The ALL NEW Farm Fresh To You: A Fruit and Vegetable Subscription Box Service #FarmFreshToYou #Review and #Recipe

Farm Fresh To You, is not my usual subscription box that is filled with beauty related products but in some ways this one is too. Think of this Organic box as a Veggie and Fruit delight filled with food that will definitely aid in not only wellness, health, but beautifying you from the inside out. Let’s not even overlook that I absolutely love vegetables and fruit. I get excited and I’m one of those people that says, “look at that ___________, it’s gorgeous and I then start filling a produce bag like it’s going to sell out that second.  I try to purchase Organic when possible, as long as the produce looks good, is not overly priced and easy accessible. I hunt everywhere and most times lose track of how big the fridge is when I’m stuffing Lacinato Kale bundles in the dairy case. I’m not a juicer and truly just love how vegetables and fruit taste like. I will purchase the unknown produce item, google it in the car, and then have plans for what I’m going to make by the time I get home. I’m a believer of not, “knocking it until you try it”, and this is when I was so fortunate in being able to try Organic produce delivered to my home by Farm Fresh To You.

This is how the Service Works:

You have boxes that fit your cooking, eating to family size to choose from. Don’t like a vegetable or fruit offering? You simply can exchange the product for another by using the allotment (amount you are spending on the box of your choice) to replace that selection. Simple! Some items are harvested in limited numbers, so I did find a few items I could not add more of but sharing is something I do well and I like that customization is available and user friendly when ordering.

You can order from the Boxes below and this is with delivery included pricing:

• Mixed Fruit & Veggie Boxes– that range from $26 for the Small (1-2 people) to the Monster Box (6+ people) for $58.00
• Traditional CSA Boxes– is for produce that only comes from their own farm and neighboring partner farms. You can pick a Regular Box (2-4 people) for $33 or the More Box (4-6 people) for $46.00
• No Cooking Boxes– Options that fit the busy person and have items that are easily made or quick to grab and eat while on the go. A Small Box (1-2 people) is $26 and you have Regular Box (2-4 people) for $33 and the More Box for (4-6 people) for $46.00
• Fruit Only– 100% fruit and you have a Small for $26, Regular for $33 and More for $46.00
• Veggie Only Boxes– If you are Pro-Veggies 100%, you can opt for this selection. This one has two choices, the Regular Box (2-4 people) and the More (4-6 people) for $46.00
• Organic Snack Pack– Like I said, no excuses and this service gives you the option for healthier and better tasting packs that range from $35 for the Mini and serves 5 office people, to the Large for $110 and serves 30 people.

Each area has a delivery day, so it depends which zone you fall in on what day of the week they deliver. Mine was Friday but the best part, they deliver between the hours of 8PM on Thursday and 8AM on Friday. Yup, you wake up to surprises and what a great way to end a week. You can even prep meals on the weekend to eat better and tastier next week. You can also add other items like fresh eggs, local honeys to nuts and other treats.

What did I Order:
Okay, I have to start by saying that it’s just my Husband and I (and a dog) and we eat fresh as much as possible. I rarely open a can in this house and it’s usually to do a shortcut meal when using beans or roasted tomatoes. I love to cook and I love to change my weekly meals, so eating fresh fits us nicely and it’s just hard to get off it once you eat everything with texture and flavors intact. With that said, I went for the Monster Box from the Mixed and Veggie selection. I then again have one of those moments where the pictures get the best of me and I added more to my box. I ended up with a total of $59.35 and the box retails for $58, but I got what I wanted. I did change my selection like lowering the count of Gala apples from 10 to zero and adding Honeycrisp, plus changing items so I could add Purple Bell Peppers and so on.

When it Arrived:
I am not ashamed but I pretended I was catching up on my DVR when I was really just stalking my door. Farm Fresh To You delivered at 1:16 AM and not even a dog barked. The delivery person kindly placed two brown colored boxes by our gate and they were cold to the touch. The employees wear a bright colored vest and even the white truck’s engine was in “shhhhh mode”. If it was not for my “ninja at midnight” ways, I would have heard zilch.

My box was outside for 3 minutes. Hey, I had to first announce, “it’s here….it’s here, I’m not waiting for you (to my half asleep Husband) and I’m getting them”. It took energy and one minute longer to find my sandals because I was not stepping outside in my slipper socks 🙂

• Box #1- Bartlett Pears, Ruby Crescent Potatoes, Honeycrisp Apples, Nantes Carrots, Broccoli, Assorted Lettuce, Red Pomegranate, Gypsy Peppers, Black Grapes, and Hass Avocado

• Box #2- Valencia Oranges, D’ Anjou Pears, Baby Bok Choy,  Celery, Lacinato Kale, Asian Pear, Mixed Medley of Cherry Tomatoes, Purple Bell Peppers, and Zucchini

The four items I was eager to use from the boxes were the Medley of Cherry  tomatoes, the Purple Bell Peppers, the Gypsy Peppers and those adorable Ruby Crescent potatoes.

Cherry Tomatoes

Purple Bell Peppers

Gypsy Peppers

Red Crescent Potatoes

• Rustic Sausage, Potatoes and Vegetables

Rustic cooking for us is cooking with what we have at hand and what comes to mind.  Simplicity at its best and you measure ingredients by your mood and cravings, no rules and let the flavors shine! It’s about enjoying each ingredient and not drowning it out.

I decided to make a nice rustic dish of peppers, onions, tomatoes and sausages.  I used an Organic Chicken based sausage that was made with Sweet Basil and Roasted Garlic.  The sausage is pre-cooked but frozen.  I cut the larger potatoes in half and left the smaller ones as-is.  Added roughly chopped Green and Red Bell peppers, white onion, Italian Cubanelle Pepper and few garlic cloves.  I tossed everything with Olive Oil, salted, added dry tarragon, blacked cracked pepper, and dry lavender.  I cooked covered on the roasting setting (425 degrees) for 20 minutes.  This is to allow the potatoes to get a head start cooking and my frozen sausage to defrost.

After 20 minutes have lapsed, simply add the softer and more delicate peppers, like the Gypsy and Purple ones, plus the tomatoes and toss with melted butter and parsley.  Remove the defrosted sausages.  The butter and veggie mix gets added and mixed to the previous semi-cooked contents.  You toss and cook uncovered for 5 minutes.  Then add the sausages back.  I left the 2 chicken based ones whole and then sliced a (pre-cooked) pork Italian one to give the dish that added flavor.  Cook another 25 to 30 minutes uncovered, or until potatoes are tender. Two minutes before taking the dish out, I tossed the fresh Rosemary t0 give the dish a slight hint of flavor and aroma from the herb.

I then served the dish with a little cheese on top and a nice crusty loaf of bread.

This code gives you $15 off your first box!

• Go to- FarmFreshToYou
• Enter the unique Refer-A-Friend Code- LINE8541 or click here: http://tinyurl.com/mtc6a5b
• Save $15 on your first order.  That simple!

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Farm Fresh To You.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

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CellHealth Institute: HealthyCell® Supplement with over 90 Phytonutrients, Vitamins and Minerals; Morning and Evening formulas Review

I have never been a real believer of all-in-one products and this may be why I don’t take a multi-vitamin. All-in-ones in my opinion is like tossing everything a person may need and hoping for the best……that never ends right. Getting your nutrition via foods is optimal but I’m a realist and I know that can’t always be achieved. I go by my blood tests and thankfully I’m not lacking anywhere and when I saw my doctor, my Vitamin D was satisfactory and in the good range of the scale, but not what he considered to be “optimum” in rage. I started to investigate and really tried to get a range (number) on where a female my age should be and let’s say of course the Vitamin D council stated more than any lab found to be satisfactory in levels. Getting a “real story” depends on who you talk to and in the end I just took 1/2 a pill more to see if when my range changed I felt any positive benefits because I don’t want to take more than needed, when my results from the lab said I was fine, except for a physician that wanted me to be in an “optimal range”…..and of course the pills he sold through his website were pure-er than what is sold on the market! I changed my primary doctor by the way 🙂 .

I do believe certain nutrients can enhance how you feel to even how your skin glows. I call this “tweeking” and seeing if I feel and/or see results. I’m game in tweeking because I do it when I cook and I also apply the same thinking when I use beauty products. A little of this or that can make a difference both in energy levels to how you feel and look, BUT as long as you keep in mind what you are taking, sources and read clinical reports even as boring as they may seem, you just don’t want to waste $$$ on products that yielded little to no results against a placebo.

HealthyCell sent me a 30-day supply (120 pills) of their Phytonutrients, Vitamins and Minerals formula. The formulation is divided between 60 morning pills and 60 evening pills. I stagger my vitamins and minerals intake through out the day already, so my body doesn’t just purge my daily dosage overage within a few hours. I sort of feed it as the day passes in small doses. The morning formula supports energy and mental focus, while the PM formula supports restful sleep. I turn the box over and I must say the pills are filled with everything you can think of and then more. Every vitamin, mineral, down to the “free radical” complexes are broken down and everything is listed down to proprietary mixes being disclosed as to what they are. For example, you have Bioperine, which is a registered trademark and CellHealth made sure to list Black-pepper fruit extract right by it and I found that oddly forthcoming when it comes to the supplement world of today! They stick a trademark and proprietary blend and how can you compare one to the competitors when the contents can be legally kept hush? Sort of makes it hard knowing who to trust enough when it comes to ingesting a pill, powder, tablet to liquid form anything.

The guessing game was sort of squashed by the CellHealth Institute with their HealthyCell product but does it work?

Ingredients (as listed on the website): VITAMINS: Vitamin A (natural beta-carotene) Vitamin C (calcium ascorbate) Vitamin D (ergocalciferol) Vitamin E (natural tocopherols) Vitamin K (phylloquinone) Thiamin (thiamin pyrophosphate) Riboflavin Niacin (niacinamide) Vitamin B6 (pyridoxal-5-phosphate) Folate (folic acid) Vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin) Biotin Pantothenic acid – MINERALS: Calcium Iodine (potassium iodide & from kelp) Magnesium (magnesium oxide and glycinate) Zinc (zinc glycinate) Selenium (selenomethionine) Copper (copper lysinate) Manganese (manganese gluconate) Chromium Molybdenum (sodium molybdate) – TELOMERE NUTRIENTS: Purslane extract Turmeric root extract Cayenne pepper fruit Vanadium Fenugreek seed Milk thistle seed extract Borage seed oil Evening primrose oil – CALORIE RESTRICTION NUTRIENTS: Trans-resveratrol 99% Pterostilbene Fisetin Alpha-lipoic acid Coenzyme Q10 Betaine HCl Sulfur L-Carnitine tartrate Acetyl-L-carnitine HCl – ANTI-OXIDANTS: Anthocyanins Ginkgo biloba leaf extract Broccoli, kale, radish concentrate Grape skin extract Tomato lycopene extract Rosemary 4:1 extract Pine bark extract Lutein Green barley grass – DNA REPAIR: Melatonin Inositol hexaphosphate Mustard green extract Quercetin dihydrate – STEM CELL MAINTENANCE: Chlorella algae Spirulina algae Klamath blue-green algae Fucoxanthin seaweed Brown seaweed extract – CELL REGULATION: Gotu kola leaf Green tea extract DMAE bitartrate Cordyceps sinensis extract Green coffee bean extract L-Glutamine L-Theanine 5-HTP Jujube seed extract Taurine L-Arginine L-Ornithine Herbal sleep blend (passion flower, lemon balm, chamomile flower & poppy seed) Red algae extract – ABSORPTION ENHANCERS: Bacillus coagulans Black pepper fruit extract Astragalus membranaceus Panax notoginseng Triphala Artichoke leaf extract Amylase Neutral protease Cellulase Lactase Lipase

Verdict:
I took the pills as directed and removed any minerals and vitamins that echoed what I was taking prior. I was just left with taking prescribed medications because HealthyCell covered everything from the L-Arginine I was taking to my vitamins and minerals. The first few days I felt no difference until I noticed on the 8th day, I was sleeping better and waking up at the same time; 10 minutes before the alarm rang. I sort of enjoy this rather than being awoken to an annoying ring and this allowed me to get up more alert. As the days passed, I did notice improvement in my energy level and realize I was taking 1/2 a caffeine pill prior to taking HealthyCell because I was experiencing difficulties when it came to getting going in the AM hours. Noon would hit and not much was accomplished and I was not satisfied with that. The combination of HealthyCell’s ingredients in the pills improved my performance and I had forgotten I had taken out the caffeine boost, because I just did not feel the lag. Being able to accomplish what I wanted to do and being satisfied with my performance and energy level, it resulted in being in a better mood. Just getting restful sleep can improve your mood and I thank HealthyCell for that. The only supplemental food that I have in the morning with my breakfast, is flax seed. I enjoy the digestion benefits from the fiber to the Omega-3 fatty acids. I still continued eating Flax seed both whole and ground, even though there are ingredients that fulfill the nutritional values and benefits in HealthyCell, I just enjoy the taste and texture my yogurt gets from the seeds.

Retail Price Point: $29.90 via Amazon for a box that yields a 30-Day supply of 120 pills (60 in the AM and 60 for PM use).  User of the product takes 2 pills in the morning and 2 pills in the evening.

Connect with the CellHealth Institute and check-out HealthyCell at:

• CellHealthy On-line
• HealthyCell on-line
• Amazon
• #HealthyCell
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google+
• YouTube

I received the above product(s) free of charge from HealthyCell.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Garlic Gold: Tri-Color Quinoa Grain Vegetable Medley Salad that can be Baked too #MeatlessMonday #recipe

 

This recipe is a 2-in-1, where you can make a salad or go for a a little protein kick by adding an egg and baking. Bakes in less than 15 minutes!  A Great Spring dish and perfect for our latest California’s weather where it is hot in the day but cold at night.

Let’s begin….

1/4 cup of Tri-Color Quinoa (measure dry and pre-cook with water, with a little salt and pepper)
1/2 cup of Kale (roughly chopped)
1/3 of a cup of Broccoli
1/8 of a cup of Green Bell Pepper
1/2 a Zucchini
1 Slice of Red Onion
1 Slice of White Onion
1 tablespoon of Garlic Gold Red Wine Vinaigrette
1 teaspoon of Olive Oil (reserved for cooking phase)

Garlic Gold Nuggets to taste and you can also add a Goat Cheese crumble

Optional (if Baking)-
1 egg
Fat of your choice (butter, olive oil, coconut oil, ect.) to oil the dish
Honey Goat Cheese crumbled on top
Garlic Gold Nuggets and an Arugula toss (raw arugula with a drizzle of the Garlic Gold Red Wine Vinaigrette)

I start by cooking the Quinoa and it takes about 10 minutes. If any water is left, drain and just set aside in a bowl.

I then start chopping all the vegetables and this is roughly done because I am aiming for bite size.

Heat up a skillet and add the 1 teaspoon of Olive Oil or any fat of your choice (or even none). Start sauteing the onions and bell pepper until you get a nice golden color but keep in mind you want crunch left.

I add the saute onions and bell peppers to the bowl with the Quinoa. Using the same pan, I saute the zucchini for a little over 1 minute because again I aiming for a par-cooked texture and I want the vegetable to get color but preserve some firmness.

The zucchini gets added to the bowl. I then add the broccoli and kale and again saute for under a minute.

The cooking intensifies the flavors and takes the bore out of eating your vegetables 🙂 Once everything is in the bowl, I add the Garlic Gold Red Wine Vinaigrette.

The Garlic Gold adds flavor and this is why we used little to no seasonings beforehand. Toss and then you can enjoy as-is, add the goat cheese and/or move on to baking.

If Baking-
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

I used an oven-safe au gratin dish that fits the above contents nicely and allows the egg to have room. It’s approximately 2-cups in size. I used a Coconut Oil and a Butter blend to oil my dish and prevent the egg from sticking.

I then add the vegetables and Quinoa mix, make sure everything is evenly spread and leveled.

I cracked 1 egg an it’s up to you if you wish to add a little milk when whisking. Once the egg is whisked, I then simply pour it over the vegetables and add the crumbled goat cheese.

I bake the dish for 15 minutes, with the first half covered (tented with foil so it does not come in contact with the cheese) and the other half uncovered. The vegetables remain with a nice crunch and full of flavor.

I opted to top my bake with an Arugula toss (arugula and a little dash of the Garlic Gold vinaigrette) and a dash of the Garlic Gold Nuggets. This adds flavor and you get a nice warm and cold contrast.

This dish can be made ahead and just add the egg and bake when you are ready. You can have the salad on top of romaine lettuce with a toasted pita on the side, but it’s filling, low in calories and fat but most importantly……Garlic Gold delicious! Enjoy!’

 

 

You can also make this easy dish by getting your own Garlic Gold Products at:

On-line– http://garlicgold.com/

Visit Garlic Gold on Facebook– https://www.facebook.com/GarlicGold

Twitter– https://twitter.com/garlicgold

See the pretty Garlic Gold products and the other dishes you can create on Pinterest– http://www.pinterest.com/garlicgold/

 

I received the above product free of charge from Garlic Gold.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.