Over the past few weeks, I have been purchasing about two Fresh & Easy Half & Half quart containers a week. All this time I have not had a problem with this product, and well I can say it is very good in mixed coffee!

It has no other flavors, comes from cows not treated with rBST and it is Grade A Pasteurized!

The container gives a more than fair warning stating the following;

Perishable, keep refrigerated!

Use within 7 days of opening, but no later than date  stamped on gable top.

I would consider more than fair enough, the I do recal BananaButton.com stating the following:

“A handful of times either the product came curdled or went bad way before the expiration date”

BananaButton.com

Although I would highly suggest contacting the store management, or maybe the corporate offices, due to a possible problem with refrigeration if any of the like has been experienced, especially multiple times. I have noticed that some Fresh & Easy markets have front loading milk coolers, and leaving this product out while the clerks stock might have cased it to turn early, and this would be a problem that affects public health and food safety. After all I expect quality in the food I do consume, and I am putting all my trust that the products I am purchasing have been handled within proper food safety guidelines.

After all isn’t one of their commitments being a fresh & easy place to shop ?

Back to the product. Nothing special here, just half & half, I have not had a bad experience and use it on a regular basis!

Fresh and Easy carries 2 varieties of corn tortillas, a miniature version and regular sized tortillas.  I have recently purchased the regular sized variety, and after being a Guerrero Tortillas customer for a long time I think I will continue to be one.

I have purchased these tortillas on two separate occasions due to convenience.

My first experience was not too much of a pleasant one, as I discovered mold had gotten to my tortillas before I had, so I ended up not trying them at all!

Next came a recent experience, I confidently bough a pack of the fresh & easy tortillas to try out with my next meal since I was fresh out. This time my tortillas did last much longer(got to finish the pack). The Fresh & Easy tortilla was very thick(not the handmade thick goodness), and did not become as soft, and was not as easy to manage as the Guerrero Variety (which I love). The tortilla was “drier” than the Guerrero Variety, and I can say that a couple of my family member noticed the difference immediately, and were quick to point out their dislikes. I can only say that these tortilla’s were not the greatest, and maybe  I will revisit this product in the future, but only time will tell, anyways Im out to buy my Guerrero Tortilla’s!

Note: The method I used to heat the tortillas was a traditional “comal”

Note: The method you use to heat your tortillas along with the duration which you heat it changes the taste, feel, and sometimes, consistency of the tortilla, I would suggest the comal, but it is all up to convenience, and what you like, and what is the norm to you!

Cucumber Flavored water is here boys and girls!

I must say that my expectations for this product were quite low!

The reality was I enjoyed this drink so much I think I would prefer it over just plain water! The cucumber flavor in this water is perfectly strong!  The water taste like you have just chopped up fresh cucumber into your water, chilled it and served it! The flavored water was very clean, had a had a nice cucumber finish! While maintaining a very crisp sensation in the mouth. I highly recommend this drink to anyone who needs refreshment! I have not complaints about this what so ever!

Its a perfect drink from start to finish! It makes me crave cucumbers and chili powder with a slice of lemon on the side, which is a snack my mother made often!

At zero calories this flavored water is idea for anyone who is watching what they eat. Th label displaying a coconut making a splash in a pool of water made just the right appeal to me. The graphic was designed with a strong message in mind.

The coconut flavored water was quite refreshing, especially today with a high of 92 degree’s. The water was chilled, like the label suggested, and well it had a very authentic and true cocunut aroma. The water it self did not hold a strong presence of coconut flavor, but the presence and flavoring came to realization in the after taste that followed!

I enjoyed this coconut flavored water. It tasted very clean, and true to coconut water, my only suggestion would be to make it a sweeter tasting water, since I did sense a mild acidic taste probably due to the citric acid(preservative-natural), but hey at zero calories its not bad at all!

Ingredients: Filtered Water, Natural Flavor, Citric Acid;

Calories: 0 Calories;

Well, I visited my local neighborhood market today and to my surprise they have a large variety of new items that have been added to their arsenal to combat hunger!

Along their back wall they have intruduced, a handfull (a few handfull’s actually) of new items! These new meals have all new packaging, and have a “Mix and Match” label if i recall correctly. In order to provide a greated variety making dinner your own and less “boring”. You can probably select a few side’s and a main dish in order to create a complete meal solution! Escape from the monotonous!

In the Freezer section, I have noted the addition of 3 new frozen entree’s. I was fortunate enough to have sampled these at the “Kitchen Table” and they were all delicious, all of them came in a roundplastic “dish” with a dipping sauce in the center. All of these were avaiable for under $4 i believe.

In their chilled drinks cooler, I noticed the addition of Cocunut Flavored Water and Cucumber Flavored water along with the addition of 3 inhouse “Essential Water” flavors, which replaced vitamin water. All of these new drinks are a zero calorie instance.

Recently new additions had also been made in their chip aile with the addition of Tomatoe Basil Veggie Crisps, which are absolutly delicious, and Black Pepper Kettle Chips (unknown), and smaller single serving baggies of a couple of their kettle chips, popcorn, and corn chips.

In their juice aile they have also recently added, A low sodium alternative veggie juice, and other fruit flavored juices, and they have also expanded their gelato, and sorbet selections.

In their fresh sections it looks like they have switched to reliable local California farmers for certain products, and have hopefully passed on some sort of savings on to us customers. Also there has recently been an introduction of the “Buxted” branded chicken, and beef products which provide a lower priced alternative to their house branded meats.

That is all I can think of off the top of my head, and well it seems like fresh & easy is very committed to bringing these 200 new products in before the years end!

In recent times I have become a self proclaimed coffee addict and I owe it all to Fresh & Easy!

I always wanted to develop a sense of what makes up the different flavors in coffee, and well having these available to sample in the mornings at my local Fresh and Easy sure did help me get a bit acquainted before I purchased!

I have to this date gone through the following blends;

Light Roast Breakfast Blend: Blend of Colombian, Mexican and Central American Beans

Medium Roast House Blend: Blend of Indonesian and Central American Beans

Dark French Roast: Blend of Mexican, Central and South American Beans

Dark Roast Italian Style Espresso: Unknown Blend of Beans (Bag does not state)

Each of these coffee’s have their very own falvor, and the intensity is felt all through out! The breakfast blend is perfect for any new coffee drinker, it is the one I bought very first, but realized that I wanted a stronger tasting coffe. So I moved up to a stronger blend, the Medium Roast House Blend, I found that this was a great coffee for myself, along with the Dark French Roast.

The Light Roast Breakfast Blend is very light, and has very minimal strength in terms of flavor, it makes for a great blending coffee for those who occasionally drink coffee.

The Medium Roast House Blend provided just the perfect amount of “Roast” and provided a nice balance when I blended it to my liking!

The Dark French Roast, I felt was a dark roast for beginers, it was not too dark in essence, but it was stronger than the medium roast.

The Dark Roast Italian Style Expresso blend was the least favorite of mine, it is a very Dark roasted coffe, after brewing I found that is was very strong and overwhelming. This would probably be perfect for those who absolutly loves dark blends.

Note: Lighter Blends Have Higher Caffeine Contents, VS Dark Roast Contain Lower Caffeine Contents.

Apart from enjoying som of these coffee blends I must say I am happy to know that they are USDA Organic Certified and are Fairly Traded!

Fairly Traded & What it Means,

These Coffee’s come from a farms that use environmentally and ethically sound practices. The farmers receive a fair price that guarantees them a profit. A Share of this profit goes towards activities such as teaching sustainable farming methods, healthcare, and supporting  neighborhood schools. (paraphrased from coffee bag)

Enjoy A nice cup of Coffee, and here are a couple website that provided some great information of cofee.

www.coffeeresearch.org - All on Coffee

Ezine Article - Article on choosing the right roast for you!

It seems that fresh&easy has released an online coupon that will be effective until the 19th of this month.

here is the link to the savings:

Direct Link to coupon:

http://www.freshandeasy.com/pdfs/fne6offblogcoupon_27.pdf

Link to Coupon Page:

http://www.freshandeasy.com/coupon.aspx

Print the coupon and enjoy the savings!

NOTE: Beware, these coupons say one coupon per transaction, so there is a chance you might not be able to use this in combination with other F&E coupons! If any one know for sure please drop a comment!

Thanks to all and have a nice day!

“Our crispy crust is topped with tomato sauce, sliced pepperoni, and Mozzarella and smoked Provolone Cheeses.“

I really must say that their frozen pizza’s,which I Have had on several occassions, surpass by a large margin their “fresh” pizza’s. I really do find that many of their frozen store brand pizza’s are great.

The pizza’s seem to be filled with much more flavor, and I can tell that quality ingrediants were used! There is some deviation from the standard mozzarella cheese topping alone, with the addition or smoked Provolone cheeses. The different varieties all have their own combination of spices and ingredients, but I must say that after baking almost to specifications rendered a great pizza that tasted fresh! Crust was crispy, and cheese was well melted and pepperoni was crisp.

I must acknoledge my 2 favorites, the traditional Pepperoni Pizza, and the exotic Margherita Pizza.

I highly recomend the frozen pizza’s over the fresh pizza’s which I think lack in terms of flavor!

These 5.5oz snack/dessert cups located at the sandwich cooler at my local fresh and easy have caught my attention several times while I have been browsing! They contain either yogurt or cottage cheese, and a topping of nuts, fruit(fresh or dried), or both.

This time around I picked up Pro Yo’ Tropik which consist of,  “Low fat yogurt with dried tropic fruit, almonds and coconut. No artificial colors or flavors.”. Simple enough it seems, and sounds like it could be tasty.

When the container is first opened you can smell the coconut and dried fruit and can almost sense the yogurt! The topping is separated from the yogurt by a small round plastic tray that is supported by the cup’s conic shape

As soon as I had mixed the topping and the yogurt I made my best effort to obtain a balanced spoonful of the mix. My first spoonful provided my taste bud’s with nothing more than an uninviting blast of plain yogurt. As soon as I started to chew the mix, I was slowly greeted by all the different flavors of dried fruit, and almonds complementing each other. Each bite had a unique taste catered by the different proportions of fruit, almonds, and yogurt.

I would definitely purchase this item again. I think this is the perfect snack/dessert for any one trying to live a healthier life. It provides 3g of Fiber, 9g of Protein, 35% calcium all at roughly 200 calories. The tropical trail mix it contains, seems to consist of; Golden Raisins,  Dried Papaya, Dried Pineapple, Almonds, Dried Mango, Coconut, and Dried Apricots (on ingredient list).

Hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did. Cheers!

Our friend from Tample of Fresh&Easy made a comment on a previous post about the then coming soon Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato, referring to it as Nutella Flavored.

A fair comparison in our minds!

Now that the Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato has been unleashed upon us all I have decided it should be one of the first new items to review! Armed with some Nutella and Some Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato I conducted a taste comparison!

The Pint sized gelato, comes in a similar package to the rest of its brothers and sister gelati. The packaging on the front claims  that it is made with “100% Italian fire-roasted hazelnuts and the finest European Cocoa”.

After opening it up, it looked so smooth and delicious! As I place my spoon into the frozen mixture it felt and looked very much like ice cream. As I took the spoon full of gelato and placed it in my mouth the cold mixture diffused all around, melting in my mouth, I was quick to notice the very chocolaty taste, whith a very subtle Hazelnut flavoring. As I took to eating more, the gelato tasted more and more like plain chocolate if not dark chocolate gelato.

First off, I have to say I was disappointed. I really did expect the gelato to taste very much like Nutella, but cold and creamy! Unfortunatly, the gelato was more chocolatey, and way way less nutty.

The Chocolate Hazelnut Galato is composed of some the following ingredients; Water, Sugar, Cream, Grade A Pasteurized Non-Fat Milk, Hazelnut paste, and Cocoa Powder.

The pint sized Gelato contains four,half-cup servings, each dishing out 200 calories and roughly 10g of Fat, and 25grams of sugar.

I probably would buy this flavored gelato again, although probably not as readuly had it met my expectations, but I do recomend people form their own opinion on this products, since taste is relative and so is preference!