Tubular, duuuude!  Ahem, anyway… this drink is made by a company called “Vemma” and according to their website, they really care about you:

Making a positive difference starts with people helping people.

This is our mission. Founded by BK Boreyko and his family, Vemma’s parent company, New Vision®, is a revolutionary leader in health and wellness. With over $1 billion in total retail sales, this company helped pioneer liquid nutrition over 13 years ago by introducing the #1 selling liquid mineral supplement in North America.

Investing all the lessons learned over the last twelve years in product research and business concepts, Vemma® is primed to make the same intense impact.

After thirteen years and over a billion in sales, our mission isn’t over, it’s just beginning.

We want to enrich the quality of your life.

Super… let’s give it the old college try!  Upon opening the can you’re treated to a sight of an opaque orange liquid that resembles fruit juice.  Taking a look at the ingredients, we can assume it’s Mangosteen Juice mixed with various minerals and other fun stuff (Aloe Vera gel… sweetness!).  Well, I won’t keep you in suspense, it tasted horendous.  Just really, really bad.  It was very sweet, almost too sweet, with a hint of fruit (btw, Mangosteen is an interesting taste, I much prefer it mixed with another fruit juice).  I couldn’t take more than one sip, so for me, I won’t be buying this again.

Now, this is the fun part of the review… when looking at the can, some interesting ingredients caught my eye.  Thallium?  Thorium?  Why are these listed as ingredients, and further more, why are they listed as part of the “Proprietary Plant-Sourced Mineral Blend,” anyway?

Well, for starters, let’s take a look at what’s in here:

Beta carotene, Ascorbic acid, Cholecalciferol, d-alpha tocopheryl acetate, thiamine hydrochloride, riboflavin, niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, cyanocobalamin, d-Biotin, calcium d-pantothenate, selenium, Taurine, Caffeine, D-Ribose, Inositol, Choline Chloride, Guarana, Mangosteen, Aloe Vera, Green Tea, Carbon, Calcium, Sodium, Sulfur, Magnesium, Chloride, Bromide, Fluoride, Iodine, Potassium, Niobium, Aluminum, Iron, Phosphorus, Silica, Manganese, Boron, Strontium, Titanium, Tungsten, Copper, Zinc, Tin, Zirconium, Molybdenum, Vanadium, Chromium, Selenium, Nickel, Cobalt, Lithium, Gallium, Barium, Yttrium, Neodymium, Hafnium, Cadmium, Thorium, Antimony, Cerium, Tellurium, Beryllium, Samarium, Dysprosium, Erbium, Bismuth, Gadolinium, Cesium, Lanthanum, Praseodymium, Europium, Lutetium, Terbium, Ytterbium, Holmium, Thallium, Thulium, Tantalum, Germanium, Gold, Platinum, Rhodium, Rubidium, Ruthenium, Scandium, Silver, Indium, Water, natural flavors, citric acid, potassium sorbate, xanthan gum, sucralose and malic acid.

Yum!  Let’s take a closer look at some of this stuff (I just picked a few… feel free to check out others):

Thorium: A chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. As a naturally occurring, slightly radioactive metal, it has been considered as an alternative nuclear fuel to uranium.

Thallium: A chemical element with the symbol Tl and atomic number 81.  Thallium is highly toxic and is used in rat poisons and insecticides, and its use has been cut back or eliminated in many countries. It is used in murders and has the nicknames “The Poisoner’s Poison” and “Inheritance powder.”

Lithium: A chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3.  Trace amounts of lithium are present in the oceans and in some organisms, though the element serves no apparent biological function in humans. Nevertheless, the neurological effect of the lithium ion Li+ makes some lithium salts useful as a class of mood stabilizing drugs.

Gallium: A chemical element that has the symbol Ga and atomic number 31.  Gallium has no known biological role.

Yttrium: A chemical element that has the symbol Y and atomic number 39.  Yttrium has no known biological role, though it tends to concentrate in the liver and bones. Yttrium compounds which are soluble in water are considered toxic, while insoluble compounds are non-toxic.

Halfnium: A chemical element that has the symbol Hf and atomic number 72. Compounds that contain this metal are rarely encountered by most people. The pure metal is not considered toxic, but hafnium compounds should be handled as if they are toxic because the ionic forms of metals are normally at greatest risk for toxicity, and limited animal testing has been done for hafnium compounds.

Antimony: A chemical element with the symbol Sb and atomic number 51. Antimony and many of its compounds are toxic. Clinically, antimony poisoning is very similar to arsenic poisoning. In small doses, antimony causes headache, dizziness, and depression. Larger doses cause violent and frequent vomiting, and will lead to death in a few days.

Sounds tasty… good thing they have a warning on the can:

Recommended 1-3 Verve a day and don’t drink it if you’re pregnant, have a medical condition or get an allergic reaction. Keep Verve in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.

Have a medical condition?  Such as?  That’s pretty vague… I guess it helps them in the long run.  For fun I decided to color in all the elements listed on the can (including ones that are in there based on other ingredients, for example, Hydrogen and Oxygen because it contains water):

Nice, huh?  Of the 114 elements listed, this drink contains 69, or just over 60%.  That’s truly amazing… and that’s not to say other foods/drinks don’t have a lot of elements in them, but this is the most I’ve ever seen listed on an item.

Now, I’m not a doctor or a scientist, but just glancing at this makes me pretty certain neither is the creator of this drink.  So, in conclusion, if you’ve ever had a hankering to eat a wedding band (Gold, Silver, Titanium, Tungsten, Platinum… doesn’t matter, it’s in here!) or were wanting to consume almost 70 elements in one shot, this drink is for you.  Otherwise, I’d steer clear.

Now then, the ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons cake flour
• 4 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa
• 1 Egg
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 3 Tablespoons oil
• 1 Mug

And the directions:

1. Mix flour, sugar and cocoa.
2. Spoon in 1 egg
3. Pour in milk and oil, and mix well
4. Put in microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power (1000watt)
5. Wait until it stops rising and sets in the mug
6. Tip contents out of mug onto saucer and enjoy!

How awesome does that sound?  I think I’m gonna do some experimenting and tweaking of this recipe this weekend and will post any tasty results (we’ll pretend failures didn’t happen).

For those wondering, here are approximate nutrition facts (different oils, eggs, flours, milks, etc will cause slight variations… this is an average):

850 calories
50g fat
80g carb
20g protein

Someone else had this to say in the comments of that post regarding nutrition:

For anyone who is wondering here are the nutrition facts (I’m a nutrition minor so I was compelled after making this to figure it out) They are for if you use Canola Oil and if you use Skim Milk.

776 calories
48.9g fat
80.4g carb
17g protein

The exact breakdown is as follows:
flour: (.25 cup or 4 tbsp): 114 cal, 0.3g fat, 23.8g carb, 3.2g protein
sugar: (4 tbsp): 186 cal, 0g fat, 48 g carb, 0g protein
egg: 1 large: 74 cal, 5g fat, .4g carbs, 6.3g protein
cocoa powder: (2 tbsp): 25cal, 1.5g fat, 5.9g carb, 2.1g protein
canola oil: (3 tbsp): 360 cal, 42 fat, 0 carb, 0 protein
milk, skim (3 tbsp or .1875 cup): 17 cal, .1g fat, 2.3g carb, 1.6g protein

So now you know… don’t make this and eat the whole thing if you’re on a diet.

Today’s flavors are:

Pocky Marble: Rum Raisin (Kaoru Rum-Raisin)
Pocky Dessert: Strawberry Shortcake (Ichigono Shotocake)

First up we have Strawberry Shortcake (as you see below, the label says Ichigono Shotocake, but a bit of translating romaji revealed to me what it was)!

The box looks quite interesting… apparently this is a decadent form of Pocky (which in my mind is kind of like a decadent form of an Oreo, but I digress) and it shows:

Damn, that’s some fine packaging. I wonder if the product looks as nice as it does on the box? Well, once I got it opened, I was presented with individual bags of Pocky, each containing 3 sticks (I will assume that’s the serving size, as you can see the label above isn’t that specific) that look pretty close to the images on the box:

When it comes to taste, I’ll admit, these are pretty good. The frosting, as I don’t know what else to call it, is very thick and sweet… think of a cross between fondant and Oreo filling. As the flavor goes, it is kind of a neutral vanilla with an intense strawberry aftertaste. It’s not bad. The stick makes it easy to eat and it’s not as messy as it looks. I think I understand why Pocky is so popular (although I don’t think it’s as life changing as some make it out to be).

Pocky Dessert – Strawberry Shortcake: Rating

Taste: 4/5 – Pretty tasty… I could see myself eating these again.
Looks: 2/5 – I feel like I should be eating these at a little girl’s tea party. Definitely not a “work” snack.
Price: 3/5 – At $3.50 a box, it’s about the same as other “100 Calorie” packs, but it only has 4 servings.
Oddness: 3/5 – While it’s strange in shape, it’s essentially as weird as an Oreo… but man, look at it!

Overall: 3/5 – I may buy these again, but it’s not a “must buy,” and neither is it something I’d want to be seen buying.

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Okay, one Pocky down… one to go! Next up we have Rum Raisin (the label says Kaoru Rum-Raisin, but I have no idea what Kaoru means!):

Now, this looks completely different from the previous box. Gone is the gold label and fancy packaging… this looks more artistic and has a neat flip-top. I don’t quite get all the hearts, I assume it’s just part of the artwork and not the flavor:

So, upon opening the product I assumed it would look like the previous Pocky, with it’s clear wrapping showing the product inside, but that’s not what I got:

Just tin foil… well, fancy tin foil, but that’s beside the point. I guess I’ve come this far… let’s open it!

When it comes to taste, let’s just say the label wasn’t lying… I don’t think I’ve ever had a more potent rum tasting food that wasn’t actually rum. So, as with the previous Pocky it was quite sweet and the stick made it convenient to eat, but the similarities end there. While the box says Rum Raisin, it would be more accurate to just call it rum flavor. Or perhaps RUM flavor. It’s almost eye-wateringly intense… perhaps my tastebuds are too “Americanized,” but this is not really a flavor for me. Sadly, it looks pretty cool, but that’s all it really has going for it.

Pocky Marble – Rum Raisin: Rating

Taste: 2/5 – It didn’t make me spit it out, but it’s not something I’d enjoy eating again.
Looks: 4/5 – Sadly these looked pretty sharp, if only they tasted that way.
Price: 3/5 – At $3.50 a box, it’s about the same as other “100 Calorie” packs, but it only has 4 servings.
Oddness: 2/5 – Sorry, the flavor is just too weird for me. Rum? Really… rum?!

Overall: 2.75/5 – While they look pretty cool, the taste has pretty much stopped me from buying these again.

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Okay… that’s all for now! Join us next time for another two Pocky flavors (or any other odd candy I come across)!!!

Throughout the Universe, one man has waged war against both hunger and sleepiness. One man has taken a stand for a healthy, wide-awake, breakfast cereal. Cap’n Buzz! And there is only one cereal worthy of being eaten by the Cap’n: Spazztroids! Why? Because Spazztroids is the only cereal loaded with vitamins, a hyper-sweetener, and loads and loads of caffeine! That’s right – CAFFEINE! One bowl of Spazztroids is one healthy bowl of cereal and one-and-a-half strong cups of coffee all rolled into one!

Each serving of Cap’n Buzz’s Spazztroids will pump your body with vitamins and nutrients (in yummy, crunchy, space shapes) but you’ll also get a 180mg dose of caffeine. Spazztroids is the tasty love child of all we hold dear – sweet foods, snazzy names, and caffeine (the divine nectar of the gods). But the greatest gift of Spazztroids is what is left in your bowl when you have eaten every last bit: caffeinated milk! Just like mamma used to make. So get some of Cap’n Buzz’s Spazztroids – the breakfast cereal full of vitamins, nutrients, caffeine, and everything else you need to get up in the morning.

Each serving has 180mg of caffeine and is sweetened with Neotame (an artificial sweetener 13,000 times as sweet as sugar)!

Spazztroids – Caffeinated Breakfast Cereal… get them here before they sell out!!!

EDIT (April 2nd) – Gotcha!  April Fools!!

Usually, when I was craving a nice breakfast or lunch on a weekend we’d head off to Wheatfield’s, and after eating in the quite noisey and crowded dining room, we’d feel a lot more full, even with our pockets feeling much emptier (a usual early meal for two at Wheatfields would run us around $35 with tip). The food was good, but the place was crowded and their prices are a little on the high end. On the way home one day Jessica and I stumbled upon a place called “Bailey’s” just up the road from Wheatfields and we decided we’d have to give it a try. The past 3 weekends we have gone to Bailey’s… twice for breakfast and once for lunch and they leave us wanting to change nothing.

This morning we went for breakfast and Jessica decided to go with a full serving of Biscuits and Gravy, two eggs (cooked perfectly over-medium), two thick pieces of Maple Bacon, and a glass of Iced Tea. Now, this is one of the only restaurants in town we could find for her to get Biscuits and Gravy. Wheatfield’s doesn’t serve them at all, and the places that do (IHOP and Cracker Barrel) are just no good in our opinion. For the longest time my weekend mornings were spent baking biscuits and making sausage gravy, but now we have Bailey’s to help curb her cravings!

My breakfast this morning was actually one of “Chef Jon’s Features” (the specials) of the day:

Vintner’s Eggs

Fresh grilled asparagus dusted with parmesan cheese, crownded with two tender poached eggs, sided with fresh sliced Hot House tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil.

I also decided to go with a slice of their “Incredible Bailey’s Coffee Cake” that was mentioned on the same card. First off, the Eggs were amazing. They were perfectly poached, the egg whites were a perfect ball around a nice runny yolk. The asparagus was grilled beautifully and was dusted with just the right amount of cheese, salt, and pepper. The tomatoes were nice and fresh and also were spiced just right. After my nice light meal I eagerly dove fork first into the slice of coffee cake. Moist, delicious, and tasting of cinnamon, I’d honestly have to say it was the best coffee cake I’ve had in years. With tip, today’s bill came to just $26! Not only is that incredible for what we ate, but Jessica was so full that she couldn’t finish her Biscuits and Gravy and took half home!

Now, before you think this is just a breakfast place, show up after 11 and you’ll be treated to some of the best lunches in Omaha. Last weekend we went in for lunch and Jessica got just a normal BLT and fries, while I opted for the open-faced Moroccan Chicken Sandwich with fries, along with the special “Soup of the Day” which was Chicken Tortilla. First we’ll start with the BLT. Jessica loves BLTs. Everywhere we go, from IHOP, to Brewsky’s, to Wheatfield’s, to Arby’s… she gets the BLT, and usually isn’t happy with it. Either the bread is dry, or the bacon isn’t crispy, or the mayo isn’t that good. This, for her, was the best non-homemade BLT she’s ever had. She spent the entire lunch raving about how perfect every part of the sandwich was. This is one of the highest compliments she can pay to a place. She also enjoyed the fries, which she usually skips at Wheatfield’s as she feels they’re too bland.

When it came to my food, since I ordered soup, it came to the table first while we waited for the main courses. Now, I absolutely love Chicken Tortilla soup when it’s done right, but most places it’s either just a cup of cheese or just broth… never quite right. This wasn’t the case at Bailey’s, where the soup was a wonderful mix of spices, just thick enough to stick to the spoon and yet, not just a bowl of cheese. I wish the soup wasn’t just a special because I could eat it every day (of course, maybe it’s a good thing for my waist that it’s not on the menu every day).

For my next course, my Moroccan Chicken Sandwich was just incredible. The sandwich was open-faced, and consisted of a hummus on toasted bread as a base, followed by a layer of “salad” (which was nice and crunchy with an interesting “Moroccan” dressing tasting of allspice), followed by a wonderfully grilled chicken breast (nice and moist) and ending with a topping of goat cheese and diced bell peppers. The flavor was quite unusual (although very good) and I can’t help trying to recreate the flavor here and home. I highly suggest this sandwich. As with Jessica, I quite enjoyed the fries. They were seasoned well, not greasy or overly salty. Just a nice refreshing side that worked perfectly with the rest of the meal. With tip, the bill for this outing came to just $25, once again, a great deal!

In conclusion, there is nothing I’d want to change about Bailey’s, except possibly it’s location. Bailey’s is located in a tiny strip mall, and I think business could really pick up for them if they had more visibility and a bigger dining room. Then again, I like that it’s out of the way and a small “hole-in-the-wall”, so maybe I don’t want them to change. Go visit the staff early in the morning, they’ll be happy to see you and you’ll be happy to be there!!

Service: 5/5 – Incredible! Everything is served with a smile and everyone is quite quick and helpful.
Food: 5/5 – Astounding! The food seems like your normal cafe fare, but done very elegant and upscale.
Price: 5/5 – Low! We’ve yet to pay more than $26 (with tip!) for a meal for two.
Atmosphere: 5/5 – Laid back and relaxed… just what I want in the morning!

Overall: 5/5 – This is now one of my most favorite restaurants, and I feel disappointed if I go a week without stopping by.

Bailey’s: 1259 S. 120th St., Omaha, NE (click for map)
Hours: 7:00 am – 2:00 pm Everyday
General Manager – Grant Lundin

This, my friends, is Kale. Kale is a very scary looking and sounding green vegetable, but I’m dreadfully attached to it now. While it’s not that popular now, most people in their 80s are probably quite familiar with it, as it was a staple during World War II.

Kale was included in the Dig for Victory campaign as a vegetable that was easy to grow and provided important nutrients to supplement meagre diets during rationing.

Amazingly it looks like it’s trying to make a comeback in Britain, so I want to see it make a come back here in the US as well! I think with the current lack of vegetables in our diet, Americans need to start eating something like this… I mean, check it out:

It retains the rich mixture of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants that made it a vital ingredient in keeping the nation healthy in troubled times.

There is a growing body of evidence showing those raised on a wartime diet, where many fatty and sugary foods were either unavailable or rationed, were considerably healthier and fitter than their modern-day counterparts.

“What vitamins and minerals does Kale contain,” you’re asking yourself… I can tell. So, let’s find out, shall we? Here is the nutrition for one cup of chopped Kale (according to Fitday):

Calories – 33.5
Total Fat – 0.5g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 28.81mg
Potassium – 299.49mg
Total Carbohydrate – 6.71g
Dietary Fiber – 1.34g
Protein – 2.21g
Vitamin A – 119 %
Vitamin C – 134 %
Calcium – 9 %
Iron – 6 %
Vitamin E – 1 %
Thiamin – 4 %
Riboflavin – 4 %
Niacin – 3 %
Folate – 5 %
Vitamin B-5 – 1 %
Vitamin B-6 – 9 %
Phosphorus – 4 %
Magnesium – 6 %
Zinc – 2 %
Copper – 10 %

Is that not incredible? It also contains so much Vitamin K it’s scary! This is one of the best veggies on the planet and amazingly almost no one I’ve talked to around here knows what it is. Kale tastes similar to cabbage… more like “greens” such as mustard or collard, just more earthy. One of my favorite ways to serve it is sautéed in Olive Oil (about 3 tablespoons per bunch of Kale… dash with salt and pepper, cook for about 4 minutes) and paired with chicken.

If you see it in your local grocery store, pick it up… give it a chance! Let’s bring back Kale!!

We started off with a couple of drinks. Jess had a “Cherry Cheesecake Martini” and I had a “Navaltini”. The restaurant uses UV Vodka and is quite proud of it, but perhaps they’re a bit too proud. Not only do they have the branding on multiple things, but the entire drink menu comes from the UV site. Would you like to know what’s in the drinks we had? Just go here: UV Recipes. For the martinis you should expect to pay $4.50 a piece (although it isn’t listed anywhere), which is about average for a martini, but they’re not serving “top shelf” vodka (no offense to UV, but a bottle costs about $9 – $10 compared to Gray Goose at $25 – $30) so that is kind of a steep markup.

Next up we ordered appetizers. There were quite a few things on the menu to choose from, so we decided on the Sampler. For about $10 this came with:

2 pieces of Garlic Cheese bread
4 Mozzerella Sticks
4 Wings (BBQ or Hot)
4 Chicken Strips

The garlic bread was pretty sub-par… it was a very soggy piece of Texas toast, and wasn’t really all that flavorful. Jessica didn’t eat more than a bite (and that’s usually her favorite item). The Mozzerella sticks were your standard-type Mozzerella stick, nothing to write home about (and definately not fresh-made). The same could be said about chicken strips. They were just your basic fried chicken strip… no real stand-out flavor to speak of other than chicken and a basic batter (not breading). Now, Jessica loved the wings… she couldn’t get enough of them. They were crispy and had a great BBQ flavor… very nice. Of course, your mileage may vary… to quote another review:

The waitress wasn’t too friendly and didn’t even really apologize when we sent our wings back because they weren’t cooked. (nothing gets you in the mood to eat more than under cooked chicken!)

We didn’t have this issue (the wings were fully cooked), but it is kind of upsetting to see that something like that made it out of the kitchen. Next we ordered our main dishes. Jessica got her “standard” pizza (pepperoni, green pepper, and pineapple) and I ordered the Portobello Chicken Pasta. There was about a 15 minute wait between ordering and getting our food and with how busy it was that day, that was pretty nice. Of course, that was unfortunately where the “nice” ended and the “sad” began. We’ll start with the pizza.

The pizza cost about $11 and was approx 10-11 inches… not a bad size for two people. Our issues didn’t come from the size, but rather, everything else. For one, they claim that they use “hand-stretched” pizza crust… and I don’t believe it. Here is what a pizza crust that has been hand-made looks like:

Here is what the crust of the pizza we ate looked like (this is just an example… this isn’t their pizza):

See all those holes? That tells me this is a frozen crust… the pizza at Tim’s had these nice, evenly spaced holes all along their crust. Not a good sign. It wouldn’t be a major deal breaker if the crust actually tasted good, but it didn’t. It was very dense, and aside from the taste it gets from the Wood Oven, it was very bland. I can get a hand made pizza from Whole Foods (where they also use a nice wood oven) and it tastes 100 times better than this, and the 16inch, 3 topping pizza I get there costs about the same. Speaking of toppings… we had a total of 6 standard size pepperonis on our pizza… just 6. We counted… maybe they just had a shortage that day. I can tell you they didn’t have a shortage of canned pineapple, because there was more than I could stand on the pizza. I actually resorted to picking them off, but the juice had saturated the cheese to the point where I just couldn’t eat it. The green peppers were nice and fresh and had a nice even amount on there. I can’t complain about the peppers… in fact, they were perfect. The sauce used on the pizza was your standard fare, not really all that sweet or salty, just kind of “there”… same can be said about the cheese, nothing special or different. Thus ends our pizza tale (we ended up only eating about a quarter of the pie each)… on to the pasta!

The pasta I ordered was the Chicken Portobello (ringing in at about $10), which was supposed to be a dish of chicken, pasta, alfredo sauce, portobellos, and artichokes covered with mozzerella. What we got was a bowl of pasta (not quite al dente, more on the soggy side… it would more often than not break when I tried to put it on my fork) covered with what we believe to be canned Portobello Alfredo sauce. Once again, we can’t prove it’s not home made, but our opinion is that it came from a can/jar. There were no large pieces of mushroom, instead it was just little diced soggy mushroom bits… basically what you’d expect from this:

In fact, this is exactly what it tasted like (it says “Restaurant Quality”, maybe they mean it!). The chicken wasn’t layered on top, so it was pretty soggy, and didn’t appear to have been grilled. In taste and appearence it resembled this:

Now, don’t get me wrong… products similar to Bertolli and Tyson have their place, but that place shouldn’t be a restaurant. The rest of the dish was the same… dried parsley on top, standard cheese, and canned artichokes (which was confirmed in another review).

We didn’t get any desert, and our bill came to the astounding $42.01 for two people. I have to give the restaurant a D+, the wait staff wasn’t that bad, and the atmosphere was decent, but the rest was just miserable. Perhaps we’ll try eating there again in the future, but I don’t see it happening any time soon.

A few weeks back while doing some shopping for quick lunches I could eat in the office, I stumbled across the Simply Asia brand of Asian cuisine. A quick check of the nutrition facts told me that this would be a fair thing to try, and it looked much better than the standard “soup in a can” that I’d been eating. Let me say, looks did not decieve this time… this food was amazing! There are more varieties than I can name, but my favorite thing they make are their rice noodle soup bowls… for around just 275 calories, it fills me up for most of the day. Simply Asia makes more than just soup, they also have noodle bowls and boxes that, in my opinion, are better than some of the asian restaurants in my area.

The only negative thing about their products are the amount of sodium, but that seems standard when it comes to soup or other asian noodle meals. If you’re watching your salt intake, this is not for you… otherwise I say “Dig in”!

Unfortunately it isn’t cheap. A 187mL bottle (which is about half a can of soda) costs a good $20.00. :pinch: Yeah, it ain’t cheap, but if you ever have a chance to try some, I definitely suggest that you do.

For those wondering what ice wine is, here’s a nice definition for you:

Ice wine is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been naturally frozen on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, so the result is an unusually concentrated, often very sweet wine.

So, are there any good wines that you enjoy? Or is there a good place to come by Ice Wine, as it’s hard to find here. Feel free to comment!

First, here’s a list of the ingredients you will need (for those who don’t know how much an oz is, it’s1/8 cup):

Real Men Drink Pink Martini
1 handful of ice
1 drip of Dry Vermouth (just enough to wet the glass)
1 drip of Triple Sec (just enough to wet the glass)
2 oz Hangar One Vodka
3 oz Minute Maid Cherry Limade

Okay… time to mix!

Step 1. Get out your martini shaker (we likes our drinks shaken, not stirred… like Bond, James Bond) .

Step 2. Place ice, Vodka, Dry Vermouth, and Triple Sec in the shaker, shake for about 10 seconds.

Step 3. Place the Cherry Limade into the shaker, and shake until nice and icy (about a minute).

Step 4. Strain drink into the glass of your choice (I like a martini glass, myself) and drink and be merry!!

Remember to drink responsibly and visit often for more drink recipes!