I have been on the President’s Choice Blue Menu foodie train lately. Testing and tasting to make sure that not only are these items pretty darn healthy but that they are also tasty too. So far it has been very interesting with mixed results!
Wild Hoki Skinless Fillets
Wild Hoki Skinless Fillets were a bit of a mystery to me. Apparently it is supposed to be similar to cod yet comes from New Zealand and is Marine Stewardship Council approved. Which means they were “carefully harvested to help conserve marine wildlife and preserve their natural habitat, while also protecting the future of the community we (PC) work work so closely with.”
The fish comes frozen and vacuum-sealed. It took me a while to remember I had to thaw it out first before using it. This is not your “throw in the oven while frozen” type of fish dinner.
I appreciated that when the fish thawed it did not get all soppy and wet and fragile. It actually was a pretty sturdy fish that did not loose all its moisture.
I dredged the fish in flour that was seasoned with salt, pepper, turmeric and paprika which gives it lovely colour. I did not want a heavy sauce to hide the flavour of the fish so I made the easiest sauce I know how to make. I nuke just over a tablespoon of salted butter with 1 crushed clove of garlic.
Reg is very picky about fish. If it is “fishy” at all there is a good chance he will not like it. He always finds bones in fish which makes me cringe. So he is the hardest person in this home to please.
He liked it! No bones, not fishy and the texture was impressively light and flaky. We were both thoroughly impressed. At only $4.99 a box, I was thrilled. For those who can not get local fresh fish, this is absolutely ideal. I have zero complaints. I give this product five out of five wooden spoons.
Cranberry Lemon Bran Muffin Mix
When I saw the Cranberry Lemon Bran Muffin Mix with all the other PC goodies I was nervous. I rarely like anything that comes in a mix and I am not a huge fan of lemon. But of course I had to try it and see if I liked them!
You add water, 2 beaten eggs and 1 tbsp of canola oil to the mix bring the batter together.
My batter looked quite watery which did not worry me because of all the fiber in there but wow, it totally filled my muffin tins.
As you can see, they did not rise a lot and barely had “muffin tops” but perhaps that was on purpose?! LOL.
OK, a little muffin top. The lemon flavour is really strong in these muffins so the cranberries kind of disappeared for me. Reg said, “Yup, these taste healthy.” He is right. The bran flavour is really strong and there is stone ground whole wheat flour in there too, rolled oats, oat hull fiber…
Which, for me, was awesome! Yes, they taste healthy but I like that. I like bran muffins and this was an pretty darn good one with all sorts of health nuggets I do not have in my pantry. Personally, I would have preferred to buy a bran muffin mix where I could add the flavours to it to make my own since I really did not enjoy the lemon and cranberry. If they make that, I will buy it.
If you like lemon and want to find a way to get lots of high quality fiber into your diet, this $2.79 mix might be just the thing for you. I do not hate the muffins. In fact I am eating them (I froze them) but I am not loving them. For me, I can only give them three out of five wooden spoons. The lemon is just too strong.
Now I must say they are subtle. Not super-strong in caramel flavour but just enough to get us to warm up to them as we enjoyed the creaminess of the dessert. Then we were hooked.
You get six bars in 1 package for $4.99 and each bar is 100 calories and low in fat, which is shocking. I really do not know how they did it but wow, we loved them. My one complaint is according to the list of ingredients, there appears to be no actual yogurt. It is made with milk and the active bacterial cultures are added to it. I am not sure that technical makes it a yogurt treat?!
Regardless, for a healthy treat, I can not believe how good these are. The fact that we ate them all up before I had a chance to photograph them is the greatest testament to their yumminess I can give. I give this product five out of five wooden spoons.
I’ve taken to eating Greek yogurt lately because it’s low fat but also very high in protein. Are those bars high in protein too? If they’re not, I would question them being “Greek” yogurt.
Greek yogurt is awesome Debra! Well in 1 bar is 5 grams of protein which is pretty good. They aren’t huge bars so I think they could quality as being “Greek” yogurt. Excellent question and point!