All right, all you low-carbers/keto followers. Quest now has cookies. There are some other protein cookies on the market, but they aren't very low carb or low sugar. Quest has chocolate chip, double chocolate, peanut butter and oatmeal raisin.  I have tried all of them, but I prefer the good old chocolate chip. The peanut butter cookie isn't very peanut butter-y and the oatmeal raisin just has a strange aftertaste. 

250 calories, 10grams of saturated fat (which seems high to me) and a crapload of sodium at 220mg. 4grams of net carbs and 15grams of protein are very good for low carb diets if you follow the standard method of subtracting the sugar alcohols and fiber from the total carbs to get the net carbs. I know most low carbers/keto followers don't really count fat grams, but 10mg of saturated fat is high.  

Butter, palm oil and cocoa butter - that's why the saturated fat is so high. The other ingredients seem ok. Xanthan gum is a binder and is especially important when you're baking with ingredients other than wheat flour. I use it to help bind low carb treats that I make with almond flour. If you do a google search, you'll find all kinds of articles meant to scare  you away from it. In the scheme of food additives, it really isn't hazardous or unhealthy and there is such a tiny amount in a product like this that unless you know you are sensitive to it, it probably shouldn't cause any problems.  

Here is the cookie on a standard dinner napkin. It's about 3-4" around. For 250 calories, I might prefer something a little more substantial. It's not very filling, but it would make a pretty decent snack. It tastes very good, salty and sweet and chewy with lots of chocolate chips. It has a very satisfying texture. 
I got a box of 4 for $7.99 at Target, so about $2.00 per cookie. I recommend these if you can limit yourself or if you are on a low-carb or keto diet and want a treat that won't drive your daily carb numbers over the limit. 

On the hunt for a new healthy snack, I saw these while perusing Target the other day.  Among the usual suspects, Atkins, Quest, etc., I spied this product which is obviously marketed to women with their teal, baby blue and peach colored packages. I love snickerdoodles. I used to make a low-carb snickerdoodle that was frankly, out of this world. However, my time for baking these days is not what is used to be. This package was $6.99 and the other flavors are peanut butter cookie and chocolate brownie. 

Obviously for women only. Oh, I am most definitely a "busy babe!"  In case you are not familiar with "clean protein", this link might answer some questions. Clean protein: ​https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12047/14-great-sources-of-clean-protein.html  

The nutrition facts are pretty good, not great. I am disappointed at the amount of sugars in the product. It seems to me that in order to stay "clean" and produce a good low sugar product, stevia or monk fruit could have been used to sweeten these instead of two syrups. Also, chicory root fiber has been known to cause gas and stomach upset in some people. Everything else except the vague "natural flavor" is most certainly healthy. I have to add one caveat/warning and that is if you are sensitive to chicory root fiber and psyllium husk (which is the main ingredient in Metamucil), you might find yourself on the potty more often than usual. 

As far as carbohydrates go, I would not recommend eating the entire serving of this if you are following a low-carb or keto diet plan because the net carbs for three pieces is 12 grams and that could be a lot if you're following keto. One piece for a small snack might be enough. 

Individually wrapped. Nice!  This can be a great psychological help if you don't want to eat the entire bag or suggested serving at once. 

This is what it looks like. It's pretty small, about 3" x 1.5".  You can clearly see the oats and the pumpkin seeds. It's chewy and has a good texture, but to be honest, it was not very "snickerdoodle-y".  Snickerdoodles have a sublime butter and cinnamon flavor with a slightly salty taste. The cinnamon flavor in this was overwhelmed by the strong taste of the pea protein and almonds. If you have never had pea protein, it's definitely different. It's not my favorite clean protein source. If you are sick of the usual protein bars and want something completely different, this is for you. If you like the idea of small, individually wrapped servings, another win for this product. As far as clean protein bars/snacks go, nutritionally this is a win. Compared to an Rx bar, the calories are lower, the carbohydrates are lower and even the sugars are lower. I compared it to an Rx bar since Rx bars also claim to be a clean protein with their use of egg whites. They also have minimal ingredients and do not use any artificial sweeteners, even stevia or monk fruit. They are also dairy, soy and gluten free. 

If you end up trying these, please let me know your thoughts!!  

Welcome back, dear readers!  Today I am reviewing a product that has been on the market for awhile, but one that I haven't tried. These days it seems that many products which once took time to cook are now available in pre-cooked, "heat and eat" versions. Years ago when I made pasta a few times a week, I often wished for pre-cooked pasta. My family sure did love spaghetti. I actually gave myself a second degree burn draining hot pasta several years ago. I can't imagine not buying pre-cooked pasta if I was making pasta as often as I used to. So, how did this measure up in terms of taste and nutrition?

Pretty much nutritionally identical exept for the addition of the olive oil.

This is what it looks like after it's microwaved, obviously before adding sauce or other toppings. The slimy coating is the olive oil. Okay, I love pasta and I love pasta with olive oil on it; however, this just didn't taste good to me. The texture was definitely al dente and maybe even a little bit too chewy for me. I was hesitant to cook it longer than the recommended time. I do think that perhaps if this were cooked in a skillet for a few minutes with a sauce it would have helped the texture and strange flavor.  I guess if you're going to load this up with tomato or alfredo sauce, the taste might not bother you, but I am a pasta minimalist. Just a little olive oil, salt and pepper, please. 
As far as cost goes, this was about twice as expensive as uncooked pasta. I served pasta a lot because it is so inexpensive. This 8.5 oz bag was $1.79. I'd have to give this a "not recommended" rating.