The Power of Fruit: Tropical Fruit Bar

Summer weather has finally hit Southern California. Boy, has it hit! We've had high temperatures around 100 for about a week now, and a couple days ago it reached 106 degrees F. (For those of you outside the States, that's a hair over 41 C.) And let me tell you something: just because this is reclaimed desert and it's dry heat, that doesn't make it any less oppressive. Air conditioning, IMHO, is the greatest invention since the wheel.

Anyway, one of my favorite warm weather snacks is the frozen juice bar. And the good people at The Power of Fruit were kind enough to send me a stash of their 100% whole frozen fruit bars.

When these guys say pure fruit, they mean it. There are no added colors, preservatives or sweeteners, and each bar is the equivalent of half a day's serving of fruit. They sent me three varieties, and I decided to start with the Tropical Fruit bar because my flavor obsession of the moment is pineapple.

The Tropical bar features pineapple, mango and banana. These bars are actually old school stickless tubes, the kind you squeeze out of their plastic wrappers.



What I liked best about the bar/tube is that you can actually see the chunks of fruit. I also liked that the fruit was in such big pieces that it was easy to tell which was pineapple and which was mango. The banana chunks were less distinct, and seemed to act sort of like a binder to hold it all together. The flavors of all of the fruits were really bright and fresh.




Because it's a plastic-wrapped tube, you push your portion up so there's minimal drip. Texture-wise, this is what kind of threw me: As I said, everything is in what looks like decent-sized chunks. And that's what it feels like too. So it wasn't what you'd think of as a Popsicle. It was more like you'd made a fruit mash yourself and frozen it solid -- not a texture I am used to, but which I guess is the whole idea, and it's a good one.

All told, it's a really refreshing treat! I'm looking forward to tasting the others.



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company

CALORIES:
30 calories per bar.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
poweroffruit.com

Carl's Jr. Teriyaki Six Dollar Burger

Every single time I see ads for this sandwich, all I can think of is the Big Kahuna Burger that has been featured in probably every Quentin Tarantino movie (and some of Robert Rodriguez's, as well). And Samuel L. Jackson did say that it was a mighty tasty burger. Who am I to argue with Motherfarking Samuel L. Jackson? When Samuel says something is good, you take his motherfarking word for it, motherfarker!

Unless you're me, and then you still try it for yourself -- risking life, limb, and likely a motherfarking pimp slap.

Carl's Jr. offers several versions of this burger, including single, double, and Six Dollar version. Since the only meat from Carl's that I really like is the Six Dollar burger, that's what I got.



The burger is served on a sesame seed bun with teriyaki glaze, grilled pineapple, two slices of Swiss cheese, red onion, lettuce, tomato and (normally) mayo. Sorry guys, just like when I reviewed the Chicken Teriyaki sandwich, I just can't hang with the idea of mayo and teriyaki sauce together. I know this sort of goes against my review-it-as-it-comes mantra -- but I have made peace with it, and so should you.



The lettuce, of course, is the standard fast food Iceberg, so there's some crunch. The tomatoes added a nice, juicy bite. The Swiss cheese...well, it's there, and it's a cheese-type product. It's not bad, it's not good, it's just sort of there. As for the bread, I always like Carl's buns. They toast well and hold up to even the goopiest of toppings.



Much like the chicken version, the pineapple is canned, but it is sweet and juicy. The teriyaki sauce really stands up well to the Six Dollar patty -- which is thicker and more peppery than the "normal" patties. It's salty, but the meat cuts it better than the chicken version did. And yes, like the chicken version, once the sandwich cools down the sauce does seem more intense. It's true that this burger is every bit as messy as it looks on TV, but that's OK because it is also every bit as good as you would hope.



PURCHASED FROM:
Carl's Jr.

CALORIES:
840 calories per sandwich.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
carlsjr.com

Carl's Jr. Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich

I have a loudly professed dislike of chicken. I have said so in more than one review, and those that know me in real life know that I next to never eat it for non-review purposes. (And as you can look up for yourself, there's not a huge amount of chicken reviews to be found here.) "But Gigi," you are probably screaming at your computer right now, "Everybody loves chicken!" If by "everybody" you mean the rest of the universe minus me, then yes, I guess you are right. Me, personally...not so much. It has actually been said to me that perhaps if I could just learn to embrace if not to downright like or even love chicken, that perhaps the vast forces of the universe will see fit to conjoin all of its infinite powers upon me, the glow of good karma will start to smile upon me, my chakras would align, the Force would be with me, and...I dunno, there might be rainbows.

All of that sounded pretty deep, and I like to think that I am open-minded and reasonably non-picky. And if at least attempting to becomes friends with the humble chicken is what it takes to get in better with the universe, well, ya know what? I am down!



Jamie Oliver may have cured me of ever wanting a chicken nugget again for life -- and I cannot thank Jamie enough, but that is an entire other post. Nuggets might be out, but a grilled chicken breast sandwich? Well, that certainly had potential. (Hear that, universe? I said it had potential!) This sandwich also had the good luck to be made of the same grilled meat that the only other chicken sandwich I happen to like is also made from (I do truly like the Carl's Jr. Santa Fe Chicken Sandwich), and this sandwich has teriyaki sauce! Does that get me extra cool points, I wonder? Besides, who doesn't like teriyaki?

Yes, Carl's Jr.'s Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich consists of a charbroiled chicken breast, teriyaki glaze, a grilled pineapple slice, melted Swiss cheese, tomato, mayo, red onion, and lettuce all sitting on a honey wheat bun. (You may notice my sandwich is on a white bun -- my local Carl's Jr. was out of the honey wheat bun, so...)



So after all of that, am I not one with the Universe or what?

The teriyaki glaze is good, sweet, just a little salty. It would actually be good enough on its own to eat over steamed rice. Caveat: I say that about the sauce while it is still warm. Once it cools down, it seems to become saltier and a little stronger. It's still not bad, but it does change.

The lettuce and onion add a little crunch but not much flavor. But the lettuce is the standard Iceberg, and it's red onion, which is very mild to begin with, so that's no surprise. The tomato on mine was a single slice and added some tang. The pineapple is sweet and tastes exactly as you would expect a fast food pineapple to taste -- yeah, from a can, but let's be fair: It's canned pineapple, and it's pretty hard to screw up canned pineapple rings. I have to admit I had them skip the mayo. I know that's kind of cheating, since it comes with mayo by default, but I just could not stomach the thought of mayo and teriyaki together. It might be great, and maybe someone who has eaten it will chime in. But I skipped it.

The Swiss cheese: There is indeed a cheese slice. It's fast food Swiss cheese, which is to say it's melty but there is not a lot of taste. It's simply there. I wouldn't go out of my way to get it, and if they forgot to put it on I probably wouldn't miss it.



The chicken: Again, for all the bagging I do on chicken, I actually do like the grilled breasts used by Carl's. They are lean, relatively juicy, and they aren't tough or gristly as a rule -- and this particular breast was no exception. It does in fact have that fire-grilled taste. I usually ask them to put a little extra char on mine because I like that.

So... did I like the sandwich or not? Actually, yes I did. I liked it a lot. Personally, I would always have it on the white bun, and I would continue to skip the mayo -- but I would definitely order this again.

So, Universe, I have taken a tiny step forward. Do I love chicken or even like it? Well, that's still going a little far...but maybe if I put some trust in you hopefully you will put some back in me. There is hope... or something deep and mystical like that.



PURCHASED FROM:
Carl's Jr.

PRICE:


CALORIES:
510 calories per sandwich.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
carlsjr.com

Dreyers/Edy's Fruit Bars: Pineapple

Ice cold pineapple has got to be one of the most refreshing things on the planet. I love fresh, ripe slices, as cold as possible. One of my favorite places to snack at Disneyland is the long-standing Dole Pineapple Hut. It's at the entrance to Adventureland, and all they sell is pineapple spears, juice, and -- the thing that makes standing in the always outrageously long line worth it: the Dole Whip.



True, there are -- or at least were -- other pineapple Popsicles out there. But they were always aimed at kids, and tasted more like pineapple flavoring rather than actual pineapple juice.

I am not going to blather too much on this one one. These bars are so good it almost, almost, makes me forgive Dreyers/Edy's for making the despicable "Fun Flavors" line (almost).



The sunny yellow bars have the sweet taste of perfectly ripe pineapple, with just a little extra sugar added. And there are little bits of pineapple pulp. It's possible that I may have actually eaten two in a row...purely in the name of providing a good review, of course. I mean, what if they weren't as good as I'd thought they were the first time around? You can never be too sure, right? By the second bar, I think they may have actually been better than I'd first thought. Which means the second bar was entirely justified.

The perfect summer snack! (OK, so it's only spring, I am just thinking ahead. Because one should always be prepared.)



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

PRICE:
$1.99

CALORIES:
80 calories per bar.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Fat free, gluten free, nut free, kosher.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
dreyers.com

Sahale Snacks: Sing Buri Cashews

I love nut mixes. So it's always a treat when I find a mix that is a little out of the ordinary. Don't get me wrong -- I am a big fan of things as simple as "hot" style peanuts, but it is nice to get something special now and then.



Sahale Snacks actually offers several interesting mixes, and they were nice enough to send samples for me to opine on. I decided to start with the Sing Buri Cashews. In addition to the cashews, this mix also has pineapple, lemongrass, mild Chinese chili, sesame seeds, and peanuts. Sounds more exotic than simply "hot," doesn't it?

Each whole cashew is decently sized. Not the biggest cashews I have ever seen, but they are big enough. They are nicely coated in spices and sesame seeds. The smell is nutty and slightly sweet. As mentioned, there are also peanuts in the mix -- but surprisingly few of them. Not that I am complaining, because that means you're getting more cashews.



So how does it taste?

The easiest way to describe it is to say that they taste like cashews that have been lightly glazed in sweetened Sriracha sauce (you know, the one with the rooster on the label), but not quite as hot as that would probably be. It also tastes like there's a little ginger, though that might actually be the lemongrass. The sesame seeds add some texture and hint of nutty flavor.

The pineapple bits actually convey the heat of the chili more than the nuts do. The pineapple is sweet; little dried diced chunks that are also covered in spices and sesame.

I was hoping that these were going to be some seriously hot little cashews. They are not. Even chili wimps can eat them without fear. But despite the fact that the chili is not the heat packer I was hoping for, the nuts are in fact quite tasty. I also found myself digging through for the pineapple bits... and before I knew it, the bag was almost empty.

That's how you know you have a good snack -- when you just keep nibbling until there is nothing left.



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company.

CALORIES:
130 calories per 1/4 cup.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
All natural, trans fat free. Contains peanuts, wheat and soy.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
sahalesnacks.com

Orbit: Piña Colada Gum

I admit it. I was skeptical of Orbit's Piña Colada gum. Was I right to be?



While I have heard nothing but good things about it, I have yet to like any of the Orbit gums that are inspired by drinks. But hey...it's Gum Week!

Also not working in its favor is that much like the now-notorious Trident Green Apple & Golden Pineapple, once the outer wrapper was peeled off, the scent that wafted forth was -- once again -- much like the stank of 100 bad car air fresheners (and it did not look like a happy little tree).



But if you think about it, even a good Piña Colada smells like a bad air freshener -- so maybe this was a sign of good things to come. And you know what? It was!

The pineapple is sweet and vibrant. It reminded me of a longer-lasting version of the Lotte Plus X Pineapple Mint Cube Gum . The coconut adds a milky sweetness. But it also keeps the pineapple from tasting sour. There might be a little bit of mint in there, because it does leave your mouth feeling cooler.

Really nice. This gum is quickly addictive!



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

Ben and Jerry's Jamaican Me Crazy Sorbet

Damn I am impressed!
I was in the mood for some sorbet tonight was I trekked (yes- that is a geek reference) to my local Publix. I had planned on getting some Mango Haagen Daaz but a new Ben & Jerry's offering caught my eye. The new flavor is called "Jamaican Me Crazy" it's a chunky pineapple with a passion fruit swirl.
I had tried B&J sorbet in the past and not been impressed. I recall it being gritty and chemically testing. If I wanted gritty sorbet I could make my own (I have not quite mastered it myself-yet)

WOW! did they fix those problems with this batch! it's smooth and creamy, the pineapple is just a tad tart- but that works really well with the sweetness of the passion fruit. This is well worth a try.