iHerb Order Arrived! 22/04/14

I ordered my latest iherb order on Good Friday and it arrived on Tuesday morning! All the way to New Zealand. 

• Roasted coconut chips
• Coconut Butter
• White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter
• Stacey's Pita Cinnamon Sugar Chips
• Acai Powder
• Cacao Powder

I probably shouldn't admit that the pita chips are gone already....

I have tried all but the cacao powder. So I will have a few blog posts over the next week reviewing some of my purchases.

Looking forward to another long weekend starting tomorrow for ANZAC day.

Food Review: Ceres Organics - Peanut-Almond Butter

I am a big peanut butter fan. I recently tried Justin's Vanilla Almond butter and loved it. But since my latest iHerb order was looking pretty pricey, I decided to just get a peanut/almond mix from the supermarket.

Ceres Organics is pretty much the only brand of almond butter we have at the supermarket here. 

I had tried their version of cashews before, since cashews are my favourite nut. But I found it was really dry and impossible to spread. But then I later tried a different brand of cashew butter and didn't like it either.

I had high hopes for this one, since it's half peanut butter - and I know I like that!

For my usual peanut butter I use Sanitarium no added salt/sugar.

First of all, there is so much oil in this jar. Even when I stuck a knife in and stirred it round (as it says to on the jar) it is still ridiculously runny. Very hard to spread on crackers etc because it is just so oily. I'm not a big oil fan either, so not a good start.

Ingredients: Peanuts (65%), Almonds (35%), Sea salt (0.5%)

All ingredients are certified organics.

Nutrition: 84 calories, 3.2g protein, 7.7g fat (0.7g saturated), 2g carbs (0.8g sugar), 42mg sodium

I tried it out yesterday on a vita-wheat cracker (with cinnamon, because I'm addicted). I have to say, I'm not a fan.

Taste: I think because I'm used to no added salt that this tastes really salty to me. Even though there is only a tiny amount of sea salt and only 42mg per serve, I can really taste it. You can definitely taste both the peanut and the almonds in it. 

Texture: If you like oily nut butters then this will definitely be a good one for you. However it is far too runny and oily for me, as mentioned above. 

Overall: 4/10

The oil ruins this for me. It has an alright taste, but it won't be something I will use that often and I won't be buying another jar for $10.00 (NZD). I'm better off sticking to my usual peanut butter, and paying a bit extra for Justin's almond butter.

What's your favourite nut butter? Do you prefer more oily ones?

Recipe: Peanut Butter Protein Fudge

Instead of easter eggs this year, I'm going to be making my own fudge. I made it a few months back, and it was so good. The only problem - trying not to eat it all at once!

Makes 10 pieces

Calories/Macros per piece:

45 calories

3.4g fat (2g sat)

1.8g carbs (.4g fibre, 1.4g sugar) 2.3g protein

4.1mg sodium

(These values may change slightly depending on what brands you use)

Ingredients:

• 20g (2.5T) coconut oil, melted
• 15g (1T) liquid honey
• 20g (3T) whey (I used vanilla, because I don't like chocolate whey - but that would be good)
• 10g (1.5T) cocoa (or cacao) powder
• 20g (2T) peanut butter (or any nut butter, I used crunchy PB which means there are little chunks of peanut throughout)
• 10ml / splash milk or water of your choice
• Stevia to sweeten if needed

Instructions:

• Mix all ingredients together, until well combined. Add the milk/water until a good consistency.
• Roll out on a large piece of glad wrap.
• Fold the glad wrap over so it is covered and press down to smooth it out. 
• Put in the freezer until frozen (not sure how long it would take, I put mine in overnight).
• Cut into 10 pieces and store in the freezer.

Notes:

Because of the coconut oil it will melt fairly quickly when in room temperature, so make sure to keep it in the freezer. 

Enjoy! 

What is your favourite "healthier" easter treat?