Raising The Bar, Vegan Protein Packed Snacks, & 9 to 5

Yesterday I blogged a bit about some of the vegan treats I was introduced to recently when my parents came home from a Candy Show in Chicago.  Today I thought I would share a few more!  First up is the one you see above!  Orchard Bar...Fruit and Nuts!  It was pretty good but the fruit was very gooey!  Take that for what it is - if you like that or if you don't.  For me - it's all about flavor - and it packed a powerful punch that is for sure!

Speaking of packing a punch...these flavored, roasted Fava Beans are pretty amazing snacks!  It was a very small bag yet they have 10 grams of protein in them.  I'm not one who counts protein often but I know some people have asked me about good vegan protein sources in the past...FAVA BEANS (among other beans) is one of the many suggestions of plant based proteins.  I always like to remind people about the Protein Myths, too!  Remember TOO MUCH Protein often causes gout and other health issues and complications.

Yesterday I also showed a few of the flavors from Bobo's Oat Bars and here is another one!  I think it's their NEWEST offering...Lemon Poppyseed and I have to say I think it my favorite one so far!
Another Part B to yesterday's post is a bit more about the vocal band HOME FREE.  Below you will see one of their many videos!  Between now and August I will be posting more and more of their songs so be sure to keep an eye out!  These guys are a VOCAL Band.  Everything they do is with their VOICES.  Most times you will hear instrument-like sounds but it's their 'beat box guru' that is providing the 'band'.  They are truly amazing, entertaining, and I can't wait to see them LIVE in August!

Where Did This Week Go & Happy Mail

This week has been CRAZY with work and that's the main reason I haven't blogged!  I won't get into all of the busy-body-ness that I have been involved in this week...instead I will look forward and share with you some Happy Mail I received this week!

Starting things off is the shipment I received from Adagio Tea at the beginning of the week.  I decided to cash in a bunch of my credits on Cyber Monday and with their free shipping incentive that day I received all of this at no cost.  Since I have already tried almost all of their cataloged teas I only ordered a few of the black teas and black tea flavors and then they sent me a few samples such as the mango which I have already tried, too.

What I am really interested in from Adagio is the tea blending feature they have on their website.  I've created over 20 blends the past several years.  I finally ordered a few of them including the Love Spell one I blended which was inspired by Victoria Secret's Body Wash.  I know that might sound weird but it's true.  I think the tea aroma smells just like the body wash!  It's a pretty good floral flavored green with a bit of fruit and other natural sweetness in there.  I also grabbed the Mulled Cranberry Apple Cider which was a neat mix of flavors as well.  A 3rd Blend of mine I finally purchased was the one I named Dragon's Palm Tree.  It's mostly a white base tea with a hint of strawberry.  Since I am a Sci Fi Freak I decided to get a few other blends from other tea blenders including two from their FANDOMS.  One was the Dr. Daniel Jackson Blend from the Stargate Series and the other is the Darryl Dixon Blend from The Walking Dead Series.

One thing I forgot to take a photo of was a reusable bag I received from NBC Universal.  You can see it in the background of this photo from their site.  It's pretty awesome.  I received this because I participated in their website One Small Act.

In this 2nd photo - as well as the next 3 photos - you will see the last shipment I received from The Raw Food World.  I decided to stock up on raw snacks for work. 

I got 4 different flavors of Kale Chips from Love Force.  The American, Indian, Mexican, and Italian flavors. 

You will see one of two Nutritional Yeasts, a POUND of Raw Organic Mesquite Powder, and  Mung Bean Pasta.  Oh!  Yeah!  There is a small loaf of Apricot Bread in there, too!  I can't wait to try that!

Pardon the pun...but I went a little NUTS with the Cashews!  Yes...I got 6 pounds of Raw Cashews!  They were having a crazy awesome sale on them!  I couldn't resist!  I also bought some Organic Walnuts.  You will see that I scored some Cashew Cacao Hemp Nut Butter, too! 

I took advantage of their At-Cost Pricing on the Hurraw Vegan Lip Balm and grabbed a mint that was at regular price, too!

I've totally been getting into Bamboo more lately and I LOVE wooden spoons so I decided to grab a 2nd set of the Bamboo Kitchen Tools you will see in the netting.  I also decided to get another set of the Bamboo "silver" ware...a spoon, knife, and folk.  I LOVE these.  And I finally broke down and bought the "Edward" Salad Hands.  I just LOVED the name and never had anything for large salads or tossing so I figured WHY NOT?

More snacks for the office!  GO RAW Flax Snacks - spicy and pizza flavors as well as two cookie flavors - Chocolate and Ginger Snaps!

And let's not forget about the books!  This time around I picked up a Vice Cream Book and the Simply Dehydrated Book which I have been wanting for the last several months!

I have been wanting one of Cherie Soria's books for a while now and I decided to get Angel Foods.  I've been a fan of T. Colin Campbell and added The China Study Cookbook that his daughter Leanne Campbell wrote.

I have been wanting to get into and educate myself more on Micro Greens so I bought one of the many Micro Greens books that the Raw Food World has for sale on their website.  Another book I threw in was Go Further by Actor Woody Harrelson and Friends.  It's a book about 'being greener'.  The photos aren't that wonderful but I think it will be a good read and a good book to refer back on from time to time.

One of my goals for the new week SHOULD BE to dive into some of these books, eh!?  What do you think!?  Anything you have and LOVE or anything you see that you might like in my recent Happy Mail photos?

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?

Random Protein Percentages

Protein Content of Fruits
Banana: Papaya: Peach: Avocado: Orange: Watermelon:	4% 7% 7% 5% 9% 7%
Average protein content of fruit: 5%
Protein Content of Vegetables
Tomatoes: Cucumber: Lettuce: Celery:	17% 21% 59% 25%
Average protein content of vegetables: 20%
Protein Content of Nuts & Seeds
Almonds: Sesame Paste (tahini): Sunflower seeds: Pumpkin seeds:	15% 12% 15% 17%
Average protein content of nuts and seeds: 15%