#MINK13

So what do dietetic students that double as bloggers do in their free time?
Attend MINK conference of course!
If you aren't familiar... MINK conference is not a conference for these coats...

No no no! 

MINK stands for

Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas Dietetics Conference

Long name - awesome conference, TONS of information throw at my brain!

-representing the MINK bag!-

I was actually blessed enough to know and work under the Head of this Conference, so I got the privilege to assist her in the planning and production of this conference. I was such an amazing experience-I learned more from doing the 'behind the scenes' stuff than the actual conference itself! 

But... what I got from the conference was HUGE!

I listened to some great speakers, including Katie Brown, Dr. Jim Painter, Ethan Bergman, Dr. Carr, David Grotto, Rebecca Subbiah, Dave Ellis, Connie Diekman, Emma Fogt, the list goes on and on! 

They are amazing speakers- and even more so- people that got me really jazzed up and excited for the area of study I'm in!

The areas they touched on included foods that help lower cholesterol (I didn't realize that cholesterol is more about the food you eat, not the food you don't eat if that makes sense!)

They also talked about childhood nutrition, geriatric supplementation, and nutrient counseling for males among other things! 

Amazing stuff people... amazing stuff. 

There was also an exhibit hall #freestuff

And it was a Dietetics conference right? So that means one thing - delicious fruit.

If I learned one thing, it is that I am not a lone (almost) dietitian that loves her fruit!

-at the networking event-

-at breakfast-

I told you people... we love us some fruit!

But there were also some not-fruit-laden meals that were equally delish!

BEEF! Thanks beef council of the four states for delivering this girl some much needed steak :)

 The photos above may look crazy - and they are! 

We went to a Tapas Bar! I had actually just learned about Tapas Bars in my food and culture class... feeling pretty cultured here people

We had the Drunken Mushrooms, a White Bean Hummus and the far right picture is pretty much a cheeseball on fire. 

Ok-so those aren't the exact names... they were fancy and in Spanish but do you guys really expect me to remember? 

But the best thing about the conference?
By far- meeting some amazing, inspiring dietitians!

One night I was blessed enough to get to go out to supper (Tapas) with Emma Fogt, Rebecca Subbiah and David Grotto (our MC)

Not to mention the wonderful woman that made the whole conference happen - Amber! 

They are amazing people with exhilarating life stories and I could not be more grateful for the chance to meet them!

Thanks MINK13 for a great 4 days full of life changing learning experiences! 

We will see you later KC!

Mrs. Barr's delicious treats!

You would be hard-pressed to find a more exciting thing in my life than this showing up when I go get my mail...

PRODUCT REVIEW!

#pumped.

So what was in el' cardboard box o' fun?! (in the excitement of St. Patty's day I thought I'd try some Irish accents... working? Didn't think so...)

Anyways- it was Mrs. Barr's Natural Foods!

What is this you ask? 

Well - they are a company that sells granola (eek!), granola bars, and trail mix.

They try to buy local whenever possible, and support companies of this great country. They also are highly supportive of children and donate 10% of their profits to children's organizations! How awesome is that!?

So the real question.. does it taste good?!

YES!

Look! This granola was called 'Gone Nuts' and it had A TON of nuts in it-not even crushed up little pieces! Woot!

It also was nice and crunchy with big clusters! 

YAY for clusters!!!

I am a HUGE fan!

2 days... 2 bags of granola GONE

And now I'm about to dive into another... so I'm going to keep this short!

Mrs. Barr's Natural foods makes GREAT granola - I can't say about the health of it since the nutritional info was not on the package or online :/ 

But it was full of nuts, oats, and dried fruits - so I know it is at least in the right direction on the health-o-meter

*All opinions are my own, I was only given samples and no compensation. 

Grandy Oats

What time is it?! Product Review time!

And today's winner is.... 

Grandy Oats

...oh don't act surprised, it was in the title people :P

Anyways- Grandy Oats was created in 1979 by two friends, and then passed onto another set of friends - Nat and Aaron that now run the company we have today.

They are a certified organic company that sells many 'oat products' as in-

granola

trail mix

roasted nuts

hot cereal

I was grateful to receive some samples of the granola (seen above) 

They were pretty good, I have to be honest with you - this isn't my absolute favorite granola. But it is very good! Don't get me wrong, I just didn't think the texture was crunchy enough for my likings. 

The Honey Apple Crisp was my favorite about of the bunch!

But now onto the Hot Cereal... 

WOAH!

Loved it. 

All you do is add 6-7 ounces of hot water and put the lid back on and let it sit for a couple minutes. 

I was very skeptical about it thickening, but it did! And it was divine! 

I loved how the only real sweetener was the natural sweetness from the dried fruits (there was a little sweetener on the dried fruits, but very minimal) 

Is this any indication of how much I liked it?!

All their products are made with real, wholesome ingredients and therefore have some great nutritional stats! 

If you're looking for a new granola company to try out - definitely give Grandy Oats a try - especially if you don't like the more crispy/crunchy granola and prefer a more chewy texture. 

Also-the little cups of granola are perfect for 'on the go' breakfast - how easy would it be to throw a couple in your suitcase next time you'll be traveling a few days? 

*All opinions are solely my own, I was not compensated in any way - the only thing I received from Grandy Oats was the samples.

Willamette Valley Granola Chips

Willamette Valley... ever been there? Me neither - but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy their granola chips!

I was lucky enough to receive some of their granola chips in the mail a few days ago to sample... what did I think?
Well...

Here is a close up of my HUGE plate of them... probably half the bag-not kidding. They are seriously good, and addictive. 

Here's a little bit more info-

The company is out of Oregon, they make delicious granola chips. The End.

Ok, Just Kidding!

That's what they look like, and what's in 'em

pre'neat huh?

They come in Butter Pecan (tastes JUST LIKE caramel corn), Vanilla Bean (my personal fav.), Honey Nut, and Wild Berry

They are crispy, crunchy, sweet, bite-sized treats, that are actually good for you, so they can be enjoyed more regularly that normal treats 

My roommate's boyfriend (who is a self-proclaimed, hater of all healthy food) said they were awesome! If that doesn't say something for their taste, I don't know what does!

They are a good source of fiber 

low in fat

made with whole grains

have a substantial amount of protein in a serving size

and are just plain awesome.

If you haven't tried these before - do it.

I really enjoy sprinkling these are frozen yogurt, or in a peanut butter and banana sandwich (sounds weird, but is delish!)

If you've tried these before, what's your favorite? How do you enjoy them?

*All opinions are solely my own, I received nothing but the samples from Willamette Valley Granola.

Peanut Butter Cookie Granola

Peanut Butter + Granola = :)

Dare I say more?

This recipe requires no commentary, no extra words tell you how amazing it is and persuading your to make it-I mean, you'd be crazy to see a recipe containing the words peanut butter and granola and not deciding to make it within 35.39 seconds 

Just Crazy.

So here's the low-down...

melt peanut butter and margarine

til margarine is completely liquified - then add honey and egg white

combine it with a bunch of other random stuff.. 

throw it on a pan and stash in your 250* oven for 45 minutes or so

and magically it will turn into this!

Ingredients:

1.5 TBSP margarine

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 TBSP honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg white

1 tsp. baking powder

1 pinch salt

1 cup oats

1/2 cup fiber one cereal

1 1/2 cup crispy brown rice cereal

1 TBSP. chia seeds (opt.)

2 TBSP. flax seeds (opt.)

Preheat oven to 250*

Melt your peanut butter and margarine, then add all ingredients up to salt.

Mix well

Combine dry ingredients together

Pour wet-melted stuff over the dry and stir to coat all

Place on a cookie sheet and bake-stirring every 10 minutes for 40 minutes to an hour; until pieces are 'dry' but not overly brown

Swirled into a peanut butter smoothie? 

Heaven on Earth.

Comfort Food...

Everyone has it.
Some are ashamed of it.
Some are proud.
Some pretend they actually don't have one.
Others let themselves indulge in it whenever they want, others only use it when needed.

comfort food!

I don't know about you guys, but my comfort foods are usually baked goods (ok and a good steak and mashed potatoes too)
But more often than not, when I've had a bad day or am stressed, or whatever-I just want some homemade CARBS!

And that is just what my mama brought me when she came to visit me at college this weekend-isn't she the best?!

-if you're wondering, that's strawberry milk! YAY for Nesquik! :)

So my family all came to attend an induction ceremony for Phi Upsilon Omicron - no not a sorority - an honors society for the college of education and human sciences

ps-I look at the tag for this dress...

psh- I only spent $8! Boo-Ya!

I was awesome to get to see them, if only for a little while!
We went shopping and I tried on children's shoes (WHAT?! they're so much cheaper than adult shoes! and usually come in more fun colors :)

Snacked on some Two Moms in the Raw granola bars!

And then went to Texas Roadhouse for an AMAZING steak :)

Life. Is. Good. 

I hope all your weekends were equally blessed! And that will carry over into Monday! 

Peace out people of the world-wide-web!

Two Moms in the Raw

I love my mom, my friends' moms, my mom and dad's mom (aka grandma!), moms just ROCK!
I honestly don't know how moms do all they do (and dads too!), they have so many job titles... cook, psychiatrist, maid, chauffeur, you get the point!
So what do they do in their free time?
Oh just make amazing raw food.

Yeah, that's right - another product review (two in one week, how lucky am I!?)

Two Moms in the Raw is a company that all started with Shari (the founder).
She started making raw food to help her MS, and her yummy treats became a quick favorite among family and friends. So Shari (being the giving person she obviously is) decided to start selling her delectables and it took of like a rolling stone!

They make products with simple and organic ingredients - no gluten, no preservatives, non-GMO - truly good inside and out. All her products are Kosher and Vegan as well as being free of wheat, refined sugars, soy and dairy. They handmake all their products which include:
Granola Bars
Nut Bars
Sea Crackers
Truffles
Cereals

I'll fill you in on my personal experience with these products.
I had the opportunity to sample...

The almond butter and cocao truffles

These little bite-size beauties are made of almond butter, cacao, salt and agave.... that's it! They are sweet, crunchy (the half-chopped nuts in the center) and chewy! Definitely satisfy any sweet tooth - but with the added bonus of some protein (4g), fiber (2g), calcium and iron, along with healthy omega 6 fats, antioxidants, vitamin C and iron. All for 140 calories for one truffle.

The tomato basil sea crackers - the savory crackers are a perfect match with a sweet Honeycrisp apple (which, btw-if anyone is wondering, is in my opinion the best apple variety-just a side note :)

Out of this world flavor! The texture was a little odd to me at first, but not in a bad way! Just different from your traditional cracker... full of flax seeds, garlic and kombu - you know they're oh-so good for your body! Two Moms in the Raw recommend crumbling them on salad which I think is an AMAZING idea! And the ingredient list: flaxseeds, sundried tomatos, kombu and herbs. awesome.

I also received their blueberry granola bars - which I haven't tried just yet... (I was too consumed with the sweet truffles and savory crackers!) 

But... if I can assume (which I can, because - well... this is my blog :P ) I know they will be just as amazing (both taste wise and nutritionally as the previous snacks have been!

Their granola is full of antioxidants and vitamins, but then again-when you make all your products out of good, whole foods-how could the end result not be chalk-full of nutrition?!

Oh, and each bar also has 4g of fiber, 6g of protein, 4% calcium and 10% iron... awesome-opossum if I say so myself!

"Good for you, Good for the planet, and kids (AND KRISTEN!) love it"

That's Two Moms in the Raw's motto and I couldn't agree more! I definitely will have to try the rest of the flavors of everything! Especially the nut bars and cereal - thanks for allowing me to review your products Two Moms!

*All opinions were my own, Two Moms in the Raw gave me only the samples and no other compensation.

Impact Foods

Alright, so usually I wait until I've tried all the samples a company has given me before I write up a review. But this CANNOT WAIT! I have got to tell you guys about this company-it is quickly become one of my favs and for GOOD reason!

We know that I have a little problem with granola, love-hate relationship really. I love how it tastes, but sometimes hate its nutrition. More like a candy bar in the sugar and fat realms if you're smelling what I'm steppin' in! Which irks me to say the least.

I also hate how much I love some of the 'big name' companies granola... like Special K, or Quaker - I just feel like they are so disconnected with the consumer, and I don't like that!

So what is all this ranting for? Well... I've found a granola company that cares. Cares about you, about me, about nutrition, about taste, about using whole foods, but most importantly - about hungry children around the world.

Enter: Impact Foods

Yes, these are the founders - and they created this amazing company that not only feeds hungry-granola-loving gals like me, but also helps fight the war against hunger worldwide, especially for children.

They're promis is simple. Buy one bag of granola-feed one child. 

Amazing, no? I can see how God is working through them, their creativity, talent and drive to make a difference in this world! I am so impressed!

I got my box of samples and literally screamed with joy!

They have 3 flavors:

Maple Oat, Vanilla Almond and Blueberry Honey

AHHHH!

Dug right on in!

This isn't the type of granola that is full of chunks, it has a smooth, even consistency but with add-ins like seeds and nuts, coconut and freeze dried berries! 

I first tried the Maple Oat and immediately fell in love!

So delicious in a big bowl with milk... I may or may not have had more than one serving...

:/

Oops! :)

But, then again, I'm not sorry At. All. It was delicious! 

And the nutritional facts are pretty good overall. 

1/3 cup has between 130 - 150 calories, 2g fiber and about 3g protein. 

It was sweet, hearty, and had a texture that I don't even know how to describe! It was crunchy but literally fell apart in my mouth, so good. 

Impact Foods - thank you for being such good people. Honestly, it is great to find a company that I can feel good about supporting, both in my heart and my mouth! 

Luke 3:11, And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”

I pray God continues to work through you and through all of us, to fulfill His plans. 

Now go get some Impact Granola people!!!