Attune sent me three of their Chocolate Probiotic Wellness Bars to try. They sent me dark chocolate, raspberry dark chocolate and coffee bean dark chocolate; all three of these bars were really good. “Attune is the powerhouse probiotic bar packed with 5 times the live active cultures of yogurt. It has all the digestive health and immune benefits of probiotics in one tasty little package you can take on the go. One Attune bar every day is the delicious way to feel amazing.” They are:
Packed with 5 times the live active cultures in yogurt
Excellent source of calcium
Only 80-90 calories
All natural
Take it on the go!
These bars tasted great and with less calories then most chocolate bars it was a great treat. The raspberry was my favorite it was sweet from the raspberry and bitter from the chocolate which created a great combination. I also really like the coffee bean because honestly what goes better with coffee then dark chocolate. Of course the plain dark chocolate bar was delicious as well.
Blogger Disclaimer: Attune provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review in return for the free product.
SoyGo sent me a sample of their coffee creamer to try. This coffee cream is great for people on the go because you can just throw it in your bag or purse. When you have coffee at work or out on the town you can pull this out and put it in your coffee. I don’t know about coffee shops where you live but many that I visit either don’t have soy milk or charge extra for soy milk to be added.
Click to View SoyGo Website
I bring these on trips with me so that I can add a little creamer to my (usually) horrible cup of hotel coffee. I also love that it gives coffee a nice sweet flavor and isn’t as heavy as liquid soy creamer. I am not a huge creamer fan usually but I love this when I am craving something sweet.
Nature Path has provided me with samples of a few of their products which included Shredded Oaty Bites, Optimum Bars and Pomegranate Plus Granola. My husband and I both loved these products. I used the Shredded Oaty Bites to make my own snack mix for a holiday party and they were a huge hit. I love that these Oaty Bites are sweet and were great in my snack mix combining the sweet and salty.
Shortly after I received these samples we went to Disney World so we brought the Optiumum Blueberry Flax & Soy Bars which were delicious. They were filling and great when we were on the run in the morning and didn’t have time to sit down and have breakfast or as a snack in the afternoon.
Lastly we have the granola and it was my husbands favorite. My husband eats cereal or granola every morning and he quickly ate this up. Nature Path has tons of other great products and flavors of cereal and granola. Since trying these products we have also tried the Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola which we loved as well.
Blogger Disclaimer: Nature’s Path Foods provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review in return for the free product.
Caffe Ibis, located in Logan Utah, was great and sent me four samples of their organic coffees. The four coffees I tried were:
1. Organic Mayan Sunrise Blend- I really loved this coffee it was a great morning coffee that is a blend of dark and light roasts.
2. Organic Aztec Blend- what I loved about this coffee was that it is smooth, sweet and spicy.
3. Organic French Roast Blend- this coffee is rich caramelly, and smooth.
4. Organic Highland Sumatra Dark- This is my absolute favorite of the 4- it is a light french roast that is full bodied and has light acidity.
I drink a lot of coffee and I loved these coffees. The other thing that influences my coffee purchases are the companies ethical practices. Caffee Ibis has great ethical practices that are both socially and environmentally responsible:
Caffe Ibis Mission
“Our mission for thirty years has been to be “unbeatable for quality and freshness, while supporting social and environmental responsibility.” Caffe Ibis endeavors to:
1. Provide customers with mountain grown and mountain roasted specialty arabica coffee with unbeatable quality and freshness.
2. Provide due respect and fair compensation for the people whose labor brings us our exceptional organic coffees.
3. Respect and safeguard the environment that provides the extraordinary growing conditions true specialty organic coffee requires
4. Utilize buying practices that support shade grown and organic coffee, a sustainable coffee future, and social and environmental responsibility.
5. Honor and respect our partners in this endeavor, and the employees and customers of Caffe Ibis Coffee.
We believe that by adhering to the above principles that we will show returns that justify the costs incurred in presenting our goods and services along with the additional costs of future growth.” Source
To find out where you can get yourself Caffe Ibis Coffee you can visit their website or you can order direct from their website.
Disclaimer: Caffe Ibis provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review in return for the free product.
Go Dairy Free by Alisa Marie Fleming is a guide and cookbook for milk allergies, lactose intolerance and casein-free living. The book starts with a guide to Understanding Dairy and Dairy-Free From a Health Perspective these are the first 5 chapters the book. These first 5 chapters provide a massive amount of information about dairy, the benefits of living dairy-free and any concerns that one might have about going dairy-free.
The second section of the book is Eating Away From Home this is one of my favorite sections because it gives great ideas on what to do when eating out at restaurants as well as social events and travel. For those starting out eating dairy-free it is great to know some tips about ordering off the menu at various restaurants. For example the book categorizes cuisines into green light, yellow light and red light cuisines. Green Light cuisines are ones that have a number of dairy free options such as Chinese, Japanese, Tai and Vietnamese restaurants. Yellow Light cuisines are ones that you need to be more cautious about such as Mexican, Greek, African and Caribbean. The Red Light cuisines are ones you should be extra cautious about such as “American”, Irish/English Pubs, Indian, Italian, French, German or Swiss which all have a number of dairy based dishes. (p. 66-70)
The next two sections are Grocery Shopping & Preparing Your Kitchen and All You Ever Wanted to Know About Dairy Substitutes I think both of these sections are really great for the newly vegan/those going dairy-free. In these sections you can find shopping ideas as well as what are some great alternatives. Here you can learn about a variety of milk alternative s from soymilk to hemp milk. This section is a great tool for those seeking more information on what the next steps are to living a dairy free life.
Now that you have made it through all the sections on what dairy is, why you should go dairy-free, what your pantry needs and what there are for dairy substitutes it’s finally Time to Eat! This section is filled with a number of recipes by Alisa Marie Fleming as well as various authors and fellow bloggers such as Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs, Susan from Fat Free Vegan and Celine from Have Cake Will Travel. All of the recipes featured in this book are great examples of yummy dairy-free recipes that anyone will love.
The book ends with recommended resources such as online sources in the forms of blogs and various websites. There are also suggested “offline reading and resources” which vegan, gluten-free/casein-free, food allergy and children’s books. Lastly, there is a great index the list the dairy alternatives and recipes and details whether they are vegan, egg-free, soy-free, gluten-free, wheat-free, nut-free and/or peanut-free.
Overall this book is a great resource for those who are looking to learn more about going dairy free. All of the features from dining out to stocking the pantry as well as great recipes for everyone to enjoy make this book a great resource.
Disclaimer: Fleming Ink provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review in return for the free product.
PETA’s Vegan College Cookbook is targeted at college students who are without a kitchen or have limited access to a kitchen and/or time to cook meals. All of the recipes are quick and easy to throw together. Most recipes are based off meat analogues and packaged products with a few fresh ingredients. It takes items that college students have easy access too such as veggie burgers, canned beans, ramen noodles and vegan cheese slices and creates easy dishes for the student on the run.
If boiling water or turning the microwave on is as far as your culinary abilities go then this is a great book for you. This recipe book is rather a guide on how to throw ingredients together and heat them up. If you already know how to cook and can do more than mix, boil water and turn the microwave on then this cookbook is definitely not for you. This book is not meant to be anything great and you won’t find me using it but if you know someone who is clueless in the kitchen (or you are yourself) it might be worth picking up, if nothing else it’s comical.
Disclaimer: Sourcebooks Inc.provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review in return for the free product.
Tropical Traditions sent me a jar of their Virgin Coconut Oil to sample- it is also organic. What is great about the gold label brand is that it is made by hand unlike other coconut oils. I love coconut oil and this stuff is great. I use coconut oil to make a number of raw dishes – my favorite way to use it is in raw macaroons. I also love to use it in stir fries instead of peanut or canola oil because it gives the stir fry a really great flavor. Yesterday I actually heated it up and sprinkled it on my kabocha squash before I roasted it and it was delicious.
Tropical Traditions Giveaway- Please Enter by 8am on January 31, 2010
To win your own jar of Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil visit the Tropical Traditions website and take a look around- leave a comment on my blog telling me something you’ve learned or about a product that interest you.
Tweet about this giveaway – “I want to win @Troptraditions Coconut Oil from @cookveganlover http://wp.me/ppaTI-sA” (Leave me a comment saying you did)
Follow me @cookveganlover on twitter (Leave a comment saying you did)
Visit Tropical Traditions Free Coconut Recipe website http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/ and leave a comment telling me what your favorite recipe is.
Referral Program:
Tropical Traditions also has a Referral Program, so if you place an order with them as a first-time customer, please select “Referred by a friend” and in the box that says “How did you hear of us?” enter my sponsor ID number… 5611571. By telling Tropical Traditions that I referred you, you will receive a complimentary copy of the book Virgin Coconut Oil: How it has changed people’s lives and how it can change yours! by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy with your first order! This book is filled with testimonies and research showing how healthy coconut oil is, and it also includes over 85 recipes showing how one can incorporate coconut into their diet.
Here are some easy to use directions for your referrals:
1. Add the items you would like to purchase from the order form linked to Tropical Traditions. Visit www.healthybuyersclub.com/orderform.cfm
2. You’ll be directed to the Order Form at the Tropical Traditions/Healthy Buyers Club website. You do not have to be a member or purchase a membership to buy from Tropical Traditions. Membership in the Healthy Buyers Club allows you to purchase in bulk amount at club member discounts if you choose to join. If you choose not to purchase a membership to the Healthy Buyers Club please order under the heading “Retail Sale Items”. This will enable you to purchase less than case amounts of any of the individual items without a membership.
3. Select the items you would like to purchase.
4. When you are ready to check out please click on the “Continue” link which will take you to your shopping cart.
5. Review your order and then click on the “Check Out” button from your shopping cart.
6. Fill in your account information as directed. In the box: “How did you hear of us?” you must select: “Referred by a friend” on the drop down arrow. When you make this selection, a box for your sponsor’s User ID number should appear if you are a first time customer.
7. Enter your sponsor’s User ID number 5611571.
8. To complete your order click on “Save and Proceed to Checkout” at the bottom of this page and follow the instructions through the checkout process. You will receive an order number when you have successfully placed your order.
Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.
