Travel

Natural Products Expo West 2014

Special thanks to Newhope 360 for the press pass to the Natural Products Expo West 2014! I had a blast sampling and learning about new natural food brands from Friday-Sunday and came home with a ton of goodies! Below are my top picks from this year’s expo as well as photos from my adventure!

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1. Vega One Nutritional Shake

Fav Flav: Vanilla Chai
The 411: Vegan, non-soy, 15 g protein. 6 g fiber, 1.5 g omega-3, antioxidants,includes probiotics, greens, and 50% daily intake of vitamins and minerals. Vega One features their signature, broad-spectrum, plant-based protein blend, with all essential amino acids in ideal balance. Vega One’s Complete Protein Blend includes: Pea protein, SaviSeed™ (sacha inchi) protein, Hemp seed protein, Sprouted whole grain brown rice protein
My Take: 15g of plant-based protein… how can you go wrong?! I love that this is a non-soy vegan protein powder! Vanilla Chai is a twist on the usual vanilla protein powder with vanilla, chai, nutmeg, and cinnamon, YUM!

2. I heart Keenwah – Quinoa Clusters
Fav Flav: Chocolate Sea Salt
The 411: All natural and gluten free, I heart Keenwah “Quinoa Clusters” are made with the ancient grain quinoa, which is a complete protein.
My Take: These crunchy little guys are pretty addicting, but they’re a snack with a purpose and offer complete protein that will keep you full between meals.

3. Credible Cravings
Best Selling Flav: Oatmeal Cranberry
The 411: CredibleCravings is the first organic snack bar carefully formulated with Obstetricians, Nutritionists, and Midwives to support the nutritional needs of pregnant and breastfeeding women and their developing children. CredibleCravings uses only high quality, natural ingredients amd probiotics, that serve the specific nutritional needs of mom and baby. No artificial preservatives, artificial sweeteners, or chemicals.
My Take: I love that this is geared towards pregnant & breastfeeding moms! They use natural ingredients like ginger to sooth upset tummies! Even if you aren’t a momma-to-be, these are all natural and super healthy for everyone!

4. Mr. Cheese O’s
Fav Flav: Tuscan Herb
The 411: Tuscan These crunchy little O’s are made from quinoa, oat bran, organic brown rice, and real cheese!
My Take: They’re just as addicting as Cheez-Its, but they’re made of 100% natural ingredients, and they’re gluten free! Mr. Cheese O’s launched at Expo, and I cannot wait for them to hit stores! They’re to die for!

5. Dang Coconut Chips
Fav Flav: Caramel Sea Salt
The 411: Vegan, gluten free, non-GMO, no cholesterol, good source of fiber, high in lauric acid. Only 3 ingredients, coconut, coconut sugar, and sea salt.
My Take: Simple addicting. Delicious on it’s own for a little snack, or on top of yogurt, oatmeal, or in trail mix or cereal!

6. Go Lo Foods Dark Hazelnut Spread
The 411: It’s sugar free, gluten free, dairy free, Paleo, Vegan, low sodium, and Kosher. It’s only 65 calories per Tablespoon and contains 5.5g fiber and only 1 net carb.
My Take: I like to call this “healthy Nutella.” It doesn’t taste identical to Nutella, but I almost prefer it now. It has a stronger hazelnut flavor along with dark chocolate!

7. Go Lo Foods [36 Calorie] Cookies
The 411: They contain 0g fat, less than 1/4g of sugar, and only 36 calories per cookie with a whopping 13g fiber, 7g of protein, and only 2 net carbs PER COOKIE (and they’re big!)!
My Take: These cookies are insane. You may think these delicacies are too good to be true, but I promise that with one bite, these soft and chewy cookies will cure your sweet tooth! They’re totally my new secret weapon for my late night snacking and sweet tooth! 1 cookie and a glass of water and I’m good to go!

8. cruncha ma-me
Fav Flav: Onion & Chive
The 411: cruncha ma-me is an all natural, high protein, non-GMO Verified, gluten-free and vegan, freeze-dried edamame veggie snack.
My Take: Perfect for snacking on the go, cruncha ma-me edamame snacks come in six delicious flavors and are rich in plant-based protein from non-GMO soybeans.

9. Dole Fruit Squish’ems
Fav Flav: Apple
The 411: BPA free packaging, non-GMO, gluten free, kosher, only 60 calories, 100% fruit, no sugar added.
My Take: They’re easy to grab and go for healthy snacking on busy days. Plus you don’t need a spoon! These aren’t just for kids, I eat them in the car al the time!

10. The Scoopie™
The 411: Made the same standard size as the scooper provided in most protein powders/supplement jars, The Scoopie™ has an added funnel with a spout smaller than the circumference of a water bottle opening for accurate pouring. With The Scoopie™, you simply scoop the protein or liquid, snap on the attached funnel, flip and pour into the water bottle without the mess of powder or liquid spilling on you.
My Take: This little tool is genius! So simple! Just scoop, snap, flip & pour! I’m waiting for all protein powder companies to start including these in their jars! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve scooped something and attempted to pour it into a bottle and watched it pour all over my counter! Never again!

11. Slow Food For Fast Lives Savory Bars
Fav Flav: Savory Thai
The 411: Savory, not sweet ,health food bars.
My Take: These are awesome! There is nothing like these bars on the market! They’re made of vegetables, spices, brown rice, nuts and or seeds to create a savory granola style bar. I’ve never had anything like this, and they are super good! I tried so many sweet bars at expo that this savory veggie bar was a breathe of fresh air!

12. Rise Protein+ Bar
Fav Flav: Sunflower Cinnamon
The 411: Gluten free, non-GMO, dairy free, preservative free, vegan, 15g plant-based pea protein.
My Take: This bar is so ooey gooey good, I can’t believe it’s a protein bar! This particular flavor is nut free (made with sunflower seed butter) and contains only 5 ingredients, awesome!

13. The Chia Co. Chia Pod
Fav Flav: Mango
The 411: Each dairy free and vegan Chia Pod® provides 100% of your recommended daily intake of Omega 3 and 25% of your fiber.
My Take: I love the convenience of these little pods, they have a spoon built in, and are completely recyclable. They’re also made of only 3 ingredients!

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Natural-Products-Expo-West-1Super cute guerrilla marketing for Bare Snacks.

Natural-Products-Expo-West-2The adorable Boom Chicka Pop girls passing out samples on their super cute scooters!

Natural-Products-Expo-West-24Loved this #kindawesome marketing for Kind. They handed out roses to all attendees walking in!

Natural-Products-Expo-West-4Close up of one of my fav new products, The Scoopie™ (read more in #10, above).

Natural-Products-Expo-West-5Scoopies on Scoopies on Scoopies! I went home with carrot orange : )

Natural-Products-Expo-West-9Hanging out with The Chia Co’s gigantic Chia Pods! I had the pleasure of meeting their founder and CEO John Foss! He’s a great guy! Both their product and packaging are exceptional.

Natural-Products-Expo-West-23Actual size Chia Pod that I snacked on at Expo. Banana was amaze, definitely my second fav flav.

Natural-Products-Expo-West-12Brad’s Raw Foods wins for my fav takeaway bag! Because Kale is Kool, DUH!

Natural-Products-Expo-West-11On day 2 of Expo, I stumbled upon this gigantic bag of The Chia Co Chia Seeds! Hilarious and so amazing!

Natural-Products-Expo-West-13Of course I had to stop and take a photo with Barbara’s famous Puffin! Guys, did you know he’s nameless? NAMELESS! He needs a cute name ASAP! Barbara, name your puffin! Their Cinnamon Puffins are one of my fav cereals, but as I’ve said before, I rarely buy cereal because I’ll literally eat the entire box in one day #problems! haha.

Natural-Products-Expo-West-19I stopped by the Dole booth to sample their new Shakers! Now made with fruit AND VEGGIES, and Greek yogurt! All you do is add fresh fruit juice, and shake. No blender required!

Natural-Products-Expo-West-7Of course it wouldn’t be Expo West without some excellent fashion! Above are the Sunfood girls “daring to go bare!”

Natural-Products-Expo-West-6Three Twins Ice Cream custom pants with their packaging all over… AMAZING! I need RFFMBT carrot print workout pants!

Natural-Products-Expo-West-20Super adorable veggie headpieces for Slow Food For Fast Lives.

Natural-Products-Expo-West-17How cute are the Chobani Chef Coats? Love the evil eye embroidered on. My Armenian family is REALLY into the evil eye, but we call it Char Atchk!
Natural-Products-Expo-West-8The Chobani booth was set up to be like their restaurant in Soho! They even made some of their original recipes from Chobani Soho for us to sample at Expo. Loved their ideas, I’m definitely remaking some of these at home! I have to visit Cho Soho one day! AHH!

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Natural-Products-Expo-West-18After hanging out with the Chobani crew for a little, I grabbed a Key Lime Flip and browsed some more booths. Next stop Vega!

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Natural-Products-Expo-West-29The Vega group was hysterical! I had the most fun at this booth! Every once in a while, the entire team did sets of burpees next to their booth and got everyone all riled up. They have SO much energy!!! It must be the Vega! They’re also super knowledgable about nutrition. I must’ve sampled every product and flavor they had and asked 10 million questions.

Natural-Products-Expo-West-32I fell in love with the “Suja Beach House!” Their booth was fabulous and I loved sipping on the new Suja Essentials and chatting with their Co-Founder Annie!
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Natural-Products-Expo-West-3I got to hangout with my new friends at Go Lo Foods and snacked on their delish 36 calories cookies!

Natural-Products-Expo-West-10I also got to have a little fiesta with the Cabo Chips team and their owner Christian! Their booth looked like an authentic cantina, complete with Photo Booth and sombreros! Olé!

Natural-Products-Expo-West-27And now for my favorite part, I totally stalked the Annie’s Homegrown booth because obviously I’m obsessed with their bunnies (as seen in the background of my blog)!

Natural-Products-Expo-West-28I saw these adorable custom bandanas with their bunny “Bernie” all over them as part of their decoration. Every time I walked by their booth, I stared at them with envy, and on the last day of Expo, a member of the Annie’s team grabbed a bandana from underneath their product, handed it to me, and said, “here, you need this!!!” BEST. DAY. EVER.!!!!! I folded it up and wore it as a headband for the rest of the day!

Natural-Products-Expo-West-25Thank you Annie’s Homegrown for my favorite new accessory!

I hope you little bunnies had a great weekend!
Let me know if you try any of my picks from Expo West!

Health & Happiness
xo Catherine

Big Bear Ski Trip

Last weekend I went to big bear with a huge group of 11 friends! Southern California got a “huge storm” so we were hoping for a nice dump of powder, but to our surprise, the “biggest storm of the season” brought about 1 inch that melted when we arrived! The weekend was so much fun, great memories and countless laughs! I brought my GoPro along and videoed a bunch of runs on the mountain, there are so epic falls and hilarious commentary that I can’t get over. Oh, and my skis were stolen. GOOD TIMES!

Big Bear 28These gift with purchase Victoria’s Secret duffles are the best weekend bags!

Processed with VSCOcamMy go to travel snacks:
Peanut Butter & Jelly Larabar  //  Tarragon Dijon Kale Krunch by Alive & Radiant  //  Apple & Pear That’s It. Bar  //  Chobani Simply 100 Pineapple Greek Yogurt  //  Trader Joe’s Roasted Coconut Chips  //  bkr glass bottle  //  Banana  //  Apple

I love all of these items because they’re shelf stable (minus the yogurt that I ate right when I got in the car), but not overly processed or junk. There’s something for every type of texture, sweetness, or savoriness that I may crave. I’ve been addicted to these Roasted Coconut Chips from Trader Joe’s lately. They are really similar to the Dang Foods Toasted Coconut Chips that I discovered a couple of weeks ago. Not only are these snacks portable, easy to eat while driving/traveling, but they’re also great for you. Each snack is made from whole natural ingredients which are full of nutritional value.

Big Bear 31Half of us on our way to Big Bear for the weekend. Guess who drove? Yours truly!

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Big Bear 27View from our cabin.

Big Bear 6Off to go skiing the next morning!

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Big Bear 24Kat, Beth, & Jessica getting ready to walk to the mountain.

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Big Bear 10Julio and his sweet Dr. Pepper board.

Big Bear 11Chiristia and her natural swagger.

photo 6About to take the GoPro down the slopes!

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Big Bear 5Josh and I on the lift. We were the only 2 skiers out of 11 people. I’d like to say that we are WAY cooler than the rest of the gang. jkjk. But really, skiers are so much better!!! hahaha. “Skies for life” -Johnny Tsunami

Big Bear 13Christia & Corey gearing up.

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Big Bear 25This little one was too cute!

Big Bear 14Corey, Beth, Josh, & Steph taking a ski break.

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Big Bear 16Steph & Charity getting their grub on.

Big Bear 17Jess getting pumped up for snowboarding.

Big Bear 3Christia and I being snow bunnies. This was right before my skis were stolen. As you can see, they are right behind me in this photo. The short little white ones to the left of my head!!! Ughhhh. Everyone stayed at our table while Steph & I left the group for 10 minutes, came back, and my skis were gone and replaced with someone else’s! Rrrrr! I was actually pretty calm but bummed more than anything because all I wanted to do was ski! I went to the Bear Mountain Rental Shop and they actually loaned me a free pair of skis for the rest of the day! Thanks Bear!!! You saved my day!

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Big Bear 21Christia, Corey & I on the chairlift.

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Big Bear 26Packing the car up at the end of the weekend to head home. We had so much shiz you would’ve thought we were going on a 2 week trip haha.

What are your favorite travel snacks?

Yuma Medjool Date Festival + Natural Delights Medjool Dates Giveaway (CLOSED)

Hi my loves!

Life is pure craziness right now! I picked up a huge graphic design job for Beckley Boutique and have been working like a madwoman recently. I’ve also been MOH (Maid of Honor) of the century organizing all sorts of fun things for the bride (my sister)! I’ve been so busy that I wasn’t able to work on my new batch of “Eat More Rabbit Food” shirts until last week. Ughhh I feel like such a slacker, but not haha. Yaknowwhatimean? I’m trying my hardest to get them completed this week so I can have them listed in the store and ready to ship before christmas!

Now for a recap of my trip to Yuma, Arizona for the Medjool Date Festival. Be sure to read all the way through for your chance to win some Natural Delights Medjool Dates!

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-8Last month Natural Delights asked me if I would be a guest judge for the recipe contest at the Annual Yuma Medjool Date Festival! Me, a guest judge? WHATTT?! So cool! I love everyone at Natural Delights and I loveeee dates, so I was really excited to visit Yuma again for the festival. Brett (my lovely bunny model) also came along for the festival!

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-11The trip started off with necessary bathroom mirror selfies (should I say us-ie?). We’re such girls.

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-5Then we boarded the plane and prepared for takeoff.

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-12Unfortunately our plane had different plans as our right engine started smoking! Sooooo we deplaned waited for a new aircraft.

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-18I don’t know if I have talked about my bad luck with planes before, but I am literally always delayed, cancelled, or end up with a broken plane!

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-15After our new plane arrived we were off to Yuma, AZ!

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Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-10First cactus sighting at the airport!

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-17The next morning, Brett and I woke up to a gorgeous Arizona sunrise and enjoyed coffee and breakfast at our hotel before heading to the festival.

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Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-3We got to meet Miss Medjool! SO FREAKING AWESOME!

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-7Brett and I had some free time to roam around the festivals so for our first stop, we explored the gallery where they had gorgeous photos of the Medjool date growers from Natural Delights.

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-1They even had Medjool date art created by local kids! Seriously too cute for words!

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-9Had to take a photo with the giant fork in downtown Yuma, because Im cool like that.

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-16Brett and I made our way to the Imperial booth for fresh date shakes. Imperial is part of the Bard Valley Growers Association and also grows for Natural Delights!

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-19Our shakes were to die for! We downed them within minutes.

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Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-13Standing with the recipe contest sign! Eeeeeeek!

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-25Then it was time for the main event; the recipe contest. Look at the excitement on my face, it just screams “DATESSSSSS!”

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-24We got to try so many incredible recipes submitted by local date enthusiasts.

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-22And the winner wasssssss: the most incredible salty sweet cheese loaf with date and nut coating. The judges and I couldn’t get enough!

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-23All of the Judges and the winner of the 2013 Recipe Contest!

Yuma-Medjool-Date-Festival-21To end an already amazing day, I did an on camera interview speaking about using dates for natural healthy sweetener in lightened up recipes! Brett and I had so much fun sampling dates from all of the vendors and getting to hangout with the Natural Delights team. It’s always a tasty and fun time visiting Natural Delights!

READ BELOW FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN SOME NATURAL DELIGHTS MEDJOOL DATES.

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In collaboration with Bard Valley Natural Delights Medjool Dates, I am hosting a giveaway!
One lucky RFFMBT winner will receive: Two 1 lb packages of Fresh Medjool Dates!

For your chance to win:
1. Comment on this post telling me your favorite way to eat Medjool dates.

2. Follow Natural Delights on Twitter.
– Leave a separate comment with the url to your tweet!

3. Like Natural Delights on Facebook.
– Leave a separate comment letting me know that you liked them!

This means you can earn up to 3 entries!
Contest ends on Thursday, December 12th at 11:59pm PST.
Winner will be announced on Friday, December 13th.
Must use a valid email address when entering. Open to U.S. residents only.

I have complied a list of some RFFMBT recipes that include Medjool Dates:

Cashew Cookie Larabars
Date & Olive Tapenade
Campfire Kisses
Medjool Date BBQ Sauce
Valentine’s Day Cookie Sandwiches

Chocomole 

Raw Bites
Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies
Chickpea Cookie Dough Dip
Healthy Vegan Banana Bread
Black Bean and Spinach Brownies

Hail To the Kale Salad Dressing

For fun & fresh holiday recipes using Bard Valley Natural Delights™ Medjool Dates, be sure to download their free Holiday eZine!

*This giveaway has ended. A Winner will be announced on Friday, December 13.
** Congratulations to the winner: Victoria F!
winner

Natural Delights Medjool Date Summit

With a quick hop, skip, and a jump, I boarded a plane from LAX en route to YUM. Yes, that is the actual abbreviation for Yuma International Airport. YUM couldn’t be any more perfect for a food blogger summit! Even better, the mountains surrounding the Yuma area are called the Chocolate Mountains. Uh-mazing. As you can already tell, this was a food filled adventure! After my previous collaborations working with Natural Delights Medjool Dates I was invited to attend their first ever blogger summit in Yuma, Arizona. It was nothing but delightful. ha. ha. pun definitely intended.

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Let’s start off with why I LOVE Medjool Dates so much:

  • They are naturally sweet – Medjool dates are naturally sweet and contain no added sugar, making them an ideal alternative to artificial and processed sweeteners.
  • They help protect against cancer – Medjool dates are filled with polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that help protect the body against the oxidation and inflammation of cells that can lead to cancer. Medjool dates contain more antioxidants than blackberries, plums and apples.
  • They help stabilize blood sugar levels – Medjool dates rate low to low/medium on the Glycemic Index (GI). A low-GI carb diet keeps glucose and insulin levels stable, helping maintain sustained energy and a healthy weight.
  • They make you feel fuller for longer – Medjool dates are loaded with dietary fiber. Just one-quarter cup of Medjools provides 12 percent of the daily requirement of fiber and helps satisfy between-meal cravings.
  • They can reenergize – Rich in potassium, manganese and other important minerals, Medjools help balance blood sodium levels and release energy from protein, fat and carbohydrates.
  • They are a healthy snack – Medjool dates are a no-fat and no-cholesterol treat, making them ideal for snacking.
  • They help fight against “bad” cholesterol – Medjool dates help lower LDL cholesterol levels, which decreases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
  • They can ease labor and deliveries in pregnant women – A study in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology indicated that pregnant women who consumed six Medjool dates for four weeks prior to their estimated delivery date had easier labors with fewer complications.
  • They help lower blood pressure – Medjool dates are also dense in copper, Vitamin B6, niacin, calcium, iron and Vitamin K, making it the perfect addition to the DASH diet, which is proven to lower blood pressure.
  • They have a long shelf life – Medjool dates have a shelf life of 30 days when stored at room temperature – making them ideal for travel and enjoying at work, home or play.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-41In attendance were these fineeeee bloggers:
Very front: Beth Atkinson from DGWB – thanks for the pic, girl!
Second Row (from left): Cynthia David – Cynthia David Blog, Caroline Edwards – Chocolate and Carrots, Me!
Third Row: Theresa Albert – My Friend in Food, Nicole Hamaker – Pinch My Salt, Kim Nguyen – Lovin’ From The Oven
Back row : Alyssa Brantley – Everyday Maven, Jackie Bruchez – The Seaside Baker

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-3I arrived in Yuma to sunny skies at a warm 103 degrees and tons of Natural Delights goodies in my air conditioned  hotel room!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-6Night one started with a happy hour full of Medjool date appetizers like mascarpone stuffed dates, and sweet Medjool date salsa.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-37After happy hour we made our way to Glen Vandervoort’s house for a beautiful dinner with other Bard Valley Medjool Date growers and their families. The Medjool date appetizers continued with prosciutto wrapped dates, and an olive date tapenade that was to die for. Just think, salty sweet deliciousness. I will be sharing the original recipe with you this week!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-4I came home from dinner to turndown and a box of Bard Date Company chocolate covered dates from Dave & Debbie Mansheim’s shop Basket Creations and More. They are like chocolate covered raisins, but better. Much better! Want to make some chocolate covered dates similar to these? Try this recipe for Medjool Date Pecan Chocolate Truffles!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-7The next morning, we all met in the conference room for breakfast, history of Natural Delights Medjool Dates, and a rundown of their current and upcoming products.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-38Natural Delights is now offering Snack Packs of Medjool dates and their super popular date rolls. I love the convenience of these mini bags. They make for a great healthy on the go snack! I actually wish these would be in the check out lines at Whole Foods and other grocery stores. I would definitely grab mini bags of fresh Medjool dates versus a bag of candy any day!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-24Glen Vandervoort brought us freshly harvested medjool dates straight off of his tree for us to try during breakfast. Words cannot even describe how divine fresh dates are. They literally taste like caramel. For the rest of the day, all we (the bloggers) could talk about was how insanely amazing the fresh dates were!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-33After breakfast we visited the medjool date gardens!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-26We had the opportunity to go up in the cherry picker and harvest dates from a 30ft tree.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-25Safety First! Andrew Costanza: Bard Valley Medjool Date Growers Association’s Director of Compliance and Standards got us in our sweet harnesses before going up in the trees. How fab do Alyssa (Everyday Maven) and Kim (Lovin’ From The Oven) look?!

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Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-28When dates are growing, they are covered in cloth bags to prevent birds from eating them, and any from falling to the ground. In order to harvest dates we shook the bags, untied the string holding the bag together at the bottom, and then let the ripened dates fall out of the bag and onto a tray.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-31Once the dates fall onto the trays, they are checked and sorted depending on their ripeness. As you can see the yellow date closest to the front is not yet ripe, the date in the center is only partly ripe, and the  last one is just perfect.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-30Theresa (My Friend in Food) sorting through her pile of harvested Medjool dates.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-29Beth from DGWB harvesting dates with the bloggers!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-32“The Big Six”
Did you know that Medjool dates are one of the oldest cultivated fruits in the world? I bet you wouldn’t have guessed they have been around for 8,000 years! In 1927, eleven Medjool date trees were brought over from Morocco to escape disease. Of these 11 trees, nine were brought to Bard Valley and six still remain today. All 250,000+ Medjool date trees in Bard Valley can be traced back to “The Big Six.” Kind of amazing if you ask me!
Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-34Me standing with one of “The Big Six” Medjool date trees. As you can tell, they are soooo tallll!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-23After frolicking in the date gardens, we arrived at Datepac, LLC., where all of Natural Delights Medjool Dates are packaged for you! I loved the vase of pens in their front office with non other than date pits! Who needs rice or beans, right? Hilarious!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-1Health and safety required us to wear these super chic hairnets and visitor passes while inside. #lunchladychic

IMG_7859 While at Datepac, we watched the dates make their way from being washed to sealed up in their packages.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-21After being washed, the dates go one by one down a conveyer belt which takes individual photos of each date with a fancy shmancy state of the art camera. Once the computer system receives each image, it determines the date’s size. A brief puff of air then blows each date onto next next conveyer belt according to it’s size. So high tech!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-19The packing grade scale doesn’t just go by size. It actually goes from highest quality and largest date, down to lowest quality and smallest date. The quality is determined by how tight or puffy the skin of the date is.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-36It was amazing to see how much of the process was actually done by hand. In order to sort the dates, it must be done by (extremely clean) bare hands to feel the skin’s texture.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-16We even got a chance to sort the dates and see if we could tell the difference between jumbo, large, extra fancy, fancy, mini, and confection.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-18After dates are sorted, they go to the packaging area.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-20Dates on dates on dates.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-17 Another fun part of Datepac that we got to explore was the Date Roll area! We watched them make some fresh pistachio date rolls. The lower quality (not so pretty, but still tasty) dates are ground up (kind of like sausage), rolled in their topping, and then sliced up and packaged.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-15After our tour of Datepac, we had a beautful lunch at River City Grill. The restaurant made us a special lunch filled with, you guessed it: Natural Delights Medjool Dates! Lunch started with Bacon Wrapped Dates and Vietnamese Spring Rolls. Next up was a fresh Salad with Juicy Pears and Chopped Medjool Dates. For the main course, I chose a Medjool Date & Pesto Pasta. Our decadent lunch concluded with Date Caramelized Crème Brulée. Ohh my tummy was so happy!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-14Once we got back to the hotel from lunch, we had a social media break for a couple of hours before our next event. Andrew (Director of Compliance and Standards) asked if any of us wanted to go on a spontaneous trip to the sand dunes in California. Funny because we were staying in Arizona! Five of us we’re up for the adventure, and away we went!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-10
Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-9The sand dunes were absolutely gorgeous.

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-8On our little adventure, we also made a quick stop in Mexico. Just kidding! Kind of…

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-13We were so close to the border. No joke! We were in Arizona, California, and Mexico all within 15 minutes! Andrew dared us to go and poke our fingers between the border fence, but none of us took the dare, haha! The sign was a bit intimidating!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-12Kim from Lovin’ From The Oven!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-11Cynthia (Cynthia David Blog), Kim (Lovin’ From The Oven), Theresa (My Friend in Food), Me, and  Caroline (Chocolate and Carrots).

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-39After our trip to Mexico (ha) it was time for a Date Shake Competition! All of the bloggers were randomly paired into groups of two and we had a huge variety of ingredients to use. Nicole (Pinch My Salt) and I made a “Bananaccino” with 10 different ingredients. Not exaggerating, there were actually 10 odd ingredients in there! It was…interesting to say the least! Unfortunately, Nicole and I didn’t win, but we had a great time anyways!

Natural-Delights-Medjool-Date-Summit-2013-5After our wild adventure to Mexico and Date Shake Competition, we had our final fiesta at  Tina’s Cocina with Private Chef Alex Trujillo. Our extravagant dinner was made table side in the back of a historic church. We got to sip on Prickly Pear Margaritas and enjoy each other’s company while watching Chef Trujillo prepare our dinner! The endless courses started off with Baked Brie and Medjool Date Jam on crostini and five courses later ended with a Sweet Medjool Date Tamale with Coconut Rum Sorbet. It was a fabulous ending to a delicious summit.

Medjool Date Summit, Yuma, AZ | chocolateandcarrots.com -3108The next morning a few of us who had later flights went on a tour of the Yuma Territorial Prison. 3:10 To Yuma, anyone?
Me, Caroline (Chocolate and Carrots), Kim (Lovin’ From The Oven), Nicole (Pinch My Salt), and Beth (DGWB) behind bars! Ahhh!

I had the absolute best time at the Natural Delights Medjool Date Summit. Every little detail of the summit was perfectly thought out and planned for us. Thank you so much to Erin Hanagan for finding all of the amazing venus in Yuma, to Dave Anderson for getting us everywhere promptly and keeping us with the schedule down to the second, to Glen Vandervoort and family for opening up your home to us, to Andrew Costanza for taking us to Mexico and back in one piece, to Dave & Debbie Mansheim for the Chocolate Covered Dates, to Ed O’Malley for the perfect tour of Datepac (and for remembering me from the PBH Conference!), to Jim Freimuth and Chris Nielsen for teaching us about organic dates, Steve for all of the great photos, and last but not least, thank you to Beth Atkinson from DGWB for organizing this incredible summit and having an answer to EVERY question! You guys are all Natural Delights! This is near the top of my list of favorite blogger summits I have ever attended. Of course it would not be the same without all of the hilarious, sweet, brilliant, creative bloggers that were a part of it. So many delightfully tasty memories!

Show Natural Delights Medjool Dates some Love!
Website: naturaldelights.com
Facebook: facebook.com/MedjoolDates
Twitter: @NDmedjooldates
Pinterest: pinterest.com/NDMedjoolDates
YouTube: youtube.com/NDmedjooldates
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RFFMBT Goes to Holland!

Hi bunnies!
I have two little announcements:

1. Today is my birthday! YAYYY!

2. Sooooo, some of you may have noticed that my RFFMBT store is completely empty. Welllll that’s because I’m in Holland visiting one of my best friends, Tammy! I had been planning a surprise trip (with the help of her fiancé Luc) for months and couldn’t say anything on my blog in fear of her finding out! Since I will be here until the 27th, I decided it would be best to put my store on hold until I’m home. I would feel terrible if anyone placed an order and I couldn’t ship it for weeks. The shop will resume when I return to the US around August 27th!

I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who purchased RFFMBT shirts! I shipped out hundreds of shirts to bunnies all over the world. I was so excited to see shirts going to Australia, UK, France, Germany, Turkey, Portugal, Canada, and all over the states! You guys are amazing! Huge thank you to my mom and Brett for helping me pack and ship everything!

Screen Shot 2013-08-15 at 2.17.52 PMFirst day of orders!

Screen Shot 2013-08-15 at 2.18.02 PMDay two of orders!

I had to completely refrain from Instagramming photos during my travel day, so I would’t give the surprise away to Tammy! Here is a photo update on my birthday and trip to Holland!

photo 1After I landed, Luc picked me up at the airport and we took the train home to surprise Tammy. I wish we filmed her reaction, it was priceless and something I will never forget! I walked into her house and she was photographing her sugar flowers and started SCREAMING! It was sooooo cute. I totally bawled my eyes out since I hadn’t seen her for an entire year!Reunited and it feels so goooood!

Screen Shot 2013-08-15 at 2.18.16 PMI woke up in Holland to flowers and a gift from Tammy!

photo 5About 5 lbs of Haribo gummies from The Netherlands! The flavors are sooo much better than the American Haribo bears! Trust me, I’m a gummy expert haha.

photo 2This morning, Tammy and I walked to breakfast in Breda, Holland.

photo 4
Birthday massage from a Dutch stranger! There was a group of students from a Physical Therapy school who were offering shoulder massages for practice hours. I suggest they do this everyday!

photo 3
photo 3 copyI thought this was hilarious! Luckily Tammy can translate menus for me!

photo 4 copyBirthday matcha green tea latte with soy milk!

photo 5 copyBirthday bagel: Sun dried tomato bagel with pesto and sun dried tomato cream cheese. omg. I. love. tomatoes. Favorite fruitveggie! I have to learn how to make this spread!

photo copyOn our way home from breakfast, Tammy and I stopped by the grocery store and guess what? I found Dutch almond milk! SCORE!

photo 2 copyTammy is the owner of Sugarlips Cakes, so she is busy building cakes and custom sugar flowers for a wedding this weekend! I’m the taste tester. Such a bummer. ha!

More updates to come from my trip! I’m so excited I could finally update you guys on what I’m doing!

Since I wasn’t able to say anything until now, I wanted to let you guys know that I will be taking a few guest blog submissions during my vacation.
If you are interested, please contact me using the “advertise” tab at the top of my blog!

For guest post submissions please include:
1. Your name
2. Blog URL
3. A little bit about yourself & your blog
4. Post subject/idea
5. How long you have been blogging

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