November 09, 2010

Did you say green curry paste? Is this Tuesday already?



Let's call this Product Test Tuesday, because I'm about to give you the heads up about several things I've been tasting lately. When someone asks if they can send me a product to sample, it's hard to say no. Especially if it sounds really good, and I'm hungry when the offer arrives in my inbox. Such was the situation when the folks at Hail Merry offered to send me a bunch of raw, GF vegan snacks to sample. Would you say no?


Blonde macaroons

The first thing I tried was a blond macaroon and it tasted great — a sweet, moist mix of coconut and bourbon vanilla flavor with a hint of maple syrup. It was small but dense, with a serving size listed as two pieces, and there was no way I could eat more than that. A serving has 11 grams of fat (8 grams saturated), 10 grams of carbohydrate, 2 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar and 1 gram of protein. Everyone has a different opinion about fat, so I'll let you come to your own conclusions about the nutritional profile of these treats. If you can limit yourself to one or two, fine, but if you're looking for a a snack you can eat a lot of, this might be a wrong choice — delicious, though.



The next thing I tried (the next day, actually, I was full after the blondes) were the Choco Macaroons. I didn't like these nearly as well because they tasted kind of dry to me, and the chocolate flavor seemed muted. My co-taster, however, thought that while they were dry, they were also delicious. She described them as "subtle and not too sweet."


Grawnola

After the Choco macaroons, it was on to the Grawnola in orange cranberry. At first I thought the cinnamon flavor was too strong, but I've changed my mind. Now I'm kind of addicted to the stuff and need to finish this review quickly and get it out of the room so I'll stop tasting it.

In my box of samples were also three bags of flavored pecans — orange rosemary, lemon thyme and Chimayo chile. Like the other treats, they are raw, vegan and gluten-free. My co-tester loved the lemon thyme and I thought the Chimayo chile pecans were fantastic, with their slightly gooey, spicy coating. I could eat way too many of these amazing gourmet morsels.


Orange rosemary pecans

The nuts are soaked and dehydrated at low temperatures before being mixed with organic palm sugar and other flavors. Once again, they are a bit high in fat (110 out of 150 calories), which you would expect from nuts. But eating nuts in moderation is part of a healthy diet. I usually don't like sweetened nuts, but these were delicious.

Thank you Hail Merry for sending me these delicious treats.
disclaimer: I was sent the Hail Merry samples without obligation to publish my opinion. I was not paid.

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Thai and True



In my last post I talked about visiting Sidecar Vegan store and purchasing two varieties of Thai and True curry paste, which is made in Oregon. Last night my son whipped up a Thai coconut curry with the green curry paste. This stuff is so GOOD! All three of us who ate it were enthusiastic about the results. The curry was made with Thai eggplant, carrots, broccoli, red onion, cashews, hot peppers, lots of young ginger, garlic and coconut milk. My son likes very spicy food, so after dinner, I tasted a bit of the plain curry paste from the jar in order to gauge its heat. I'd call it mildly spicy with a slight after-kick, and wonderfully delicious.



Although called green curry, it wasn't exactly green. It was actually kind of brown.



Jar size, 6 ounces. Cost at Sidecar: $4.45. Made in Oregon
Ingredients: green curry paste (green chili, shallot, lemon grass, salt, garlic, galgangal, kaffir lime zest, cumin powder, coriander seed, turmeric), rice bran oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tblsp = 1 serving
total fat .5g
sodium 5mg
vitamin C 6%
everything else: 0

18 comments:

  1. Thanks for the curry paste review. My friend who is Thai always says that green curry is the spiciest, but it seems to vary a lot by brand.

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  2. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever had green curry. I'm just resistant to buying the pastes, since they seem so expensive... But it sounds like they may be worth the costs, this one in particular.

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  3. Radioactive,
    I think you're right. I thought this was the most delicious brand I've tried - kind of what I think homemade would taste like if I weren't too lazy to make my own.

    Hannah,
    It did seem expensive, but it was really good and will last a while. I always think the commercial pastes rely way too much on salt for flavor, and this one had almost none, but was incredibly flavorful.

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  4. Those orange rosemary pecans look so good. I love raw desserts so much, but they are sooo high in fat...

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  5. I love the sound of those pecan flavors. And that curry looks super good too.

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  6. I have heard a lot of good things about Hail Merry but haven't seen them in the area yet. Know anywhere to get them?

    I will have to try that curry. It's been awhile since I've had a good homemade curry.

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  7. The Hail Merry Grawnola and nuts sound very good!

    I've never had green cury, but that dish sure does look good. I always just zip right past the Thai section in the grocery store. I'll have to stop and check everything out the next time.

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  8. Those pecans look so yummy!

    My green curry is always brown. Come to think of it, so is my yellow and red, too! Funny.
    Lots of delicious stuff.

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  9. Tiffany,
    I never used to like nuts, but now I do. I tasted some organic tamari almonds the other day that were so good I finally had to make myself stop eating them.

    Melody,
    The flavors come out loud and strong on the pecans, so if you like orange and rosemary, you would love these. And I know what you mean about the desserts.

    Rose,
    No question the pecans were good. I really recommend the curry. They have it now at Sidecar.

    Aimee,
    The only place to buy them here is online directly from Hail Merry. Maybe we could get Sidecar to carry it. Sidecar has just started selling the curry. The Thai True Web site has recipes for all their products.

    Michelle,
    I love Thai food, and this brand of curry paste, which is new to me, is excellent for making great curries.

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  10. I haven't heard of Hail Merry before but it looks like they have a really interesting product line. I love green curry, it's my favorite one. I tried making curry paste from scratch once. Just once. The jar stuff is just too easy to use, I'll have to look for that brand. Thanks! :-)

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  11. Chow Vegan,
    We've been using another brand of curry paste but I liked this one better. I agree with you that it seems easier to use the jarred stuff — though I aspire to make my own condiments.

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  12. I would not say no. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these products. I'm always on the lookout for healthy (non-messy) car snacks for my kids. Maybe I'll see them in NY this month.

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  13. Jenny,
    Their Web page lists the places where you can find them and in NYC it's The Health Nuts NYC and High Vibe. I think kids would really like the grawnola.

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  14. I want the macaroons! I could pop them in my mouth and stuff my cheeks like a hamster!

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  15. River,
    They would be perfect for cheek stuffing — just the right size!

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  16. Your raw treats all looked amazing. I'm sure I couldn't stop at 2 blondies! And I do love green thai curry. . . even if it's a bit brownish.

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  17. Macaroons! Orange rosemary pecans! Thai! Brain overload!

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  18. Ricki,
    I stopped at two, and I just know you could, too. After being on the ACD for such a long time, I'm sure you no longer crave sweets, or even like them. Right? :D

    Mo,
    The pecans were huge. Mouth overload, too.

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