Review: Morinaga Banana (+Jujitsu veggies) Puddings : 森永の新しいバナナ野菜プリン、おいしいかな？

So I have been wondering about this new pudding from Morinaga recently: Veggie juice-banana pudding (Jujitsu yasai de oishii Banana pudding) .

Here it says Banana pudding with 20 kinds of veggies and fiber. Banana itself would have been nice but with veggie juice?? (this is a cooperation between Itoen’s jujitsu 60% veggie juice series and Morinaga)
So…I bought it just to satisfy my curiosity. Let me tell you about its label first: 120 kcal, protein 2 g., fat 4.3 g., carbs 17.6 g., and fiber 2.9 g. Compared to many other puddings, 120 kcal is pretty normal, but it can be better in terms of lower fat and higher fiber. Check it its product website!

Its flavor profile, HOWEVER, is really ambiguous or “Bimyou” as we say in Japanese. It’s not totally sweet. The sourness came after a while, leaving kinda weird aftertaste. The texture is normal, just like pudding in general. It kinda tastes like you are drinking diluted veggies drink with added sugar in a pudding form. lol

Sorry, morinaga….This pudding is not cutting it for me.

More pudding reviews are coming, so stay tuned!

Innovative containers: Morinaga VS Meiji: 新鮮な「しまるボトル」森永 VS 明治

Recently, Japan has been really innovative about how containers look like. In part, I think they stimulate interest in consumers, making them pick up the product and hence increase the possibility of the first trial. It’s really refreshing to see this kind of innovation starting to pick up the pace in Japan. While flavors and contents of drinks are always changing depending on the seasons, their containers have remained the same for the past years. Only recently that Morinaga has started the trend.

First and most exciting innovation would be PREMiL! New concept of milk targeting those in their 40s-60s. There are 2 types of product options: one with fortified calcium and protein but still creamy (in blue color) AND one with added fiber and BB536 bacteria (purple color).

Now..look at their packaging! People thought these are yogurt drink at first…because the color and shape is similar to the existing package of some yogurt brands. When they picked the product up, read about it, the surprise factor came in when they realized it’s actually milk! The idea is that it would be easy to open, to pour (so the milk won’t spill if you squeeze the bottle too hard), and to keep. Some complain that it might be difficult when you need to cut the bottle for recycle purpose. Read more here: PREMiL

And then…Meiji followed suit with this bottle series…called “Shimaru bottle”. Shimaru is to close something – in this case the bottle.
Recently launched in combini are 2 variations of dairy drink: super creamy latte and matcha latte. Claiming that the cap allows you to keep the milk from spilling and to keep it for later consumption in case you don’t finish the whole thing. (the term “re-cap” is used in Japanese) Most products in the market are in the form of tetra box, so once you open you can’t really keep it long. Read more here: Shimaru bottle
Here is how the “Shiro no hito toki” (creamy latte) and matcha latte look like:

They look pretty similar, no? What do you think? Do these new shape of bottle makes you wanna buy more?

New Healthy Almond-milk Pudding!

I am a frequent investigator of convenience stores, especially Family Mart which seems to be everywhere: next to my apartment and in my office building. It has been long since I really found something sweet that I would crave but I spotted this milk pudding yesterday during hunting for my lunch at Famima. So yes, BOUGHT IT! Tried it too and I like it.

Why it’s good? 

1. So low in sugar!: only 3.3 g. which is about 77% less than the normal pudding in the market (I think it’s 77% sorry if I’m not precise)

2. Made from Almond milk: the flavor and smell is really nice and mild

3. Low calories: only 67 kcal! Could be a perfect little dessert after your meal! (totally guilt-free) Normal pudding would be about 120-150 kcal or more.

My opinion is that it’s really a good choice if you just look for something small to round up your meal. (or if you’re on a diet) But if you look for something more indulging and rich, full texture..this might not be for you.

Latest healthy drinks updates! (Review) : 新発売のヘルシー飲料のアップデート！

I know it’s been long since my last updates, so here I am, bringing you with two new healthy drinks I spotted during the past few weeks! I really want you guys to give them a try!

1. Calpis Oasis Sparkling water. Maybe you have seen the normal “Oasis” drink from Calpis, which is by the way MY FAVORITE DRINK ADDICTION OF ALL TIME. It’s ZERO CALORIE, sweet and refreshing and includes some good nutrients (though you can’t say it’s a nutrition drink). I’ve been in love with the normal version for a period of time every year. Calpis decides for some reason to keep changing its packaging every year and only sells this drink for about 3-4 months a year only. I enjoyed this drink from April til about last month and now it’s pulled out of most combini. You can kinda see it in only specific branches of specific supermarkets. (eg. Seijo-ishii of Roppongi Hills branch) The below drink is of the same Oasis drink but is made into the sparkling water version. I spotted it in a supermarket “Gourmet City” nearby my house. I didn’t hesitate and grabbed it in a second. Do you know that right now in Japan sparkling water is a BIG HIT. Almost all bottled water products have two versions: normal and sparkling. It’s like if you don’t launch the sparkling water version, your brand sucks kinda feeling. lol It’s really overwhelming. (I didn’t mind so much for the sparkling cuz it causes me gas.) Personally, I prefer the normal Oasis better than this sparkling one. Nonetheless, for those of you who can tolerate carbonated drinks, please give this a try if you see one!   2. Healthya’s “Walk” drink in Ume (Japanese plum) flavor. I think I introduced this in my past post. (Burn your body with Catechin) That time, this “Walk” drink was only launched in grapefruit flavor. Recently, however, I spotted this drink – now in ume flavor and green color – in a drugstore near my station (Takadanobaba). I tried it and I think it’s refreshing and easier to drink than the grapefruit one! It includes catechin, abundantly found in green tea, that helps activate your metabolism. If you know you’re gonna be doing a lot of walking (like a long shopping day) you might give your body some extra burning! (only 19 kcal per bottle so it’s safe!) This is it for my healthy drinks upates! Actually there are a lot more products that I want to show you guys. Will keep on posting!

I tried “Spicy Tomato” drink from Glico! (Review) : グリコの「スパイシートマト」ドリンクを飲んでみた！

After seeing it in the combini for a while, I couldn’t resist my curiosity and finally decided to buy this “spicy tomato” drink. Just because….the adjective “spicy” is never used to describe “tomato” =_=

Also, the package says “Hot chili flavor”…the spiciness that will become your habit (kuse ni naru). So I was wondering how would this weird flavor will make me feel addictive. Although inside my heart I kinda knew that this product concept is never gonna be a good idea, I bought it anyway so that I won’t have to keep wondering in the future. haha

It contains 45 kcal and the ingredients are mainly just tomato puree and a bit of chili. From its website (which you can access by clicking the photo), this product is targeting 20-40 year-old men. I see no scenario whatsoever that a young man with amazing appetite would even consider buying weird tomato juice for himself. serious…

Okay, so I was really excited when I was punching through the carton with my straw. Took the first sip with hope! Then…fell flat.
WHAT IS THIS FLAVOR??? TOT I first tasted just normal tomato juice but then the chili kicked in in the end. For me, this chili taste is something that SHOULD NOT be there. It interferes with the next sip, making you slow down and wonder if it’s a good idea to add more spice on your tongue while eating raw tomato.

Seriously, don’t waste your money on this. You can go to your kitchen, cut your tomato and sprinkle it with cayenne pepper. It will taste the same.

“Coke Life” : the Latest product from Coca-Cola boasts stevia as a health hero : 「コークライフ」

“Coke Life” : the Latest product from Coca-Cola boasts stevia as a health hero : 「コークライフ」

You are going to spot this soon in Japan too!(if not already) Look out for the green label with familiar font written “Coca-Cola Life”
One bottle has 89 calories less than 140 kcal in normal version. However, it still contains more than 4 tablespoons of REAL sugar.
Why launched this? As more research attacked diet coke and coke zero (actually anything soda with the name “zero”) that it may contribute to weight gain rather than weight loss and “artificial” sweeteners are not warmly welcomed either (they are charged with the same penalty)…Coca-cola turned to the only sweetener that is exempted from health critiques – STEVIA!! Stevia is a natural sweetener that comes from plant, thus, it is “natural”.

I don’t think the flavor would be that different. In the end, you’ll be drinking Coke. You’re just gonna buy it with less guilt! (well, supposedly so…)