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Snack on this – eatKeenwa Krunch

March 23, 2014/1 Comment/in Review /by phiggins

When I saw eatKeenwa on Instagram @eatKeenwa, I knew I had to try them. The looked so yummy and wholesome.

I was able to get my hands on samples of Walnut Date Agave and Cinnamon Banana Strawberry. Thanks eat Keenwa!

Disclosure of material connection: eatKeenwa.com provided me with this product to review. All opinions expressed here are completely my own.

eatKeenwa is a great snack for on the go. It’s chewy, crunchy, and satisfying! A serving is 6 nuggets that fits in your hand. Even two servings (or two handfuls) is a reasonable sized snack to keep you going. You’ll want to chew these well to savor the flavor. My favorite is the Cinnamon Banana Strawberry with chunks of dried banana and dried strawberries. The Walnut Date Agave is really tasty too with the delicious taste of walnut complimented by the dates and quinoa.

All varieties are non-GMO, gluten free, high fiber with 5grams per serving, low sodium, soy free and dairy free. It’s a winner in my book!

Check these out asap! You can find them at a variety of retail stores in the Northeast. Find out where exactly by going here: http://eatkeenwa.com/pages/stores

Order directly from http://eatkeenwa.com/ if you cannot find locally. I’m traveling in a few weeks and these will be in my snack bag.

Get your hands on some of these today!

What is your favorite snack for on the go or to stash at your desk at the office?

Fresh and Fabulous Eating at Farmer’s Table

December 29, 2013/in Local, Restaurant, Review /by phiggins

Farmer’s Table in Boca Raton is a new farm to table restaurant located adjacent to the Wyndam Hotel.

I was really excited to check out this restaurant because their focus is on sourcing local ingredients, including grass-fed beef, free-range poultry, and sustainably sourced fresh seafood. Clean eating at its finest and tons of great options for dairy free, gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian.

We arrived at 6:30pm on a Saturday night. My advice is to get a reservations, they were completely booked. We were able to get a table in the bar area, but next time we’ll have reservations for sure.

They have a large variety of wine by the glass or by the bottle. If you enjoy beer, they feature micro brew beers in the bottle and a couple on tap.

The menu is loaded with fresh ingredients, clean proteins, tons of veggies served up in delicious and creative ways to please your palate. You’ll find new favorites here and want to keep coming back to check out every dish on the menu.

We started with drinks and with so many delicious options, it wasn’t easy, but we were both happy with our decisions.

My husband chose the Mad-Hatter cocktail, he really enjoyed the brandy soaked cherries. This is a strong drink so one was all he needed with dinner.

I chose the Beet It Cordial made with Swami cold-pressed juice, pomegranate, and club soda. It was delicious and refreshing!

We decided to try the 19th street short rib tacos for a starter. Quite simply, these were amazing! The beef was tender and juicy with great flavor and topped with crunchy marinated cabbage, pico de gallo, and creamy avocado slices. I could make a meal out of this and a salad. Ordering these are a must when you come to Farmer’s Table!

For dinner, I chose the grass-fed beef burger without a bun to make it gluten free. The burger was delicious and cooked to medium as requested. It came with a wonderful fig jam and cabbage slaw. The soft sweet potato hash was a nice addition. It needed a little sea salt, but I welcome this side instead of the usual French fries most restaurants offer. My husband also got the grass-fed beef burger with bun and cheddar cheese on top. He liked the fig jam spread for the burger and we also requested ketchup and mustard (they have a spicy dijon available only, wish they had regular yellow mustard) on the side.

This was a memorable meal and I cannot wait to check out more of their menu!

Brunch will start in January, this is not to be missed. They also serve breakfast and lunch during the week.

Delicious and high quality food at reasonable prices served up in a nicely decorated and welcoming establishment. I think we found a new favorite!

Farmer’s Table

http://www.farmerstableboca.com/

1901 N. Military Trail (adjacent to Wyndam Hotel)

Boca Raton, FL 33431
info@farmerstableboca.com

P: 561-417-5836

Have you been to Farmer’s Table in Boca Raton? What do you think and what’s your favorite dish there? Please share in the comment below.

Why I Was Doing Shots in Delray Beach

August 21, 2013/2 Comments/in Local, Product, Recipe, Review /by phiggins

(Pictured: My Brother-in-Law Andrew, My Husband Heman, and Me)

New store The Ancient Olive opens up in Delray Beach! Taste several gourmet and organic flavors of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We tried many kinds of wonderful olive oil and balsamic vinegar – now these are the kind of shots I can get excited about! Located on Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach, this is the third store of The Ancient Olive. We were warmly greeted and invited to taste as many flavors as we wanted. A few of my favorites: Cranberry-Pear Balsamic, Espresso Balsamic, Garlic Olive Oil, Persian Lime Olive Oil, Chocolate Balsamic, Blood Orange Olive Oil. So many great flavors!! We sampled a few suggested pairings as well and decided to purchase the Persian Lime Olive Oil and Lavender Balsamic Olive Oil. This flavor combo is particularly great for marinating fish as suggested by shop owners. The deeper flavors of vinegar such as chocolate and espresso are great for marinating steak.

(Pictured: Brother-in-Law Andrew and Future Sister-in-Law Katie)

Katie and Andrew enjoying shots of Cranberry-Pear Balsamic vinegar which they ended up purchasing. This was one of my favorite vinegars too, so good you could just drink it Smile

(Pictured: Andrew, Katie, and Heman)

Several containers filled with lovely olive oil and vinegar to check out!

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Tons of gift options for the cook! They also offer cooking demos and classes, sign up at the front counter for more info.

At home the next day, I was excited to try the new flavor combo we bought:

Organic Persian Lime Olive Oil + Lavender Balsamic Vinegar

We marinated fresh mahi filets in this amazing oil and vinegar combo.

I also sliced up onions from Bedners Farm on 441 to grill along with baby sweet bell peppers.

Heman grilled the fish 18-19 minutes on medium heat on the grill and the veggies for about 15 minutes.

Mahi salad with veggies for me.

Mahi fish tacos for Heman with Organic corn tortillas, cilantro, avocado, and salsa.

Stop in The Ancient Olive on Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach to do some shots of Organic Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar! We will return soon with our empty bottles; receive $1 off purchase when you bring back empty oil and vinegar bottles (way to recycle and reuse!). We’re looking forward to our next flavor combo to bring home and cook with soon!

The Ancient Olive

514 East Atlantic Ave (Across from The Colony Hotel)

Delray Beach, FL 33483

561.266.1099

http://www.theancientolive.com/

https://twitter.com/theancientolive

New From Vitacost.com: SUPER CACAO – Love at First Bite

July 7, 2013/4 Comments/in Beneficial Foods, Review, Vitacost.com /by phiggins

Anyone who knows me knows that I <3 chocolate in a big way! I eat it a couple of times a week, but not just any chocolate will do. I love dark chocolate, milk chocolate doesn’t sit well with my body. Dark chocolate that’s dairy free and 66% or higher. I even love the 90% dark chocolate that’s pretty bitter.

Disclosure of material connection: Vitacost provided me with free samples of these products to review. All opinions expressed here are completely my own.

Vitacost recently introduced their own line of chocolate bars, called Super Cacao, and they set the bar pretty high. These bars start with ultra high quality cacao “handcrafted heirloom Ecuadorian cacao, blended with Madagascar vanilla”, but they don’t stop there. They infuse the bar with botanicals, probiotics, and antioxidants to make it bursting with good for you ingredients. So yes calling it super is pretty accurate!

I was sent the Mandarin Orange and Lemon Ginger, they have a third variety of Coconut. Both I really loved, the Mandarin Orange reminded me of the chocolate oranges I used to get at Christmas in my stocking as a kid. Vitacost’s bar is much higher quality in flavor and ingredients by leaps and bounds. The Lemon Ginger was surprisingly good as I’ve never tasted lemon in chocolate. I’ve had ginger in chocolate before and this was a pleasant twist with the lemon. Both bars were Love At First Bite, I can’t pick a favorite they are both divinely delicious!

Thank you Vitacost for letting me try these amazing bars! They will be on my next Vitacost order for sure Smile

So for a special treat, check them out here:

http://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-super-cacao-mandarin-orange-with-welltrim-ig-66-dark-cacao-1-75-oz-4?csrc=Blogger:TotalHealthCounseling

Check out the Vitacost official video:

http://youtu.be/Gu0mGEs46_U

Nikki’s Coconut Butter: Locally Made Awesome Eats!

May 25, 2013/in Local, Product, Review /by phiggins

Nikki’s Coconut Butter is an amazing new product made locally in Jupiter, FL. I was given the opportunity to try it out for myself and share with you this new tasty delight.

Disclosure of material connection: Nikki’s Coconut Butter provided me with a free sample of their product to review. All opinions expressed here are completely my own.

Coconut is all the rage these days, coconut oil is now widely available in a variety of products for both eating and for topical beauty products. Why is that? Coconut is made up of medium chain fatty acids which are metabolized by the body differently than saturated animal fats. Medium chain fatty acids are not stored as fat, but used readily as energy by the body. This doesn’t mean you can eat unlimited amounts, but it is better for you than saturated fats. Read this article for more reasons to crack open a coconut. It’s also rich and creamy, who doesn’t love that, both for eating and skin care.

Nikki’s Coconut Butter is made with Organic Coconut, Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Honey, Vanilla, and Salt. A 2 Tablespoon serving is about 200 calories, 19 grams of fat, 43 mg Sodium (very low), 3 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein. I tried the Vanilla Cake Batter flavor, it’s creamy and quite filling. Delish on just about anything, even plain with a spoon Winking smile

There are 5 total flavors: Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie, Honey Pecan Pie, Macadamia Nut Cookie, Midnight Mocha, and Vanilla Cake Batter (pictured below).

I love the Vanilla Cake Batter, I can’t wait to try them all!!

Breakfast bowl of cooked millet with ground flax seed, dried fruit and yummy Vanilla Cake Batter. Nikki’s Coconut Butter added a special touch to my breakfast, delish!!

All I could think of was making some type of dessert, even though it’s so delicious straight out of the jar.

Recipe – 2 servings

Coco Chia Pudding:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Nikki’s Coconut Butter

1/2 cup unsweet applesauce (or small ripe banana)

2 T. cocoa powder

1 T. chia seeds

Method:

1. Melt Nikki’s Coconut Butter in microwave to soften 30-45 seconds in a microwave safe bowl.

2. Stir in applesauce, cocoa powder, and chia seeds until well combined.

3. Let stand 5 minutes to allow chia seeds to expand and thicken up pudding.

4. Place in 2 small servings dishes and share with a friend!

Nikki’s Coconut Butter

http://www.nikkiscoconutbutter.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/NikkisCoconutButter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoconutNikki

Order online or locally at Cross Fit Palm Beach or local Cross Fit events in Palm Beach Florida

Made locally in Jupiter, FL!!