Snackbox Review and Coupon Code!

As a Registered Dietitian, I advocate for whole foods snacks. Foods that are ingredients rather than lists of ingredients. But honestly, there are times that even the most organized of us needs to eat something from a package. In fact, when I conduct grocery store tours, I dive right into the centre aisles with their packaged goods, armed with a list of healthy parameters to guide my clients.

Enter, Snackbox. This is a Canadian company based in Vancouver. They deliver a box of delicious, healthier snacks monthly. The package arrived two days after confirming it was coming.

And how fun would it be to receive this each month??

A few of the items weren't new to me. And some items fell more into the treat category, vs the healthy snack category. But it only comes once a month, and they were definitely healthier treats. And everyone deserves a couple treats a month!

We've tried most everything now, and here's what I am loving about Snackbox...

There was a card with info on each product, price, where to buy. There was even a recipe for the Arora Creations Gobi Spice to make crispy chickpeas. (The recipe on the package is for a delicious sounding cauliflower curry, but the chickpeas sound more snacky).

Larabar- love them. All natural ingredients, fruit and nuts, that's it. I recommend them to clients and they're great to have on hand when hunger strikes. They taste great.

True Nature- another great bar. They meet the parameters I give for granola bars, with 7g protein and 8g or fewer of sugar. They fell 1 g short in fibre minimums (I recommend at least 4g), but 1 g is easy to make up in a healthy day!  They taste great too.

The La Fourmi fruit and nut medley was outstanding. Dried strawberries, cranberries, blueberries and goji berries, dark chocolate and almonds. Half the bag counts as a serve and there weren't enough almonds for RD Kelly, so I would cut it with a handful of almonds and stretch it to 3 servings, but it was delicious and all natural!

My Smoothie was good too. It was supposed to be green, but I guess I ordered later in the month so I got a berry one. It was chunky, full of real fruit and very tasty. I'd love to try the green! The side of the package had a cute graphic showing how much of each fruit it contained.

Enerjive Skinny Quinoa crackers are literally skinny, not calorically. Good ingredients, great taste and crunch. But be careful! Three are over 100 calories and I could eat the entire package! They're gluten free.

There were also dried pears (yum, and just pears!) My kids thought they tasted like vanilla. They are really buttery. Loved them.

An iced green tea came with my box, it was supposed to be a juice infused tea, which I'd be interested in trying, but it still looks good. Just green tea.

The Sensible portions veggie chips are tasty. I consider them more of a healthy treat because they don't really add nutrients to your diet. But they also don't add a bunch of unwanted things to your diet, so they're a good go-to when you need some crunch with you sandwich and salad!

Same with the pirates booty cheese puffs.

Finally, there was a decadent Toffee Coconut Dark Chocolate from Cocolico. Very tasty, rich, a hint of buttery toffee and a touch of sea salt. It's satisfying with just a couple squares, I'm all for this being part of your life!

Try out GetSnackBox.com, you can do 1 month, 3 months, or 6 months. Use the coupon code OkanaganRD to get $15 off your first snackbox! Coupon expires December 31st, 2013.

A warming breakfast

I'm not over pumpkin yet. Seems the rest of the internet is moving on, but not me. Monday was cold and wet in Kelowna, and mornings are dark. So it was lovely to wake up to pumpkin pie millet. Because breakfast is a big deal around here, I sugared up a few nuts and seeds to top it.

 

1/2 cup millet

1/2-3/4 cup pumpkin purée

1/2 cup apple juice

1 1/2 cups water

Dash salt

Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves as desired (a dash of each works well).

Cook on low overnight. Serve topped with milk of choice and nuts and seeds. 

I tossed a bunch of nuts and seeds in a fry pan with a bit of brown sugar and a pinch of salt. The sugar wasn't melting, so I sprinkled a bit of water in, which did the trick.

Creating an Allergy?

With all the clean eating I've been doing, and the healthy diet we follow 90% of the time, I have noticed when I indulge in something processed, something is happening. My throat feels bumpy and puffy for about a day after. I first noticed this during the summer. I was craving corn chips, Fritos to be exact. Not flavoured Fritos, just the old school curled corn chips. But the next day, I noticed the throat thing. It didn't happen again for a while, and then it happened with a "natural" snack. They were corn twists, with only corn, salt, oil and nutritional yeast as the ingredients.

Lately, it has been happening more frequently. I can't pinpoint what it is from exactly. But it doesn't happen when I eat unprocessed, whole foods.

I did a little research to see if there is anything on causing an allergy, but guess what? That's the million dollar question. If we could figure out how an allergy is caused, we could also figure out how to prevent it.

Because mine hasn't been life threatening, and because avoiding processed foods isn't a bad thing, I'm just going to observe and see what happens for now, making note of what I ate the day it happens. Anyone else notice anything like this?

Updates

So I'm in the midst of two more 30 day challenges. This one http://pipersrun.com/2013/05/30/30-day-arm-challenge-are-you-up-for-it/ this on http://30dayfitnesschallenges.com/classes/30-day-abs-challenge/#_

They are crazy difficult! I've decided it will take closer to 60 days as I build more gradually, and take more time off between.

I finished my green smoothie challenge with a bang, enjoying apples, ginger, lemon and greens. I often throw in an unfinished carrot my kids leave behind. Also enjoyed vegetable rich soups, purée ing any leftover roasted vegetables, rice, tomatoes, peppers....whatever.

And I'll leave you with this Pumpkin Smoothie:

1cup milk of choice

1/2 cup puréed pumpkin

Handful of pecans

Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves as desired

A couple of dates, for sweetness

Ice

It was amazing!

Halloween

I'm a dietitian, I try eat well most of the time and too much candy makes my kids insane. But guess what? I'm not against Halloween! In fact, I love it! Despite the fact that my older son recently whined "I only get homemade candy! I just want something from a box!", candy is actually part of our lives. My kids will go from supper, to dessert, and back to their broccoli.

Halloween is a fun tradition and I think one of the best times to teach kids how to navigate our world of processed and high sugar foods. Start the night with a healthy, but favourite, supper. Don't make a big deal about it, or demand all the vegetables be eaten. Just enjoy supper together, talking about the fun night ahead. 

For parents of young children, control the number of houses you visit. That automatically controls how much candy you collect. Giving candy out is just as fun for young kids. That night, don't really sweat how much candy they eat. I believe restricting it, forcing them to choose just one etc. is just going to make them want it more. Sort the candy, have a few pieces and then pack it away, brush their teeth, and head to bed. You can even offer a healthy bedtime snack like an apple if they are hungry.

For older kids, start the evening the same way. Then, they may go out for a while, but put a reasonable time limit on it. Cut off at 8:00 pm or so. Then end the night the same way, offering up a healthy bedtime snack and heading to bed.

Teens shouldn't be trick or treating anymore!! Offer up other fun ways to celebrate Halloween. A party, or dressing up and making the house spooky for younger kids. They can still have candy that night, don't feel sad for them!

Adults? Don't buy too much candy. Don't buy a lot of your favourites, although a small amount can be fun while you're handing candy out. Get more generous as the night progresses! And don't buy discount candy afterwards!

Treat Halloween as a fun, one off kind of night! Don't buy snack size chocolate bars all year. There is far too much focus on good or bad foods, and that feeling of trying to deprive ourselves generally leads to over-indulging. 

Want more info on feeding kids? Visit www.RaiseHealthyEaters.com

Eating in Seattle!

After a wonderful long weekend in Seattle, we've had a crazy busy week to follow it up. My parents left at 7:45 Wednesday morning, and the little boys and I had a few minutes to compose ourselves and start the day. An hour after my parents drove away, the four of us were in separate places and the week had begun. Thankfully it was Wednesday and the weekend came up fast. My younger son is sick today, and although I may be a bad mum for admitting, the down time today has been great! I do feel sad for him though...

 

Greg and I ate like kings in Seattle. There are so many fresh, plant based, local restaurants around, it was hard to choose. But we researched like scientists before going, poring over menus, strategizing...I often agonize over what to order, and then make a mistake and end up wanting something else, and Greg always orders perfectly. So on this trip I turned all my ordering over to Greg, we even shook on it. And it was fun to surrender and allow him to make the decision for me.

 

Day One, after the drive and outlet mall, we hit up the Wayward Vegan, for plant based diner food and generous portions. I had the vegetarian ribs, with a side of sweet potato fries and garlicky greens. Greg had Pull no Pork over the greens. It must've been 2 cups of kale on my plate, and I counted it towards my green smoothie challenge, I couldn't fit in anything more. We worked out in the hotel gym and walked a lot that night.

 

Day two, we had granola and coconut yogurt in our room before heading out for a run around Green Lake. Getting lost forced me to do a 15km run, but in the end I was thankful. We had coffee in "Tangle Town" (aptly named, and the reason I got lost) before some shopping and walking. Then headed to Chaco Canyon Café for some more great food!

 

I stuck to the Green Smoothie challenge as able, or at least ate greens a lot.

The delicious "Hippie Bowl" for me, and a steamed green salad for Greg, topped with tofu.

Not to be missed, although I was full. A doughnut shop that has taken all the garbage out of doughnuts using whole, plant based ingredients. Still high in calories, but it's good to support companies doing things "right"!

My raspberry doughnut. Fresh raspberries in the icing. I couldn't eat the whole thing, but made sure to eat all the icing!

 

We headed out for another run, I managed 6 km along the ocean. Then it was supper. We made this our fancy meal, "The Plum Bistro", where I had Tempeh Vermouth, with Brussels Sprouts and Mashed Potatoes. Greg had the Mama Africa salad, over millet (whooo, one of my fave grains!) The water was full of cucumber and lemons and ice cold.

 

Day three, we were feeling a little food logged. We ran after having breakfast in the room, and then decided a light coffee and muffin "lunch" was more than enough. Another workout in the hotel gym and walking all day (over 10km of walking), we were ready for supper. Thrive serves up healthy, organic and local food. And we had an amazing supper. Warm grain bowls, topped with kale chips and "bella burger" crumbles. Loaded with vegetables and served over quinoa and red rice. It was amazing.

Our last meal out was breakfast on the final day. Another run along the ocean, then off to Portage Bay Café. They have a breakfast bar and after your order comes, you load it up with local organic berries, organic whipped cream and shaved almonds. It was beyond amazing. We both ordered the whole wheat, oat and huckleberry pancakes. Then topped it with mounds of delicious berries! Sadly, it was so delicious, I didn't get a shot of it! Just the breakfast bar... sorry.

Not to be missed, Molly Moon ice cream. They use local, organic ingredients and had a few coconut milk options. I don't actually recall which day we managed to squeeze dessert in, but we did! We walked all night every night too.

Weekend in Seattle!

We're heading to Seattle this weekend, without the kids. There's always worry for a mum leaving her kids for any stretch of time, but Greg and I are going to eat and walk our way through another city and the boys are in good hands. My parents flew in for the weekend to stay with them. Everyone is excited, which takes away any guilt!

Greg and I usually create bootcamp style weekends, with double daily workouts, lots of great food, and walking non-stop between. It's a great way to see a new city and make room for the eating we'll do!

Stay tuned for my adventures!