Review: Simple Truth from Kroger

I was given these products from BzzAgent on behalf of Kroger. I was not otherwise compensated, and all opinions are my own.

Kroger has a new line of natural products, some of which are organic, called Simple Truth. With over 100 new items to choose from, ranging from meat to dairy to cereals, almost all your bases are covered with this line (and if you click on the link, up to $10 worth of coupons are available to load onto your shopper's card). The site lists the 101 artificial ingredients that are not present in Simple Truth products, as well as information on the organic line and meats and poultry. BzzAgent sent me some of the products available in the Simple Truth line to taste and review, and I happily munched away.

I tried the Simple Truth Mixed Berry Granola first, because I love granola. This isn't a traditional granola, though, as it is made of whole grain wheat clusters, not oats. The kernels are crunchy and lightly sweetened. The one con is that there aren't many pieces of dried fruit, and the pieces that are in the cereal aren't very large. It's delicious, otherwise. I judge a granola by its clusters and there were enough of those to give this cereal a passing grade. Containing 200 calories, 4 grams of fiber, 2.5 grams of fat, and 16 grams of sugar per serving, this isn't as dense as oat-based granola tends to be.

I tend to keep at least one snack-type food on hand for when I'm peckish, but not hungry enough for a full meal. Or for when I'm ravenous and will grab the first thing I see. I love popcorn and make it on the stove, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the Simple Truth Organic Popcorn, but it ended up being pretty tasty, even for a low-sodium product. The kernels were large and crunchy and didn't taste stale like day old popcorn. It wasn't greasy and I didn't feel like I had just licked a salt lick after finishing a couple handfuls. While it was tasty, it was a bit plain for a snack, and if I got this again I'd try the white cheddar flavor.

There is no picture of the Simple Truth Blackberry Blueberry-flavored Electrolyte Water - that would have been a pretty boring picture. This was probably my least favorite product. I liked that it contained electrolytes and would be great for summer training, though to me it tasted like flat sparkling water. I kept expecting something after tasting the initial hint of flavor, but nothing was there to back it up. It's possible that I just don't like flavored, flat water. The flavor wasn't bad, I just wanted more as a drinking water. I wouldn't buy this just to drink, though like I said previously, it would come in handy for exercising in hot weather.

Have you tried anything from this line before? Let me know what you think. I have a couple coupons to give away, just email me with your address if you want one and I'll mail it to you.

Oatworks Race to Fitness with Luca Forgeois

Oatworks gave me samples of their product to review, though I was not compensated in any other way. I was invited to attend the event but was not compensated for it. All opinions are my own.

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending Race to Fitness, an event hosted by Oatworks and 24 Hour Fitness featuring 18-year old race car driver Luca Forgeois. Luca has been racing towards his dreams of becoming a professional race car driver after he raced go-karts for the first time at the age of thirteen. He is also an advocate for ADHD awareness and research, having worked to overcome ADHD in his personal life since he was young. Working with CHADD, he was able to get his education back on track when he wasn't able to get the support for his condition through public school. I appreciated that he shared his story with us and talked about how he works to overcome ADHD and not let it stand in the way if his goals.

Before attending the event, I read this article from the Wall Street Journal . It gives some insider details on what it takes to become a professional race car driver and I though it was a really good read. Luca's ultimate goal is to be the youngest race car driver to win Le Mans, and I hope he's able to accomplish it.

The event was held at the 24 Hour Fitness on Fifth Avenue in NYC. Muscle Maker Grill catered the event, providing delicious wraps and salads. Being new to the city, I'm not familiar with good places to eat when I'm there, and now I have a new place to stop when I want food that is quick and healthy.

Shortly after the event started, TRX demonstrations were held. TRX is a 'suspension training' that was born in the Navy SEALS (according to the TRX website) that mostly works by a tool that leverages gravity and your own body weight, allowing you to perform a variety of exercises, developing your core stability, strength, balance, flexibility simultaneously. At first it seems easy, but it's really not (and I'm rather out of shape right now), and my core area still hurts. If I had access to the gym, I would pick this up because I enjoyed it.

Afterwards, Luca Forgeois and Oatworks CEO, David Peters, spoke. Luca spoke about ADHD and how it affected his education, how he has worked to overcome it, his workouts, and his aspirations as a professional race car driver. David Peters talked about Oatworks and what the drink is all about.

Oatworks is drink containing beta glucan (soluble fiber) from oats combined with fruits to create a delicious, portable smoothie. The soluble fiber forms a vicious gel that entraps nutrients, slows down digestion, and delays absorption of glucose to help prevent sugar highs and the inevitable crashes. On top of all that, soluble fiber may help lower cholesterol. Oatworks smoothies contain no added sugar (other than what occurs naturally in fruit), is vegan, gluten, GMO, and dairy free and is kosher. The smoothies contain 3 mg of fiber (2 of which are soluble fiber) per bottle, which is the fiber equivalent of 2 bowls of oatmeal.

Personally, while I really enjoy the consistency and flavor of Oatworks, I've noticed that I sometimes become bloated and insanely full after drinking it (remember, soluble fiber slows down digestion and all that, so it doesn't pass through as quickly as insoluble fiber does). Because of that, I definitely won't be drinking these before a workout, but maybe in between meals or when I miss a meal.

So far, Oatworks is only available in NYC (use their locator to find a source), but can be purchased on Amazon.

Picture courtesy of Losing in the City

Once the talk was over, Luca demonstrated a few of the exercises that make up his workout. He works with weights and resistance, as shown in the two pictures above. I had the opportunity to participate in one of the demonstrations (an ab exercise, at which I was somewhat decent, fortunately). Then, I, along with other participants, "competed" against Luca in a TRX workout. Nobody was keeping count, so we were all declared winners and given gift certificates to Sports Authority! Yay for everyone being winners, right?!

Participants were given goodie bags containing water bottles and towels. I was given a 1Voice wireless speaker beanie to take home. My iPod is too old to work with bluetooth, but I was able to sync it with my laptop and phone (and accidentally called someone in the process...). It's pretty nifty and I'm hooked on the concept of wireless headphones now.

Thank you to the sponsors of the event for hosting a great event and giving us the opportunity to meet Luca Forgeois!

Homemade: How To Make Flour Tortillas

Lately, I've been perfecting my flour tortilla skills. I started off with an Allrecipes recipe, though I didn't like the ingredient proportions and started changing it up. After many a trial and error, I achieved a recipe with the proportions I liked that made 4 large tortillas (or 6 smaller tortillas, depending on preference). I also learned what the dough should look like, how it should feel, and what doesn't work. Also, I've managed to expedite the process, meaning I can roll out a tortilla as one is cooking in the skillet.

Since homemade tortillas are incredibly better than store bought, which a somewhat chewy and soft texture. The taste just can't be beat! I want to share this skill with you so that you can try it for yourself. (Warning: This is a very picture heavy, step-by-step post. Scroll down to the end to see the recipe.)

1. Start by whisking flour with baking powder and salt, then cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse sand. Unlike pastry dough, you don't really want large, pea size pieces of fat.

2. Stir in hot water. Hot water seems to be the traditional method, though many recipes use warm water. If you're following the recipe in this post, use hot water.

3. Using a fork, stir until a shaggy ball of dough forms. Many recipes will suggest adding the water little by little, but I like to err on the side of a softer dough, since rolling out a dry dough is difficult.

4. Using your hands, add up to 4 tablespoons flour until a soft dough forms. Gently "knead" for about 1 minute. It should no longer be sticky, but will remain a little tacky. Dust both sides with flour, place in bowl, and cover. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Other recipes tell you to knead the dough longer, and I will experiment with this more later on.

5. After the dough has rested, place on a floured surface and divide into 4 pieces (or 6 pieces if you want smaller tortillas) for large tortillas. Gently shape into balls using the side of your hand and your fingertips to "pull" the dough from the sides to the bottom, cupping the ball and turning with your hand. This maneuver should also "pinch" the seam on the bottom together. Sprinkle with dough and return to bowl. Cover the pieces that aren't being used.

6. Don't be afraid to use flour. Dust the surface and rolling pin with flour, and keep a small mound off to the side. To keep the dough from sticking, I gave it two rolls, one on the top edge and one on the right diagonal. Then I lifted the dough and turned it counterclockwise to the side that I hadn't rolled yet and repeated the process until the desired size was reached, dusting with flour as needed.

I learned that (duh) you don't want to roll the dough out to the size of the skillet, otherwise it won't fit, whereas an inch or two smaller than the skillet works perfectly.

6.5. Stop to play with your cat when he decides he finally needs affection when you're busy.

7. Normally, the skillet would be heated over a higher, hotter heat, but that doesn't give you room for error. Preheating the skillet over medium heat (or a tad higher) while rolling out the dough gives it time to heat thoroughly. When you place the dough in the skillet, it should immediately start to bubble. If not, raise the heat a little. Cook for about 15-30 second before flipping.

The underside should have golden brown spots. If the heat is too high, the tortilla will brown too much and won't be as pliable after cooling.

This side doesn't need to cook for as long as the first side, so keep an eye on it.

That's all it takes to make tortillas! I promise you that over time, the process becomes second-nature and quicker the more you make it. The "worst" part for me is having to sweep the floor afterward since the flour always flies off the counter.

If you give it a try, let me know how it goes! If you have better tips, share those too.

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Print this recipe

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Recipe by Christina Provo

Yields: 4 large tortillas or 6 smaller tortillas

Ingredients -

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional 3-4 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1/2 cup hot water
Additional flour for dusting

Directions -

1. Whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in shortening until mixture looks like coarse sand. Stir in hot water until a shaggy ball of dough forms. Working with your hands, add up to 4 tablespoons flour to achieve a soft dough that is no longer sticky. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
2. Heat a 10- or 11-inch skillet over medium heat while rolling tortillas. On a floured surface, cut the dough into 4 pieces (or 6 smaller pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and place back in bowl; keep covered. Flouring surface and rolling pin as needed, roll out each piece of dough into a 9- or 10-inch circle, turning dough after two rolls to prevent sticking.
3. Carefully place in heated skillet (you can adjust the tortilla while it's in the skillet by using your finger tips to gently move the tortilla to fit - you won't burn yourself). In 15-30 seconds, the dough will bubble and appear dry on top. Using a pair of tongs, carefully flip over and continue cooking for another 15-20 seconds. Both sides should have golden brown spots. If you cook it too long, the tortilla won't be as pliable after it cools.
4. Remove from skillet to a piece of foil and keep covered until ready to use.