My First Product Review And Product Reveal...

Thirsty Thursday is here! (J/K, I don't really drink, but BRING 0N THE VAMPIRE BLOOD! (Who watches True Blood ? Anyone? That show is scary as $%*#.) And while I'm on the subject of amazing shows, IS ANYONE ELSE OBSESSED WITH THE BRILLIANCE THAT IS SUMMER HEIGHTS HIGH ? OH MY GAWD. I DIE, Y'ALL!)

*** And if you don't watch it, GO TO THAT LINK RIGHT AFTER YOU READ THIS POST (ha) AND WATCH THE CLIP AND READ ABOUT THE CAST. You will be blown away.***

"Public School is so Random." - Ja'mie

"Welcome to Mr. G's room, G's room, G's room, Welcome to Mr. G's room, Come Inside." - Mr. G

(That's all I'm gonna say... And I may be randomly inserting lines on my posts... Just to entertain myself brighten you're day, of course.)

OKAY, now onto my product reveal. The FIRST is one that I use ALL THE TIME. It is a so-called "Weight Management" Vitamin, but I have never used it for that purpose, and I guarantee you, it won't do shit to your weight. PLZ. That's such Bullsh. Anyways, I use it as a Thickening Agent, be it for Oatbran, Cheesecake like Greek Yo (yes it can be SO much thicker!!!), Sauces, thickening up plain yogurt, smoothies, etc... The possibilities are endless. (But I'm SO sorry Veg*ns, this product does contain Gelatin... Sorry!!!)

And... ***DRUMROLL PLIZZLE***

Glucomannan Powder

They come in little capsules, which you empty into whatever you are using it with.

Supplement Facts
Serving Size  3
Servings Per Container  33
	Amount Per Serving	% Daily Value
Calories	10	N/A*
Total Carbohydrate	2 Gm	1%
Dietary Fiber	1.5 Gm	6%
Glucomannan (AMORPHOPHALLUS KONJAC)(TUBER)	1.99 Gm	N/A*

Directions:   

As a dietary supplement, take three (3) capsules before meals with a full glass of water.

Other Ingredients:   

Gelatin, rice flour.

Now, I have NEVER taken them with water (umm ew, thick water, wtf?), so I suppose I can't really give a correct product review, but, to shoutout to MA PEEPS WITH THE BILLS,

I AIN'T NO PUNK.

I will be featuring more recipes with Glucomannan in upcoming posts, so stay tuned and get excited, kiddies! But for now, I bring you one of my FAAAAVES: Greek Yogurt Cheesecake! (Individual servings and no mess, ow Oww!)

Julz's Greek-Yo Chizzlecake

1 indiv. ~ 6oz container of Greek Yogurt (Be it Fage, Oikos, Chobani, Voskos, TJ's 3/4 cup, TJ's indiv. flavored Greeks, whatevskii.)

Cinnamon (I use Organic Saigon... SO INCREDIBLE!)... As much as you likery

About 1/2-3/4 cap full Pure Vanilla Extract (Or you can use a cap full of Vanilla Coffee Syrup)

A pinch of Stevia (-PS- Trader Joe's Stevia is the best tasting eva. Whoops! Another reveal!)

Mix that all together and taste it to see if it fits for you. You can also add in some Maple, SF Maple, or ANY other syrups you so desire!! Have fun with it y'all!

And lastly, take two capsules of your Glucomannan powder (It's tasteless, Yeah!).

*** Be Careful when mixing in the powder that it doesn't come out... Be gentle at first, when incorporating, and then whip it quickly to get air into it. Give it a minute to sit and VOILA! You can also store it in the Fridge for lata***

And Enjoy! And if you hate it, you didn't get it from me! Yeah!

(PS) I know I do this on like every post now, but I have to thank you all again for your support. It's so RANDOM (SummerHeightsReppin.) when the grief hits me. Like last night, I was getting into bed and literally, I just LOST IT. I didn't even make it to the bed. I umm, woke up on the floor. And my heart hurt this morning. *Sigh. Your help has been SO AMAZING for me, AND my family. They have read your comments and were all brought to tears by how much y'all have been here for me, especially during this time. ***ONE DAY AT A TIME, RIGHT? Riiiighhtt??? This WILL get easier? YES, IT WILL. TIME TO GET MYSELF GOIN. ***

Until We Meet Again,

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavanthu, "May All Beings, Everywhere, Be Blessed with Happiness."

Namaste,

Julzie

A WONDERFUL SURPRISE!

CONFESSION: I. LOVE. LACTAID. PILLS.

Yes, loverbunnies, I DO realize I've already made that adoration somewhat public, but here's the deal: I HAVE SOME NEW READERS!!!!

So let's give 'em all a GREAT, BIG S + D WELCOME :)

*** Claps hands and waaaves to everyone ***

Y'all don't understand how much these things just thrill me to the gills (okay, end of cheesie-marathon... psshhh, yeah RIGHT.)!

IF YOU'RE A READER, OR JUST A PASSERBY, OR ANYONE WHO HAS UNFORTUNATELY FOUND MY BLOG INSTEAD OF WA (Watermelons Anonymous), leave me a comment and say hi anyway! I love to have newbies!

(I ADORE THE OLDIES TOO, THOUGH!)

Anyways, as previously mentioned in a past blog post, I adore my Lactaid Pills more than words can say! Because I can indulge in my faaave Greek Yogurts without the nasty side effects! Now mind you, I do have to go for 4 of the EXTRA STRENGTH CHEWABLES, but honestly, I couldn't care less! (And yes, my doctor said 4 is A.OK.)

But being the Greek-Yogurt Obsessed GAL that I am, combined with being SUPER greatful that I AM still able to enjoy the splendor of such a cool, thick, and creamy delicacy, I went on the search for other brands!

AND THUS, In the spirit of Our Cutie Patootie, Miss Emma ...

CAN I GET A "WOOT WOOT" FOR A PRODUCT REVIEW?

***Silence... Crickets chirp in the distance***

ALRIGHT! WOOT WOOT!

Trader Joe's : WE HEART TJ's. Seriously, we do! The staff is adorable, their products ROCK and they have some KICK BUTT GREEK YOGURT ! (Unfortunately, I was not-so-thrilled with their Soy Yogurt... Had to try it for my Vegan Girls out there!!!)

Sorry It's backwards! I took it on with my Photobooth (MAC USERS UNITE!) because I am charging my camera!

At 120 kcals per serving (1 cup, 8 oz.), with a whopping 22 grams of Protein, the nutritional stats are out of this world! (More protein than Fage's !

But how does it taste you ask: D.I.V.I.N.E! Seriously, kids, get yo omnivorous tushies (Veg's, get yo booties out there and buy some yummy WholeSoy if you don't have it in your fridge! Yes, go right now!) out there and buy this yogurt! Cheaper than Fage's and nearly just as delicious (I like the slightly tangier taste of Fage, more, personally)! It's a S.T.E.A.L!

***Clap-Clap-Clap-Clap-Clap-Clap-Clap-Clap***

Chobani : FIRST AND FOREMOST, I NEED TO SEND A HUGE "HI, HELLO, AND THANKYOU!!!" TO TIFFANY GRAY over at Chobani for sending me a BOX FOR SAMPLING! This was SO cool! I'd never been sent anything like that, before, and after failing to find Chobani Yogurts anywhere around Philadelphia, she was kind enough to send me some! THANKS TIFFANY!

I was immediately hit with the delicate smells of Fresh Blueberries!!! That's because, unfortunately, one of my blueberry yogurts had opened! I quickly disposed of the little guy (sorry, fella!)...

... And excitedly returned to check out the rest of my flavors! Weeeeee, just like Christmas!

How cool is that?!

The little ones were very well-behaved for the camera, indeed! :)

REVIEW: Personally, I do not care for sweetened yogurts. It had NOTHING to do with the sugars in them, honestly! I've just never been a fan of sweet yogurts! I like a nice tang to my yogurt, and a refreshing, cool, taste! I tried each of the sweetened ones, though, (my family happily consumed their remains!!!) and I have to say that the smells were D.I.V.I.N.E!!! And there were real pieces of fruit! But for me, there was waaay too much of it. I like to eat fruit with my fage/plain-greek yogurt, but NEVER do I add honey or something to sweeten it. (Just personal pref!)

So yes, fruit is great, but the sweetened, syrup[py] stuff at the bottom? This just had too much of it for me! If you are someone who likes the sweetened yogurts though, I'm sure you'd go GA-GA for these babies! For as I mentioned above, my family members A.D.O.R.E.D. the sweetened ones! Literally, my dad's response after his first mouthful of the peach flavor: "WOW." He is a man who is QUITE difficult to please, especially with his yogurts! (TIFFANY, I'VE NEVER SEE THE MAN HAPPIER haha, thank you! He was in Heaven!)

As for the plain flavor, and after talking to Our Emma about this one, I think the flavor was pretty good! For some reason it tasted a little sweeter to me, but there's no added sugar! As mentioned before, I appreciate a good tang to my yogurt!

[NOTE on "The Tang": This is NOT to be confused with the slightest taste of anything sour! Sour = bad, regardless of whether it's plain or not. If it tastes "sour," feed it to your garbage!]

Nutrition-wise, it's still rockin! The plain, non-fat contains (per 8 oz serving), 140 kcals and 23 grams of Protein! It also contains FIVE active-yogurt cultures (S. Thermaphilus, L.Bulgaricus, L.Acidophilus, Bifidus, and L.Casei), whereas TJ's' contains four (S.Thermophilus, L.Bulgaricus, L.Acidophilus, and Bifidus), and Fage's contains only two (S. Thermaphilus and L.Bulgaricus). I wonder what the difference is with each of these live cultures? Anyone know? (I know that the probiotics are good bacteria that aid the body in absorbing minerals, lowering bad cholesterol, cleaning out the colon, etc... Thanks World's Healthiest Foods !) I'm curious about the individual cultures, though! Lend me your knowledge! hehe

I think this one just had a little less of the tang, which perhaps made it taste a little sweeter... Regardless, it just wasn't as refreshing for me! And after speaking with Miss Emma, I felt that my tasting was not as fair as it could have been, considering that she said it is REALLY THICK AND CREAMY, and mine was rather watery! This I attributed to the length of travel... Though the package was filled with those freezer-keeper things, my yogurts appeared to only be about half full of yogurt, with about another 1/4 of the container filled with liquid!

I hope that, someday, the stores around me carry Chobani, though, because, I sincerely trust Emma's food reviews, and I strongly believe that the length of travel without proper refrigeration caused this to happen! No worries, Chobani, I won't give up on you! We shall meet again, someday :)

What are your favorite Yogurts or Favorite ways to enjoy these yogurts? What are some of your favorite recipes that include your favorite yogurts? Let's chat! I'd LOVE to know!

***Just to mention: I purchased an Oikos Greek Yogurt , at Whole Foods, as well, but my Daddy ate it before I got the chance to do the Product Review! I know the Hottie-Tottie Healthy Ashley posted about loving this yogurt, though! Has anyone else tried it? I'll be sure to include a review this week!***

(Pops and I both adore Greek Yogurt! In fact, we have pretty much the same tastes, in general! We do a lot of the same things, too, actually... Par Example... Do we look alike? hehehe)

HINT FOR NEXT POST...

<3 FRIENDS FOREVER <3

A tout à l'heure, Mes Columbes de L'Amour!

(Please excuse my Sunday Morning Laziness... Complete with PJ's and sans make-up, haha... My apologies, but I wanted to say HI!)

OMG AND I ALMOST FORGOT...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!