Clean goodies...

 Can you say Peanut Butter Cups??!!!!  Oh my!!  I found these at the health food store on Michigan Ave!  They are dreamy!!  The ingredients are all organic and clean.  Decadent Dark chocolate and organic peanuts equal two perfectly proportioned pieces of heaven.  $2.19 for these two puppies BUT it came with a $1.00 coupon for the next batch.  I even shared mine and only ate one.  I ate it s.l.o.w.l.y.    If you have never had Justin's products, they are worth a try.  You can find more Justin's products at Kroger in the healthy, organic section.


Here are the stats- Two of these are 200 calories, 16g fat (say peanuts), 120 mg sodium, 20 carbs, 2g fiber, 14g sugar and 4g protein.  Here are the ingredients- Organic dark choc (organic evaporated cane sugar, organic choc liquor, organic cocoa butter, organic soy lecithin (extract of soy beans, prevents separation of cocoa and cocoa butter), organic vanilla), organic peanuts, organic evaporated cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic palm fruit oil, organic vanilla, sea salt.    There is sugar in this treat in the form of evaporated can sugar but if you are looking for a "treat" and not eating this regularly, I wouldn't worry about this amount of sugar.

To be fair, I bought a Reeses Peanut Butter cup to compare.  Here are the stats-  210 calories, 13g fat, 150mg sodium, 24g carbs, 1g fiber, 21g sugar and 5g protein.  Ingredients are-- Milk Chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, nonfat milk, milk fat, lactose, soy lecithin, pgpr, emulsifier), peanuts, sugar, dextrose, salt, tbhq (preservative).    Doesn't seem to bad right?  Well, what is pgpr and tbhq?  Hmm, let's find out. PGPR is known in the candy industry as polyglycerol polyricinoleate.  Does this make the chocolate better?  Of course not!  PGRP is used to replace the expensive cocoa butter that is normally found in chocolate.  To make a long story short, they are using the chemical because it is cheaper than using real ingredients.  Ok so let's check out TBHQ-  TBHQ is  the acronym used to describe tertiary butylhydroquinone, which is an antioxidant that comes from petroleum and is related to butane.  It is often used as a preservative, applied either to the carton of fast food items or sprayed directly onto them as well as in various other prepackaged food items. Yumm?!  NOT!!  

 Hmm, I guess I have lost my love for Reeses and found a new love in Justin's.  

If you are in need of a clean, healthy, quick snack on the go, the LARABAR is for you.  LARABAR are strictly fruit and nuts.  I don't know about you but I heart Key Lime Pie. LARABAR is a blend of unsweetened fruits, nuts and spices. Made from whole foods, each flavor contains two to nine ingredients.  Pure and simple!   The only thing is-- I wish LARABAR had more protein.   

Key Lime Pie ingredients-  Dates, cashews, almonds, unsweetened coconut, lime juice concentrate. 5 ingredients make one tasty treat. It has 220 calories, 10g fat, 31g carbs, 4 g fiber, 4g protein.  It is a very calorie dense bar because it has nuts in the mix.  Don't let this scare you away. Nuts can be a healthy part of every diet!!   

LARABAR has many flavors so you are sure you can find one to fit your taste buds!  They can be found at Kroger in the health food section or anywhere protein bars are found.  

Eating clean does not mean being deprived.  Love your body and what goes in it.

Namaste,

j