If you haven’t heard of them yet, White Mountain Foods is a company that strives to make the purest whole foods possible. Their mission is simply to provide their customers with completely additive and preservative free, minimally processed, organic when possible, tasty, vegetarian foods. Their product line includes Bulgarian Yogurt, Greek Cheese, vegan Tamales, Tofu Salad, and much more. They are a family owned and operated company with years of experience based out of Texas. So, When I received a shipment from White Mountain Foods, I was more than excited to try products from a company that believes food should be as pure and fresh as possible like I do.

the review

I sampled the Organic Bulgarian Yogurt, Cottage Tofu Salad, No-Egg Tofu Salad, Tofu Onion Dip, and Chipotle-Mushroom Tamales and this is what I found:

Organic Bulgarian Yogurt – This is one of my new favorite yogurts! Brightly tangy, this yogurt’s freshness pops in your mouth. The texture is smooth and fluid and the flavor is delightfully tangy. When I used it in recipes I found it took a meal to a different level. A Bulgarian Yogurt smoothie is a must and I honestly felt energized after drinking one for breakfast. White Mountain’s Bulgarian Yogurt is a whole milk probiotic yogurt making it a fantastic immune supporting food.

My daughter Mia enjoyed it so much she asked for a smoothie every morning. We also made these amazingly good Cherry Yogurt Pops with White Mountain Bulgarian Yogurt.

Tofu products – I’ll be honest with you here. I’m not the biggest fan of tofu. I will eat it on an occasional basis but it is not a part of my everyday diet. Having that said, the Tofu Onion Dip, Cottage Tofu Salad, and No-Egg Tofu Salad were surprisingly outstanding and they are all made with Non-GMO Tofu. The Tofu Onion Dip tasted exactly like homemade onion dip and we were all shocked that it did. It was fantastic and I would certainly use it on a sandwich or as a dip again. The Cottage Tofu was fresh and bright with just a hint of lemon and was a great pairing with fresh vegetables. The No-Egg Tofu Salad tasted exactly like egg salad with the texture to match. I’m not going to lie, I am not a fan of egg salads but my husband who is a fan, liked it.

Chipotle-Mushroom Tamales – Made with whole natural ingredients, these Chipotle-Mushroom Tamales were delicious. Savory with just a touch of an earthy spiciness, theses tamales taste fresh and the unique chipotle mushroom flavor mixed with the tomato paste made a great flavor combination. I would recommend steaming to reheat them. I did find that microwaving the tamales made for a drier texture.

the verdict

I love being introduced to companies and new foods that I might not have ever found on my own. White Mountain Foods is a beautiful company just trying to provide us with real, whole, and delicious food. I highly recommend trying their products, especially the Organic Bulgarian Yogurt. Delicious!

White Mountain Foods are distributed nationally. Visit their website to find a store near you.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from White Mountain Foods. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Treats Truck, a new baking book by Kim Ima, is a surprisingly delightful and simple baking book that is perfect for all. It’s quirky design captures your interest instantly and the easy to follow baking instructions makes everyone of her recipes achievable. From the famous Treats Truck sandwich cookies to cakes and pies, this baking book has all of the traditional and delicious treats you grew up with and some new ones too covered!

After a conversation with a friend about cookies, Kim Ima’s dream was realized and soon enough the Treats Truck was born. A silver food truck turned into a dynamite baking mobile, The Treats Truck currently roams the streets of New York delighting customers with Kim’s sweet treats. After much success in the truck and The Treats Truck Stop (her bakery and cafe in Brooklyn), The Treats Truck Baking Book born.

Now, I’ve never been to visit the Treats Tuck before in person, but after reading and testing some of the recipes I can assure you it must be something spectacular. The Treats Truck Baking Book starts with simple yet delicious recipes of all of our favorite cookies from peanut butter to sugar to chocolate. Kim then lets us in on the secret of her cookie sandwiches and all of the delectable fillings. I have found the possibilities are endless! After the cookie extravaganza you will find the Treat Trucks favorite cakes, cupcakes, brownies, and pie recipes including a recipe for ICE CREAM CONE CUPCAKES (this one I need to make soon)!

The Peanut Butter Chocolate Truckers are pretty awesome!

I found The Treats Truck Baking Book to be informative, easy to follow, and a great reference for basic baking. You won’t find a gastronomical baking invention in here but what you will find is beautiful and tasty sweet treats. This one will be great for the beginning baker, home cook, teenager, college student, and practically everyone that loves to cook and bake! As Kim says on the cover, “Not too fancy, always delicious!”

Disclosure: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from William Morrow. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

I’ve been excited about this cookbook release for awhile now and when asked to review it was overjoyed to say the least. If you aren’t aware of Food52 yet, it is an on-line food community created by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, successful cookbook authors and noted women in the food world. They created a place to give “people from all over the world a way to exchange their ideas and to celebrate each other’s talents.” Food52.com was such a success that Amanda and Merrill created The Food52 Cookbook released recently and published by William Morrow.

The Food52 Cookbook: 140 Winning Recipes From Exceptional Home Cooks captures the amazing talent from the Food52.com community. For 52 weeks, recipe contests were run on the website and the winning 140 recipes create this book. The collection itself is impressive but not at all overwhelming. I think inspiring is a better word to describe the collection because every time I have opened its beautifully photographed pages I want to jump in the kitchen. The recipes are simple to follow but not “dumbed down” and I love that it includes tips for each recipe, an insight to the recipe creator, and a community review of each recipe. Living up to the name, The Food52 Cookbook is organized by seasons, an idea that is not found often in today’s cookbooks. This is how we should cook. Not by what was made and frozen five months ago but what is in season now.

This is not your average “home cook” collection of  recipes but more of an extensive collection of real, whole, and simply beautiful food. With recipes such as Ciabatta Stuffing with Chorizo, Sweet Potato, and Mushrooms; Wishbone Roast Chicken with Herb Butter; Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies; Ricotta and Chive Gnocchi; and Lazy Mary’s Lemon Tart, this is a cookbook for everyone that really loves food and knows the value of cooking a good meal for their friends and family. The Food52 Cookbook: 140 Winning Recipes From Exceptional Home Cooks is definitely one of my favorites that I will be sucked into for a long time.

The Giveaway is now closed and winners have been notified. Thanks for participating!  I’m so in love with this book I want to give you a copy! I have two books, courtesy of William Morrow, to giveaway to two lucky people. This is a must have for the holidays. The giveaway will end at noon (central) on Monday, November 28, 2011. Two winners will be chosen by random.org.

To enter do one or all of the following:

• Leave a comment at the end of this post telling me what your favorite dish to cook for the holiday is.
• Tweet the following: “A must have for the holidays! Enter to win the new Food52 Cookbook from @smonkeyslippers http://su.pr/2yZnjS ” Leave a separate comment saying you did
• Like InSockMonkeySlippers on Facebook. If you already do that works too! Leave a separate comment

Good Luck!

There is nothing more simple to make that produces such an elegant outcome than a compound butter. It is one of my favorite little tricks for entertaining and always adds a pop to a dish. Placing a small bowl of compound butter on a holiday table brings an extra bit of glamor to a meal and will have your guests talking. A compound butter is basically a butter with added ingredients that produces a flavored butter and can change a meal completely! Practically anything can be combined with softened butter and it takes only minutes.

Recently, I was asked by Kerrygold, the makers of pure Irish butter and cheeses, to create a usage for their new Kerrygold Naturally Softer Pure Irish Butter and Kerrygold Reduced Fat Irish Butter as part of a contest between a few selected food bloggers. Naturally I said yes. I mean how could anyone say no to butter? And Kerrygold isn’t just any plain butter but an all-natural butter that uses milk from grass fed cows.

Their new Naturally Softer Pure Irish Butter is unlike that of many soft spreads out their that contain oils and additives. Kerrygold just contains two ingredients: cream and salt and I have found with it’s smooth consistency it is perfect to use for a compound butter. Their new Reduced Fat Pure Irish Butter is just as good and great to use for a compound butter as well. With 25% less fat than traditional butter and 50% less sodium, Kerrygold’s Reduced Fat Butter is a wonderful choice if you are cutting down on fat and sodium but still want natural ingredients (just cream and salt) and delicious butter flavor. The taste of both Kerrygold Softer Pure Irish Butter and Reduced Fat Irish Butter is unbelievable!

Now lets get onto those compound butters, shall we? Like I said earlier a compound butter can be made with your favorite flavors and spices. Here are two intensely delicious butters to add a kick to practically anything you would use butter with. The first compound butter is a Pumpkin and Spice Compound Butter. Perfect for the holidays or an indulgent treat on breads, pancakes, waffles, or french toast. The second is a reduced fat Roasted Garlic and Herb Compound Butter that will add falvor and depth to sauteed, grilled, or roasted meats, seafood, and vegetables without the extra fat.

*cooks note: today I’m using both Kerrygold Softer Pure Irish Butter and Kerrygold Reduced Fat Irish Butter that come in 8 ounce tubs. One 8 ounce tub equals 2 (4oz) sticks of butter.

Pumpkin and Spice Compound Butter makes 8oz

• 1 tub (8 ounces) of Kerrygold Softer Pure Irish Butter
• 2 1/2 Tbs pumpkin puree, fresh or canned
• 2 Tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg (1/4 tsp if using dried ground nutmeg)

Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To serve, spread on warm toast, bread, bagels, french toast, waffles, the possibilities are pretty much endless and the outcome is incredible.

…now for the Roasted Garlic Herb Compound Butter.
Just give me a loaf of bread and a knife.

Roasted Garlic and Herb Compound Butter makes 8 ounces

• 1 head of garlic
• 2 Tbs fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 Tbs fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 tub Kerrygold Reduced Fat Pure Irish Butter (8 oz)

Serve right away or store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Try this Roasted Garlic and Herb Compound Butter on grilled or sauteed vegetables, meats and seafood, and pasta for a light meal or on toasted bread for an insanely good garlic bread. Enjoy!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from Kerrygold. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 

A while back I received a box on my doorstep that was full of mushroom delicacies form FungusAmongUs {the organic mushroom people} and I was extatic to try out all of these delicacies. If you haven’t heard of or seen FungusAmongus in Whole Foods and other leading markets, they are the leader in delectable, exotic organic and wild crafted mushrooms and mushroom products. The FungusAmongus product line has an extensive varity of unique mushrooms; three Certified Organic Mélange Seasoning and Rub Marinades; a line of three Certified Organic gourmet Soup Mixes; and an Italian truffle line. All of which can be found in various markets and online at FungusAmonUs.com. Great name, don’t you think.

We love mushrooms in this family but living in an area where produce variety is scarce, I was happy to be introduced to this company and their line of products.  My taste buds where almost overwhelmed with anticipation as I opened the box that contained FungusAmongus’ Organic Porcini Powder, Fiesta Blend Organic Mushroom Melange, Mediterranean Blend Organic Mushroom Melange, Balsamic Vinaigrette Infused with White Truffle, and Natural Morel Mushrooms. It was time to get to work.

I tried the Organic Porcini Powder first and was amazed at how fresh the powdered smelled. I think mushroom powders are something underused in the kitchen. A simple tablespoon of a porcini powder for example on baked, grilled or seared meats can give a dish a burst of wonderful flavor. I used 2 tablespoons of this porcini powder combined with 1 teaspoon rosemary, 1 teaspoon sage, 1 tsp Kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp ground pepper to make a rub for 2 pork tenderloins. Roasted in a preheated 425°F oven for 30 minutes and we had a fabulous meal.

Next, I tried the Fiesta Blend Organic Mushroom Melange and the Mediterranean Blend Organic Mushroom Melange, a blend of dried mushrooms, herbs, and spices without any preservatives or added salt. The Fiesta Blend is organic dried Shiitake mushrooms blended with vegetables and spices that added a very pleasant kick to sauteed vegetables. And the Mediterranean Blend is organic dried Porcini mushrooms blended with Mediterranean spices. This was exceptionally good in olive oil for a bread dipper and surprisingly tasty in individual spinach quiches with parmesan shavings that I made in a muffin tin. I found both of these are great flavor boosters for practically anything.

The Balsamic Vinaigrette Infused with White Truffle was also a treat and I found it to be a pleasing mixture of flavors with an abundant note of white truffle. We actually used it as a bread dipper but found it to be a good marinade and salad dressing.

The Dried Natural Morel Mushrooms were definitely a winner. The flavor was outstanding for a dried mushroom and when hydrated and cooked made a meal that the husband said he wanted over and over again.

The verdict for FungusAmongUs… two slippers up. Even the resident three year old enjoyed almost everything. Everything was fresh with abundant flavor and I would certainly recommend any product from them. I found myself kicking myself for not using dried mushrooms more often in my cooking as they add flavor to practically any dish and can be used in so many ways, especially when fresh mushrooms are not available or not in season.

The Giveaway is now closed and the winner is Kim!

FungusAmongUs and I want you to taste the power of dried mushrooms as well. Enter to win a full set of the Melange spice blends (Fiesta, Mediterranean and Pacific). Giveaway ends at noon (central time) on October 26th 2011 and the winner will be notified by e-mail. U.S. and Canadian residents only please.

Four ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment at the end of this post telling us your favorite way to use mushrooms in a recipe or how you plan to use these spice blends.

2. Like ISMS on Facebook and leave a comment here

3. Follow ISMS on Twitter and leave a comment here

4. Like FungusAmongus on Facebook (they post some great recipes) and leave a comment here

Freezer to plate are words I don’t usually shout from the rooftops, but when you’re talking about wild seafood I’m all for it! Until lately, I never knew that you could just throw a frozen piece of fish in the oven and cook it in a relatively short time with good outcomes.  Alaska Seafood has organized a beautiful campaign to teach us this simple Cook It Frozen technique and I’ve been asked to test it out along with the Cook It Frozen website, and Cook It Frozen iPhone app.

With their commitment to wild sustainable fishing practices not only does Alaska Seafood care about providing healthy fresh seafood, they understand that a quick and easy meal can sometimes be a parents best asset in raising their family. Their Cook It Frozen (CIF) campaign basically teaches a fast technique to cooking seafood without defrosting through the CIF website and iPhone app.

The CIF technique is simple. When you are ready to cook a piece of frozen Wild Alaska Seafood, remove it from the packaging, rinse fish under cold water to remove the ice glaze and then use one of the CIF techniques to saute, roast, broil, grill, steam or poach. The website and iPhone app have all of the information and recipes needed for every technique for many types of fish. To give this a good try I tried out the CIF technique with Wild Alaska Salmon, Halibut, and Cod and cooked them all using different CIF techniques and recipes. Our favorite was the Thai Green Curry Alaska Salmon. Here’s a little walk through:

Alaska Seafood MKTG Institute

1. I downloaded the Cook It Frozen App for my iPhone.

2. Found the fish I wanted to cook, salmon. Then I clicked how I wanted to cook it, poached. And then picked through many recipes and choose Thai Green Curry Alaska Salmon.

3. I Followed the recipe and had a delicious 20 minute meal without having to spend the time thawing a piece of fish.

cookitfrozen.com

We also tried these recipes Alaska Cod and Smoked Salmon Chowder and Greek Baked Halibut In A Pouch and found them and the techniques very simple and delicious.

All in all the Cook it frozen techniques easy and simple to use. They saved the time to defrost and I was especially thankful because I didn’t have to remember to take something out of the freezer hours in advance. The recipes were easy to follow and turned out beautifully but I did find the sauteing technique to have a little drier outcome than the other techniques. The CIF website was incredibly simple to use and found it to be a lot easier than the iPhone app. The CIF iPhone app was simple to use as well but almost contained to much information as it ran slow on my iPhone and was a little harder to navigate than the website but I still enjoyed having the CIF app on my phone. Both the website and iPhone app contained exact recipes, mouthwatering pictures and wonderfully helpful videos that were great to get started with.

Seafood has so many amazing health benifits, that I am glad that I was introduced to the cook it frozen technique. I have found myself running to the freezer to grab a fish more often when that age old question arises, “What’s for dinner?” Unfortunately, I can no longer use the excuse, “Uh..I didn’t defrost any fish or meat for dinner so we’ll have to go out.” with the husband.I would definitely recomend you check out Alaska Seafood’s Cook It Frozen Technique at cookitfrozen.com or downloading the free iPhone or  iPad apps.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from Alaska Seafood. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. FTC 16 CFR, Part 255

As a proper Texas girl, I have been in love with tortillas since birth. Everything is better when wrapped in a tortilla. But as a mom I have become increasingly aware of the excess and unnecessary ingredients in packaged tortillas. For the major packaged tortilla brands this includes a long list of preservatives, MSG (seriously why?!),  hydrogenated oils, corn syrup (again why?) and other things that if we simply made them at home would never ever be in a tortilla recipe.

But who has the time to make tortillas on a daily basis? Not I said the fly. That’s why I was thrilled to give Tortilla Land flour tortillas a try. With five simple ingredients; wheat flour, water, canola oil, salt, and sugar, Tortilla Land Flour Tortillas are all natural, no cholesterol, no saturated fat, and 0 trans fat. A massive burrito size tortilla is the same amount of calories and less fat than most major brand taco sized tortillas I found.

Because Tortilla Land Tortillas are made without preservatives and all-natural ingredients they are packaged uncooked. Simply place on a medium high skillet and wait about 30 to 45 seconds until bubbles start to rise. Flip the tortilla and cook for an additional 30 seconds until golden. In 60 seconds you have a fresh practically homemade tortilla.

The verdict: Amazing! These tortillas reminded me of the fresh tortillas that my nanny’s mom would make and I would devour when I was younger. Thin, flavorful, and remarkably fresh, Tortilla Land Flour Tortillas are perfect for quesadillas, tacos, wraps and more. Trust me I tired them on everything. Two slippers up!

Pros:

• all natural
• fresh
• no preservatives
• 5 ingredients
• no cholesterol
• great taste and texture

• Tortilla Land Flour Tortillas 1 to 2 per person
• eggs, 1 per tortilla
• cheese, cheddar or monteray jack
• variety of vegetables such as: red and green bell pepper, spinach, corn, green onion, mushrooms, tomato, or onion
• variety of cooked breakfast meats such as: bacon or breakfast sausage

Preheat oven to 350°F. Chop your vegetable and meat choices in small pieces.

In an ungreased muffin tin, place the tortillas in a muffin cup, pressing to form into the cup.

Staying away from the fried chips and over salted processed snacks is hard when you have a family that is always on the run and constantly snacking. We run a rotation of pretzels, cheese, fruit and nuts in our house and trust me it can get boring. You can imagine my excitement to try something new that fit into our family’s snack regimen that was not only tasty but healthy.

The Good Bean is the first branded all natural roasted chickpea snack and truly they are delicious! They come in four flavors – Sea Salt, Cracked Pepper, Smoky Chili & Lime, and Sweet Cinnamon. With one serving providing as much fiber as 2 cups of broccoli, as much protein as one egg, and as much folate as 3 cups of spinach, these tasty little treats are the perfect healthy snack for everyone.

The family and I sat down and dove into the entire Good Bean line to give the little roasted chickpeas a true test. The verdict… amazing! The roasted chickpeas are about the size of a pea and the texture is a little crunchy and unexpectedly soft in a good way. I was impressed at the natural ingredient list that I could pronounce and the packaging is perfect to throw in my purse or lunch box. The flavors were well balanced but one stood out as our absolute favorite, the Sweet Cinnamon. We absolutely loved this one, especially the ultra-marathon husband runner of mine who found it to be just the right amount of cinnamon and sugar paired with the chickpea flavor. The slightly spicy Cracked Pepper was my favorite with the Sea Salt coming in third. Unfortunately, we were not pleased with the Chili & Lime flavor. Even though we are chili and lime fans here, there was something just a little off with this combination that didn’t favor well with us but that’s just our opinion.

The Good Bean is definately on the favorite list of our family now. I’ll use them as a snack, accompiment to salads and soups and especially as a treat in Mia’s lunch box. These affordable (retails around $2.50), gluten-free, delicious, roasted chickpeas are worth the try. You can find more info and a store location near you at www.thegoodbean.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from The Good Bean. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. In accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255

photo: Back To The Roots

I can’t tell you how excited I was when I received this product for a review! A simple, eco-friendly way to grow fresh mushrooms in my kitchen in just a matter of days was right up my alley and a fantastic project for Mia, my almost three year old, to get into.

After discovering they could grow gourmet mushrooms from recycled coffee grounds during their time at UC Berkeley, founders Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez transformed their future as investment bankers to full time urban mushroom farmers. Don’t you love a story like that? Recently, they launched the Easy-to-Grow Mushroom Garden, a mushroom kit that lets anyone grow up to 1lb of delicious oyster mushrooms at home in as little as 10 days – all on recycled coffee grounds! In 2011, Back to the Roots is on pace to collect, divert & reuse 1 million lbs of coffee grounds from Peet’s Coffee & Tea, thus reducing waste in our landfills. Arora and Velez’ commitment to bring sustainable fresh food  to our table while still remaining eco-freindly is inspiring and a product to stand behind.

The Easy-to-Grow Mushroom Garden is simple to use and absolutely a no-hassle project that anyone can do! Once it arrived, Mia and I opened the box, created slits in the bag that contained the “soil” and soaked it in water overnight. We then placed it back in the cardboard box that it came in and then watched, spraying with water twice a day with the provided spray bottle. For the first couple of days we didn’t see anything and then one morning Mia screamed with delight when we saw the “baby” mushrooms start to grow. Soon after we had an outstanding crop of pearl oyster mushrooms! It was that simple and rewarding. The only problem I had was knowing when to harvest. If you wait too long the mushrooms will dry out; but not to worry, just place them in a bowl of water to rehydrate. Our favorite way to use them is to roast in a 400° oven with fingerling potatoes and a little olive oil and garlic.

I love this timelapse video that shows the growth cycle of the mushrooms.

Pros: healthy, easy, educational, environmentally friendly, and can be used for two harvests

Cons: (1) A little pricy compaired to what you pay for a pound of oyster mushrooms at the store but the experience is worth it. (2)Using good sense to know when to harvest! *note: sometimes good sense is absent in this house

Back To The Roots Easy-to-Grow Mushroom Garden is absolutely worth a try for chefs, home cooks, foodies and definitely children! Speaking of children, Back To The Roots has a wonderful Facebook campaign to support education for healthy and sustainable food. Whenever someone posts a picture of the kit they’ve grown on their facebook page, they’ll donate a free kit + sustainability curriculum to a school classroom of their choice! Love it!

I fully stand behind this and want you to give it a try. Thanks to Back To The Roots, use this code Mushrooms4me10 for a 10% discount. For more information or to purchase your own kit, visit http://www.bttrventures.com/.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from Back To The Roots. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

The time of neon colored and artificial fruit icy pops is long over! Thank goodness because I can’t tell you how the thought of Mia biting into a tube of frozen food dye and corn syrup was making me a bit nauseous. Introducing Power of Fruit, the one of a kind pure fruit frozen fruit bar.

It’s rare that I get this excited about a product review but I fully stand behind this one. Power Of Fruit bars are a new concept in the fruit bar industry. Get this, they are actually made of fruit! Real fruit and nothing else. There are no added preservatives, chemicals, artificial or  ”natural” flavors, corn syrup, dyes, or sugar. It’s just sweet and delicious fruit. It’s that simple…Seriously. Power Of Fruit bars come in five flavors: CherryBerry, Orange Tango, All-Fruit, Tropical, and BananaBerry. They are 100% frozen fruit, less than 36 calories a bar, no artificial colors, sweeteners or preservatives, less than 10 grams of sugar and the best benefit of all is that one bar represents half of one fruit serving.

Over the past week I gave bars to Mia and five of her friends. All but one favored these to the neon bars you find in the grocery store. She couldn’t get over that there was actual fruit bits in the bar. The rest of the kids, including Mia, absolutely loved them. Tropical was by far the favorite, with BananaBerry second, then Orange Tango, CherryBerry, and All-Fruit following. Mia now asks for them daily and I have no problem giving them to her. Actually, as a real food advocate, I feel quite good about it.

Over all a great review for Power Of Fruit and I fully recommend you grab a box for your kids (or yourself) to help brighten those hot summertime blues!

To find more information about Power of Fruit visit www.poweroffruit.com

The giveaway is now closed and the winner is… Jennifer R. with the answer, “Ice cream and lots of it!”

Leave a comment below and answer this question: What’s your favorite way to beat the summer heat?

One comment will be chosen randomly and the lucky winner will win 5 boxes of Power Of Fruit (a $25 value)!!!! 5 boxes! Trust me it’s worth it. We have enjoyed every box here. The winner will be chosen next Friday, July 1, 2011 at noon central time and notified by e-mail. U.S. residents only please.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from Power Of Fruit. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255