reviews.reviews.reviews

OK so I literally have not a chance to breathe the past month! School and multiple reasons of stress have made the blog take a backseat but I had a little spare time today to write a quick post!  Over the past month I have received a ton of samples to review and they were all great.  Just want to thank all the companies that were so generous.  Including: Way Better Snacks, Simply7, Navitas, and Manitoba Harvest.

 

Way Better

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simply Sprouted Way Better Snacks are some of the best “healthy” snacks I have tried in a long time.  I’m constantly reading labels seeing what is put into my food and these are nothing but the real deal.  They were very generous and sent me a huge box filled with every flavor they make.  The flavors include simply sunny multi-grain, unbeatable blues, sweet potato, sweet chili, no salt naked blues, and simply beyond black bean. 

All of the chips tasted great and had a nice crunch but my two favorites were sweet potato and sweet chili. Not only do these chips taste good but they are good for you! Sprouting has been known to enhance the bio-availability of nutrients and aid in digestion.  Every serving has a great amount of omega 3 essential fatty acids and a  whopping 17 grams of whole grains.

The main benefits of sprouting include:

• increased vitamins and minerals
• increased antioxidants
• increased digestibility
• increased nutrient absorption

For more information about the company and the many health benefits of eating sprouted foods check out their website at www.gowaybetter.com 

 

Simply7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The company Simply7 sent me out a MASSIVE box of their awesome chips! Three different types and eleven great flavors!  Pomegranate, hummus, and lentil are the three types of chips they make at Simply7 made from all natural ingredients with zero trans-fats, artificial colors or preservatives.  Not to mention they are gluten free and vegetarian friendly.  Pomegranate chips come in three flavors including: white cheddar (my favorite), black pepper and sea salt.  I’m not going to lie when I saw pomegranate chips in the box I was a bit skeptical but I must say they were delicious! The taste of pomegranate was very faint but just enough for that extra punch and sweetness!  The hummus chips come in three flavors including: sea salt, spicy chili pepper, tomato basil, and roasted red pepper.  I really enjoyed the hummus chips as well and my favorite flavor would have to be the roasted red pepper, a must try.  It instantly reminded me of eating pita chips with roasted red pepper hummus except it was a million times better!   The lentil chips come in three flavors including: sea salt, bruschetta, creamy dill, and jalapeno.  The lentil were my least favorite out the three different kinds but still overall very good!  My favorite flavor was the bruschetta, you instantly recognize the taste of tomato followed by fresh basil.  For more information about this company and their products go to www.simply7snacks.com.

 

Navitas Naturals 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Navita’s Naturals sent me out a bag of cacao goji super-food power snacks and a small bag of mulberries.  The power snacks are made from  date paste, cacao powder, chia seeds, sesame seeds, raisins, sunflower seeds, goji berry powder, maca powder, lucuma powder, camu camu powder, and chocolate flavor.  These little bites of energy are crunchy from the various seeds and slightly sweet from the dates.  I would not consider these a sweet, candy like snack but they are definitely good for some quick long lasting energy.  This was my first time trying mulberries and when I opened the bag I was a bit scared but the taste didn’t disappoint! They remind me of golden raisins but I would pick these over raisins any day!  Not to mention they are a true super-food and one of the few fruits to be considered a protein source.  There are about 3 grams of protein per ounce and they are an excellent source of iron, calcium, vitamin C, and fiber.  Recent studies have shown that regular consumption of this special antioxidant helps promote a healthy heart and longevity.  You can add this sweet super-food to oatmeal, pancakes, smoothies, yogurt and trail mix.  Navitas makes a ton of great super-food products so check them out at www.navitasnaturals.com

 

Manitoba Harvest 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few weeks back Sarah from Manitoba Harvest was so kind and sent me out two big bags of hemp hearts including original and organic.  This was my first time trying hemp-seeds and I am now a BIG fan.  Hemp-seeds have a slight nutty taste that is simply delicious.  They paired perfectly with lots of my breakfasts the past month and I totally recommend giving hemp a try not only because they taste great but they have a ton of health benefits.  They pack a powerful amount of protein and omegas.  A 30g serving contain 10g of easy to digest protein, 10g of omegas and many more minerals!

I am currently obsessed with topping my waffles and pancakes with hemphearts!

Thank you Manitoba Harvest!

Check out them out at www.manitobaharvest.com 

Like them on Facebook & Follow them on Twitter!

Artisana Review!

A little over a month ago I received a very nice package full of heaven from the great people at Artisana! The package included one small jar of coconut butter, one small jar of walnut butter and eight squeeze packs including: cacao bliss, cashew butter, almond butter, coconut oil, walnut butter, coconut butter, pecan butter, and macadamia butter.  All of these butters have either one or two ingredients making them a completely healthy, clean eat.  These nut and coconut butters are not only delicious, they are loaded with multiple health benefits.  Scientific studies show that incorporating nuts into your diet reduces your risk of heart disease and lowering LDL cholesterol (the bad kind).  Coconut has been shown to help reduce LDL cholesterol, help balance female hormes, and assist in weight loss.  The products that Artisana creates are true super foods!  They are also gluten and peanut free! Each and every product that Artisana makes is unique, fresh, pure, healthy and high quality.

First thing I dove into was the walnut butter and it was delicious.  Made only from walnuts and cashews! This tasted great spread on apple slices.

Next up was the cashew butter which had a very rich cashew taste.  I was never a big cashew fan but this nut butter did not disappoint! I squeezed it over some high protein french toast with some berry jam and the combo was perfect!

Ok so I think I may have found my latest obsession and I fell completely in love after trying coconut butter for the first time.  This was hands down my favorite out of all of the samples that Artisana provided me with.  It was rich and creamy and tasted absolutely amazing! It was so good I could eat it out of a jar with  a spoon…but it did taste great on protein pancakes, fruit, toast, anything!

Pecan butter is made from pecans and cashews and is perfect paired with pumpkin and my pumpkin pancakes!  Talk about the best combination for fall!  The flavor was very true to the name and completely natural tasting.

Artisana coconut oil is non-hydrogenated, cholesterol-free and made of medium-chain fatty acids which are broken efficiently by the body, providing an immediate source of energy.  I used the coconut oil to cook veggies in as well as bananas for breakfast..perfect combo!

Almond butter has always been a favorite of mine so this one obviously did not disappoint!

Cacao bliss was another favorite of mine..probably because it was coconut butter that involved chocolate.  Talk about heaven.  It is made from  organic raw coconut butter, organic extra virgin coconut oil, organic agave syrup, organic cacao, and organic cacao butter.

Macadamia nuts have never been my favorite but this butter was so good! I used my sample of it ontop of some flax seed waffles and the taste was creamy yet crunchy with a slight sweetness.

  I want to thank Artisana for providing me these great samples! They were all amazing! If you love nut butters as much as I do check out their website www.artisanafoods.com and get some for yourself you won’t be disappointed!

Pumpkin, Polar & Studies

Can you feel it? That slight chill in the air, pumpkin spice and everything nice…yes fall is near people! I just started my fall semester at my new school a couple weeks ago and I am more than confident in knowing that I picked the right major for me. Nutrition has become such a passion of mine these past few years and I truly love it! Some people underestimate the time, effort, and difficulty of the field and let me just say…it is ALOT of work.  It’s going to be hard but in the end it will be so worth it.    Not only has school started but another perk is that I got my brand new Polar ft40 watch a couple weeks back and I am in love with it!  It monitors my heart rate, calories burned, duration, and the percentage of fat burned during my workouts.  It’s awesome and I highly suggest checking out Polar watches on amazon if you’re into getting good sweat sessions in a few days a week and want to keep track of how much your’e burning.

Instagram has become such a great motivational community for those dedicated to nutrition, health and fitness and if you follow me on there I’m sure you’ve noticed a few of my recent foodie posts! One of them is pumpkin protein bars..so here’s the recipe for those babies!

Pumpkin Protein Bars

 

Ingredients

• 1 (15oz can) pureed pumpkin
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup stevia or truvia
• 1 1/2 cups oat flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 1/2 scoops vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1. Spray a 13×9 inch baking dish and preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl and mix well
3. Add remaining dry ingredients to a separate bowl and mix (not walnuts, cranberries, or seeds)
4. Add wet ingredient mix to dry and mix well
5. Now you can mix in the walnuts and cranberries if you have chosen to use them
6. Spread the batter into the baking dish
7. Evenly top with pumpkin seeds and bake for 35-40min
8. Remove from oven and let cool for an hour
9. Cut into 24 pieces and eat up!

These taste great with  a little almond butter or honey!

Lemon Blueberry Protein Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 scoop protein powder ( I used sunwarrior vanilla)
• 2 tbs coconut flour
• 2 tbs low-fat whipped cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• grated zest from half a lemon
• few squeezes of lemon juice
• 1 tbs stevia

lemon cream filling

• 3 tbs  low-fat whipped cottage cheese
• 1/2 tsp stevia
• squeeze of lemon juice

1. Add egg whites, almond milk, and cottage cheese to  a bowl and mix well
2. Add lemon extract, stevia, lemon zest and juice to the wet mixture
3. Add remaining dry ingredients to a bowl and combine
4. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well
5. Heat a non-stick pan to med/high heat
6. Pour batter onto pan and add  a 1/4 cup of blueberries evenly to each
7. Cook for 3-4 min on each side
8. Combine the 3 tbs cottage cheese, stevia and lemon in a bowl for the filling
9. Layer each pancake with lemon cream filling
10. Top with remaining blueberries

These pancakes are the perfect way to end the summer!

Refreshing, delicious, and packed with protein 🙂