Food Review - Dannon Light + Fit - Collagen & Antioxidants yogurt

Today we have with us the Dannon Light + Fit brand yogurt, specifically looking at the Collagen & Antioxidants yogurt. The specific flavor is mango kiwi.

Based on the label, it seems to be marketed towards the type of people that are always worried about keeping their body looking young and healthy. Another thing is, that the nutrition facts take a jab at skyr, pointing out how they have removed all of the fat from their yogurt, thus lowering calories significantly. Compared to a Greek yogurt as well, and it has about half the sugar.

Initial thoughts upon opening the top is that there's a lot more mango smell than kiwi. Also, there's something peachy mixing it up. Taste confirms the smell. There's no noticeable kiwi in it for me. It just tastes like mango. There's some sourness in the taste. Similar to a Greek yogurt. Thickness is close to a Greek yogurt, but not quite there.

Did I like it? Sort of. It was strongly disappointing to me that there was no kiwi flavor hanging out in it. It really should just be called mango right now. If it was just labeled mango, I would've chosen a different flavor, and you'd be reading a different review right now.

Would I buy it again? No. Not because of the missing kiwi though. After eating this, my mouth started feeling odd, and not in a pop rocks way, but a where'd this weird itch come from? And my memories went back, and I was reminded this wasn't the first time with a mango yogurt. So, I might be allergic and should get that tested out.

As for would I buy another flavor? Sure! Why not? Minus a few small complaints about this particular flavor, and the fact I might be allergic to it, the yogurt seemed alright. The better skin, bones, and tendons are just an added benefit.

Food Reviews - Kite Hill - Blissful Creamy Coconut Milk Yogurt

Today's yogurt is brought to you by it being a free item at Safeway as a Just4U reward. What we are reviewing is Kite Hill's Blissful Coconut Milk Yogurt, in the blueberry limoncello flavor. Kite Hill also makes an almond milk yogurt, as well as an almond milk Greek yogurt.

 

Let's start with what it is. It's a coconut yogurt that is advertised as dairy, soy, and gluten free. It's also kosher and vegan. So it definitely fits within a more restrictive diet. Especially since behind dairy, soy is another food that is frequently avoided, for both allergen and other dietary needs.

So, now that it's been introduced, how does it taste? It has a very mellow blueberry flavor, with just a hint of lemon. There's no real sour or tangy notes from the lemon though, if that's something you hoped and expected. Since it's coconut milk based, you'll also find coconut flavor. This shows up more as the blueberry and lemon flavors have started to die down as an aftertaste. One thing missing was any sort of fermented yogurt tangyness. Maybe it's hidden by other ingredients, or maybe coconut milk doesn't leave any in the first place.

It's texture is as advertised. It definitely is smooth and creamy. There were a few pieces of blueberry floating around, certainly not much compared to most other yogurts that go around leaving chunks of fruit in. As far as thickness, it's fairly thin, certainly not as thin as a drinkable yogurt, but definitely one of the thinner yogurts I've eaten.

So, did I like it? Yes I did. Would I buy it again? Maybe. As far as dairy free yogurts go, it's one of the better ones I've had. However, I'm not the biggest fan of coconut, so to have that showing up in every bite isn't the most appealing. There's also a lot of added sugar, and almost no protein. So if you're worried about nutrients and macros and all that, you're better off with something else.

Food Reviews - Coconut Water

Coconut water is one of those things I consume because it helps, not because I like it. It's pretty neutral pH, so it does a decent job combating bouts of acid reflux. I'm not the biggest fan of coconut in general, so the water without pulp is certainly preferable. There's an odd tang, but I'm not sure that's the correct way to describe it. It's also not exactly the cheapest drink, so I don't drink a lot of it.

Food Review - Avocado and Turkey Sandwich

This grew out of an attempt to replace the cheese in a standard meat and cheese sandwich.

Of everything I've done so far, it's definitely my favorite. It's pretty simple too. Just make whatever sandwich you normally make, but with avocado instead of cheese.

Currently, that's avocado, turkey lunch meat, and mustard, all on sourdough bread. It looks good, tastes good, and will 100% stick around for the future.

Food Reviews - Silk Dairy-Free Blueberry Soy Yogurt - Update

Part of my dealing with gastritis is learning that dairy doesn't mesh well with some of the drugs they've given me to help me cope. As such, regular yogurt, while full of lots of good bacteria that could help my gut, became off limits. As such, I've been on the lookout for something to fill that void in my diet. This was one such attempt.

It's a soy based yogurt. I thought it tasted pretty good. In a taste test, without regular yogurt to compare it directly too, I didn't notice much of a difference. This is good, because I still don't enjoy alternative "milks."

So, would I buy it regularly? Probably not. It's not exactly cheap, compared to regular yogurt. Would I eat it again though? Yeah, I'd eat it again.

4/3 Update

I've since also tried their strawberry flavor. I'll stick to the blueberry in the future.

Product Review - Planet Bike Superflash Micro

Welcome to the cycling side of the blog. Where, instead of what coffee I'm drinking, you are subjected to me talking about bikes, and bike related things. So let's begin.

Up for review today is the Planet Bike Superflash Micro rear bike light, pictured below.

Wait, what? A product review of a disassembled product? Mhm. That's exactly what's happening here. This is going to end up being a mix of review and teardown.

This light was purchased for my girlfriend's bike about a year ago. It was used occasionally, and as far as lights go, put out adequate light for letting people know you were in front of them.

But then, it died. I've not disassembled it and looked far enough to determine if it was because of a bad lithium ion battery, or a lack of adequate charging protection, but either way, the battery now reads 0V from positive to ground. There's burn marks between the two where the battery leads were soldered to the board, so it looks like it overcharged, then arced across, killing the battery, and potentially other parts of the circuit.

Build

So, now that we know it's dead, let's talk about how they built it.

The lens and body of the light were glued together, requiring the use of a knife to get in and pry the two apart. It certainly was not designed to be disassembled.

The circuit and battery assembly are held in the body by a rubber gasket, which also serves as a cover for the USB charging port. It's possibly designed like this to help limit the circuit board from being vibrated apart. A very real possibility if it's attached to the frame of a bicycle.

The on/off switch sits in the middle of the lens, attached to a spring. There is not a rubber seal or anything around it, so I wouldn't try submerging this light in water, since that is just about the only entry point (unless you left the USB port cover open.)

Final Thoughts

Would I buy this light again? Maybe. It's one of the least expensive rechargeable rear lights on the market, and I can't guarantee any of the other ones have better overcharging protection. Instead, I'll stick with a warning about charging batteries. Don't leave them plugged in overnight and unattended, because you never know if there's nothing there to prevent them from frying themselves.