Trader Joe’s Tangerine Juice

Price: $2.49
Serving: 1/2 bottle, 8oz
Calories: 110 per serving
 Calories from Fat: 0
Fat: 0%, 0g
 Saturated Fat: 0%, 0g
 Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 1%, 15mg
Protein: 1g
Carbohydrates: 8%, 25g
Fiber: 2%, <1g
Sugar: 23g
WW Points: 2 per serving
WW Points: 4 per bottle

*****

Trader Joe’s says: Fresh from California

Abi says: There was a time in college when I was depressed but I didn’t know I was depressed and all I did was drink juice. No food, just juice. My favorite juice was Naked Tangerine juice. It was both sweeter and tarter than regular orange juice.

Fortunately, that experience with vast amounts of juice drinking has not scarred me permanently. I remembered the amazing flavor of tangerine juice while I was at Trader Joe’s the other day and decided that since I’d taken a bus to Wal-Mart to get a car battery (I kid you not) I would treat myself to some expensive juice. Yes, my Trader Joe’s is next to a Wal-Mart. And yes, I carried a battery home on a bus. A car battery. It was really, really heavy.

This tangerine juice is just as good as I remember the Naked Juice being, and remember, I wasn’t eating back then, so juice was A-MA-ZING. This juice comes in the standard ‘two servings per bottle’ size and requires shaking before drinking. In a lot of items I don’t enjoy separation (cheese sauce, for example), but in juice it says to me ‘This is real juice with real fruit ingredients’. If you don’t like pulp and having to shake your juice, this may be a problem.

I’ll probably buy another bottle of this juice the next time I go to Trader Joe’s. It is healthier than chocolate milk, even if it is not shelf stable, and the package is totally recyclable.

December 11, 2008 | 2 Comments 
Filed Under 2 Points, 4 Points, All Natural, Cholesterol Free, Fat Free, Five Stars, High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, Juice, No Preservatives, Tangerine, Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's Defense UP

Trader JoePrice: $2.69 plus tax
Serving: 1/2 bottle, 8 oz.
Calories: 120 per serving
Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 1%, 15mg
Protein: 2g
Carbohydrates: 10%, 29g
Fiber: 4%, 1g
Sugar: 28g
Caffeine: 0mg

***

Trader Joe says: A blend of juice, herbs & vitamin C combined to fortify you.

Abi says: Unsaid on the bottles, but definitely implied is that this beverage will protect you from colds and flus and all-around general illness. Check out this list (by the way, this product is NSFV or Not Safe For Vegans):

While I’m familiar with Vitamin C and highly skeptical (rightly so according to the National Institutes of Health) of Echinacea, I have no idea what Royal Jelly, Bee Propolis, and Lemon Bioflavenoids are supposed to do for me during cold and flu season.

I remember Royal Jelly from a Nancy Drew book that involved some runners and a Russian athletic diva (after considerable internet research it turned out to be Nancy Drew No. 96, The Case of the Photo Finish). Bee propolis is a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the hive. The example in Wikipedia notes that it would be used if a mouse or lizard crawled into the hive and died there. Unable to carry out the invaders, the bees would seal it in with propolis. Yum!

I can’t find any literature on Lemon Bioflavonoids that isn’t produced by a Vitamin company, but it appears that a study performed in 2007 showed that the antioxidant properties of flavonoids so loved in test tubes didn’t actually perform in the human body. It appears that Trader Joe’s is actually selling us tasty juice full of wishful thinking.

Don’t worry, this stuff won’t hurt you. Plus, the juice tastes pretty darn good and completely lacks any ‘herb’ flavors. If you’re in the mood for some orange juice and your mom is in town and you’d like her to think that you’re taking good care of yourself, put a bottle of Trader Joe’s Defense UP in the fridge.

If you’re not that worried about appearances, regular old orange juice is just as effective as the additives in this beverage.

October 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment 
Filed Under All Natural, Apple, Fat Free, Four Stars, High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, Juice, No Preservatives, Orange, Pineapple, Trader Joe's

Columbia Gorge Organic Apple Cider

Columbia Gorge Organic Apple CiderPrice: $2.50
Serving: 12oz., 1 bottle
Servings Per Container: 1
Calories: 180 per serving
Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 3%, 67mg
Protein: 9g
Carbohydrates: 15%, 43g
Fiber: 7%, 2g
Sugar: 39g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 Points

****

Columbia Gorge says: Unparalleled in the world of apple ciders. We blend several different kinds of apples to achieve the tart yet sweet flavor of this cider. Making it from soil-enriched grown organic apples is the best way to taste the real apple flavor.

Abi Says: In Washington State, Fall means apples and apples mean cider. Okay, cider and apple sauce and deliciously cinnamony pies. But this is not a pie blog.

During a six-day visit to Seattle I figured that I’d just drink my way across every coffee shop in town. This is a good idea in theory, but in actuality it means jitters, possible tooth stains, and peeing all the freaking time.

In order to avoid the uncomfortable side-effects of diuretics, every noontime I switched to juices. Sometimes it was the blackberry version of an Izze sparkling soda and other days I turned to one of these adorable bottles of juice from the Columbia Gorge Juice Company.

The organic cider was lighter and clearer than I expected, a forewarning that the drink would exhibit few of the qualities of farm-fresh pressed cider. Columbia Gorge delivers a refreshing drink, made simply with organic apples. However, their cider walks a line between juice and true cider.

So, if you’re looking for something to mull with spices and wine, or spike with a bit of Jack Daniels and you have lots of cash to burn, you can’t go wrong with this cider.

October 2, 2008 | 3 Comments 
Filed Under All Natural, Apple, Columbia Gorge Organics, Fat Free, Five Stars, Four Stars, High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, Juice, Juice Cocktails, No Genetically Modified Organisms, No Preservatives, Organic, Three Stars, United States, Vegan

Naked Just Juice Orange Juice

Naked Just Juice Orange JuicePrice: $3.58 (including tax - yikes!)
Serving: 1/2 bottle, 8 oz.
Nutrition info below is per serving, not per bottle
Calories: 110 per serving
Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 0%, 0mg
Protein: 2g
Carbohydrates: 8%, 25g
Fiber: 0%, 0g
Sugar: 25g

*****

Naked Juice says: Okay, so our OJ is just OJ, as defined by: Just the gorgeous, pristine, oh so sweet juice of the amazingly perfect orange, with tons of Vitamin C and sensational antioxidants to ruin a free radical’s day. It’s also just O-J, as in 9 oranges just picked, squeezed, bottle and rushed to your eager, orange-juice-loving but preservative-loathing self. So just shake, just chug and just say “I just love this stuff.”

We say: We had a brief moment of worry upon consuming 9 ORANGES in twenty minutes. My God, if the people who ran those eating competitions also allowed juicers, we might be able to beat the Black Widow of competitive eating, Sonya Thomas. Of course, if she also had a juicer than the edge would be moot.

While it seems a bit cliché to rate the first drink review a 5-star drink, we have to say that the only way you could possibly get better orange juice would be to travel to Florida and drink freshly-squeezed juice. Oh, you say that you can make better fresh orange juice at home? Well, you are wrong because it is not possible.

September 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment 
Filed Under All Natural, Fat Free, Five Stars, High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, Juice, Naked Juice, Orange

Marques de Caceres Rioja Reserva 2000

Marques de Caceres Rioja Reserva 2000Price: €18.99
Nutrition Information*
Serving: 5oz., 1/5 bottle
Calories: 105 per serving
Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: <1%, 7mg
Sodium: 0%, 0mg
Protein: 1g
Carbohydrates: 1%, 3g
Fiber: 0%, 0g
Sugar: 23g
Weight Watchers Points: 2 per serving

****

Wine bottle says: Marques de Caceres GRAN RESERVA es un vino de alta calidad y reconcido prestigo. De distinguido aroma, aterciopelado y generoso al paladr, ha sido envejecido en barrica de roble y largamente afinado en botella para obtener un gran vino de calidad exceptional.

Abi says: Yes, I know: that is an enormous glass of wine. It was modest until I decided that certain people in my home should be studying economics rather than drinking wine. Thus, I would finish the bottle of Rioja.

My decision to start reviewing wine on Imbibable.com led to a near-argument with my fiance (and not just because I took the last of the wine). He claimed that there were many people out there with much more significant (okay, real) qualifications out there who were better qualified to write about Temperanillos and Chiantis and Pinot Grigios.

I agree with him. Those people all have better palates. The problem with them is twofold threefold:

  1. Availability. When you read about a wine in Wine Spectator or Bon Appetit, how easy is it for you to walk over to your local wine store and pick up a bottle of that wine? It isn’t. It sucks. You basically have to call people to ask if they have what you want and then you feel sort of like an idiot for being the person that requests the wine that they talk about in a magazine. You might as well wait until InStyle comes out every month before you do any shopping with your own judgment. I’m going to talk about wines that are available, wines that you pick up at Trader Joe’s and your local grocery store and Total Beverage and BevMo and Costco. The real wine of the people.
  2. Price. Sure, you get six servings in a 750ml bottle of wine, so overall a bottle is a good deal. But is it really a good deal? Is that 92 point $28.99 bottle of wine significantly better than that 83 point $12.99 bottle of wine? Most of us can’t tell. I’m going to make an effort to drink wines from a crazy-insane price range (yes, including Two-Buck Chuck) so that I can find the best wine for the money.
  3. Nutrition Information Who is going to tell you that port is full of calories or that a glass of Bordeaux is just 2 Weight Watchers Points while giving you actual opinions on the taste of the wine? Only Imbibable.com, that’s who.

So, What do I have to say about this wine? Well, before I ever looked at a description of the wine, I noted that it had notes of spice, red fruits, and a heavy, almost tongue-coating mouthfeel. Compared to some younger Chiantis I’ve been drinking recently, this wine seemed to have spent quite awhile in oak.

Now, what did the Winemaker’s Notes from Wine.com have to say?

Spicy, rich, complex Rioja drinking beautifully right now. Deep ruby in color, it is full and intense with a complex bouquet and a depth of ripe fruit which later matches its elegance, richness and full flavor. Marques de Caceras Reserva Red is produced from grapes that are specially selected in certain years for their outstanding quality. It spends just over two years in oak and at least three in the bottle before release.

I am a wine-reviewing genius.

So, will this bottle be available to you? Who knows. I bought it in a duty free shop in the Madrid airport as I was trying to shed the last of my Euros. I spent the equivalent of US $30.00 on this bottle and I can heartily say that I’ve had just as good wine for half that price. Don’t feel like you need to spend $30.00 on a bottle of wine. Even if your friends can read Spanish, they probably won’t mind if you break out something a bit less overpriced.

*Obviously, there’s no ingredients or nutrition label on the wine to let you know about calories and fat and all of those things, so we at Imbibable have taken the liberty of using a variety of data sources (including the U.S. Department of Agriculture) and wineries (when they answer our emails) to get a fairly accurate read on the ‘nutrition’ information in a glass of wine. We might be off by a few calories now and then, but most of the time we’ll be pretty darn close.

September 22, 2008 | 1 Comment 
Filed Under Alcohol, Fat Free, High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, Marques de Caceres, Three Stars, Wine

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