Review & Giveaway: NatureBox

A while back, I reviewed NatureBox.  After that review, I subscribed... and I've been enjoying the monthly snacks ever since.

My August NatureBox just arrived.  The theme of this month's snacks are "Snacks From Around the World."  What a lovely cornucopia of treats!

Picture courtesy NatureBox

There are Bombay Curried Cashews, an exotic tasting mix of cashews, walnuts, almonds, flame raisins (that's a new one to me!), dried cranberries, dried apple pieces, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and a curry spice. 

Next are Dried Fancy Figs.  They are whole dried figs, stem and all.  The package says to "remove the stem before enjoying the figs."  I will likely use them in baking.  They smell fantastic.

Picture courtesy NatureBox

The Far East Rice Crackers are likely something you've seen before.  They are totally yummy.  I have a hard time keeping this kind of mix around.  I just gobble it up.  Because it is from NatureBox, I know that it is free of HFCS, Partially hydrogenated oils, trans fats, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, and artificial colors.  It would be tough to get that kind of guarantee from your local Asian market.

The Mexicana Mangoes are simply fantastic.  I want to chop them up and use them in recipes.  That is, if I don't finish them off before that happens... they are fresh tasting and thinly sliced dried mangoes.  Mmmmmm.

Picture courtesy NatureBox

Finally, the Maui Onion Crunch are Maui onion flavored sliced almonds.  My favorite potato chips are Sweet Maui Onion chips from Deep River Snacks.  These have the same flavor, but in a much healthier form.  Yum yum yum.

Through the months that I have had my NatureBox subscription, I have received some seriously wonderful snacks.  Most months have some sort of granola mix, some sort of dried fruit, some sort of spiced nut, and/or some sort of trail mix.

A note:  NatureBox does not currently offer boxes that are specialized to different dietary needs.  If you have nut allergies or the like, they are not a good fit for you at this point.  They say that some of these things are in the pipeline.

Want a chance to win a sample box of your very own?  Enter below using Rafflecopter!  I will pick one random winner after entries close on August 28th, and then the good people at NatureBox will send you your very own NatureBox.  You will likely be getting the September box, which will have different snacks than I have reviewed here.  That's part of the fun of NatureBox - the surprise!
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Don't want to wait to see if you win?  Eager to subscribe?  Use the coupon code REFER25 to get 25% off your first month!  (The normal price for Naturebox is $19.95/month).  Also, don't forget to like Naturebox on Facebook, because they are constantly updating with cool recipes, ideas, and delicious foods.

Good luck!

Disclaimer:  I pay for my own NatureBox subscription, but the prize box will be provided by the good folks at Naturebox.  I was in no way compensated for this post, and the opinions are all my own.

Recipe: Sausage & Veggie Pasta

My parents have a big garden, and they let me have some of the spoils.  So, when I went out to my parents' house this past weekend, I came back home with a nice pile of veggies.  I got fresh tomatoes, kale, and rainbow chard.... and oh, how delicious in pasta!

Daddy and I brought some leftovers for lunch.

Everyone loved this, and I hope that you give it a try. 

I was recently sent some Dreamfields pasta to try out (and though I received the pasta free, I was in no other way compensated), and so I used it in this dish.  A note - though the pasta claims to have only 5g of "digestible" carbs, and says it is perfect for diabetics, I think they might mean Type 2 diabetics.  We counted the full amount of carbs in the pasta to dose The Boy's insulin, and his blood sugar was perfect afterwards.  I shudder to think what counting only 5g would have done to his blood sugars.  I'm not saying it is false advertising, because it says no where on their box or website or other literature that I could find that it was recommendations for type 1 or type 2 diabetes... and the pasta *was* very delicious, so I would buy it again.  I just wanted to let other carb-counting Type 1 diabetic parents out there know what I found for The Boy.

This recipe is based on one I found on Allrecipes. 

Sausage & Veggie Pasta

3 large tomatoes, chopped
1 lb sweet Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
4 c washed and coarsely chopped rainbow chard and kale (a mixture, or either, whatever you have)
2 c chopped baby portabello mushrooms
1 onion, diced
2-4 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
1 box whole wheat penne pasta
1/2 c mozarella cheese (I used 5 cheese sticks, chopped)
1/4 c parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Line two large sheet pans in foil (if you don't have large sheet pans, use roasting pans).  On one, place the tomatoes and the sausage.  Toss the tomatoes with about 1 Tbsp olive oil and the balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with half the salt.

On the other pan, place the greens, mushrooms, and onion.  Toss with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining salt.

Roast the tomatoes and sausage for about 40 minutes, and the other veggies for about 15-20 minutes.  Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions and drain, reserving 1/2 c of the cooking water.

When the sausage is done roasting, chop coarsely.  Mix all the roasted vegetables and the sausage in with the pasta, the reserved pasta water, and the cheese.  Bake in a large pot, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the top is slightly browned.

Giveaway: All Things For Sale WINNER!!!

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Congratulations, Kristi!  I'll send you an email to get your information to send over to All Things For Sale so they can ship your prize right out.  Enjoy!

I'll have another review & giveaway coming soon!

 

Review & Giveaway: All Things For Sale!

I have another great giveaway coming your way this week!

All Things For Sale, a great bento supply site, has provided me with some products for review, and then one lucky reader will win the same set!

Image courtesy AllThingsForSale

I received this awesome silicone food cup set in the the shape of cherries, an orange, and a peapod and I think I am in love.  They are utterly adorable... a little small, maybe, but I'll find things to put in them!

Image courtesy AllThingsForSale

Also, I got this set of covered silicone dressing containers  - they are not leak proof, but do a fine enough job if things don't get too jostled.

Image courtesy AllThingsForSale

And lastly, I was given these great 3-d animal picks.  I love their little faces - and they also have tails!  The kids are going to flip over them.

Cute accessories make packing fun lunches so much easier!

Want a chance to win these accessories for your very own?

Trying Rafflecopter again!

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Please be sure to enter via the Rafflecopter widget, so that your entry counts.

Disclaimer:  I am an All Things For Sale affiliate, and also received these products for review free of charge.  All opinions are my own.  I was in no other way compensated for this review and giveaway.  

Lunches for an Outing: 8.11.12

The weather was again not conducive to hiking (again... *sigh*), so we went on a nice little touristy trip to the Cabot Cheese Factory and a great museum called the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium.  On the way back, we stopped at the Vermont State House, but it isn't open on weekends, so we couldn't go in...

We had lovely lunches for the outing.  We had egg salad in baguettes, Olympic ring cheese crackers, strawberries and clementines (The Boy had some dried peaches from Naturebox, because he isn't a clementine fan), a homemade marshmallow and a small piece of dark chocolate.

Do you have any tourist destinations nearby that you haven't visited with your family?

Often, they make for a lovely adventure.  Sometimes a delicious one.

Giveaway: MOMables - WINNER!

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Congratulations, Tammy!  I will get your information to the wonderful people at MOMables, so you can get started with your subscription.  Thank you to everyone who entered, and keep your eyes open - I've got more giveaways in the pipeline!

Recipe: Garden Vegetable Skillet Potatoes

We happened to have some leftover fresh cut french fries from a dinner out the other night, and the kids were clamoring for breakfast for dinner, so I decided to make some skillet potatoes to go with scrambled eggs.
 

I have to say, I am so thrilled with these Garden Vegetable Skillet Potatoes, I can't wait to make them again.  The Boy was planning out when we could make them again - he's thinking next Tuesday.  I guess that makes them a hit.

Garden Vegetable Skillet Potatoes

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 c chopped yellow squash (approximately half a small squash)
1 1/2 c chopped zucchini (approximately half a small zucchini)
2 c chopped potatoes, or if possible thick cut home fries
1 Tbsp Montreal steak seasoning (to taste)
salt, to taste

Melt olive oil and butter together in a large skillet.

Saute onion and garlic until softened (about 5 minutes).

Stir in the yellow squash and zucchini and cook on medium heat for 5 additional minutes. 

Add the chopped potatoes (or french fries) and saute about 10 minutes (or until potatoes are cooked through, if using raw potatoes), stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle in the seasoning in the final minutes of cooking, and then serve.