Minda Tries Greek Yogurt-And You Can Try It Cheaper

For the past year or so, I've been seeing and hearing a lot about Greek yogurt. Supposedly, it's healthier, tastier and just all around awesome to those who like it. To those who don't (like The Pasta Queen) it is comparable to diaper cream.

I took the plunge and tried a cup today. I'm trying to eat better and I've been following a meal plan that suggested Greek yogurt for breakfast. I was skeptical that I would even find Greek yogurt in our town but Kroger did not let me down. It was there in the produce aisle in the tiny little dairy case that houses all of the soy and organic dairy stuff.

The brand I tried was Oikos which is made by Stonyfield. The price tag was $2.29. Yikes! I decided to suck it in and try it anyway. I was very happy when it turned out to be on sale for $1.09.

I have to stay that I really liked the texture. It's much thicker, almost like a sour cream consistency. I bought plain so there wasn't a whole lot of taste and it actually tasted a lot like a full fat sour cream. I mixed berries in with it and all in all, it was pretty good. I like that it's organic and doesn't have a string of chemicals in it. I would buy it again.

But before I thought about buying it again, I looked for coupons. And found them here. There's a slew of coupons for organic and soy dairy products made by Oikos and Stonyfield including a 50 cent for the Greek yogurt. At Kroger, at the current $1.09 sale price and with a double coupon it would be 9 cents!! I can't wait to go try another flavor

Eating fresh at Taco Bell?

I normally eat lunch at my desk. But today when the upstairs mens room leaked disgusting water (I tell myself that's all it was) all over my desk, I decided it was time to vacate the premises.

Since I'm trying to eat better, I had to think long and hard about where to grab something on the go. I settled on Taco Bell. Now don't laugh. Taco Bell, if you choose wisely (no supreme anything, nothing that weighs a half-pound), isn't so bad. They also have a new Fresco menu of ligher items. Since my keyboard was soaked in something, I didn't take the time before lunch to look at nutritional information so it was very helpful to see the calories and fat in these items right there on the drive thru menu board. Taco Bell has actually been offering Fresco items for a long time although I had never seen them advertised in Kentucky. Of course, we are one of the heaviest states in the union. Coincidence?

Anywho, I tried two Ranchero Chicken Soft Tacos. There were two large soft tacos filled with grilled chicken, lettuce and a pico de gallo topping. No cheese or sour cream. The pico was not very flavorful but it wasn't bad either. The tacos were pretty big and very filling for a combined 340 calories and 8 grams of fat. I have to say I would pick this over Subway.

So the next time you're trying to eat light, don't settle for a sub. Try Taco Bell Fresco!

Minda Reviews: Del Monte Harvest Selections

After I read back on Saturday's post, I thought "Wow! We eat too much processed foods." We don't really. Or at least I don't. But occasionally when you're balancing work, school and a home life you don't have time to pack a lunch. This is where packaged processed foods come in handy.

As I mentioned on Saturday, I bought two Del Monte Harvest Selections meals with a bogo coupon. On Monday, I tried the Beef Stew with Vegetables and today (as I type-lunch break blog) I had the Chicken Cacciatore.

The pluses to these meals: Both contain two full servings of vegetables which is good for someone like me who struggles to get her daily veggie servings in. Both have 5 Weight Watchers points which is pretty good for a lunch. They require no refrigeration so if you suddenly get lunch plans you don't have to worry about a frozen meal wasting away in the tiny office refrigerator which has no freezer.

The drawbacks: They require no refrigeration and claim no preservatives so they are pretty sodium heavy. And shelf stable meat is just weird.

So how do they taste? Pretty good.

The beef stew to me tastes a lot like Chunky Beef Soup except the Del Monte meat is weirder. The beef pieces are perfectly cubed like dice and have sort of an odd color and texture. They tasted ok but the look is not appealing. The looks says "You are eating shelf stable meat from a plastic bowl." The stew was filling and again tasted just fine but based on the appearance and the fact that I can buy a suitable equivalent (Chunky Soup) at a lower price, I probably will not buy the stew again.

The chicken cacciatore is much better. The chicken looks more like beef, despite the box's claim that it is white breast meat but at least it does look like meat. The sauce is very good, the pasta is the right consistency and you can actually see chunks of tomato and mushroom. Or at least you could see them before I cleaned out the bowl. If I was not wearing khakis I would be tempted to tilt the bowl for the last drop of sauce. I would, make that, WILL buy this one again and I look forward to trying other varieties.

If you are on the lookout for an easy take-to-work lunch option, I would recommend trying these meals. I would also recommend visiting Heat Eat Review. They do really awesome reviews of convinence food including pics of what the food actually looks like. Check it out!

Product Review: Meow Mix Wholesome Goodness-Special Guest Review by Menu the Cat

Minda's note: Menu tried a new product recently that he really liked. So, I thought I'd let him review it for you.

You know how the Lady likes free stuff? Well, last week she came home with a little box and said "Hey buddy, this one is for you!". She opened it up and it was a little bag of dry cat food called Meow Mix Wholesome Goodness. She said it came from Walmart.com's free sample page, whatever that means. Now, I like dry food a lot and I have a feeder full of it but it's strictly for snacking you know? My little can of Fancy Feast every morning is the real deal. But I gotta tell ya, this stuff was pretty good. The Lady gave me a little shake of it in my bowl a couple of times as a "treat" and I licked it up. Very yummy and the Lady says it's better for me too.

You can probably guess that I was very excited this weekend when the Guy carried in a big bag of this food. I tried to tell him to open it up right away but he acted like he didn't understand and sat it on one of the dining room chairs. Well, if you want something done you have to do it yourself right? So I climbed up there and opened up a corner of the bag. The Lady caught me though before I got a bite and poured all of the food in a big plastic tub where I can't get to it. She said when I finish off what's in the feeder I can have the new food. So I've been crunching as hard as I can. Maybe tonight...

Me again. The free sample came with a coupon for a FREE container (they are not cans so I'm not sure what to call them) of wet food. There were also coupons in the Sunday paper a few weeks ago for $1 off the dry food (which I used) and another FREE container of wet food. Kroger didn't have the wet food so as soon I make it to Wal-Mart I plan to pick it up for him.

Minda Reviews Tyson Pre-cooked Bacon: Judge Not Til You Try

I love Tyson products but had never tried their pre-cooked bacon because 1) I thought it was a tad pricey 2) Bacon on a shelf sort of weirded me out and 3) How hard is it really to cook bacon yourself? But last week I was in a hurry to throw together a meal and wanted bacon for a salad I planned to make. Rather than taking the time to fry up some bacon I bought a pack of pre-cooked bacon. It was on sale although I don't remember the price.

My first impression was not that great. I microwaved it the recommended time for "crisp" and it was still pretty limber. Now, I personally, like limber bacon. But Hubby likes it crisp almost to the point of being burnt and I prefer a more crisp texture for a salad. So I zapped it again. It still wasn't what I would call crisp but I was afraid another nuking would render it tough as leather so I made do. "I probably will not buy this again," I actually said aloud to Hubby.

But the next day when we grilled burgers, I realized how easy I could nuke a piece of bacon for a bacon cheeseburger. Yum! And last night I finished off the pack with a bacon and tomato sandwich that took very little time and did not cause a grease cloud in the kitchen. So, perhaps I judged the bacon a little harshly.

All in all, it does taste good. It's convinient. But it doesn't take the place of real honest to goodness bacon. And how's a country gal like me supposed to make gravy with no bacon grease in a frying pan? It's a quick easy substitute but I'll still be bringing home the real Tyson bacon for my breakfast cravings.

Minda Reviews Chef Boyardee: Homemade Pizza From a Box

Growing up in a rural area there was no such thing as pizza delivery and to bring one home carry-out meant a twenty minute drive and cold pizza. So, my mother made Chef Boyardee Pizza Kit pizzas. Oh my, they were tasty! She loaded them up with pepperoni, green pepper, mushrooms, onions and lots of cheese. I hadn't had one in years until last fall when I decided to make one for hubby. A weekly tradition was born.



I can't stress enough what a picky eater I married. Hubby loves pizza but it has to be thin crust, extra cheese and light on the sauce. I was actually shocked at how much he loves these Chef pizzas. He prefers them to delivery.



In our area, the available kits are cheese which comes with a pouch of Parmesan or pepperoni which has tiny pepperonis in the sauce. Obviously, we do cheese. The kits contain two pouches of crust mix but I generally fix one that we can split and save the other for another night. The crust is very simple: mix with warm water, drizzle with oil, let set for five minutes. I use a Pampered Chef large baking stone and it covers the entire stone so it makes a pretty big pizza. I do his half with light on the sauce which is included (a good sauce too, not too sweet nor too tangy) and go heavy on Sargento shredded cheese. For my half, I put pepperoni (turkey or regular) and whatever I have like olives, onions, jalapenos or tomatoes. It bakes in 20 minutes. Cheaper than delivery and usually faster too.



If you want a homemade pizza and cringe at the sight of a recipe that requires yeast like I do, try the Chef!