Review of 'Firenza Irresistible Baking Mixes' Triple Chocolate Brownie

Firenza Irresistible Baking Mixes -- Triple Chocolate Brownie (vegan)
Overall Rating: 4/5
Summary: ahhh, love me some dark chocolate. These are chewy, moist, and dense. They're rich in flavour and nice and sweet. There are various instructions for different recipes, including one that's low-fat and uses applesauce. I used 3 eggs and 1/2 cup of butter (all sustainably sourced!) and added chopped pecans--deeelish. This is such a convenient product...takes minutes to get into the oven.

Where to buy: Homesense



Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/16 package
Calories: 120
Fat: 2g
     Saturated fat: 1g
     Trans fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 80mg
Carbohydrates: 25g
     Fiber: 1g
     Sugars: 18g
Protein: 1g
Iron: 1%

Ingredients: Sugar, enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), semi-sweet chocolate (sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, dextrose, soy lecithin - an emulsifier, vanilla), cocoa processed with alkali, vanilla, salt, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate).

The nutritional profile gets a boost from addition of the eggs in terms of protein. Not great that the first ingredient is sugar (eek), but it's soooo goodddd. I probably wouldn't buy this again because it's super not the healthiest thing. But...I don't regret indulging : P

Check out recipes on the website here.

Other Firenza Dessert options (all vegan before mixing):

• Molten Lava Chocolate Cake
• Chocolate Ecstasy Cake
• Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Gluten-free Oatmeal Cookies

Brand:

•  Nothing special to report.

Review of 'GoGo Quinoa' Quinoa Cookies (Chocolate Chip)

GoGo Quinoa -- Quinoa Cookies (Chocolate Chip) (vegan)
Overall rating: 4/5
Summary: really nice and crunchy, very present cocoa flavour, mildly sweet, and great texture with quinoa grains, seeds, and chocolate chips. I feel like it doesn't quite hit my sweet tooth; I expected a bit more sweetness in a cookie and was disappointed. So, if you don't have a big sweet tooth like me, this is your cookie.

Where to buy: Fortinos, Battaglias (Mississauga), etc.



Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 2 cookies
Calories: 160
Fat: 8g
     Saturated fat: 2.5g
     Trans: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 60mg
Carbohydrates: 20g
     Fiber: 1g
     Sugar: 8g
Protein: 2g
Calcium: 2%
Iron: 8%

Ingredients: Organic royal quinoa flour, tapioca flour, rice flour, kaniwa (baby quinoa) flour, non-hydrogenated palm fruit oil*, evaporated cane juice, dark chocolate chips (pure dark chocolate also called chocolate liquor, cane juice, natural vanilla essence), brown sugar, quinoa puffed grains, chia seeds, sodium bicarbonate, natural vanilla extract.

* From sustainable harvesting.

The nutritional profile is okay. For 160 calories, there's only 1g of fiber. I feel I can get more fiber and protein in a Luna Bar, which has similar calories and is sweeter ;) No cholesterol, low in fat, and pretty good on sugar count.

The ingredients are great, of course; organic and clean!

Other GoGo Quinoa Cookie varieties:

• Orange & Mango (vegan)

 Brand:

• Certified HACCP 
• Gluten-free
• Certified organic by Ecocert Canada
• Vegan

Review of 'NuGo' Double Dark Chocolate Organic Bar

NuGo -- Double Dark Chocolate Bar (vegan)
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Summary: yep, it's good. Love the texture with soy and rice crisps, chocolate bits, with a layer of chocolate. It's not as thick as Clif bars but still pretty filling. It's very, very sweet; just like i like it! Enjoy! I'm looking forward to trying the other flavours.

Where to buy: shop online (Canada),



Ingredients: Organic Crunch [organic hexane free soy crisps (organic soy protein, organic rice flour, calcium carbonate), organic brown crisp rice, organic rolled oats], Organic Chocolate (organic cane sugar, organic chocolate liquor, organic cocoa butter, organic soy lecithin, organic vanilla), Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Agave Syrup, Organic Isolated Soy Protein, Organic Tapioca Maltodextrin, Organic Cocoa Powder, Organic Arabic Gum, Natural Flavors.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1 bar
Calories: 190
     Calories from fat: 45
Total fat: 5g
     Saturated fat: 3g
     Trans fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 65mg
Total carbohydrates: 26g
     Dietary fiber: 2g
     Sugar: 15g
Protein: 10g
Calcium: 4%
Iron: 10%

Yay, all organic! This is a great, healthy, and tasty bar. It has a great protein count for the 190 calories; a  bit more fiber would have been better. This is the perfect breakfast for me in the mornings, as I eat light in the morning and I can really use the sugar rush. It also works as a post-workout bar.

Other NuGo Organic Bars (all vegan)

• Dark Chocolate Pomegranate
• Dark Chocolate Almond

Brand:

• non-GMO ingredients
• Gluten-free options
• Philanthropy! 
• NuGO Organic is certified vegan

Review of Milton's Original Multi-Grain Gourmet Crackers

Milton's -- Original Multi-Grain Gourmet Crackers (vegan)
Overall rating: 3.5/5
Summary: hm, well these are tasty crackers with the perfect amount of saltiness and sesame seed flavour. They're crunchy but not screaming of freshness. The ingredients and nutritional profile are pretty lacklustre so I cannot recommend this.

Where to buy: Costco, Whole Foods, Walmart


Ingredients: Enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), vegetable oil (canola oil, sunflower oil, rosemary extract), grains (yellow corn grits, oats, wheat bran, ferrous sulfate), whole wheat flour, sugar, evaporated cane sugar, sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, salt, monocalcium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate, poppy seeds, soy lecithin, natural enzymes.

Contains: Soy, wheat, sesame seeds.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: approximately 2 crackers
Calories: 70
     Calories from fat: 25
Total fat: 2.5g
     Saturated fat: 0g
     Trans fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 105mg
Total carbohydrate: 10g
     Dietary fiber: 0
     Sugars: 1g
Protein: 1g
Calcium: 2%
Iron: 4%

Eh, first ingredient is enriched wheat flour, so not a big fan already. None of the ingredients are organic. And the nutritional profile is also lame...even if you have 4 crackers, you're not getting even 1g of fiber and only 2g of protein. This is just not enough for me. I had these with peanut butter and it worked nicely. But, sometimes I just wanna have crackers! And I wanna know I'll get at least 1g of fiber!

Other 'Gourmet Crackers':

• Everything Multi-Grain (reviewed here)
• Whole Wheat Sesame Multi-Grain
• Roasted Garlic and Herb Multi-Grain
• Crispy Sea Salt

Brand:

• Absolutely nothing special to report.