Snacking on Kale

Kale a surprising snack

Back in my waitress days, kale was a plate filler no one would think of eating. The thick greens looked scratchy and bitter. I know baked kale has been the rage for a while, but I never got around to trying it. Imagine my surprise when I found it to be my top pick from Healthy Surprise, a package of snacks that comes to your door so you can get out the door fast and be active.

Stop eating junk and let the snackologists at Healthy Surprise make it fun and easy to eat healthy by delivering you curated a box full of delicious and healthy snacks, is what the company suggests. As a writer to inform you readers, I got a box of “healthy, delicious, gluten free, natural, vegan, soy free and corn free” snacks that was admittedly fun to sort through and sample.

California Snax Parma Kale was a crunchy treat that put me in gobble mode. I think Sea Snax, a roasted seaweed sheet, came in No. 2, with its “Strangely Additive” tag line ringing true. What a delicate crunch it made.

The box arrives with a sticker reading “I Am Not A GMO” and included goodies like a Rosemary Journey Bar, That’s It apple and apricot bar, Matt’s Munches Choco-Nana, and Hail Merry pecans flavored with orange rosemary. Skinny Crisps Cinnamon Crisps and a variety of cookies, a chia coconut bar and crunchy veggies and fruits were also inside. Some of these were very, very low cal and all were a better choice than typical candy bars and chips. I mean, have you ever had a grilled zucchini crunch? Snapz can go in your box. Get into it at www.healthysurprise.com.

Just Juice

You won’t forget your first sip of Just Cranberry. You’ll wonder what else has been in that less-potent blend of cocktail you have been drinking. The R.W. Knudsen Family’s Just Juice collection . After going to the Knudsen site’s new The Orchard section, I passed the quiz and guess that about 2.25 pounds of berry go into each bottle. Having appreciated the natural nature of the juice, I will use it as a flavorful smoothie mix in. For straight-up drinking, I picked Just Black Cherry for a rich, fruity sensation. Imagine what you can do with Just Pomegranate, Just Black Currant and Just Blueberry.

Santa Cruz Organic lemonades with variations of strawberry, raspberry, peach, mango, cherry and limeade are summer in a jar and contain no artificial preservatives or ingredients. I enjoyed mine over ice in a very small glass, giving me an excuse to leave the patio and get a second refreshing glass of the stuff.

NoOodle

A yam-based noodle is becoming the new blank canvas for chefs and cooks going carb, soy, preservative and gluten-free. NoOodle is infused with Glucomannan, a natural ingredient that slows digestion and traps cholesterol and fat from being absorbed in the body. Look for angel hair “pasta.” My experience was sharing a box of tomato and risotto soup, ready in three minutes with “the no-calorie noodle.”  For just 50 calories we enjoyed a satisfying bowl of flavorful soup that self-taught chef Terri Rogers created. The little dots of yam pasta are nearly clear and fill one up while the flavor comes from spinach, basil, sea salt, onion powder and black pepper. Chicken noodle soup also comes in a shelf-stable box, so this is a handy pick to keep on fall pantry shelfs for quick, healthy meal choices.

ddoiron@panews.com