These teriyaki sprouted sunflower seeds from Kaia Foods are pretty good. They’ve been a great snack during my raw detox. They have a good flavor which curbs those cravings for stirfry and the bag is the perfect size for keeping in your handbag for a snack on the go. I will admit that although good, for some reason I’m sick of them and probably won’t get them again. The flavor was great at first and it’s not that I’ve over-eaten them, I’ve only eaten a half bag over the course of a month but there’s just something that I can’t explain making me not want any more. Don’t get me wrong, they’re good! I think I just get weird about stuff every now and then. Have any of you tried them? What did you think?
Category : Food & Beverages
I just had this Vanilla Pear fruit leather by Kaia Foods. I was rather impressed with how much it was like a fruit roll up - in a good way (I was never allowed to have those growing up – now I understand and appreciate that now that I’m older) I opened the package assuming it was going to be one, thick piece, when in fact I un-folded it and found it was a thin sheet! The flavor wasn’t my favorite, but I feel that a different flavor would likely be more of a hit for me. Although it is Vanilla Pear, the second ingredient (after pear) is banana and it was just too banana flavored for me. It is a good healthy snack with only 30 calories so they would be good to keep in your handbag for an on-the-go snack.
Category : Food & Beverages
I normally make my own kale chips but I was curious to try some with other flavors – I stick to nutritional yeast and sea salt so I needed some new ideas.
I grabbed a bag of Kaia Foods Sea Salt & Vinegar and Rythm Superfoods Zesty Nacho. Hands down, Rythm Superfoods Zesty Nacho wins. The Kaia Foods chips are tiny flakes. Quite possibly the bag got crushed along the way, but at the store, all the bags looked the same (they have a clear window so you can see the products) so not sure if they are normally more of a chip or if this was a bad/damaged batch. I’m seriously considering eating this bag with a spoon! As far as flavor goes, they’re good but not great. Maybe this is because I’m comparing them to the Rythm Superfoods Zesty Nacho, which are AMAZING! Eric tried one and he really like it too! They seriously taste cheesy! They were also all still in chip form. Of course there were some crumbs at the bottom of the bag, but there are with potato chips too. The thing is, the bag was 95% full of acutal chips while the Kaia Foods chips were 90% crumbs. The Rythm chips were also much crunchier – maybe due to being actual chips – maybe I just couldn’t get the crunch from the Kaia crumbs.
I’m definitely looking forward to trying more of the Rythm Superfoods flavors:
Bombay Curry Kool Ranch Texas BBQ Mango HabaneroI probably won’t try another bag of the Kaia Foods chips unless I see a bag that is more full of chips than crumbs
Category : Food & Beverages
So far I’ve tried two different types of Living Nutz and they’re both amazing! I’m definitely looking forward to trying more. These have been a great snack for me to keep in my handbag for an on-the-go snack. They were great for taking on the flight to Boston last weekend.
The Bodacious Banana Bread Walnutz seriously do taste like banana bread! They’re sweet and you can taste all the flavors – banana, cinnamon and of course walnut.
The Far East Curry Almonds are awesome and are helping me to curb my Indian Curry cravings while on this raw detox.
Living Nuts really does do a great job at giving their nuts some crazy big flavor!
I purchased my at Whole Foods but then found that Karyn’s on Halsted (Chicago) has them too.
Category : Food & Beverages, Health
I’m doing the Detox at Karyn’s again this year. Yes, I slightly cheated over the weekend while in Boston and ate cooked vegan (which is totally fine according to Karyn for people who aren’t already vegan, thus, being vegan I should be eating 100% raw this week). Anyway, I’ve picked up a bunch of raw foods to take with me on this journey over the next month so get ready for some reviews in case you’re interested in going raw or even just making more of an effort to eat more raw than a salad every now and then
Category : Food & Beverages, Recipes
Thanks to Chic Vegan for her post about the Banana Soft Serve!!! I’ve found my new summer love! Choosing Raw had this absolutely amazing recipe and I know I’m going to be addicted to this all summer long. I love that she titled it – “This Post Will Change Your Life” – she was serious!
If you click on the photo you can see the original post and get the recipe. Essentially it’s just frozen bananas! I added peanut butter which was amazing. Also, be sure to give your bananas a little time to warm up – I tossed them directly from the freezer into the food processor and let me tell you, that was CRAZY! The poor machine went nuts and started bouncing all over! Winston (my dog) came running wondering what the heck I was doing! In the recipe she tops it with a chocolate sauce made with agave nectar. I was out of agave so I ran to Whole Foods and discovered coconut nectar and thus tried that instead – it was great!
I don’t think you can get any healthier of an ice cream than this! I was skeptical about eating mushed bananas but try it and you’ll be pleasantly surprised!!!
Category : Food & Beverages, Health
Remember when I mentioned back in January how much I wanted to do the detox class at Karyn’s? Well, guess, what?? I finally did it and it was amazing. There were definitely some difficult days but all in all it was well worth it. I learned a great deal about my body and how different foods affect me. I was absolutely amazed at the HUGE impact it made on people with arthritis, problems sleeping, and many other conditions. Prior to the detox I was vegan at home and as much as possible when I was out and about but now 100% vegan. Shortly after coming off the detox I had a very dairy loaded meal (well, according to my scale) at a friend’s and the next day noticed some changes in my body – things that I’ve had for years, didn’t have during the detox, but got back after eating dairy. Dairy is not necessary for our bodies and often causes problems for many people and as I found out, people most often don’t realize what big and little things it causes until they remove it from their diet and re-introduce it. During the detox I got used to bringing my own food with me to parties so now that I’m used to it, it doesn’t seem to be a big deal to continue taking vegan things with me. I didn’t want to be an inconvenience before, which is why I wasn’t 100% vegan. I guess it just took being open with everyone about my detox and the different diet I was on for me to realize that it’s not that big of a deal to tell people that I don’t eat certain things. I’m sure they’re not offended and I’m not inconveniencing them at all by bringing my own food – it’s not like I’m asking them to make a special meal for me
My goal is to do the detox at Karyn’s once a year. Check out the details for yourself at Karyn’s Raw.
Category : Food & Beverages, Recipes
These are a super yummy, cold, minty treats that actually are good for you!
1 coconut
1/2 C raw cacao powder
1/2 to 3/4 C raw agave (to taste)
1 T vanilla
1 t sea salt
1 t peppermint extract
1 T coconut oil (melted)
Blend the meat of one coconut in a food processor fitted with an “S’ blade until fairly smooth. Next blend in agave, vanilla, sea salt, peppermint and coconut oil. Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Freeze them for a couple of hours then put them into an airtight container and keep in the freezer for when you need a little sweet treat! Enjoy!
I haven’t really mentioned it yet, but I recently did a detox where I ate vegan raw for a month. It was an amazing experience and I felt better than ever. I am not a huge believer in the raw diet, although I’m just not at the point where I could commit to that every day of my life. I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 11 and an almost vegan for nearly the last 3 years. After coming off the detox I’m 99.9% vegan – there have been a couple of occasions where I had a bite of something with dairy. Anyway, it is insane how powerful a raw diet is…check out this trailer for a movie produced by John Salley (a vegan)…I’ve seen it before, but thanks to Vegetarian Star for pointing it out to me again so I could share it with all of you. I know it may sound weird and nasty to eat raw but you get used to it and begin to enjoy the food but most importantly how wonderful your body feels!
I recently discovered Two Moms In The Raw granola and it is FANTASTIC!!!! I’m doing a detox right now and am eating raw…sounds a little odd, yes, but it’s great! – I feel wonderful and it’s so much better for my body. It’s actually super important to consume as much raw food as possible as cooking kills the enzymes which are necessary for digestion and nutrition. So…when possible, opt for raw foods. This Cranberry Granola by Two Moms In The Raw is delicious!! And not to mention, vegan and organic!
