Organic Girl Kale, Rice Bran OIl and The Cookie Department Review

I was recently sent some new-to-me products to try and this is what I thought.

I had done a review for Organic Girl greens in the past when I created my Pulled Pork and Greens Frittata and of course, loved them! They recently contacted me to try their new product: baby kale. This kale is much tenderer than traditional kale and much more similar to lettuce or spinach. I loved these baby kale leaves and have used them in a few different ways.

            1. In a smoothie- I always add a large handful of greens to my smoothies and this Organic Girl kale made a great addition.

            2. To dip into hummus- these leaves hold up well being dipped into hummus and are of course much healthier than using chips.

            3. As a salad- baby kale can be easily substituted for lettuce and is great in a salad. I topped my kale salad with shredded parmesan cheese, sliced pears and chopped green pepper.

The Cookie Department

The CookieDepartment makes cookies that are “fully functional” meaning that each cookie provides you with some kind of benefit. For example, the Awaken Baked cookie helps to wake you up because it has espresso in it. I really enjoyed the Great Full cookie which is vegan and contains sweet potato, cranberry and oatmeal.

These cookies are all tasty but keep in mind that they are all two servings per cookie. In order to maintain portion control, break your cookie in half right away. For someone like my husband who is trying to gain weight, these are a good treat option because they are fairly healthy and are high in calories. We also liked the Tough Cookie which is a peanut butter cookie with 10 grams of protein per cookie which is the benefit of this flavor.

California Rice Oil

I had never tried rice oil until this point so as you know, I had to try it since I love trying new products. This rice bran oil is GMO free. It is mild in flavor and can be used in many different types of recipes. So far, I have used this CaliforniaRice Oil in a stir-fry and in a salad dressing and enjoyed it both ways. It has a higher smoke point than many other oils. It is higher in saturated fat compared to other oils and is 20% composed of saturated fat (olive oil is 14% as a comparison). It has a pretty even blend of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. I would not completely replace using olive oil or canola oil for rice oil but I do think that this a good option to use along with other oils.