Product Review: Hail Merry Raw Snacks

Let me begin by saying that I absolutely adore this company. 

It's rare when I come out in a product review and say that just love a company. A product? Yeah, sometimes, but not usually a company. 

I think Hail Merry does such a great job at what they do - a lot of time, raw snacks can be a hit or miss - and in my experience, I've have a lot of misses. Not here. They know what they are doing.

I had tried both flavors of their raw macaroons before - cocoa and original - and loved them. Honestly, they are probably the best macaroons I've ever eaten. They have a strong maple flavor, are the perfect size, and are just overall delicious. Great coconut flavor. And of course, how can you go wrong with chocolate? (The answer: you can't). Both flavors are wonderful and I highly recommend that you run to your nearest Whole Foods and pick up a bag or two. Or three. 

The nuts that they sent for me to review were new for me, and I was excited to try them. I was expecting nothing but the best. 

These were the Vanilla Maple Almonds. Oh. My. Goodness. 

The maple was the first flavor to hit me - it was very strong, and very yummy. The vanilla was also a strong flavor, and it paired well with the maple. I devoured this package right after receiving the package of snacks. These lasted maybe 10 minutes - if that! So good.  I definitely recommend them. 

Hail Merry also offers a wide variety of other raw seasoned nuts, like Orange Rosemary Pecans, Lemon Thyme Pecans, Chimayo Chili Pecans, and Salt N Black Pepper Sunflower Seeds. They also offer something they call "Grawnola" - or raw granola! If only my Whole Foods sold those babies. 

They also offer chilled raw "Miracle Tarts," which I want to try, but my Whole Foods doesn't sell those either. Darn. That Lime Tart is totally calling my name.

There are a few reasons why I love this company. First, they have great packaging and I love their slogan, "Feed your body royally." Secondly, all of the products that I've tried have been great. Third, they use a lot of coconut oil, which is a healthy fat for your body. Learn more about coconut oil/butter here. And it's yummy. And no refined sugar! 

Overall, great products and great people. I highly recommend trying these products for yourself if you haven't already!

The Daisy Rating

5/5 daisies

I would also like to congratulate Hail Merry on receiving what I think may by the first perfect score I've given out on a product review! 

What is your favorite raw food snack?

Much love, 

Rocky Road Brownies

Are you ready to try something that will make your taste buds go crazy?

Honestly. I didn't know how these would turn out when I made them, but the end result was to die for. I based the brownie recipe off of this recipe from Buns In My Oven - talk about delicious. I did make a couple changes, like omitting the espresso powder and using whole wheat bread flour instead (it was all I had!), and they were great. They are so incredibly fudgey. You have no idea.

{veganize} Try using 4 flax eggs instead of the eggs and Earth Balance instead of butter.

People eyes were actually rolling when they tried these. There may have been some moaning, too (seriously!). I even had some of my residents knocking on my door to try them. Have you ever had a brownie that good?

I didn't think so.

Rocky Road Brownies
Makes one 9 x 13 pan of brownies


Ingredients
1 cup butter (I used Earth Balance)
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1 T. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat bread flour
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus extra for sprinkling on top
1 jar Smuckers marshmallow topping
A handful of raw pecans, chopped

Directions
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking dish.
2. In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter completely. Stir in sugar and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not allow sugar mixture to boil.
3. Pour butter mixture into a large bowl or stand mixer, beat in cocoa powder, eggs, salt, baking powder, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
4. Stir in the flour and chocolate chips until well combined.
5. Pour into prepared pan. Take the jar of Smuckers marshmallow topping and pour it all over the tops of brownies. Using a fork, swirl the topping into the batter until you see different swirls everywhere!
6. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top.
7. Bake for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. The edges should be set and the center should still look slightly moist, but not uncooked. Cool on a wire rack. DON'T OVERCOOK! And make sure to check these around 30 minutes, because timing could be between 30-50 minutes.


Try them and let me know what you think! 
Much love, 

Product Review: Wai Lana Yogi Bars

I'm trying really hard to get more and more into yoga. I hear so often about how much people love it and how great it is for you, but I can't seem to find my inner yogi. Perhaps it is because I am not flexible in the slightest?! Anyways, Wai Lana offers a million different resources for all you yogis out there! They have yoga mats, DVDs, cook books, accessories, supplements, and much more. They even have snacks to replenish your energy after your workout!

Wai Lana sent me one of each of their vegan, raw fruit and nut bars, or Yogi Bars, to review. Five of the seven flavors were vegan, and included: Nana Banana, Apricot Cashew, Cherry Pomegranate, Cranberry Almond, and Tropical Macadamia. 

Cherry Pomegranate: Pretty good. It took me a minute or two to get used to the large chunks of nuts as opposed to a Larabar which uses a more finely ground nut, but the more I ate, the more I enjoyed this bar. I especially love dried cherries, and there were large chunks of cherries in this bar! This was my favorite out of all the flavors.

Cranberry Almond: Good, and similar to the cherry pomegranate. However, this bar could use some more cranberries in it; it was lacking a little bit in the amount of cranberries it contained. Lots of almonds, although, again, the nuts were in large pieces.

Apricot Cashew: I have to say, this was my least favorite flavor. I was not a fan. It had a weird flavor, and it didn't taste at all like apricot. This was just kind of mediocre with not a lot of flavor.

Tropical Macadamia: This was good and had a strong tropical flavor! The flavor was primarily mango and pineapple, and both were very dominant. There was also lots of coconut. Delicious.

Nana Banana: Strong, real banana flavor. None of that artificial flavoring here! Pretty good.

Overall, these bars were just mediocre. I didn't love any of them. I'm still getting used to how big the pieces of nuts were... maybe I just love Larabars too much? They aren't bad, and maybe it's just me, because I read another review recently who raved about these bars! Try them for yourself and see what you think.

The Daisy Rating

3/5 daisies

Much love,