This Mama Cooks! On a Diet

Crofter’s Organic Superfruit Spreads – try it in yogurt, toast or in a Low Fat Trifle

Crofter’s Organic recently released a new line of Organic Superfruit Spreads made from exotic fruits that are high in anti-oxidants like pomegranate, black currants and yumberries. According to their website, Crofters Super Fruit Spread contains as much antioxidant activity as 1L of red wine. They’ve determined this via in-house laboratory tests using ORAC analysis.

All Superfruit Spreads are made with Fair Trade sugar, contain no artificial flavors or preservatives, and are certified organic. The spreads are available in 11oz. jars at an SRP of $4.99.

The fruit in each Crofter Superfruit Flavor is sourced from around the globe:

• North American blend: cranberry and blueberry
• South American blend: maqui berry and passionfruit
• European blend: pomegranate and black currant
• Asian blend: yumberry and raspberry

Using Crofter’s Super Fruit Spreads

Jams, jellies, fruit spreads – I like them all. But what I loved about Crofter’s Superfruit Spreads were their unusual and delicious flavors. So far my favorite is the European blend, since I love pomegranate. But the South American one is delicious, too. My least favorite is the North American one, since I don’t care for blueberry all that much. Haven’t tried the Asian blend yet.

I’ve been experimenting a little bit with the spreads, trying them on toast and pancakes. So far my favorite is adding 2 tablespoons (only 1 Weight Watchers POINT) to a cup of no fat plain yogurt. It tastes just as good as a premixed flavored yogurt because a little of these spreads go a long way. Making a parfait with a layer of yogurt, a thin layer of spread, then some berries and a few nuts, ground flax seed, or granola would be a yummy and healthy way to start your day, too.

You can also use Crofter’s Organic Super Fruit spread a glaze for a grilled meat, like pork, chicken or shrimp. Just add a little water and maybe some hot sauce to spice it up a bit. Or add a little bit to a ham sandwich.

The Crofter’s site features all kinds of decadent recipes, but one way I like using fruit spread is in a berry trifle. Here’s a fairly healthy version from eatbetteramerica.com.

Nasoya Silken Creations: review and popsicle recipe

Silken Creations is a new non-dairy, tofu dessert starter from Nasoya®. It’s made from whole soybeans and sweetened with natural cane juice. It’s low in calories (only 110-120 per half cup serving), low in fat (only 1-1.5 grams per serving) and a good source of protein (3 grams per serving), too. Each 1/2 cup serving is 2 Weight Watchers POINTS.

Silken Creations is also lactose free, vegan, gluten free, kosher, cholesterol free, and all natural. Perfect to serve when your vegan friends or gluten free friends come over.

It’s available in three flavors - dark chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. You can eat it plain like pudding, bake it into a pie, make smoothies out of it, or my kids’ favorite, turn it into frozen treats.

Review: R.W. Knudsen Sparkling Essence

Want to try R.W. Knudsen Sparkling Essence for FREE? Enter my Win 4 four-packs of R.W. Knudsen Sparkling Essence giveaway!

My family is currently enjoying the first of several bottles of R.W. Knudsen Vita Cranberry juice that I scored at my local discount grocery store. I love their juices, too - see my reviews of their Just Black Currant and Organic Sensible Sippers. However, I feel that drinking juice, even when it’s yummy and organic, doesn’t seem worth  spending Weight Watchers POINTS. Juice has too many calories and if I’m drinking several POINTS worth of something, I might as well have a glass of wine and get a little buzz for my POINTS.

Well, I’m happy to find out that R.W. Knudsen just release a new zero calorie carbonated drink – Sparkling Essence^TM. Their sparkling spring water drinks are flavored with organic lemons, cooling mint, whole blueberries, and fresh cucumbers – and are fantastic!  

Zero calories and lots of taste

When I showed my husband the Organic Cucumber Sparkling Essence, he wrinkled up his nose and said, “Gross!” After trying it, he remarked, “That is amazing.” Both of us agreed that the cucumber was unique, very refreshing and highly addictive. Drinking one you felt like you were at a fancy spa and doing something healthy for yourself. It was so good that we told the kids that they were NOT allowed any – for grownups only. (Though I did give them a few sips and they liked the drinks as well.)

The Organic Mint and Organic Blueberry Sparkling Essence were also terrific. The only one I was disappointed by was the Organic Lemon since it didn’t seem as special as the other flavors. Each drink is certified organic has no calories, added sugar, or artificial ingredients.

I was sad when I finished my last Sparkling Essence. (R.W. Knudsen sent me four four-packs to try.) Having one with dinner really made the meal much more special than having a plain glass of tap water.

So I’m looking forward to when my local grocery store starts carrying them. In fact, the next time I’m at King Soopers, I’ll special order some cucumber and mint Sparkling Essence, if I don’t see them on the shelf. Yes, they’re worth the special effort.

To find out where R.W. Knudsen products are sold near you, use their store locator.

Pomegranate health benefits and POM smoothies

According to the POM Wonderful website, pomegranate juice:

• is higher in antioxidants than red wine and that antioxidants may help protect the body from free radical damage
• may be helpful in slowing or to prevent the development of cancer
• promotes heart health, prostate health, and proper erectile function

All good stuff for your health, but we wouldn’t be eating pomegranates if they weren’t so tasty. Luckily, POM Wonderful makes it easy to enjoy the juice without the mess of dealing with the seeds.

So when POM asked me to review their product (and sent a sample case of eight small 8 oz. bottles), I was happy to oblige since I was already a customer. In the past year, I bought their juice to make:

• Pomegranate-Cranberry Sauce
• Stephanie Izard’s Pomegranate Pancake Syrup
• Basil Pomegranate Lemonade

A pomegranate juice smoothie

But now the challenge was to make a pomegranate smoothie that fit in with the Weight Watchers Momentum plan and was high in fiber and protein to keep me full until the next meal.

My first concoction was a blend of juice, yogurt and ice cubes, which turned out too watery. Then I thought it would work better if the juice was already frozen, similar to the frozen berries I use to make smoothies. Here’s the result:

Keeping hydrated with Nalgene OTG bottles

The most enjoyable thing about trying to lose weight and get healthy – besides being able to wear a smaller size - is that it gives me an excuse to try new products and buy cool stuff. One of my latest favorite accessories is the Nalgene OTG (on the go) bottles.

Nalgene sent me a sample of their OTG Slate Blue bottle to try out. They’re marketing it to moms since the attached flip-lid makes for easy, one-handed access when you’re juggling kids, groceries, and diaper bags. Well, sort of. At first, I had a heck of a time trying to get the flip-lid off with two hands. Since the bottle was new, the lid was tight. Then, to be honest, I couldn’t figure out how to get it to pop up. I’m smarter than the average bear, but this one threw me for a loop. Maybe the label should have instructions for us brain-dead-from-multi-tasking-all-day moms?

Once the lid loosened up, I really enjoyed using Nalgene OTG bottle. No yucky plastic or metal taste. It also fit in all the cup holders I tried including my car, my husband’s truck, exercise machines at 24 Hour Fitness, and my exercise bike at home. Also, unlike my metal sports bottle there’s no inevitably dropping the lid only to have to fish it out  from underneath the car or couch. Even better, the whole flip-lid screws off, which makes filling the bottle from a pitcher or adding some flavored drink crystals easy as can be.

Since I’m kind of klutzy and tend to carry a zillion things at one time from the car, I’ve dropped it several times on a variety of surfaces – concrete, wooden floors, etc. It hasn’t cracked or broken, though it has some interesting battle scars, er, scratches.

Did I mention it doesn’t leak, even if it’s put upside down in your expensive purse? (Phew.) Also, having a reusable water bottle you love makes reducing landfill waste and going green both easy and affordable - no more disposable water bottles. Plus it’s BPA free and made from Eastman Tritan TM copolyester with a recycling code of #7.

OTG bottles retail for $11.99 and you can choose between colors like Spring Green, Slate Blue, or go bold with Red. It’ll make a great Father’s Day gift, too. Get him one in blue and you can get one for yourself in red – or vice versa. Currently, Nalgene is offering free shipping on all orders over $20.

Winding up my time at 24 Hour Fitness

I went to my doctor for my yearly exam and was told I weighed 10 pounds less than last year. That certainly made my day.

Of course, having a weight loss and fitness blog helps as does rejoining Weight Watchers earlier this year. But for the first time I’m doing Weight Watchers and working out. The new Momentum plan is more “me” plus I’ve become more motivated to improve my fitness levels after my time at 24 Hour Fitness.

See my post Working out at 24 Hour Fitness: personal training and yoga class to read about working with a personal trainer and the yoga classes I took. Or you can read all of my 24 Hour Fitness review posts to find out more about the club and my experiences working out there.

Honey week: Life's a little sweeter with a honey sampling

I must be related to Winnie the Pooh, because I’m addicted to honey. One of my favorite guilty treats is Greek yogurt topped with locally produced honey, like Madhava’s Ambrosia honey or their Mountain Gold honeys. So when the folks at the National Honey Board asked if I’d like a flight of honey to sample, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse - especially since their headquarters is in my hometown and we host an honey festival every year. 

Since I can't wait until August, I've decided it's Honey Week here at This Mama Cooks! and will be featuring healthy, low Weight Watchers POINTs honey recipes all week.

Where do you workout? Home, rec center or fitness club?

I mostly work out at home mostly for the convenience of it. In the past, I’ve done yoga at dance studios or used university or recreation center facilities to exercise.

This summer, after dropping the kids off at summer camp, I plan to stop by the local rec center a few days a week to work out. My goal is to take at least one yoga class a week and maybe a fitness or spin class.

Recently I was given a free 30-day pass to try out 24 Hour Fitness at This Mama Cooks! Reviews. My first review post is now up:

Working out at 24 Hour Fitness: online sign up and club facilities review

Stop by and see what I think of the club so far or to read my other 24 Hour Fitness review posts.

I'm a Frigidaire Appliance Test Drive Mom

Yes, you read that right. I’m going to be “test driving” some of Frigidaire’s new kitchen appliances released just in time for Mother’s Day! They designed these high-performance products with easy-to-use, time-saving features to give moms more free time away from the kitchen. It’s not that I mind cooking so much as that I rarely have the time to do it as much as I like. So time saving devices are much appreciated.

I'll be testing out Frigidaire's cooking appliances – an electric range (I'm one of those people who don't care for gas) and an above range microwave. You can read all about it in my post, This Mama Cooks! with the Frigidaire Appliance Test Drive or any of my Frigidaire Appliance Test Drive Posts.

Count down to Mother's Day: I'm Teleflora's Gourmet Mom

This week I’ll be featuring some healthy but easy-to-make dishes for mom on Mother’s Day. Every mom wants to be cooked for on Mother’s Day, but we don’t want to spoil our diets either. Or clean the kitchen up after dad and the kids make a gigantic mess – are you listening people?

Just call me Gourmet Mom

Speaking of cooking, Teleflora’s Flower Blog named me their Gourmet Mom in their Flowers for moms/Five Minutes with a Gourmet Mom post.

And they rewarded me with a gorgeous Teleflora Spring Pitcher Bouquet, which I reviewed at This Mama Cooks! Reviews.