Golden Berries Review

I want to introduce you to one of my new favorite treats!

A few weeks ago the people at ISUPERFOODS (Canadian version of Navitas Naturals sent me a package full of goodies!
When I saw that they had sent me GOLDEN BERRIES I was so excited, I’ve always wanted to try them!

I immediately ripped opened the package and tossed a couple in my mouth – YUM! 

They are chewy, tangy, seedy and bursting full of sweet/sour flavor!

Then it was over – they called my name for the next few days.  I heard them “ Jessica, we’re delicious AND nutritious, come eat me!!”  ha ha…


Needless to say the bag is gone, and I will be placing my order very soon!   I made a few other people test them out and they all loved them too!!  Every single person said “oooh tangy” haha…
I should have placed bets!

Check out the website (see above) for more info, and I HIGHLY recommend you ordering them, if you want a quick, tangy snack! Plus they have lots of other fun "superfood" snacks on there website too!!
I may be ordering a few fun things!! 
Please remember I do not get paid for this review – The products were sent to me from the company for free – and the review is 100% my honest opinion! 

Don’t forget about my GIVEAWAY  - it’s peanut butter/coconut deliciousness!!
Remember you can enter even if you don't have a blog - just submit a comment under NAME/URL! 

Ciao for now,
Jess

Dave’s Cold Brew Coffee!

So a few weeks ago, when Dave and I were doing our gift registry, we found this interesting contraption.  It a cold brewing coffee maker.   Dave found the whole idea of it very interesting…


Fast forward to yesterday he came home excited with some yummy starbucks coffee that he sweet talked the baristas into grinding for him, and he decided to test our a method he read about online!

Cold Brewed Coffee!

Step 1 – Place 1 lb of your favorite ground coffee into a large container.
Step 2 – Add 9 cups of water (not hot or cold, just room temperature) and stir gently.
Step 3 – Cover and let sit for 12 – 24 hours – The longer you let it sit, the stronger it will become.
Step 4 – Strain coffee through a filter (note, do not use a bodium, for some reason it EXPLODED all over our whole house!!

The end result?  Delicious coffee extract that you can store in your fridge for up to two weeks!   And apparently it’s about .20 cents per glass!!

Now what to do with it?!?!  Pour a little (about 1:3 ratio coffee to water) coffee extract into a cup and fill with boiled water or steamed milk… Volia – delicious non acidic coffee!!

The part I love about it, if you want it a bit weaker, just add a wee bit more water!!  
I see this being a great thing for summer, iced coffees, super easy and you don’t have to run your coffee maker every morning!

I am not a huge coffee drinker, but I had some this morning and it was fantastic!!  

It also gave me an opportunity to test out a new product that was sent to me by http://www.isuperfoods.ca/, which is the Canadian version of http://www.navitasnaturals.com/

Palm Sugar

Here are some details of palm sugar courtesy of Navitasnaturals

Navitas Naturals Palm Sugar is made from the sun-kissed sweet juice of the tropical coconut palm sugar blossoms. Once the nectar is collected, it is kettle-boiled into a thick caramel, dried, and ground into a fine crystalized powder. Our Palm Sugar is 100% organic, vegan, kosher, gluten-free, and sustainably-grown.

Did they say CARAMEL???

I didn’t add enough to taste an overwhelming amount of caramel, but I really liked the flavor!!  It was sweet, but not too sweet and had a really rich flavor.   Have you tried Palm Sugar yet?

Thank you for the sample… and please keep your eyes open for my upcoming review of the other products I received from this company!!  Here’s a sneak preview – lots of fun stuff!!

Before I get going...  2 things for all of you!

I read this FANTASTIC blog that I think all of you should check out!  http://www.spicebalance.com/ 
They are always creating yummy meals!! 


They also sell spices here http://www.spicesinc.com/ 
I am in the process of figuring out my order to them right now, they have AMAZING spices that I haven't seen anywhere else!    Ps.  they didn't ask me to give a shout out to their blogs, I just really enjoy reading them!!


  Question for all of you!!!

I would LOVE to hear what you would like to see more of on DAIRY FREE BETTY? 
I have just been doing very random posts, and have been enjoying this, but is there something you are interested in?!?!   Would you prefer just hearing about what I eat every day? What recipes I make/create?  Or is everyone happy with my randomness?? haha…

Have a great day…  must run… left over sushi is calling my name!!

xo Jessica

“Get Peeled”

Haha..  Did that catch your attention?!   
Good now read my review of these yummy new treats!

BUT FIRST!   HOW AWESOME WAS THAT GAME LAST NIGHT?!?! 

It definitely made me proud to be Canadian!!

Ok... bragging done...

The fabulous people over at “Peeled Snacks” sent me some samples of their treats!

Apple-2-the-core, Cherry-go-round, Apricot-a-lot, Much-ado-about-Mango and Pine-4-pineapple!

As soon as I got these yummy treats I checked out their website to see what the deal was,

Here is what I found; (taken from the website)

Real Food Philosophy!
We keep our snacks as close to natural as possible by using high quality ingredients. When you bite into a juicy piece of fruit or a crunchy nut, you'll wonder why anyone would want to add sugar or fat. We've had enough of seeing high fructose corn syrup and other artificial fillers in the foods we buy. Many companies try to save money by using less natural ingredients and replacing them with sugars and fats. At Peeled Snacks, however, using premium ingredients is NOT something on which we're willing to compromise.

First off, who doesn’t love a company that is not willing to compromise quality!  YES! 
Plus no extras – double YES!

I quickly opened a bag and got started!
of course I chose Mango first – I love Mangos!

These were sweet, a bit crunchy and full of MANGOLICIOUS flavor! 
(by the way, mangolicious did not get picked up by my spell checker!)

They tasted super fresh too (double score!).  I buy dried mango all the time in the bulk food section and they have never tasted like this!  WOOT!

Guess what the ingredients were?   Organic Mango and that’s all folks!
And the whole bag - which was a good snackable size was only around 140 calories (sorry I don't have the exacts anymore)

I moved through all the flavours over the past few weeks and discovered they are the perfect snack for in class (which is why you have to excuse me for not taking pictures of each of them!)

Every flavour was fantastic!  They all tasted clean and fresh!

MUCH to my surprise – my absolute favorite were the APRICOTS! 
(I’ve always enjoyed apricots, but never more than mango or pineapple!) 

They almost tasted like caramel!  
I actually shed a tear when the bag was done (I kid, I kid)

The #1 spot was followed VERY closely by the cherries!!  They were tart and chewy and I’m sure chocked full of great antioxidants (since they were so dark and mysterious!)

The only one that I wasn’t a fan of was the apple flavor.
That being said, I usually only enjoy dried apples if they are crispy and the peeled snack ones are more chewy.

Now guess what!  These snacks are all available at STARBUCKS!! Yayyyyyyy Starbucks! (finally have some healthy dairy free snacks for me and you!!)

You can also order them on their website and if you want to get up close and personal, you can even follow them on TWITTER!

Thank you PEELED snacks – I am a huge fan!!

Now just for the record – I will always 100% give you an honest review of any products that I review.  I am not getting anything for this review (well except the free products I received to review!)!  I will tell you the good, the bad or the ugly!  That’s my promise to you!

 
I hope you enjoyed this review, I have a few more that must be done soon!  

Let me know if you have tried these products and which is your fav!?!?

A post of reviews!

First off.  If I have not convinced you to read this yet, you must Nella’s story.  It is hands down the most touching story I have ever read.  If you are a mother, even better. 

Grab a tissue, close the door, turn up the sound (the music makes it even better)  I don’t ask you to do much, but I am asking you to read this, it will change your life! :)

Ok onto the reviews! 

Remember awhile ago with Mighty Leaf tea’s sent me a whole wack of samples… 
the tropical green tea was my favourite…
until now…

I love mint tea, but this flavour was out of this world! 
It’s super sweet and minty – amazing totally worth the price, best mint tea I have had hands down!
PS. Remember you can order their teas online here!

Ok.. next review! 

The lovely folks at GO GOOD sent met about $50 worth of coupons the other day! 
I was sooooo excited as I LOVE their products! 

When I became dairy free my first thought was “NO MORE ICE CREAM”
I’m pretty sure I HEARD my heart break and shatter into a million pieces – as a life with no ice cream, is a life not worth living!  I kid, I kid, but let’s be honest, it would be pretty sad!

Enter So Good  Butterscotch Swirl…

A M A Z I N G on so may levels.

First off here are the stats

Not too bad really?! 

And then (da da daaaaaaaaaa) there is the butterscotch…

that swirl is truly one of the wonders of this world (well a dairy free world at least)

This ice cream is amazing.  All of their flavours are amazing.

I hardly notice a difference from regular ice cream,
even the price (around $6) isn’t too bad!  11/10 in my humble opinion! :)
Even if you are not dairy free, but ice cream upsets your stomach, give this a try,
I’m sure you will loveeeeee it!! :)

While I try to not have too much soy intake in my life
I have spend the week with a spoon, freezer open eating soy ice cream like a mad women.

I tried out one of SO GOOD’s (So good and so nice are the same company) other products!

I have to be honest, I was sceptical, because over Christmas I tested out SO NICE Egg Nog, and I ended up returning it to the store because it was so bad tasting (I’m pretty sure it had gone bad)
Caramel Macchiato
Stats…
Not the best pic sorry…

I have to say I really enjoyed this stuff.  It tastes like a starbucks drink a bit watered down (which is good in my opinion as starbucks drinks are SOOO sweet). 

I tested it out hot and cold and enjoyed both.  

I give it about a 8/10. 
That being said, I don’t think I would buy it again, only because I’m a water/tea drinker, with the occasional almond milk mixed in, and don’t feel a need for another sweetish drink, but for a special occasion for sure!

Well there you go! 
My reviews for the day, I hope you enjoyed and I hope that you test these products out for yourself, their website is super fantastic too!!  Check it out!

I will be hosting a (RAW) giveaway in the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled!! :)
xo Jess

Ok… maybe I’ve been cooking a wee bit…

Hey guys, 

Thanks again for all the feel better comments. 

It’s amazing how much you take little things like standing and getting up and down for granted, until you don’t have that option!   I am still really sore BUT it’s much better than the last few days!!

Yesterday morning started off great!   
Dave finally got his Christmas present – if you were following me on twitter then you know that the company I ordered it from, told me the day before Christmas that they forgot to order it!! EEK!

I snapped a few photos of course!

Yay, he was soo happy!!  

I also had some stuff over the last few days that were yummy!

A great veggie sandwich on delicious foccacia bread!

More thai food!!  Lemon Grass Chicken! So yum!

Green Monster in a bowl – covered in coconut, gogi berries, chocolate nibs and macca powder!

Then the doorbell rang again with a fantastic package!

I contacted the people at Mighty Teas and asked them for  free samples!! 
They were happy to send them out, I think I got one of each flavor!!

It was hard to choose my first flavor as there were SO many yummy sounding ones.
I started off with the Orange Dulce -  soo good!

I love these teas as they come in beautiful little silk tea bags!

See that bright light in the background?  That’s sunshine.  Something I haven’t seen in a long long time!

Next up I tried this flavor

Chocolate Mint Truffle – yes please!

These teas are amazing 

They are a little expensive, about $10 for a box
(but let’s be honest, we all spend $5 for one Starbucks drink)
but they are really worth the $$
and they are so beautiful that it’s like a special treat!
 
My favorite so far is the Green Tea Tropical – which I always get at a restaurant I go to!

Go to their website and check them out!!
You can buy them there, and they have lots of beautiful teapots and tea accessories as well!!

I will continue to review the flavors as I go!!

That’s all from here today.  Thanks again for all your get better comments, you guys are super sweet!

I made some more raw energy balls the day before I hurt my back, with a full picture tutorial!!  So I will post (and hopefully inspire you) later!
xo Jessica

EA Sports Active for the Wii - Review

  

Hey guys,

I thought I’d do a quick review on the new game I got for Christmas for the Wii
It’s called EA SPORTS ACTIVE – Personal Trainer

I am LOVING it so far!

I have done 5 workouts so far and I think it’s great
You start off choosing a male or female trainer
and decide if you want to do a 30 day challenge (20 workouts)
or just a day to day workout.
. I chose to do the 30 day challenge, as I needed a jump start to my fitness routine.
You get a daily choice of a easy, moderate or hard workout
Isn’t my trainer cute?  hehe

It is compatible with your Wii Balance Board, but could easily do without!

You can choose your music (which all sounds the same to me)

Then it puts together a workout for you, you can choose if you want to do the activities or not
(you can also skip activities while working out if you need to)

 

It keeps track of your progress and your estimated calories burned

Before each exercise it gives you an optional video to guide you through the exercises.

And you get to create your character, and she(or he) moves along with you! 

Doesn’t she look like me?? hehe

PROS

-It encourages you to take a rest every 2 days.
-Lots of options for activities
-It gets your heart rate up
-Great explanation of each activity
-Love being able to do it in the comfort of home!!
-My arms, abs and A$$ (the 3 A’s) are feeling the burn after 5 workouts.

CONS

-Not impressed with the exercise strap they send with it.  I subbed my own personal one… the one provided makes the exercises way to easy.
-If you don't do the exercises perfect (or move during the rest period) it pauses (for forever) and lets you know you are doing it wrong.
-Lunges are included almost every day (ok not such a bad thing, except my booty hurts – bad )
-The cute personal trainer is a cheeseball when it comes to all the comments he makes – inspirational the first 2 times you hear it, after that, you want to punch him in the face – Would be nice if they had a option to turn off his voice!

All in all, I really think it’s fantastic – it’s worth the money, plus it’s fun and you do feel the burn.  
Maybe not recommended to extreme weight lifters, but good for toning the fit to not so fit crew!

Let me know if you give it a shot!

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