If you like Girl Scout Lemonade cookies—shortbread cookies stamped in the shape of a sliced lemon with a tangy lemon icing—we’ve got something even better for you:

Sara Snacker Cookie Company, an artisan baker with nostalgic-themed cookies, makes its own, far more elegant and delicious, lemonade cookie.

A round of lemony shortbread—made with real lemonade—is topped with a tart lemon icing. The sweet-and-tart effect is delightful.

Attractive white bags of 12 cookies are $8.00. Here’s a store locator; the company will sell them to you online in three-bag quantities.

The cookies are all natural, certified kosher by Star-D, and yummy. Would Dad like a bag for Father’s Day?
 
 
Find more of our favorite cookies and cookie recipes in our Gourmet Cookies section.

Sweet-and-tart lemonade cookies. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

How many types of cookies are there? Check out our delicious Cookie Glossary.

As the weather warms up and we get thirstier and thirstier, we plan how to hydrate on-the-go.

That’s why we’re delighted that Lipton has launched its Tea & Honey To Go packets. This new line of iced tea mixes contains natural honey, real tea leaves and real fruit flavors.

Wherever you can find a glass of water—or fill your water bottle—you can have a refreshing glass of iced tea for just 5 calories per eight ounces. The packets themselves weigh nothing and can be carried in a pocket. So today’s tip is: Consider the convenience of to-go packets to make instant drinks from water.

These Lipton Tea & Honey iced green tea drink mixes include:

 
The mixes also come in pitcher-size packets.

Pour the packet contents into water to turn it to flavorful iced tea. Image courtesy Lipton.  

And the except for sucralose, the mixes are all natural.* The ingredients include honey granules,† citric acid, green tea powder, maltodextrin,‡ natural flavor and color.

The products are hitting stores now nationwide. You can get a free samples when you like Lipton on Facebook, while supplies last.

*Although sucralose is made from sugar, the sugar molecule is chemically modified, which classifies it as an artificial sweetener.

†Honey granules are pure honey, dried and cut, with no additives, into pinhead-size pieces. You can buy them online.

‡Maltodextrin is a starch filler made from natural corn, rice or potato starch. It is a white powder used as a thickener or a filler without altering flavor. It’s in artificial sweetener packets, for example, because the very few grains of aspartame or sucralose required as a sweetener wouldn’t fill a packet.

You can blend your own smoothie or pour it
ready-to-drink from a bottle of flavored
kefir. Photo courtesy RevivalSoy.com.  

Many people think that kefir is the same as drinkable yogurt. That’s close, but not exact. Kefir is even healthier than yogurt. In fact, kefir is often called a “super yogurt,” since it is up to 36 times more probiotic than yogurt.

While the recipes are similar, kefie has even more live and active cultures (naturally occurring bacteria and yeasts) and is loaded with vitamins and minerals. It contains easily digestible, complete proteins, and is recommended for those with digestive issues, including colitis, Crohn’s disease, IBS and lactose intolerance.

The once-exotic drink is now available in supermarkets nationwide. It’s available in luscious fruit flavors in addition to plain.

The addition of fruit creates what we think of as a kefir smoothie (to differentiate it from a conventional yogurt smoothie). It’s just as delicious and better for you. And it’s more drinkable—less thick—than smoothies made with non-drinkable yogurt.

Our favorite flavored kefir, from Green Valley Organics, is made with lactose-free milk that is Certified Humane® plus a probiotic-rich combination of 10 live and active cultures. A blend of strawberry, pomegranate and açaí, It has less added sugar than many flavored kefirs. Also available in plain, the kefir is kosher-certified, organic and gluten free.

It is so delicious, an eight-ounce serving (150 calories, 20 from fat) satisfies our craving for ice cream or frozen yogurt, which has more than twice the calories and typically, none of the healthy components.

Another brand, Lifeway Kefir, makes Blueberry, Cherry, Peach, Pomegranate/Açaí, Raspberry and Strawberry kefir flavors, in addition to plain.

Matzo “toffee”: white chocolate with pistachios and dark chocolate with almonds. Photo courtesy MysteryLoversKitchen.com.  

Passover food and beverages (including wine) are a $2.5 billion to $3 billion industry. It sounds unbelievable, but according to KosherToday.com, some 30,000 different kosher-for-Passover products were produced specifically for Passover 2012. You may see shelves at the supermarket filled with a few dozen items—matzos, matzo meal, coconut macaroons, chocolate-coated jelly rings and other foods. But the ingredients for every kosher-for-Passover food recipe is also included among the 30,000.

There are approximately six million Jews in America, of whom an estimated 70% celebrate the holiday. Jewish law forbids the consumption of fermented grain products and related foods. For the eight days of Passover, there are no bread products except matzo and potato bread, no pasta, no beer, no year-round favorite treats.

Except that we do have a favorite Passover treat that can be enjoyed year-round. Variously called Matzo* Brittle, Matzo Buttercrunch and Matzo Toffee, it transforms bland boards of matzo, an unleavened flatbread, into a crunchy chocolate confection.
 
Here are two variations:

 
We recommend making more than one batch: one for the home, one for a seder gift, one to treat friends and co-workers who have never tasted this addictive confection—which of course, can be made year-round.

*Variously spelled matzo, matza, matzoh or matzah.

Millions of Jews will celebrate a week of Passover beginning Friday, April 6th. The holiday commemorates the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt, after God inflicted the ten plagues upon the Egyptians.

As the story goes, the Jews had to leave Egypt immediately. They gathered up possessions and livestock but could not wait for the bread dough to rise, resulting in matzo, an unleavened flatbread. Thus, during the week of Passover, no leavened bread is eaten; only matzo (also spelled matzoh, matza and other variations).

So what if you want to celebrate Passover with matzo, but have gluten sensitivities?

Two brands are at the ready:

Gluten-free matzo. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

 
Seder Idea

The Passover seder, the ritual feast celebrated on the first two nights of the holiday, is accompanied from beginning to end by a reading of the Haggadah (“telling”).

This year, participants at our seder are coming as witnesses of the Exodus. Each of us will provide a few minutes of insight into the desires, hopes, frustrations, fears and domestic lives of our characters. Participating will be will be Moses, Pharaoh, a nameless Jewish slave and an Egyptian, along with Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, a first century scholar who appears giving commentary in the Hagadah.

We are going as a baker, faced with feeding the exodus masses without the time to leaven the bread. The result: matzo.

Santé Pecans. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE
NIBBLE.  

Santé Nuts sent us packages of snack nuts in nine varieties:

 
Even the savory flavors have a touch of sweetness. The nuts are gluten-free and certified kosher by Star-K.

The line was developed by necessity: Sara Tidhar was a single mom in need of an income. Her son urged her to sell the roasted, seasoned nuts she made for the family and she soon found herself with thousands of orders.

Santé, the French word for health, denotes a better-for-you snack. We really like the one-ounce, grab-and-go packages of nutritious nuts as a substitute for candy and cookie snacks. They’re all-natural, very crunchy and fresh-tasting, with just enough cane sugar to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Hand-roasted in small batches, the nuts are made with less oil (canola oil, a monounsaturated, healthy fat), as well. Try them with a fruity wine or beer.

Santé Nuts can be purchased on Amazon.com and on the company website, SanteNuts.com. One-ounce packages are $1.99, four-ounce packages are $5.99.

Toss Into Recipes

The nuts add interest to a salad—green salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, spinach-and-blue-cheese salad—sweet potato casserole, stuffing, whatever. Here are two lively salad recipes to try:

The gourmet version of Raisinets, from Lake
Champlain Chocolates (certified kosher).  

Today is National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day. In the form of Raisinets, the dried-fruit-in-a-candy-shell is a movie theater staple and the third-largest selling candy in U.S. history.

To make the candy, raisins are coated with oil and spun in a hot drum with milk or dark chocolate. They’re then polished to a shine.

Raisinets are the earliest brand on record, introduced by the Blumenthal Brothers Chocolate Company of Philadelphia in 1927 (the brand was acquired by Nestlé in 1984).

We don’t know that the Blumenthals originated the concept. Hard chocolate was invented in 1847, enabling confectioners to develop all types of chocolate candies (the history of chocolate). No doubt, chocolate-dipped fruit was in the repertoire.

See all the food holidays.

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Sophie Yogurt, a new Greek yogurt brand,
offers delicious flavors that have no added
sugar. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.  

We love Greek yogurt, plain or flavored.

The problem with the flavors, however, is the sugar. We really like these brands, but not some 20 grams of sugar for a small portion:

 
Now, a team of nutritionists at EatStrong.com has come up with a product that the marketplace should embrace: thick, creamy 0% fat Greek-style yogurt with no sugar added. Sophie Yogurt has 5 g milk sugar per 5.3-ounce serving, plus 8 g sugar alcohol.

What is sugar alcohol?

Sugar alcohol is a natural sugar found in fruits and vegetables. The body absorbs it slowly and incompletely (it’s low glycemic). Erythritol, maltitol, sorbitol and xylitol are sugar alcohols you may have heard of. Here’s more information.

Sophie Yogurt: Delicious Flavors

While the company makes a plain Greek yogurt and Plain with Fiber, it is the fancy flavors that delight: Banana Cream Pie, Caramel, Chocolate, Strawberries & Cream, Vanilla Bean and White Chocolate Almond.

The ingredients are primo. Banana Cream Pie, for example, uses real banana purée instead of a flavor extract.

“Coming Soon” flavors include Lemon Chiffon, Passion Fruit, Pumpkin Pie and Sour Cherry Pie. Our only wish is that the company would make the line lactose-free, so the growing number of Americans diagnosed with lactose intolerance can also enjoy good yogurt.

The line is all-natural, gluten-free and made with non-GMO milk. It will soon be certified kosher by OU.

The company, which is based in New York, recently signed with a distributor. But the best way to find out if Sophie is coming to a store near you is to post an inquiry on the brand’s Facebook page.

You can also check out the company’s website.

Sugar Free Greek Yogurt Vs. No Sugar Added

Sugar-free means the product contains no sugar. No sugar added means that the manufacturer has added no sugar; although fruit, milk and other ingredients contain natural sugar. Note that lactose (milk sugar) and fructose (fruit sugar) are natural sugars, which metabolize more slowly (are better for you) than refined sweeteners such as table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

All milk and milk products contain lactose, also called milk sugar. Look at a carton of milk or plain yogurt and you’ll see how much sugar (lactose) is in a serving. In the case of milk, it’s 11 to 14 g of sugar per eight ounces. The same amount of plain Greek yogurt has about 9 g of sugar.

All flavors of Sophie Yogurt have 5g of milk sugar (lactose), although no sugar is added.

Why Milk And Yogurt Are Good For You

1. PROTEIN. Milk and yogurt are good sources of high-quality protein.

2. CALCIUM. Dairy products are rich in calcium, which is vital for healthy bones/skeleton. Most Americans do not get the recommended daily value of calcium.

3. VITAMIN D. Dairy products are a major source of vitamin D, which is added by government mandate to the milk supply. Vitamin D is crucial for the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous. It is also an immune system regulator, and helpful for everything from preventing rheumatoid arthritis to healthy brain function in later years.

Find more of our favorite yogurt brands, recipes, a yogurt glossary and other yogurt features.

Crunchy and good for you. Photo and recipes courtesy Nabisco.  

Unlike many products we enjoyed as a kid,* Triscuits still taste as good to us as ever. The brand has just launched its first new Triscuit cracker flavor in five years: the Mediterranean-inspired Dill, Sea Salt & Olive Oil Triscuit. The classic, wheaty Triscuit flavor is amply dressed with the taste of fresh dill (we wish there were a pinch less sea salt, but we rarely salt our foods).

Triscuits are 100% whole grain and a good source of fiber. A “dill-licious” snack out of the box, Triscuit Dill, Sea Salt & Olive Oil is also perfectly complemented by freshly grown cracker toppings like tomato and cucumber slices. The line is certified kosher by OU.

Here are two sophisticated snacks/hors d’oeuvre, plus more recipes and wine pairings (including a free app).

*Why don’t you still like foods you loved in earlier years? Your palate evolves, seeking more sophisticated flavors; and companies cut back on quality ingredients, so products don’t taste as good as they used to.

TRISCUITS WITH TANGY GREEK TOPPERS

Ingredients Per Serving

One of 5 varieties of organic Greek yogurt.
Photo courtesy Wallaby.  

Wallaby Yogurt Company, a family-owned producer of organic yogurt, has launched its first line of organic Greek yogurts.

Greek yogurt—properly called Greek-style yogurt when made outside of Greece—is typically triple-strained, removing much of the water to create a very thick texture.

Wallaby, based in Napa Valley, California, is known for its creamy, pudding-like yogurts which they call Australian-style, a term we’ve not come across elsewhere. We’d call them custard-style, French-style or Swiss-style (see our Yogurt Glossary for the different types of yogurt). The founders were inspired to make the yogurt while enjoying many a yogurt in Australia.

A press release notes that “Once the founders had decided [to make Greek yogurt], they tried every brand of Greek yogurt that they could get their hands on. When they were done, they ultimately concluded that there just weren’t any organic Greek yogurts out there that tasted really great. What followed was an intense effort of repeated trial and error, to come up with what they ultimately felt would be a Greek yogurt unmatched in taste.”

While we certainly respect the effort, this is a a different style of Greek yogurt than we’re accustomed to. It’s lighter and less thick, not too removed from the company’s regular lines. Instead of a thick, sour-cream-like consistency, Wallaby’s version of Greek yogurt is silky and elegant.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But if you’re an organic yogurt eater who is fond of Oikos* Greek yogurt from Stonyfield—or delight in the Greek-style yogurts from Chobani and FAGE Total—note that Wallaby takes a different approach.

*The Oikos brand name is also licensed to Dannon, a part-owner of Stonyfield, which produces a non-organic line of Dannon Oikos Greek yogurt. Yes, it is confusing!

Wallaby Organic Greek Lowfat Yogurt is available in a variety of flavors and sizes.

 
Learn your yogurt types in our Yogurt Glossary.