Battle Of The Mason Jar Lids!

Today is a review and comparison on Cuppow, Ecojarz and Simply Straws. Many of you wanted a comparison to decide which brand is right for you! Lets get started!

First up we have Cuppow! Cuppow was the first brand that I tried out. I love the plastic sippy cup style of their lids. It's super easy to just screw onto the top and go. They don't make an option for straws. I really like the flow on the cuppows. Also they are the easiest to clean of the three. I think this is great if you're not into the straws. Great for kids. They also won't rust. 

$7.99 for one lid

Second up is Ecojarz. Ecojarz is another great option. The lid is made of silicone so it is a rubbery feeling. You can use them with the stainless steel straw or without. If I am using ecojarz I prefer to use the straw. I like the flow of cuppow better than ecojarz when I don't use a straw. They also make little straw cleaners for their straws. I definitely like this company. The only thing I can say is that even though the straw cleaner is great I wish I could see through to make sure I have no green smoothie still lingering in the straw. They also make a stainless steel version of the silicone lid.

$5.99 Silicone Lid

$7.99 Stainless Steel

4 pack Straws $9.95

Regular sized colored straw

Last but not least is Simply Straws. I love Simply Straws. There is something about that glass straw that I really like. Simply Straws make clear or colored glass straws. They make large and regular size.  Bent or Straight. You can buy just the straws or you can buy the lids that the straws fit into. They also sell the mason jar with handles (as do ecojarz) I love that when you clean the straws you can see that they are really clean. The only thing I will say is that if they are for kids maybe go with the Ecojarz steel straws so they can't accidentally drop and break them. But I suppose if you can giving them a mason jar to drink from you aren't worried about that.

Large size colored straw

Prices vary depending on size, color and shape.

I like all of these brands! I hope I gave you an idea of switch direction to go. Whichever you decide you will be happy with! Happy sipping!

www.cuppow.com

www.ecojarz.com

www.simplystraws.com

Rickaroons

The wonderful people at Rickaroons sent me over some of their yummy products to try! I'm a big dessert person so I was very excited to try these out. Rickaroons are organic, vegan and gluten free macaroons. They are only baked for 10 minutes. 

Megaroon

The ingredients in these Rickaroons are really great. They consist mostly of shredded coconut, almond butter, coconut palm nectar, dark chocolate and vanilla extract.  They come in 4 delicious flavors. Chocolate Blonde. Brunette. Mocha. Megaroon.

The first one I tried was the Chocolate Blonde (pictured above) I am a big fan of chocolate chip cookies and this is what they reminded me of. I expected them to taste good but it tasted amazing. Seriously, soo good. It has that coconut flavor and macaroon texture with the gooey chocolate chips in it. Yum!

The second flavor I tried is the Megaroon. This one was also really yummy! This flavor has chia seeds and cacao nibs which makes for a nice little crunchy texture.

Brunette and Mocha

The next flavors I tried are the brunette and the mocha. The brunette is totally chocolatey with chocolate chips mixed in! A chocolate lover like myself was in heaven. The mocha still had the chocolate flavor with a definite espresso flavor too. Delicious.

 

Brunette

I can honestly say that I loved all 4 of the flavors. If I had to pick my 2 favorite I would say the Chocolate Blonde and the Brunette. Everyone in my family loved them as well. It's a great company who are based out of San Diego, California. You can find rickaroons at www.rickaroons.com

Rickaroons were also kind enough to give me a discount code to share with all of you! When you check out from their website you can use the code    veggiemama13    this will give you 15% off throughout the month of september. You will NOT be disappointed in these delicious little treats!

Morning Smoothie

Just a quick post on the ingredients of my smoothie this morning! I love making this kind of smoothie. 

• 2 frozen bananas
• 1 tablespoon cacao nibs
• 1 teaspoon of peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon coconut flakes
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• Top with nibs and almonds

You can adjust the amount of liquid depending on if you like the smoothie thicker or thinner. Enjoy!

Earthpaste

I have been on the hunt for an all natural toothpaste that I like for a long time. All the ones that I have tried in the past just didn't cut it for me. I heard of Earthpaste from a youtube video and decided to check it out!

I researched Earthpaste after hearing about it and was really impressed! My main concern with toothpaste is all the added ingredients that are horrible for us. I LOVE the small list of ingredients in Earthpaste.

     Only 7 ingredients and they are all great! Just ingredients to purify and freshen.

 I decided to try out the wintergreen flavor. They also have cinnamon, peppermint and lemon twist! Very cool flavor choices! As you can see on the box it contains no foaming agents. This is the one thing that turns most people off from all natural toothpaste. They associate the foaming of their toothpaste to the freshness they feel. The truth is that the added foaming in most conventional toothpaste is sodium lauryl sulfate. Chemicals are unnecessary in toothpaste.

 Earthpaste is also a light brown color. This is because they do not add titanium dioxide to make it bright white like many brands do. This is the natural color from the clay in Earthpaste.

Earthpaste is an awesome company with a great message. If you are used to your regular foamy toothpaste that you have been using forever then it will be a little adjustment to this toothpaste. It is so worth it though! This toothpaste is so natural that you can even swallow it! Great for kids. I suggest starting with the wintergreen or peppermint flavor so that you are still feeling and tasting that freshness. Except Earthpaste uses essential oils to give their toothpaste that fresh taste. Try it out for your health!
You can find it at www.earthpaste.com   They also have it at many Whole Foods.

They also have a really funny/informative video on their youtube channel!

Cuppow!

                Cuppow! When I first heard of Cuppow I knew I had to try it out! I love using mason jars to drink my waters and smoothies out of. While I love using mason jars the tops aren't really travel friendly. If you want to take a sip you have to unscrew the whole top and then the huge mouth isn't really easy to drink from when you're on the go.

                Cuppow makes user friendly tops that screw onto the mason jar. It basically turns your mason jars into travel friendly sippy cups. It's so perfect! I've been using them every day since I received them.

                       They come in "regular" and "wide mouth" sizes. I got the clear ones but they also come in a few fun colors!

                     Here is what the back of the package looks like. It's so easy to use. Just unscrew the jar and replace the seal with the Cuppow.

Fill up with your favorite drink and you're good to go! They also make a cute jar insulator that goes over your mason jar. It keeps your drink hot or cold. 

They also make something called a BNTO jar. You place the little jar into the mason jar and then seal it like normal. You can put anything in the mason jar and have a dressing or anything you want in the BNTO jar. I like to put veggies in the mason jar and hummus in my BNTO jar. It makes traveling with lunch or snacks super easy!

Cuppow is made in the USA and is BPA and PHTHALATE free! Awesome company and product! Check out the products at www.cuppow.com

Navitas Naturals

The amazing people at Navitas Naturals were so kind to send me some of their products to try. I have loved this company for a long time. I always use their cacao and maca powders in my smoothies. They are a definite staple in my diet.

They sent me 4 products that I have yet to try out. They are some of the coolest products and ideas! Dried dragon fruit? Yum!

This was the first product I opened up. It retails for $8.99. Here is what their websites says about the product.

 Our Dragonfruit Slices provide the wonderful sweet flavor of this tropical superfruit in a convenient, chewy, dried fruit form. Made from the sweeter red variety of Dragonfruit grown on small family farms in Thailand, this exotic-looking superfruit also has unusual nutrition benefits including omega 3’s, protein, iron, fiber, vitamins, and minerals that support hydration. 

 How cool does this look? For anyone who already loves fresh dragon fruit I'm sure you will love this too! The texture is chewy and it has a mild sweetness. It's not an overly sweet snack. Very good and slightly unusual-just like fresh dragon fruit!

The "suggested uses" on the package say its great for trail mixes, salads and desserts. It's raw, vegan, organic and non gmo! 

The next product I opened up were these Power Snacks in the Cacao Goji flavor. They retail for $9.99. Here is the website description:

Navitas Naturals Cacao Goji Power Snacks are made from the most nutrient dense functional superfoods including cacao, maca, chia, and camu-camu. We sustainably source the most nutritious, wholesome and delicious ingredients available, and now we’ve combined them into flavorful grab-and-go snacks that you can enjoy anywhere.

These are SO good. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a chocolate/cacao addict. I love my chocolate and these satisfy the craving. The main ingredients are organic date paste, organic cacao powder, organic chia seeds, organic sesame seeds and organic raisins! Way more healthy than a chocolate bar!

These are gluten free, dairy free, raw, vegan, organic and non gmo! Try them! They are amazing.

This is the next product I opened up. Cacao Sweet Nibs. It retails for $5.99. Here is the website description:

Navitas Naturals Cacao Sweet Nibs are made by gently rolling crumbled cacao beans in raw cacao liquor and then lightly sweetening them with organic cane juice. These versatile nibs have a strong dark chocolate flavor. They’re a perfect snack right out of the bag, and they are an ideal ingredient in recipes that could use a chocolate crunch.

These are great for blending into smoothies. These ones are sweetened so you can just eat them as is if you want a little cacao fix. They do make an unsweetened version if you prefer that. The suggested uses on the package say its great to add on top of cereal, yogurt and oatmeal. It also says its great for ice cream, cookies, smoothies and coffee. YUM!

This was the final product I opened. Freeze dried Coconut Water powder. It retails for $17.99. Here is the website description:

For thousands of years, tropical cultures have enjoyed the nutritional and thirst-quenching benefits of coconut water. Our organic Coconut Water Powder celebrates the ancient tradition, but is designed for modern on-the-go hydration. Each 35-calorie serving provide 5 key electrolytes that support rapid hydration, as well as several minerals and vitamins. 

This was probably what I got most excited about when I saw it in the box! I had never seen freeze dried coconut water! I think this is so awesome. I personally LOVE fresh thai coconut water but I'm not really a big fan of the bottled or canned coconut waters (and I've tried them all.) This tastes very much like fresh coconut when you mix it in cold water.

The package says to stir 1 Tbsp into a glass of water. I added 2 teaspoons in here because it was a smaller glass. You can play around and adjust to your taste. The suggested uses on the package say its for reconstitute in water, smoothies or any recipe. Its vegan, organic and non gmo. Really good!

Here is a link to their website: http://navitasnaturals.com

They have a ton of great products and have been around for 10 years! Thanks Navitas Naturals!

I'm better than you.

I'm better than you. This is unfortunately the vibe that I get from many vegetarians/vegans/raw vegans etc. I'm not here to bash on anyone. I'm a vegetarian, mostly vegan. Now by "mostly vegan" this is what it means in my case: I do not buy any dairy or eggs. I eat honey. However if I am out to eat and the restaurant has a veggie sandwich but the bread isn't vegan, I'll still get it. I can feel all you raw vegans judging me. And you shouldn't. That is my one problem with this community. This whole vegetarian/vegan community should be all about love and acceptance. Just as you want your family and friends to accept your decision to not eat meat. We all have friends and family who may not understand or agree with this lifestyle. They may judge you for it. They may think it's so crazy to not eat meat. So I'd say its pretty safe for me to say we all get judged for our decision. That's why I find it so crazy how some people judge other vegetarians choices. It seems to me the meat eaters judge the vegetarians for not eating meat, the vegetarians judge the meat eaters. Then we have the vegans judging the vegetarians and the raw vegans judging the vegans and the 80/10/10ers judging everyone. I have seen it. NO ONE IS BETTER THAN ANYONE. YOU ARE NOT BETTER THAN SOMEONE BECAUSE YOU DON'T EAT MEAT. Everyone has a different lifestyle and right to decide what is right for their body. Judgement should never be cast onto anyone.

I understand that a lot of the judgment is because we are so passionate about this lifestyle. We have the passion for animal rights or health or both. I don't know how anyone can watch the movie "Earthlings" and still want to eat meat again. It's horrifying how the animals are treated. But we have to face the facts the some people just don't care. It tastes good and that's what matters to them. While that can enrage us, it's important to not judge them. Everyone has their own journey.

Years ago before I was vegetarian I had a group of friends and one of them decided to go vegan. This person was a full on meat eater and then watched a documentary about animal cruelty and decided to go vegan. A couple weeks into his veganism a bunch of friends were hanging out and having dinner at one of their apartments. They were eating cheeseburgers or something like that. The whole time they were eating the "new vegan" was sitting there with a disgusted look on his face and saying how gross they were for eating meat and how disgusting it was. Meanwhile 2 weeks prior that same person was in that same apartment eating a steak. Literally. This is the kind of judgment I cannot stand. People think that the moment they become vegetarian or vegan they are better than those who eat meat. We all know these are the same people who will go back to eating meat in 2 months.

My whole point is that no matter what you eat or don't eat you are not better than anyone. We are all in this together.