Garden Lites SuperFood Veggie Cakes Now at Northwest Costco Stores! Garden Lites Review

Garden Lites are delicious and healthy snacks, muffins, and entrees that are packed with vegetables as the first and main ingredient. These nutrient-rich, heart-healthy foods are vegetarian and GMO free. A lot of their products are also gluten free, dairy free, nut free, soy free, and/or allergen free (look at packaging to make sure). Most do contain eggs. Look for Garden Lites at many stores across the US in the refrigerated section, including local to me stores like: New Seasons Market, Whole Foods Market, Target, Walmart, and now Costco!!

Garden Lites products we received.

We got to try Garden Lites: SuperFood Veggie Cakes, Chocolate Muffins, and Blueberry Oat Muffins. I love the fact that they are all easy to heat up and take with you on-the-go. These are also great for a snack or side dish. These were all very yummy and I'd definitely buy them if I saw them in the store.

Garden Lites SuperFood Veggie Cakes are small veggie-rich cakes that are only 100 calories per cake and have a Weight Watchers PointsPlus value of 3. These are vegetarian, GMO free, gluten free, dairy free, and nut free. Like all Garden Lites, vegetables are their first ingredient. They are packed with a super food veggie blend of carrot, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, onion, red bell pepper, and zucchini! These are available exclusively at Costco in the refrigerated section as a box of 12 veggie cakes. These should be kept refrigerated or frozen until eaten.

I found these very tasty and easy to make. Since it has been hot here and the oven heats up my house my preferred method was popping them in the microwave for about 25 seconds. You can also cook them in the oven or toaster oven on 250 degrees on a baking sheet for 12 minutes. These cakes reminded me of a Japanese recipe I have made in the past called Okonomiyaki (vegetable pancakes) or a vegetable filled quiche/souffle. I love these for breakfast, snack, or with a meal. I can easily pack them for lunches when my family goes on outings too. I love how healthy and delicious these are and that I can understand all the ingredients on the packaging.

Garden Lites SuperFood Veggie Cakes and Muffins.

Garden Lites Muffins come in a assortment of flavors with seven different variations. These are great at getting vegetables into your family's diet without compromising the flavor and if your kids are picky eaters these might just be the ticket to a healthier snack alternative. Comes individually wrapped in BPA free plastic and the box contains 4-6 muffins depending upon the variety. These should be kept frozen until eaten.

We got to try their Chocolate Muffins and Blueberry Oat Muffins. They are both packed with fresh zucchini and carrots. They are both: a good source of fiber (3g) and whole grains (5g), vegetarian, GMO free, allergy-friendly, gluten free, dairy free, and nut free. At 120 calories per muffin these have a Weight Watchers PointsPlus value of 3. These have 4 muffins per package and are easy to pop in the microwave bag and all on high for 10 seconds if defrosted or 35 seconds if frozen (although microwaves do vary and mine seemed to want an additional 10-35 seconds so the middle wasn't still cold). You can also defrost at room temperature for about 4 hours if you aren't in a hurry to eat them right away.

The Chocolate Muffins are similar to lava cakes I've eaten. They are moist with a gooey center of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips. The very first two ingredients are zucchini and carrots and you can hardly taste them! They are hidden and you won't even know they're there. My kids and I liked them and ate 'em up.

The Blueberry Oat Muffins are delicious and moist with plump blueberries filled inside. You can see the shredded carrots and zucchini if you look, but these are delicious anyway. They also have gluten-free oats in them along with other gluten free ingredients. My kids and I liked these best because blueberries are one of our favorite berries!

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You can now find the Garden Lites SuperFood Veggie Cakes at Costco Stores across the country, including Texas, the Southeast, the Southwest, the Northwest and the Northeast regions. You can order these online if you live in the Continental US with free shipping at Healthy Goodness. You can also locate a store near you to purchase the other Garden Lites products.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

The Planet Friendly Diet Book Review and Giveaway

I was provided with a complimentary copy of The Planet Friendly Diet to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

A part of my New Year's Resolution is getting my family to eat a lot healthier. This is a huge undertaking, let me tell you! My husband and kids have been less than cooperative with the changes I have tried implementing in the past few weeks. When I go grocery shopping with my husband he usually breaks down and buys something unhealthy. I have been trying to change my family's habits, but habits are very hard to break!

Enter, The Planet Friendly Diet by Cat Smiley, a book about getting back to healthy over the course of 21 days. This is how many days it usually takes to create good habits. You may be thinking to yourself why does a skinny lady like me need a weight loss book?? Well Cat's book is really more than just a weight loss book. I need all the help I can get to stay a healthy weight since usually I am considered underweight by physicians and I really do need to eat healthier and exercise more. This book is chocked full of helpful advice and hints to get you well on your way to a healthier, happier lifestyle. It is based on a gluten, wheat, dairy and meat free diet. Some suggestions with recipes in the book do involve fish, with a totally vegetarian option also available. The Planet Friendly Diet is a cleansing program that resets and replenishes without resorting to fasting, hunger, or deprivation. It basically consists of drinking 4 liters of clean water a day - 2 liters before noon and 2 more before 5pm, having a super smoothie for breakfast (or alternative breakfast listed) and super smoothie for lunch, a sensible dinner with healthy ingredients, and nutritious snacks in between. All of this should add up to about 1200 calories per day.

The recipes for the dinners all sound delicious and not at all bland. They usually consist of fish or tofu (these are used instead of red meat and poultry). She also uses beans, brown rice, quinoa, dairy free yogurts/cheese/milk, veggies/mushrooms cooked in veggie broth, and lemon/herbs/garlic/spices/homemade salsa/etc. to season and flavor her recipes. Each single portion recipe has a lovely photograph of the completed meal, is under 500 calories, takes 20 minutes or less to prepare, and costs less than $5.

I love that The Planet Friendly Diet book includes a lot more than recipes and nutrition information. It has a total of 63 tips to help start you out on this journey and make things easier. These tips include information on what to do to get started, basics, hydration, fruit & veggies, grains & fiber, eggs & dairy, meat & fish, salt & sugar, and how to keep going after the 21 days have ended. There are blank lined diary pages to fill out for each of the 21 days with weight, goals, notes, what you ate for each meal and snack with cost and time taken, estimated calories eaten, and how much water you consumed. Weekly shopping lists are also included for the 21 days to ensure zero-waste.

This is a great 21 day guide to sustainable weight loss and optimal health. I do feel that in addition to a physical exercise routine The Planet Friendly Diet book would be the perfect melding of disciplines. If you stick to the plan and don't stray you will be well on your way to a beneficial lifestyle in 21 days.

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

My New Roots: Inspired Plant-Based Recipes for Every Season Cookbook Review

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

You may know Sarah Britton (BFA, CNP) from her extremely popular foodie blog, My New Roots, which focuses on healthy recipes that are plant-based natural whole foods. Sarah Britton is the Copenhagen based holistic nutritionist, writer, and photographer behind both her blog and cookbook that shares the same name. She is also a seasonal eater and lover of organic and super foods. She has won many accolades and awards for her work, been on TED talks and featured in O, the Oprah Magazine, Bon Appétit, and Whole Living. If you've seen her blog you have seen her fantastic wholesome recipes gorgeously presented with photographs that she herself took. If you've seen her TED talks (you can on YouTube if you haven't) you have seen her lovely infectious spirit and enthusiasm for nutritious food. She is, in my opinion, a vegetarian culinary goddess.

In her newly released and very first cookbook she takes inspiration from her blog by creating brand new recipes that also are plant-based natural whole foods. The book is divided into seasonal chapters: Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer, Autumn, and Winter which then are each divided into recipe groups: Mornings, Small Measures, Mains, and Sweets. In the Introduction, before the recipes start, she introduces herself, her blog, her food philosophy, why eating in the rhythm of the seasons and connecting with the cycles of nature makes so much sense, and the use of symbols in the book. After the Introduction and before the recipes she shares Essential Techniques of cooking dried legumes, cooking grains, making ghee, making seed and nut milks and butters, growing sprouts, and flavoring food with the use of salt (sea salt, Himalayan rock salt, soy sauce, tamari, miso), sugar (raw honey, pure maple syrup, barley malt, brown rice syrup, coconut sugar, dates, fruit juice, applesauce), and acid (citrus juice, vinegar - raw organic apple cider vinegar is healthiest).

This cookbook has whole foods, super foods, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free recipes inside. Sarah Britton does use goat/sheep/cow cheese/yogurt, ghee (which in most cases can be substituted with coconut oil), honey (although she says you can substitute with maple syrup), bee pollen, and eggs in some of her recipes, so this book is not completely vegan, but it does have quite a few recipes that are and they are clearly marked with a v at the top of the page under the recipe title. Besides the v symbol for vegan, there is a gf  symbol for gluten-free, a clock symbol for when the recipes need planning ahead, and a moon symbol for when it will take 8 hours or longer to do a task that is required (like soaking legumes, fermenting, etc.) in the recipe. Some of these recipes are great for paleo and raw food diets as well.

The layout of each recipe is quite simple. At the top of each recipe includes the title, serving sizes or how much it makes in both US standard and metric units, and symbols. Each recipe also has a small paragraph where the author introduces it. I love her down to earth tone and kindred spirit feel of her writing as well. Then she has listed ingredients and detailed directions to each. Sometimes you see a paragraph within the picture or pages to give more information, facts, or background about an ingredient or a note, tips, and tricks to help you in the recipe process.

Just thumbing through the pages in this cookbook is so satisfying to me. There are things in My New Roots that are revolutionary in my opinion. I wouldn't have thought on my own to make "bacon" from coconut, try celeriac, or poach radishes. I can tell you that I couldn't help but drool a bit when looking through the My New Roots cookbook. What I love about this, verses other cookbooks that I have on my shelf, is that just about every recipe in this cookbook has a photo of the finished dish to go with it. The photos are beautiful and mouth watering just all by themselves!

At the end of the My New Roots cookbook there is a section on stocking the pantry, a gratitude section where she thanks people, and an index to help you find things easier. I love that with the section on stocking the pantry you can get the ingredients in your kitchen closer to healthier and more holistic.

For me the My New Roots cookbook is fantastic! I love the presentation and everything looks and sounds so delicious! I cannot wait to dig into this deeper and try all the food and drinks within. I recommend this to vegetarians or anyone willing to try the lifestyle that need inspiring and motivated cooks who would like to be a little adventuresome with their palate.

Watch for a sneak peek of her cookbook...


Follow Sarah Britton and My New Roots
Her Blog http://www.mynewroots.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MyNewRoots
Twitter: @mynewroots
Instagram: http://instagram.com/mynewroots/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mynewroots/

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Blogging For Books for sending me this book for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.