food reviews

Leave a comment Posted on October 17, 2014 food reviews, reviews, Uncategorized

Unboxing Of Annie’s “Grass Fed” Surprise Package

Last night as I got back from Jacksonville for Toyota’s “Family Reunion Preview”, I noticed there was a box waiting there for me at the door.

I have been expecting a book that I will be reviewing about managing time as a family in the age of smart phones, so I thought that’s what it was. However, this box was bigger and heavier than a box for a paperback should be.

So after using my knife to cut open the box, I found a letter from Annie’s Homegrown. Plus, I felt something sort of cold, and moist, and alive, with the tips of my fingers.

My wife suggested that she film me opening the box; after all, people apparently love “unboxings” these days.

And that’s exactly what happened. What you see in the video below is completely unscripted, unplanned, and unpracticed:

As you can see from this unboxing video, Annie’s sent my son 2 boxes of their new “grass fed, organic, non-GMO” mac and cheese along with a really cool wooden plant holder with live grass to celebrate their new grass fed mac and cheese.

Like I said in the unboxing video, I accept their grass plant as an early housewarming gift; as we are scheduled to close on our new house on January 29^th, with our townhouse currently on the market as of this week.

Something I am quick to point out is that I strictly only feature brands and products I believe in.

Just in the past month, I’ve turned down about $450 in gift cards because between 3 different companies all reaching out to me, wanting me to promote their products on Family Friendly Daddy Blog. However, their products include high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors and dyes, and were obviously not organic or non-GMO.

With that being said, I’ve always proudly believed in Annie’s Homegrown. It’s hard to argue with that non-GMO label on their boxes.

I’m happy for Annie’s and I’m happy to see them growing as a company, finding larger distribution.

Thanks to Annie’s for helping me be able to spread the good word about food without GMO’s and artificial junk!

2 Comments Posted on September 21, 2014 food reviews, reviews, Uncategorized

Going To Get Tater Tots Makes My Son Feel Special/The Great Food Truck Festival Of Nashville

3 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

Recently as part of an art activity at school, you were asked to draw a picture that answers the question, “What’s something that makes you feel special?”

I would have thought you would have said playing with Legos, or getting a Hot Wheels car at Kroger, or even simply playing at home with Mommy and me.

Instead, you answered, “Going to get tater tots.” You drew a picture of yourself with 5 tater tots. To you, that apparently equals feeling special.

This weekend turned out to be a “stay in Nashville kind of weekend”. Coincidentally, “The Great Food Truck Festival” just happened to be taking place in the neighborhood next to ours, in the parking lot of the only place you have ever eaten tater tots: the critically acclaimed and award winning Burger Republic.

So Mommy and I decided to officially make you feel special…

In anticipation of the tater tots arriving, I helped distract you by drawing tomatoes on the Burger Republic coloring sheet for you to “run over” with your new acquired Jeep Scrambler. (I would scribble over each tomato after you rolled the car over each one that I had drawn on your race track.)

I could tell, just being there was a big deal to you. I could clearly see you felt special once those tater tots arrived!

Of course, I can’t fail to mention that we were visiting some of our wonderful friends there. (You’ve grown up with them and their dog.) You were fairly oblivious to their presence until after you had consumed the famous tater tots and we were outside on the playground next to Burger Republic.

It made my day to get to see you and their daughter Parker get along so well. Not only did you play perfectly synchronized, but I even think the two of you look a lot a like.

You were lucky. You didn’t have to take a nap because of the fact we met up with them about the time you should have been in the middle of your nap.

Fortunately, you were able to burn off 100% of the extra boost of energy you ironically get from not taking a nap.

I’m so glad to know that the the of you with be attending the same elementary school and be in the same grade once you graduate out of pre-school. I think Parker is going to make a great friend for you!

You were even able to successfully share your Jeep Wrangler with her. Man, that’s saying a lot…

We finished off the afternoon by walking in between all the glorious food trucks there for the festival.

Having already eaten the food that makes you feel very special, your main concern at that point was to find out which color truck was the coolest.

As I would imagine, you chose the pink one.

When you live in a fun city like Nashville, even the “stay at home weekends” end up being pretty interesting… and special.

Love,

Daddy

FYI: Burger Republic was unaware I was writing a “family friendly review” on them at the time. I was simply a paying customer who happened to be taking a lot of pictures of my son. In other words, I did not “work for free tater tots.” I simply have always enjoyed going to Burger Republic and thought they deserve a shout-out. In case you’re wondering, they do serve vegan burgers too.

Leave a comment Posted on September 13, 2014 food reviews, Health, Uncategorized, vegan

Experiment: Compare Annie’s Homegrown Ingredients A Year From Now in September 2015

Last night I posted Why I’m Happy About Annie’s Homegrown Being Bought Out By General Mills, to which a friend who actually was instrumental in my own transition from vegetariasm to veganism responded with this comment:

Monica Lang I’m not buying it. Keep a box today and compare the ingredients a year from now.
#noGMorAnniesinourhouseanymore

6 hours ago · Like

Actually, I think she’s got an excellent idea! She makes a great point. So I literally am going to do exactly what she suggested…

I took close-up pictures of the Annie’s Homegrown products we happened to have in our pantry. (In case you’re wondering, my son is a vegetarian, not a vegan- which explans the mac-and-cheese.)

A year from now, I will take and post pictures of the same products, if available, and compare them for everyone to see.

While I definitely could be wrong, and would quickly admit it if I am a year from now, I doubt think General Mills will mess with Annie’s Homegrown’s dedication to keeping their products organic, non-GMO, and free of artificial dyes and flavors.

The reason I am confident to say this is because General Mills can’t afford to “Monsanto-size” their newly acquired product line. The whole point in them acquiring Annie’s was because they know how much money a market we organic/non-GMO consumers shell out each year.

If they General Mills changes Annie’s ingredients, then people like me would simply start buying products of other food companies who do still have integrity.

I believe General Mills will make the right decision- not from the heart, like Annie’s always has, but because of the bottom line; it’s directly related to them making a profit.

So, let’s watch together how this works out. None of us can know for sure until September 2015.

See ya in a year!

Actually… please come back before then. I just mean, I’ll do a follow-up post on this in September 2015.

1 Comment Posted on August 26, 2014 food reviews, Uncategorized, vegan

GT’s Synergy Enlightened Kombucha Grape Chia: Vegan Friendly Review/Why I Gave Up Caffeine

Last September, five months after becoming a vegan, I took it a step further and swore off caffeine as well. I have been caffeine-free for nearly a year now.

I had begun perceiving caffeine as nothing more than the sophisticated (and socially acceptable) version of nicotine. Of course, in retrospect, I see that is indeed the case:

Caffeine had been “waking me up and keeping me awake” simply because I was addicted to it. To me, it was circular reasoning; like with nicotine.

After dedicating a whole day to going cold turkey to give up caffeine and therefore suffering a debilitating headache that took me to the floor for a couple of hours, I have had no further withdrawals.

I admire Starbucks for their ability to capitalize on the world’s most legal and unregulated addictive substance and still make it seem classy. Their coffee contains at twice the amount of McDonalds’ coffee to give you an extra kick and to get you extra addicted; as you can see in the chart above, orginally posted in the article How Much Caffeine Is Really In Your Morning Coffee?

With that being said, I no longer participate in Starbucks’ expensive scheme.

Because I am no longer addicted to caffeine, nor do I need it to wake up in the morning.

So of course, being a vegan who doesn’t consume caffeine, I am asked from time to time what I drink in the morning when I wake up.

The short answer is Kombucha tea… when I can afford it.

The specific answer is GT’s Synergy Enlightened Kombucha Grape Chia. It’s vegan, non-GMO, and organic.

I want to be clear that GT’s Synergy Enlightened Kombucha Grape Chia is not endorsing this review. They did not send me a case of their drinks in hopes I would positively review their product.

Instead, I bought a case of GT’s Synergy Enlightened Kombucha Grape Chia recently at Whole Foods. Usually, they cost around $3.50 per bottle, but at Whole Foods, when something is on sale, you get it for the sale price plus an addition 10% for buying the case, so I saved about $7, which is basically like getting 2 bottles free.

While at first glance GT’s Synergy Enlightened Kombucha Grape Chia might sound like an expensive habit, compare it to the price of just one latte at any coffee shop.

However, I only drink half a bottle during the course of one day, so as long as I catch GT’s Synergy Enlightened Kombucha Grape Chia on sale and buy it in bulk, I’m only looking at around 1.50 per day for my habit.

I don’t want to make it seem like Kombucha tea,GT’s Synergy Enlightened Kombucha Grape Chia specifically, simply and perfectly replaces the effects on caffeine.

Instead, the way I want to word it is that it makes me feel ultimately balanced.

Whereas caffeine gives you a temporary bolt of awareness and energy that typically ends with a crash later on in the day, Kombucha regulates my mind and body to a good neutral level.

I like to start off each morning with half a bottle, when I can. Meanwhile, my wife likes to drink a little bit of it before she goes to bed.

There are other flavors, but grape is definitely the stand-out for me.

It’s sort of like the healthy version of Grape Kool-Aid, coffee, and even beer, combined.

Let me know what you think of GT’s Synergy Enlightened Kombucha Grape Chia after you try it… and thanks for reading!

2 Comments Posted on August 26, 2014August 26, 2014 food reviews, Uncategorized, vegan

Vegan Friendly Review Of Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe

Earlier this summer our family took an awesome road trip/family vacation while reviewing the 2014 Toyota Highlander, which we drove round trip from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe.

While there in Squaw Valley, I kept a close watch on the “vegan friendliness factor” of the area; as I recently wrote a vegan friendly review of the city of Atlanta.

This review is for the growing minority of Americans who are living the plant-based life, or who are at least curious or open-minded about it, and may be travelling through Lake Tahoe; specifically, Squaw Valley, home of the 1960 Olympics.

It was this trip that our family officially realized the greatness of cheese-less veggie pizza.

Right where we stayed, at The Village at Squaw Valley is Fireside Pizza Company, my favorite restaurant of the entire Lake Tahoe area.

We dined there at least 3 times during our stay. We were able to get vegan pizza; yes, the crust and sauce are vegan.

The food was delicious and fresh; and honestly, the prices were not bad at all.

Venturing out of Squaw Valley just a few miles towards Lake Tahoe is Stony Ridge Uncommon Kitchen, a healthy cafe style restaurant at the back of a holistic grocery store called New Moon Natural Foods; where we were able to stock up on goods.

We also happened upon a Tahoe Mountain Brewing Company, which serves vegan burgers; given that you don’t order the type of bun brushed in butter. I was happy!

Close to Stony Ridge Uncommon Kitchen is a grocery story called Save Mart Supermarkets, that in the likeness of Kroger, has a vegan-friendly section.

They even had my favorite Kombucha… on sale!

Between all those options, we had everything we needed.

I will say that we also dined at a Mexican place called El Toro Bravo, but they didn’t understand what “vegan” means.

Their “vegan burrito” (that I invented and ordered off menu) included cheese on the 1st go-around. They got it right the 2^nd time, though.

Also, I verified that their chips are fried in vegetable oil, not lard.

So yes, you can make the trip to Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe a plant-based one. Hopefully you have found my vegan friendly review to be helpful… or at leastly oddly entertaining!

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