Awesome Almonds Are..

AWESOME!!! Thank you to Cheryl at Dr. Lankins Awesome Almonds for sending me this package to review!

Honestly, as soon as popped these into my mouth I said out loud, ” Wow, these are awesome!!”

Here is why I love almonds, especially as a future dietician:
For a serving of Almonds, you get a ton of healthy nutrients!
( I linked all of the nutrients listed with the posts that I have regarding those nutrients, so click on protein below if you would like to know more about protein, click on PUFA if you would like to know more about PUFA’s etc. !). In general one serving of regular almonds provides :

• 6g of protein
• 3 g fiber
• 200 mg potassium
• 14 mg Folate
• Vitamin E ( 7 mg)
• 3.5 g PUFA (polunsaturated fats like omega-3) 
• 9 g MUFA  ( monounsaturated fats)

I immediately tried two flavors and will update here when I try the orange-vanilla almonds!

Cocoa Java:

Ingredients:
Almonds, beet sugar, water, cocoa, coffee, pure vanilla extract, and natural vitamin E to preserve freshness.

Nutrition: 1 oz:

• 170 calories
• 10g fat
  • 2 g PUFA
  • 7 g MUFA
• 18g Carbohydrates
  • 2g fiber
  • 14g Sugar
• 4 g protein

Sensory Evaluation:

These guys are very dark, which a java cocoa almond should be! They smell sweet but very  much like coffee. They have the slightest hint of coffee in the taste, its not over-powering. They also have a sweet cocoa taste but not too “chocolatey”. The almonds themselves tasted buttery and smooth, having a crunchy texture with their coating. There is no artificial aftertaste or syrup or oily taste as I noticed with Emerald’s Cocoa Almonds I have tried here.  What I also enjoy is the melt into your mouth instead of staying crunchy or harsh, they are very smooth after the initial crunch.

* I shared these with my lab group today and they enjoyed them as well!*

Cinnamon Vanilla:
 

Ingredients:
almonds, beet sugar, water, cinnamon, pure vanilla extract, and natural vitamin E to preserve freshness.

Nutrition in 1 oz:

• 170 calories
• 10g fat
  • 2 g PUFA
  • 7 g MUFA
• 19g Carbohydrates
  • 2g fiber
  • 16g sugar
• 4 g protein

Sensory Evaluation:
Immediately after opening the bag, I had a fantastic aroma of cinnamon and vanilla. It actually reminded me of christmas time! These guys are coated in cinnamon and real vanilla extract, dark brown and look crispy. They smell so delicious, just like a cinnamon almond would. They aren’t sticky or covered in powder as some coated nut brands are.  They taste sweet but also rather spicy adding a nice kick. The crunchiness easily smoothes away after eating, so you really get many textures going at once.  Again, these had great flavors reflected by their ingredients, no oils or artificial coloring, or preservatives!

I will buy these in the future! I really enjoyed them especially in comparison to the Emerald Dark Cocoa Almonds I tried which had a fake-sweetener coating to reduce calories. It left a really gross aftertaste. The Dr. Lankins were WORLDS better! 

I have also reviewed Sahale Snacks, which were in my opinion equally fantastic but different than Dr. Lankins. Sahale offers little dried bits of fruit with their nuts and are not specific to almonds. I enjoy getting a variety of nuts so if you are interested in getting in more almonds in a really tasty way, I would highly recommend the Dr. Lankins. If you were interested in more of a trail mix type of nut with fruit, go with Sahale. If you like the idea of either- TRY BOTH!

The negatives: I haven’t seen these in any store where I live so ideally I would have to order them in advanced if I wanted to have some or take them on a trip.

Thank you very much Cheryl and Dr. Lankins Almonds for creating a fantastic product!

Pumpkin Overload

Breakfast:
Pumpkin Overload was Pumpkin French Toast AND Pumpkin Pancakes.

I made Pumpkin French Toast like my usual recipe… ( 3 egg whites, 1/4 cup pumpkin, whisked well, no sweetener because I don’t like it sweet)

When I had leftover batter the other day, I threw it in the skillet and made sort of a pancake with it. So I decided to really attempt a pancake adding: 3 tsps whole grain flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, pinch of salt pinch of sugar, and some Quaker Oats (simple harvest with pecans)

I mixed it till moist and dropped into the pan..

It came out really tasty! I will try it again soon! Around it I had mango and blueberries..

Lunch:

Smoothie and Banana ( I had to run to meet up for a campus study session and the battery died from the banana!)

Snack:
I brought this pack of Awesome Almonds with me as part of lunch/ snack to share.  

Body:
Run! Jeff and I headed out to the lake and I did two loops + … 6.1 miles in a slower time than usual! Blah! There were people taking up the entire path on the trail. I can’t believe how inconsiderate they are when people try to pass them, they do not even move! Argh! I want to yell at them “Learn some Courtesy!”

Anyway, the weather was gorgeous so my run was fantastic despite all that! 

Mind:

Studied for the exam at home on the couch, at home outside, on campus at the student center and in the library. I think the library is my least fav. place for studying… no noise to tune out so I always lose focus.

Soul:

Out to dinner with our newly engaged friends ( I suspected they got engaged awhile ago and sure enough, our friend came over and said they had!) . We went out with them and it was great to catch up!
 

Dinner:

Appetizer: Michelob Ultra with a couple onion rings and a little cheese fries..

Entree: Grilled Chicken Salad. I almost always get this when we go to this restaurant because it has tons of veggies ( carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, green pepper, onion, cucumber, romaine) and their chicken always tastes great. I had oil and vinegar dressing but didn’t use much.