But how did it taste?

Offered in lemon, berry, orange and grape, there is a flavor for everyone. I was especially impressed with the berry. It was crisp and refreshing, not overly cloying or sweet. Often, I need to add additional water to many flavored waters, especially Propel and Crystal Light, but the Bot Water was not overwhelming. The grape flavor was especially enjoyed by my children, who remarked that it tasted very similar to Kool-Aid, but it was much better for them.

Sold at Whole Foods, Wegmans, and available online at various retailers for a bit more than $1 per bottle, this beverage is a healthier choice than soda and more flavorful than plain water.

While Bot Water provided Carmen with sample product, this review is her own opinion and was not influenced or sponsored in any way.

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We Love BOT Water

Each small tub contains just 50 calories, zero fat, five grams of filling fiber (that’s 20 percent of your recommended daily amount), ten percent of your calcium needs, 15 percent of your Vitamin D needs and live active yogurt cultures. Plus, this new line of Fiber One yogurts is endorsed by best-selling author and food expert, Lisa Lillien, a.k.a. Hungry Girl.

Continue reading to learn how you can try it for free, and see more of our review.

As an added bonus, Yoplait is offering a promotion that gives a coupon for a FREE four-pack of the new Yoplait Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt to the first 50 DietsInReview.com readers who sign-up below. Plus, all DietsInReview.com readers can receive a coupon for $1.25 off and weight management tips from Lisa Lillien.

The yogurts come in four flavors: Strawberry, Vanilla, Key Lime Pie and Peach. I tried the vanilla and it was creamy and smooth with just the right amount of vanilla. Key Lime Pie must be a favorite flavor because two stores near me were sold out! Four cute tubs come in one package.

This coupon giveaway is provided by Yoplait for DietsInReview.com readers. No product was offered for review and the review is of Heather’s own opinion.

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We Love New Fiber One Yoplait Yogurt and Coupon Giveaway

Therefore, when on a recent trip to Whole Foods, I discovered Rachel’s Wickedly Delicious single-servings of cottage cheese, I knew I had found a gem of a food find.

That is why, this week, We Love Rachel’s Cottage Cheese.

The dairy lovers at Rachel’s took plain ole cottage cheese and jazzed it up with sun-dried tomatoes, cranberries, dill, cucumbers and all sort of other tantalizing seasonings, including fruits and veggies. So rather than you adding a bit of this and a bit of that to your cottage cheese, Rachel’s does it for you. Trust us food-lovers, here at DietsInReview, this is no ordinary cottage cheese; This is as gourmet as cottage cheese can get.

You can choose among six different scrumptious flavors: Cucumber Dill, Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, Lemon Verbena Berry, Pear Mangosteen, Pomegranate Orange Cranberry and Roasted Red Pepper.

Each flavor contains 110 to 140 calories, 14 grams of protein and 20 percent of your calcium needs.

Great for an on-the-go snack, a flavorful addition to your lunch or a new twist on your breakfast, look for Rachel’s Wickedly Delicious Cottage Cheese containers at Whole Foods and other mass retail grocery stores.

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We Love Rachel’s Cottage Cheese

These crispy, chewy-gooey food bars are packed with healthy ingredients like fruits, nuts, honey, and crisp rice. And they are whole-grain, contain nine vitamins and minerals and soy- and gluten-free, with no trans-fats or high fructose corn syrup. JamFrakas come in five flavors, each with its own funky name: Chocolate Chip Cosmocrisp, Banana Chocolate Blastocrisp, Strawberry Crispiscrumptious, Peanut Butter Blisscrisp and Apple Crispalicious. Each one has 90-120 calories, 4-5 grams of fat, 2 grams of fiber and contain all organic ingredients.

If you are looking for an awesome snack that you can quickly toss in your kid’s lunch box or that you can quickly toss back when a snack-attack hits you, look no further than JamFrakas.

Since these tasty bars are packed with things like dates, apples, honey, cashews and almonds, you don’t have to worry about them melting in the late-summer heat. They are the perfect size for an on-the-go nosh that won’t spoil dinner; and since they are made with whole foods, they won’t send your kids (or you) in to a sugar frenzy.

Look for JamFrakas at Whole Foods, Trader Joes and other large grocery stores in the energy or nutrition bar section.

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We Love JamFrakas from Lara Bar

With varieties like Cherry-Grape and Strawberry-Orange, different taste buds are pacified. I chose my standard, default flavor of Mango-Peach and saved it for the end of an especially strenuous Muay Thai class. Served well-chilled, it had a pleasant flavor and the bits of fruit that I’d been skeptical of were refreshing. (Although, oddly enough, the fruits in the Mango-Peach juice that I’d sampled were not those named, but instead pineapple and pear.)

No matter. After I’d had about one-third of the juice, I added in a scoop of protein powder and was delighted by the yumminess that ensued. It was every bit as good as a Tropical Smoothie, my treat of choice after class – and much cheaper and I think healthier. It was also a smaller portion and something I could keep in my boxing bag.

Each 6.75 ounce bottle has 120 calories, 0 grams fat, 2 grams fiber, 40% RDA of Vitamin A and 60% RDA of Vitamin C. All-natural, low in calories and with two servings of fruit, this is a beverage that I’ll cheerfully buy again.

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We Love Fruit 2 Day

We’ve extended the giveaway! See below for details!

I love fruit. Love everything about fruit – the taste, the sweetness, the nutrition. The only thing I don’t love about fruit is the mess. Sometimes, I pack a fruit choice and by lunch time, it’s smooshed into an unrecognizable blob. I was delighted to receive four fruit choices from the new line of Today’s Farm dried fruit. I was sent pineapple, strawberry, apple cinnamon and peach. I can honestly say I’m now an addict. Two empty bags in one sitting is my proof. With the tag line, “Freeze dried crunchy fruit – Nothing like it,” this snack certainly made an impression on me.

Continue reading Carmen’s review and get the details on a Today’s Fruit giveaway and discount!

Often, I find myself craving a crunch. (Most often, it comes in the form of a tortilla chip craving, but let’s not go there, shall we?) These fruit crisps fill the void beautifully. Dried fruits can often have added sugars and oils, and can be as bad for you as candy. Not these choices. Flash-freeze dried to remove the water, the fruit is kept free of bacteria and contaminants without the addition of any preservatives. Today’s Farm fruit crisps are sold in individual bags about the size of a potato chip bag, perfect for tossing in a lunch box or hiding in the bottom of a gym bag for an after workout treat. One bag is equal to between one and three servings of fresh fruit, depending upon the fruit you choose. They are free of fat, sodium, cholesterol and chock full of fiber.

Nutritional content will vary by flavor, but here are a few key numbers that we’re pretty impressed with.

• Peach = 90 calories, 0g fat
• Strawberry = 45 calories, 0g fat
• Apple Cinnamon = 85 calories, 0g fat
• Pineapple = 80 calories, .5g fat

Delicious on their own and beyond amazing mixed in with vanilla yogurt or oatmeal, these are a super tasty, nutritious and healthful snack that I’ll be buying again and again. Sold exclusively online for now at Today’s Farms, you’ll receive an exclusive 10% discount on your next Internet order (use coupon code DIR, expires 9/30/09).

We’re also giving away 10 Today’s Farms Bag O Gold (value $10), a bag stuffed with each of their four delightful flavors. Just leave a comment below, by 7/24/09, telling us what your favorite fruit is.

Yummy, nutritious and easy to eat on the go – can’t get any better than that!

While Today’s Farms generously provided Carmen with samples, this review is of her own opinion and in no way influenced by the manufacturer.

Giveaway Details: Ten winners will be chosen at random 7/15/09 and notified via the email address provided in the comment form below. Names and addresses of the winners will be provided to Today’s Farms for fulfillment of one (1) Bag O Gold each.

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We Love Today’s Farm Dried Fruit Snacks

The popsicles come in a slew of different yummy flavors: Lemonade, Pink Lemonade, Peach Iced Tea, Classic Orange, Cherry Pomegranate and more. Each refreshing treat has only 15 calories and no sugar. (Compare that to a 360-calorie ice cream drumstick or a 500-calorie hand-dipped waffle cone.)

Whether you’re poolside, at the beach or just lounging in an air-conditioned room, enjoy one or four of this completely guilt-free cool treat on a hot summer day. And if you’re following Weight Watchers, a diabetic eating plan or any low-carb, low-sugar program, you can’t go wrong with these icy pops.

Definitely make some room in your freezer. We are sure you are going to love Crystal Light’s new Frozen Pops.

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We Love Crystal Light’s Frozen Pops

We first spotted these charming boxes while flipping through a magazine and within days, DietsInReview Food Finders were pleased as punch to see all three flavors – Cranberry Almond, Honey Multigrain and Chocolate Cookie Caramel Pecan lined up neatly on the bottom shelf of the snack aisle of a local grocery store.

Touted as a better-for-you snack and targeted largely toward women, each little pouch contains a generous handful of popcorn and grain clusters enrobed in a slightly sweet coating. And while many 100-calorie snack packs are just portion-controlled packages of nutrient-void ingredients, one package of Smartfood clusters contains 120 calories, two grams of fat, an admirable five grams of fiber and 20 percent of your daily calcium needs. While we love the healthy nutrition stats and snack-ilicous taste, we equally love the individual portions of the popcorn clusters as their sweet and salty crunch is too tempting for one large-sized bag.

Look for Smartfood Clusters at grocery stores and at Target.

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We Love Smartfood Popcorn Clusters

Coming in at just 100 calories per half cup serving, and 3 grams of fat, both flavors Tart Honey and Tart Mango contain live active yogurt cultures and 10 percent of your calcium needs.

Rather than just the straight-out sweet taste of ice cream (which we all love), these new Tart Yogurt Blends have the perfect tanginess that plain or Greek yogurt does. The sweet ribbons of mango and honey swirled around Edy’s signature creamy vanilla yogurt gives new fro-yo hot-spots like Pinkberry and Red Mango a run for their money. And given the low calorie stats, the immune-supporting active cultures and the bone-boosting calcium, have a dish, portion-controlled of course, and savor each divine spoonful.

Even though summer has yet to hit, I have declared these new Tart Frozen Yogurt Blends my favorite thing for this season.

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We Love Edy’s Slow-Churned Tart Frozen Yogurt Blends

DHA plus eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), another essential fatty acid, are believed to have beneficial effects in reducing cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions. DHA, in particular, is found in the brain where it is  needed for mental clarity and development and visual acuity and is different from a-linolenic acid (ALA) which is found in flax seed, walnuts and canola oil. Low levels of DHA have been found in children with ADHD and DHA was found to reduce inflammatory markers in men who are at risk for heart disease.

Kellogg’s Live Bright Brain Bars contains 100 mg of DHA which is one-third of the 300 mg of DHA/ EPA recommended by the American Heart Association. The bars come in two flavors: Double Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Vanilla (DietsInReview LOVES both flavors). Each bar contains 150 calories, 3 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein and 20 percent of the recommended daily needs of Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Folic Acid, and Vitamins B6 and B12. But keep in mind they are a bit high in saturated fat (3.5 grams) and sugar (15 grams) and they do contain less than .5 grams of trans-fat, so while we love the taste and nutrition factor of these bars, don’t go too overboard with them.

The bars are longer and thinner than your average granola or energy bar, and one box only contains a mere four bars. Each bar has a chewy texture (kind of like  a Tootsie Roll), rich taste and is not overly sweet like many nutrition bars are. You can find Kellogg’s Live Bright Brain Health bars at major drug stores and Amazon.com.

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We love Kellogg’s Live Bright Brain Health Bars