Great Value Classic Alfredo Sauce Review

I slept in this morning. It was nice. I didn't even set my alarm. I think is was about 9 or 9:30 when I got up. I didn't really look at the clock, not with glasses anyway. I made two 3 minute oatmeal cookies for breakfast. One for today and one for later.

These have the last piece of dark chocolate from my Christmas candy in them. It was a chocolate covered caramel with nuts. I also used dried cranberries, chopped dates and walnuts. This was a great use for those chewy caramels that I normally don't eat. 

I didn't have the girls until around lunch time. I fixed them a bite to eat, but I didn't actually have my lunch until later. I had a Gardein Chick'n Scallopini on a Kaiser roll with spinach, red onion, green pepper, cucumber, spicy ranch dressing and black pepper.

When I got my sandwich fixed Lexi ask if she could try a bite of it. I wasn't sure if she'd like it, but since she was willing to try it, I let her have a bite. I was surprised when she asked if she could have one of her own.

So I fixed her one too. We left off the onion, added pickle slices and switched the spicy ranch out with regular ranch dressing. I still can't believe she ate the whole thing. It was a pretty big sandwich.

While Mary took a nap, Lexi and I did crafts again. We made sort of a garden scene.

We made snails out of pipe cleaners and flower leaves with tissue paper.

We glued on a puffy flower and butterflies which were off of broken kids jewely. Neither of us were up to boxing on the Wii, but she did play baseball and bowling after doing our crafts.

My camera battery died just after taking a picture of Lexi's sandwich and so I had to take a picture of her art with the old camera. I misplaced my camera cord temporarily, so I also had to take a photo of my afternoon snack with the old camera as well. I had and orange cut up with vanilla yogurt and Kellogg's Fiber Plus Berry Yogurt Crunch cereal in a glass, parfait style. It was a bit too much for the glass. It was very good. This would have also been great for breakfast, but it was my last orange, so I'll have do that when I get some more oranges.

For dinner I tried Great Value Classic Alfredo sauce.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1/4 cup (61g)

Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 90
Calories 110

% Daily Values*
Total Fat 10g     15%
      Saturated Fat 3.5g     18%
      Polyunsaturated Fat 3.5g    
      Monounsaturated Fat 2.5g    
      Trans Fat 0g    
Cholesterol 30mg     10%
Sodium 350mg     15%
Potassium 30mg    
Total Carbohydrate 2g     1%
      Dietary Fiber 0g     0%
      Sugars 0g    
      Other Carbohydrate 0g    
Protein 1g    

Vitamin A 4%         Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 4%         Iron 0%
*    Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

I had it over fettucini noodles and steamed broccoli, sprinkled with some black pepper (and a little Parmesan last minute, not in the pictures).

I made sure to used plenty of broccoli. I enjoyed every bite. I couldn't have cared less, how much it cost or what brand it was. It was good.

I'm giving it 4 stars. I'd gladly buy this again.

BTW, it took me a bit to find my camera cord, but I finally found it in time to get the camera charged and take the photos of dinner. It was right were I'd left it, but I didn't know what I was looking for, lol. For some reason, I thought the cord was for something else and that the cord for the camera had a different type of plug on the end. I've got to get a label maker, so that I can label my cords and cables. With multiple electronic devices and multiple cords and cables, it's very easy to get them mixed up. It would be so much easier and quicker for those of us without a brain, if they were labelled. Well, it's late, as usual and I'm off to get some shut eye. Have a great night/day!!!

Great Value Chili Beans And Seasoned Deli Style Potato Wedges

This morning I was changing things up a little. Instead of another everything bagel, I had a peanut butter and banana smoothie. No matter how many of these I have, I'm always disappointed when I get to the bottom of the glass. 

For lunch I tried some GV chili beans. They were pretty good. I did add just a little water to make them a bit soupier. I had them in a bowl topped with a little chopped onion, some shredded spinach, and a well done, fried egg.

I wasn't sure whether I should eat with a spoon or a fork. Fortunately the spoon worked out just fine. The heat from the chili and the fried egg sort of cooked the spinach down, which is what I had intended for it.

Some might think this is a strange dish, but it was actually very good. I love coming up the things you don't get everyday. This would probably be good with some cheese and salsa as well, but I was sort of avoiding the cheese. I gave the chili beans 3 stars. I liked them, nothing special about them though, just beans in a chili flavored sauce. I would buy them again. They are great for a quick meal.

For my afternoon snack I had another of Lucas' pecan delights. He hasn't been eating them because of a bad tooth. The turtle cookies he made doesn't seem to bother him much though.

I had a headache for some reason today. I assumed it was lack of caffeine. I also avoided caffeine today. I've been having too much lately. I took a nap to help get rid of the headache. That worked pretty well. I had an orange when I got up. I've really been wanting another pomelo, but I haven't been back to the grocery store where we got the last one. The Walmart here doesn't have them. They hardly have anything any more. I always forget about stopping by the store were we got the pomelo. The oranges are a pretty good substitute though.

I really overdid it at dinner time. I had a huge burger with seasoned deli style potato wedges, a MSF grillers prime veggie burger with spinach, red onion, white American cheese, pickles, and Mesquite BBQ sauce on a Kaiser roll.

The potato wedges  were also GV brand. They were very good. I gave them 5 stars. They were so good, I ate too many. As badly as I wanted to, I wasn't able to eat them all though. I was miserably full afterwards.

I finally got my Wardrobe moved into the living room. DH brought in from the bedroom this evening. I still have a little to do before I get things straightened out, but it's getting there. Now I'm off to bed. Have a great night/day!!!

Great Value Vegetarian Vegetable Soup Review

It's another cool sunny morning and as nice as it is, I still wasn't anxious to get up. I was sleeping quite nicely this morning. The first part of the night didn't go as well. It was nice to finally get into a deep dreamy sleep and not so nice, for it to be interrupted by the sound of my alarm. I sort of felt that way yesterday as well. I depend on breakfast to wake me up. I had a trail mix bagel from the never ending bagel supply in my freezer, spread with light cream cheese and topped with dried raspberries (I think they're actually raspberry flavored cranberries), raisins, white chocolate chips, almonds, and sunflower seeds along with half a Gala apple.

The bagel and apple were not enough of an eye opener, so I also had a nice hot cup of orange passion fruit & jasmine green tea sweetened with coconut sugar and with a little added lemon juice. I was just too lazy to make coffee, tea is so much quicker and easier.

I tried to lighten up lunch just a little. I had leftover mac & cheese, mix vegetables and a salad of spring mix, cucumber, carrot, onion, and sweet banana pepper. I used seasoned rice vinegar for dressing. It adds flavor to my salad without all the calories and fat.

For my afternoon snack, I had a little Cajun snack mix and a few cheerios. The Cajun mix is sort of sweet spicy. The cheerios help cut down on the sweetness.

I made cornbread for dinner. I had intended to make my "soft cornbread", but I didn't have everything I needed to make it, so I just went with regular cornbread.

It was still very good. I was really in the mood for it.

I had a piece with a bowl of Great Value vegetarian vegetable soup.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 123 G
Servings Per Container About 2.5
Amount Per Serving
Calories 90
Calories from Fat 5
                                   % Daily Value*
Total Fat   0.5 G                     1
Saturated Fat   0 G                0
Trans Fat   0 G
Cholesterol   0 Mg                 0
Sodium   740 Mg                 31
Potassium   200 Mg               6
Total Carbohydrate  19 G      6
Dietary Fiber   2 G                8
Sugars 4 G
   
Protein        2 G    
Vitamin A     50
Vitamin C     0
Calcium        2
Folic Acid     0

(-) Information is currently not available for this nutrient.

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:**

** Percent Daily Values listed below are intended for adults and children over 4 years of age. Foods represented or purported to be for use by infants, children less than 4 years of age, pregnant women, or lactating women shall use the RDI's that are specified for the intended group provided by the FDA.
                                       Calories:     2,000         2,500
Total Fat                          Less than     65g          80g
Sat. Fat                           Less than     20g          25g
Cholesterol                      Less than     300mg     300mg
Sodium                            Less than     2400mg     2400mg
Potassium                                            3500mg     3500mg
Total Carbohydrate                               300mg     375mg
Dietary Fiber                                         25mg     30mg

Calories per gram:

Fat 9·Carbohydrate 4·Protein 4

The soup wasn't bad. It was actually better than I expected, although it doesn't feel very grown up with alphabet noodles floating around in it. I'm not the biggest fan of canned soup. It's usually pretty hard to find soup that's vegetarian without buying expensive brands and even then you have to read the labels. What appears to be vegetarian may include chicken or beef fat or broth, etc. The allergy warning on the GV Vegetable Soup was "May contain traces of milk, shrimp, and soy." Some vegetarians may worry about the shrimp, of course it did say traces.

It's mainly alphabet noodles and potatoes in a tomato broth with a few peas and carrots thrown in, but it is GV so who expected anything fancy right?  I give it 3 stars just for what it is, cheap, canned soup, nothing to get excited about. I liked it, it tasted pretty good, and it filled the void. It also went pretty well with the cornbread.

For dessert I had a little rice krispy treat, left from Lexi's lunchable.

I finished up my book (One for the Money by Janet Evanovich) yesterday. I gave it 5 stars. I actually liked it better than The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo which only got 4 stars. I also started on The Girl Who Played with Fire last night. I have two weeks to read it, since it's a library ebook and I'm not sure if I can renew it, so you can guess, I'll be reading quite a bit. I also have to get ready for the girls (Lexi & Mary) in few days. Tonight though, we are having our Glow Party at Zumba where we'll be wearing white with glow in the dark bracelets, etc. under black lights. It will be so much fun. Happy Tuesday!!!

Great Value Friday

 I'm behind again this morning. I stayed up too late and didn't get up when I should have. I've also been continuously sidetracked since I did get up.

Yesterday went smoother, it seemed more relaxed. I was more relaxed anyway. I had a Great Value cinnamon waffle for breakfast with Planters creamy peanut butter and GV syrup. I normally get light syrup, but they were out. I'm not sure GV has light syrup. I usually buy syrup from Aldis.

I just used a little syrup. I don't like to use much anyway. The peanut butter tones down the sweetness of the syrup.

The waffle was pretty good. I think I could have eaten two, but I didn't and I was fine with just one.

For lunch, I added two slices of GV white American cheese and some chopped broccoli to the leftover potato soup. It was good.

A great leftover makeover.

I did have to cook it for a bit to soften up the broccoli even though it was chopped small, but next time I will precook  the broccoli.

I had a cup of green tea with lemon juice and coconut sugar, I actually had two. I had one after lunch because I had a sinus headache and I was hoping the hot drink and bit of caffeine would help. I ended up taking an ibuprofen and a nap. The other cup of tea, I had later before dinner.

I had pizza for dinner, which I made, but not from scratch. I bought GV refrigerated pizza dough, which comes in a can like biscuits, cinnamon rolls, etc. I rolled it out into a pan that was a little longer than the suggested size for a thinner crust. I used a small can of tomato sauce with added pizza seasoning, rosemary, garlic and a little salt for the sauce. I topped it with canned mushrooms, onion slices, chopped bell pepper and broccoli, then I sprinkled it with a shredded Italian cheese blend.

The dough is suppose to go in a greased pan, so I used olive oil, but the dough wanted to draw up away from the edges of the pan. I was using up the last of my fresh broccoli to avoid having it go to waste.

I wasn't too impress with the pizza. I used pizza seasoning in my sauce instead of plain oregano and it just didn't have the flavor I was going for. The top of my pizza was getting done quicker than the bottom for some reason and the crust was soft like a biscuit instead of slightly crispy. I like homemade better, which I may do next time. I had spring mix/spinach salad and spicy ranch dressing to go with the pizza.

It made 8 slices; I had 2. I may freeze a few slices for later, so that I'm don't wind up eat pizza for several days.

I was late getting started last night, sorting and uploading photos. I also got interested in tv, etc. while I was doing the photos and later getting it done than I had planned. I read some before going to bed as well. I am at an interesting part in the book (One for the Money, Janet Evanovich). On top of everything else, I didn't sleep well. We're planning to walk today. I am going to do better today. Happy Saturday!!

Great Value Lean Cafe Is Not My Favorite

Hey, it's Zumba day...for me at least. I'm still feeling sort of sleepy, but I'm in a pretty good mood. It was a tiny bit cooler yesterday and this morning. We got a little rain which was a good thing. It is a little warm in the house this morning. The a/c is being weird, says it's cooler than it feels. I cleaned the filter yesterday. It's still being weird this morning, but it is cooler than it is outside.

I used the last of the flax milk yesterday when I made my Banana Pudding smoothie. I'd bought Food Lion's generic brand of yogurt before and I liked it. It used to be "Food Lion" brand, but they've switched to "My Essentials", which says it's Swiss yogurt. I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not, but I am not a fan of the "My Essentials" vanilla yogurt. It's sweeter, I think and definitely runnier. It didn't effect the taste of my smoothie too much, but the consistency was a little different.

 

It was cold and yummy on a hot morning, but I think I may pass on the "My Essentials" yogurt next time.

 

I had my two favorite girls (Lexi & Mary), over for a little while yesterday while their Mom had a doctor appointment. Since we will be getting another grand baby before long, I will be having them over regularly. I can't imagine 3. It should be interesting. Lexi is a ball of energy and Mary is already imitating Lexi, but I think Mary has more of a temper. Right now, it's funny when she gets mad, she smacks herself, but I assume she will get over that and move on to something different.

I had GV Lean Cafe, cheese ravioli for lunch yesterday. I added cheese to the top. I forgot a picture of the box, but it didn't come with cheese on top. Lexi had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch, she saw I had cheese on mine, so she wanted cheese on hers. She didn't eat the meatballs. I don't think she ever does, at least not here. Mary wasn't interested in anything. She ate a cracker and a vanilla wafer as she left. She cutting teeth and drinks more than she eats.

The sauce on the ravioli was better than the ziti, but I believe I liked the ziti better. Some of the ravioli was under done, but it wasn't bad. The cheese helped.

 

After the girls went home, I had my cream filled KK donut, which I'd frozen first. These are so much better frozen, but I do wish they'd skip the glaze, it's a bit too much for me, which is why I prefer the sugar donuts.

 

This....well this is the little GV Lean Cafe cheese pizza or at least I think it's cheese, that's what it's suppose to be anyway. I decided to fix this in the toaster oven instead of the microwave. Needless to say, it got a little over done. The cheese was like leather. I'm not sure if that was because of being over cooked or not. I've done this to other pizzas and it was not the same texture, in fact I normally like my cheese browned a little and even the part that wasn't brown, had the same texture. I didn't like this pizza and I wouldn't want it again. I ate it, but it definitely got a thumbs down.

 

Great Value Lean Cafe is not my favorite, but it is edible. I guess when you buy cheap, you get cheap, but I think it may be better to make your own and freeze it. Well, gotta wrap this up. Happy Tuesday!