herbal water

WIAW: Vacation Eats

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I’ve decided to try something new on the blog this week and if I and you are digging it will (try) to keep up with it. 

This week we are on vacation but luckily this doesn’t mean we have been eating out all week because we are staying at a condo in North Myrtle Beach with my parents.  This has made our lives so much easier and I love having a place to cook all or at least most of our meals.

Breakfast: Berries, English Muffin, Hash Browns, Veggie-Pesto Tofu Scramble

Beverage: Decaf Coffee

Lunch Part 1: Salad with cranberries, almonds and apple

Lunch Part 2: Veggie and Polenta Lasagna

Snack: a million Salt and Pepper Pistachios

Beverage: Ginger Lemon Peel Herbal Water

Dinner: Guacamole, Tomato Bruschetta, Pesto Spinach-Artichoke Dip, Baked Garlic Fries and crackers, bread and tortillas.

Not Pictured: 2 oreos, 8 sour patch kids and a decaf vanilla black tea and lots of glasses of water.

Off The Mat Charity Fundraising Auction & Raffle

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As most of you have read over the past week I have created a team (BTV Vegan YogisTeam Ingalls-Fairweatherwithnew addition Marshall) to support the charity auction for Off The Mat. “Off the Mat Into the World uses the power of yoga to inspire conscious, sustainable activism and ignite grassroots social change. They do this by facilitating personal empowerment through leadership trainings, fostering community collaboration, and initiating local and global service projects.” To learn more check out my posts here and here.

So this is how the auction is going to work:

Between now (June 20th) and June 22nd at 8pm EST check out the list of items below; if you see something you like send me a bid to lindsay@cookveganlover dot com. Include the item name in the subject line and your bid amount in the message. I’ll be updating the bids throughout the day.

The winning bidder will be notified of their winnings by 8pm EST on Thursday (June 23rd) and will have until 6am EST on Friday (June 24th) to donate their winning bid amount to http://www.yogaaid.com/lindsayingalls In the case that the winner doesn’t follow through with their donation, the item will go to the next highest bidder.

The companies who have kindly donated these products for the auction (THANK YOU!) are also donating the shipping costs.

Option 2. Yoga Aid Raffle.

If none of the auction items tickle your fancy you may be interested in the box of goodies pictured below.

Value $100

To enter the raffle for the box of goodies (all goods purchased by me and I will also be paying the shipping costs) just Make a donation to the http://www.yogaaid.com/lindsayingalls or http://yogaaid.com/neilfairweather or http://yogaaid.com/catherinemarshall and forward your receipt/email me to lindsay@cookveganlover dot com $5 will get you one entry, and $10 will get you three entries! Any donations above $10 in $10 increments will get you one additional entry; so a $20 donation would be 4 entries, $30 would be 5 and so on

All raffle entries must be submitted by 12pm EST on Wednesday June 22nd at 8pm; the winner will be notified by 8pm EST on Thursday June 23rd . P.S. I will ship to the US and Canada

___________________________________________________________________________________

YOGA AID AUCTION FOR OFF THE MAT

Aurorae Yoga Mat: Current Bid $20

Aurorae has kindly donated one of their yoga mats:

$45 Value

Product
 Features

  • Aurorae
Ultra
Thick
  • Extra 
Long 
Yoga 
Mat 
72”
x
24”
x
¼”
  • Ultra 
thick
 1/4″ 
yoga 
mat
 for
 impact 
absorption
  • 72”
 extra
 long
 yoga
 mat
 makes 
it 
comfortable 
for
 all
 sizes
  • #1 
reviewed
 yoga 
mat
 and 
5‐Star 
customer 
feed back
 on
Amazon
  • Durable
 and 
long
 lasting 
material/SGS 
approved
 and 
free
from
 Phthalates
  • Individual 
illuminating 
colors 
that 
define
 your 
inner
self
  • Aurorae
 Yoga 
focal 
point 
icon 
to 
help 
with
 concentration
 during 
your
 yoga
 practice
  • Open to US ONLY.

10 Yoga Class Card: Current Bid $70

10 Class Card - $130 Value

Evolution Yoga, a local Burlington Studio, has generously donated a 10 class card.

Evolution Yoga has three beautiful studios for practice. Pre-Registration classes are held in Studio Ahimsa (Sanskrit for “non-harming”), which is our front studio. This sunny studio offers an intimate setting for these specialty classes. Studio Satya (Sanskrit for “truth”) is our newest studio, with cork floors and a warm, nurturing feel. Our largest studio, Studio Tapas (Sanskrit for “zeal, drive”) can hold up to 40 mats.

Evolution Yoga features a number of yoga classes including Anusara, Kirpalu, Vinyasa, and Flying Yoga among many others; visit there website for more information. Open to US ONLY- FYI this studio is in Burlington Vermont.

Retail Value $150

Handmade Beaded Bracelets: Current Bid $15

Species by the Thousands, an eco-minded clothing and jewelry design company, has donated a collection of bracelets.These eco-friendly bracelets are made with reclaimed and vintage beads. Open to US ONLY.

$12 Value

Four Bottles of Mamma Chia: Current Bid $5

“Mamma Chia delivers vitality in a fun‐to‐drink, unique experience.“Customers tell us all the time how super fun and delicious MammaChia is and how amazing they feel after drinking it. The natural gel around the chia seeds creates the fun and refreshing experience, making it like nothing else ont he market. Rarely is something this delicious also so good for you,” says company founderJanie Hoffman. She also reports that customers rave about enjoying Mamma Chia as a great pre‐workout energizer, an afternoon energy booster, a light and satisfying substitute for dessert, and even a great drink with lunch.” Open to US ONLY.

$24 Value

Sampler Case of Ayala’s Herbal Water: Current Bid: $5

The winner of this auction item will receive a sampler case of Herbal Water that includes one of each flavor:
Lemongrass Mint Vanilla
Lavender Mint
Lemon Verbena Geranium
Cloves Cinnamon Cardamom
Cinnamon Orange Peel
Ginger Lemon Peel
Ayala’s Herbal Water is the first nationally available organically certified enhanced flavored water made with all organic ingredients. 100% Good For You!™ FYI this item is open to all contiguous 48 states – no APOs, PO boxes, or shipments to Hawaii, Alaska, Canada or Mexico.

12 Days of Giveaways: Herbal Water

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As most of you know I am a huge fan of Ayala’s Herbal Water and even sell it in my Open Sky Shop. If you would like to learn more about this product you can check out my extensive review of each flavor here. I also did an interview with Dr. Ayala here is a selection from the interview:

What is the inspiration behind HerbalWater?

I am a pediatrician and one of my main interests in pediatrics was preventive medicine, especially the role good nutrition has on overall health.

Well before everyone became concerned with the obesity epidemic, I started advising parents to stay away from sweet drinks, because there are so many calories and so much junk in most sweet drinks and drinking sweet is so habit forming.

You see, the average American consumes about 300cal/day in sweet beverages, mostly empty calories from sugar.  There’s pretty good evidence that these calories don’t register the way solid food does, and therefore they’re not compensated for.  Just attacking this habit is a going to make a huge impact on our waistlines.

And since I try very hard to practice what I preach, and I believe that anything you put in your mouth should taste good, and not just be good for you, I started exploring calorie free beverages for my home

I grow an organic herb garden, and have an abundance of herbs in the warm months.  I love cooking with herbs: Culinary herbs are the natural way to flavor anything, while adding health benefits.  Herbs are also, to me one of the most sensual foods, and really connect you to nature and memories.  I would make herbal beverages to pair with meals, and our guests were offered this herbal water as an alternative to regular water or wine.  They came to expect it, and asked for it whenever they came. But I couldn’t make it in the winter, since I didn’t have the fresh herbs growing then.

The enthusiasm for this healthy alternative led my husband to believe that this beverage answers a need in the market, and we should make it commercially available.  My enthusiasm for making this drink widely available is so great because there just aren’t many truly healthy alternative drinks out there.

Ayala’s Herbal Water is offering a 16oz-6 bottle prizepack for this giveaway.

TO ENTER: This giveaway is open until December 6th at 6pm,

The winner is:


This giveaway is good for anyone who likes within the 48 contiguous US states- sorry Hawaii and Alaska.

1. What flavor are you most excited to try? (required)

Additional Chances to win (PLEASE LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY; also if you already do any of these ie. follow me on twitter/facebook, ect it counts so leave a comment).

  1. Follow Herbal Water on Twitter
  2. Follow Dr. Ayala on Twitter
  3. Like Herbal Water on Facebook
  4. Add Dr. Ayala’s Blog to your RSS reader
  5. Follow me on Twitter.
  6. Tweet about this giveaway “I want to win @cookveganlover @HerbalWater Giveaway http://wp.me/pFVWo-1gu”
  7. Like Cook.Vegan.Lover. on Facebook.

Don’t forget to enter the Oh Nuts Giveaway going on until December 7th! – Enter Here.

Interview: Ayala’s Herbal Water

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To help you get a little better aquainted with one of my favorite products in my OpenSky shop I did a short interview with Dr. Ayala:

What is the inspiration behind HerbalWater?

I am a pediatrician and one of my main interests in pediatrics was preventive medicine, especially the role good nutrition has on overall health.

Well before everyone became concerned with the obesity epidemic, I started advising parents to stay away from sweet drinks, because there are so many calories and so much junk in most sweet drinks and drinking sweet is so habit forming.

You see, the average American consumes about 300cal/day in sweet beverages, mostly empty calories from sugar.  There’s pretty good evidence that these calories don’t register the way solid food does, and therefore they’re not compensated for.  Just attacking this habit is a going to make a huge impact on our waistlines.

And since I try very hard to practice what I preach, and I believe that anything you put in your mouth should taste good, and not just be good for you, I started exploring calorie free beverages for my home

I grow an organic herb garden, and have an abundance of herbs in the warm months.  I love cooking with herbs: Culinary herbs are the natural way to flavor anything, while adding health benefits.  Herbs are also, to me one of the most sensual foods, and really connect you to nature and memories.  I would make herbal beverages to pair with meals, and our guests were offered this herbal water as an alternative to regular water or wine.  They came to expect it, and asked for it whenever they came. But I couldn’t make it in the winter, since I didn’t have the fresh herbs growing then.

The enthusiasm for this healthy alternative led my husband to believe that this beverage answers a need in the market, and we should make it commercially available.  My enthusiasm for making this drink widely available is so great because there just aren’t many truly healthy alternative drinks out there.

What is your favorite flavor and why?

I love all my kids the same, really.  I find that I’ll tend to drink the Cloves Cardamom Cinnamon Herbal Water with a meal, the Verbena Geranium with dessert, the Lavender Mint when I want to relax and the Lemongrass Mint Vanilla on a warm day after exercise.  The Ginger Lemon Peel and Cinnamon Orange Peel are my “anytime, anyplace” drinks.  Each of the Herbal Water flavors has a place in my own routine, and a lot of it also depends on the mood I’m after.

What makes Herbal Water a better choice than other flavored waters and functional drinks?

Ayala’s herbal water is a delicious flavored water that is 100% good for you.  It is made by infusing pure water with organic herbs, adding nothing else.  It has no calories, no preservatives and no additives and it delivers the wonderful taste and aroma of herbs.  Herbs are the natural way to flavor water without adding calories.  We achieved a full flavored plant based drink, without manipulating the ingredients, or using any additives and preservatives.

Unlike some of the other functional offerings, Ayala’s Herbal Water doesn’t throw in the new hot nutrient, thinking you can get away from eating well by drinking nutrients, many times mixed in lots of sugar and artificial ingredients.  What we offer is a centuries old traditional food that was always known for both its benefits and wonderful taste.

To get my favorite flavors you can simply click here for Lemongrass Mint Vanilla And here for Ginger Lemon Peel

To purchase any of the other flavors, which are all on my OpenSky Shop please click here.

Ayala’s Herbal Water

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Ayala’s Herbal Water recently sent me samples of their Herbal Water, a water that has been infused with organic herbs to create a wonderfully tasty water. The flavors are different than most flavored waters and taste great. At first I as as bit apprehensive and expecting this water to taste like all the other flavored waters that I have tried, which is basically like an empty juice bottle was filled with water. This product was nothing like that, the flavor was strong but not over powering. It also was extremely refreshing.

The flavors hubz and I tried were:

  • lemongrass mint vanilla
    • My husband described this perfectly “it taste like your drinking a fresh roll” and it did – the flavor was fresh and cooling and we both loved it.
  • lavender mint
    • at first I didn’t know what to expect with this considering lavender is not something I generally eat or drink but the flavor with the mint was really nice
  • ginger lemon peel
    • this was one of my favorites it almost reminded me of a iced ginger tea it was delicious
  • cinnamon orange peel
    • another favorite of mine (who am I kidding I pretty much loved all of them) this one was different than the other because the cinnamon actually had more of a savory warming taste
  • cloves cardamom cinnamon
    • this was similar to the cinnamon orange peel in that the flavors were warming and reminded me of the fall
  • lemon verbena geranium
    • I liked this one but it was the only one that I didn’t love. I think it was the geranium flavor it was a bit too much floral tasting for me.

Overall these were a hit at my house.  After one bottle my husband was asking where we could buy more because he loved it.  This is my new favorite go to drink when I’m looking for something refreshing that isn’t just plain water.

All of the flavors are now available in my OpenSky shop hope you enjoy them!

“At Herbal Water™, we make our beverages by infusing organic culinary herbs in pure water. We use no artificial sweeteners, no preservatives, and no additives of any kind. Culinary herbs have been prized for centuries, for their calming, stimulating and aphrodisiac qualities, and are the natural way to flavor and enhance any food or drink. You’ll find Ayala’s Herbal Water a delightfully refreshing, mellow yet complex aromatic drink that’s 100% good for you!™. Enjoy our taste of the garden, with fresh spring breezes in every sip.”source

Disclaimer: Alaya’s Herbal Water 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.