Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownie Review + Giveaway

If you're looking for a sweet snack that won't break the bank, Fiber One has come out with a new line of 90 calorie snacks, this time in brownie form. The premise of the Fiber One line is in the name. Fiber helps keep you feeling full longer while keeping snack attacks away, and with 5 grams of fiber per bar, you get 20% of your daily fiber in the form of a delicious brownie. Each bar contains 90 calories, 5 grams of fiber, 3 grams of fat, 17 carbohydrates, and just 7 grams of sugar. It's a light snack, for sure, but it is tasty.

I was sent two boxes of Fiber One brownies, along with a fitness pack, from MyBlogSpark to review.

The Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie is my favorite. The peanut butter flavor comes from peanut butter chips and icing, and "partially defatted peanut flour". The peanut butter didn't overpower the chocolate in the brownies, which I liked. At times, the peanut butter tasted almost like caramel. The texture surprised me. I figured, based on how it looked, that the brownie would be more cakey than fudgy, but it landed somewhere in the middle.

The Chocolate Fudge Brownie has a deep cocoa flavor that would be nice when eaten with a cup of coffee. Flavor wise, I like them both and while I typically stay away from reduced-calorie foods, in this case I'm happy because the sugar content has also been lowered.

I wouldn't call this a natural bar. While there aren't many additives, there are a few thickening ingredients and other stuff not normally present in homemade baked goods or brands that use whole ingredients. It does make for a good snack on the run, though, especially if you're a fan of chocolate and peanut butter.

Now, would you be interested in a giveaway? Along with the 90 calorie brownies, you'd also receive a fitness prize pack to aid your fitness goals. The prize pack contains a resuable water bottle, a jump rope, a headband, a fitness bag, a bracelet thing, and a nifty snack bowl with a freezable lid to keep foods chilled.

Isn't that cool? Pop the bowl (or just the lid) in the freezer, then fill the bowl with your snack and screw the lid on when you're ready to leave. The lid contains a freezer-safe gel that turns to ice when frozen. I like it.

Time for some giveaway rules! Here is how to enter the Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownie giveaway:

1. Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite healthy snack food is.


2. For a second entry, Tweet this giveaway and leave another comment with the link to your tweet.


3. For a third entry, like She Runs, She Eats on Facebook if you haven't already done so. Comment again to let me know.


4. And for one more chance to win, blog about this giveaway on your blog, linking to this post. Leave another comment.

This gives you up to four chances to be entered into the giveaway.

To be eligible, you must reside in the United States.

Giveaway ends Wednesday, July 20 at noon. Winner will be posted after noon. Good luck!

Gatorade G Series Fit

Hey guys, I'm back! I have a few fun giveaways and product reviews for you all coming up. Today, I'll be reviewing Gatorade's new G Series Fit products. I was contacted by a representative asking if I'd like to try them out. I said yes, and received the three items shown above. However, I've tried each flavor in each category before this review, so my knowledge extends beyond the three varieties above.

Relatively new from Gatorade, the G Series Fit target audience is the everyday athlete like you and me. The line has a prime, perform, and recover product that you eat or drink before, during, and after a workout to fuel workouts and maximize recovery. Overall, I liked the entire line, but the downside to everything is the price. I can recreate my own versions for much less, and I'll explain why and how I came to this conclusion throughout the review.

The first product is the Prime Energy Bites, consisting of four individually wrapped mini bars. Depending on the intensity of your workout, you eat just one or all four bars. The ingredient list is pretty short, and for the most part are ingredients you probably already eat, like almond butter, oats, fruits and nuts. There are a few other preservative type ingredients as well. Each bite has 50 calories and about 6 grams of carbohydrates. There are three different flavors to try, Cranberry Pistachio, Banana Chocolate, and Raisin Flax. The flavors were all good and they aren't too sweet. The texture reminds me of a nougat.

The downside is the price. Unlike an energy gel (containing about 100 calories per serving) or energy bar, each Prime pack costs $2.50, not very practical if you're on a budget. One might as well eat a handful of almonds and dried fruit. Considering that each bite has only 50 calories, you really aren't going to receive much benefit from one bar alone. For whatever reason (like, dyslexia), I thought each bar contained 200 calories. I was pretty excited until I read the serving size info more closely. Unless I found these on sale, I'm not sure I'd buy them again.

The G Series Fit Perform line offers flavors unique from the traditional Gatorade we all know, such as Acai Blueberry, Mango Passion Fruit, and Melon Pear. Unlike the other Gatorade, I don't have to dilute this one. It's light, flavorful, and each 16 ounce bottle tops out at 20 calories.

Like the bars, though, the downside is the price. Coming in at $1.79 a bottle, it's pricy compared to traditional Gatorade. I can buy a bottle of the regular 32 ounce Gatorade and dilute it, getting more per serving than from one bottle of the G Series Fit Perform.

Lastly, we have the Recovery protein smoothie. Each 11 ounce serving has around 110 calories, 2 grams of fat, 13 grams total carbs, 10 of which come from sugars, and 12 grams of protein. I like the protein content, which is equivalent to two eggs, and the sugar is relatively low. So are the calories. I usually try to get a bit more post workout, but if you're watching your caloric intake you will like it. The three flavors are Strawberry Banana, Mango Pineapple, and Mixed Berry. The texture is thin, and you might find it a little watery.

I felt that the packaging on this was a bit deceptive. It says natural flavor and has a percentage of real fruit juice, but those juices are apple and banana, not the actual flavor of the smoothie. It would be like making a mango smoothie, only with apples, bananas, and mango extract. Each bottle is $3.79, making it the priciest item of the lot. These would make for a good post workout drink to have on hand if you're busy, though.

Overall, I like the concept of the line. I felt the flavors were good, and might occasionally pick up the items if I saw them on sale. It's always nice to have another option available to try when you're at the store.

To try them out for yourself, you can find the G Series Fit line at Walgreens.

peanut butter & cherry chocolate cake

Before you read this post, please take a little time to vote for my lentil recipe. Click here to vote by leaving a comment. You can vote anonymously, and you can vote once a day through June 6. Thank you!

We celebrated my dad's birthday over Memorial Day weekend. We played poker with spare change, suffered through a power outage, and ate cake. When I asked him on Friday what kind of cake he wanted, he replied with "chocolate, peanut butter, and cherry." Might sound like an odd trio of flavors, but if you think about it, it's like a peanut butter sandwich with cherry jam, sandwiched between chocolate bread.

You know what's annoying about yellow counters? The color matches the color of most baked goods and provides no color contrast. This makes for a rather dull picture.

To start, I messed up the cake. The recipe was fine, though I accidentally measured out too much liquid. The other suspected cause was the lower baking temperature, 325 instead of the traditional 350. It seemed odd. I decided to follow the recipe and do what it said, but I wonder if the lower temperature contributed to the sunken centers. However, most of the fault is mine, and my inability to read the recipe and accurately measure ingredients.

Dilemma. Should I remake the cakes or figure out a way to use them, sunken centers and all? Since the middle was going to be filled with cherries, I figured that the craters could face each other. The flat sides would face outwards, providing a smooth icing surface. This worked out well, and prevented the waste of additional ingredients.

The cherries used for the filling were from a can. I decided on Queen Anne cherries in a sweetened syrup, drained, and coarsely chopped. Twelve cherries were reserved to decorate the top. The color matched the frosting, though that wasn't intentional.

For the frosting, I developed my own recipe using heavy whipping heavy cream, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, and a little salt. The result is a nice and airy frosting with a strong peanut butter taste, and a lighter texture in comparison to other recipes. Even though this frosting is less dense, it holds up well and is easy to work with. I'm sharing the recipe with you guys.

Overall, I'm happy with how this cake turned out. Most importantly, my dad liked it! Happy Birthday!

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Print this recipe

Light and Airy Peanut Butter Frosting
Recipe by Christina Provo

Makes enough frosting for one 2-layer 9-inch cake

ingredients -

1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
4 cups confectioners' sugar
16 ounces smooth peanut butter
3/4 teaspoons coarse salt

directions -

1. In a large bowl, beat whipping cream on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing until smooth.


2. Add peanut butter and continue to mix, on medium speed, until thoroughly combined. Stir in salt with a spatula.