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!!  

I'm always on the hunt for decent tasting protein bars. I usually choose those with little to no sugar and mostly natural ingredients. Those are very hard to find! I saw this one in my local healthfood store and thought I would give it a go. 

This ingrdient list is very impressive. No added sugar, no frankenfoods. I didn't know what  hydrolyzed collagen was, so I had to do some research. www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/hydrolyzed-collagen-uses-and-benefits/- here is a very informative article on the subject.  There are a few popular protein bars that contain dates as either the first or one of the primary ingredients. I was anxious to see how they compared. 

290 calories is quite a bit and the 35 grams of carbs was pretty shocking. 25 grams of sugars mostly from the dates and raisins. I was hoping that for 290 calories, this would be quite filling and a satisfying meal replacement. 

It doesn't look too appetizing. 

Here's the inside. The texture was more cakey than some of the other date-heavy bars (Rx bar, I'm looking at you) and less sweet. The flavor was very cinnamon-y and very good. My taste tester liked it quite a bit. It was about $2.60 for one, which was comparable to other high quality protein bars. I want to note that Paleo Ranch also makes a "skinny" paleo bar which is quite lower in calories and carbohydrates. I'd buy this again. I just wish they had more flavors. 

I found this in the ice cream aisle near the Halo Top ice cream. As most people know, Halo Top is the ice cream that everyone is raving about. It's relatively low calorie, low fat and low carb. I've tried it and quite honestly, it's not my favorite. I saw this and was intrigued by the brand and the flavor. Movie Night!  Wow!  

Buttered popcorn flavor ice cream?  What?!  I was intrigued but a little scared. I've had buttered popcorn Jelly Belly jelly beans and in my opinion, they're pretty bad. I did laugh out loud at the "disclaimer" here.  

Wow, these are impressive numbers. Erythritol, in case you didn't know, is a natural sugar alcohol that is not absorbed in the bloodstream; therefore, has no impact on blood sugar and is not "counted" as a carb. Net carbs for this serving would be 7 grams. 

Sorry for the blurry picture. As you can see, this is fairly free of most frankenfood ingredients. Monk fruit is a natural sweetener with no sugar alcohols. Interesting to note that this contains corn fiber and ghee, ingredients not usually found in ice cream. 

Initially, this ice cream was extremely hard. I could barely get the spoon in it. So, follow the directions and let it soften unless you like really hard ice cream. If you're dying to dive into it, you could microwave it for a few seconds. Notice the caramel swirl and chocolate bits.

As a caramel lover, I was super happy to find that there are generous swirls of sweet, gooey caramel throughout the ice cream. The chocolate bits were evenly distributed. This ice cream has a very creamy texture and super smooth mouth feel. It's hard to believe it's so low in fat because it definitely reminded me of a decadent Ben & Jerry's. The popcorn flavor mixed with the caramel and chocolate was good. The flavor combination was perfect. Not too much popcorn flavor, but just enough so that you could taste the popcorn well-balanced with the caramel and chocolate. My husband really liked it and said that it was certainly good for something out of the ordinary and I agree. I paid $5.99 for this pint. Sure, it's more expensive than some other brands, but on par with Halo Top price-wise, but far superior in taste. Enlightened Ice Cream is available in many other flavors. I wanted to try this unique flavor, but I will definitely be back to the ice cream aisle for more. Highly recommended!