The Good, The Bad, & The...CUTE!

We'll start with the...CUTE...because it's the easiest and, well, THE CUTEST!  The other day my father sent me this photo of my niece.  Apparently, she has messy hair and doesn't care!

Now...for a little bit of the...GOOD!  I found this a while back and it is darn tasty!  Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter made with REAL Pumpkin!  I have a few spoonsful for a snack on occasion!

And for another 'nut butter' I am feeling conflicted about this one...while it smells and tastes WONDERFUL the texture is a little hard to deal with!  Sure...I expected the oil to be on top and that I would have to stir but OMG it was SO DRY on the nut butter part that I got oil all over me and couldn't really stir it at all!  YIKES!

The last time I saw this brand I had the spicy queso (I think) and it was ok but really thin and runny.  THIS ONE was MUCH BETTER!  I liked the consistency and the flavor better than the first one!

For the next product...I guess I aimed a little too high with this one.  Perhaps my expectations were too over the top but I have to say I really didn't care for this product.  The noodles were very gummy and a weird slimy texture that didn't jive with my pallet.  Sorry, folks!

This, however, was AMAZING!  The flavor was great and the texture was right on, too!  BUT...locally, speaking, was WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!  I had to try it just once but at $7.99 I can't justify it...no matter how yummy!  Knock 2 to 3 bucks off and I will consider it!

I've had this one other time before but when I found it again I had to grab it not only because I was out of vegan cheese but because it was on sale and I had a craving!

This was the first time I had come across this brand of hummus so I knew I had to try it and was glad I did!  It was great!  And the price was right, too!  I'm looking forward to trying to find it again and trying another flavor!

I did find the new or at least the new-to-me Mexican Classic Blend of Daiya Shreds and I enjoyed them!  YAY!

This was a bit more than I wanted to spend but I rarely find Engine 2 brand items and knew I wouldn't be back to that location for MONTHS.  I gobbled it up rather quickly to say the least!

I tried the Bootleg Bucha Apple Spice and it was pretty good.  Another flavor I had right around that time was a HOPS one and I really liked that one, too!  One of these days I hope to visit a Buffalo Based Booch Place...maybe even Bootleg!  Time will tell!

Happy Mail This Week!

I'm super excited about the goodies that came in the mail both yesterday and today!  I got my latest shipment from The Raw Food World!  Check out the NEW Foods Alive Salad Dressings!  Woot!  I've had the Garlic Paprika before and LOVED it!  I can't wait to try the others on salads SOON!  I already sampled them by themselves and they are great!

Yes!  I was plum out of Nutritional Yeast which rarely ever happens!  Well, it did this time - so I stocked up on some!  I grabbed 3 of them!  I have also been sharing some of my nut butters while out with our Wildtree stuff on weekends at festivals and I usually bring my own food for snacking!  Well, I have a few others HOOKED on these Jem Organics Nut Butters so I got one of the Red Maca's for a friend and another for my sister as well as the Superberry Maqui Camu.

Also in that 2nd pic you will see Hemp Oil I got for another friend who has MS she's been taking it for pain and some Agave Powder jut because I was interested it working with it PLUS some Valerian Powder that I wanted to start using in evening tonics to help with sounder sleep.

In this next photo you will see I grabbed some Pineapple and Apricots!  The Pineapple is for a co-worker and I thought I would try using the apricots in dressings sauces, smoothies, and such.  Plus they all make great desk snacks to have at work or while on the run!

And speaking of snacks for work or on the go - check these bad-boys out!  Jumbo Figs!  A few Pro-Biotic Nuts, and even some Pili Nuts, too!  I hope to start working with Pili Nuts in the near future so be on the look out for that!

Then I FINALLY broke down and purchased some Purple Corn Flour.  TannyRaw was the one who pushed me over the edge on it.  It really contributes to the color and also can work as a thickener!  I have been in to TannyRaw's YouTube Channel the last couple of months!  I like her personality and positive outlook!

I've also been into Lisa Montgomery's books more lately, too, I have found myself referring back to them often so I decided to check out a few more of the ones she has her name on.

The Liquid Raw I can see myself using often I glanced thru nearly the whole thing last night already!  I'm thinking the Potluck one will come in handy, too!

And I will have to check out the Raw Challenge one when I am able to, too!

I have been interested in other detox books and some others from David Wolfe and I will keep you posted on that progress, as well!

There were a few things that were on back order from my last order that I got in the mail too!  2 Foods Alive Flavored Flax Crackers - I have had them before and LOVED them - they were on sale when I tried to purchase them before!

Then I got HOOKED on the Sprouted Trail Mix - Pineapple - but it has just the right amount of spice, too!  YUM!  And I have tried the other breakfast crusts before as you see in front in the last photo but not the Spirulina ones, yet, so I wanted to include those with that last order, too!

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?

First Raw Food World Shipment!

Just a quick blog post today but I do have more on tap!  I was so excited because my first big order from The Raw Food World arrived today! 

And boy-oh-boy was it like Christmas for me!!! 

I got these two raw food books that I cannot wait to jump into!


Then I got a slew of Kale Chips, raw crackers, flavored nuts, raw bread, Kelp Noodles, dried and flavored veggie chips...

I also got some snacks like raw cookies, for example and some nut butters such as Pili Nut Butter, Cashew Butter, Tahini, Hazelnut Cacao, etc.

I was able to locate some breakfast items as well like some grains and a Chai Breakfast that has up to 10 breakfast in the package!

This is a FIRST for me on almost ALL of these products and I'm very excited to try them!  I hope to review everything I got, too!  So stay tuned for that!

I shared almost 1 of everything with my 2 co-workers who are not raw, vegan, or even vegetarian!  They enjoyed almost everything.

Within this order I placed - I also stocked up on some nuts such as raw Cashews and raw Hazelnuts.  I gave some of those to my mother in law because those are her favorite NUT. 

I was lucky enough to get my hands on some dried fruits I am not able to locate in my area such as JuJubes, sweet cherries...and for my dad...Pineapple!!!!  YUM! 

There are some odds and ends throughout these photos so feel free to make comments on anything you see :)

And finally...the ultimate excitement of this shipment...The Berry Breeze!!!!  I've been wanting one of these for a while.  It goes in your refrigerator and keeps produce up to 5 times longer!!!  In addition it helps keep your frig clean, too!  YAY! 

And under the Berry Breeze you will see I bought a Bamboo Plate, too! 

I can't wait to jump right in and try these and write reviews on everything...but...first...I have to clean and stock the shelves!  It makes it FUN tho...when you are excited about stuff!!!! 

Have you tried anything you see here?  Let me know  your feedback!