Here are some products I’ve tried lately (or over the last few months…). Some were bad, some were okay, some were good, and some were awesome. So I figured I’d share. I have no affiliation with any of these brands. These are simply my honest opinions.
1. Nama-Age deep fried tofu.
I thought deep fried anything would be good, but this didn’t have any flavor. Bland. Lame.
I wouldn’t buy again.
2. Puro Coffee.
It’s organic and fairtrade and I have liked all the blends I’ve tried (and I’m picky about my java!). I think you all should try to get your hands on some. You can read about their social initiatives and how they’re saving the rainforests on their website. I’m so into them – they have hot chocolate and tea too!
They need more distribution!
3. Baby Gourmet perfect purees baby food.
These pouches are life savers when I’m traveling and on-the-go. He doesn’t love the puree texture (prefers something with more chew), but it works in a pinch.
Would I buy again? I’d love to say no I’ll make my own, but let’s be real. They’re so convenient. Especially for travel with planes, trains, and automobiles.
I got this a long time ago and since we are slowly working our way through the pantry (towards being a nut free household), I gave this to Kyle in his lunch.
We had just gotten home from a trip and didn’t have much in the fridge, so this was exactly what I was looking for as I scavenged the pantry.
It looked small for one portion (in my opinion), and a tad greasy, but he really liked it.
I’d buy it again if we weren’t converting to an allergy friendly atmosphere.
5. Hodo Soy five spice tofu nuggets
Love these. Super flavorful and insanely easy to use in a meal – just throw on a salad, in noodles, atop steamed veggies, etc.
I’m so mad at Costco for discontinuing Hodo Soy’s Yuba Strips. If they get rid of the tofu nuggets too I’m going to have to write to them (again). That said, I am really monitoring (read: limiting) my soy intake these days, on account of my little man’s allergies, so I doubt I’ll be hitting up Costco for soy products in bulk.
6. Fresh ‘N Nova babaghannoush.
I had been working my way through all of Fresh N Nova’s spreads, until P had his little allergy scare. Since then, hummus has been infrequently consumed (on account of the sesame) in the HHH household, which is sad considering how obsessed I am with the stuff.
Anyway, the babaghannoush has tahini too so I’m savoring these products on the late night after P is in bed and when I won’t nurse him again until the allergens are long gone from my milk.
I highly recommend everyone else stuff their faces with these goodies since I cannot.
7. Natural Value organic coconut milk.
It’s hard to find coconut milk (or any non-dairy milk for that matter) without added thickeners and emulsifiers and stabilizers, but this stuff is pure.
Just coconut and water – in a BPA free can to boot.
It’s also the highest fat content I’ve seen anywhere (meaning it’s not as watered down as other canned coconut milk brands). Unfortunately, it’s kinda pricey.
I found it at my local grocery store in the asian food section, but you can order it from amazon too.
I combine one can with one can of water and use that in my coffee. It’s weird seeing fat floating in my coffee but it doesn’t bother me too much since it tastes great.
Would I buy again? I’m alternating between this one and the Trader Joe’s coconut milk. TJ’s is cheaper, but more watered own (so I don’t add water to it).
8. Tessemae’s lemon chesapeake.
My mom bought this as a fish marinade, which we tried on our salmon. I like that the ingredients are clean and there aren’t any weird thickeners or additives, but to be honest, we couldn’t really taste it on the fish. Maybe it would be better as salad dressing?
Would I buy again? Probably not this flavor, but I am curious about the others. They have a ton that all sound really good. I just wish they didn’t all have garlic in them. 🙁
9. Sun Cups.
Oh my gosh, these are so good. They are nut free and gluten free, meaning they are totally safe for me to eat around my little guy. And that makes me very very happy.
The mint is SO good. It’s like a grown up fancy peppermint patty.
The sunflower seed one is great too, obviously. I haven’t tried the milk chocolate ones yet. I think I’ll let Kyle do the (dairy) honors. I’m sure he won’t object.
10. GT’s synergy enlightened black chia.
This was my first chia komucha! I was nervous the texture would be weird for me, which is why I never bought one before. I like chia seeds though, so even though it was kinda like drinking gel, it was still really yummy.
I’d buy it again as a treat, but I’m trying not to spend $$$$ on non-essentials.
those sun cups look awesome! where did you find them?!
My mom is obsessed with those Tessamae’s dressings. She likes lemon garlic the most.
Can’t you try to make hummus yourself? Maybe with avocado or cocos instead of tahini?
Have u dabbled in making coconut milk Kefir? That might help heal some of the gut and allergy issues for both u and ur son. It’s my latest health venture and so far, seems to be helping!
The cherry chia is yummy too. What flavor is the black one?
any grocery store should have them – safeway, raleys, whole foods, etc.
yup! the convenience of buying prepared hummus is obviously a sad loss, but its pretty easy to whip up a bean dip, so ill have to be better about actually doing it.
i havent…are you doing it with the scd technique?
blackberry? i dont know! some kind of berry?!?
Abe and I are both embarassed as to how much we love those Tasty Kitchen noodles.
No, scd doesn’t allow kefir, just yogurt
A local artisan makes it, but it’s so $
I just got some of my own grains and am trying to make it myself.
http://ancientawakenings.net/page2.php. That’s the company I buy from
U ought to try explore Asian mung bean noodles. They also make black bean ones too. The only ingredient is the bean and water. Incredibly easy to digest and really high in protein (25g per serving!) wfm sells them and so does amazon. Might be a good meal for the little guy with some pureed squash or peas as a sauce. It’s my go to meal (i usually blend greens or other veggies into the sauce for an added nutrient punch, along with himalayan salt and collagen)
Oh Lawd it is probably ( definitely) in my best interest that those Sunbutter cups will likely never be readily available to me…Holy ish.
Xxx
Try making your own coconut milk! Blend fresh coconuts with as much or as little water as you want for five minutes and then strain. Voila! Let sit over night or for 2 nights and you can scrape the oil off the topic for homemade coconut oil!
Hi, love your blog, read it for ages but first time to comment. I’m currently on an elimination diet as we suspect allergy in my 12 week old. I was told it would take up to 2 weeks for the protein to clear from my system and therefore by breast milk and not to expect improvement straight away. I’m assuming that’s the same for all proteins, including sesame so maybe double check that it’s ok to eat still? I’m obviously not an expert but I’ve started seeing some great improvement in my daughters skin after nearly two weeks of strict dairy, egg and soy free (and yeah I’m celiac too so eating out is pretty though!!). Just wanted to mention it in case it helps?
I make lots of homemade hummus as I can’t eat sesame. My basic recipe is:
1 can chickpeas (washed & drained)
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice 1/2 lemon (can add more)
Salt & pepper
Blend well
You can also add herbs or spices in too – I often add roasted peppers – enjoy
I love the baby gourmet pouches. I generally make my son’s food but when we were on vacation in the carribbean they were great and weigh so much less than jars. My son is now 14 months and I still use them for snacks and he sucks them straight from the pouch. He loves the apple crisp flavour (it has dairy though). They also have the kids gourmet pouches (for when they get older) that are great snacks on the go.
roasted peppers are the BEST addition 🙂
hmmm…interesting! do you have a link to an article or study or anything by chance? maybe because i don’t nurse P as much as I did when he was 12 weeks i haven’t noticed it, but he seems to be doing much better. Maybe if I remove every single thing it will be even more of an improvement though….hmmm…thanks for the comment and good luck!
Good question! I would usually research something like this to death, but sleep deprivation has taken its toll!
I did do a quick search though and several papers on management pathways in infant allergy in peer-reviewed journals stated to eliminate for 2-4 weeks (longer for severe skin or gastro symptoms) but none of them referenced their source, one paper mentioned a 7 day wash-out period, but again no reference (I can email you the pdf’s if your keen). So frustrating when something is just stated but not referenced! One info sheet from the allergy unit at RPAH mentioned there are traces of cows milk protein in breast milk for up to 24 hrs (http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy/resources/allergy/infosheets.html), but not sure if these have been updated since 2002, and again, it’s not referenced. So I guess no-one must really know how for sure long it takes for it to disappear from breast milk!
So glad to hear P is doing so well! This allergy stuff is so scary and it seems even the experts don’t really understand many aspects of it too well either so I guess to some extent we’ll just have to go by their symptoms. While my daughters skin is lots better her bowels are not really improving.. so not sure if I need to eliminate even more stuff or just wait it out a bit longer. Frustrating stuff, but anything to make her better:)
thanks so much for the thorough reply stina! such a great thing having others to discuss this with! ill do some research and try to find some evidence based articles and studies as well.