Cait Plus Ate

On a Snacky Quest!

May 9, 2013

One of my favorite parts of being a Fitfluential Ambassador is – not gonna lie – getting the chance to participate in product review campaigns! I enjoy receiving fitness gear or healthy eats in the mail as much as the next girl, so I jumped all over this Quest Nutrition campaign and embarked on a Quest to try the super-generous variety and amount of protein-packed tastes they sent my way.

To be honest – Quest’s branding at first was a bit of a turn-off to me. I am not a user of protein powders or supplements and a visit to their website gave me a GNC/Vitamin Shoppe vibe. But I’d already heard a ton of positive reactions to Quest bars from some of my favorite bloggers, so I certainly wanted to try them for myself.

#allthebars

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May 9, 2013
17 Comments
- bars, blends, campaigns, dessert, fitfluential, jello, products, protein, quest, reviews, snacks
0

A (Green) Giant Surprise!

March 18, 2013

The brand Green Giant probably brings to mind frozen and canned veggies – at least, that’s what it does for me. That jolly green guy definitely had a presence in my household’s freezer and pantry while I was growing up.

Source

But I never associated Green Giant with snacks…until now. The brand now offers two types of veggie chips:

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March 18, 2013
29 Comments
- campaigns, clever girl, green giant, products, reviews, snacks, sponsored, sweet potato, talent, veggie chips
0

WIAW Goes Nuttz!

February 13, 2013

So about yesterday’s post…I did great with my goals! Then I forgot to drink my ACV this morning. Bah. BUT that doesn’t mean I won’t have it today. There’s always tonight, friends!

Fitfluential Ambassadors all over the blogosphere have been showing they’re nuttz for Nuttzo, and I don’t blame them. I’ve gotten in on a piece of the action myself – or shall I say a jar of it?

In today’s What I Ate Wednesday post (thanks for hosting Jenn!), I want to talk about a nut butter I’ve been eating on more days than just Wednesday. Ever since receiving this jar of heaven in the mail a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been using it in snacks – or as a snack – almost daily.

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February 13, 2013
46 Comments
- fitfluential, food, fuel, healthy eats, nut butter, nuttzo, products, reviews, snacks, wiaw
0

WIAW: A Super Super Bowl!

February 6, 2013

Never before have I watched so LITTLE of the Super Bowl. I usually pop into the TV room at our traditional gathering spot, the Gerber family’s house, to try and catch some ads. This year that didn’t even happen.

No Caitlin here!

Aside from the halftime show (I think Beyone was hella fierce) I did not see a single second of the 2013 Super Bowl broadcast. I was too busy hanging out with family and friends, and tasting some fabulous food and drink. Seeing as it’s What I Ate Wednesday (thanks Jenn of Peas & Crayons for hosting!), today’s post is going to be heavy on both of those things!

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February 6, 2013
58 Comments
- anxiety, appetizers, beer, dessert, dips, family, friends, parties, rum, seafood, self love, snacks, super bowl, weekends, wine
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WIAW: The Olden Days

January 16, 2013

Your comments on yesterday’s post seriously blew me away! And my mom too – I read some aloud to her and she was pleasantly surprised by the fact that some of you called her inspiring. Thank you so much for your support and for sharing your own struggles with feeling inadequate about doing “enough” cardio. Together we can learn to love and congratulate ourselves for WHATEVER workout we do, be it HIIT or a gorgeous afternoon walk!

And after that workout, it’s perfectly acceptable to drink wine in our workout clothes.

Now it’s time for a BLAST FROM THE PAST edition of What I Ate Wednesday. Thanks Jen for hosting the WIAW party each week!

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January 16, 2013
55 Comments
- about me, breakfast, childhood, dessert, dinner, kid, lunch, pb sandwiches, picky eater, pudding, snacks, wiaw, wonder bread
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SOYJOY Bar Review and Giveaway!

November 13, 2012

I’m so humbled by the compliments you guys left on my review post about the Millwright’s Tavern in Simsbury, CT! I seriously can’t stop recommending this restaurant to anyone in the area. I’m glad that the passion I feel about dining out comes through so strongly to my readers in my reviews. Knowing that means the world to me!

I’ve got another review and giveaway today for a product I was lucky enough to sample! And of course I enjoyed it, because those are the only giveaways you guys are going to see on here!

Soy selfie! (Alliteration all the timeeeee).

I tasted my first SOYJOY bar after the Healthy Living Summit, where I received the Mango Coconut flavor in my swag bag. I am picky with my bars, but this one stuck out to me because it didn’t taste too sickly sweet and the soy provided me a #plantPOWER protein punch that kept me well-fueled and satisfied for a workout.

My mom has already gotten lots of use out of this bag!

SOYJOY offered to send me samples of their two newest flavors, Dark Chocolate Cherry and Cranberry, for review (along with that sweet bag). Once again, I was impressed by the nutrition stats and lack of that fake-sugar taste so common in other bars. This time I used my bars in after-dinner snacks!

Crumbled Cranberry SOYJOY bar mixed into a chocolate Jello pudding cup!

The soy used in these bars is non-GMO and the fruit flavoring comes from real, whole fruit. The bars are vegetarian (unfortunately not vegan) and gluten-free too! I could go on about the health benefits of soy, but I’ve already done that on this blog.

SoyJoy Dark chocolate cherry and pudding

A total #jadorelavie moment – Dark Chocolate Cherry SOYJOY bar crumbled into the Jello chocolate pudding again, with a book and candle on the side!

Out of the two new flavors, Dark Chocolate Cherry is totally my favorite. but I’m not too surprised about that. I still really liked the Cranberry and appreciate that I received one chocolate bar to review and one more like a “blondie”, because my mood certainly changes and I never know what I’m going to want! I also gave a couple bars to my fellow health foodie friend Alexis, who eats gluten-free. She was a fan!

Giveaway:

Now it’s your turn to try SOYJOY bars! Two lucky Cait Plus Ate readers will receive their own set of samples. Continental US only – giveaway will be open until this Thursday 11/15 at 11:59PM EST.

There are several ways to enter (leave a comment for each or additional entries won’t count!):

Check out the SOYJOY flavors on their website and comment here telling me which you’d want to try most (mandatory).
Follow @SOYJOYUS on Twitter and comment here saying you did.
Follow @CaitPlusAte on Twitter and comment here saying you did.
Tweet “I entered to win @SOYJOYUS bars from @CaitPlusAte! http://wp.me/p1SfTW-1F9 #plantPOWER #fitfluential #EAT” and comment here with the link to the tweet.

General Giveaway Rules: No Purchase Necessary. This giveaway is only open to residents of the continental United States. The email addresses that are collected for this giveaway will only be used for the purpose of contacting the winners and will never be given out to anyone nor sold. The winners will be randomly chosen and contacted via email. The winner will have 72 hours to respond. Please make sure you check your junk mail folder.

Good luck to all who enter! I received these SOYJOY bars complimentary to review. All opinions are my own.

November 13, 2012
156 Comments
- bars, giveaways, healthy snacks, protein, pudding, reviews, snacks, soy, soyjoy
0

Tuesday Treasures: Foodie Edition

October 23, 2012

I’m so happy that you all enjoyed my recap of the CT NOW Love Your Body 5K! Not only am I proud to have run it in less than 30 minutes, but I am still feeling inspired by the message behind the event. Being surrounded by so many others who share my passion for self love is pretty powerful.

I went to visit Heather a couple of weeks ago (you can read about some of our shenanigans on her blog) and came home with some amazing new memories created with her, her boyfriend Matty, and her best friend Raquel. But I also came home with far less money (lose) and a crapload of foodie treasures (win). Obviously I decided to share said treasures with you today just so I could use alliteration in this post title.

Of course whenever visiting Heather, we make it a point to visit Wildflour, a vegan bakery, cafe, and juice bar, while blogging in bliss. The vegan eats at this place are incredible and if you are ever in the Providence, RI area, I highly recommend passing on any of the restaurants by the mall and making the short drive to Pawtucket, RI to visit Wildflour (and the vegan restaurant next door, Garden Grille). Whenever I go there I leave with $30-$50 worth of goodies to take home and devour (as slowly as I can because I want it to last). This trip was no different. Here’s my haul:

a slice of whole wheat cheese-less butternut squash & broccoli flatbread
pineapple coconut jerky (YES)
raw garlic tomato kale chips (so far I’ve tried this flavor, garlic, and pizza…must try salt & vinegar and nacho still)
soba noodles with slaw (bottom left)
tofu tuna-style salad topped with carrots, served over greens (bottom right)

I threw MANY of these goodies into my lunch salad beasts and am in fact still working through the soba noodles (my first time having them and they are very interesting but it’s taking me awhile to use them since I’m not a huge noodle person). Pictured above is the entire container of the tofu “tuna” salad, thrown into a bowl and amped up with more greens and veggies. It was incredible!

I dreamed of dipping the pineapple coconut jerky into plain Chobani from the moment I purchased it, and that’s just what I did for a nighttime snack. However I was foolish to think the four pieces of jerky above would be enough with all that Chobani. I ended up polishing off the whole bag on that fine evening

The flatbread was a great carby option for me this past Saturday when my stomach wasn’t feeling well, and I enjoyed half the kale chips on the way home from Heather’s (great road trip snack) and half at work one day while at my desk typing away.

I’ve tried the Dino Smoothie (almond butter, banana, almond milk, spinach, kale, blueberry) at Wildflour before and though I ADORE it, I wanted to go for something new and had a mean green craving! So this time while blogging there I snacked on the Sillyantro (spinach, kale, parsley, cucumber, OJ, ginger). The ginger was just what my sensitive stomach needed and the OJ was the perfect hint of fruit to balance out those greens. I wish a juice bar like this existed near me!

I always get a large black slow-pour coffee and vegan scone to keep me company as I blog with Heather, but they didn’t have my usual (spinach and mushroom) that day. No worries, another savory beauty awaited me…the above broccoli cheddar (vegan of course) scone. Holy moly! I always dip my scone in that heavenly coffee and was happy to try a new flavor.

Wildflour was also bustin’ out the free samples that day. I’m not a huge raspberry fan but the above gluten-free razberry cheesecake brownie sample rocked my world. The real star though was a sample of this beauty…

That seems like a steep price but I’d say it’s worth every penny. The above pumpkin cheesecake is made with tofu and Heather promised it’d make me swoon. My BB never breaks a promise!

The two of us also made a fun little trip to Whole Foods, where I happened upon a gem I’ve been anxiously awaiting to try since I first heard about it a month ago…the limited edition Cedar’s PUMPKIN SPICE HUMMUS! I also purchased two squeeze packs of Justin’s Honey and Vanilla Almond Butter s – perfect for sampling these new-to-me flavors. Heather also gifted me with a jar of garlic-stuffed olives she had at her house, because she knows olive garlic (haaaaa).

I have been dipping many-a-vegetable into the hummus. So incredible. I love dipping savory food into a slightly-sweet dip. Last night I was even dipping chicken into it.

I was pretty proud of the below epic snack combo that I came up with at work one day last week. I peeled the banana, put vanilla almond butter on each bite, and topped it off a pretzel stick. Legendary! I just finished the vanilla yesterday and next up will be the honey AB.

Finally, Heather, Matty, and I ventured to Trader Joe’s right before I went home so that she could do some grocery shopping and I could shop for things I didn’t need.

BBQ Popped Potato Chips – SO MANY CHIPS IN A SERVING #win
Nacho Kale Chips – Only $4…the Wildflour bag I got was about $8. Just to give you an idea of how crazy this deal is.
Savory Thin Mini Edamame Crackers – These kinda remind me of rice crackers. We’ll see how they are!
Balela Middle Eastern Salad - All things Caitlin. Chickpeas, cilantro, tomatoes, black beans, and fabulous flavor. This stuff has made it into all my salads and I’ll be sad when it goes bye-bye.
Olive Tapenade - WOW I love olives and this has been great in my salads, on bread, on meat, you name it. Another sad face when this guy goes.
Hot & Sweet Mustard – I’ve heard so much about this gem from many favorite bloggers like Katie! I am a mustard fiend and am gonna bust this open when I finish my current jar.

And okay, I was in Massachusetts in the company of TJ’s wine. So much CHEAP wine. In CT, our grocery stores can’t sell wine (we only just got Sunday sales, talk about behind on the times). So I picked up the above three bottles of Charles Shaw (Cabernet, Merlot, Shiraz) for $2.99 each and the Blue Fin 2011 Pinot Noir for $3.99. You may recall that I sampled the Cab recently and was super impressed. Can’t wait to give the Merlot and Shiraz a spin. Also had the Pinot Noir and wow, I sure can see why it was a whole dollar more expensive GREAT stuff and I don’t even usually like Pinot Noir (too light).

Mother-daughter wine glass sizes

FINALLY my last Tuesday treasure in foodie land is the below gem from my town’s farmers’ market. I spontaneously stopped by on Saturday after the 5K (notice my Team #AmazingMe tee!) since it’s right by my usual weekend study spot, Daybreak Coffee Roasters. Can you believe this guy was just $3?! He was in a bucket with a bunch of other smaller butternut squash that were the same price. NO brainer, I picked out the biggest squash in the pile! Just to make my girl Lisa proud of me. And apparently it was the last day of the market so good thing I stopped by! Hello fate.

Oh how I love a vegetable that’s bigger than my head.

My mom is away for the week but once she returns, we have big plans for this big squash. I hear that the skin tastes tres gross so does anyone have any tips on easy squash peeling-and-roasting? Who has some recipes I can try? I already know I want to do quesadillas but need more ideas because this is one big squash!

Which of my Wildflour goodies would you like to munch (or sip) on most?

What was your last gem of a find from Whole Foods and/or TJ’s?

Tell me about your most recent farmers’ market purchase!

Glastonbury Apple Harvest Festival 2012

October 16, 2012

I really could use a heavy dose of positive thoughts today, and hope writing this post will be just the ticket. For those just tuning in I have been having on-and-off GI stuff going on for a couple of weeks. Yesterday I was feeling 99.99% back to the old me. I even went to Group Power and was able to lift weights almost as heavily as I usually do (I scaled them back slightly just in case). I came home and chowed down on a tasty dinner and a couple small glasses of Cab. About fifteen minutes later, I was hit with the worst wave of nausea I’ve experienced yet during these last two weeks. I didn’t sleep much and still feel just as shitty today. I went to work because a) there was stuff I needed to get done and b) I just hate missing work. I’m always paranoid that people will think I’m faking sick or “not sick enough” to stay home. It’s smartest to rest though, so that’s what I’m doing. Currently I am at home, blogging in my PJs, drinking Evening Comfort Tea from Daybreak.

Apparently several of you agree with my tweet.

I actually looked up Giardisis (parasitic infection) on WebMD per my co-worker’s suggestion and am definitely going to ask my doc about it tomorrow. The last two visits were each with a different doc, both of which are not my normal one, so I am hoping that my usual doctor tomorrow will be more open to a suggestion that THIS ISN’T A VIRUS. I really don’t think viruses last two weeks and leave you feeling fine one day and like shit the next. I am also hoping hoping HOPING that the test results I’m waiting on will contain an answer. Giardisis is characterized by symptoms that come and go and that’s DEFINITELY what I’ve been experiencing.

What better way to cheer myself up than reliving the amazing fall event I attended this past Saturday – the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce‘s 38th annual Apple Harvest Festival!

Fall is my favorite time of year in my hometown!

I have attended the Apple Fest almost every year since I’ve lived in CT, and recapped it during the blog’s earlier days. The Chamber of Commerce enjoyed that post so much that they asked me to cover the event again this year. Don’t mind if I do – I never miss an Apple Fest!

Way to be social media savvy, Chamber of Commerce!

I attended with Jeff and we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful fall day! Perfect light jacket weather, a crisp breeze, and bright, strong sun. We got cups of Pumpkin Spice coffee to go from Daybreak (of course) and set off to Glastonbury’s Riverfront Park.

I see rides!

I was happy to see that the great weather had already brought out a good crowd even just an hour after the Apple Fest’s 10am start time. Jeff and I started by perusing the field’s exterior to take a peek at the food vendors, as well as the Beer Garden. This was the first year ever that the Apple Fest had a Beer Garden and I snuck in before they opened to snap some photos.

The Beer Garden featured local beers AND wine! The price of $5 per glass of anything impressed me as well. I’d expected baseball-stadium $12 beers.

Four wines were featured from Colchester’s Priam Vineyards.

Shoutout to City Steam, Hooker, and Olde Burnside…and there was hard cider too!

I wasn’t feeling interested in imbibing at 11AM though. Though perhaps if I had I could have become a party animal like my friends…

BABY PYGMY GOAT. This guy was so small he kept escaping through the metal bars!

…it’s time for PHOTOS OF CAITLIN WITH FARM ANIMALS! Yes, this was not only the first year that the Apple Fest had the Beer Garden, but also a petting zoo!

Clearly wishing this child would back off my goat.

Llama rejection.

Eeeehhhh.

Llama mama.

Bye bye llama.

Lovin’ the lambs!

The only animal pic Jeff would be in, boo.

I probably spent the most time having fun in the petting zoo out of any adult at the event. I even came back for a second visit in hopes of getting a pic with the most exotic member of the zoo, Polly-Anna the camel.

During our first visit, she was chillin in this position and refused to move.

Later she was ready for pics!

Her head was surprisingly soft! The fur looked so matted.

End scene.

I came to the Apple Fest armed with cash to peruse and purchase goods from the local craft and food vendors. It’s the perfect place to find adorable, unique, delicious, insert-positive-adjective-here products!

Totally intrigued by my local TCBY‘s Coffee Liqueur froyo flavor!

Handmade finger puppets, some of which I have to say barely resembled their intended characters.

Sponge-bob-hat-pants!

C is for CAITLIN!

That’s what he said? No wait, he never would.

Wicked Wicks combined two of my obsessions…mason jars and candles…to make non-GMO soy candles!

How cute are these wine bottle carrying cases by Sinful Spirit?!

I adore fall crafts! I know Lisa would love these except that cat is kinda creepy.

Christmas meets Halloween.

Eons of cat salt and pepper shakers for all my #catsofinstagram peeps.

My family’s church’s baked potato booth is always a HUGE hit!

This Curry Nut Crunch Granola by Platte Clove Naturals of NY was one of the tastiest granolas I’ve ever had!

I brought home a bag of these delectable gems – Garlic Nut Crunch granola chunks!

I wish I knew of the vendor who made this beautiful bag – it was only $15.

Perfect for my school books!

After spending more money than I should have (and somehow Jeff walked away without spending a dime) we decided to do something I haven’t had a chance to do since the last Applefest – ride the rides!

“Family” ticket deal – 24 for $20.

A less-seen perspective of a ferris wheel!

I was a bit scared of the first ride we went on but I’d been on once before and (obviously) lived, so I agreed to ride whatever this thing below is called.

The random top 40 music coming from this ride was at least quite calming.

Of course I had an amazing time on the ride and wished it lasted longer. It was my favorite of the day for sure and I wish I’d taken my camera on there to get some cool aerial shots. I was sure to take my camera on another ride, the Scrambler, but instead of aerial shots we ended up with mucho selfies.

Jeff and I happened upon a fun Werther’s Original candies booth after we departed the rides area. Yes, that is a glass container where leaves blow around and you grab as many as you can to try to win free candy.

Obviously I volunteered.

Frantically stuffing leaves into the box to try to get 20 gold leaves.

I emerged triumphant and windswept.

I won the candy!!! Gifted it to Heather‘s dad

Then we enjoyed a 3-course snack with the Vitamix man!

We started with a green juice…

…proceeded to a hot tortilla soup…

…and finished with (unpictured) frozen cashew butter!

CELEB STATUS.

On our way out of the Apple Fest, we spotted CT Senate candidate Linda McMahon schmoozing with some teens. I myself am not a Linda fan (or really a fan of either candidate we have running for Senate) so I didn’t say hello, just snapped my creepy paparazzo pic.

A guy and his pie.

The cherry on top of Jeff’s day, or the apple, was likely the above apple crumb pie, a gift to us from the Chamber of Commerce! Many thanks I left the Apple Fest with a bunch of stuff I’d bought, and Jeff left with a free homemade pie. I’ll try not to think about that one.

Writing this post has definitely helped put me in a bit of a cheerier mood – it was such a fun day! I don’t plan to live in CT for the rest of my life (or a lot longer for that matter) but whenever I leave, I will certainly miss the Apple Fest. It’s such a fun fall tradition that brings me back to old memories…

Apple Fest 2007 – been taking ride selfies for the last five years!

…and creates new ones!

Thank you the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce for having Jeff, me, and a few of my other friends at the Apple Harvest Festival! I received the tickets and pie for free, but all opinions are my own.

Do you have any experience or know someone with experience with a stomach parasite?

Which of the Apple Fest activities I partook in looks the most fun to you?

What’s your favorite fall event or activity?

October 16, 2012
61 Comments
- animals, apple harvest festival, connecticut, crafts, daybreak, fall, friends, glastonbury, granola, local, pie, rides, snacks, vitamix, weekends, werther's
0

Mama Micki’s Vegan Cookies Review and Giveaway!

September 20, 2012

Words can’t describe my appreciation for your supportive comments, emails, and tweets in response to Tuesday’s post. It’s hard to open up like that and I still feel pretty vulnerable, but it seemed like each moment of self-consciousness I had over sharing so much was accompanied by yet another kind message of encouragement rolling into my Twitter feed or inbox. I’m so thankful to have this community and will be responding to you all when I have a chance (it’s been a busy work week).

Oo a package!

In the spring I attended the first-ever CT Veg Fest in Hartford, and had the opportunity to meet tons of passionate vendors looking to spread the word about their food offerings. One of those vendors, Mama Micki’s All-Natural Bakery of Scituate, MA, really stuck out to me for a few reasons. Not only are many of Micki’s baked goods vegan, but they are all made with REAL ingredients – and she even uses only non-GMO soy! Micki’s drive to share her love for all foods whole comes from her own personal experience with the healing power of real food; it has aided her for years in a quest to improve her hearing!

Micki and her “pup”! Source

Yeah yeah yeah – but do they taste good? The answer to that question is a resounding YES! At Veg Fest I had the privilege of sampling three varieties of vegan cookies – Chocolate Orange Walnut, Molasses, and Oatmeal Raisin Sunflower Seed. I was particularly impressed by the first two! In fact, just thinking about that Molasses cookie is making my mouth water right now, due to the autumn-fever that’s been taking over New England the last couple of weeks.

Cute tagline, right? Source

I’ve liked Mama Micki’s on Facebook and followed her on Twitter since Veg Fest, but we recently re-connected on that Facebook page. I proposed doing a review and GIVEAWAY for you all of these wonderful vegan baked goods, and Micki was all over it! She was kind enough to send me three different flavors of cookies to try, and even let me pick them out.

Hello to you, cookies and kind note!

I did ask for the Chocolate Orange Walnut cookies again, just because at Veg Fest I so admired the complexity of their flavor. The orange is the perfect level of subtlety and the real cocoa flavor shines through in each bite. I love being able to bite into something and say, “Oh yeah, I KNOW that’s made with Ingredient X”. The walnut in these cookies is nice and chunky too!

Enjoyed a cookie crumbled into chocolate Jello pudding after dinner – more than one night I might add!

I wanted to also sample a more “plain” variety of cookie to cover all my bases, and the Sugar cookies were right up that alley (notice I didn’t say MY alley – plain is NOT my alley!) I liked these, but since I prefer a more complex flavor, they were my least favorite of the three.

Still those that prefer way less going on in a cookie will enjoy these – that’s what sugar cookies are for, right?! And how FUN it would be to decorate these around the holidays! The coolest part by far, though, are the red sprinkles dusted on top of each cookie. I noticed beet powder on the ingredient list of these guys, and asked Micki about it. Turns out she won’t even use artificial dyes in her kitchen – the beet powder is what turned the sugar red! At that point I TRULY realized how dedicated Mama Micki’s Bakery is to its principals.

Finally, I had to save the Coconut Almond Bliss cookies for last! They seemed to use the same “foundation” as the Chocolate Orange Walnut, only minus orange and plus a hint of coconut flavor! I do wish the coconut had come through a bit more strongly, but I’m a coconut fiend. For others, it may have been just right! Once again I could so clearly taste the fresh cocoa used in these cookies, and really liked that some of the almonds in them were actually whole!

Accompanied by ever-present hydration!

Overall, another favorite characteristic for me of ALL of Micki’s baked goods is their lower sugar content! Eating processed sugars makes me feel sleepy and kinda crappy (not to say they don’t taste wonderful – I try to save them for after dinner so I can drift off into a sugar sleep ) and lowering the amount I consume over the last couple of years has made my taste buds really sensitive to them! Probably why I prefer my drinks strong like an old man’s, hmm? A cookie that tastes less sweet and more hearty and whole is the cookie for me, and that’s what Micki is putting out there.

Another combo of choice? A Mama Micki’s cookie crumbled into my beloved plain Chobani!

I was sure to share the wealth with friends. I brought my co-worker a few cookies to give his daughter, who is a vegan. She must have REALLY loved them because she was so grateful that she made me the below beautiful drawing, which totally brightened my day and is still brightening my cubicle!

I also was sure to share some with my ever-present foodie friend Jeff! He is always benefitting off my blog! I asked him his opinion via text.

I did like how the lack of butter made them so easy to crumble into my pudding or yogurt!

So now that you’ve heard from my friends and I how good these cookies are, let’s get to the part you’re most excited for – the giveaway! Micki has generously agreed to give away two bags of her cookies to each of two winners. This giveaway ends Saturday, 9/22/12 (11:59PM EST) and is open to US readers only (excluding Hawaii and Canada).

To enter, you can do the following and leave a comment for each or multiple entries won’t count!

Head over to the list of products on Micki’s website and let me know in a comment which creation you’d want to try most. (mandatory)
Follow @MamaMickis on Twitter and comment saying you did.
Follow @CaitPlusAte on Twitter and comment saying you did.
Tweet “I entered to win #vegan cookies from @mamamickis – thanks @CaitPlusAte! http://wp.me/p1SfTW-1uC” and comment with the link to the tweet.

And if you just can’t wait to see if you win the giveaway, or if you don’t want to take your chances, you can head over to the Mama Micki’s website, shop online, and use the coupon code CaitPlusAte to get 20% off your online purchase until October 20th!

Thanks Micki for making this review, giveaway, and coupon code possible. Good luck to all who enter! I received samples to review from Mama Micki’s Bakery free of charge, but all reviews and opinions are my own.

September 20, 2012
138 Comments
- almonds, chobani, coconut, cookies, dessert, giveaways, healthy desserts, healthy snacks, local, mama micki's, pudding, real food, snacks, vegan
0

Love With Food Giveaway!

August 27, 2012

Remember CT readers – one of my favorite spots for unique cocktails and tasty small plates in the Hartford area, Cuvee, is holding a special third-anniversary party at 7PM on Thursday 8/30 at their location in West Hartford’s Blueback Square. But there is ALSO a special VIP event with complimentary drinks, champagne tastings, apps, and more from 5-7PM. If you want to win a chance to attend, text BUBBLY to 37798! Maybe I’ll see you there!

I’m coming at you today with a review and giveaway for another food subscription box service – but don’t judge books by their covers, because Love with Food is different in that they aren’t just delivering food to you, but to others as well.

Founder and CEO Aihui (pronounced i-we) Ong sent me a complimentary box to review after I connected with Love with Food at BlogHer ’12 a few weeks ago. They stuck out to me because I was intrigued by the variety of products on display at their booth, the price point of just $10/month, and the fact that for each box sold, Love with Food donates a meal to a hungry child.

With a Love with Food box at BlogHer ’12′s Expo Hall.

I was excited to dig into my box and check out the tasty treats I’d been sent. A handy sheet was included which explained each product.

The box’s theme of Travelin’ Eats was appropriate for the trips many people take in August! I love the cute animation.

Overall I was fairly impressed by the products inside:

Sun Flour Baking Company Vegan Cookies – I’m of course most excited to sample the PB variety. Sometimes lemon-flavored things and I don’t get along so the fact that the other cookie is described as “Lemony Lemon” makes me a bit weary but we’ll see!
The Ginger People‘s Gin Gins Super Strength Ginger Caramel Candy – I don’t really like candies so I wasn’t too psyched over this one, but it does fit the Travelin’ Eats theme…the insert included with the box explained that ginger calms motion sickness.
Tangerine Glee Gum - Again this didn’t excite me because I always chew the same gum (Trident Original) and I may be open to many new foods, but gum just isn’t really one of them. Still the insert pointed out that the gum would aid a flying traveler in preventing ear popping!

The little red slip pictured above gave a preview for the September box (which the winner of the giveaway will receive). Stephanie Quilao of Back In Skinny Jeans has input into the box and it will include her favorite pre-and post-workout eats!

East Shore Skinny Dipping Pretzels – I can’t figure out whether or not these are called “skinny” because East Shore wants to market to females or because they literally are skinny pretzels. But the bottom line is, I really like pretzels. And I’m guessing these will be yummy – like all pretzels are!
East Shore Key Lime with Ginger Mustard – Out of all the products included in the box, I am actually most excited to dig into this little guy. I use mustard a TON at home with my dinners, especially on meat or regular/sweet potato fries. As soon as my mom makes fries in the oven I will be busting this out.
Sconza Candies Coconut Toffee Peanuts – These sound beyond. Amazing. And dangerous! The bag isn’t exactly tiny but I can see it being tempting to sit down and finish it in one sitting! I can just imagine how fabulously they’ll pair with my plain Greek yogurt in the evening…
Cherry Bay Orchards Dried Montgomery Cherries – I know that many bloggers would go bananas (or cherries) for these but cherries aren’t really my thing. I like how well-portioned the sample pack is.

As with all subscription services like this, the Love with Food box products’ full size versions are available for sale on their website. Subscribers can also earn points for committing to a 3, 6, or 12-month plan, reviewing what they received, and/or purchasing full sizes. The points can be used to get more full sized items for free.

It’s great to know that Love With Food is literally spreading the love WITH food…by giving it to children in need each time they sell another box. The affordable price point will surely encourage more people to buy boxes, meaning more children will get meals. There is a $2/month fee for shipping, but if you sign up for the 6-month plan it becomes $1/month, and the year-long subscription will give you FREE shipping. You can check out pricing details here.

Love with Food is offering Cait Plus Ate readers $2 off the purchase of a box! The code expires 8/31 (the last day to order the September box) so hurry! Just enter CAITVIP at checkout. No, I didn’t choose that code, Aihui did. KINDA love it

And one lucky reader is also going to win the September box for FREE! This is going to be a quick giveaway because I want the winner to have time to get on the website and use a special access code to order the September box by 8/31, so entries will accepted until 11:59PM EST tomorrow night (Tuesday 8/28). How do you enter?

Go to the Love With Food Products page and tell me in a comment here which product you’d most want to try! (mandatory)
Follow @LoveWithFood on Twitter and comment here saying you did.
Follow @CaitPlusAte on Twitter and comment here saying you did.
Tweet “I’m spreading the love with @LoveWithFood through a @CaitPlusAte giveaway! http://wp.me/p1SfTW-1pO” and comment here with the link to the tweet.

Good luck to all who enter and I hope that some of you guys spread the love with food and purchase a box with the discount code!