Snack Review: Smartfood Popcorn Clusters

I love popcorn for breakfast. Every morning, I always take those 100 calorie bags of kettle popcorn with me to work, because they are low in calories and they take a while to eat. However, for the past few weeks I took Frito-Lay Smartfood popcorn clusters with me to work and not only were they tasty, they seemed to satisfy my hunger every morning.

These delicious clusters contain something different in each flavor. Each flavor was coated in caramel, but not so much that it stuck to your teeth. The popcorn had a fresh crisp texture to it and I had to stop myself from pouring the whole bag down my mouth. There were three flavors that I tried: Chocolate Cookie Caramel Pecan, Honey Multigrain and Cranberry Almond.

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Snack Review: Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk

As a child, my mother had a very difficult time getting me to drink milk. Whole, 2%, nonfat, or even chocolate - you name it, I disliked it. My life seemed content without milk, until I started bodybuilding.

Though the average person needs only around fifty grams of protein a day, it has been suggested that someone training in a high-regimen exercise program consume up to four grams of protein per pound of body weight. In my case, that would be consuming over seven hundred grams!

Now, I can eat a lot (I might have successfully completed the Vermonster challenge… in thirteen and a half minutes), but seven hundred grams of protein? That’s like… like… like eating a baby cow. And frankly, eating a baby cow every day seems rather unappetizing.

So how do I remedy this problem? Well, like most bodybuilders and athletes, I take a variety of protein supplements. Though the bulk of my consumption comes from textured vegetable protein flakes, about a hundred grams is derived from whey protein, which is produced as a byproduct of cheese manufacturing.
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Snack Review: Almond Brownie Balance Bar

So every Superman or Batman has a Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne facet shown to the world when the crime-fighting cape isn’t donned. And though I don’t have the superpowers to fly or anything that even resembles the Batmobile, I think being a Candy Addict and Snackerrific writer is pretty cool.

But countering this sugar-loving image is my non-reviewer persona. How polar is this opposite? Well, truth be told, I am actually a bodybuilder and triathlete. I know, I know… the two don’t go together at all! And believe me, my personal trainer doesn’t like this dual lifestyle one bit. But the key to maintaining both of these opposing lifestyles is moderation.

It could even be considered a balance, if you will. This is why I decided I wanted to write my debut review for Snackerrific on one of my favorite snacks: protein bars. Now, let me clarify, I do not consider a protein bar and a bag of chips to be considered in the same category of snacks.

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Snack Review: Kardea Nutrition Bar

OK, so these are all about heart health and “natural cholesterol management.” If you want to know about that, go read their website. My business here is how they taste, because if they don’t taste good, who cares how healthy they are? If I want to eat something healthy that tastes bad, that’s why they invented vegetables and whole grains, thanks very much.

Anyway, I can’t tell you more, because I stopped reading the website myself before it stopped me from trying these at all. For some reason, phrases like “More Viscous Soluble Fiber than Heart Healthy Oatmeal” don’t fill me with anticipation of deliciousness. “Viscous” just isn’t a word that I want anywhere near a description of my snacks, you know?

The manufacturer had kindly sent all four flavors for me to sample. I decided to try the cranberry-almond first because it was post-dinnertime and that flavor sounded most like dessert.

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Snack Review: Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Fruit & Nut Bars

I’m usually not a big fan of anything with fruits and nuts in it, but I thought I’d give these Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Fruit & Nut bars a try since I don’t seem to be that healthy of an eater.

These come in two different flavors - Berry & Almond and Cranberry, Raisin & Peanut.

At first, I thought this bar would be hard and probably crack one of my teeth when I bit into it. But that was not the case because it is a soft, flexible bar. I say flexible because I always have fun bending the bars back and forth while they are still in their package.

I first tried the Berry & Almond bar because it looked slightly more appealing to me than the other. (Remember, I dislike fruit and nuts.) When I opened it, the bar was so soft it started bending on its own and almost fell apart. The bar is actually fun to look at: it’s covered in what look like cranberries, oats, crispy rice, bran cereal and almonds.

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