Who Knew?!?

Who knew Grocery Outlet would ever carry a gluten, wheat, casein, milk, soy, and nut free macaroni and cheese?  And for only $1.49?!?  (I've only seen one other frozen mac n' cheese like this and it cost over $4.00!)  

But last week I spotted this Ian's Mac & No Cheese in my Crown Hill Grocery Outlet's frozen food section and put a few in my cart to take home.  I bought one for myself and a couple for my friends with food sensitivities.  

Reviews for this product ended up being lukewarm.  The mac n' cheese had an okay taste, kind of like tuna noodle casserole without the tuna.  Or better yet, like that canned chicken noodle soup they used to make years ago, the one with the thick noodles.  

But the consistency of Ian's Mac & No Cheese was little mushy for me, and it didn't cook evenly in the microwave.  I suppose if you didn't know what real mac n' cheese tasted like or you've been on a restrictive diet for quite awhile, you would think it's pretty tasty.  Otherwise, I'd probably pass on this item next time I see it in the freezer section.  

-Kami

Read This Fishy Review!

A recent find of mine at Grocery Outlet was two different types of healthy, frozen fish sticks.  They were both from Van de Kamp’s, and I was curious to see what the difference was between them and more importantly, which one I liked better!

The first one was called Van de Kamp’s 100% Whole Fillets, Healthy Selects Crunchy Fish Fillets.  Two fillets had 170 calories, 3 grams of fat, 420 mg of sodium, and 9 grams of protein per serving. 

The second type of fish sticks were the Van de Kamp’s 100% Whole Fillets, 90 Calorie Crunchy Fish Fillets.  Two fillets (which was considered two servings) had 180 calories, 7.5 grams of fat, 340 mg of sodium, and 8 grams of protein.

Both types of fish sticks had similar nutritional information, except for when it came to grams of fat.  The 90 Calorie Crunchy Fish Fillets had more than twice the amount of fat than the Healthy Selects Crunchy Fish Fillets, but come on, 7.5 grams for two fillets of crunchy, fish stick-goodness doesn’t seem too bad to me!  

The 90 Calorie Crunchy Fish Fillets did stick slightly to the cookie sheet when I cooked them, but overall, I preferred their taste and consistency to that of the Healthy Selects Crunchy Fish Fillets.  But at only $1.99 a box, I would buy either box of fish sticks to have in my freezer for a quick weekday dinner.  (I recently saw similar Van de Kamp’s fish sticks at a local, independent grocery store for more than $7.00 a box!  Just another reason to love Grocery Outlet!)

Check out my Van de Kamp’s 100% Whole Fillets, 90 Calorie Crunchy Fish Fillets fish tacos and side salad. 

Besides the fish fillets, which ingredients did I get from Grocery Outlet?  Flour tortillas, organic salad mix (a large tub for $4.99), tomatoes ($2.99 for about 7 tomatoes), green onions ($0.50 a bunch), canned black beans, radishes (also $0.50 a bunch), and croutons. 

My First Official Wine Wednesday! (An Ode to Kathie Lee and Hoda! )

I’m the first to admit it, I don’t know a lot about wine.  

In fact, it’s only been in the last year or two that I stopped making that ugly, bitter face that non-wine drinkers make when they drink wine.  I used to only order a glass of wine at a restaurant when they didn’t serve hard alcohol.  And yes, I was the one in the wine aisle picking out a bottle based on the cutest label or cleverest name (Alright…I still do that.  A girl has to have some reason for trying a new bottle, doesn’t she?!?)  

But slowly over time (and after many happy hours with my friends), I’ve learned to like wine, or at least identify what kinds of wine I like (usually sweet ones).  I have even taken a wine tasting class with my brother at North Seattle Community College.  (You should check it out. It's fun, tasty, and educational!   http://www.learnatnorth.org/classes.html)  And I can honestly say I enjoy having an occasional glass of wine...it defiantly makes coming home from work and cooking dinner a lot more enjoyable, that's for sure! 

So when you read my Wine Wednesday review each week, look for a review that is short, sweet, and real...no uppity wine snobs here!  

This week’s review is on California Rabbit: Hopping White, 2009.  It’s a white wine blend from California.  According to the label, the “lightweight glass bottle reduces packaging by 30% and reduces carbon footprint by 25% while delivering fine wine in an elegant bottle with a convenient screw-top!“  I thought the name was fun and the graphics cute.  It’s a pretty tasty white wine, not too sweet, not too dry. I had some yesterday, and I tried it again today.  I think it had a better taste the first day, so I would recommend not opening this bottle unless you’re going to finish it in one day…perhaps on an outing with your friends?  And at $2.99 it is quite the deal!  Make sure to get a few bottles before Grocery Outlet sells out.  (You never know if and when they will carry it again!)

Here's the Plan

I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of good deals!

Over the past year I have been finding a lot of good deals at my local Grocery Outlet, and I have been telling my friends about the great deals so much that it's pretty much a running joke between us now..."Where did you get this great cheese/dip/cookie/wine/etc...Grocery Outlet?!?"  And then we laugh, because usually the answer is "Yes!"

My plan right now is to blog twice a week.  Once, on Wine Wednesdays, when I review a bottle of wine from Grocery Outlet, and then again on Fridays, where you will find a recommendation, review, or recipe about a product purchased at Grocery Outlet.

I hope you find my site fun and useful!
Kami