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.

Salsa!

Hello Everyone! Today I'm going to show you how to make a very basic (and delicious) salsa.

The other day I posted this picture on my instagram:

I love to make rice and beans with caramelized onions and plantains on top. My favorite part of the whole meal is topping it with a homemade salsa. This salsa isn't a thick chunky kind. I like to make an almost sauce like salsa to add on top. It goes so well with the other ingredients.

You will need:

• 5 plum tomatoes (any kind you like will do)
• Juice from 1 fresh lime
• Fresh cilantro
• Onion
• Salt
• Food processor  

First you will want to chop up your tomatoes. How big or small you cut them up depends on how big your food processor is. I have a small one so I cut each tomato into about 6 slices and then cut those in half.

Get your lime and cilantro out. The amount of cilantro you use is really a matter of taste. I use a small handful. It must be fresh! 

I use a half of a medium size onion. You can add more or less. Cut according to the size of your food processor.

With my food processor I find it comes out better if I add only 2 tomatoes, some onion and some cilantro then blend. After that is nicely blended I'll add 2 more tomatoes with more onion and cilantro. I keep repeating this until all the tomatoes, onion and cilantro are blended. After I will add the lime juice and salt and give it one last blend. I add about 1/2 teaspoon salt.

                       

The finished product! It is so good I could just eat the whole thing by itself! Enjoy!

Portabella Philly Cheese "Steak"

   These philly cheese "steak" sandwiches are so good and easy to make! You can easily make them vegan or vegetarian-your choice.
You will need:

• Large onion
• 2 bell peppers
• Pack of baby bello mushrooms (portabella caps work too)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• Hoagie roll or vegan bread of choice (makes about 3-4)
• Cheese or cheese alternative
• Tin foil
• Oven/Toaster oven

Gather all ingredients!

                                     

              Slice up your veggies into thin strips!

Heat your pan to medium heat. Add your olive oil. When the oil is heated up add your onions and peppers. Let those cook for about 10 mins until soft. You can cook for longer or shorter depending how you like your veggies. After they are soft you can add in your mushroom for another 5 mins.

               It should look something like this!

                             Top with your cheese or cheese alternative.

                      Scoop into your roll!

Roll into foil & put in oven for 15 mins @ 350

     

           Dive into your delicious sandwich and enjoy!