Review: One Bars

Tweet

Pin It

There are so many protein bars out there, with something for just about every flavor, texture, and consistency preference and just about every dietary need. 

While protein bars can make a really convenient snack, since they're generally individually packaged, shelf stable for months or more, and not messy or smelly to eat, some protein bars can be loaded with up to 30g of sugar. I don't think I'm in the minority when I say that a protein bar should have more protein than it has sugar! And it should also have less sugar than a Snicker's bar. One Bars (formerly OhYeah! bars) have nutritional stats worthy of a protein bar - 20g of protein and only 1g of sugar per bar. That's great for keeping blood sugar levels even and energy levels steady!

They also come in a nice variety of different dessert-y flavors!

The bars all taste quite different, but they all share some important similarities.

Read More...

Style Post: Vivid Blues and Sparkly Shoes!

Tweet

Pin It

Another day, another dress! I strive to live a bold, beautiful life, where I do what makes me happy and bring more light and positivity to the world along the way.

I'm not saying how I dress does that. It doesn't. But it's a fun way to remind myself that life is lovely and, even when it tests you, you must keep your chin up! 

I also regularly make strangers smile with my colorful rainboots and bright pink umbrellas, and who doesn't want to inspire a smile on a dreary, rainy day in the city? We could all smile more and the world would be all the lovelier for it!

Like the late Kate Spade, who designed the sparkly pink flats I'm wearing in this post (which happen to also be my current favorite shoes) I wish to leave a little sparkle wherever I go.

People have been calling me 'Diana' a lot lately and I choose to believe that that's because they see a bit of her charm in me, and not just because they're lowkey dyslexic.

This is an outfit fit for a proper tea, with scones and jam and clotted cream. 

Read More...

I Tried It: John Frieda Frizz Ease for Ethnic Hair

Tweet

Pin It

We've established that my hair has a mind of its own. I do what I can to tame it, but I enjoy my bouncy curls and all their character too much to chop it all off and call it a day. What can you do!

Answer: try all the things.

I received the John Frieda Frizz Ease Collection from Influenster and couldn't wait to try it out! I'd used John Frieda hair products when I was younger, but it had been a solid ten to fifteen years since I'd last tried it out.



The Frizz Ease Collection is a four product line that promises to enhance your natural curls, smooth the strands, and create bouncy, frizz-free waves. Sounds ideal!

I love that the line includes Frizz Ease Secret Weapon Touch-Up Creme to smooth frizz and flyaways on second day hair - because you're not a real curly hair ally if you think every day is wash day.

It gives me confidence in the creators of the line that they understand that washing my hair more than around three times per week would turn it into an eternal brillo pad. This touch up creme contains avocado oil for hydration and it provides grip, making it great for braided styles. All around win!

Anyway, I started out testing the line with a fresh wash, followed by the duo team of Frizz Ease Daily Nourishment Leave-In Conditioner and the Frizz Ease Extra Strength Six Effects + Serum.

Right out of the shower, after a little towel dry, I sprayed the Leave-In Conditioner through my hair, focusing on the driest bit - *cough, the ends, cough*.

I love that it's a spray. I'm used to cream leave in conditioners that take some rubbing to get absorbed, breaking up my pretty post-wash curls in the process. Since this one is a spray, it's easy to apply and my curls stay intact. It smells nice, features vitamins A, C, and E, and promises to protect against heat!

Next up, Frizz Ease Extra Strength Six Effects+ Serum.

This serum is a finisher containing silk proteins, that promises to tame and smooth even the toughest, coarsest hair. That's always a great thing to read when you have ethnic hair (read: kinky) and the product line isn't specifically formulated for Black hair. It says to use sparingly on dry hair as a finisher, but I used it on my still damp hair right after the leave-in conditioner and it was fine.

On my damp hair, I liked that the products smelled nice, didn't make it feel weighed down, and weren't sticky or flaky. 

It looks pretty and the curls held up well, unlike with some other products I've tried recently. 😒

So far, so good! But my hair generally looks pretty good wet and the frizzy mess only comes out when it dries, so dry hair would be the true test.

I let my hair air-dry, because that's my usual low-maintenance style, as I went about my day - a little bit of startup work, off to Silvercup Studios for a fitting, lunch at Juice Press, and back home for more work. By that time, my hair was totally dry and...

Read More...

Review: New Arctic Zero!

Tweet

Pin It

Ice cream is probably my favorite dessert and I love finding ice cream varieties that are less heavy than the standard. Ice cream is delicious and the fully indulgent stuff is good now and then, but having regular ice cream daily can make me feel sluggish and weighed down, which is no fun at all.

Arctic Zero is a pioneer in the light, high protein ice cream alternative space, but for a while there they were edged out by Halo Top for tastiness - the original Arctic Zero creamy pints and even the newer chunky pints just didn't have the same creamy mouthfeel of full fat ice cream. No wonder, since they're more of a frozen protein shake. Still, when you're feeling less virtuous, it didn't quite hit the spot. The new Arctic Zero flavors, made with real cream and no sugar alcohols, do!

These pints are still better for you than traditional ice cream - they're mostly 360 calories per pint, with a few flavors just under that, and are lower in fat and sugar than traditional ice cream. They also come in plenty of delicious flavors!

I was most excited to try the Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookies, Cookies & Cream, and Cookie & Brownie Dough pints, but the Toffee Crunch was a close second.



Bae was most excited for the Chocolate Chunk (because if anyone loves chocolate more than me, it's him), as well as the Mint & Chocolate Cookies.

Lastly, there's the Vanilla Bean - it's the lightest of the flavors, just 280 calories for a whole pint, and is a great, creamy base for milkshakes, topping for pies, etc.

Read More...

Review: No Cow

Tweet

Pin It

If you're at all into fitness and you've been anywhere near Instagram, you've seen the craze about Quest bars. Low carb, low sugar, high protein and high fiber, they're great - unfortunately, they're not vegan-friendly. If you're plantbased, or just trying to go dairy free, then they're just not an option, since they lean heavily on whey protein.

Bummer.

Luckily, there's a bar with as impressive stats as Quest bars and a much more natural (and plantbased) ingredients list!

No Cow bars started as D's Naturals quite some time ago, but have since expanded and reformulated their bars. While I enjoyed the original No Cow bars occasionally (and I really liked their nutritional stats and virtuous ingredients lists) they were a bit dry/crumbly tasting sometimes. The flavors were delicious, though, the textures could just use some work.

The new formula has taken care of that!

These bars are moist, flavorful, sweet (but naturally sweetened and still incredibly low in sugar), and while they're higher calorie than the original bars and now some of them contain palm oil, they're not more than comparative sized protein bars, both vegan and not.

Read More...

Review: Quest Protein Cookies

Tweet

Pin It

I have such a sweet tooth. I can completely do without pizza, chips, fries, or other greasy junk food. Sweets, however? Much harder - especially chocolate and soft, chewy cookies! 

In general, I try to live a pretty healthy lifestyle. I'm fairly active, I do some sort of exercise most days of the week, I go to bed at a reasonable hour most nights, I drink a lot of water (and tea - I'm halfrican), and I eat a colorful diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole grains. I'm a firm believer that mental health and happiness is as important as physical health and fitness, so I allow myself daily sweet indulgences. Still, it would be nice if those sweet indulgences could be more than just empty calories! 

Enter protein cookies from Quest, the original creators of the cheat clean bar that tastes like a candy bar, but is low sugar, high protein, and high fiber. Would the cookies live up to my high expectations?

They come in four flavors and I hope that, like their bars, Quest will regularly add new flavors of the cookies. They're big, approximately palm sized, and nicely thick. 

In addition to a lot of protein and fiber, the 240-250 calorie cookies each have only around 1-3g of sugar. That's less than a teaspoon of sugar! 

Read More...

Review: New Flavors of Wink!

Tweet

Pin It

There are three new flavors of Wink Frozen Desserts! They're all dairy free, vegan, nut free, soy free, gluten free, and generally allergen-free! It's one the tummy-friendlies desserts ever and I couldn't wait to try the three new flavors: 

There's S'mores, Strawberry Cheesecake (a new 100 calorie version of the one we already love), and Salted Caramel. They all sounded delicious, but especially the Salted Caramel - I'm such a fan of that flavor and was so thrilled when Wink announced that they're making one! Anyway, on to my review.

Read More...

Review: Rawvolution Box (and a discount!)

Tweet

Pin It

It's pilot season, tax season, and the season of trying to get our lives (and bodies) in shape. The perfect time for a little boost from a convenient meal delivery service, no?

While meal delivery services tend to be pricier than making your own food, and often even more expensive than eating out, they can be really helpful when you're busy. You don't have to think about getting or making food, it's just waiting for you in your fridge when you're hungry! That sounded totally ideal to me, so I decided to give Rawvolution, the raw vegan meal delivery service endorsed by Alicia Silverstone, Cher, Carol Alt, and other glamorous LA types, a try. LA loves it and now there's nationwide shipping, so NYC must love it, too, right?

...well... this will be a really mixed bag review, because the food was AMAAAAAAAAZING but the logistics of long-distance shipping left a bit to be desired.

My experience started on a less than great note. Admittedly, the chaotic deliver wasn't the company's fault, but due to weather/UPS. The food was supposed to arrive by 1:30pm on Tuesday. Instead, it arrived at 8pm on Wednesday. Grrrrr. Considering that next day shipping to NYC costs between $60 and $100 per box, depending on the speed you select, that sort of delay can be quite frustrating.

Worse, the food arrived only cool (not cold) to the touch - after spending $120 on the meals (that's the cost without shipping) I was worried that some of the food might go bad before I could eat it all.

Not as bad, but also not appealing, is the presentation. While LA customers receive their meals in deli containers, shipping customers receive their meals vacuum sealed in plastic bags - a not at all appetizing presentation, especially for the wet dishes (which is over half of them). Shipping costs are already super high, though, and I suppose the meals are vacuum sealed to keep them from being positively astronomical.

On to the next thing - the contents of The Box. Boxes are non-customizable, so you get whatever the fixed menu is each week, in fixed amounts.

I received:

1. Green Cleanse Fresh-Pressed Juice
2. Roots Infusion Fresh-Pressed Juice
3. No Bean Hummus
4. French Carrot Salad
5. Cauliflower Couscous
6. Creamy Sunflower Seed Salad
7. Nut & Veggie Pate Wrap
8. Enchilada Blanca
9. Greek Pizza
10. Sloppy Joe Sandwich
11. Pecan Crumble
12. Cinnamon Raisin Balls

I'm not much of a juice drinker and would rather have traded the two juices ($20 worth of product, if you divide the total cost by the twelve items in the box) for more of something else. I also would have probably swapped a few other menu items. If I could tweak the service, I'd make opting in and out of menu items the first change.

Anyway, onto the actual food. While there may still be some significant kinks to work out with the long distance shipping service, the food itself is INCREDIBLE and Chef Matt definitely has real talent for turning healthy vegetables into delicious meals! Seriously, the food was among the best I've ever eaten and, if I had infinite money and the shipping issues were worked out, I'd order from Rawvolution every single week.

Read More...

Review: Swanson Vitamins

Tweet

Pin It

Living in NYC, the cost of everything is sky high. Some expenses, like ridiculously bloated rent and ever-rising subway fare that definitely doesn't reflect how frequently there are delays and closures, we just have to accept and chalk it up to the cost of admission to be a New Yorker.

But some expenses, like the overpriced non-perishable snacks and ingredients in city groceries and cornerstores, we don't have to put up with. Ordering non-perishables online, especially in bulk, can save quite a lot of money! I recently had the opportunity to try out Swanson Vitamins, an online retailer for health foods, snacks, and supplements, and here are my thoughts!

Cost

I was really pleased with them on this front. A 6.5oz jar of PB2 costs a whopping $7.85 at my local grocery, but only $3.99 on Swanson Vitamins! Likewise, a Quest bar costs $2.99 at my local grocery and $3.99 (!!) at my local cornerstore, but only $2.09 when bought in bulk (a pack of 12, so not even huge bulk) on Swanson Vitamins. 

Other products had similar savings, so I was really pleased - even if you don't buy enough to get free shipping, it doesn't take much shopping for savings to cancel out the shipping cost. Cost efficiency is definitely a plus for Swanson Vitamins!

Read More...

(Green) Eating NYC: Top Veggie-Friendly Picks Around the City!

Tweet

Pin It

With the weekend coming up, what better time for a post to help tourists, newcomers, and lifelong New Yorkers alike eat their (veggie-friendly) way around NYC? While I only moved back to the city at the end of this past spring, after a brief stint in Boston, I've cumulatively spent about three years living in New York.

To follow along on my adventures in real-time, follow me on Instagram @danaikadzere

In that time, I've had a lot of fun trying many different vegetarian, vegan, and veggie-friendly places in the city. Here's a list of my favorite standout places over the years - they're the ones I go back to and highly recommend!

Pure Ktchn

Location: 352 W 46th St
Price: $10-15 per meal
Great for: Quick healthy bite, vegans, a casual midtown dinner that won't weigh you down
My favorites: Their pure caesar salad!

Peacefood

Location: 460 Amsterdam Ave (uptown west) or 41 East 11th Ave (downtown)
Price: $15-20 per meal
Great for: Plantbased brunch, vegans, newbies to plantbased eating, and comfort food that's good for you!
My favorites: Raw sushi and the assorted veggies!

Hibino

Location: 10-70 Jackson Ave, Long Island City (there's another location in Brooklyn that's actually the original location, but I've never been)

Price: $15-20 per meal

Great for: Sushi, Fish, Pescatarians and omnivore/herbivore groups, a cute date night that won't break the bank

My favorites: Tsukemono, seaweed salad, and the salmon sushi!

Read More...

Review: Genuine Health Fermented Vegan Proteins+

Tweet

Pin It

I'm not vegan and I'm actually not even vegetarian anymore - after 12 or so years of being strictly vegetarian, I'm now a pescatarian. That manifests itself as occasionally ordering salmon at a restaurant or, more frequently, enjoying sushi and sashimi. 

It's a recent change, but I've been positively surprised by how easily my body adapted to it! I have a sensitive stomach and worried it could cause me some pain, but my body has been happy having fish once or twice a week for the last month or two, since the switch to pescetarianism. Yay!

Still, I love vegetarian and vegan food and the vast majority of the time I still order vegetarian and vegan food when I'm out and still eat mostly vegetarian food at home. A mostly plantbased diet gives me energy, keeps my stomach and my skin happy, and just suits my tastes the best. Since most of my days are still vegetarian, I'm still always interested in learning about healthy plantbased sources of protein. 

So many protein bars and powders are full of ingredients that I wouldn't even want in a skincare product, much less in something I'm eating. Genuine Health is different - they're committed to creating products that are actually good for you. 

They're the self-proclaimed fermentation experts and the products in their fermented vegan proteins+ line feature fermented organic spirulina, fermented alfalfa, fermented mung bean sprouts, fermented organic quinoa sprouts, fermented pea protein isolate, fermented organic hemp, and fermented brown rice. I love that it's all stuff that I recognize as food!

Why choose fermented protein, especially when there are so few brands out there doing it? Easy - fermented plant protein is 40% better absorbed and utilized by the body than the same protein, unfermented. 

Read More...

Review: Stabilyze Protein Bars

Tweet

Pin It

I really like protein bars a handy, shelf-stable snack to keep in my bag during travel, long days on set, and general busy day-to-day life. But while some protein bars can make a healthy on-the-go snack, there are SO many protein bars out there and many are little more than glorified candy bars!

Since no one wants to waste time, money, and stomach space on protein bars that aren't worth it, I'm sharing a review of a new bar I've tried recently! Stabilyze sent me a few of their bars to try and here are my thoughts.

I tried three flavors - dark chocolate thin mint cookie, dark chocolate coconut cashew, and dark chocolate peanut butter cup. All three boast nutritional stats that fit into a low glycemic lifestyle, for the carb conscious and anyone else who's disinterested in riding a blood sugar roller coaster. 

Read More...

Review and a Discount: LipSense Long-Lasting Lipcolor

Tweet

Pin It

I love lip gloss! But it's so annoying when it smudges or kisses off onto my cup. LipSense claims that it doesn't kiss-off, smear-off, or wear-off. It should last all day.



...but I've heard that before. And, spoiler, it didn't mean much. I was pretty skeptical when I heard of LipSense. But the colors are pretty and I've heard good things about it on Instagram, so I decided it a go.

I chose Blu-Red, because red lips are so fun and dramatic, but they're also the hardest to wear. I don't want red lipstick sliding around on my face or kissing off onto my mug - not cute.



Before applying LipSense, you're supposed to clean and exfoliate your lips with a damp cloth, toothbrush, or sugar scrub. I used a homemade sugar scrub from Liz Bonner, who also sellsLipSense. It felt great and made my lips immediately a bit softer, so is probably in general a good lip care practice.

I noticecd a few differences between LipSense Blu-Red and the lipsticks and lipglosses I'm used to as soon as I opened the tube. While lip glosses are usually sweet smelling and lipsticks are mild, LipSense smells like makeup remover. No shock, given that the first ingredient is alcohol, but still unusual.

Read More...

Review, Giveaway, and a Discount: Ambrosial Harvest Muesli + Granolas

Tweet

Pin It

Cereal is one of America's favorite breakfast foods. It's one of my favorites, too! 

Starting the day with a bowl full of sugar and refined grains, however, is a questionable health decision. Sugary breakfast cereals aren't good for energy levels or blood sugar levels, they don't contribute much other than empty calories to your nutritional needs, and they're just not 'breakfast of champions' material. On the other hand, a bowl full of twiggy bran that both looks and tastes like shredded cardboard isn't satisfying anyone's cereal craving.

Luckily, there are healthy cereals that both taste great and are great for you!

I love Ambrosial Harvest cereals! Ambrosial Harvest makes whole grain granolas and muesli that are all USDA organic, gmo-free, gluten-free, vegan, certified kosher, free of refined sugars, and full of heart-healthy omega 3 fatty acids. 

As a bonus, they're also local! Ambrosial Harvest granolas are made right here in New York!

I love the creative flavors - their muesli has goji berries, big flakes of shredded coconut, generous pumpkin and sunflower seeds sprinkled throughout, and filling whole grain oats.

I'm half-German, so I grew up on muesli for breakfast and it has long been a favorite. This one didn't disappoint! While I would have liked a bit more of the dried fruits (I loooove dried fruits) the balance was sweet enough and the combination of flavors was delicious! I love it soaked in milk for 15-20 minutes, so the oats start to soften, but don't turn to glop.

Read More...

SmartCakes: A Review

Tweet

Pin It

SmartCakes and SmartBuns are the low-carb, low-calorie products from Smart-Baking Company, a company that strives to make traditional carby snacks accessible to dieters and anyone else looking for a lighter alternative.

It's great to offer a healthy cake alternative, but what good does it do anyone if it doesn't taste good? So many diet foods taste like cardboard, plastic, or just not the food that they're modeled after. I liked the variety of flavors offered by SmartCake - Chocolate, Coconut, and Cinnamon - and was excited to try them.

Read More...

More Delicious Mornings with Erin Baker's: A Review

Tweet

Pin It

I love getting mail. I also love breakfast foods and mornings. So getting this in the mail was wonderful!

Erin Baker's focuses on making delicious foods out of whole grains and without preservatives. Whether they're eaten as a standalone snack or part of your breakfast, they're food that nourishes you and fuels you for a great day ahead.

The two new products I got to try were The Original Breakfast Cookies Minis:

They taste just like the full size cookies - hearty, just the right amount of sweet, and always fresh (never stale) but they're a smaller size that's great for crumbling over yogurt or oatmeal or slipping into a lunchbox as a sweet, but nutritious, snack. 

Read More...

Juice Press comes to Boston!

Tweet

Pin It

It's a new month and a new year. Happy 2017!

A lot of us like to take advantage of the new year to make positive changes. For many, that means making changes to improve our health!

Health affects everything - productivity, mood, energy, etc. It's so, so, so important. I can't stress it enough!

Health also encompasses a lot - mental, physical, emotional, and financial health all matter. There are so many great resolutions that can improve your health and they're not all about hitting the gym more.

You can eat more fruits and vegetables. You can get more sleep. You can take up meditation. You can work towards a healthier work-life balance. You can pay attention to your relationships. You can save. You can indulge in bubble baths and quiet cups of tea. There are so may options!

For those of us who resolve to eat healthier, it can be tough to stick to it when the realities of life get in the way. We get busy with work, school, and socialization and buying, preparing, and cooking fresh ingredients on a regular basics can get tough. Or, for those who aren't used to cooking healthy food, it can be tough to come up with ideas of what to make. Sometimes it just feels like too many decisions and that's when the temptation to throw in the towel rears its head.

When eating healthy doesn't feel super fun or I'm super busy, falling back on healthy meal delivery services or healthy cafes is really helpful for me. When I lived in NYC, there were great health food cafes everywhere. Boston has its fair share, too, but many of my favorites were missing.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I'm obsessed with Juice Press and, in particular, their Raw Falafel. After much waiting, Juice Press has finally come to Boston!

Read More...

Review: Wink Dessert Dark Chocolate

Tweet

Pin It

There's a new flavor of Wink Frozen Desserts! 

It's Dark Chocolate (aka the best thing ever) and, like all other flavors of Wink Frozen Desserts, is a gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO vegan substitute for traditional ice cream. 

Whether you have an allergy, a plantbased diet, lactose intolerance (guilty), or a diet, Wink's Dark Chocolate Frozen Dessert works for you.

And it's sugar-free, too, for diabetics and health-conscious ice cream lovers alike!

But how does it taste?

I'm all about honesty in my reviews, so I'll tell you right off the bat that it has a much icier consistency than dairy- or most coconut- or soy-based ice creams. Think more along the lines of Italian ice, though not quite. 

If you let it thaw for a few moments, it scoops pretty well.

The chocolate flavor isn't as intense as I'd expect for dark chocolate, as you're probably not surprised to hear, given the relatively light brown color.

That said, it is sweet, without a weird artificial sweetener aftertaste, and it is chocolatey.

Especially if you're planning to make an ice cream sundae or ice cream sandwich out of it, or top it with syrup or other toppings, I seriously doubt you'll miss anything over the sugar, fat, and dairy packed traditional alternative.

If you don't have allergies or intolerances, normal ice cream can fit into a healthy diet as an occassional treat. For something sweet and cold for every day, or that you can eat a pint of without feeling bad, however, this is a great option!

What's your favorite ice cream brand?

What's your favorite ice cream flavor? It's probably cookies and cream or southern praline for me!

What do you look for in an  ice cream? Creaminess, lightness, and lots of mix-ins.

Read More...

December Degustabox Review

Tweet

Pin It

Once again, I can't believe it's already a new month - but I'm thrilled, because it's my favorite month! Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday and so all of December and the holiday season is my favorite time.

Everyone is cheerful and tries a bit harder to be kind. The streets twinkle with bright lights and cheerful decorations. And the air is full of the intoxicating scent of holiday flavors!

I can't wait to get started on my annual Christmastime baking madness, but in the interim, I was really excited to open this month's Degustabox. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know Degustabox is a subscription service that delivers a big box full of full-sized new foods (10-15 of them) to its subscribers. I was hoping for a box full of Christmas-themed and holiday-flavored delights, plus a few things to cook holiday dinner party entrees and sides with or bake Christmas cookies with! 

Here's what I found in the box:

December Degustabox Unboxing

To start, there were no overtly Christmassy products. That was a tiny bit disappointing for me, because I love Advent Calendars, Spekulatias cookies, holiday spiced things, and dark chocolate peppermint bark. But it was probably a decision on their part to honor that not all their customers celebrate Christmas and I respect that. Especially since the products they included can all definitely be used for Christmassy things!

To start:

Wise White Cheddar Popcorn is gluten free, whole grain, air popped, and a smart snacking choice for holiday parties! The season is full of holiday parties and snacks are a must, but it's nice to keep them on the healthier side, so that we don't get sluggish and bloated as the season progresses. These are a happy medium between carrot sticks and greasy chips!

No holiday season is complete without baking, but not everyone is a baker.

These Pillsbury mixes are easy enough for everyone and I like that they're a little more natural - no colors, preservatives, or artificial flavors! That doesn't mean, of course, that buttercream frosted white cake is healthy, but it can be part of a healthy diet. 

It's great that you can use them to make cupcakes, too. It's perfect for non-bakers who want to bake something sweet to bring to a holiday party or the last day of school before break!

If you really can't be trusted in the kitchen (or don't have the time or desire to bake) you're also covered.

Chips Ahoy! Cinnamon Sugar Thins are a new crunchy cookie from our long-beloved Chips Ahoy! They're cinnamony, with delicious white chocolate chips studding them throughout, and are a great thing to bring along to a holiday party. Perfect for when you're invited to a holiday party at the last minute!

If your crowd isn't into sweets, try these whole grain crackers:

Good Thins Oat & Flax are natural crackers where whole grains are the first ingredient! They're low in sugar, free of partially hydrogenated oils (surprisingly common in salty snacks) and free of high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and flavors.

Top them with peanut butter and a chocolate kiss, cream cheese with cranberry jam, hard cheese and cucumber, etc. for an easy party snack. They're also great plain!

If you're looking for a jam for your crackers, look no further.

Smucker's new Fruit & Honey jams, which feature fruit sweetened naturally with honey, are another delicious inclusion in this month's Degustabox. The Strawberry Jalapeno jam is delicious and I love the spicy kick!

I also love that they're sweetened with honey instead of sugar and colored with vegetable juice instead of artificial dyes.

When you're out and about, buying Christmas presents, you'll need some sustenance.

Kala Beans are high in protein - they're roasted fava beans with seasoning and they're delicious!

The Kala Beans are my hands-down favorite in this month's Degustabox.

Speaking of holiday gifts, the Loacker cookies make great gifts for foodies!



That is, if you can bear to part with them. The Coconut flavor is my favorite - creamy milk chocolate and a rich coconut filling layered with crispy cookies!



But what if all the parties, overlapping with the seasonal stress and the fact that it's flu season, end with you in bed with a sore throat?

Ricola lozenges are my favorite when I'm feeling off. I love that they're natural, I love their less-medicinal taste, and I love that these honey herb lozenges do more than just fight your current sore throat - they also support your immune system and help fight against fatigue, so you feel better going forward. It's the perfect offense and defense pairing!

I also always love honey when I'm under the weather.

Honey Acres Honey Straws come in more flavors than I knew honey could come in! I love that they're easy and clean to open - just pinch and pop, no smeary, sticky lids - and perfectly portioned for a sweet pick-me-up or to squeeze into a cup of tea!

And finally, because girl can't live on sweets and holiday cheer alone, there's an Urbane Grain Ancient Grain Blend ready-cup in every Degustabox this month!

I got Beef Burgundy, which is a three-minute pasta and protein meal that you can prepare in just three minutes with a microwave. So easy and convenient!

What are your favorite holiday treats? 

What are you looking forward to the most this holiday season?

Read More...