I can't say that I have tried a lot of pumpkin seeds as a snack. None really. I know that people like them, but I have always avoided them and been a little skeptical to try them. I was always a little nervous that they would taste funny. I judged them without actually ever trying them. Fate decided to change my judgements on this snack when I received a bag of Super Seedz Curious Curry Pumpkin Seeds in my recent KetoKrate. 
 
First of all these seeds have a great texture. I was worried that it may be too chewy or something but not at all. Dry roasted with a nice crunch. And the flavor is great. Not too salty but the right amount of taste to get me to go back for more. Lots of seasoning and flavor which they do not skimp on at all. And the best thing is they have tons of fiber in them so it helps to keep the carb count way down. Just 1 carb per serving.
 
I would still be nervous to try some of the other brands out there that aren't dry roasted, but these are a hit and I look forward to see what other flavors are like. Matter of fact I just order two more bags from their site.

Cinnamon flavored things are my wheelhouse. No question about that. So when I got a new low carb shake mix in my June Keto Krate that was Vanilla Cinnamon I was excited to try it. I love anything that can help suppress the cravings for something sweet and even feel like a treat. Usually protein shakes help to do that for me. This one by Keto Shakes was a little strange however.
 
So I may be the one to take blame on this. Perhaps I didn’t mix it correctly, but I did follow the instructions as best as I could. I mixed the powder in with 8 ounces of warm water as instructed. I really blended it together well. I am not really used to having shakes like this served warm, but I decided to try it as the instructions didn’t say to do anything different. No thanks. Being warm it accentuated the taste of the protein and vitamins. So I decided to pour it over some ice. This helped a bunch. Serving it cold made a slight change and easier to get down.  However even on ice it still had a bitter taste that overpowered any sweetness or vanilla in the shake. I couldn’t drink it. I tried to get through it thinking I would get used to it, but after a few drinks It just sat with me wrong so I moved on.
 
I just think that there are so many other options for low carb shakes out there that this one really under performed for me and lacked a nice milky richness. No thanks, bleh.
 
Anyone else tried these and had a different experience?

I love BBQ Sauce! It’s a must have in the summer time to help spice up any chicken or backyard party. So many of them are made with lots of High Fructose Corn Syrup and Sugar so they are off limits to us. Until recently however I am seeing more and more options show up for BBQ sauce that has great flavor and doesn’t add unnecessary carbs by having too much sugar to it. One such sauce is G Hughs Smokehouse Sugar Free BBQ Sauce Maple Brown.


I recently tried the Maple Brown flavor and loved this stuff. It has a really strong molasses taste which really brings out a brown sugar flavor in the sauce. It does use sucralose in it so it is still sweet unlike other sauces which may have abandoned the sweetness to avoid any carbs. I really like it and would rank it as my top low carb BBQ sauce I have found so far. Sweet, with a little smoke, and lots of flavor.

When I first looked at a bag of Rawxies Crunch I won't lie, I was scared. I have tried other products that are similar type of snack made from a collection of seeds and other raw ingredients and been left extremely underwhelmed and even slightly grossed out by the taste.  Well shame on me for judging a product by its name cause this stuff is really good.
 
The bag I tried was Rawxies Crunch Chili Lime. The bag says "An outrageously savory crunch made with sweet and smokey ancho chiles and vibrant lime juice! Spice up fresh guacamole, chopped salads or enjoy with a glass of full-bodied Shiraz."
 
I can't tell you exactly what seeds and grains all go into making this mix, only that it was full of great flavor and the chili lime tasted wonderful. It did a great job of helping to mask the taste of the seeds themselves which I have had issues with in the past. Other products have a really strong grain taste that I didn’t like or just felt like I was eating bird seed. Not here. This was clearly made to taste good and appeal to those who want to eat healthy but not sacrifice flavor. A perfect light snack with no carb consequences and lots of fiber.
 
I look forward to trying some of their other flavors.

Nicks Sticks company makes a Free Range Turkey Meat stick that I feel is worth mentioning here. I think it's worth bringing up because most of the time when I have a turkey item it has a real fake weird processed taste to it. This is nothing like those.


Two small sticks come in each pack. Soft and fresh, not hard at all. The flavor of these sticks is very strong turkey without a lot of added spices. Just enough to bring out the natural taste. The best thing I could compare it to would be that of a tasty turkey from thanksgiving. Fresh and whole it does have a slight salty taste. But for the most part pretty good.


The biggest issue I had with this was that I had one or two bites that had a slight grit in them. I couldn’t really say what caused it, only that it wasn’t something I enjoyed. Almost like sand or calcium in the meat. I know that can sometimes occur in beef sticks, but that’s doesn’t mean I have to like it. But the taste itself was great. Makes a great little snack.

So I tried this thing called an Adapt Fat Shot. It's super weird. I wasn’t really sure what its purpose was. Like, how am I supposed to use it? Is it meant to be eaten alone as a snack? Is it meant to give me energy? Is this a butter? What is this stuff? I decided to go to the company's website to see what they referred to it as.



"Used as a meal, snack as well as a pre, during or post workout addition” open package and consume as is or in addition to other foods, i.e. full cream yoghurt.



I can't imagine that one of these tiny packets could actually act as a meal replacement and not leave you starving later on, but I could be wrong. When I tried it I used it as a snack. It was a little warm from being in my pocket for a bit. It essentially came out liquid and tasted like a melty nut butter that was infused with coconut taste.

The taste wasn’t that bad really it actually had quite a bit of flavor. But again, it's probably not going to do a whole lot to fill you up. Perhaps after a workout it could help to fill a hunger.


I don’t really have a lot of need for something like this as long as I have peanut butter in the kitchen. Still some people that want to make sure they are using foods and snacks without a lot of artificial ingredients may like something like this.



Have you had this before? Let me know what you think about the Adapt Fat Shots.

A couple weeks back I posted about Cheese Crisps, one of my all time favorite new snacks that I recently found. It’s cheese that’s baked in to a crusty chip perfect for snacking. I am crazy about them.

Recently I received a similar product in my Keto Krate and wanted to see how it would measure up.

When looking at Aunt Lizzies Cheese Straw Bites what first stands out to me the most about this product is how homemade it feels. The bag and packaging all together seems like something you would discover at a local farmers market or gift shop off the interstate. When you open up the bag and look at the actual cheese straw bites you then see they look a little bit different than you would expect.

Where does the word "Straw "come in? I might be missing something there. Really its closer to that of a cracker.

In terms of taste, these are decent. They are a bit more grainy that the previous baked cheese snack I mentioned. That may be from adding the Oat Bran or soy to the ingredients. Not sure. They just feel as though there is a bit more ignoring on here than just the simplicity of cheese. It's also hard to know what kind of cheese they are using as that will certainly effect the taste. I would not have minded if they had a bit more salt in them too, but overall pretty good.

I would have them again, however since they are not really easy to get, I probably will stick with what I have already when it comes to Cheese back snacks that can be found nearby.

I have had my share of meat sticks and jerky. Especially on the low carb diet. It’s a great snack that really doesn't carry any guilt at all. Most sticks and snacks are 1-2 carbs. You really can't go wrong. Unless you are a vegan. :/

A pretty impressive meat stick was sent to me in my Keto Krate that I hadn't had before. I say impressive because this thing was pretty huge and thick. A nice large 2 oz stick. It's called the Fatty Stick.

This Fatty Stick was incredible moist. It's not dry like jerky, this is a meat stick. Look at it closer to that of a small polish sausage. It has a slight Smokey taste too. It's was really tasty and very filling. Some sticks I have had feel really processed but this didn’t seem so as much. I liked it. This chucky guy would be a great mid day snack or even a meal on the go if you had something to accompany it. Yummy

You know what's weird, I really haven't eaten a lot of Pistachios in my life. Not sure why. I think it’s the color. I always assumed they would taste bitter or healthy. And the weird thing is I love pistachio froyo and pesto. Two things which are hugely influenced by the pistachio. I think that my thoughts of that little green nut will change today.



I recently received a box of The Gilded Nuts Mediterranean Herb Pistachios in the mail to try and was blown away. They pack these things with a lot of flavor and spices and it's all natural which is great. Really its olive oil with herbs & spices on these guys. They even tell you on the box to "give the box a shake for an explosion of flavor" and they are not kidding. Lots of flavor.

Great taste and nice amount of nuts for a snack. Perfect for a late night or mid-day treat. And only 5 carbs for the box. I'm a fan. I will probably try more pistachios after this. I can't imagine they all have this much flavor but it's nice to know that they don't have a weird green taste.

If you read this blog you know that I am constantly on the look-out for Low Carb products that meet my lifestyle and help to make my life a bit easier. Saving time on cooking, and having a variety of snacks available help to make the diet a bit easier on myself so I don’t get bored with the same old things. So when I discovered that there was a new subscription service that sends you products that fit within the low carb lifestyle I was on board.

Keto Krate is a new subscription box that is available in the long list of to your door monthly box subscriptions that is specifically geared towards the Keto and low carb lifestyle. They guarantee that all items in the box will be less than 5 carbs per serving and that the value of the collected items products will always exceed the cost of the box.

My desire to find some new snacks that were low carb is really what made me decide to give it a try, that plus who doesn’t like a surprise now and then.

June Keto Krate -

My review's for the individual products in this box will be cut short here. I will be doing more in-depth reviews on each product andshare links to those reviews here as I complete them. Right now I just want to talk about this month's box and what I got as a whole. 

So from the get-go they do a great job of communicating when your box has shipped out and when you can expect it. I received an email once the box shipped and with a single click on the link in the email I was able to track it's progress. I don’t have to dig around on their website to find out where my box is which is great. I also like that they don’t tell you at all what's coming in the box which would ruin the surprise. My box showed up about 2 days after it shipped.

In each box they include a list of all the items you received, a little explanation of the product, and where to get it if you want more. They also tell you what the retail value of the items are and include a promo code if you desire to get more from the company that makes it.

So what was in my box this month?