Recently, I bought some Oscar Meyer turkey bacon for the first time. I wanted to try it out and see if it was any good. Today, I cooked up my first batch of it. I found out Oscar Mayer lives up to its claim of NO GREASE. After cooking an entire 12 ounce package of the stuff, there wasn't any grease in the skillet I used. If I'd cooked regular pork bacon, I would've been scooping bunches of it. I suspect the reason there isn't any grease is because the bacon is already fully cooked according to the package. This would also explain how it supposedly has HALF the fat of regular pork bacon. You'll still need to cook the turkey bacon in order to make it nice and crispy. The bacon also does have a smoky flavor to it which Oscar Mayer adds during its processing. Price wise, a 12 ounce package of the bacon will set you back $3.49 (price quoted at Columbia, Maryland Wegmans store). That seems reasonable enough to me and, you may be able to save more buying the stuff at Sam's Club due to being able to buy it in bulk. They sell the bacon in boxes containing three 12 ounce packages. The only thing that didn't impress me about the bacon was the flavor. While it does have a smoky flavor to it, I wasn't crazy about it. When its fully cooked, their turkey bacon looks like cooked pork bacon and has the same texture but, it doesn't have the same taste.
Overall, I wasn't super wiped out with this product though it does offer various advantages such as less fat, probably fewer calories (just 35 calories per slice) and no religious restrictions for the the Jewish and Islamic faiths as there isn't ANY pork in the product. For those who want to enjoy bacon without some of its drawbacks, Oscar Meyer's turkey bacon may be the way to go. Bon Appetit!
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Fuze Half and Half
Recently, while shopping at the nearby base commissary, I found out Fuze puts out a second iced tea I'd call their half and half. It's half iced tea and half lemonade. I thought I'd try it so, I bought their 12 ounce 12 can refrigerator pack. I believe it cost me $2.70. I think it would cost more at regular stores.
I found the half and half tastes like a very lemony iced tea. The iced tea part cancels out the lemonade flavor but, the lemonade part does give it a more lemon flavor than you would normally get with Fuze's regular iced tea. Calorie wise, the half and half is low in calories compared to sodas. A 12 ounce can has just 70 calories. Fuze does use REAL lemon juice in the drink. The can I had this morning states it has 1% juice in it. The drink is low in sodium according to the can. It doesn't state how much caffeine you might get from the iced tea part though I suspect you won't get much.
Container size wise, I've only seen this product in 12 ounce cans. I don't know if Fuze sells it in 2 liter bottles like they do their regular iced tea.
Like all Coca Cola's 12 ounce can 12 packs, you'll get 10 MyCoke reward points for purchasing the refrigerator pack vice 3 points for the 2 liter bottles. Do make sure you pull off the code part from the pack carton. Coca Cola makes this easy to do.
Overall, I thought Fuze's Half and Half was a decent product. It should be a refreshing drink on a hot day if you like iced tea. Also, it's reasonably priced.
I found the half and half tastes like a very lemony iced tea. The iced tea part cancels out the lemonade flavor but, the lemonade part does give it a more lemon flavor than you would normally get with Fuze's regular iced tea. Calorie wise, the half and half is low in calories compared to sodas. A 12 ounce can has just 70 calories. Fuze does use REAL lemon juice in the drink. The can I had this morning states it has 1% juice in it. The drink is low in sodium according to the can. It doesn't state how much caffeine you might get from the iced tea part though I suspect you won't get much.
Container size wise, I've only seen this product in 12 ounce cans. I don't know if Fuze sells it in 2 liter bottles like they do their regular iced tea.
Like all Coca Cola's 12 ounce can 12 packs, you'll get 10 MyCoke reward points for purchasing the refrigerator pack vice 3 points for the 2 liter bottles. Do make sure you pull off the code part from the pack carton. Coca Cola makes this easy to do.
Overall, I thought Fuze's Half and Half was a decent product. It should be a refreshing drink on a hot day if you like iced tea. Also, it's reasonably priced.
Sunday, April 07, 2013
Baltimore Cruise Ship Terminal
Today, I made it to the Baltimore Cruise Ship Terminal finally to take some pictures. It was something to be able to drive to a cruise ship terminal vice having to go through all the hassle of flying and then catching a shuttle to the terminal. Key roads leading to Baltimore and the terminal had signs reminded folks of the exit 55 (last exit before you go through the Harbor Tunnel on your way to New York). Things were busy at the terminal as Carnival's Pride ship was departing for a 7 night cruise to the Bahamas. The Pride is approximately 57 feet longer than Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas which will start sailing out of Baltimore on May 3rd. Also, it carries slightly more passengers - 175 more. For those who like Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas, this coming Saturday will be its last time to depart from Baltimore as it sets off on a 12 night cruise finishing in Port Canaveral, Florida.
The cruise ship terminal was supposedly a converted warehouse. Also, I suspect they had to install a boarding ramp as pictured below.
The terminal does have parking for those who want to drive to the terminal and leave their car during the cruise. According to the terminal website: http://www.cruise.maryland.gov/content/parking-rates, parking is $15 a day payable upon arrival by cash, credit card or traveler's check. Here's a picture of the parking:
The cruise ship terminal was supposedly a converted warehouse. Also, I suspect they had to install a boarding ramp as pictured below.
The terminal does have parking for those who want to drive to the terminal and leave their car during the cruise. According to the terminal website: http://www.cruise.maryland.gov/content/parking-rates, parking is $15 a day payable upon arrival by cash, credit card or traveler's check. Here's a picture of the parking:
The terminal can get busy on the day a ship is sailing as shown in this picture of cars lined up to get in.
Three cruise lines currently sail out of the Baltimore Cruise Ship Terminal - American Cruise Line (smallest of the 3 lines, carries no more than 100 passengers) which sails up and down the East Coast, Carnival which sails to the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean and Royal Caribbean which sails to Canada, the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Caribbean. For more information on the terminal please check out the terminal webpage at: http://www.baltimorecruiseguide.com/cruise-terminal.html.
Update posted on 8/5/13. Carnival announced on June 27, 2013 that the Carnival Pride will redeploy to Tampa, Florida December 2014. They haven't said anything about a ship replacing the Pride. Royal Caribbean stated on July 17, 2013 that it would continue to run cruises out of Baltimore on it's Grandeur of the Seas.
Update posted on 7/27/2014: In a press release from the Maryland Governor's office dated January 20, 2014 which you can find on www.cruise.maryland.gov, Governor O'Malley announced that Carnival would continue to offer cruises out of Baltimore. The plan according to the press release is for the Carnival Pride to redeploy to Tampa, Florida in October 2014 at which time it'll receive upgrades including scrubbers to reduce emissions. The ship will return to Baltimore on March 29, 2015 and resume cruises out of Baltimore.
Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas did begin offering cruises out of Baltimore on May 3, 2013 and continues to offer them at the time of this post. I did the May 3rd cruise on Grandeur and had a great time. I hope to sail on the Grandeur again in 2016.
Friday, April 05, 2013
Rick Riordan Book Release Dates
As I haven't made it down to the Baltimore Cruise Ship Terminal to take some pictures of it to post on my blog, I decided to forward on to my readers book release dates that Rick Riordan posted on his blog Myth & Mystery (http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/) on March 25th, 2013 along with various comments by myself.
The Serpent's Shadow
Riordan states that the paperback version will be released in the United States on May 7th with one special feature. The book will contain the first ever Percy Jackson/Carter Kane story called The Son of Sobek. This would be a very tempting offer BUT, I already have the hardbound edition. :-( For those who don't want to have to buy a 2nd copy of the book, on June 18th, 2013, Disney-Hyperion will release an electronic e-single version of the story with a special plus. The e-single will include an audio version where Riordan himself reads the story. Interesting! Riordan states the e-single version will be cheaper than the paperbook (you would think so) though I'd have to buy a Kindle thingy to use the e-single thing with. I've been thinking about buying one of those any way and, this does give me more of an incentive to get one. It would be very cool to hear Riordan read one of his stories. We'll see on this.
The House of Hades
Fans of the Heroes of Olympus series will be more titillated on May 31st, 2013 when Disney-Hyperion releases the cover for The House of Hades book. Then, according to Riordan, they'll release more sneak peaks during the summer (like we really need those or do they like torturing us while we impatiently wait for the dang book). Finally, on October 8th, 2013, they'll release the hard cover edition which I'll be pre-ordering so (when we can do that), I can get mine ASAP and finally find out what happens to Percy and Annabeth after they fall into Tartarus and how the other demigods - Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel and Leo get them out of there.
That's all the news I thought worth forwarding on about Riordan's books. Like many other of his fans, I'm waiting very impatiently for The House of Hades book. Riordan did far too good a job of writing a cliffhanger at the end of Mark of Athena. Plus, I'm curious to see how the prophecy of the seven plays out though I don't think we'll find that out till the last un-named fifth book comes out presumably in October 2014. Happy reading all!
The Serpent's Shadow
Riordan states that the paperback version will be released in the United States on May 7th with one special feature. The book will contain the first ever Percy Jackson/Carter Kane story called The Son of Sobek. This would be a very tempting offer BUT, I already have the hardbound edition. :-( For those who don't want to have to buy a 2nd copy of the book, on June 18th, 2013, Disney-Hyperion will release an electronic e-single version of the story with a special plus. The e-single will include an audio version where Riordan himself reads the story. Interesting! Riordan states the e-single version will be cheaper than the paperbook (you would think so) though I'd have to buy a Kindle thingy to use the e-single thing with. I've been thinking about buying one of those any way and, this does give me more of an incentive to get one. It would be very cool to hear Riordan read one of his stories. We'll see on this.
The House of Hades
Fans of the Heroes of Olympus series will be more titillated on May 31st, 2013 when Disney-Hyperion releases the cover for The House of Hades book. Then, according to Riordan, they'll release more sneak peaks during the summer (like we really need those or do they like torturing us while we impatiently wait for the dang book). Finally, on October 8th, 2013, they'll release the hard cover edition which I'll be pre-ordering so (when we can do that), I can get mine ASAP and finally find out what happens to Percy and Annabeth after they fall into Tartarus and how the other demigods - Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel and Leo get them out of there.
That's all the news I thought worth forwarding on about Riordan's books. Like many other of his fans, I'm waiting very impatiently for The House of Hades book. Riordan did far too good a job of writing a cliffhanger at the end of Mark of Athena. Plus, I'm curious to see how the prophecy of the seven plays out though I don't think we'll find that out till the last un-named fifth book comes out presumably in October 2014. Happy reading all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)