Showing posts with label Natural. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natural. Show all posts

Oct 7, 2016

Giveaway: Honey Ridge Farms Honey Cremes Trio

I love honey!

It's great in my German honey cookies now that it's the baking-all-the-time season again:

German Honey Cookies

It's great just on bread:

Whole grain bread with honey

It's great on oats or acai bowls or ice cream or eaten out of the jar with a spoon or... any and every way!

I also LOVE autumn. So what better combination than pairing the two?

Honey Giveaway


The lovely folks at Honey Ridge Farms are letting me give away a trio of their honey cremes to one lucky reader! Enter below through 10/16. Good luck!

The Honey Creme Giveaway:

Oct 4, 2016

Review: Honey Ridge Farms Honey Cremes

I love honey! It's probably my favorite sweetener and it's all natural to boot.

Did you know that honey has antibacterial properties? That's why it's great to have in hot tea (preferably hot peppermint tea) when you're sick. That, and it coats your throat and makes it feel better. I, fortunately, haven't gotten my first cold of the season yet *knock on wood* but my poor co-workers are dropping like flies. They need tea with honey!

I also love honey in my oatmeal, honey on my granola, honey drizzled over acai bowls, bananas and apples dipped in honey, and peanut butter honey sandwiches (also honey cookies). 

When I eat honey on bread, my favorite way to eat it is crystallized! You can either put liquid honey in a jar, let it sit in direct sunlight for a week or two, and wait for it to harden into sweet and delicious crystals. Or you can get Honey Ridge Farms honey cremes!

Honey Ridge Farms Honey Cremes

Apr 16, 2016

Review: That's It Bars

I love the chewy sweetness of dried fruits and I love the on-the-go convenience of snack bars. That's It bars have both!


Many dried fruits (and snack bars, for that matter) can be loaded with added sugars. That's really just not necessary when you consider how sweet fruit is naturally and that dried fruit has all of that sweetness, but concentrated! 

Many of us eat too much sugar as is, since it's in everything from ketchup to pasta sauce to cereal to yogurt. I was thrilled to see that That's It bars are 100% natural dried fruit with no added sugars or other unhealthy fillers.


They don't need them! The bars are chewy, sweet, flavorful, and satisfying. I tried ten delicious That's It bar flavors and they were all unique, but all delicious.

Dec 28, 2015

Review: Honey Ridge Farms Artisan Honeys

Where has 2015 gone? I can hardly believe that there are only a few short years until the new year!

2015 has been a wonderful year, full of growth, new career developments, new relationships, old creative passions in new ways, and a wonderful abundance of adventure, travel, good times with loved ones, and learning, I'm excited to see what 2016 brings!

One of the New Year's Eve traditions that I find really cute is the tradition of eating honey to herald in a sweet new year. I love honey, so any reason to eat it is good with me!

This year, I'm going for a gourmet spin with the honey I will give my loved ones and enjoy myself on Christmas Eve.



Honey Ridge Farms has a variety of absolutely delicious gourmet honey products that are perfect to start 2016 off on the right foot - or really for any morning!

The unique flavors of honey cremes include blackberry, clover, lavender, lemon, raspberry, coconut, blood orange, lemon lavender, and my personal favorite, spiced. Honey Creme spiced is the perfect festive blend of warming spices that, paired with the sweetness of the creamy honey, makes for a treat perfect for the holiday season!

Dec 25, 2015

Review: Eating Evolved Chocolate

Merry Christmas!

Since many of us start the day dumping our favorite treats out of our Christmas stockings, it's the perfect day for a chocolate review!
Growing up half-German, good chocolate was treated as much as a staple food as bread. Eating Evolved Chocolate agrees!


A company that believes 'Chocolate is Food, Not Candy,' an assertion that's printed boldly inside their chocolate bar boxes, Eating Evolved creates all natural, paleo dark chocolate bars out of just a few simple, whole foods ingredients to keep the nutritional value of their huff-cocoa-content dark chocolate bars intact.


Once again, my belief that healthy is delicious is proved right!

Dec 11, 2015

Review: Pure7 Dark Chocolate

Chocolate is delicious and dark chocolate is the most delicious - as far as I'm concerned, the darker the better! Chocolate is an artisan food and there is a huge range in quality, taste, and nutrition from bar to bar, even within the same flavor or cocoa percentage. 

Why waste precious time and stomach space eating subpar chocolate? High quality chocolate has the potential to be delicious, indulgent, packed with healthy cocoa flavanols, and an all-around positive addition to your diet!


I recently had the pleasure of trying fair-trade, organic, paleo Pure7 dark chocolate from artisan chocolatiers Julie MacQueen and Carrie Raho.

Like me, they believe that healthy can be delicious and craft all of their bars without the use of chemicals, dairy, soy, gluten, and refined sugars. All ingredients stay under 110F throughout the process, to keep all the essential nutrients intact!

Trying to cut back on refined sugars during the holidays, or at least keep an eye on your intake? All of the varieties of Pure7 dark chocolate (with the exception of the stevia bar) are sweetened with honey, instead of sugar!

Nov 8, 2015

Review: Blissful Eats Granola

Blissful Eats granola is gluten-free, vegan, paleo, kosher, non-GMO and all delicious. There's no preamble needed (nor wanted) for this review, because the granola is simply that delicious!

It makes a perfect breakfast, an excellent snack, and both a delicious topping and an amazing straight-out-of-the-bag food to munch.



Blissful Eats granola proves that healthy can be delicious! The two varieties of granola that I tried are organic, gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, vegan, and free of refined sugars.


That leaves more space for great nutrition! The granola is packed with healthy fats (including the ever-trendy coconut oil) and is low in sugar, but a decent source of fiber.


Read on for more of what makes the granola an excellent breakfast, snack, or anytime choice!

Oct 24, 2015

Review: Mamma Chia Organic Chia Granola Clusters and Organic Chia Vitality Bars!

Let me introduce you to my new favorite snack foods. 


Mamma Chia Organic Vitality Bars and Organic Chia Granola Clusters are so deliciously fantastic.


They're both packed with heart healthy chia seeds, healthy fats, and plant-based protein. They're also all organic, gluten-free, and made with 100% whole grains in the case of the granola (the bars aren't grain-based).


Want omega-3 fatty acids (a whopping 1000mg of them) in a sweet, chocolatey, delicious and portable snack? Mamma Chia Vitality Bars have you covered!


They come in four great flavors, each as delicious as the next. 


While my favorite (by a narrow margin) were the Blueberry & Dark Chocolate Vitality bars, every single flavor was amazing. 


Cherry & Dark Chocolate was a close second favorite. The sweet tart cherries worked amazingly well with the chocolate and nuts!

I loved that the bars were healthy, a great snacking size, made with all natural ingredients in relatively unprocessed forms (I could still tell what the nuts and seeds and dried fruits making up the bars were), and that they were coated in chocolate, making them taste much more like indulgent chocolate bars than a healthy snack!


And yet they are a healthy snack with the omega-3 fatty acids you need to keep your brain and heart in tip-top shape. Hooray!

I could rave about the bars all day, but I also want to get to the granola.


Oh. My. Goodness.

Mamma Chia granola won a place among my favorite cereals of all time from the first bite.



It's sweet, it's crunchy, it's hearty, and there are big chunks of granola for from-the-bag snacking as well as smaller pieces for a more cereal-like experience.


How do I love soy-free, dairy-free, gluten-free 100% whole grain Mamma Chia Vitality Granola? Let me list the ways.


With milk, with yogurt, from the bag, on a smoothie, on an acai bowl, from the bag, on ice cream, with peanut butter and banana, in trail mix, and straight from the bag.


I may have mentioned that last way a few times, but it's because the granola is just that good. It tastes great with everything, but it really doesn't need anything to make it delicious!

Oh, and did I mention it's non-GMO, too? Trust me, you'll want to try this granola - any of the delicious flavors will do. You can thank me later!

What is your favorite way to eat granola?

What kind of snack bars do you like most often?

What snacks do you keep in your handbag/backpack/coat pocket?
Is that last one just me?

Oct 10, 2015

Review: Raw Chocolate Love

It's October and not only does that mean that it's now fall, but also the start of the unofficially official candy season! 

Let's face it, from when we start in on the Halloween candy to when we finish the last chocolates from our Christmas stockings, it's a solid three months of sweet indulgences. Wouldn't it be nice if there were healthier options that are as delicious as the highly refined, sugar-packed treats we grew up with?

There are!


I was on the hunt for a line of yummy chocolates that is creamy, sweet, rich, and indulgent, but plantbased, dairy-free, low in refined sugars, and features healthy fats instead of hydrogenated oils and butter. 

I found what I was looking for in NYC's local chocolate company, Raw Chocolate Love!


Free of preservatives, colors, additives, and animal products, Raw Chocolate Love is made in Ridgewood, New York and is kosher, gluten-free, low glycemic index, raw vegan, soy-free, high in antioxidants, and made with love!

Oct 8, 2015

Healthy Beauty: Model Skin Care Secrets

I am really fortunate to have clear skin and people - whether it's makeup artists or other models at shoots, friends and family in day to day life, or random acquaintances - often ask me what my skin care secrets are.


Part of having skin clear is often genetics, but there are also a lot of go-to tips and tricks that models and others in the beauty industry use to keep our skin healthy and beautiful, despite the stress of heavy makeup at shoots and events.

Putting on and taking off a full face of makeup like that certainly isn't great for your skin!
Read on for my go-to hacks for a model clear complexion!

Apr 14, 2015

Recipe: My Favorite Green Smoothie

For those of you who follow me on Instagram (@danaikadzere please do!) you know that I'm pretty obsessed with green smoothies.

They're yummy, refreshing, great for your skin, and put that pep in your step. They're also awesome for digestion and loaded with nutrients! Whether you have a green smoothie to start the day or as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up snack, you can't go wrong.


Even my mom, my big sister, and my ten-year-old little sister love them! They're a healthy universal crowd-pleaser.

Here's a basic recipe for a winning green smoothie!

Mar 13, 2015

Prospect Hill Orchard: A Healthy Granola Option


I absolutely love granola! It's hands-down my favorite kind of cereal and goes great with everything. 

But a lot of granolas are nutritionally worse than the infamous 'sugar cereals' of 50s breakfasts. Between achieving the trademark rich crunch with hydrogenated oils and achieving the sweetness with high fructose corn syrup and more refined sugar than cookies, the shortcuts used to make some granolas turn them into veritable nutrition disasters. 

displeased pomeranian puppy funny

Definitely not how you want to start your day on a regular basis.

Mar 2, 2015

My Style: New Yorker Chic

One of my favorite things about NYC, after the convenience of having everything right there and so many great opportunities, is that people are a lot more daring with fashion - and it's totally okay to be!


I'm as guilty as anyone of getting into a style grind and wearing the same jeans and shirts day in an day out, until my fashion choices are more effective than Ambien at causing serious snoozes.

Dec 9, 2014

Vegan Stocking Stuffer - Help Santa Out!

Need some chocolate to stuff in a vegan loved one's stocking?

Let's be real, with all the various special diets and restrictions that people have these days, it can get to be a bit much for Santa. So don't be afraid to help out! And to help you help Santa out, I'm here to suggest a delicious vegan chocolate line - it's artisan, handmade, vegan, and amazing!



Luna Vida is a brand of handmade vegan chocolates crafted by artisan chocolatier Lisa Tenney and available for shipping anywhere through Etsy.

Raw, vegan, and all-natural, these chocolates are healthy treats that will fill your loved ones with antioxidants and plant-based energy, instead of sugar and chemicals, come Christmas morning. Doesn't that sound like a win?

Just Chocolate

And you're supporting a small business and an American crafter, so it's a double-win for the holidays.

I enjoyed all of the varieties that I tried, which included Hazelnut, Spicy Mango, Peppermint, Peanut Butter Cup, and more!

Who doesn't like peanut butter and chocolate together?

Order an assortment and try all their varieties at once, or become your vegan loved one's favorite person for at least as long as it takes to finish all the chocolates!

Be sure to follow Luna Vida on Facebook to stay up to date on the latest developments, new flavors, discounts and more!

What are you hoping for in your stocking this year?

What are your favorite things to find in your stocking?


What is your favorite kind of chocolate?

Nov 24, 2014

SquareBars Review

I love protein bars - they're convenient, often tasty (I have a total weakness for chocolate flavored ones), and provide muscle-fueling vegetarian protein!

For vegans, howver, there are far fewer good protein bar options. Most bars use whey protein, have milk in their chocolate coating, or both. 

Luckily for vegans, there's a new all vegan protein bar that's been blowing up in popularity lately.


The icing on the cake (coating on the protein bar?) is that part of the profits from the purchase of Squarebars goes to a good cause!

2.5% of net sales of Squarebars go towards fighting human trafficking! Whoo!



And the bars come in three chocolatey flavors - Squarebars knows that chocolate is what we want, so chocolate is what we get. There's the classic Cocoa Crunch for purists.


Cocoa Almond for chocolate nut lovers.

...that would be me.


Last, but not least, there's Cocoa Coconut for Mounds candy bar fans who want the same taste with better nutrition. 



The bars all have similar ingredients and nutritional stats. At a bit over 200 calories and 11g of protein each, they're a great snack to help get plant-based protein in.



And they're delicious. That's huge, because who would eat them if they weren't?


They're more like a chocolate/candy bar than a protein bar in taste and texture, but definitely more like a protein bar in nutrition.

I recommend them!

Have you tried Squarebars? If so, what's your favorite flavor?

What is your favorite plant-based firm of protein?

How often do you eat protein bars?

Nov 18, 2014

Chocolate For A Cure

Wouldn't it be awesome if you could stuff your stocking with something that's crazy delicious, good for you, and does good for the world?


Helloooooo, Jojo's Chocolate Hope. It's stevia-sweetened sugar-free dark chocolate that comes in three amazing varieties and 15% of the company's profits go to finding a cure for cancer!


I love that they're actually high cacao dark chocolate, because so much dark chocolate is only 45% or 50% cacao.

These have 75-79% cacao, which is really quite high! The Smooth Criminal (I didn't try it, but it's their plain dark chocolate) even has 81% cacao.



Not only is higher cacao dark chocolate healthier (whoo, antioxidants!) but it's also just so much more chocolate-y!


You can definitely tell which bar is which, because their particular flavors are expressed clearly and well, but the dominant 'red thread' tying them all together is really rich, really intense, really high quality dark chocolate.

Made of just a few simple ingredients!


Each bar is over 2oz of chocolate, so there's a convenient sticker on the back to reseal the bar and save a little for later. 

That way you can enjoy the chocolate twice, without worrying about it drying out in the interim!


The Mocha Munch is probably my favorite.


Sultry coffee and indulgent dark chocolate are just a match made in heaven!

The Currant Crush is really quite unique (in a delicious way, not a 'oh, that's...unique' way) so it's a great choice for your epicurean Secret Santa.


I can't be the only one who's already planning for Christmas, right? At least the department stores definitely are!


The Raspberry Spice was also really great - sweet, fruity, but not with such a strong berry flavor as to overwhelm the delightful chocolate flavor.

All of them were a total delight and knowing that 15% of proceeds are going to cancer research is the (awesome) icing on top!

Do you like darker dark chocolate or lighter dark chocolate?

What's your cause of choice?

When do you start planning for the holidays and really getting in the holiday spirit?

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