Comments (12)

By kilax, May 31, 2009 8:29 am

I love the convenience of shopping for groceries at Target, I really, really do.

But I am really, really frustrated with shopping there right now. They keep dropping the products we buy – Cocina Nueva Mexican rice, 8th Continent Soy Milk, whole wheat flour (why the hell would they drop that?), Odwalla bars, Barabara’s Bakery products… the list could go on. And the selection is just crap. I cannot find any vegan margarine or vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips. They have hardly any organic produce. They’re always out of the cereal we want. Ugh.

I really don’t want to be one of those people that shops at four different stores on the weekends. I liked getting everything I needed at Target, and not wasting too much time. But it sounds like I am going to have to make a supplemental trip somewhere else. Perhaps I will finally step inside a Whole Foods since I still haven’t visited once since I moved out here over two years ago. I am grateful that I live in such a big area and have these other stores to shop in. I know I will find what I want, it just may not be as convenient as I like it to be.

I actually wanted to share a few products I have tried lately and liked. Ironically, I found one of these (the Odwalla bars) at Target one week and they were gone the next. Oh well.

Amy’s Roasted Vegetable Pizza: I really like pizza (who doesn’t, right?) so I’ve been wondering… what kind of pizza does a vegan eat? We found this vegan Roasted Vegetable pizza to try. It has marinated organic shiitake mushrooms, roasted red peppers, sweet onions, marinated artichoke hearts and no cheese. Yum yum yum! It smelled super strong when it was cooking, so I was kind of worried that it would taste too “fancy pants” for me, but we both ended up really liking it. It’s very sweet – I think the onions used are vidalia. It’s not like eating a cheese pizza, but it’s very tasty. I would also like to try Amy’s other vegan pizzas – Rice Crust Spinach and Non-Dairy Rice Crust Cheeze Pizza. Of course, we don’t have these at Target, and I am surprised they still had the Roasted Vegetable when I visited Target yesterday.

Odwalla Chocolate Chip Peanut Bar: Two weeks ago, Target had entire boxes of these flavor of Odwalla bar. I bought one to try since I like Berries GoMega so much. HOLY CRAP! These are so good, and they’re vegan! I actually wrote a sticky note on the box that said, “Steven, you HAVE to try one of these. They are like a little slice of heaven.” Like the other Odwalla bars, it is very chewy and dense, which are characteristics I like in a granola bar. And it’s sweet, but not too sweet.  The perfect treat! They were gone on yesterday’s Target trip though. The Berries GoMega bars where there. I noticed they had two different kinds of packaging – a 6 pack with 2.2 oz bars, and a 6-pack with 2 oz bars. Hmm, which should I buy? Way to phase those out, Target. On a side note, I found out that another store in our area has almost all of the Odwalla Bar flavors, but in single serving only. I got Strawberry Pomegranate (not that impressed) and SuperFood and Super Protein (haven’t tried those yet).

Stonewall’s Jerquee: A coworker told me about a health food store downtown so I decided to check it out. They had a few different brands of vegetarian beef jerky, so I picked up two packages of Stonewall’s to try – Original Mild, and BBQ “Beef” (BBQ “Beef” is the only one they carry that is not vegan, because it has honey in it). I called Steven to tell him about it, and it seemed pretty weirded out. BUT, we ate the the BBQ “Beef” packet on Friday night and were shocked – it is so realistically close to tasting like beef jerky, that Steven actually said, “It feels wrong to eat this.” They got the chewy texture just right. What a fun snack. I ordered some big bags off of their website.

What a piece of the vegetarian jerky looks like.

And while I am at it, I must admit that I tried THREE new kinds of Luna Bars this week, while at the same store I found the jerky in. I just got really excited to have such a large selection to choose from. I tried Luna Bars – Dulce de Leche, Cookies ‘n Cream Delight, and and Iced Oatmeal Raisin. These were all really good, but tasted very sweet. So sweet, I think they are more a of a treat, and not something I should eat that often (they have WAY TOO MANY ingredients in them). I try not to eat bars that often. I’ll have one homemade one a day, and sometimes one after I workout, if I don’t have dinner right away.

Extra points if you made it this far!

Comments (18)

By kilax, April 10, 2009 6:45 pm

Runner’s World recommends refueling with carbs during a run if you are running 75 minutes or more, and refueling with carbs and protein (4:1 ratio) within 30 minutes after a run that’s longer than an hour.

Hey, just tell me I need to eat more, and I’m a happy camper.

Seriously though, I’ve noticed that I feel much better if I refuel immediately after a long run that’s more than an hour. I’ve been refueling during runs that are longer than 75 minutes, but haven’t noticed much of an energy surge from it… yet! (Steven’s noticed the difference it makes though)

During long runs, I’ve been using Jelly Belly Sports Beans and Luna Moons. The beans are really easy to throw into the side of your mouth and chew while you are running. I’ve only tried the fruit punch flavor, which I liked (even though it was very sweet), but Steven has tried orange and lemon lime and liked those (orange the best). I really like the flavor (I’ve tried pomegranate and blueberry) and chewiness of the Luna Moons, but they get stuck in my teeth! So I will probably use the sports beans during the half marathon so I don’t have to deal with that.

I have not tried GU’s, gels or bloks. I am worried about the gag effect as I try to swallow them.

The truth is, I really just wrote this so I could tell you how excited I am that I finally, finally think I found the perfect “energy” bar for after my long runs. I feel like I’ve tried a zillion different ones. So many of them tasted too thick, chewy and artificial to me. I like things that are fruit flavored, especially strawberry. I don’t like the chocolaty stuff.

The perfect bar is… the Odwalla Berries GoMega bar! It’s a softer bar, more “granola-y,” with a few different kinds of fruit in it. I really like the flavor and texture of it, and the sweetness.

I also like the Luna Sunrise bars in Strawberry Crumble and Blueberry Bliss, and the ZonePerfect bar in Cranberry Orange. I like the flavor of all three of these, but they border on “too chewy and artificial” tasting. And I think they may contain traces of milk, which will be a problem if I decide to go vegan.

And if I need some electrolytes*, I like to drink Powerade Zero in the strawberry flavor. This stuff is super sweet, but I like it!

I just realized that most of these things probably cater best to someone who has a sweet tooth, like me. Steven likes energy/protein bars that are completely different than what I like, because all of mine are “too sweet.”

Steven really likes the ZonePerfect Banana Nut, ZonePerfect Fudge Graham, ZonePerfect Chocolate Peanut Butter and the Kashi Go Lean Crunchy Chocolate Peanut.

I know this is a super long, boring post, but I wanted to share my preferences with other runners/exercisers and anyone who is interested! Does anyone have any recommendations for someone with a sweet tooth? Or maybe something for my chocolate/nut/peanut butter lovin’ husband? Or just something you’ve tried and loved and want to share?

*It’s what plants crave!