TOP PICKS OF THE WEEK: Muuna Cottage Cheese, Oui Yogurt & More
[1] Muuna’s cottage cheese cups with fruit on the bottom come in 6 fruit flavors (photo courtesy Muuna).
[3] Reuse-A-Pop is a mess-free opportunity for you to make your favorite flavor push-up ice pops (photo courtesy Russbe). |
1. MUUNA COTTAGE CHEESE WITH FRUIT
We were probably the last person in New York to buy Breakstone Pineapple Cottage Cheese before they discontinued it. It was the Ascension Of Yogurt Era, and grocers eliminated slower-moving SKUs to give the space to the hot ones. Now, a new brand called Muuna is offering all the fruited cottage cheese our heart desires (photo #1). The line is lowfat and creamy, with the fruit on the bottom that you mix up, like a carton of sundae-style yogurt. It’s also rich in protein: 15g of protein per 5.3-ounce cup. The fruit is not the typical preserves at the bottom of of the cup but actual chopped fruit, in your choice of: The line is all natural, non-GMO, rBST-free and certified kosher by cRc. Welcome back, pineapple cottage cheese—and hello to you other flavors. You’re our Top Pick Of The Week. *See the different types of yogurt. Our co-Top Pick is the new Oui by Yoplait line of yogurt (photo #2). It’s different from every other container of Yoplait you’ve had. Eating yogurt from the perky glass jar, you could imagine you’re in France. The jar (repurposeable or recyclable) makes you look cool and in-the-know. And the yogurt does not disappoint. The company calls it saveur d’autrefois, the taste of yesteryear. Yoplait’s foray into premium, French-style yogurt (also called custard-style and Swiss-style) is on point, hitting the trending consumer checklist for all natural, non-GMO and reduced sugar products. The eight flavors include: |
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A final endorsement comes from the secretary of our building, with whom we shared our samples. She is a native of Greece who eats Greek yogurt every day. Her feedback: “Outstanding!” The line is certified kosher (dairy) by OK. Russbe creates reusable lunch containers, but that’s not a product we have need for. What we do need, and love, are the Reuse-A-Pops bags for creating homemade frozen juice pops, puréed fruit, yogurt, and other frozen pops. The push-up bags (photo #3) with zipper seals ensures no messy leaks or spills. Freeze, enjoy, wash, reuse. At $6.99 for 12, you can’t go wrong. We just enjoyed our first batch: watermelon (from watermelon juice), cantaloupe (from puréed melon) and yogurt-garlic-dill (who says ice pops have to be sweet?). Yum! |
4. DI GIORNO CRISPY PAN PIZZA
We live in a neighborhood where crisp, thin-crust pizza is what grown-ups eat. When people order from Pizza Hut, it’s for the kids. We have a reputation to uphold, and hesitate to be seen carrying a deep-dish pizza into the building, no matter how much we need that specific comfort food. But there’s a solution for our cravings: DiGiorno Crispy Pan Pizza, a frozen pizza from the supermarket in its own pan. The one-inch-plus-deep crispy crust pie, with extra cheese and plenty of toppings, comes in four flavors: |
[3] Pan pizza in four flavors stays in the freezer. Twelve minutes in the oven delivers steaming, aromatic comfort food (photo courtesy DiGiorno). |
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In just 12 minutes we pulled the pie—a crunchy outside and a soft inside— fragrant and bubbling from the oven. Now, we just have to clear out the freezer to make room for more DiGiorno boxes.
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