Sunday Post 12/4 -- A Blissful Time of Year

Happy December! Although Boston didn't get the snowy welcome in to December like Denver did, I got my first ever Blissmo box Thursday -- I like to think of it as the first Christmas gift of the season (that, and the stuff I bought on cyber Monday. . .) 

If you've never heard of it before, Blissmo Box is a box of organic, eco-friendly products that is delivered to you once a month. Each month there are three themes to choose from. You pick the theme you want, and the wonderful people at Blissmo fill your box with goodies and mail them to you.

My box's theme was Pure & Simple Snacks. Along with each box is a pamphlet that tells you about the company of each product and how much each product is worth. Okay, so onto the goods:

Doctor Krackers
These flabread-like crackres are not only made with organic cereal grains, mineral-rich bran (provides some protein), and organic seeds,they also contain Omega-3's -- an essential fatty acid that can sometimes be hard to get in the diet  if you don't eat a lot of fish. Although kind of bland in flavor, the texture is complex with a mixture of crisp from them being so thin and a crunch from the seeds. The box recommends putting peanut butter and fruit spread on them for a quick snack. Haven't tried it yet, but I can say they taste good with Trader Joe's creamy Gouda.

Pure Bars
The box came with three flavors: Chocolate Almond, Peanut Raisin Crunch, and Superfruit Nutty Crunch. So far I've only tried the peanut raisin crunch, and I have to say I was disappointed, I couldn't eat more than a bite. The flavor was a bit off, a bit too salty (I'm super sensitive to salt thought), but what really turned me off was the texture. I was expecting the bars to be similar to Kind Bars, with a more of a crunch than a gooey, but this bar was way more gooey than crunchy. Hopefully the other two are better.

Helwa Lemon Organic Wafers
After being disappointed with the Pure Bar, I was nervous to try the others. These lemon wafers are delicious! (Thus, proving that it's pretty hard to mess up anything lemon-flavored) Helwa Wafers are organic and vegan, made with less sugar than those pink, orange, and cream-colored wafers I grew up eating? (Please tell me some of you remember them) I've been stashing these in my desk drawer for a quick sugar pick-me-up during these last crazy weeks of the semester.

Crofter's Organics North American Superfruit Fruit Spread
 Another win for Blissmo! I've never been a fan of strawberry jam, raspberry is fine, but I've always been more of a grape girl. Actually, I've never been a huge jam fan, always preferring a peanut butter and peanut butter sandwich, but I do like jam on oatmeal toast or sourdough toast. I went to Crofeter's website to get more info on their spreads, and it turns out that they have an Asian, North America, Europe, and South America fruit spread, that all differ in the types of fruits they contain. The goal is for the spread to contain superfruits native on that continent. The North America spread contains wild cranberries and blueberries blended with red grapes and morello cherries. Much tarter than grape jam, a little of this spread goes a long way. Their website has a store locater so you can buy these spreads yourself -- I highly recommend it!

Once Again Crunchy Peanut Butter
They know me so well. Opening the box to find a jar of peanut butter made me fall in love with Blissmo. Despite my enthusiasm, I'm blushing when I say I haven't tried it yet. The thing is I have a 3/4-full jar of Trader Joe's Peanut Butter and only two weeks left at school, so the plan is to bring the new peanut butter home, and I'm thinking it's safer to pack an unopened jar. What I do know about this PB is it's 100% free of hydrogenated vegetable oils, certified organic, vegan, and gluten-free, made in the USA by US employees, free of preservatives, and the container is made from 50% recycled glass. 

Salazon Chocolate Bar
I've saved the most unique for the last.  "Salazon Chocolate: Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt (seems pretty normal so far) & Organic Cracked Pepper," okay, that's when I got worried. I've learned to love a little sea salt in my chocolate bar, but pepper? Really? At first bite, all you can taste is a deep dark chocolate with a hint of salt, then, just as the chocolate starts to melt away and you're taking your last few chews, the pepper flavor appears. I'm definitely not in love with this bar, but I don't dislike it either. It's odd. My roommate and I agree that you don't crave this bar, you enjoy the small piece that you're eating, then you're done, you don't feel the need to reach for more. Although I probably wont purchase this flavor on my own, I would be interested in trying out their other flavors, since the chocolate quality is fantastic.

Since it's officially baking season, I thought I'd start your week with some links to healthier options for those yummy cookie plates!

Cooking Light's 100 Healthy Cookies

Healthy Black and White Cake Cookies

Healthy Chai Shortbread Cookies

Vanilla Bean Shortbread

20 Naughty and Nice Desserts from Family Kitchen

12 Days of Vegan Treats from Healthy Happy Life (You DEFINITELY don't have to be vegan to enjoy these holiday treats!) 

 

On Friday I saw City and Colour at House of Blues in Boston. Dallas Green is hands down one of the most talented artists I've seen. PLEASE go see his show if he comes to your city!

 

City and Colour performing my favorite song of theirs "Sleeping Sickness"

-Kelli