Tag: midnight snack (Page 6 of 9)

Product review: Slim Jim Dare

Chef JimSeems like products are getting spicier these days. Last year, Doritos came out with those 1st, 2nd and 3rd Degree Burn flavors. We also recently reviewed some spicy Planter’s peanuts. Now, in Walgreens, of all places, I came across Slim Jim “Dare”–a new line of spicy meat snacks, featuring two flavors–“Freakin’ Hot Jalapeno” and “Really Freakin’ Hot Habanero.”

I grew up on beef sticks like these–at least as I sort of out-grew candy, I remember my grandfather taking me to the deli and buying me beef sticks, and how I came to love the flavor. Well, the texture of these Slim Jim’s is similar to those that I remember from my childhood–though let’s face it, who knows what kind of mystery meat I’m eating.

Anyway, the “Freakin’ Hot” is very hot, and takes 5-10 seconds to creep up on you. It is also tasty with a nice, slightly lingering burn. Meanwhile, the “Really Freakin’ Hot” were slightly more tender, but that could be the lot of Slim Jims and not the flavor. These took a good 10 seconds for the heat to kick in, and it was a much stronger burn. Well, duh. But it was really nice for someone that likes spicy food as I do.

So if you do like spicy food and if you like Slim Jim’s or meat snacks, go grab some of these and as the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage used to say, “Snap into a Slim Jim!”

Product review: Savi Seed

When the rep reached out to me about Savi Seed, it sounded too good to be true. Here was a nut product that is harvested in South America that have 13 times Omega 3 fatty acids as wild salmon. Say what? Well, that’s good news for me because I’m not a fish person. I am hesitant as well to take fish oil capsules, because I am afraid of having fish burps. But if you can have a product that has 3500 milligrams of Omega 3’s in a convenient little pouch, and if these nuts can be covered in sugar or chocolate to make them taste even better, why would you ever eat fish? Okay, I know that was a rhetorical question, because I’m in the minority about my distaste for seafood.

Anyway, Savi Seeds are all that. I tried the two they sent me–“karmalized,” which are coated with raw sugar cane; and cocoa kissed, which are coated in extra dark chocolate. The sugar ones were a bit too crunchy, and kind of grainy. But you could still taste the roasted seeds and they taste pretty good. The chocolate ones are way better, and incredibly addictive. The seeds themselves are something akin to a cross between a peanut and hazelnut, and about the size of a small peanut. Each packet (1 oz./28 g) also has 5-6 grams of protein. Can you say mega-food?

Anyway, it looks like these are distributed by Sequel Naturals in Vancouver, but if you can’t find them online or in health food or Whole Foods type stores, let me know–the information that was sent with the product was limited. But either way, Savi Seeds are well worth seeking out.

Mmmmm, steak

Man, I could go for a steak right now. This morning, Men’s Health e-mailed me a copy of an article they published two years ago about man food, and it starts with this positively mouth-watering photo of a bone-in ribeye.

I think I’m feeling faint. Iron deficient. Yeah, I need to fire up the grill soon….if not today, then this weekend. Anyway, the article goes on to list other favorite guy foods that they found across the US such as meaty chili and lobster rolls.

And hey, in case you forgot, I posted this easy set of grilling tips a while back for the perfect steak dinner during grill season. Now what are you waiting for?

Product review: Blue Diamond Nut-Thins

Chef JimIf you haven’t tried Blue Diamond’s new Nut-Thins, you are in for a treat–especially if you are allergic to wheat products (although there is a disclaimer on the box about that). The fine folks of Blue Diamond have figured out a way to make a cracker out of almonds, even if the main ingredient is rice flour. The second ingredient is pure almonds, and you can surely taste the delcious nutty flavor in each bite.

The company sent us two flavors–original and smokehouse. The original tastes very much like a flattened rice cake, but a bit more dense from the almonds. The smokehouse has that signature flavor we’ve all come to love from the company’s signature Smokehouse Almonds. And I can attest to one thing that Mrs. Mikey and I both noticed–you absolutely can’t stop eating them, especially the highly addictive smokehouse flavor.

And the good thing about not being able to put the box down, is that each 16-cracker serving is only 130 calories, 2.5 grams of fat but with a whopping 3 grams of protein. They are baked, not fried, and yet are light and crispy.

In addition to the flavors we tried, there is also a cheddar flavor almond cracker, as well as hazelnut and pecan versions.

For more information, go to www.bluediamond.com or just go pluck a box or three off your grocery store shelf.

Gazpacho for dudes

Well, not just for dudes, but I posted this on Grub for Guys a couple years back and it’s definitely dude-friendly, thanks to my secret weapon, Buffalo wing sauce. The weather reached almost 90 degrees here in Wisconsin earlier this week, so it’s time to start thinking about warm weather fare. So try this one when you have one of those steamy days….

It’s summer, and you can either embrace that or bide your time until fall. Either way, you can help yourself by eating foods that are warm weather fare—grilled steaks, chicken, salads, and cold pasta are always good choices. And if the thought of cold soup doesn’t scare you, gazpacho is one of the best summer foods, and it’s very easy to make. Here, I came up with my own version that includes a few non-conventional ingredients like avocado, cilantro and Buffalo wing sauce. Give it a whirl in your blender and on your taste buds and let me know how you like it. With that, here we go…..

Ingredients
1 ½ cups tomato juice or vegetable juice such as V-8
3 medium size tomatoes
½ small green pepper
1 celery stalk
½ medium cucumber
1 medium raw jalapeno pepper
1 small avocado or ½ of a large one
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. commercially made Buffalo Wing sauce
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
½ tsp. Kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper

Directions
Cut the tops off the tomatoes and squeeze the pulp and seeds out, then coarsely chop the flesh. Seed the green pepper and coarsely chop. Remove the strings from the celery and coarsely chop.
Peel and seed the cucumber and coarsely chop it. Seed and chop the jalapeno, using kitchen gloves if possible (or washing your hands immediately afterward…..I hope I don’t need to tell you why!). Then cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, scoop out the flesh and discard the pit and rind. Put all of the vegetables in a blender along with the tomato juice, olive oil, vinegar, wing sauce, cilantro, salt and pepper. Blend or pulse briefly until smooth (shorter time if you prefer a chunkier soup). Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, but you can serve as is if you’re hungry. Serves 4.

Chef’s note: Before making this, make sure you have a loaf of crusty bread and a good summer beer such as Corona on ice. Now you’ve got a meal!

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