Juice Squeeze product review

Juice Squeeze in its little glass bottles with sparkling yummy liquid inside was a childhood favorite and a rare treat. If we were having a birthday party or going on a road trip, my mom would have us stop at Bell Air or somewhere similar and get two or three packs of juice in assorted flavors and then we'd all gather around, trying to try them all and never quite feeling that we did. Fast forward to the present and my parents carry Juice Squeeze in their store, so whenever childhood cravings kick in, we're able to pick and choose the juice we'd like and enjoy it thoroughly.

 

There are five juice flavors. My personal favorite is Mountain Raspberry. Made with grape juice, red raspberry, lemon and elderberry juice, added vitamins and sparkling water, this juice is a lovely rich red with a healthy dose of flavor and very little sugar - twenty-nine grams. It's sweet but not too sweet with a lovely raspberry taste that lingers long after the bubbles burst and fade away. It's very invigorating and refreshing.

Perfect for hot summer days with just the right citrus-y zing, Ruby Grapefruit is my second favorite. Made with grape juice, grapefruit and lemon juice, added vitamins and sparkling water, this bubbling drink has thirty-one grams of sugar in it. The flavor is strong but not overpowering and is quite delicious. I've even added a tad of vodka to it and it still comes out beautifully smooth and sparkling.

Coming in at a solid middle is Wild Berry. Made with grape, lemon, raspberry, elderberry and blackberry juices with added vitamins {including vitamin C} and sparkling water, this juice has thirty grams of sugar. While it is delicious and a very good juice to try if you're new to Juice Squeeze {no surprise flavors or ingredients}, Wild Berry is rather plain compared to Raspberry and Grapefruit. I still enjoy it and drink it sometimes but it's not a favorite. That's quite okay though; my dad likes it.

Blackberry Pomegranate was a huge help during my pregnancy two years ago. The lovely sparkling bubbles soothed my tummy and the flavor was just right so that I could enjoy it without getting overpowered. But it's otherwise rather plain and I've checked, there is no blackberry juice in it. Quite odd, don't you think, that a Blackberry Pomegranate juice doesn't actually have blackberry juice in it? What it does have is red grape, white grape and pomegranate juices, added vitamins and flavor, and sparkling water. The sugar weighs in at forty-three grams, the most of all five juices. Still, like all the Juice Squeezes, it's not bad on its own. It's just not a personal favorite.

And lastly, Passion Fruit Mango is probably the most exotic of the group with grape, lemon, passion fruit and mango juices, added vitamins and sparkling water. It has the lowest sugar content at twenty-seven grams and is a lovely bright yellow to help balance the reds and pink of the previous flavors. However, it has a very confusing flavor blend that makes me wonder what it's trying to be. I love the mango tons but think that the passion fruit and grape pairing throw it off a little. Thankfully there is no pineapple juice to really mess up the balance. My family really likes this flavor so I'll just smile and go for a raspberry or grapefruit instead.

Surprisingly there are only the five juice blends readily available. With such a yummy name and high quality products, you'd think there would be more blends that are much easier to find. I'd love to try more, though there's a very good chance that all the best flavors have been done already and anything else Juice Squeeze could do wouldn't really fly well. But it's worth a shot, don't you think? There is a Key Lime flavor but it's hard to track down on the Juice Squeeze website and I've never seen it in the stores to try. However, according to CostCo's website, there is a lovely variety pack that includes the five popular flavors, Key Lime and two other yummy sounding flavors: Orange Lime and Cranberry Black Cherry. I love cherries and cherry juices are always among the first ones I try, so it's astonishing that I haven't tried this flavor yet, let alone even knew it existed till I sat down to write this review! How horrifying! I shall have to remedy this immdeiately.

Mini Reviews: Apps We Use

My husband has an iPad he recently repaired all by himself {so proud of him} and he gave me a Kindle for my birthday, so between us we use a lot of apps, most of which are games. Not entirely sure why that's the case but it is. Anyway, here's some mini reviews of the apps we use the most often.

Frozen Free Fall: This is a clever fun little game where you match colorful gems to create power-ups and work your way through the puzzles laid out to keep pace with the movie. But there are bonus levels too that take you into the world of Frozen, beyond the movie. A whole seasons themed area has little mini sections for Autumn, Spring, Christmas, birthdays, Valentine's Day and the short film, Frozen Fever. And even more unlocked levels await us in the Endless section featuring the fun little snow creatures Elsa sneezed out in the short. We usually play with the sound off, but when it's on to entertain Baby, the sounds are quite fun and not as annoying as some games. Baby loves this game {though she's still figuring out just how to swap the gems around and she's always using our power-ups at random; those things are hard to get}, and I'm sad to say, we've happily invested hours in playing this game as a family.

Pros: Very colorful and accurately follows the movies. Love being able to earn power-ups by collecting stars and fun little goodies in the newer levels. The daily online reward is fun too but only works with internet of course.

Cons: Some of the levels are very hard because they don't give you enough moves to complete the levels. We've literally spent three weeks trying to pass one level before giving in and buying some power-ups with a gift card we won.

In all, I'd give this game nine stars out of ten.

Maleficent Free Fall: Brought to you by the makers of Frozen Free Fall comes a fun gem matching game that follows the plot of the movie Maleficent and provides hours of fun. In contrast to the Frozen game, this one is colored in dark metallic shades and in the daily internet check-in, you receive a certain amount of magic that can be used in the game itself, rather than randomly choosing a power-up. This is a nice change; you get to see what you're getting rather than pinning your hopes on a power-up you really need and end up not getting. I haven't played this game as much as Frozen, but I've tried it and my husband loves it. The whole layout is very similar to the Frozen game but you earn magic instead of stars and this magic can be used in the game. Very nice.

Pros: Magic you can use in the game and collect online, fairly easy levels so far and laid out in a fun book-style format.

Cons: The fill-the-bottle levels are the hardest and it's a little dark at times but that could just be me when I turn the brightness down.

All in all, I'd say nine and a half stars for this one.

Cinderella Free Fall: The third game in the line-up, this one is rather unique compared to its predecessors. In the main way it differs is that instead of swapping out gems to make a match, you trace a connecting line through gems of the same color with your finger. You can make some pretty fancy power-ups this way and get al creative in just how twisty you make your moves, but you run out of moves very quickly. And the daily online check in is a wheel you spin {like in Wheel of Fortune} and whatever it lands on is what you get, but the prizes go up in value when you check in every day so that's a nice bonus. And it's a very light colorful game with cute mouse as companions. I haven't seen the movie yet so I don't know how accurately it follows the plot.

Pros: Very fun layout, lots of fun to make matches and the spinning wheel is great!

Cons: You really do run out of moves incredibly fast. I'd like it if there were moves and if you didn't have to buy the Fairy Godmother or extra moves for much fairy dust.

My rating is about eight stars out of ten.

Inside Out Thought Bubbles: Brought to you by the makers of Frozen, Maleficent and Cinderella Free Fall, this game is truly unique in the line-up. Featuring all the fun characters from the movie {some of whom you have to unlock as you progress through the game} with their own unique power-ups, this game lets you relax and enjoy quite little mini sessions of shooting bubbles up at other bubbles to match the right colors and clear the board {or test your shooting skills or whatever the current level may be}. Joy cheerfully encourages you onward while Sadness just looks hopeful and Angry blasts his way through everything. We haven't unlocked anyone else yet. The baby particularly loves this game and opens it to play all by herself, though she has yet to actually beat a level. She just likes launching bubbles and listening to the characters' commentary. As far as we know, there is no online check in for more power-ups and we can't figure out how to get more diamonds to buy the needed power-ups. We've been stuck on one level for what feels like months now. Oh well.

Pros: Very fun easy to play colorful game with a happy undertone and you get to shoot stuff, so win-win, right?

Cons: A handful of levels are harder than others {like the one we're stuck on since they don't give you nearly enough bubbles to get through to the end}, there's no daily check-in thingy and no clear way to get more diamonds.

So a seven out of ten stars.

Plants vs. Zombies: This is considered my husband's game and he was thrilled when, out of boredom from being stuck on Frozen Free Fall, I got into it too. In this game there are several worlds {I want to say eleven but he has the iPad so I can't count for sure} with different themes and as you work your way through the levels, you use plants with different abilities to defeat different types of zombies. Along the way you encounter new zombies, unlock new plants and earn various rewards {mostly gold and a few keys that are useful for unlocking new worlds}. Some of the world themes are Ancient Egypt {my favorite}, Medieval, Pirates, the Wild West, the Beach and the 1980s which is the newest and rather random if you think about it. My husband has gone through all the levels and is currently stuck on one of the final levels in the 1980s world. To make this game even more fun, there is a daily Piñata Party where you go online, update the party deal {you can play it offline later} and use assorted plants to beat assorted zombies to whack open some piñatas and get cool prizes - or just really stupid plant costumes. Btw, this is a review of the newer version of the game. The older version is slower and not as shiny or interactive in some areas. The baby likes to pick out plants for us though.

Pros: Mostly funny non-graphic zombies and creative fun plants that you can pick and choose from in any level in any world once you've unlocked them {which makes it easier to beat some levels}, and you can keep doing stuff on it like the daily party and the endless levels once you've blown through the world levels. And you have a cool interactive garden area to grow boosted plants - very useful for some levels.

Cons: Some of the costumes are really stupid, a handful of levels are pretty tricky and the 1980s world is just weird to me, but my husband likes it so no worries.

For a rating I'd give this game nine out of ten stars.

Calendar: We use the calendar app that came on the iPad and I downloaded a free calendar called WeCal for my Kindle. On the iPad calendar you can stick in all kinds of events, link it up to your Google or FaceBook calendars, and edit the events pretty easily. I like being able to touch an event and edit it right there without too much hassle. On the Kindle, the WeCal is similar but it works better when you click the New Event button. You can change the color of events which is really nice and you can put to do items write on the calendar. It's a little tricky to set the time and I can't make the anniversaries a yearly event like I can with birthdays. The reminders are also not as good as the ones on the iPad but that's okay.

Pros: For both calendars, it's very easy to navigate once you figure out what you're doing and it's easy to add events and such. On the Kindle calendar, I love being able to color code my events. And the iPad calendar has a great selection of reminders and adding yearly events.

Cons: The Kindle calendar was tricky to figure out at first and won't let me make anniversaries a yearly thing. The iPad calendar doesn't give me the option to color code stuff as far as I know.

So my rating for both is seven stars.

US Bank: This is the banking system we use so my husband put the app on the iPad and I have to say, this is a great app! It's secure and remembers your stuff, it's new design is sleek and stylish, it's easy to navigate and use, and it has made managing our finances much easier - particularly in the cashing the check department since my husband can do it with our home internet and not worry about getting to the bank before it closes {which is when he gets off work}.

Pros: Love being able to quickly and easily deposit a check and move funds around our accounts, and the design is really nice.

Cons: Can't think of any since forgetting the password was my own fault.

Ten stars out of ten!

Bubble Explode: This is a fun little app that is basically several little mini games rolled into  one. The different games are Bubble Shooter {you shoot bubbles at groups of other colorful bubbles to move onto the next level}, a classic bubble swapping game, a fun popping level and a few others like a neat math one and such. It's a very colorful fun game despite it's company logo being a dark spooky house. You can change the bubbles to pumpkins, gems and plain old white bubbles instead of colorful ones. There's an angle changer for the shooting game and you can collect pearls by making shapes like squares, stairs, Ts, etc. It's a good game for killing time and trying to keep the baby occupied.

Pros: Very easy to change themes and play the various levels. When you connect to the internet you get fifty free pearls without having to do anything which is nice.

Cons: The baby knows how to exit out way too easily.

So ten out of ten stars!

Bejeweled: This is another fun app that contains a few different games {kind alike when you buy your favorite book series in a boxed set}. There is a Zen level, a Classic level, a neat Mining level, a random Lightening level and a very fun Butterfly level. Classic and Zen are basic; you just swap the colorful gems around to make matches and progress to the next level.  In the Lightening mode, you have a time limit and have to make matches to get more time or you'll get zapped by lightening and have to start over. I don't usually play that level. In the Mining mode, you have to make matches to drill down and uncover treasures, but you have a time limit and when the time is up, your drill explodes. And in the Butterfly level, the gems turn into butterflies that creep up toward the top of the screen where a spider waits to kill them. You have to save them by making matches with them. Pretty tricky sometimes but very fun and you only have to beat yourself at this game.

Pros: Very colorful fun game that can easily kill several hours at once. Love being able to pick different modes to play in {Butterfly and Mining are my favorites}.

Cons: Some of those darn butterflies just won't be saved. Oh well.

My rating is ten out of ten stars.

Candy Crush Saga: So I downloaded this game to my Kindle not because it's super popular {I actually didn't know it was so popular}, but because it's an item matching game {you've noticed the theme right?} and looked fun. Besides, the only other game I have on the Kindle is Frozen Free Fall and a hidden objects game that my husband whipped through for me really fast.*looks annoyed*  Anyway, I blew through the first three "episodes" and now am killing time since it won't let me start the next set of levels for two more days. I don't want to buy the levels since it just seems silly to waste money on games so I'll patiently wait. The candies are very yummy-looking and colorful, and the levels have all been pretty easy except for one and that one was easy compared to some of the Frozen levels.

Pros: All very colorful candy with fun power-ups when you make the right matches and you get an online daily wheel spin for bonus power-ups and such which is nice.

Cons: The timed levels start ticking the clock immediately instead of waiting for you to start your fist move and you don't get to keep making moves while a special power-up blows up in one corner of the screen. The Kindle doesn't seem to like games much because it takes its time loading them and will glitch once in awhile. It's more for books anyway. And waiting to start the next set of levels is unexpected.

In all, I'd say a six out of ten for this game.

Anyway, those are the most frequently used apps in my household. We do use Facebook, Gmail, Pinterest, Google Maps, Reminders and a couple period calendars I'm experimenting with on my Kindle but those are currently ranked low. They might feature in a future mini app review so you never know. My husband has several games I didn't review that he loves playing but I doubt I'll get him pinned down long enough to write a review on them and I haven't played games myself so I can't speak from personal experience on them. Anyway, have fun!

Julep Maven Box Review

Alrighty, here's a fun little review that the girls will love. I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when a cute little ad about make-up caught my eye {probably mainly because it mentioned birthday girl in the wording}, so I checked into it and discovered Julep - an online make-up company that will send you a little box of goodies once a month {or more often if you're super into make-up}. You get $40 worth of make-up for a $25 monthly subscription, bu if you're like me and you want to try before you buy it, the first box is free. Just pay shipping, which for me was an easy $3.

Anyway, when the little purple box arrived, I got all excited and opened it up. Inside I found some paper explaining what the company is all about and a coupon {always love coupons} and of course, the actual make-up. There were four lovely items: three things of nail polish and a bottle of lip gloss. The nail polish is in slender square bottles that look very sleek and expensive. The first bottle of nail polish is Colton - a unique dark purple/black shade of nail polish made with green coffee extract {among other interesting and surprisingly healthy sounding ingredients}. The website says it dries very fast, has one coat coverage and allows more air to reach your nail beds while strengthening your nails. I haven't yet tried it myself {only just got it today} but I love the dark color. On the site it looks black but in the bottle it is clearly a lovely rich dark purple shade. I can't wait to try it out! It's a solid color too which is something I look for in nail polish.

The second slim bottle of polish is Mari Bombshell. This polish is magenta shade of pinky purple with a dash of sparkle. It doesn't overly shimmer and there aren't large flakes of glittery things floating around it in, making it an edgy sparkly polish while still remaining smooth and elegant. Definitely something I could see myself wearing and the color itself is beautiful. I'd love a slightly redder shade for Christmastime. Luckily, the website has a wide variety of nail polish to choose from so getting more will be easy.

The third bottle of nail polish is a very handy nail therapy solution that can double as a base-coat or just a clear stand alone polish that strengthens and hardens your nails. Essential vitamins and natural pistacia resin work together with five key extracts {aloe vera, lemon, ginseng, pomegranate and grape} to deeply nourish your nails and help reduce slitting, encouraging and helping your own natural nail growth. I have thin nails that are generally good nails but sometimes they d split in horizontal layers and that can be very annoying. I can't wait to apply some of this healing polish and track the improvements in my nails! It's also something I wouldn't have thought of to get myself and I'm so glad that whoever packed my box included it for me.

Now for the lip gloss! As a teenager I loved lip gloss; all the different sugary-sweet flavors it came in were a delight and once I got one that tinted my lips a faint pink {not that you could really tell with me but that was okay}. This is lip gloss for grown-ups. It's very classic and elegant with just a faint shimmer to remind you of starry nights and carefree youthful moments that sparkle in your mind and keep you going on the long coffee-fueled days. The color I was sent is Charming - an earthy dark rose shade with a thread of red woven delicately through it. This is the kind of lip gloss you can wear all day, to work, to school, to the supermarket and to those big special events while feeling comfortable and pretty the entire time you're wearing it. Opening the classy-looking bottle, the first thing I did was smell the lip gloss and surprisingly, it smells like chocolate. I made my sister confirm this. It goes on smoothly with a faint stickiness that comes with all lip gloss, but it doesn't taste like chocolate. I'm not sure if I'm relieved or disappointed about that. I will definitely be
using this a lot though.

I've explored the website while waiting for my order to arrive {coffee-deprived mommy brain thought it was two day shipping but instead it was standard; still it arrived very promptly and intact}. The website is laid out in a fairly easy to navigate way and had hundreds of items from skin care products to brushes, nail care tools, lip stick and eye shadow. I'm very keen to try some of the lipstick when I get the chance and several shades of nail polish have caught my eye. Every month you get a little window of time to look through that month's selection and customize your box. I like being able to do that, though I couldn't with my first box. Not that that bothered me too much. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep getting boxes of make-up every month but for those months when I want to treat myself or a friend, they're wonderful! New moms with babies who can't leave the house just yet would love something like this. I know I would've. If this sounds like something you'd like to do, please feel free to use my little code here and get $15!

Chocolate Oh La La!

I've got chocolate on my mind right now, so we're gonna indulge in a chocolate review! One of my all time favorite chocolate companies is Ghiardelii. They make some of the best tasting chocolate around. And they have a wide range of flavors - dark chocolate, milk chocolate {my husband's preferred choice}, lots of caramel varieties and many filled squares as well as bars. Some of my favorite flavors are Dark Peppermint, Mocha, my husband loves the Toffee Crunch. my sister loves the Dark Caramel and Sea Salt, and I also enjoy the yummy Dark and Caramel. Of course, their seasonal flavors of Pumpkin Caramel and Dark Peppermint Bark are to die for. I can't get enough of those and I'm so very impatiently waiting for Autumn and Christmas to roll around so I can stock up on those delicious flavors. We usually buy the squares chocolates, but my husband and I have tried their Double Dark Chocolate Brownie mix {my go-to mix for brownies - it's so rich, chocolate-y and filled with chocolate chips just the way I like it! A real treat!}, and Hot Chocolate Mocha and White Hot Chocolate before they were discontinued and switched to the current selections. The hot chocolate was rich and delicious, especially when made with half and half or whipping cream.


Of course, I could sing Ghirardelii's praises on how fine, rich and yummy their products are, but they are also one of the few chocolate companies that really frustrates me. And it's mainly in the area of discontinuing my favorite products. I mentioned above that the hot chocolate we liked so much {the white chocolate wasn't as big a hit with us} was discontinued. The current selections have a wider range of flavors and look very appealing but we haven't found them at our local markets and attempted to try them yet, mainly because it's just not at the markets we shop at. The squares, however, I purchase periodically for my parents' store and several favorite flavors were discontinued without any reason at all. For a brief while, we enjoyed the lovely Vanilla Dream {a white chocolate square that surprisingly didn't taste at all waxy}, a delicious Cookie Crunch that my husband loved, and my sister and my personal favorite, the Truffle square. In a quick Google search, apparently lots of flavors have vanished from the shelves, including an intriguing holiday flavor I've never heard of called Pecan Pie. The strawberry filled square makes it's seasonal appearance right around Valentine's Day and is quite yummy. Still, with all our favorites disappearing and narrowing the chocolate selection, it can be hard to really honestly call Ghirardelii my favorite chocolate company.


And when that frustration mounts a little too high, I move onto my second favorite, a safe sure-fire company that knows what it's good at and doesn't bounce around discontinuing favorite flavors without warning: Whitman's! Owned by Russel Stover {I'll get to them in a minute}, Whitman's is a chocolate company that has been around for over a hundred years and they never fail to provide me with yummy chocolates that are sure to hit the spot. My husband and I have a system when it comes to boxed chocolates; I eat the coconut ones he doesn't like, and he eats all the orange creams, molasses chews and nougats that I don't like. Anyway, every Christmas we get the giant Sampler's box that has over eighty pieces of chocolate in it and then over the course of three to five days, we eat it all. We're gonna have to buy two or three boxes by the time our kids are teenagers and wanting to join in the fun. Our favorites are the Maple Nut {or creams, not sure on the name since it's only a Christmas time deal and I have a bad memory *smiles*}, Cherry Cordials and Chocolate Creams, to name the favorites that disappear the fastest. My only complaint is that there are never enough Cherry Cordials. I love those! another fun Christmas tradition we started as kids and have continued as young adults is getting the little Sampler boxes with four chocolates in them in our stockings. I get them for my husband and siblings every year now. This year I'll probably have to consider getting one for Baby too so she doesn't eat all of my chocolate. One of the unique things about Whitman's is their box; it's very sturdy and has an appealing label.


Russel Stover chocolates is the top third chocolate option that I take when chocolate shopping. They have a wide variety to choose from and all their lovely convenient sized boxes are so deliciously organized! I can skip the nutty chews and dive straight for the delectable truffles or tasty creams. Or I can pick a box full of my favorite dark chocolates instead of milk chocolates. They are also a good go-to choice for gifts to family and the small boxes make wonderful stocking stuffers. My only objection is that the chocolates are often too sugary for me {which is amusing since Whitman's is never too sweet for me, unless I eat half the box in one sitting}. I eye-spied a box of cherry cordials and French mints one day while out shopping at a market we don't frequent, so I snatched them up and stowed them under the bed for a rainy day. When I get around to indulging, I shall have to update this review to tell you whether I liked them or not. But I probably will, considering I already like cherry cordials and mints. *winks*

After this, the remaining chocolate companies rather blear together. You have Hershey's which I try to avoid on general principal because they just aren't that healthy of a company {funny, considering Ghirardelii uses soy in their chocolates and I can't bring myself to read the ingredients of Whitman's or Russel Stover}. I haven't tried Godiva chocolate enough to know whether I actually like it or not. It's pricey and my husband always avoids chocolate shops in general. And then there's See's Candy but I consider them to be more of a candy company than a chocolate company and so file them elsewhere in my brain. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this brief little look into the chocolate world I love and that it ignited your inner chocolate cravings. See you at the market!

Product Review Odwalla Smoothies

With time being divided between reading, writing, housecleaning and socializing with the now walking toddle baby, I haven't had much time for blogging. So I'm taking advantage of a free moment to try to whip out a product review on Odwalla smoothies and juices that my sister, baby, husband and I have tried over the summer.

My favorite smoothie from this company is Red Rhapsody. Made from non GMO ingredients, this smoothie has a delightful blend of apple juice, strawberry puree`, banana puree`, beet juice, tomato puree`, plum puree`, pomegranate juice, raspberry puree` and assorted vitamins. With a thick yet smooth texture, it's reminiscent of straight tomato juice with sweeter fruits added to give it a unique delicious flavor. I love tomatoes and raspberries so this smoothie is perfect for me. Baby love sit too. But she probably just likes the 39 grams of sugar in it.

My husband loves the Strawberry Banana smoothie and prefers this brand to other companies' smoothies of the same flavor. Made with orange juice, apple juice, banana puree`, strawberry puree` and a couple added vitamins, this smoothie has 44 grams of sugar and a thick banana-y texture. The baby has tried it but finds it unimpressive compared to other smoothies while Daddy can't get enough of it.

With a fun name like Mango Tango, you'd think we'd have loved the mango smoothie. And while it was very mango-y and delicious, it doesn't rank high on the favorites list. Made with mango puree`, apple juice, filtered water, banana puree`, coconut cream, lemon juice and added vitamins, this smoothie has 55 grams of sugar and a very smooth consistent texture. I do like it but every time I try it, something just doesn't quite gel just right with all the other flavors. Usually it's pineapple juice but since there isn't any in this smoothie, I'm gonna blame it on the coconut cream.

Berries GoMega isn't a favorite with me but it's a good second choice if Red Rhapsody is all sold out. Made from apple juice, orange juice, cherry puree`, peach puree`, pear puree`, mango puree`, blackberry puree`, strawberry puree`, ground flaxseed, lemon juice and inulin {not really sure what that is}, this smoothie has 45 grams of sugar in it. There is a smooth very fruity flavor to it but I think the orange juice throws off the balance and makes it taste a little odd. Baby doesn't mind it though and will gleefully dribble it down her chin in attempt to drink it quickly.

Mo'Beta smoothie is my sister's choice and it's made from orange juice, peach puree`, mango puree`, plum puree`, apple juice, pineapple juice, vitamins, green tea powder and Stevia leaf extract. There are 41 grams of sugar in it. While I like Stevia {my brother devoured our plant once} and green tea, this fruit smoothie just doesn't cut it for me. Probably too much orange and pineapple juice. Still, it's a lovely smoothie for my sister and baby to enjoy.

The green Original Superfood smoothie is another of my sister's choices. Made with an assortment of ingredients that include apple juice, peach puree`, mango puree`, strawberry puree`, banana puree`, spirulina, spy lecithin {which isn't good for you}, kale, wheat grass, barley grass, wheat sprouts, Jerusalem artichoke, and Nova Scotia dulse, this smoothie has only 49 grams of sugar. As with a previous similar smoothie, the dulse rather adds an odd flavor to me and I don't much care for this particular smoothie, Neither does baby, but my sister likes it.

Strawberry C Monster is a very unique and sweet smoothie. Made with orange juice, apple juice, strawberry puree`, cane sugar, concord grape juice, vitamin C and rose hips, this juice has a very thin juice texture rather than a thick smoothie texture and contains 54 grams of sugar. I liked this smoothie but it was a little too sweet for me and had a very strong orange juice flavor to it while the grape juice added a slightly odd mix to the flavors. It's a good boost of vitamin C which I enjoyed.

I don't know if we've tried the Citrus C Monster or not, and I do know that my sister has tried the straight carrot juice. Since carrot juice is just carrot juice and rather plain, I'll never it at that.

Bolthouse Farms Smoothies and Juices Review

So my sister, baby, husband and I have been sampling fruit smoothies at our local markets for a couple months now and I' finally getting around to pounding out a lovely group review on the many flavors we've tried. Up today is Bolthouse Farms.

Bolthouse Farms makes their juices and smoothies from one hundred percent juice, are non-GMO and don't use preservatives or high fructose corn syrup. And they are sweetened with fruit, not added sugars. I don't know if they're organic or not, but in this day and age it's tricky to find affordable organic anything really.

One of my favorite smoothies is Berry Boost. Made with an outstanding assembly of raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, boysenberries, blueberries, elderberries, apples and bananas, this is a thick sweet drink with a delicious berry flavor. I love berries to boot! While bananas aren't my favorite fruit, a little bit does add a lovely texture to this smoothie and I can't taste the banana at all. There are twenty-four grams of sugar in it. I usually get the smaller bottle but it comes in two sizes which is nice. The baby always squeals until I let her try my smoothie and then she ends up drinking half of it because she loves it so much.

I've tried Green Goodness smoothie. Made with pineapple juice, apple juice, mango puree, bananas, kiwi, spirulina powder, green tea extract, spinach powder, broccoli powder, barley grass powder, garlic powder, wheatgrass powder, Jerusalem artichoke powder, and Nova Scotia dulse powder, this smoothie packs a punch with several interesting ingredients. When I first tried it, I didn't know that Spirulina is an algae and that Dulse is a seaweed. Very interesting what you learn when writing a review. *wink* Anyway, while this smoothie tastes good, there was one ingredient that wasn't gelling well with all the others, though my sister and I couldn't put our finger down on which one. So it's not a favorite with me. My sister likes it though. There are thirty grams of sugar in it {probably from the apple and pineapple juice}, and comes in three sizes.

My favorite Bolthouse smoothie is the Multi-V Goodness Cherry smoothie. Cherries are my favorite fruit and having them blended with such delights as pomegranate, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, apples, peaches and bananas along with several vitamins makes this smoothie a real treat. The texture is thinner than some of the other smoothies, making it more juice like. I don't mind this in the least. The baby really loves this smoothie too and my sister liked it as well. There are twenty-six grams of sugar, which is a surprising amount given how many sweet fruits are in it, and it comes in three sizes.

My husband's favorite smoothie is Banana Strawberry. While I think there is way too much banana in it {see above about not liking bananas a lot}, he loves it. I thought the blurb about it at the website was clever: "We have a sneaking suspicion that strawberry and banana always knew they were meant for each other. So they were probably really excited when we put them together to make our classic Strawberry Banana Smoothie." This smoothie has twenty-two grams of sugar and comes in three sizes.

The Stone Fruit smoothie was good but not very high on anyone's favorite list in my little circle. Made with nectarines, pears, apples, peaches, plums, bananas, apricots, ground chia seeds, acerola cherries and a few added vitamins, this smoothie has the classic thick smoothie texture but the flavors don't jump out and grab your attention like some of the other blends do. There are twenty-three grams of sugar and it comes in two sizes for all your smoothie needs.

About the only smoothie nobody liked was the Tropical Goodness smoothie. Made with coconut water, pear juice, apples, bananas, pink guava puree, pineapples, orange juice, dragonfruit puree, ground chia seeds, acerola cherries and some added vitamins, this smoothie was unexciting and had a funny taste to it. I love some of the ingredients on their own {though I have never tried guava or dragonfruit} but blended together they didn't do too good. Even the baby didn't like it. There are only nineteen grams of sugar and it's available in two sizes.

Some of the other Bolthouse farms products we've tried are 100% Carrot Juice, Mocha Cappuccino and Salted Caramel Latte. My sister loved the carrot juice while I thought there was a hint of dirt to it. There are only thirteen little grams of sugar in it so it's definitely safe on the sugar side of things.

The Mocha Cappuccino has low-fat milk, coffee extract, whey protein, agave nectar, cane sugar, dutched cocoa powder, salt and carrageenan which may or may not be a good thing depending on what you read. I was personally glad there wasn't any soy in it. There was a lovely chocolatey flavor to this coffee drink and it tasted good, though not as good as the coffee my husband makes. There are twenty-nine grams of sugar in it.

Our favorite coffee drink from Bolthouse Farms is the Salted Caramel Latte. Made with low-fat milk, coffee, caramel syrup, agave nectar, whey protein, sea salt and a few other things, this drink is cool, refreshing and delicious. The first time I tried it, I could taste a hint of salt. The second time, I couldn't taste the salt as much but that could have been because it was warming up. Either way, it was yummy. There are a surprising twenty grams of sugar in this drink that comes in two sizes.

While there aren't too many of Bolthouse Farms' products that I haven't tried, the following are some that caught my eye and which I will now be on the look-out for while grocery shopping.

Pomegranate Juice has been hit and miss for me but this one looks good.

I just want to try this one cause it's purple. *smiles*

I love mint, lemons and watermelon, so now I must this lemonade twist and try it.

I like almond milk so this looks appealing.

Raaw Juice Review

Okay so I'm trying a new review tactic in an effort to broaden my library of reviews. And today's product is Raaw juices. *smiles*

I have recently tried three different juices from the company Raaw. The obvious first place winner was Strawberry Purple Carrot. Made with the juice of eight strawberries, three and a quarter purple carrot, apple juice and a few other ingredients, Strawberry Carrot tastes sweet, flavorful and refreshing. With only twenty-four grams of sugar, you'd think it would have a higher sugar content just from the taste, Thankfully, it doesn't. I let my seventeen month old try some and she loved it. The colors of the juice and bottle are very attractive too, which helps.


The second place juice is Very Berry Wheatgrass. I love berries {except for blueberries by themselves; they remind me of a horrible yogurt experience when i was pregnant but in other things, they're great!} and have recently wanted to try more healthy drinks and such, so the wheatgrass caught my eye. The only problem I had with the juice was that in addition to the juice of two cups of mixed berries and one and a half ounces of wheatgrass was apple and pineapple juice. Normally that's fine, but the pineapple juice tasted very strong to me and I didn't think it blended very well at all. Take the pineapple juice away and you'd have a really great drink. There are twenty-grams of sugar in it but it doesn't taste as sweet as the Strawberry Carrot. The baby was unimpressed.

And in third place of the Raaw juices I've tried is Cucumber Pineapple. I really wanted this one to taste good because I generally like cucumbers and pineapples. Sadly, it tasted a lot like dirt to me. My sister disagreed so it really could've just been me, but it didn't taste very good. Made with a whole cucumber and three-quarters of a pineapple, this juice has twenty-eight grams of sugar in it. When I let the baby try some, she made a face and spit it back out.

The Raaw juice I've decided I want to try next is Raspberry Lemongrass. It's made from two and a half cups of raspberries, and one and a half ounces of lemongrass, among other juices that the website won't give me. *smiles* There are twenty-seven grams of sugar in it. I generally really enjoy raspberries {if you've seen my Pinterest feed lately, you'll notice a trend in pinned recipes that feature luscious raspberries}, and I had lemongrass when I was a kid. It wasn't nearly as lemony as actual lemons yet was still delicious.

While these opinions on these delicious juices are my own, feel free to check out the company's website for more information and try some of the juices yourself. There are nine yummy looking flavors in all. :)