The Goodbelly Challenge

I was recently selected by Goodbelly to try out their 12 Day Challenge. What is Goodbelly and their 12 Day Challenge, you ask?

Goodbelly is a dairy-free, soy free, and vegan probiotic juice drink that contains over 20 billion units of probiotics in each serving and may promote good digestion. The company claims that, in just 12 short days, "Goodbelly will put a smile on your face."

Did it make me smile?

Sure. It was yummy. I tried the mango flavor (quart sized), the blueberry acai plus, and the pomegranate blackberry plus. The small plus "shots" also contain multi-vitamins, and the opening from which you drink is a smiley face! Adorable. All three flavors were good, but the mango was my favorite. They were all delicious fruity and easy to drink.

Did it make me feel miraculously different in 12 days? Not exactly. It was good, but I didn't feel any different. I don't know if it helped my digestion, but this could be for a few reasons. First, I went from being vegan to vegetarian, and the change in my diet influenced a change in my digestion already. So it was a little bit challenging to differentiate between the two. Also, I have recently been eating rather unhealthfully (not all the time; just the past few days), so that could also have influenced how I was feeling. Although I cannot tell you if it affected my digestion or not, I can tell you that the juices were tasty and healthy, thanks to all those probiotics!

TIME FOR A GIVEAWAY!

Goodbelly has offered to giveaway 3 FREE product coupons to one lucky reader to take the 12 Day Challenge themselves! Awesome! Here is how to enter (leave a comment for each entry)!

1. Tell me why you want to try to Goodbelly 12 Day Challenge (MANDATORY)
2. Like Passing Daisies and Goodbelly on Twitter
3. Like Passing Daisies and Goodbelly on Facebook
4. Subscribe to Passing Daisies by email (three entries!)
5. "Follow" Passing Daisies on GFC

There ya go! Giveaway ends TUESDAY JANUARY 24TH at 10AM. Open to U.S. residents only. Good luck!

Much love,

Probiotics

Ever since discovering this delicious chocolate bar in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods, I've become interested in the topic of probiotics. What are they? What do they do? Why are they important?

Medicinenet.com says they are  "live microorganisms, which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host." They continue and say that "Friendly bacteria are vital to proper development of the immune system, to protection against microorganisms that could cause disease, and to the digestion and absorption of food and nutrients." 
so, essentially, probiotics replace the bad bacteria in  your body with good bacteria! They fight against diseases, infections, skin problems, bowl problems...pretty much everything. 
For vegans, they can be found in miso, tempeh, and some juices and soy beverages, and even this dark chocolate by Attune! it was really delicious, and the whole bar was only 80 calories...delicious! 

Then I stumbled upon this lovely item: GoodBelly juice. Although I have yet to try it, it does look delicious, and they have a whole line of non-dairy drinks  from which you can get probiotics! They have so many flavors- they all look really yummy! Treehugger.com says "Probiotics join ranks with the good bacteria (being of the good-guy sort themselves) and they work to prevent the harmful bacteria from taking over, helping improve digestion and the absorption of minerals and nutrients, and lowering cholesterol. They even lower high blood pressure." 

End conclusion: start trying to incorporate more probiotics into your life! 
p.s. - sign up for GoodBelly's 12 day challenge and get free coupons...