Kreativ Blogger Award

Wow! This is my first award you guys! I have the lovely Kris from Vivez Riez Aimez to thank for this. Now, I've seen a ton of different variations for how to... accept this award, I guess? :D I'll just do it how Kris did it, so... Here goes!

7 Things About Me

1. I was born in New York City, then I moved to New Jersey, then I moved to Hawaii, and now I'm back in Jersey! It feels like my life has come in full circle. ^^ And I'm only fourteen, ha.

2. I'm half Chinese and half Irish, which makes for a very interesting mix. It's really weird because my brother looks totally Chinese and I look totally Irish. Hm. Genes confuse me.

3. I have a natural instinct to get up at 5:45 exactly every day ever since I started high school. I'm not kidding. EXACTLY. It's freakin' me out (and makes for unpleasant weekends).

4. I'm a neat person to the point of OCD. It's so annoying sometimes! Have you ever seen Monk? Yeah, kind of like that, but not as bad.

5. Pretzels are my favorite snack ever. That's pretty self explanatory! I love Rold Gold, even though they have artificial flavors. :/

6. I love winter. It's been my favorite season since I was little.

7. Reading and writing are my two favorite hobbies. I'm really excited to take two English electives this year! Awesome.

So my seven nominees are! Drumroll, please. Are you doing it? Oh, I hope I don't nominate someone who's already received this award, but if I have... Then you have two! :)

My 7 Nominees

1. Now is Now: You're trying so hard to fight ED and you're winning! Keep it up, girlie. We're all here for you!

2. Nattie Tan from Eating to Live: Nattie, I love your bar supply. :D I wish I lived in Australia so I could get the ones that they don't sell here!

3. Lisa from Healthy Product Reviews: I feel like we have a connection... Not sure why though? ^^ Love your reviews!

4. Stephanie from The Skinny Plate: I've loved your blog even before I started my own. Big inspiration right here!

5. Lisa from This Girl's Life: Lisa, you've been fighting ED for so long now, longer than most bloggers. I truly feel like you've made so much progress. Hope every thing's good with Baby!

6. Karina from Like Some Cat From Japan: I absolutely love your blog. It's been a while since you've posted, but I know that you have already helped other girls through the blogging world.

7. Eliane from Vanilla Swirl: I've saved this bloggette for last because her blog no longer exists as of today, I believe. The last post was from her sister saying she went to the hospital. I am so worried and scared for her, so this award is in honor of Eliane. Please come back to us!

That's all! Thank you very much for this award, Kris. :D And please pray for Eliane tonight. We may never hear from her again through the blog world but I just hope she actually is okay.

Yogi Granola Crisps

How many of us love granola, but avoid eating it because it's so calorie dense? Sure, it's good for a treat once in a while, but what if you want it more than that? That's where Yogi Granola Crisps come in. These crisps are like crunchy granola flakes instead of clusters. Imagine a thicker frosted flake in... granola form! :)

The three flavors that these come in are: Baked Cinnamon Raisin (favorite!), Mountain Blueberry Flax (third!), and Fresh Strawberry Crunch (second!). I liked the Baked Cinnamon Raisin because it has a very subtle, almost maple/chai taste to it. Perfection for the beginning months of fall! Strawberry and Blueberry taste similar, but Strawberry has more of a sweet flavor. All the flavors are excellent though!

These crisps are not only calorically good for you (110 for Blueberry and 120 for the other two), they contain whole grains. They are also low in fat (2.5 g) and have 3g of protein and 2g of dietary fiber.

Yogi Granola Crisps are great to eat right out of the bag (like I do!) or in a bowl with milk (haven't tried yet). Let me know if you can think of any other creative ways to eat them. I tried dipping the Baked Cinnamon Raisin ones in cream cheese for a "bagel" type thing. :D Sort of worked!

Price: $3.99 at Stop and Shop

Calories: 110-120 per 1/2 cup serving

Kashi TLC Cereal Bars

Ah, how I love my bars. I think all foodie bloggers do. It's just a way of life for us. My only gripe with them is finding actually healthy ones. There are bars like Fiber One out there that claim to be good for you, but are filled with chemicals. Kashi, of course, is a great pick for a bar if you're looking for an alternative that's good for you.

So, what do these little thingies taste like? Heaven! No, I'm serious. :) I've tried all three flavors, which are, in order from most favorite to least favorite, Baked Apple Spice, Ripe Strawberry, and Blackberry Graham.

Baked Apple Spice: My absolute favorite of the three! It tastes so unlike that fake apple flavor that you often find in bars like this. It has a genuine... "apple-ness". The outside is so soft and chewy, but the inside has a great fruit filling.

Ripe Strawberry: I think that I like this one less than Baked Apple Spice because the strawberry flavor is kind of generic. Still good though, don't get me wrong! Just like preserves or jams.

Blackberry Graham: Definitely not one of my favorites... The flavor of the filling is a little bit bland. It doesn't really taste like any one fruit, it's sort of a "mixed berry".

All in all, I love these bars! I will continuously buy the Baked Apple Spice bars. It's perfectly chewy on the outside and jam-filled on the inside.

Each bar has 110 calories, no matter which flavor you get. They have 7 Whole Grains, 3g of fiber, and 2g of protein. The filling is made out of real fruit. There are only 9g of sugar, but there are 3g of fat. Still delicious and healthy, however!

Price: $2.88 on sale at Target

Calories: 110 per bar

Is it weird that the only giveaways I've ever won have been for Zevia? It's true. :D Maybe I'll win these ones too!

Glitterful Felt Stories' Necklace Giveaway ends Saturday, September 26th

Mom's Best Bets' Tote Giveaway ends Saturday, September 26th

Beth B's Purse Giveaway ends Sunday, September 27th

PD & PB's Carolina Pad Giveaway ends Sunday, September 27th

Brown Couch Events' Seventh Ink Giveaway ends Sunday, September 27th

Krittie's Zevia Giveaway ends Monday, September 28th

Brown Couch Events' SpellQuizzer Giveaway ends Wednesday, October 7th

MoraPiggy's Apron Giveaway ends Thursday, October 8th

Stonyfield Farm YoKids Squeezers

Oh my gosh, you guys! It's been way too long, and I'm really sorry about the delay in posts. School has just been crazy! It's literally insane. My teachers hardly explain anything. :/ Oh, well, I'll learn! On to the review!

So... lunch boxes inevitably come along with school. We all love them, don't even lie! But sometimes it can be hard to find small, portable snacks for on the go. These Stonyfield Farm YoKids Squeezers solve that problem.

They're just like GoGurts, except without all of the artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. These Squeezers come in three flavors, Berry Blitz, Chillin' Cherry, and Screamin' Strawberry. There are eight tubes in each box of Strawberry, but Berry and Cherry come together, so there are four tubes of each. Stonyfield Farm basically pumped organic, low fat yogurt into a portable tube for kids (and grown-ups!). Doesn't get any better than that.

I've tried all over the flavors, and I have to say that Strawberry is my favorite, but that's just because I like that taste. Berry and Cherry are delicious, too! With these Squeezers, there are no "bad" flavors.

Each tube contains 60 calories and 1g of fat. Not bad for a yummy snack! There are also 2g of protein, 10g of sugar, and 11g of carbohydrates. It also has a small amount of sodium, only 40 mg, and potassium, 125 mg.

Pick these up at any of your local health food stores, especially Whole Foods. I've even seen them in regular grocery stores too! It all depends on where you look.

Price: $2.50 a box on sale at Whole Foods

Calories: 60 per tube

Got to have my giveaway section, girlies... Maybe I should give them their own special place! :P

I Made Dinner's Cheese Party Giveaway ends Sunday, September 20th.

Steph Chows' Custom Plate Giveaway ends Sunday, September 20th.

Run Faster's 100th Post Giveaway ends Sunday, September 20th.

Nature's Path Toaster Pastries

I think we all remember eating Pop Tarts as kids, right? Unfortunately, each Pop Tart contains 200 calories, and honestly? No one ever leaves the second one in the wrapper. It's true. So that usually means you're devouring 400 calories of sugar, carbs, and artificial chemicals. How healthy. What's the alternative? Organic toaster tarts! I've tried all of the flavors of the toaster pastries by Nature's Path. Which one is the best? Scroll and read to find out, girlies, scroll and read. :)

Out of all three healthy alternatives, these toaster pastries are definitely the most similar to the regular Kellogg's kind. The box they come in is even just like the artificial ones! There are a ton of different flavors, too, and I've tried them all! The picture above is of the Blueberry flavor by the way. Yes, that is frosting you see there! Some of the flavors come in two versions, frosted and unfrosted. The flavors include: Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, Brown Sugar Maple Cinnamon, Cherry Chocolate Stripes, Cherry Pomegran, Chocolate, Raspberry, Strawberry, and Wildberry Acai. A few of the frosted flavors, such as Cherry Pomegran, Raspberry, and Wildberry Acai even have sprinkles on them! I have to say that Nature's Path has got it right. I love these pastries even more than the Kellogg's kind! Unfortunately, the nutrition stats aren't that good. Although made with whole grain flour and real organic fruit fillings, the calories are about the same as the regular Pop Tarts. Though the flavors do make the nutritional info vary, the calories from fat are less by about 10, but that's still not much. Each toaster pastry is either 200 or 210 calories. The grams of fat are significantly less than Kellogg's by about 3.5, but the carbs are about the same, even a little bit higher. Still, there are no trans fats, no artificial preservatives, and no artificial colors or flavors. I would recommend these as a "sometimes" treat that's better than the version of Pop Tarts full of chemicals that we know and love!

My two favorite flavors!

Price: $1.99 per box at Whole Foods

Calories: 200-210 per pastry depending on the flavor