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Bestowed Box Giveaway

June 14, 2013 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | 9 comments

Discover healthy foods you love, with a monthly delivery of samples from Bestowed. This month, I received a Bestowed review box, and since my focus on my health has really tanked with my busy work schedule, the timing was perfect.

Bestowed Box

The smart little orange box arrived in the mail, and I couldn’t wait to open it and see what was inside. I think that’s one of the most fun parts of Bestowed; it’s a nice little surprise.

My box contained a Zico coconut water, packets of Roots superfood powder, a Bakery on Main coconut cashew Truebar, GimMe seaweed cheddar cheese roasted seaweed crumbles, an Herban Essentials mini pack of aromatherapy towelettes, a packet of Artisana Organic Superfoods acai berry nut butter, and a coupon for Dr. Praeger’s veggie burgers

In addition to being a fun surprise, the Bestowed box is a great way to kickstart healthy eating and reintroduce nutrition and natural products back into ones life. I am a huge fan of Zico coconut water, Dr. Praeger’s products, and Artisana (huge fan) already, but I was thrilled to revisit them. I had never tried the acai berry nut butter, and it was amazing. Amazing. I want to fill my desk drawer with little packets of these nut butters for healthy and filling snacks.

I also really loved the Truebar; it was coconutty and delicious, a little dessert a little nutrition bar, all good. The Roots powder was pleasantly surprising. The blueberry really did taste like blueberry, and I felt a little boost in my energy when drinking it in the afternoon. I used to be a devotee to superfood drinks, and I definitely think I need to get back into that. My body deserves it, and my mind needs it.

I tried the seaweed snack, and while I liked it better than most dried seaweed, I will be honest and admit I wasn’t crazy about it. Nothing wrong with the product; I just don’t love seaweed unless it is in sushi! These crumbles might be good mixed up in a salad, especially with cucumber and shrimp, to emulate sushi. In fact, I might try making that this weekend!

Overall, I really loved the selection in the Bestowed box, and I am definitely thinking about joining so that I can try a selection of products every month.

Bestowed is offering me a one month membership for a lucky Travel, Wine, and Dine reader AND offering all of you a discount on a subscription. Just use the code 5OFFBSTOWED01 at checkout.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment letting me know why you would like to win, and be sure to follow Bestowed on Twitter and like them on Facebook.

I will choose a winner on Wednesday. Good luck!

Technorati Tags: Food, giveaway, health, healthy

Tags: Food, giveaway, health, healthy

Whole Grain Dinner: Freekeh with Mediterranean-Inspired Sauce

March 27, 2013 in Food by traveleatlove | 3 comments

Reminder! April 3 is Oldways’ Whole Grain Sampling Day. Be sure to find some new-to-you whole grains and give them a try.

As part of the Whole Grain Sampling Day initiative, I received an amazing box full of whole grain foods. One of the items was a bag of freekeh, young green wheat from Freekehlicious.

Here are a few benefits of freekeh:

high fiber – four times the fiber of brown rice
low GI – helps to prevent diabetes
high in protein content
low in available carbs
high in calcium for bone health
rich in lutein – important for eye health
rich in prebiotic properties – important for fueling the growth of healthy bacteria

The freekeh bag had a breakfast recipe listed, but I knew that with the dreary, cold weather we have been having, I wanted to make some sort of hearty, healthy vegetarian dish. I decided to toss in some Mediterranean flavors and ended up with a delicious dinner. I cooked the freekeh on its own, according to the package directions.

In the meantime, I cooked chopped eggplant in some olive oil, browning it on all sides before adding in about a cup of good Cabernet. Vegetables, whole grains, and wine. . . does it get any healthier?

Once the eggplant started cooking down, I tossed in a few cloves of chopped garlic, a can of crushed tomatoes, and sea salt, letting this mixture cook on low for about 20 minutes. Since the husband is not a huge eggplant fan, I wanted to make sure it was blended nicely into the sauce.

Just before I was ready to serve, I topped the steaming sauce with a few handfuls of baby spinach, allowing it to wilt from the heat.

To serve, I topped the hot freekeh with the sauce and garnished with kalamata olives and feta. Delish!

It’s been fun trying out all of the grains included in the box. I am definitely in a constant struggle to eat more healthfully and to come up with fresh dinner ideas to avoid in an eating rut.

Speaking of ruts, can it please just get nice out now? I am feeling constantly blah and need a sunshiny boost to get me moving again!

Technorati Tags: freekeh, healthy, Oldways, Oldways Whole Grain Council, vegetables, Vegetarian, whole grains

Tags: freekeh, healthy, Oldways, Oldways Whole Grain Council, vegetables, Vegetarian, whole grains

Breakfast for Dinner: Sweet Potato Hash

February 19, 2013 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 6 comments

Is it Spring yet? I am so over the cold, wind, and snow. I spent the weekend with my family in New Jersey, and while they didn’t have snow, they had plenty of cold and wind. All I want to do until April is cozy up under a blanket, drink red wine, and eat.

Getting away for the weekend was wonderful, made especially so because last week was awful. Between a stressful week at work, no sleep, and being diagnosed with a lung condition, thanks to my neighbor’s insistence on smoking inside, I was ready to collapse with exhaustion on Friday. Lots of sleep and family time later, and I am feeling better. . . but still lacking in energy. I think I just need some warmth and sun.

Healthy comfort food is always a win-win; you get to eat something warm and cozy while also feeling good about feeling your body with nutrients, despite wanting nothing more large quantities of cheese.

I was in the mood for eggs and sweet potatoes, so for dinner last night I came up with a quick and easy sweet potato skillet hash, topped with eggs.

Since my amazing husband braved the snow on Sunday to fully stock the house with groceries, I had a lot of delicious add-ins to make this easy dinner pretty spectacular.

Ingredients:

large sweet potato, grated

2 cups black beans

2 cups frozen pepper strips

1 cup corn kernels

2 eggs

guacamole, hot sauce, Greek yogurt, hot sauce, and cilantro for topping

I threw this dinner together by sautéing the potato, beans, peppers, and corn together in some olive oil until the pan was dry and sizzling at the bottom. The plan was to create a crust with the potatoes.

I cracked two eggs and gently placed them on top then popped the skillet into a 400 degree oven and kept an eye on it until I saw that the whites were fully cooked. This resulted in perfect, slightly runny yolks. Yes.

We added our own mixes of toppings to our bowls of hash; mine included lots of cilantro, guacamole, hot sauce, and a tiny dollop of Greek yogurt.

This made for a delicious dinner that didn’t make me feel bad about my food decisions. It seems that the second I stopping being able to sleep, I lost the excellent workout routine I started with my new job, and poor eating habits followed, which finally resulted in constantly beating myself up over weight gain, something I haven’t done in years. Time to get back on a healthy track while also being a little easier on myself, I think. It’s also time to start some serious yoga and/or meditation to create a little quiet when everything feels like overwhelming chaos.

How are things with you?

Technorati Tags: breakfast, dinner, healthy, recipe, sweet potatoes. food, Vegetarian