Happy Mail ~ Nuts, Bamboo, Books, and More!

Today I received a box from The Raw Food World - or as I like to call it - Happy Mail and here are a few photos of what I got and why!

I know...I know...this looks like an awful lot of NUTS, doesn't it?  Well, yes...it is...but of course I'm not going to eat them all at once.  I was stocking up because they have a bunch of these items "At-Cost" this month. 

The 4 packages in the back I have enjoyed other flavors of but not these so I thought I would try them!  Mesquite Pod Maple Walnuts, Spinach Pesto and Pumpkin Seeds, Sesame Teriyaki Cashews and Almonds, and Lime Mojo Cilantro Pistachios and Pepitas!  I like to keep some near my desk at work to munch on every once and a while when I get hungry and don't have any other items to eat at my desk.  I also like to add them to salads!

In front you will see LOTS of Love Force Energy Bars.  This is the first time I am trying these bars but the flavors sounded wonderful and I figured half of one or maybe even a full one to have on hand for those days I leave the house with no breakfast in my belly.  These will last me a while...that's for sure!

Another thing I don't really NEED but continue to buy and stock up on are nut and seed butters.  I can't help myself.  They are wonderful.  I only use a very little bit of them at a time and only about 1 or 2 times per week.  I have really started to LOVE Jem Organics!  And this Apricot Kernel Butter just sounded too interesting to pass up!  I probably won't open these for quite some time because I have a number of other 'butters' I'm currently working on consuming.

The other one that is pictured is the Raw Black Sesame Tahini.  I've liked other products from Living Tree Community Foods so when I saw this one I thought I would throw it in my virtual cart.  You will see that I got Coconut Secrets's Aminos and Nectar.  I have had both of those in the past and like them very much.  It's been a while since I have had them in my pantry so I figured it was time to re-stock.  Lately I have been using their Coconut Flour and Coconut Sugar which I am not really getting low on anytime soon.

And...finally...the small jar with gold top and white label is some of Angela Stokes-Monarch's Handmade Herbal Salve.  I'm looking forward to trying it on my legs as well as some of the scars I have.  The ingredients in this salve are...Comfry Leaf, Plantain Leaf, Matico Leaf, Rosemary Essential Oil, Lavender Essential Oil, Cacao Butter, Olive Oil, and Love.

I saw two newer flavors of Kale Chips that I had to try but it's a constantly reminder 'why the heck am I NOT making more of my own at home'.  Perhaps that will be on my Goal Book list in the near future.  I will say the Indian Kale Chips will NOT last past today...they are THAT GOOD.  Also pictured here is a small Bamboo Bowl which is so darned cute!  I'm slowly accumulating a Bamboo Collection which I adore.  I'm thinking about a future purchase of one of their VERY LARGE Bamboo (Salad) Bowls but it's $90.  Might have to work up to that one down the road!  In the meantime another Bamboo Item I grabbed was this tray for my Silverware Drawer in my kitchen.  A few months ago we tossed a bunch of our old eating utensils and purchased new ones and the ones I purchased were too long for the tray we had.  When I saw this online it called to me.  I guess one of my near-future projects will be totally re-organizing that drawer now that I have this tray, eh!?  I finally decided to try the Moringa Leaf Extract, too!  Looking forward to messing around with that...and...the surprise of the Sacha Inchi Protein Powder...hum...more on that down the road.

Last but certainly not least...these two books...and here's why...

The Coconut Oil one I wanted to have on hand to show our Wildtree Customers the benefits of Coconut Oil as a whole but to also educate myself about some of the home remedy type recipes that I might try, myself, at home soon.  The other Raw Star Recipe Book just sounded really cool and interesting and I thought I would build my Raw Food Book Collection up a bit.

So - out of everything you see - what products have your tried?  What items would you like to try?

Mason Jar Make Over - Part 2 - a Look at My Pantry!

Last year (or more) I posted a lengthy post about me totally re-doing my cabinets and cupboards with 90% Mason Jars...well...it's still that way but even more so.  So much so that I think I finally need to get some more Mason Jars!  This past weekend I took quite a bit of time to reorganize them and make them more tidy.  I'm not the most organized person BUT I have TRIED my best when it comes to my Pantry this past year.  This first photo is taking a look at my Spice Cupboard.  It goes about 4 to 5 rows deep and takes up a whole side.  I have a small spice spinner underneath this cupboard as well.  I usually buy in bulk and reuse old containers.  So when you see some of those old McCormick containers and off-brands most likely I have reused those time and time again.  Some of the clear glass containers that you see (with Cumin in it and Ginger Powder, for example) are from the same place I get my bulk spices from.  The local store I buy bulk from gets most of their items from Frontier Co-Op.

Here's another cupboard that I worked on over the weekend.  On the top row you can see some Spaghetti O looking dry pasta noodles, next is my vegan bread crumbs, Barley, then some Farro, and some Quinoa, and then Black Bean Noodles.  On the middle shelf are a lot of my sprouting seeds.  On the bottom one you can see most of my Wildtree Collection, some more sprouting items, some dry soup mixes, and Potato Flakes.

As you can see most everything is in Mason Jars.  When I was getting low I ended up using some old hard plastic ones I had not used in a while like when you see the one marked Quinoa, for example.

Here is a look at the section I have for some of my alternative flours and sweeteners.  These go about 3 deep so you can't really see everything but when you are standing in front of it it's easy to look at everything there.  What you can see on the top row is Bob's Red Mill's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, Garden of Life Flax Seed with Fruit & Anti-Oxidants, more Flax Seeds, Arrowroot, a Granola from Bob's Red Mills, and what you can't see in the back are various alternative flours such as Soy, Garbanzo Bean, Spelt, etc.  On the bottom row you can see some of my alternative sweeteners - mostly from Wholesome Sweeteners.  Coconut Palm Sugar, Raw Cane Sugar, Sucanat, etc.  Behind that I have others such as Coconut Crystals from Coconut Secret and a few other things.

For this self you will see some of my husband's items that are not vegetarian/vegan but most of it is.  On the top row he has his sugar - regular/standard sugar, there are some raw honey's, Liquid Smoke, Steel Cut Oats, and overstock of flours.  On the middle row you can see Coconut Flour, my NuNaturals Stevia Collection, Bragg's including Nutritional Yeast and Liquid Aminos, followed by Chia Seeds, and Wholesome Sweeteners ZERO.  On the bottom shelf you can see our canned goods.  Most of which are from Aldi.  Yes...you can eye some Tuna which is NOT mine (I don't eat it) that's my husband's!  There are some canned beans and veggies but recently I found some fruit toppings and fillers from a discount store that happen to be vegan so I bought them and might play with those soon!

And FINALLY...the last section...mostly on the top shelf you can see our Coffee and Tea Cups along with some pills for hubby and the pets.  But...underneath that you will see some Pink Sea Salt which will last me a LIFE TIME as I hardly ever use salt but it was on sale a long time again and I bought it.  Next and in the back are various rices...standard, white rice, brown rice, long rice, multi-grain, black rice, purple rice, forbidden rice, Jasmine Rice...you name it!  You may even spot some Millet, Couscous, Polenta, Red lentils, Amaranth, grits, etc.

So that's a look at my updated pantry, cupboards, and cabinets!  I was going to include my Bento Box for today along with a recipe or two but I will put that in a separate post!  Questions of the Day...what do you see that are your favorites?  What haven't you tried!?  I'd love to hear!