Readers of this blog know where we stand on soft drinks, vitamin waters, and juice drinks. They’re either full of sugar, or full of chemicals. The best hydration solution is tap water and y’all know it.

However, many of us have become so accustomed to flavored beverages that is nearly impossible to drink plain water. Not to mention kids who once sampling apple juice, Kool-Aid or Coke, can’t seem to enjoy water anymore.

Into this

We were recently contacted by Hint, a small company that makes unsweetened, flavored waters. We had a sample case sent to Crystal, a Fooducate blog reader. Here is what she had to say:

I received HINT water in six different flavors.  HINT water is just that, water.  HINT does not have contain any sugar, contains no artificial sweeteners or colors.  What is does contain is water, real fruit flavor and ‘natural’ flavors.    Their motto is “Drink water, not sugar”, which is great!  My family does not drink sodas of any kind, high fructose corn syrup or any food that contains any artificial colors or sweeteners, so I was very happy to be trying this product.  They are available nationally at Whole Foods and Starbucks, and many other grocery stores.

Of the six flavors sent to me (Blackberry, Mango Grapefruit, Strawberry Kiwi, Pomegranate Tangerine, Raspberry Lime, and Watermelon), there was a big difference in perceived sweetness, how close the taste was to product name (did the watermelon taste like watermelon), and how long lasting the taste stayed in your mouth.

Some of the waters were too ‘sweet’ for my tastes (Strawberry Kiwi), but my 17 month old daughter called it ‘juice’, and I felt comfortable giving it to her, knowing it was just water, she drank her whole sippy cup of Strawberry Kiwi HINT ‘juice’.  The Mango Grapefruit was a ‘no go’ for me, it didn’t taste like either fruit, and was just un-enjoyable.  The Mango Grapefruit HINT was the only flavor I did not finish.  The Pomegranate Tangerine had a nice, subtle, refreshing flavor that I really enjoyed, and the Watermelon had a very light ‘hint’ of flavor, I might buy this one.  However, my absolute favorite was Blackberry!    The Blackberry was unbelievably fantastic, true to taste, not overly sweet, and actually made me smile.

As an expecting mom with a toddler, I am always reading labels in the grocery store, and usually walk right by the water section, but now I think I will keep a look out for HINT, for a nice break from my 2 Liter per day water routine.  I would definitely recommend HINT water to my own friends and family.  It would be a great replacement for all those other sugar laden ‘vitamin waters’ for those who just don’t drink tap water.

Thanks for letting me try this product!

What you need to know:

This is an easy product to write about because there is really nothing to say about it nutritionally. No calories, no artificial sweetener, or artificial anything. The company is small and still owned an operated by its founders, a wife and husband duo and parents to 4 kids.

What to do at the supermarket:

If you can avoid buying drinks at the supermarket – good for you. Tap water is safe, free, and abundant. For those who still need some flavor, you can easily add a wedge of lemon or some mint leaves to your water pitcher.

But, if you want the convenience of a prepared drink, Hint may work out well for you.

Disclosure: HINT contacted us and offered to send  us samples. We had them sent to a family of volunteer testers. We did not pay for the samples. We were not paid to post this blog nor were we instructed in any which way regarding its content. In fact, we forewarned the company that we are skeptical and scathing of most  products sent our way. If you would like to have something new and possibly tasty sent to you, why not become a Fooducate Product Tester? Just shoot us an email with your mailing address, telling us why you’d like to be a product tester. blog [at] fooducate [dot] com.

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Following up on the yesterday’s blog post, we recently took a look at POMI canned tomatoes, that come in a BPA-free package. Penny, a fooducate product tester got a a test pack sent to her home and had only good things to say:

I personally liked them a lot. They make three different products: marinara sauce, strained tomatoes which I received and is similar to tomato sauce as well as chopped tomatoes. I also got a box of those and the chopped tomatoes seem to be a cross between diced and crushed tomatoes. Here’s a picture of the chopped tomatoes in the box.

The neat thing is they don’t take up as much space in your cabinet because of their shape. Bonus point for that especially if you lack kitchen space.

Here’s all the important NO’s you will find with this product: NO preservatives, added colors, GMO’s, artificial flavors, added water, salt or citric acid.

Now the most important thing of them all – how did they taste. Well, they tasted exactly like they should. They tasted like fresh tomatoes. Which is a good thing right?

Would I buy them if I saw them in the store? Yes I would. Pomi would win over other brands because of no GMO’s, the great box shape and especially being BPA free.

In case you were wondering, POMI rates high on the Fooducate iPhone app:

What to do at the supermarket:

Pomi is in the minority, as 92% of canned and packed products do have BPA in the packaging. There are some brands that are committed to being BPA-free (see yesterday’s post), but unless you see a BPA free label, assume you’re getting it. Organic does not mean BPA-free.

Disclosure: Ah, the perks of food blogging…Pomi Marketing contacted us and offered to send  us samples. We had them sent to a family of volunteer testers. We did not pay for the samples. We were not paid to post this blog nor were we instructed in any which way regarding its content. In fact, we forewarned the good people at Pomi  that we are skeptical and scathing of most  products sent our way. If you would like to have something new and possibly tasty sent to you, why not become a Fooducate Product Tester? Just shoot us an email with your mailing address, telling us why you’d like to be a product tester. blog [at] fooducate [dot] com.

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Fooducate blog reader and tea lover Julia recently received a sample pack of a new Japanese tea brand called Sokenbicha (“SO-can-BEE-cha”). It comes in 5 flavors (based on a holistic 5 elements theory – earth,wind, wood, water, and metal):

• Revive, a crisp Oolong tea blend infused with pomegranate and raspberry notes, black tea and rose hips
• Defend, a mild Oolong tea blend with guava leaves and ginseng
• Purify, an aromatic green tea blend with chamomile and aloe
• Shape, a bold barley tea blend with peach flower notes, pu’er and green teas
• Skin, a full-bodied barley tea blend with cinnamon and ginger

OK, so that was the marketing lingo. Below is Julia’s assessment:

• Shape flavor is smells good, but when I drink it I don’t think it has that much flavor except for a plastic-y aftertaste. I’m surprised this is on the “full bodied” end of the scale. It is very mild overall.
• Purify flavor tastes a lot more like tea to me. I’m surprised because it’s not supposed to be as “full-bodied” as Shape. I really like how it smells.
• Skin tasted really good. I really liked the cinnamon flavor, and the ginger, too.
• Defend is the one I like the most so far. It has a milder flavor than “Skin” but still has the strong tea taste that I really like.
• Revive was my favorite flavor of all the teas. I like oolong and rosehip tea quite a bit, and this combined them well. It was very aromatic and had a good balance of the tea taste with unique flavor.

Let’s see how these teas fare nutritionally…

What you need to know:

Tea is great when consumed without added sugars. Brewing it at home is the cheapest way to enjoy tea, but for many people buying bottled tea is the more convenient solution. Unfortunately, many bottled teas are full of sugars and colorings.

The Sokenbicha line is unsweetened. It has zero calories and nothing artificial. Not bad considering the parent company is Coca Cola…

Here is the ingredient list for the Revive flavor:

Water, Brewed Tea and Botanical Extracts (Oolong Tea Leaves, Black Tea Leaves, Rose Petals, Rose Hips, and Ginseng), Natural Flavors, Citric Acid.

Water – check!

Tea and extracts – check!

No sugar – check!!!

But why the added “natural flavors”? Why the added Citric Acid?

These 2 ingredients would not be used in a home brew, after all.

Natural flavors added to the mix means that the great taste Julia was enjoying does not come completely from the tea and extracts but from some additional flavorings that are a Sokenbicha trade secret. But why, if the listed ingredients are of high quality as boasted in the marketing information, would natural flavoring need to be added?

Citric acid is a natural preservative that adds an acidic, or sour, taste to beverages. It is found naturally in citrus fruits. Why is it used in a tea? Most likely to increase shelf life.

OK – so a home brew might  be the best, but if you’re going to choose bottled teas, Sokenbicha seems to be a good choice. No calories, no artificial sweeteners, five flavors to choose from, and a very good story.

What to do at the supermarket:

If you want to save money, buy tea leaves or bags for brewing. But if you like the convenience of bottled tea, choose a non-sweetened version. You’ll get used to the taste after a few bottles.

Disclosure: Ah, the perks of food blogging… Sokenbicha contacted us and offered to send  us samples. We had them sent to a volunteer tester. We did not pay for the samples. We were not paid to post this blog nor were we instructed in any which way regarding its content. In fact, we forewarned the manufacturer  that we are skeptical and scathing of most  products sent our way.

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Odwalla, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Coca Cola Company, has been making juices, smoothies, and food bars since the mid 1980′s. A company representative reached out to us a few weeks ago regarding a new product with the very promising name you see in the title of this blog post.

We had samples sent to loyal fooducate community member Susan and her family, while we tried to figure out this plant sterol business. Here is what Susan had to say:

My husband was excited to see “heart health” on the label.  He’s been battling high cholesterol for over 20 years.

The back label of this Odwalla Heart Health beverage has a serious little black box stating:

“PLANT STEROLS & HEART DISEASE: foods containing at least 0.4g per serving of plant sterols, consumed twice a day with meals for a daily total intake of at least 0.8g, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. A serving of Odwalla Heart Health contains 0.4 grams of plant sterols.  One bottle of Owdalla Heart Health contains 0.8g of plant sterols.”

Wowee. All my hubby has to do is guzzle one bottle of this stuff a day and he “may reduce his risk of heart disease”. Sounds easy, right?

Unfortunately, no one in my family could find a way to actually drink an entire bottle.

It was too thick. Too gooey.

Hubby thinned it out with water, but still was unable to drink an entire bottle of the heart healthy beverage. One of my daughters poured some into a fancy plastic wine glass but only took a few sips. She said it was  too dense to drink.

As for me, just looking at the myriad of ingredients, 13 in all, did not make me thirsty:

APPLE JUICE, PEACH PUREE, BANANA PUREE, STRAWBERRY PUREE, BOYSENBERRY PUREE, PLUM PUREE, LESS THAN 2% OF WATER, CONCORD GRAPE JUICE, PINEAPPLE JUICE, POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, PLANT STEROLS, VEGETABLE AND BERRY EXTRACTS (PURPLE CARROT, BLACK CARROT AND LINGONBERRY) AND CITRUS PULP.

Most of the ingredients I could pronounce and recognize as a food. The two that weren’t were potassium phosphate and “plant sterols”. Where are these magical sterols from, anyway?
Plant sterols are extracts of certain plants that, when ingested, have been shown to inhibit the absorption of cholesterol in the small intestine. They’re naturally found in most whole foods and are now finding their way into all sorts of food products.  Time will tell if plant sterols are the real deal or just hype.

All that fruit puree and fruit juice adds up to quite a sugar rush. I really don’t see how drinking a beverage like this, sterols or not, can work to reduce your cholesterol. As a matter of fact, there is a pediatric endocrinologist out at UCSF who has some research to show that drinking fruit juice can actually raise your cholesterol -  Sugar the Bitter Truth

I think our family will pass. We’ll just eat real fruit and drink some water instead.

What you need to know:

Susan pretty much summed up the nutrition review, but we’d like to add a few points:

Each bottle actually contains 2 servings, not one, and supposedly is not meant for one portion. Perhaps that is the reason that nobody was able to finish the drink.

The sugars in the juice are all from the fruit, but at 26 grams, (8.5 teaspoons per serving) or 17 teaspoons for the bottle, that’s a lot of sugar! You’d have to eat 3 apples or 4 oranges to get the same amount. And you’d feel a lot more satiated.

When you eat real fruit, you also enjoy the benefit of fiber and hundreds of additional nutrients that don’t necessarily make it into the juice. In this product, the fiber content is not even mentioned (which is strange because the FDA mandates the labeling of fiber content). It’s probably safe to assume that there is little to no fiber in this juice.

We like the fact that the ingredient list is mostly understandable to humans. The potassium phosphate is an additive that emulsifies the contents in the bottle, keeping all the bits and pieces mixed together.

Plant sterols, also know as phytosterols, are “steroid alcohols” that occur naturally in plant oils, such as soybean oil. Their cholesterol lowering effect has been studied, but not all the tests have been positive so far. That’s why the phrasing is carefully worded “May reduce…”

The product name is carefully phrased though, to lead consumers to believe they have found the fountain of youth…

What to do at the supermarket:

Fruit juice should be considered a treat, not a beverage for hydration. We’ve got free tap water for that. Choose 100% fruit juices when you do choose. As for health claims, better to get the real deal from real fruit.

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Kix is a kid’s cereal that’s been around for over 70 years. It recently went through what marketing professionals call a “brand refresh”. See the new package image above.

The package promises “Kid Tested, Mother Approved”. So we had two fooducate community members receive a sample box to try with their kids (and get their approval), while we went over the nutrition information.

Here’s what Laura, a mom with 4 kids wrote: First, I measured the recommended 1 1/4-cup serving of Kix cereal with 1/2-cup milk. Then I let my four kids, between ages 5 and 12, run with it.  Being an entirely new experience for them, these are a few of the things they said while eating:

“Well, it’s really sweet.”
“It tastes like corn.”
“It’s pretty basic, and I like that.”
“It tastes really sweet at first and then just like corn.”
“I don’t really like corn.”
“I could eat this everyday.”

Overall, during the experience itself, my kids and I were satisfied.  The cereal was fun to eat, lightly crunchy–not one to tear the roof of one’s mouth apart–and rather sweet.  However, the serving size was quickly consumed, leaving four children looking around at each other and then inside the cupboards and refrigerator.  Just barely over one cup of the sweetly puffed cereal left my athletic and active kids still rather hungry.  So, I passed out a tangerine and planned for a heartier late-morning snack.

My own experience mirrors the kids’.  It was light, crunchy, rather sweet, and puffed corn for breakfast; fun to eat, but wholly unsatisfying by the end.  But, this comes from a family that eats oatmeal, pancakes, eggs and such for breakfasts.  For us, cereal is a once-in-a-while treat, so, although I liked the low-sugar levels of this brand, I would prefer more substance, more fiber perhaps.  Or, maybe we’ll just add some fruit and sausages on the side, if we ever choose to eat Kix again.

Here’s what Jessica wrote: I checked the label first thing, and the sugar content wasn’t bad, however, the sodium was really too high for my liking. This alone would keep me from purchasing this product. I do not like a breakfast cereal to have more sodium per serving than potato chips. It bothers me.

Aside from the sodium being high, we thought this would make a good occasional “busy snack”. As in, something small, non messy, and easily portable that our child can snack on while we’re on the go. It tasted good, and our toddler very much enjoyed a handful here and there. Being only 3 yrs old, he’s not much into cold cereal with milk yet.

I tried it as a breakfast for a few days, and honestly, I was left starving an hour later. At which point I resorted to a whole fruit to keep me feeling full until lunch. It really isn’t a very substantial breakfast, certainly not something I want my child to rely on for his morning meal.

I think the remainder of the box will be added to our homemade sugar free yogurt with fruit… sort of a kix parfait.

What you need to know:

A serving size is over one cup in size, but from a weight perspective is only 1 ounce. Such is the voluminous nature of puffed corn products. There are only 110 calories per serving. But as you can see from the reviews, a single serving is not enough. If you start consuming twice or 3 times the serving size, the calories will add up.

Each comes with 3 grams of fiber (good) and just 3 grams of sugar (very good for a kid cereal). The sodium count is high though – 180 mg or 8% of the daily value.

This is the ingredient list:

Whole Grain Corn, Corn Meal, Sugar, Corn Bran, Salt, Brown Sugar Syrup, Trisodium Phosphate. Vitamin E (Mixed Tocopherols) Added to Preserve Freshness. Vitamins and Minerals: Calcium Carbonate, Iron and Zinc (Mineral Nutrients), Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbate), a B Vitamin (Niacinamide), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B1 (Thiamin Mononitrate), Vitamin A (Palmitate), a B Vitamin (Folic Acid), Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3.

You can see that whole grain corn is used, but not exclusively – corn meal is also used. The ingredients are easy to understand, up until the trisodium phosphate. This is a chemical used as food additive and also as a stain remover when painting. The rest of the ingredients are fortifications of vitamins and minerals.

Bottom line: Of sweetened kids cereals, Kix seems to be one of the better options. If only it were more filling.

PS: If you’ll take a look at the box again, you’ll see a marketing claim that we shrug off “Made with all natural corn”. What does that mean? Corn is natural isn’t it?

What to do at the supermarket:

When buying cereal, look for a sugar count lower than 6 grams AND a fiber count higher than 3 grams. Avoid artificial colorings and partially hydrogenated oils (trans-fat). For more tips on choosing a healthy cereal, download our free ebook.

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We’re big on yogurt here at Fooducate, and recently wrote about the growing popularity of Greek yogurt. Voskos is a brand of Greek Yogurt from Sun Valley Dairy of San Francisco, competing in a growing market.

They have a “natural” line of products using milk from cows that were not treated with growth hormones, as well as an Organic line with even stricter standards. The plain flavors come in full fat, low fat, and non-fat. The fruit flavors and the organic line are all non-fat.

The marketing people at Voskos offered to send some samples of their products to one of our readers. Cassie C., a Fooducate community member,  received them, and here is what she had to say:

Let me start by saying that it took me a long time to enjoy Greek Yogurt. I like to think of it as beer – it’s an acquired taste.

Prior to trying Voskos brand Greek Yogurt, I had been a fan of Fage and Oikos; however, I only enjoyed the honey flavor. I couldn’t enjoy plain.

I was sent 6 samples of low fat and no fat plain Greek Yogurt by Sun Valley Dairy, Voskos brand. I had never heard of it and was eager to try it.

For those who have never eaten Greek Yogurt, please know, it tends to be much thicker than ‘regular’ yogurt and it has a more bitter taste and it’s not as smooth. This yogurt, however, was very smooth and didn’t have the same bitterness I’ve found with Fage and Oikos yogurt. I was actually, for the first time, able to eat it plain.

I was extremely happy to see that it was only 160 calories per container and 23 grams of protein. Also, with it being unflavored, the sugar content was nice and low.

Being pregnant and a nurse, all of these things are very important to me, and I found after eating it in the morning mixed with some granola, I was full until lunch.

The ingredient list is the way it should be – short, sweet, and to the point
All in all, this is a fantastic product. I hope to see it on the shelves near me, soon.

What you need to know:

Greek yogurt does tend to be thicker than regular yogurt because it is strained, it loses water this way. That’s why the nutrietn count count is high compared to regular yogurt (23 grams vs. 12 for protein). On average, people need about 50 grams of protein a day, and this is the one nutrient that we get more than enough of during the day. So don’t fall for the protein hype.

There are more important reasons to love yogurt. The big value is the help it provides to the digestive system through the billions of helpful bacteria found in each serving.

Here’s the ingredient list for the lowfat yogurt:

Grade A Pasteurized Skim Milk, Cream, Live and Active Cultures.

It’s 160 calories, slightly higher than non-Greek low-fat yogurts with 140 calories. No biggie.

With 2 grams of saturated fat (10% of the daily max), and just 7 grams of naturally occurring sugar (2 tsp), this is a good deal. If you decide to try the flavored options you’ll be getting a lot more sugar.

Another benefit is the 25% daily value for calcium, a nutrient some people are not getting enough of, crucial for bone growth and health.

Overall: Thumbs up to Voskos plain yogurts.

What to do at the supermarket:

Whether Greek or other type of yogurt – go for the plain variety. In many cases, they also come in multiserving containers that save you money. Mix with your own honey, fruit, granola, or pretty much anything and enjoy.

Disclosure: Ah, the perks of food blogging…Voskos Marketing contacted us and offered to send  us samples. We had them sent to a family of volunteer testers. We did not pay for the samples. We were not paid to post this blog nor were we instructed in any which way regarding its content. In fact, we forewarned the good people at Voskos that we are skeptical and scathing of most  products sent our way. If you would like to have something new and possibly tasty sent to you, why not become a Fooducate Product Tester? Just comment below or shoot us an email: blog [at] fooducate [dot] com.

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Does the world really need another soft drink?

And a carbonated dairy drink with 7 teaspoons worth of sugar at that?

The Coca Cola Company seems to think YES, and is rolling out vio – “the world’s first vibrancy drink” – initially in New York City for a trial run. The marketing copy includes “ultra hip” one liners such as It kinda tastes like a birthday party for a polar bear…It kinda tastes like a first kiss…

The products  boast natural cane sugar, no artificial flavors, calcium, and antioxidant vitamin C.

We have sacrificed ourselves for you dear readers, and took a bottle for a test drive. Here is what we discovered… Read more…

Last week we got a refreshing email from the Fruit Guys, who run a fresh fruit (and vegetable) delivery service in key metropolitan areas across the country. here’s their story:

The Fruit Guys is a green and sustainability-focused company that delivers farm-fresh, organic & conventional fruit to offices across the country. The FruitGuys recently launched their home delivery service, making it easy for everyone to access the best locally produced fruit. Each fruit crate delivered includes a delicious mix of bananas, oranges, apples and seasonal fruit. During peak season 70-90% of the fruit mixes offered are locally grown within the regions they serve (East Coast, Midwest, West Coast) and literally go from the farm to home or office within 3-4 days.

And in the San Francisco Bay area they do veggies too.

Would we want to try out a fresh crate?

Who could refuse.

We had the box shipped to faithful reader Zack S and his family, and here is what they said. Read more…

Each year, 18,000 new products are introduced to supermarkets across the country.

With temperatures rising and summer almost here, beverage manufacturers are in high gear, promoting their new drinks. (Our local waterworks are not so industrious. Same old tap water, again.)

So we weren’t surprised when, a few weeks ago, we got an email from juice company R.W. Knudsen informing us of a new product line launching this month called Sparkling Essence.

We had our loyal reader Brook from Eugene, Oregon try out the drinks with his family and friends. In the meantime we analyzed the nutrition info.

Click on to learn what Brook had to say,  what his mother-in-law thought, and how this drink stacks up nutritionally… Read more…

Fresh off the recent candy expo in Chicago, we bring you a taste test and nutrition review of one of the better tasting products out there. Dove has been better known for its ice cream bars, but recently moved into the chocolate space.

Our testers loved the texture and rich flavor of this product saying  The peanut butter chocolates were delicious and very creamy. They didn’t quite look the same as the picture on the package, but then which food products do ?

Unfortunately, the taste comes at a nutritional price.

A packet contains around 30 pieces. A recommended serving size is 5 pieces (but show us the person who’ll stop there…)

Each serving will cost you 220 calories. Of those, 130 are from fat. That’s 14 grams of fat of which 8 grams are saturated. Those are 22% and 40% of your daily recommended maximum values, respectively. The label says 0 trans fat (we’ll see about that) and there are 8 grams of sugar (3.5 teaspoons).

The ingredient list includes the usual suspects (milk chocolate and peanuts) but also partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil and or partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Whenever you see a partially hydrogenated oil in the ingredient list, it means that the product DOES CONTAIN TRANS FAT.

How can this be if the nutrition panel says 0 trans fat?

Simple. There is an annoying loophole in the labeling regulations set by the FDA that lets you round off to zero anything smaller than 0.5 grams per serving. Manufacturers can then set the serving size to be just under the 0.5 grams threshold value. But as we mentioned earlier, 5 pieces of chocolate seems too little for a serving, so imaging you are sharing a bag with a friend. You’ll be consuming 3 times the servings, and possibly consuming a fair amount of this very unhealthy fat, without you even being aware!

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