Susie Bautista

Life Apple Cinnamon Crunchtime multigrain cereal, flavor review

May 16, 2012 By Susie Bautista 2 Comments

I'm a seasoned food professional and I got duped by this product.Life Apple Cinnamon Crunchtime is low in sugar (7 gm per 3/4 cup cereal), because it is sweetened with Reb A (a natural high potency sweetener from the Stevia plant). As I've said in earlier posts, Stevia is not a favorite ingredient of mine. Not until I tasted the product, did I realize that the sweetness was "different". High potency sweeteners mimic sugar's sweetness but do not taste the same. For me, stevia has a lingering licorice aftertaste and it is prominent in this cereal. My wish is to have food companies label it boldly on the front of the package, instead of making me search for the Reb A on the label. It's difficult to see Reb A in the ingredient … [Read more...]

Filed Under: cereal Tagged With: apple cinnamon, life crunchtime, multigrain cereal, quaker

Colgate Total Advanced fresh+whitening fresh gel, flavor review

May 14, 2012 By Susie Bautista Leave a Comment

An interesting fact about toothpaste is that it's considered a cosmetic product by the FDA. Toothpaste is something we place in our mouth and possibly ingest, but one of it's primary purposes is to freshen breath (cosmetic). Toothpaste without flavor is terrible. I know, I've tried it. It's very soapy and bitter. Usually toothpaste manufacturers add at least 1% flavor (mint oil) to toothpaste for the desired affect. In 2004, I moved to Washington state to work with mint oil. One of the major growing regions for mint in the United States is the Northwest. Approximately 3 million pounds of Peppermint oil are produced annually in the world, with the majority of that oil coming from the United States. The Mint Industry Research Council … [Read more...]

Filed Under: toothpaste Tagged With: Colgate, Colgate Advanced, Colgate total, Fresh & Whitening, fresh gel, toothpaste

Lay’s Classic BLT (bacon lettuce tomato) flavored potato chips, flavor review

May 2, 2012 By Susie Bautista 1 Comment

Tomorrow I have a final exam. My typical way to prepare for a big exam is to load up on junk food. Not smart, but emotionally soothing. Currently my snack of choice is Lay's classic BLT flavored potato chips (all natural). I'm on my second bag and have mixed feelings about finishing the second bag; sad because they are gone but happy that I will finally stop eating. Lay's BLT (bacon lettuce tomato) potato chips are amazing and I am in awe. These chips taste exactly like biting into a bacon lettuce tomato sandwich. I can distinctly taste a lightly toasted bread, mayonnaise, fresh tomato and fried bacon flavor. The bacon flavor is distinctly bacon; not just smoke flavor. The BLT flavor is subtle and perfectly balanced for a those of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: salty snacks Tagged With: bacon flavor, BLT, Lay's, potato chips

Snapple Half ‘n Half Diet Lemonade Iced Tea, flavor review

April 29, 2012 By Susie Bautista Leave a Comment

According to BevNet, bottled mixed lemonade and iced tea has been a popular new release in the last year: AriZona, Marley, New Leaf, Herbal Mist, Ito En and now Snapple. http://www.bevnet.com/news/2012/snapple-launches-diet-half-n-half-lemonade-iced-tea However, Snapple's Half 'n Half is a mix of not just lemonade and black tea. Snapple is a mix of black and green tea with lemonade and it is a diet drink. Admittedly, I have never purchased a pre-made bottled iced tea lemonade blend. Usually, I make my own at the soda fountain. My preference is for about 75% unsweetened ice tea and 25% lemonade. Diet Snapple Half 'n Half isn't as good as my concoction. The lemonade in Snapple Half 'n Half seems too green and peel like (I'd prefer a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: beverage Tagged With: arnold palmer, diet snapple, Half 'n Half, ice tea, lemonade

Nature Valley 100% natural, Protein Chewy bars review

April 27, 2012 By Susie Bautista Leave a Comment

There were two new Nature Valley chewy bars in the grocery store last week: Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate and Peanut as well as Almond and Dark Chocolate. The last breakfast snack (belVita Breakfast biscuits) I choose lacked protein, these Nature Valley bars with 10 grams of protein might redeem me. The peanut butter dark chocolate naturally flavored bar was eaten quickly in the car, while drinking a latte. It was confusing: lots of peanut butter flavor, slightly sweet, very chewy with a lingering aftertaste. The fullness of the product seemed to be missing. My expectations were that the bar would be extremely nutty, very sweet and crunchy as well as chewy. After all, the bars appeared to be packed with nuts. When I read the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: sweet baked good Tagged With: almond, chicory root extract, chocolate, high protein, Nature valley, peanut, Protein Bar

Reading: ” SoBe Coconut Lifewa…

April 27, 2012 By Susie Bautista Leave a Comment

Reading: " SoBe Coconut Lifewater: AHHH | Food Reviews and Recipes Forum"( http://t.co/GdXL3rnR ) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Ben & Jerry’s Greek Frozen Yogurt, flavor review

April 17, 2012 By Susie Bautista 5 Comments

We can rely on Ben & Jerry's for delicious and fun frozen desserts. Greek Frozen yogurt is no exception and as the package states, it's "really Greekin good". Recently, I found two of the four Greek frozen yogurt flavors: Blueberry Vanilla Graham and Raspberry Fudge chunk. Ben & Jerry's Greek Frozen yogurt is easy to scoop, has a light texture (not too dense), is smooth and is not too cold when consumed. My family enjoyed both flavors, but preferred the Raspberry Fudge chunk. Chocolate always wins with my girls. The raspberry has a nice natural flavor and tartness, it reminds me some of a sherbet flavor. Blueberry Vanilla Graham has a nice malty/buttery flavor from the graham pieces. In fact, the sweet buttery graham crust … [Read more...]

Filed Under: frozen dessert, yogurt Tagged With: Adonia, Ben & Jerry's, Blueberry, flavor review, Greek frozen yogurt

Jet-Puffed Mallow Bits, Vanilla & Peppermint Flavor Review

April 12, 2012 By Susie Bautista Leave a Comment

Jet -Puffed mallow bits are for those of us who eat all the marshmallows (marbits) out of Lucky Charms and nibble on the marshmallow packs that come with instant hot chocolate mix. I'm one of "those" people and I'm extremely grateful that Kraft decided to launch this product and that I can buy more at my local Target. Mallow bits come with serving suggestions: sprinkle on hot chocolate or ice cream, but the are a tasty treat on their own. The Peppermint ones are naturally flavored, beautifully colored, perfectly balanced and perfectly flavored. I'm in awe. The vanilla mallow bits use artificial flavor and are yummy at first, but leave a bitter aftertaste if over consumed. Still, I'm impressed. Perhaps I shouldn't have over … [Read more...]

Filed Under: candy mints Tagged With: jet puffed, Kraft, mallow bits, marshmallows, peppermint, vanilla

Starbucks Refreshers, Sparkling Energy Beverage with green coffee extract, flavor review

April 10, 2012 By Susie Bautista 1 Comment

Starbucks RefreshersLike most moms, I survived the new baby/full-time work phase with lots of caffeine. Coffee is my beverage of choice for "energy". Energy drinks are popular and most flavor chemists have made flavors and energy blends for these beverages. In early 2000, I copied Red Bull (TM) flavor for a successful bar drink. My flavor memory of Red Bull (TM) was cherry cough syrup. It is shocking to find out that Red Bull and Vodka is served at bars (combination of upper and downer drugs), but maybe not so different than the Cola mixed drinks I had become accustomed to. Through my career, I've created other flavors for energy drinks: passionfruit, orange, and melon; then I moved on to confection flavors. On a recent trip to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: beverage Tagged With: Energy beverage, green coffee extract, natural energy, Refreshers, Starbucks, Stevia