REVIEW: Girl Scouts Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

Out of the two new cookies Girl Scouts unveiled this Cookie Season- the Cranberry Citrus Crisps and the Chocolate Chip Shortbreads -I was definitely more excited for the Chocolate Chips. I mean, don't me wrong, I totally LOVE it when my cookies taste like oranges, but something about chocolate chips is so alluring. Plus, Girl Scouts' Shortbread cookies are pretty much amazing, so adding chocolate chips to the mix is like making a perfect snack even more perfect...er. So I just knew that I had to pick up these cookies AS. SOON. AS. POSSIBLE.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for me to spot a table of Girl Scouts when I was out grocery shopping. The little girls were all wearing these ponchos with a design of each cookie in the center with the cookies' names encircling each design. It was all kinda silly, especially the Peanut Butter Patties poncho- it looked like there was a big, brown, flat circle right in the middle of the fabric, nothing more.

But kooky advertising tricks aside, I went up to the table and looked for the Chocolate Chip Shortbreads. And then, I found them! ...Kind of. See, they were in this plastic bags- kind of like the ones granola or pistachios come in -and they were labeled as "gluten free." Plus, they were, like, a dollar more than the normal Girl Scouts cookies. I figured this was only because they were gluten free, so I kindly asked one of the ladies that the table if there were UNgluten free Chocolate Chip Shortbreads, and she said no.

Well then- nobody told me that these new cookies were gluten free! Now what? I wasn't gluten-intolerant, so why would I settle for gluten free cookies? 

Right after, I saw a grocery store employee come up and ask the same lady if they had the gluten free chocolate chip cookies. I asked the employee if she knew if they were any good or not. She said no- she hadn't tried them yet. Well, if SHE was willing to try them...

I put my money down, picked up a bag of the gluten free cookies, and went home, wondering how they would turn out.

A 5 oz. bag costs around $5.00.

REVIEW: NuGo Free Dark Chocolate Crunch Bar

Today's review is brought to you by NuGo Free: Gluten Free, Kosher Free, Soy Free, Low Fat, High Protein, Vegan NuGo Free. Yup, pr-eee-tty healthy. And you know where I got this bar from? Not a vitamin shoppe, nor an organic supermarket, nor a nutrition center... believe it or not, I purchased this Dark Chocolate Crunch bar from a gluten-free stand at a basketball stadium. Yeah, whatever. I could've gotten something really tasty like soft serve or a warm pretzel- and all for the same price -but I guess this was what I went with. 

Yaaaaaay.

Sometimes I wonder if I even think. But in my defense, I hadn't heard of NuGo before so I was somewhat intrigued by the protein bar gazing down at me from the display of the gluten-free stand. So, here we go: NuGo's Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Crunch Bar. Since I was at a sports game, mine was purchased for the cutthroat price of $5.00, but you can most likely buy one 1.59 oz. bar for around $1.49 at more reasonable retailers.

REVIEW: Wildwood PastaSlim Spaghetti Shirataki

Once, long ago, I tried out Wildwood's Spinach Fettucini Shirataki Noodles, and from what I could remember, I was quite impressed by them. Now I set out to try their more traditional Spaghetti variety of shirataki noodles. A 7 oz. bad costs around $2.33.

REVIEW: House Foods Tofu Shirataki Fettuccine Shaped Noodle Substitute

I'm sure some low-carber who's any low-carber knows what shirataki noodles are. And if you don't, then let me be the first to tell you that they're your pasta savior! No longer must you shun the carby goodness of spaghetti: shirataki noodles are like real noodles, just without all the annoying carbohydrates. Shirataki noodles are also great for people on low-calorie diets, with only 20 calories per serving (as opposed to 200 for the same amount of real noodles).

Today I'll be reviewing one of the most popular shirataki products out there: House Foods' Fettucine Shaped Tofu Shirataki Noodles. They're even endorsed by Hungry Girl, so crazy dieters stock up on them like the Shirapocalypse is upon us. An 8 oz. package of shirataki will cost around $2.29.