Newman's Own Organics Chocolate Review

Yes, another Newman's Own Organics review :-).  Click here for my past ones.

Now, who doesn't like to review chocolate?!  It's so fun and delectable!  Here are the flavors I got to try:

I gave a couple of the bars to my parents to review and then reviewed the rest myself :-).

Mocha Milk Chocolate: 8 of 10.

Mom: Not a big fan of the "mocha" flavor.  Noticed a gritty texture too.

Milk Chocolate: 9 of 10.

Mom: Cute bar with good taste and texture - very creamy.  Cocoa milk - yum!  If there were added almonds, it would be perfect.

Dad: Good taste but occasional gritty texture.

Now for my reviews...

Orange Dark Chocolate: 9.5 of 10.  Rich and creamy with a nice hint of orange that isn't overpowering.  A very cool flavor combo!

Espresso Dark Chocolate: 8.5 of 10. Smooth and creamy for the most part, but sometimes a tad gritty :-(.  I enjoyed the espresso taste since it wasn't too overpowering.

Super Dark Chocolate: 9.5 of 10.  Smooth with just a little "bite" to it that is often characteristic of super dark chocolate.

Dark Chocolate: 10 of 10!  My favorite :-).  Creamy and not bitter at all.  It actually tasted like it had mint in it?  But that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned!

Now for some nature pictures I took on a recent bike ride!  I've built up to a couple 18 mile rides already... but the first day of RAGBRAI is almost 70 miles, so I have some longer rides still in store for me.  I hope I'll be ready come July 25!

Oh, and one last picture of my family's kitten for some comic relief :-)

Silly kitty!!!

Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

~

Frodo and Sam

Now that I'm at home, I think I should share some pictures of my family's cats with you all.  We have two cats named Frodo and Sam (after The Lord of the Rings characters!).  They are both quite large and fluffy, but especially Sam!  Sam is pictured below.

And now for Frodo!

Aren't they adorable?! 

Now for some food reviews with more Newman's Own Organics and Dr. Kracker.

Newman's Own Organics Protein Pretzels

9 of 10.  They tasted like regular pretzels: very crispy, crunchy, and salty.  I did like how they had extra protein though.  My mom also liked them and said they tasted like your typical pretzel.

Dr. Kracker Seedlander Snackers

10 of 10!  No overpowering flavors, just a delicious seedy and grainy cracker!  I especially loved the pumpkin and poppy seeds - they look pretty too ;-).  These can be eaten with any topping or just plain.  I also enjoyed their hint of sweetness from molasses.

Seeded Spelt Snackers

9.5 of 10.  Very seedy and rich with a complex grainy flavor.  You can definitely pick out the sunflower seed flavor though, which is strong and quite tasty!  These were great with peanut butter and jelly, as pictured above :-).

Question of the Day:  Are you a cat or dog person?  I like both, but I like cats a wee bit more :-).

~

More Newman's Own Organics!

It's time to share more reviews of the complimentary Newman's Own Organics products I recevied to review on my blog :-).

Fig Newmans (Great name if I say so myself!)

9 of 10.  Soft, chewy, and fresh with a great texture.  It definitely reminded me of a Fig Newton with the sweet gooey inside!  My family agreed that they tasted like Fig Newtons.

Hermits: Original

8.5 of 10.  I liked that these didn't have the sugar sprinkled on top.  Still, they were quite sweet with a strong, rich molasses flavor.  They were soft, fresh, and chewy and absolutely loaded with raisins - maybe too many, but that's just my opinion :-).

Now for Newman's Own Organics 2 versions of "crack" (at least for me!!)...

Barbeque Soy Crisps

9 of 10.  Yeah, they're like crack, but I still wasn't happy with the amount of sodium they contained :-(.  Otherwise they had a great BBQ flavor, were quite crispy and crunchy, and were slower to dissolve than the cheddar flavored ones.  And the protein's an added bonus!

Chocolate Newman-O's

10 of 10!!  Seriously, these were way too tasty - it has to be some sort of crime to make a cookie taste so good ;-).  These were rich with 2 crispy, crunchy chocolate cookies sandwiching a creamy, smooth, and sweet chocolate filling.  The 2 distinct chocolate flavors melded together to make a great combo that delighted my tastebuds! 

Most of these Newman-O's were consumed with homemade nutbutter (pictured below) on top... which made them even more sinfully delicious!

A pretty picture I took of a yellow rose in my parents' yard:

Have a fabulous Sunday!

~

Happy National Running Day!

Yep, today is National Running Day, and I had no idea until I saw it mentioned on some other blogs.  I think it's a great idea though, and I'll be going for my own run later this afternoon :-).

I've got more Newman's Own Organics reviews for you all too!  Remember that they provide: "'Great tasting food that happens to be organic.' (That's what we kept in mind when we created our products.) We focus on the kinds of products we loved as kids, but take them one step further by using the highest quality of available organic ingredients."  Yay!

White Cheddar Soy Crisps

8.5 of 10. Very cheddary, but a bit too salty for my tastes.  Light, airy, and crispy.  They melt in your mouth a bit quickly.  Still, they're a great alternative to rice crisps since they have the extra protein!

Mom: They were a bit bland and like puffed rice cereal

Dad: Like me, he thought they dissolved too quickly.

Champion Chip Cookies: Orange Chocolate Chip

9.5 of 10.  I'll admit I was skeptical of the mix of orange and chocolate, but I was pleasantly surprised!  There was a strong orange aroma, but the orange flavor wasn't too strong - it was perfect!  The cookies were light, crispy, and crunchy and didn't dissolve like the chocolate chocolate chip flavor.  The chocolate chips were amazing and they were big!

Brother: 8 of 10. "That's good sh**"  But then he saw they were organic, which is something he personally doesn't support, so that turned him off.  He thought the chocolate was great and enjoyed the crunch.  He also thought the texture was a bit crumbly.

Mom: 8 of 10.  Too much orange taste for me.  The texture was okay.

Dad: 9 of 10.  Better than I thought (he was skeptical of the orange/chocolate mix too!).  Good crunch!

Salted Sticks Pretzels

9 of 10.  Crispy and crunchy with a good texture and a good pretzel flavor.  A tad too salty for my liking, but ok for a pretzel. 

Mom: 9 of 10. It tastes like a typical pretzel stick.  I wish there was less sodium.

Now, I know Newman's Own Organics products are expensive, but they do actually have some decent coupons on their website here.  You can use them and feel a bit better about splurging :-).

And now for some homemade nut butter I made recently with my relatively new Cuisinart Food Processor.  It's a mix of walnuts and almonds!

Yum is all I can say!  I'm looking forward to trying all sorts of nut combinations.

Newman's Own Organics Review

I have been sooo busy!  I just returned home from a trip to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois to find an apartment for August.  I went with my parents, which was very helpful since this will be my first apartment!  I've been living in the dorms previously and am so ready to make the move to apartment living :-).

Right before I left for my trip I received a free box of Newman's Own Organics products to sample and review with my family.  I was soo excited when I found it sitting on our front porch!

Newman's Own Organics "was established as a division of Newman’s Own in 1993, and became a separate company in late 2001. Paul Newman has given over $200 million to thousands of charities worldwide since 1982."  They're sooo generous!

Their website boasts that they provide:

"'Great tasting food that happens to be organic.' (That's what we kept in mind when we created our products.) We focus on the kinds of products we loved as kids, but take them one step further by using the highest quality of available organic ingredients."

The following are the products my parents and I have tried so far:

Champion Chip Cookies: Chocolate Chocolate Chip

Me: 8.5 of 10 - Rich chocolate flavor with nice chocolate chunks.  Smooth and soft, but it does dissolve a bit too fast in the mouth for my liking.

Dad: 8 of 10 - Nice real chocolate flavor.  Cookie melted away from chocolate chips though and was like a dry powder.

Mom: 8.5 of 10 - Good mix of soft and crunchy at first.  Good flavor and chocolate chips.  There was a powdery aftertaste that reminded me of cake batter.

Alphabet Cookies: Chocolate

Me: 9.5 of 10 - Crispy and crunchy with a nice texture that reminds me of chocolate teddy grahams.  I really enjoyed the rich chocolate flavor.

Dad: 7 of 10 - Like an oreo cookie without the filling - boring.  Too crunchy for my liking.

Mom: 10 of 10 - Good serving size.  Loved the crunch, and the chocolate taste was great!

Also, both of these packages had nice sticky seals.  Unfortunately, they only stuck for a few closings and then lost their stickiness.  It's better than nothing though!

Hermits: Cinnamon

Me: 8.5 of 10 - Great huge raisins but a few too many for my liking.  Cute crystalized sugar sprinkled on top, but could have done without since the cookies are very sweet already.  The cookie reminded me of a fig newton with a rich molasses and cinnamon flavor.  Very soft and chewy.

Ginger-O's

Me: 9 of 10 - Crispy, fairly strong ginger cookie with a smooth and sweet creme center. 

Mom: 10 of 10 - Awesome!  Crunchy, great ginger taste.  Creme is good, but don't need it.

So far, we have mixed feelings on the products.  Some are amazing and others are good, but not spectacular.  Still, overall we've been pleased with this company and their products.  More reviews will be coming too!

Here are some recent meals I've had too:

Oatgurt:

Salad with cut up pork chop and salsa:

Salad with soy hot dog and salsa:

Now I need to go do my free weight training since I wasn't able to do much exercise during my recent trip to Illinois.