A. Smith Bowman Distillery, based in Fredericksburg, Va., invited me to sample its new line of spirits called Tinkerman’s Gin ($29.99 retail for 750ml), which will only be produced in limited quantities. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Food and Beverage Reviews’ Category
Tinkerman’s Gin
Sunday, May 20th, 2018PBfit
Sunday, March 18th, 2018
March 1 was National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, so I was motivated to accept an offer to try PBfit, which is a powdered peanut butter that has 90 percent less fat and about one-third of the calories of traditional peanut butter.
After eating it in various forms over the past two weeks, I concluded that PBfit makes it easy to add peanut butter flavor to your foods, especially compared to traditional peanut butter. For example, I added a teaspoon of the powder to a half-serving of pancake mix. That was enough to give the pancakes a subtle but noticeable taste of peanut butter. I topped the pancakes with strawberry jam instead of syrup to make for a breakfast PBJ.
I also added two spoonfuls to my chocolate protein shake, and the shake tasted just like a peanut butter cup. Or, you can reduce some of the effort by buying Chocolate PBfit Plus ($29.98 for a 2-lb. jar), which is its version with whey protein.
PBfit is made from roasted peanuts that are pressed to remove oil and fat and then grinded into a powder. The only other ingredients are coconut palm sugar and salt. Each serving (2 tablespoons) is 50 calories, 4 grams of carbs and 6 grams of protein.
I also made the peanut butter straight up. You’ll need double the amount of water the recipe on the label suggests, otherwise, you get a super-dense paste. When eating it in this form, I noticed that the peanut butter is far less sugary than other brands of peanut butter.
If you’re just looking to make a PBJ, you’re better off saving the step by buying a jar of the regular stuff. But to add that peanut butter flavor to your food or drinks, powdered peanut butter is the way to go. In fact, I look forward to adding it to my next strawberry-banana smoothie.
You can order PBfit ($7.98 for an 8-oz jar) from its website, which also offers free shipping. You’ll also find chocolate and organic versions.
Muuna Cottage Cheese
Sunday, March 11th, 2018
Photo courtesy of Muuna
The yogurt industry has gotten saturated. Depending on where you live, you may have access to 50 different brands. That’s why my interested was piqued in accepting an offer to try the three new flavors of Muuna, a cottage cheese brand that launched about 18 months ago.
Here’s the nutritional lowdown: Each 5.3 oz. cup has 120-130 calories, 9 grams of sugar and 15-19 grams of protein, and there are no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. I sampled the fruit-on-the-bottom black cherry, raspberry and vanilla flavors; pineapple, peach, blueberry, strawberry and mango also are available.
The cottage cheese itself is fresh-tasting, mild and creamy, and it’s made from 2% milkfat that comes from a farmer-owned cooperative in the Midwest. Muuna says it has a proprietary process that allows its curds to absorb more cream.
Still, all cottage cheese gets to be too bland for me after a while, so I appreciated the flavorings. The raspberry comes in the form of a puree, and it’s certainly not as sugary as you would find in yogurt.
Meanwhile, I liked the actual chunks of fruit in the black cherry version, as it provided a contrast in texture. The vanilla flavor was my surprise favorite, as the right amount was added to make the cottage cheese resemble yogurt in taste. I look forward to trying the mango flavor in the future.
“Backed by extensive research, including a deep-dive into consumer flavor demand in the yogurt category, our in-house R&D team created these new flavors,” Muuna CEO Gerard Meyer said in a statement. “The debut of black cherry and vanilla mark a first in the cottage cheese category, as consumers previously have only seen these flavors available in yogurt.”
By the way, I am really impressed with the amount of cottage cheese-related recipes Muuna has created, including the buffalo dip and the blueberry banana bread scones.
Muuna is currently expanding its availability across the country. The Muuna website lists Walmart as a retailer, but none of the Madison-area stores carry it yet.
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