Angie's Lemon Drop Flavored Kettle Corn

On an afternoon stroll through Target I popped through their Easter section to see what goodies had made it out onto the floor. I love checking out the Easter goodies because Easter is one of my favorite holidays for candy. Or in this case ... candy and treats. I adore Angie's popcorn so when I saw the Angie's Lemon Drop Flavored Kettle Corn I knew I had to give it a try. I'm a sucker for lemon desserts and the only thing I could think was lemon popcorn? YUMMO?!

Upon opening the package, a sweet lemon scent wafted out of the bag and it kind of brought me to a moment where I felt I was standing in my local Italian bakery ordering lemon tarts for dessert. It's a deliciously sweet lemon fragrance which only makes wanting to try the popcorn that much more exciting.

The popcorn itself is crisp, which is coated slightly in a sweet/salty kettle corn mixture. The popcorn is then drizzled with a lemon "chocolate" drizzle. It was sweet, salty, lemony and just delicious. Although I did find if you ate it a little fast, the lemon flavor dissipated and was more of a white chocolate flavoring. Just because of the change in flavor, I found myself eating the popcorn a lot slower to savor the lemon flavor instead of bypassing it all together.

A serving, roughly 1 1/4 cup (28g), is 140 calories or 4 points plus values.

Pillsbury Reduced Fat Cinnamon Rolls

I stumbled upon an interesting find at a local grocery store finding and purchasing the Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls Reduced Fat with Icing. I love cinnamon rolls but I find them to be typically too high in points to find justifiable. Since they were reduced fat and the nutrition facts weren't too out of control I decided to give them a try for breakfast one day when my niece had slept over.

I sprayed the bottom of a cake pan with nonstick cooking spray, placed the rolls in (cinnamon side down) in a circle around the pan, adding the remainder into the middle of the pan. I put them into a preheated oven and let them cook. Since my oven tends to cook baked goods faster than normal, I lowered the temperature a bit and extended the cooking time just slightly.  The end result came out perfect. Nicely golden browned, cooked all the way through, soft but firm enough.

While hot I smeared the icing onto each of the rolls and let them cool for a few minutes before serving. The end result was quite delicious. A perfect little treat and so delicious no one even noticed they were reduced fat. I've learned over time to not even express it out loud because it makes people go into eating something that's reduced fat as if it's going to poison them. When the rolls cooled they were perfect as is, but they were even better warmed just slightly in the microwave as a little treat.

A serving, 1 roll, is 130 calories or 4 points plus values OR you can have 2 rolls for 260 calories or 7 points plus values.

Trader Joe's Trader Jose's Authentic Mexican Style Pork & Red Sauce Tamales

I have been sitting on this review for a while ... but better late than never:

 

When I spotted these Trader Joe's Trader Jose's Authentic Mexican Style Pork & Red Sauce Tamales in the refrigerated section of the store I decided to pick them up. That is, after trying to narrow down my options from the 3 varieties that were available (chicken, vegetable and pork).

Prior to purchasing these the first tamales I really tried are the mini tamales that are sold in the freezer section of Trader Joe's. I quite enjoyed them so I figured a real deal version would only be better. And I was surely right.

I opted to heat these up using the stove-top steaming method. I added water to the bottom of a pan, added in a metal steamer basket and laid the tamales into the pan, covered and let them steam until done. It was truly fool proof and the end result came out quite good.

They were nice and hearty and truly a crowd pleaser.  They had a very mild spice to them which wasn't overwhelming but pleasant. The pork was evident and it wasn't fatty (which is always appreciated). The tamale itself was the perfect texture - soft but still had a little bite to it.

They were so good that I went back to buy more on a few trips but sadly they haven't had them. Which I'm assuming means these were just a seasonal item. It seemed like my store got them in, had them stocked for a week, and never got them again. Which reminds me ... I should probably inquire as to if they're going to be bringing these back next time I pop into the store.

A serving, 1 tamale is 180 calories or 5 points plus values.

Hostess Red Velvet Cupcakes

Growing up we had a local Hostess factory that sold Hostess products at a discounted price. My mother would pick up snacks for my brother and I ... so I guess you can say my enjoyment of Hostess goodies was born early. There are some snacks by the brand that I'm not a fan of .. but others I am. Case in point when I spotted the Hostess Red Velvet Cupcakes at Wal-Mart I had to pick up a box.

 

It seems like red velvet flavored snacks are taking over grocery store shelves. What I liked about these cupcakes was that they were so fresh. The texture of the cupcake was soft, slightly moist and nicely sweetened. I found them to not be as sweet as say, the Hostess orange frosted cupcake (which for one reason really hits me as sa-weeeet!). The cake is your classic red velvet - a bold chocolate flavor with has a light and airy cream in the middle of the cupcake. The frosting on top is a classic vanilla, but not overly vanilla-y.

 

They're definitely along the lines of the classic chocolate frosted cupcake (just colored red) but I feel this variety is not as sweet. Which may be in part to the vanilla frosting? But either way, they're pretty good.

A cupcake is 170 calories or 4 points plus values.

Trader Joe's Mini Hold the Cone! Chocolate Ice Cream Cones

Since I was such a fan of the vanilla version I of course had to give the Trader Joe's Mini Hold the Cone! Chocolate Ice Cream Cones a shot. Admittedly chocolate ice cream isn't my favorite, but sometimes I want a different flavor of something as a treat.

Hold the Cones are miniature ice cream cones which are great for when you want something small, sweet and refreshing but you don’t want whole lot of something. They’re perfect because they not only taste delicious but they’re also adorable and miniature. I find they give you the right amount of everything. A few bites of ice cream, a few bites of chocolate coating, and a few bites of a delicious crunchy yet chewy ice cream cone.

The ice cream itself is good quality chocolate ice cream. It's creamy, it's chocolaty but it's not overwhelming. The chocolate coating on the top of the ice cream balances well with the chocolate ice cream. The coating being a dark chocolate so the two pair perfectly without being overly sweet. They're a great treat which is guiltless.

A serving, 1 cone, is 70 calories or 2 points plus OR you can have 2 ice cream cones for 140 calories or 3 points plus.

Yoplait Greek 100 Calorie Whips! Tropical

I have evidently been on a mission to try all of the new Greek Whips that appeal to my taste buds. One of those was the Yoplait Greek 100 Calorie Whips! Tropical. The tropical Greek yogurt is one of my favorites so I figured a whipped version would be perfect ... and it truly did not let me down!

 

As I've mentioned in a previous review the texture of this yogurt is a far cry from your average Greek yogurt. It's not thick, heavy, or "wet" in consistency. It's light, airy and has a mousse texture to it. It's flavored well, giving a jam packed 9 grams of protein, while also remaining light and airy at the same time. Definitely a different twist on a yogurt which can make for a refreshing dessert or snack option.  I have seen some people using this as a cream between graham crackers - kind of a nod to the old school Weight Watchers cool whip "ice cream sandwiches."

 

The flavor of this is very much tropical. There's hints of mango and pineapple which give it a very sweet, refreshing "tropical" vibe. It's very much reminiscent of its Greek yogurt variety, which is enjoyable because now depending on whichever texture I'm looking for I can reach for one or the other.

 

A serving is 100 calories or 2 points plus values.

Trader Joe's Scallion Pancake (Pa jeon)

One of my favorite dishes at my local Chinese restaurant is the scallion pancake. They're mild in flavor, are crisp but soft and pair perfectly with any sort of Chinese food. Needless to say when I spotted the Trader Joe's Scallion Pancake in the freezer section, snatched up a pack, checked the nutrition facts and purchased it.

I decided to incorporate them into my New Years Eve dinner. Since I forgot to take them out of the freezer, I opted to go with browning in olive oil. I would have preferred to use the oven, but since the oven was being used I found they crisped up and heated through in little to no time.

The unique part is that these pancakes can be cooked in a number of ways. They can be set in the fridge to defrost overnight, slightly defrosted for 45 minutes or they can be cooked frozen  You can also brown them in a pan with a little olive oil while you can also cook them in the oven.

Flavor wise they're your classic scallion pancake. A plain batter with the green onion/scallion pancake running all throughout the pancake. The onion flavor is not overwhelming, it's just right. I found them to be quite satisfying ... and my niece LOVED them which says a lot if a 5 year old is enjoying them! The only difference I find in comparison to scallion pancake at a restaurant is that these are slightly thicker. But I do like the fact you can watch how much oil is used when making these at home!

A serving is 1 pancake, which is 160 calories or 4 points plus values.