review - Matthew's Puzzle - Autism Recovery, Gluten Free, Green Living Mom Blog

Brad’s Raw Leafy Kale Review – I’m Obsessed – Sponsored Post

March 26, 2013 By Maryann

I was provided with several Brad’s Raw Foods Products to help facilitate this review.

I am truly OBSESSED with Brad’s Raw Foods! Even before I was given a few of their products to review, I tried their Brad’s Raw Leafy Kale Vampire Killer and Naked. Both are AMAZING! I am not ashamed to say I ate the Vampire Killer in just one sitting. They are really that good. As you know I’m on Weight Watchers and I think the whole container is only 4 points. They are truly some of the tastiest snack items I have ever had.

The foods are organic, gluten free, Non-GMO, Kosher and Vegan. But most importantly, they taste great while doing all of that. The Brad’s Raw Leafy Kale Vampire Killer ingredient list reads like this: *Kale, *Red Bell Peppers, *Sunflower Seeds, *Cashews, *Scallions, *Garlic, *Lemon Juice, *Chickpea Miso (Rice, Chickpeas, Sea Salt, Water, Koji Spores), Himalayan Sea Salt. The * represents Organic Ingredients! Holy cow, that is a lot of organic foods and I pretty much know what everything on the list is, except maybe the Koji spores.

If you are into the Raw movement you will be interested to know that Brad’s Raw Leafy Kale is not heated above 115 degrees when it is dehydrated. That helps keep the enzymes and nutrients intact.

Not only did I try the Brad’s Raw Leafy Kale, but I also tried their Brad’s Raw Chips Cheddar. These pack a powerful crunch. I was actually surprised at how crunchy their are, especially since their aren’t really a cracker and they aren’t baked or fried. And something else I love, they use sustainable production which means all of their residual materials are composted and returned to the fields. Does it get any better than that? I personally, as I said above, am obsessed with their products. I saw on their website they also offer onion rings, but I haven’t been able to find them in my neighborhood yet. I can’t wait to locate this product too. I bet they would be great with a good burger!

Anyway, my husband and I picked these up on a whim, and I am so glad we did. These have fast become my favorite snack, especially the Raw Leafy Kale. I hope you try some when you see them in your market and if you do, drop me a line telling me your thoughts and which ones are your favorites.

Sponsored Review: Post-it Mobile Products

March 21, 2013 By Maryann

Post-it sent me an array of Post-it Mobile products for free so I could do this review.

Being a busy mom, I’m always on the go. And being a busy mom also means I can’t remember my head unless it is actually attached to my body! I’m guessing you may be the same way. So when Post-it offered up some of their new Post-it Mobile products I jumped at the chance. I have always liked Post-it. I thought the idea of little sticky notes were amazing and when I used to work outside the home I had Post-it notes all over my desk and computer. Now I don’t need Post-it notes as much to remind me of deadlines or projects but instead I need them to help me jot down phone numbers, write notes while I’m on the road or bring important items with me when I take the boys to gymnastics or music class.

Post-it Mobile was created to cover all sorts of situations. I particularly like the Post-it Mobile Attach & Go Dispenser; it was designed to clip to your car’s visor. This is perfect for me because I often need to give someone a small note when I’m dropping the boys off some where or I want to make sure I remember something important.

Something that my husband has taken to are the Post-it Mobile Attach & Go Insert products. These insert into items you carry such as binders or folders. They have flags, arrows flags and fan pads. These are great when he is reviewing documents on the fly, or reviewing contracts at customer sites.

I know my cousin in college would really use the Post-it Mobile Attach & Go Pocket products. These are pockets that attach to things you carry such as laptops, binders, planners and notebooks. I plan to use the large 9 inch by 12 inch pocket on my laptop next year when I’m the PTA secretary and need to keep a ton of things organized at meetings. And with the Autism One Conference coming up in a few months I plan to take the smaller 2 5/8 inch by 3 7/8 inch pocket with me to carry business cards. There is a ton of networking that goes on at these conferences and I want to make sure I have my cards handy.

I love that Post-it knows we are a group of people on the move, that we are Mobile. But I also love the fact that Post-it still embraces the fact that many of us will always love the feel of paper and pen. That there is a tactile element to writing, to thinking, that just feels good and real when we put pen to paper.

Tribe Hummus Review

March 18, 2013 By Maryann

I was given several coupons to try Tribe Hummus for free.

Do you like hummus? I do! It is really one of my favorite snacks. There is a local restaurant here that makes some of the best hummus I have ever eaten. It comes with a dense pita bread that I love, and eat, even if it is full of gluten. But I can’t go there very often, and I really shouldn’t eat all that gluten, which I will do if I get it at the restaurant. I tried making hummus at home, and even though I am pretty good in the kitchen, it just didn’t turn out very tasty. There was this acidic nature to it that was unappealing. That is also something I don’t like in many store bought hummus brands. But not Tribe Hummus! Their hummus was smooth, creamy and without even a hint of that acid I don’t like. I got the sweet roasted red pepper flavor and was eating it on raw veggies. That made a delicious and light lunch, which was perfect because I’m on Weight Watchers. 2 tablespoons of the sweet roasted red pepper Tribe Hummus is only 1 Weight Watchers Point!

I have decided to branch out and try it on some more unconventional foods, like apple slices. Holy cow was that good. I didn’t think I would like the red pepper Tribe Hummus on apples, but it is amazing and again, only 1 Weight Watchers Point. When I like something a little more substantial I use the Tribe Hummus as a spread on my Udi Gluten Free Bagels. I eat half a bagel with 1 tablespoon of the Tribe Hummus and I am good to go in the morning. It gives me some protein, flavor and is very hearty at the same time.

I recently saw a recipe for chicken coated with hummus and then baked. I think that would be a great way to try adding flavor and locking in moisture to a boneless chicken breast. Do you have a favorite recipe you like to use hummus in?

Eye Can Art Review

March 5, 2013 By Maryann

I love art. Do you? There is something about creating art that just releases the soul and makes you feel joyful. At least that is the way with me. Whenever I am around art supplies I need to touch them and I want to feel the weight of them in my hand. Their amazing textures, their smells, everything about art supplies makes me feel good.

Eye Can Art has this really cool Collage Print Making Kit ( one of 8 kits) that I had to try out with Lorenzo. Lorenzo is 3 so I helped him a bit but he was so interested in the kit. He and I have taken some mommy and me type art classes through Recreations and Parks so I suspected he would be really excited about the Eye Can Art kit. The neat thing about this kit is that it really has everything you need to create a piece of art. The Eye Can Art Collage Print Making Kit contains a glue stick, instructions, tag board and paper, printing ink (2 colors), crayon, brayer (roller), and scissors. The only thing we needed was newspaper to cover our work area, a plate or cookie sheet to roll the paint on and some creativity.

The instructions suggested making a face and I thought this was a brilliant idea for a child Lorenzo’s age. Children need to know how to recognize faces and the different parts of a face. This was actually something we worked on with Matthew during speech and occupational therapy. Lorenzo used the crayon to draw the shape of the head and I cut it out for him using the scissors provided. He then drew the other shapes on the remaining tag board and I cut them for him. I helped him apply glue to the pieces and then let him adhere them to the face. After we let it dry for a few minutes I helped him use the roller to ink the collage. Then we used it to make a print on one of the papers we were provided with. We used the brayer to apply the other color to make the halo effect.

This was loads of fun. So much so, that I had to make my own collage print. I decided to stray from the face theme and made a cityscape. I love how it turned out. It reminds me of island art. It has depth and a primitive quality to it. I can not wait to get my hands on it again and create more art. Eye Can Art would make a fantastic gift for any child, or even adult, that likes to dabble in art but maybe doesn’t know where to begin.

I was provided with the Eye Can Art Collage Print Making Kit to facilitate my review. All Opinions are my own.