Yoplait Greek 100 Calories - Orange Creme

I'm a pretty avid Yoplait and Dannon Greek yogurt fan, pretty much if I see a new flavor, I'm going to give it a try. One of the flavors that's been out for a while, but I haven't been able to find anywhere has been the Yoplait Greek 100 Calories - Orange Creme.

I have seen this shown on numerous Instagram postings for months and I finally found the allusive yogurt at a local Wal-Mart. Sadly, not all retailers carry this flavor ... and sadly I only purchased one container while at the store. Note to self: buy more when you find this again.

Granted, with that statement you can pretty much sum up the fact that I completely LOVE this yogurt! It tastes just like an orange creme popsicle. It's got that cool orange flavor, while having a creamy vanilla base which in my mind tastes along the lines of the ice cream in a orange cream popsicle. It's definitely a dessert like yogurt, that I'd enjoy as an after lunch or dinner "dessert". It's refreshing, delicious and a complete win for me. I need to venture my way back to my local Wal-Mart to get a couple of these to stash away in the refrigerator when I want something dessert-like.

A serving, 1 container, is 100 calories or 2 points plus values.

Fruit Dips - Just Ripe Banana

I have seen the Fruit Dips - Just Ripe Banana over and over again at my local grocery store but had yet to pick them up until I was in the mood for something along the lines of ice cream. I'm a banana dessert junkie so I decided I just had to give these a shot. Particularly after my coworker turned me onto frozen banana slices topped with nutella (sorry for that tidbit).

The box describes the frozen dessert as a "premium frozen fruit bars dipped in rich chocolate coating." They're smaller in size, but big enough to be satisfying and satisfy that sweet tooth. The bar itself is made of mashed up frozen bananas which are frozen to a stick. It's then coated in a thin layer of chocolate which help bring fourth the banana flavor and natural sweetness of the fruit. It's the right amount of sweetness to be a suitable dessert and satisfying enough when you want something cold to cool you down. I found it to be quite enjoyable - more so than the chocolate covered frozen bananas they sell in the grocery store and at local fairs.

These are sold in a number of different flavors. Just to name a few: strawberry, coconut, and they're also sold with a Greek yogurt topping instead of the chocolate.

A serving, 1 pop, is 92 calories or 2 points plus values.

Trader Joe's Popcorn in a Pickle

Popcorn is one of those snacks that can truly be transformed into anything depending on your mood. Salty, savory, sweet, plain, etc. ... the world is essentially your oyster when you're in a popcorn mood. Needless to say when I spotted the Trader Joe's Popcorn in a Pickle I had to pick up a bag for curiosities sake.

I am a pickle and popcorn fan ... so to have the two merge into one world, it felt like an experience one should engage in. After all I have had pickle flavored potato chips in the past, so, why not venture into pickle flavored popcorn? Upon opening the bag I admit, I was surprised as how much like an open jar of pickles it smelled like. That vinegary, briny sourness just punches your nostrils and really does kind of leave you confused, worried and possibly even scared.

First bite ... holy moly! It taste like a pickle! Mind boggling is all I can say. My taste buds were completely confused because it's a different texture, but the flavor is all there. The more you eat, the tarter it tends to get. My face was puckering, my jaw was getting tense. I only had about 3/4 of a cup before I decided to tap out. Just due to the tartness of it, I don't think this is something that one could easily be binge on. It's more of a have a snack, enjoy it and put it away for later. This isn't like the Baconesque popcorn that I basically have to hide from myself and put myself on time out when I continue to go back for more.

Sharing this with my mother (who absolutely loved it) one of the first things I said to her was, "I'm pretty sure this is a stereotypical pregnant woman's dream come true."

A serving, 2 cups, is 150 calories or 4 points plus values.

Taco Bell Cantina Chicken Power Bowl

One afternoon en route to our destination, my boyfriend said he wanted Taco Bell.  Immediately I thought "darn..." because I truly wasn't in the mood for a taco because I wanted something that would be satisfying (i.e. I didn't want to be hungry a couple hours later). Glancing over their menu it dawned on me that they had power bowl menu's which I had believed to be lower in calories/points (I wasn't able to check at the time of drive-thru so I winged my order and got it how I thought I'd like it).

I ended up ordering the Taco Bell Cantina Chicken Power Bowl (the entree is also sold topped with steak, while it can also be purchased as a burrito). The good thing about these salads is that they're made to order. You can remove items from the meal or add them based on your likes or dislikes (one of those additions can be extra lettuce).

According to the website: "Experience how High Protein meets BIG Flavor! 100% marinated and fire-grilled white meat chicken, crisp romaine lettuce, guacamole made from real Hass avocados, pico de gallo prepared fresh daily, flavorful avocado ranch dressing, real cheddar cheese, and cool reduced-fat sour cream, all served on a bed of premium Latin rice and slow-simmered black beans. Also available in Steak or Veggie."

I personally found the power bowl to be quite satisfying. It was flavorful and far from boring. I enjoy taco salads at home but sometimes I don't think to put beans and rice in it - so it was definitely a delicious addition. Even though I ordered my salad without dressing the container was put into the bag. I did give it a little sample (dipped my fork into it) and it's quite delicious. Personally, for my taste buds it'd be a little too rich to drizzle over the bowl ... but I found just with everything combined there wasn't a need for the salad dressing.

Each bowl, as served is 490 calories or 13 points plus values.

Whereas, each bowl without sour cream, cheese and avocado ranch dressing (as I purchased it) is 380 calories or 10 points plus values.

You can calculate any of Taco Bells items to your liking by adding/subtracting toppings from any of their menu items using the following calculator: http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/calculator

Trader Joe's Meatless Breakfast Patties

Every once in a while I like to try meatless products to switch things up a bit. I'm not anti-meat, but sometimes things get boring and need a little exciting different things thrown in the mix. With that, I opted to pick up a box of the Trader Joe's Meatless Breakfast Patties one afternoon and popped them in my freezer. I pulled them out the other day to have prepared for breakfasts for a few days.

For not being made of meat I have to say these breakfast patties are really quite good. Size comparison they're about roughly the same size as Morningstar Farms breakfast patties, whereas in comparison to your average round pork breakfast patty these are roughly larger than those. You can choose to heat these in a pan on the stove top or heat them in the microwave (cooking time varies based on the amount of patties cooking at once).  I personally opted for the microwave option because I was trying to move the food preparation process along a little faster.

Taste wise, these have the classic flavor notes of regular sausage patties. They're not greasy tasting or fatty flavored - they're just spiced quite well. Cutting into them, they appear to have the same texture as regular sausage. Flavor wise they're pretty tasty (spice wise), not bad at all. They are a little softer in texture (if you're comparing it to regular sausage) but they're no where near mushy. The outside has a decent crust on it, which leaves the insides relatively moist.

A single patty offers a gracious 7 grams of protein, which is pretty spectacular in my book.

A serving, 1 patty, is 80 calories or 2 points plus values.

Trader Joe's Cold Pressed Juice - Watermelon

When spring and summer rolls around my absolute favorite fruit is hands down watermelon. It's refreshing, sweet, juicy and can be served in a number of ways always keeping things interesting. Needless to say when I spotted the Trader Joe's Cold Pressed Juice Watermelon I was intrigued off the bat and had to pick up a bottle.

I've tried a cold pressed juice in the past from Trader Joe's and wasn't impressed, but I figured how on earth could we screw up watermelon? Thankfully, that thought process was correct. This watermelon pressed juice is quite delicious. It's refreshing, while it's not very sweet. There's a bit of tartness to it (in part to the lemon added to the drink), but also due to using some of the less sweet parts of the watermelon (the white on the rind which is included when making this juice). There's that familiar bitterness associated with it that one gets when biting into the white on a watermelon rind. It's not offensive or overwhelming, it's just there lingering in the background.

Like all cold pressed juices, if you let this sit in the refrigerator untouched, the sediment part of it settles at the bottom of the container. But once you shake it up, everything happily merges together. According to the bottle a serving contains approximately 2 pounds of watermelon and 1/4 lemon.  Overall I quite enjoyed it and would repurchase again if I was in the mood for a watermelon flavored juice.

A serving, 1 bottle, is 140 calories or 4 points plus values.

Dannon Evolution Fresh Pineapple Passion Fruit Greek Yogurt

Checking out the yogurt selection at a local grocery store, I spotted a new line of yogurt and picked up the Dannon Evolution Fresh Pineapple Passion Fruit Greek Yogurt. The yogurt is advertised to be a healthier option having no added flavors, artificial sweeteners, colors or preservatives. I figured the pineapple passion fruit would be more suitable to my taste buds.

The yogurt itself is decent ... I wouldn't venture out to say it's one of the best yogurts I have had, because it's not, but it's not terrible. Overall, it's mildly sweet while the yogurt itself is on the tarter side. Consistency wise, it's pretty thick but it does have a bit of looseness to it. The fruit on the bottom is a unique texture .. it reminds me a lot of pureed fruit.  It's thicker while also having a gelatin vibe to it. I didn't think it screamed pineapple passion, it was rather lackluster and on the boring side.

I wouldn't say run out and buy it immediately. But if you're in the market for a healthier alternative to yogurt, why not give it a shot? It's not bad, it just wasn't my ideal type of Greek yogurt.

A serving is 120 calories or 3 points plus values.