Beauty in Strength

Good evening everyone!  How are you this Sunday night?  Did you have a great weekend?  On this end this weekend was so busy, but SO much fun!

After leaving you yesterday, I hopped in the shower and got ready for my cousin’s birthday party.  I had gone with my big sister, brother-in-law, and nephew, Aiden, and we had such a blast with my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  The day and night were filled with many laughs, many conversations to catch up, and lots of food and drinks!  It was one of those nights where the camera was put away so I could cherish the night with those I love, so no pictures were taken, BUT for dinner I enjoyed a low-carb, vegan pasta bake my aunt made just for me (She’s amazing, and so was this casserole! I CAN NOT wait to recreate it, and share the recipe!) as well as lots of salad with romaine, olives, hearts of palm, celery, and walnuts dressed in EVOO and vinegar and some red wine.  Dessert for me included fresh fruit, dark chocolate, and smoked, salted almonds.  Delicious!

While my original plan was to come home after the party, I wound up getting a ride home from one of my cousins instead, and we decided to meet some friends and go out for a few drinks.  After some Merlot I rolled in around 2 AM or so, which was quite the change for me!  I don’t remember the last time I went out until that time in the morning (Yes, I’m almost 29 and old ), but I really loved spending time with everyone.  :)

Before we left for the party yesterday, my sister asked me to try a snack she received a sample of in the mail, and it’s a simple snack I HAD to share with you!

Peeled Snacks strives to make you feel good about snacking by using the highest quality organic and natural ingredients from sustainable farms. Their snacks provide a great source of vitamins, minerals and a full serving of fruit with no added or refined sugar, oils, or preservatives. Their products are also gluten free, USDA organic, and vegan!

I tried the apple clusters variety, and it was delicious and nutritious! Made with natural, premium ingredients the snack was a balanced mixture of protein, fiber, and carbohydrates.  While often available snacking options are usually loaded with high fructose corn syrup and sugar, Peeled Snacks uses the highest quality fruit without any added sugar and are loaded with a natural source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.  Real ingredients, real energy.

As if it can’t get any better, the company is dedicated to raising awareness through various educational campaigns, for their goal is to inform consumers about the impacts of daily dietary choices. Recently, they partnered with the American Diabetes Association to help families make the best decisions possible about the food they consume. Unfortunately, today Americans face the risk of diabetes and obesity on an alarming scale, due in large part to various practices of the food industry. At Peeled Snacks, they promote healthy eating habits as well as strive to use the most environmentally sustainable business practices. They source only organic ingredients and try to buy from local farmers and growers whenever possible. Plus, for their product display cases, they use recycled paper!

The ingredients are minimal, the nutrition facts impressive, and the taste was delicious!  When a packaged snack is as close to natural as possible by using high quality ingredients, it is certainly a winner. While many companies add sugar, fat, high fructose corn syrup,and other artificial fillers in the foods we buy in an effort to save money by using less natural ingredients and replacing them with sugars and fats, Peeled Snacks uses premium ingredients.

Real food begins with pure ingredients, and simple snacking includes fruit from organic and sustainable farms to ensure that a product a good for you and good for the environment. I can not wait to try the other varieties including much-ado-about-Mango, pine-4-Pineapple, Banan-a-peel, Apple-2-the-core, Raisin expectations, Apricot-a-lot, Cherry-go-round, paradise found, farmer’s market trio, andGoFigure!

Have a great night everyone!

Question of the Day: What is your favorite type of dried fruit?

Quote of the Day: “Together, let’s create a ripple effect that brings health and happiness to the world.” – Unknown