Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Let's Review

Seems like I'm always cooking something, eating something, or doing dishes.  This past week was particularly fun because I had a chance to try out two new things, one from Amazing Grass, and the other from CSN Stores.

I've already professed my love for Amazing Grass Superfood, it's an organic wheat grass powder that is high in antioxidants, and helps you reach your daily quota of fruits and veggies.  I've been using for a year now and add it to my smoothies.  I truly think it gives my immune system a boost.  There were times this past winter when I felt a cold coming on, I would slam an extra serving for a day or two, and I'd be back to normal.  Well, they have a new product called Green Energy SuperFood, which has the addition of Yerba Mate from Guayaki and organic Matcha green tea, and provides 85 mg of caffeine.  I first heard of Yerba Mate on an episode of Getting Fresh With Sara Snow, it's a plant based form of caffeine found in South America.  The Green Energy also contains probiotics.

The first time I tried the Green Energy was on an afternoon that I was feeling sluggish, so I shook some up with water in a sippy cup (I've kept some around because they do a decent job of mixing things when I don't feel like using then cleaning the blender).  The lemon lime flavor was nice, and it did perk me up.  The powder might have worked better with juice, but I didn't have any on hand.  I stuck with my practice of adding it to smoothies, although the lemon flavor didn't work well with bananas!  I used it first thing in the morning in place of my coffee, and what worked best for me was to blend it with milk, frozen blueberries and a peach, the flavor was light and refreshing.   I wasn't sure if it would do the job of coffee, but surprisingly enough, it did.  And I didn't have a jittery caffeine feeling like I sometimes do with java. 

You've probably seen CSN popping up on various blogs, their website has stores that cover anything you could possibly need, from exercise equipment to housewares and furniture.  I use saute pans and skillets almost daily, so I was thrilled to test out a set of porcelain nonstick skillets from Rachel Ray's cookware line, one 8", one 10" and one 12".  I don't usually read packaging, but I noted that since these are porcelain, you need to be careful with them on a glass cook top, which I have.  If the pan overheats it can stick to the glass and then you have a bit of a problem.
I make grilled cheese for Luke pretty often, and I hate having to wash a huge pan just for a sandwich, in this case I used the 10 inch.  I use a cover on a pan to make sure the cheese gets melted, these didn't come with one so I used one of my own, the sandwich came out great, it was browned evenly on both sides.

I loved the nonstick surface, I used the 12" pan several times to wilt spinach, brown onions, and sweat mushrooms, in each case I used much less olive oil than what I would in a regular pan, and other times I just used cooking spray.  The sides of the pan go up just enough to give you room to stir without the food flying out. 

I thought the ultimate test would be to make an omelet.  I used 3 eggs, with a splash of milk, ground pepper and a dash of salt, and beat them well, then used cooking spray on the 10 inch pan.  The eggs cooked quickly, and didn't stick, which eggs tend to do.  Once the eggs were almost cooked through, I sprinkled 2 tablespoons of feta on one side, and a handful of cooked spinach on the other, and topped that with a quarter cup of cooked baby portabella mushrooms.  After a minute I folded the omelet up, and slid it easily onto the plate.  I was very happy with the end result, the eggs were browned on the outside, but soft on the inside.

Another thing I liked about the skillets, was the grippy handle, it never got hot and made it that much easier to hold. 

As I said,  this was a fun week in the the kitchen.  But please note, I received a container of the Green Superfood, and the Rachel Ray Skillets for the purpose of this review.   The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the products provided.

15 comments:

misszippy said...

I'm hungry now! I'm intrigued by the green superfood...may have to give it a try.

The Diva on a Diet said...

Wonderful review of both products! And I like your disclaimer at the end ... I may have to steal that! ;)

The green superfood sounds interesting. I'm not a coffee drinker, but I do have tea every morning and heaven knows I could use a boost some afternoons.

Tricia said...

great review

KovasP said...

Bummer that the Green Superfood is wheat - my doctor wants me to cut out wheat and gluten.

Teamarcia said...

Great reviews!
I just got a Yerba Mate face cleanser--it's really nice!

Lucas R. Tucker said...

Where do you find the greensuperfood? That sounds interesting.
Your omelete looks amazing, I am impressed anythime I see soemthing I think is fancy, like portabello mushrooms, used by a real person. Although I can cook some complicated meals now, most of my meals growing up had stick or helper on the end so it leaves me pretty easy to impress.

Liz Mays said...

You sure know your stuff! I like the idea of adding that to smoothies.

Lisa said...

Great reviews! It's always helpful to hear what others think about certain products.

Rad Runner said...

#1 I tried that drink mix this weekend it was YUMMY with apple juice!
#2 I am totally craving an omelet now!
I guess I know whats for dinner!

Caratunk Girl said...

I love Green Superfood - I've tried the chocolate and mix it with chocolate soy milk. I want to try more flavors for sure. Thanks for stopping by my blog! I sure am glad you did, that omelet looks awesome!

Jill said...

Well, we all know I can't cook, but I can maybe try the Amazing Grass in my daily protein smoothie. Have you ever tried the chia seeds? Just wondered what you thought about those vs. the Grass. Thanks for the great review!

yonca said...

I ate a banana for breakfast and your omelet looks YUMMY! Feel hungry again..it's almost lunch time..Isn't it?:)

Tara said...

OMG, my stomach is now growling (not from your wheatgrass). I want that omelet; it looks soooo good.

That's so cool that you are getting all of this free stuff to try and I know that you like your wheatgrass, so that's great that you got some freebies!! I still haven't tried it...even though I've seen you mention smooties on your blog a few times. I eat a ton of veggies though. You know, since becoming a vegetarian, I haven't had ONE cold either, even though everyone else around me has been sick. Funny what a little veggies will do for you!

Iron Mike said...

Thanks for the useful tip, no lemon (flavor) in banana smoothies. That might be the only thing I haven't added to date as my smoothies usually serve as the garbage disposal for expiring fruit.

Felice Devine said...

I'm going to try that amazing grass in my smoothies after I return from vacation.