All in all, I am a proponent of healthy food. With that said, I am also somewhat of a discerning health food foodie – okay – I’m picky. The two-fold problem, which I will own, is A) I am not fond of cooking (anything), nor am I particularly talented at doing so, and B) I don’t enjoy “healthy” food that tastes like cardboard, or even worse – nothing at all. Thankfully, I have found solace in the following tasty, healthy and convenient nature of these natural-inspired foodstuffs.
Toosum – Can I say, Yes’um?! This gluten-free mecca of snack food bars are sans refined sugars, artificial flavors or additives, which is great, but let’s talk about the taste. With only 100-calories per bar, there is zero guilt to be had in indulging in a Cherry & Plum, Cranberry & Acai, Coconut & Banana or Blueberry and Sunflower Seeds snack. Toosum also recently acquired KUTOA Health Co., that has an equally delicious menu of health bars, including my (now) personal favorite, chocolate-banana; non-GMO; gluten/wheat free; vegan; dairy free; all natural; no preservatives; soy or added sugar bar. Put a Toosum or KUTOA bar in your desk, kid’s lunchbox or gym bag and eat it!
RiceSelect Quinoa – Confession: historically, I have referred to quinoa as quin-bla. Not this, quinoa! This quinoa is oo-la-la, particularly the red variety. RiceSelect now offers a red, white and tri-colored quinoa that is both Non-GMO Project Verified and Star K Kosher certified AND, does the RiceSelect Quinoa promise for “crunchier, fluffier and creamier” stand up? It does! As an added plus, RiceSelect offers the noncooks of the world (present company included), with free-web recipes, like yummy Red Quinoa Meatball Sliders. It also comes pre-washed, so thank you RiceSelect, for removing yet another task from my cooking-prep list.
Eureka Tea Services – Although my main allegiance is to coffee, I do relish a fine cuppa on occasion. My fondest memories were sharing a pot of Earl Grey with my Dad feeling my English ancestry seep through those loose tea leaves. Okay, back to the now, where we take a taste of Eureka Organic Tea Series hot teas infused with monk fruit. For those of you not familiar with this particular type of produce (I surely was not), it’s used as a sweetener boasting 300 to 400 times the sweetness of cane sugar without altering blood sugar or imposing any calories. As for taste … delicious. Better yet, the consistency of the monk fruit-sweetened tea is smooth and rich. I’m a particular fan of the Natural Monk Fruit Green Tea. This tea line is a bit on the pricey side, as tea goes, but the quality matches the price and the packaging is perfect – I recommend any of the Eureka samplings as great holiday gifts for tea enthusiasts.
