traceymconley
Member Since: February 28, 2017Reviews
Yves Veggie Cusine Veggie Bacon Strips
I'm a "sometimes" vegetarian and one of those rare people who actually don't like bacon all that much due to the greasiness. That doesn't mean I don't crave a good BLT every now and then and these actually help fill that craving! Out of the... +
I'm a "sometimes" vegetarian and one of those rare people who actually don't like bacon all that much due to the greasiness. That doesn't mean I don't crave a good BLT every now and then and these actually help fill that craving!
Out of the package these do look a little strange and don't particularly smell like bacon. But once you start cooking them (you will want to use a little olive oil so that they cook up nice and don't burn) you would swear there was bacon sizzling on the grill! You'll want to cook these on a low/medium heat setting as they can and will burn easily. It is possible to get them relatively crispy for a more authentic BLT experience. On their own they are not too bad (say as a side for eggs for example) although there is a slight chewiness that is more obvious when eaten this way so in a sandwich is where these really shine.
I've made a BLT using these for several bacon loving friends and they have all said they thought it was delicious and much different than they were expecting. These are on my regular grocery list and have been for a couple of years now.
If you're a vegetarian, a vegan or would just like something a little less fatty every now and then, I urge you to give this product a try!
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The Chia Co. Chia Pod
The Chia Co. Chia Pods are an amazing, healthy breakfast or snack alternative for anyone interested in healthy eating. I've tried 3 flavours: Mango, Blueberry and Coconut. Of the three, the mango was the sweetest, although none have any added... +
The Chia Co. Chia Pods are an amazing, healthy breakfast or snack alternative for anyone interested in healthy eating. I've tried 3 flavours: Mango, Blueberry and Coconut. Of the three, the mango was the sweetest, although none have any added sugars. These are basically a pudding made of chia, Coconut milk and real foods (in these cases mango, blueberry and coconut!) Nothing is artificial and there are no dairy or animal products so these are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
Some people may not enjoy the texture of these products, they are very like a tapioca type texture, so they might be too goopy for some to handle. I don't mind this texture at all. It's refreshing to eat a product that isn't super sweet, you can really taste the natural flavour in these. Having said that, they might actually not be sweet enough for some people to enjoy them, it can take some getting used to not having added sugar in a product like this.
Chia is excellent for managing cholesterol levels, adds great fibre to your diet and these contain good fats. Each pod comes in around the 150 calories mark. I find these keep me feeling full for the whole morning and I definitely don't find myself reaching for something junky like a muffin or danish after eating one of these.
The biggest negative is that they are a little on the pricey side. They range from about $3.50-$4.00 each.
If you're health conscious and haven't tried these yet, I say go for it!
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Schwarzkopf Essence Ultime Diamond Colour Shine Boost Spray
This is my favourite shine spray simply because of the fabulous smell alone! It is a heavy fragrance though, so if that's not your thing or you are prone to feeling ill or getting headaches from fragrance you will probably find this product... +
This is my favourite shine spray simply because of the fabulous smell alone! It is a heavy fragrance though, so if that's not your thing or you are prone to feeling ill or getting headaches from fragrance you will probably find this product overwhelming, it's hard to describe, a kind of deep coconut or maybe almond buttery scent with a perfume touch that I can't put my finger on.
The product does give you a nice, gleaming head of hair BUT I don't find the shine lasts all day. I haven't docked marks for this fact though because I have yet to find a product that does seem to stay shiny for the whole day. I imagine the oils in our hair as well as external factors affect the longevity of the product. You will have healthy, looking shiny, beautiful hair for at least a few hours though!
You will want to use a light hand and build on that if needed, this product can look greasy if you overdo it.
Overall, a nice quality shine spray at a reasonable price point (I usually see it around the $9 mark) with a result that rivals more expensive brands quite well.
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Shu Uemura Blanc: Chroma Brightening & Polishing Gentle Cleansing Oil
I've been using the Shu Uemura brightening and polishing oil for awhile now and it's one of my favourite products! As this is an oil product, someone with oily or combination skin may find it too rich for their use. It's not ever made me breakout... +
I've been using the Shu Uemura brightening and polishing oil for awhile now and it's one of my favourite products!
As this is an oil product, someone with oily or combination skin may find it too rich for their use. It's not ever made me breakout but I can see that it might for someone who is sensitive to an oil type product. As my skin tens to be on the drier side over the winter months and into spring, this product has become a lifesaver. The oil goes on smoothly and smells fabulous; you simply apply it all over your face then wet your hands and lather it up. It definitely feels like a high-end product (and depending on the size you buy ranges in price from $50-$90 it is!). Once you have worked up the lather, you simply rinse it away and you're left with soft, smooth, dewy skin (and again, it smells, great!).
The product is designed to cleanse and soften as well as even out skin tone. So far I've been pretty happy with it's performance, my skin definitely feels great when I use this product regularly. I don't have any problems with uneven skin using this but I really can't say if it's because of the product or not.
I definitely recommend this!
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Pop Shoppe Hard Cream Soda
Wow, we spotted these a few days ago in the Liquor Store and I had to try one. AMAZING! Pop Shoppe Hard Cream Soda is a vodka drink that tastes like, you guessed it, Cream Soda or specifically, Pop Shoppe Cream Soda. Apparently Pop Shoppe used... +
Wow, we spotted these a few days ago in the Liquor Store and I had to try one. AMAZING!
Pop Shoppe Hard Cream Soda is a vodka drink that tastes like, you guessed it, Cream Soda or specifically, Pop Shoppe Cream Soda. Apparently Pop Shoppe used to be a big deal in the 70's and was a store where you would go and shop for various flavours of pop. I guess Cream Soda was one of the most popular so now it's an alcoholic (7%) drink.
These are incredibly easy to drink. You can taste the vodka (or at least detect that there is alcohol in these) but it is so smooth and subtle that you do need to be mindful that it's not just regular pop!
The one negative is that these are very sweet so undoubtedly have a lot of sugar. If you don't like sweet things or are avoiding sugar, don't go for this product. I also wouldn't necessarily sit and drink a bunch of these, if anything, all the sweetness is bound to make you feel sick!
Overall I thought this was a great product to have sometimes for summer, easy drinking and yummy!
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Jergens Natural Glow Face Daily Moisturizer
I never let my face get tanned by the sun but I do like to start some form of fake tanning each spring. In between going for VersaSpa sessions one of the products I like to use on my face is the Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer. I find this... +
I never let my face get tanned by the sun but I do like to start some form of fake tanning each spring. In between going for VersaSpa sessions one of the products I like to use on my face is the Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer.
I find this product goes on nicely; for me anyway it smooths on without any drag or heaviness and doesn't leave my face feeling sticky or tacky. It's fairly moisturizing although in my opinion it doesn't make my skin feel quite as soft and hydrated as other purely moisturizing products have. But the moisturizing it does do is more than adequate. I wonder if someone with very dry skin might not like the product as much.
In terms of colour, I've normally used the Fair to Medium version. It does build up to what I would call a healthy glow in a couple of days. I wouldn't say you look like you've been on vacation but it does take away that pasty, winter blah look. I've never had a problem with any streaking; I think as long as you are careful about making sure you put it all over your face you won't have any issues. I've been leery of using the medium to tan version as I'm pretty light skin toned but I think I will give it a try this year to see if it gives me a more dramatic look that is still not fake looking. Regarding longevity, this is a product that seems to reach a maximum point. After that, you'll want to keep using it to maintain your colour as I have noticed it can fade pretty quickly if you don't.
The product does have some of that fake tanner smell that these types of products all seem to have. It's not excessive though, I've definitely used body products for example that smell worse. All in all, I think this is a good product for home, self-tanning that does a nice job of adding some colour that looks natural and not orangey. It's reasonably priced (around $8-$10) and in my opinion a bottle lasts a reasonable amount of time (I might buy 2 over the summer).
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Clairol Age Defy Expert Collection Hair Colour
A couple of weeks ago I decided I wanted to lighten my hair a bit as I had a lot of buildup of colour (resulting in very dark, nearly black ends), and wanted to remove that and start over. After a couple of rounds of hair colour remover I had a... +
A couple of weeks ago I decided I wanted to lighten my hair a bit as I had a lot of buildup of colour (resulting in very dark, nearly black ends), and wanted to remove that and start over. After a couple of rounds of hair colour remover I had a lighter, reddish base to work from but wow, my hair felt terrible (as you'd expect after basically bleaching it to death!)
That's where the Clairol Age Defy comes in. i actually didn't choose this product for it's grey coverage (although I have had some greys showing up since my early 20's!) but I DID choose it because of its apparent ability to soften, recondition and otherwise repair breakage and I was hoping it would work on my damaged hair the same way it was supposed to work on aged hair.
Happily, it really has! Not only did it mellow out my hair colour (I chose colour 5W, Medium Chocolate Brown and ended up with a nice mid level brown red shade) it definitely softened my hair and reduced the frizz and appearance of damage a LOT! I was really impressed with the quality of my hair after using this product. It was soft, shiny and didn't feel damaged at all. I LOVE that it comes with a protective lotion that you put on your ends and dry spots before colouring, I really think this makes all the difference and was a lifesaver for my poor hair.
I definitely recommend this brand for anyone that has coloured their hair a lot, has a lot of damage or frizz or other hair concerns even beyond those the product was made for. I've been so happy with its performance and will definitely be using this brand again.
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NIVEA 3-in-1 Micellar Water
I received the Nivea 3-in-1 Micellar Water along with the Nivea 2-in-1 Moisturizing Primer ChickAdvisor sent for review and have recently started using it regularly. So far I'm loving it! I find with a lot of drug store type brands you are often... +
I received the Nivea 3-in-1 Micellar Water along with the Nivea 2-in-1 Moisturizing Primer ChickAdvisor sent for review and have recently started using it regularly. So far I'm loving it!
I find with a lot of drug store type brands you are often left with a tightness on the skin; this was definitely not the case with this product. In fact I'm finding this product very refreshing. I love that it is not highly scented (often products that are strongly scented are irritating). You really don't need to use very much for it to be effective either. A couple of small squirts does an amazing job at removing my makeup and leaving my skin feeling smooth and refreshed. It does take a little more to remove all my eye makeup (if I've done a full eye) but I figure that is pretty par for the course. I was also pleased that it genuinely did not hurt my eyes, I've tried other makeup remover products that were supposed to be gentle on the eyes but actually did sting a bit.
I won't lie, I wasn't expecting this product to be both effective at makeup removal and moisturizing but it really has done what it says it will and has made me a believer. Although I haven't tried any other types of Micellar Water, I think I will probably buy another bottle once this bottle runs out as it has definitely performed!
Pros
Really is gentle
no tightness on skin
skin does feel smooth and soft after use
no skin or eye irritation
inexpensive option
Cons
I haven't found any yet!
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PC Melt in the Middle Cod Cakes
We noticed this item on sale for $4.99 at our Real Canadian Superstore and decided to try it as we love seafood. These are delicious! Each box contains 2 nice, thick cod cakes. The cakes themselves are made of cod, potato and seasonings and the... +
We noticed this item on sale for $4.99 at our Real Canadian Superstore and decided to try it as we love seafood.
These are delicious! Each box contains 2 nice, thick cod cakes. The cakes themselves are made of cod, potato and seasonings and the outside crisps up nicely in the oven. Inside is a rich, creamy delicious sauce filling that is lemon dill flavoured (and apparently is cheese based). Each cake comes in at 280 calories which isn't bad for something that seems so decadent. I won't lie, the serving is probably not going to be enough if you have a big appetite; some people may want to have 2 cakes to themselves. Having said that, they are pretty substantial so if you pair them with a nice salad or some sides you will be more than satisfied!
I look at these as grown up fish sticks; the sauce in the middle and the seasoning in the breading really take these up a notch. I bet kids would like these too as they are not excessively seasoned (they are by no means spicy) and cod is a nice, mild fish.
Finally, these are sustainably sourced so you can feel good about using this product! Not only will I buy these again, I already have!
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Olivieri Skillet Gnocchi
Olivieri Skillet Gnocchi was on sale and I had a coupon so I decided to give it a try. I chose the plain variety, there is also a cheese version. If you're someone who has made fresh gnocchi or enjoy ordering it fresh in a restaurant, you're going... +
Olivieri Skillet Gnocchi was on sale and I had a coupon so I decided to give it a try. I chose the plain variety, there is also a cheese version.
If you're someone who has made fresh gnocchi or enjoy ordering it fresh in a restaurant, you're going to notice that this product isn't exactly like that. It IS convenience food after all. But, it's not bad as a quick way to get something on the table quickly, something that is a little different than the usual.
Gnocchi isn't pasta as some people think although it does seem quite like a soft pasta; it's made out of potatoes. These are basically cooked already, you are just frying them up to both heat the product and put a little crisp on them. Where you can make these shine is in your choice of topping. I have had them now with a rose sauce, fried mushrooms and onions, with an alfredo sauce (and bacon) and with an avocado pistachio pesto. Be creative, these are very mild and subtle in flavour and similar to pasta really serve as a vehicle to hold sauce!
If you haven't had Gnocchi before you will probably like these if you like potatoes and you like pasta that is softer in texture because as I mentioned, that is what these are reminiscent of. I imagine these are good with just a straight tomato sauce and cheese as well as even with just a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper and a sprinkling of parmesan or other hard cheese. The Olivieri website also has some recipe ideas.
They aren't gourmet but for a convenience food product I enjoyed them and will buy them again!
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