!

Attune is another company I’m quite impressed with. I have loved working with them.

VitaBuns

My final review today is for Vitalicious. As you know I’ve worked with them for quite some time now. They sponsor my newsletter and RonisWeigh code for 10% off any of their products.

Recently they have introduced the VitaBun. An English muffin style "bun". Each muffin is 100 calories, 1g of fat, 19g of carbs, 6g of fiber and 5g of protein. That’s 1 WWP OR 2 WWPP.

The muffins are great! Just like traditional english muffins but a bit denser. I’ve been using them has hamburger buns and for English muffin pizza.

Vitalicious recommends freezing them on receipt and I agree. Since they contain no artificial additives or preservatives the grow mold fast. Freezing them doesn’t change the texture at all, just pop them in the toaster!

Along with the muffins, Vitalicious also launched a 150 calorie Egg ‘N’ Cheese sandwich. However, unlike the VitaBun, this item cannot be shipped. You have to purchase it from the freezer section of your grocery store. Has anyone see or tried them? I’m REALLY curious.

Click here to check the VitaBuns out online.

Full Disclosure: All opinions in this post are my own. Larabar and Attune both sponsored the FitBloggin conference but we have no relationship beyond that at the time this post was written. Vitalicious is a paying sponsor. That relationship does not effect my opinion on the product. I only work with companies whose products I use and love.

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First up…

Let me start by saying I’m NOT a big bar person. I used to stock granola bars as a quick snack on the run but since I started working from home [...]]]> Each of these things warrants their own post but I’m so far behind I have to consolidate!

First up…

Pure Bars!

Let me start by saying I’m NOT a big bar person. I used to stock granola bars as a quick snack on the run but since I started working from home I’ve eased off them. Most have tons of extra ingredients I’m not that into anyway. Remember the conversation this quick review of Fiber One bars started? HYSTERICAL!

Anyway, when Pure contacted me and asked if I was interested, I hesitantly said yes. An organic, vegan, raw bar full of Omega-3s, could there any more buzz words in there? Honestly, most health food labels cause involuntary eye rolls anymore. I’m tired of seeing products littered with these descriptors only to be disappointed by the ingredient list and nutritional information. But I was willing to get them a shot anyway.

When the pure bars arrived I immediately turned one over to see the ingredient list and it made me chuckle, in a good way.

Organic Dates, organic apples, organic agave nectar, organic walnuts, organic cashews, organic almonds, organic rice protein concentrate, organic cinnamon. That’s all!

That list is from their Apple Cinnamon bar, my favorite. Let’s take the word organic out just to see how simple the list really is.

Dates, apples, agave nectar, walnuts, cashews, almonds, rice protein concentrate, cinnamon.

In my opinion, for a convenience food, that’s not too shabby! But what about the taste?

Honesty, DIVINE! Sweet, moist, FULL of flavor. I really wasn’t sure if I was going to like them but I have to admit they are tasty and FILLING! Or should I say satisfying? A really great option to keep in your bag those days you aren’t sure you’ll be able to grab lunch.

Nutritionally they are a bit higher in calories then your average dieter may be into but a bargain for the fullness factor if you ask me. Not too mention I’d rather eat REAL food at slightly higher points then "light" fake foods and lower. This wasn’t always how I felt, but over time I learned to value real food more and more. At 190 calories, 8g of fat, 28g of carbs, 3g of fiber and 5g of protein they weigh in at 4 WWP and 5 new WWPP

The bars come in 6 flavors, Apple Cinnamon, Chocolate Brownie, Cranberry Orange, Wild Blueberry, Cherry Cashew, and Trail Mix. All are tasty but that’s the order I like them in as well. Seriously, Apple Cinnamon ROCKS!

Click here to learn more on the Pure Web Site

Crio Brü

Yet another product I was VERY hesitant to try. I actually turned down the opportunity until the the company convinced me otherwise. This was in their original pitch…

I thought you might be interested to learn about a new chocolate drink that brews like coffee. It’s called Crio Brü – www.criobru.com. Crio Brü is incredibly delicious and made from 100% pure cocoa

All I saw was "brews like coffee" and I was completely uninterested. See, I HATE coffee. I just do. Never liked it even though it smells divine. When I taste it, blech!

So I wrote back,

Thanks Jon, but I’m not interested. I don’t "do" coffee. But it sounds interesting!

To which he responded.

That is what makes this different, however, is that it isn’t coffee…it’s made from 100% cocoa.

Hmmm a ‘coffee like’ drink made with cocoa beans INSTEAD of coffee beans? Ok, I’m game.

When I opened the bag I was overcome by the GLORIOUS smell. Oh my word.. chocolate lovers will understand. I seriously wanted to bath in it.

The grinds looked like coffee but not as fine and uniform…

I brewed a cup not knowing what to expect and was pleasantly surprised! It was like a non-creamy, less sweet hot chocolate. That may sounds odd or bad but it was actually pleasant. A warm cup of cocoa, complex with flavor and deliciously satisfying. I added a spash of vanilla almond milk to cool it down and simply fell in love. For the first time ever I think I understand the lure of coffee.

According to the Crio Brü site a cup has about has 20 calories and 3g of carbs. They also make a lot of health claims I tend to take with a grain of salt. All I know is I like the way it tastes. And as a non-coffee drinker, I think it’s fun to have an alternative to tea when I’m in the mood for a hot beverage.

Click here to learn more on the Crio Brü web site.

A Cherry-rific Giveaway

Finally! The giveaway. Are you still with me? I feel like this is the longest post ever!

Here’s the deal…. The Cherry Marketing Institute is hosting a fabulous Recipe contest using, what else but CHERRIES! I outlined all the details here on FitBloggin’ BUT I forgot one teeny, tiny thing… they are giving away an awesome Cherry Red Gift pack to not only the winners of the contest but for one of my readers as well! Look at it up there, it’s a beautiful set! Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win the Cherry Red Cookware giveaway pictured above.

Click here to learn all about the Cherry Recipe Contest and how you can enter your cherry recipe!

Full Disclosure: Pure and Crio Brü both sent me products to review free of charge. However, they did not pay me for the review. My opinion about their products are my own. The Cherry Marketing Institute is a paying sponsor of the FitBloggin’ conference and they sent me the gift pack pictured above in exchange for publicizing the Cherry Recipe contest.

Update: Winner announced! It was Brooke! – A big thanks too all those that entered!
Winner selected using the Pick Giveaway winner plugin. Click here to learn more.

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Have you heard? There’s a new VitaTop flavor! Pumpkin Spice! If you are unfamiliar with their products, Vitalicious was originally made famous for their 100 calorie brownie (at least that’s how I found them) but now have a line of VitaTops, VitaMuffins, VitaMixes, VitaCake (which I had for me 32 birthday :) and [...]]]>

Have you heard? There’s a new VitaTop flavor! Pumpkin Spice! If you are unfamiliar with their products, Vitalicious was originally made famous for their 100 calorie brownie (at least that’s how I found them) but now have a line of VitaTops, VitaMuffins, VitaMixes, VitaCake (which I had for me 32 birthday :) and even VitaCoffee! Which I’ll never try as I’m not a coffee drinker (and no one will convert me, not even Jim Doran who’s been trying to forever!) ;)

I’ve already reviewed Golden Corn, Dark Chocolate Pomegranate, Banana Nut, Chocolate Mint and Apple Crumb. They are all pretty good but the choclate ones dominate in my opinion. How did the Pumpkin stack up? Well let me walk you through my little taste test via the web cam.

Upon initial inspection, I’m not that impressed with the pumpkin seeds on top…

I think I might of gotten gipped on this one. It sort of reminded me of that scene in casino. You know…

Oh how I love Deniro but I digress. :)

Looking past the seeds, I broke it in half and I must say the inside looked moist and delicious!

So I took a bite…

Oh.. My.. Word.. SO good. I mean really. I didn’t think I’d ever like a VitaTop flavor as much as I like the chocolate line but Pumpkin Spice is giving chocolate a run for it’s money! The flavor was spot on to cure that pumpkin baked good craving that seems to happen in the fall and winter months, all for 100 calories, 1g of fat, 26g of carbs, 8g of fiber and 3g of protien. That’s 1 old WWP and 3 new WWPP.

I like the idea of the seeds on top but honestly, they didn’t do much for me. For some reason I think of the seeds as a savory/salty snack and the pumpkin baked good as a sweet/dessert like snack and the two just don’t mix BUT it’s not a deal breaker. I actually popped off the few seeds I had and ate them separately. In my opinion Vitalicious could ditch them altogether but I’m curious what others think who’ve gotten a chance to try them.

Overall I give the Pumpkin Spice VitaTops a thumbs up.

Oh! and I ate mine after popping it the toaster on the highest setting right from the freezer. It came out perfect!

If you’d like to order don’t forget to use my code RonisWeigh for 10% off. Click to to check all their products.

Full Disclosure: Vitalicious is a paying sponsor of Roni’s Weigh and they supply me free products to try for review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own, as always. I specifically seek to work with companies who’s products I like and are willing to support.

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I know there are a few people waiting for my experience with the new Weight Watchers program but Unfortunately, I don’t feel comfortable (and they won’t ‘let’ me) following it while pregnant. Once Evan arrives I’ll be diving in head first and sharing my thoughts as I apply the new program and points [...]]]>

I know there are a few people waiting for my experience with the new Weight Watchers program but Unfortunately, I don’t feel comfortable (and they won’t ‘let’ me) following it while pregnant. Once Evan arrives I’ll be diving in head first and sharing my thoughts as I apply the new program and points to my lifestyle. Then you’ll get more than just my initial reaction.

In the mean time, as a Weight Watcher Insider, I’m reviewing the tools and resources Weight Watchers provides like the Weight Watchers iPad App. Now, I must first disclose that I was not an iPad owner when Weight Watchers reached out–frankly, I find the device pretty overrated–so they provided me one. Now that I’m and iPad owner I plan on reviewing the device itself on my other blog but for now I’ll stick to just discussing the Weight Watchers App.

My first impression when launching it was… "ohhh pretty!"

I’m a bit of a food photo freak so I loved that the recipes were driven by photo not title. I rarely make a recipe that doesn’t have a picture. For those less visually oriented have no fear there is also a list view of the recipes by title which actually also has small thumbnails.

Now the App isn’t a complete cookbook, it only takes down the latest 10 featured recipes from the Weight Watchers web site. Part of me likes that I’ll get new content all the time so it’s different but I think I would appreciate a large database at my disposal in the kitchen even more. The iPad really is a great tool for the home cook. The Weight Watchers app allows you to check off ingredients as you add them and even keep multiple timers right in the program.

Other cool features….

• Save up to 10 recipes
• Watch technique videos
• Share favorite recipes via email or Facebook

All those aspects of the program are available to members and non-members alike. However, if you are a Weight Watchers Online & eTools Subscriber you get full access to all the features which includes…

• searching all online Weight Watcher Recipes (So if you are member you do have a large database at your disposal,)
• send recipe to your Plan Manager for tracking,
• access to the Weight Watchers Recipe Builder.

The recipe builder was the first thing I gravitated towards, of course. I must admit I found it easier to enter my recipes on the iPad then on my laptop. It could be because my laptop sucks but the iPad touch screen interface was very intuitive and the response time for my ingredient searches was instantaneous.

All recipes I entered in eTools were available on the iPad and vice versa. So from what I can tell, integration between your online account and the iPad was seamless. You are you on both devices and it’s aware of your activity in either location.

Overall I find the app really well done. I didn’t find myself wishing it could do this or that, it worked just fine the way it was and made access to info, recipes and my account very easy. I’m not sure if my opinion will change once I’m using it while actively following the program so I’m curious what other members think. Do you have an iPad? Have you tried it? Please share your thoughts!

Full Disclosure: As a Weight Watcher’s Insider Weight Watchers has provided me a free membership which includes access and other tool as well as other tools but as always all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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A few weeks ago I got an email from Robyn after she listened to my podcast about Whole Wheat Pizza Dough. She wanted to bring Pizza Fit ‘n Free to my attention–a fat free pizza. I immediately requested samples so I could review for the site. It’s pizza people. PIZZA. You know how [...]]]>

A few weeks ago I got an email from Robyn after she listened to my podcast about Whole Wheat Pizza Dough. She wanted to bring Pizza Fit ‘n Free to my attention–a fat free pizza. I immediately requested samples so I could review for the site. It’s pizza people. PIZZA. You know how I feel about pizza. I even devoted a complete page with my pizza inspired creations.

The company was nice enough to send me a few samples. I have to admit–I didn’t have high hopes. I’m not the biggest frozen pizza fan. I’d much rather make my own on homemade whole grain pizza dough or Trader Joe’s whole wheat dough. But.. MAN.. it would be nice to have some single serves to pull out for a quick meal whenever the pizza urge strikes–which, for me, is often.

The Pizza Fit ‘n Free is a good size–about that of a standard tortilla pizza. I was actually surprised at the amount of cheese on top. Considering it’s "fat free" I just assumed there’d be minimal cheese.

According to the cooking instructions, you are suppose to cook the pizza frozen in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. So I fired up the oven and got working on my toppings. You didn’t think I’d leave the the pizza as is, did you? :) I decided on peppers and turkey pepperoni.

The company only offers plain pizzas and they actually encourage you to top them yourself. There’s even a whole page devoted to topping ideas straight from their customers.

Even though cooking instructions said 8-10 minutes I cooked mine for about 12. It came out looking like this…

Crispy crust, gooey cheese and complete pizza goodness!

I was seriously surprised how good it was. The cheese was amazing! I’ve never seen fat free cheese melt like real cheese before. I didn’t think it was possible! It’s why I don’t buy fat free cheese, ever. According to the web site…

How is your cheese fat free?
We have developed a way to process the fat out of the cheese, similar to the way they process the fat out of skim milk. The cheese is 100% real dairy mozzarella cheese with no fat substitutes.

Curious… but I must admit tasty.

The crust was ok, but like the cheese, it surprised me. I didn’t expect to get that "crunch" when I bit into it but I did. It made each bite very satisfying.

Nutritionally we’re looking at 248 calories, 0g of fat, 41g of carbs, 3g of fiber and 20g of protein per pie. That’s 4 old WWP and 6 new WWPP. Add a ton of "free" toppings and or a side salad and you got yourself a great pizza centric meal for pretty low points.

You guys know I feel about making your own meals–I do devote a whole site to it–but I’m also a big believer in planning and convenience. There will be times when you don’t feel like cooking dinner. When you are in a rush and have no desire to make a lunch for work the next day. There will even be times you just feel like having some pizza. It happens. :) When it does I’d rather have a few of these in my back pocket then pick up the phone and order in or hit a drive thru.

That’s why I’m joining the Pizza Fit ‘n Free affiliate program. I love when I find products I like and that I can work with. That means if you are interested in trying the fat free pizza and purchase it by clicking a link from my site I’ll earn 10% commission. I only partner with companies and recommend products that I have tried and enjoyed. It’s one way for me to earn money through the site, especially now that this is my JOB! :) Click here to check out other ways to shop and support Roni’s Weigh.

All that being said, I really do love the pizza, of course I do, again… it’s PIZZA! :) Has anyone else tried it before?

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