Reviews & Giveaways!

Hey guys!

Life, as usual, has been crazy busy. I have a feeling I won't be posting much until summer hits, when hopefully I will be able to post more! I am a bit behind on some product reviews I have, so this post will be putting three reviews into one. But first, a brief update on what's be going on with me!

Running still has not been happening, and my first 5k is on April 28. I'm pretty sure I'm just going to end up winging it and hoping for the best, alternating between running and walking. I tried to to run over Easter break and just ended up with a painful shin, so that didn't work. At least I ran a mile before getting the shin pain and painful stomach cramps.

My role as Editor-in-Chief has been going well and has been keeping me busy. I absolutely love it! It's a tradition that each year the old Editor-in-Chief buys their replacement a Louisville Slugger baseball bat - and I got mine on Thursday. It was bright pink! And it had my name engraved on it. Check it out:

Isn't it awesome?! I have to give a huge amount of thanks to Jake (who I'm replacing) - he has done a great job training me and I really, really appreciate everything he is done. 

I'm also currently looking for a part-time summer job. Seasonal jobs are so hard to find anymore. My mom doesn't believe me when I tell her that no one is hiring only seasonal and they want people who can work through the school year. Hopefully I'll be able to find something! 

I was recently sent a few pretty awesome new products to try out. First up, Rush Bowls. 

I gotta tell ya, I'm a huge fan of these. They are so neat. They come frozen, and each bowl is filled with pureed fruit and some sort of liquid (could be green tea, soymilk, etc), as well as a package of granola topping. You can thaw them overnight in the fridge and grab one for breakfast in the morning! They are so easy. And they taste like sorbet - who doesn't want to eat sorbet for breakfast? 

They are vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free, nut free, wheat free, dairy free, no artificial sweeteners, no artificial anything! And not too high in calories. Overall, I loved these. I thought all of the flavors were delicious: Acai Beach Bowl. Gluten-Free Beach Bowl, Power Bowl, Yoga Bowl, and Oasis Bowl. I tend to have a thing for the tropical flavors. You can learn more about the specific bowls here! 

The Daisy Rating

4/5 daisies

Next: Bee-Free Honee! 

When I first discovered this product, I was a little surprised; I mean, vegan honey? How do you make that? It turns out this delicious stuff is made from apples! 

Although it does taste kind of like condensed apple juice, this is really delicious and definitely feels like honey. I put it on a banana, and I thought it was great. I absolutely love it! If you're a vegan who misses traditional honey, this is a great alternative. I highly recommend this. It pours like honey, looks like honey, but smells like apples. It is tart and delicious. Yum.

The Daisy Rating

4.5/5 daisies

Finally: Zevia! 

I love this company because they make it possible for me to drink pop that is healthy and calorie free. How much better can it get? 

Zevia is a Stevia-sweetened soda that tastes like all of your favorite mainstream sodas: Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, Fanta, etc. I was lucky enough to be sent six of their flavors to try: Grapefruit Citrus, Mountain Zevia, Dr. Zevia, Cream Soda, Black Cherry, and Grape. They also have 3 new flavors available: Strawberry, Lime, and Cherry Cola. 

Although all we tasty, my favorites were Mountain Zevia and Cream Soda. They definitely tasted like the originals! My least favorite my Grape, but that is simply because I do not like grape flavored things. Definitely a personal preference. 

All of the sodas were yummy. They were very fizzy and had strong flavors that were easy to enjoy. These are the perfect substitute for high calorie, sugary sodas!

The Daisy Rating

4/5 daisies

GIVEAWAY

What to try some Zevia for yourself? One lucky PD reader will win a coupon for a 6 pack of their own Zevia to try! Here's how to enter! Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry!

MANDATORY  - tell me which Zevia flavor you most want to try and why.

Extra entries:

-Like Zevia on Facebook and follow them on Twitter
-Like Passing Daisies on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
-Tweet about this giveaway and tag @cityxlights13
-Subscribe to PD by email (3 entries)
-Post about this giveaway on your own blog and provide the link

-Follow PD on GFC (Google Friend Connect)

Giveaway ends on April 21st at midnight.
OPEN TO USA RESIDENTS ONLY.


Happy entering!
Much love,

I love to shop.

Stuart skipped his first class this morning, so we stayed in bed until probably 11:40am... :) I love sleeping in late. Then we both got ready and headed towards campus... he went to class, and I went on a shopping spree.

First I stopped at American Apparel, where I didn't find anything. Then I went to Clifton Natural Foods... great idea! SO MANY GREAT THINGS. I bought hazelnuts, carob covered almonds, carob fruit and nut circles, cacao and goji chocolate squares, and free magazines to read. They had a lot of awesome things there I've never seen before, and an entire area dedicated to vegan sweets (muffins, cookies, cakes, breads, fruit and oat bars, doughnuts, and so much more...) It was hard to turn more things down.

Then I headed to Urban Outfitters. So expensive, but I absolutely LOVE that store. I headed to the sale section downstairs, and lo and behold... cheap kitchen items!! I got two Alice in Wonderland plates for only $2.99 each (I later decided I should have got a matching set of 4....oh well), a cute squirrel plate, ceramic ice cream cone measuring sppons, and a cute little plush owl for my friend Megan. Adorable. I almost bought bacon flavored popcorn (it was vegan!) for for $6 for only 3 packages, I decided to pass.

Then I walked to the new frozen yogurt store, Yogurt Vi. I really just wanted to check it out, because I heard it was like Yagoot, except you fill your bowl and put toppings on it yourself. Naturally, I didn't plan on buying any because it's not vegan. HOWEVER....the first thing I see when I walk in was orange sorbet (which is vegan, my friends!) SO EXCITED!!! I filled my bowl and put kiwi, strawberries, and mango pieces on top. I also tried a couple pieces of jackfruit (not the greatest), lychee (delicious!) and logan fruits (similar tasting to lychee, except lychee was better). Overall, this is MUCH better than Yagoot. You get more for your money and have a much wider variety of flavors and toppings. Great experience. Stuart met me there after class and he got some cheesecake frozen yogurt with a bunch of cheesecake pieces, hot fudge and fruit.

I stayed at his house until  around 4, then headed home. After eating dinner at LaRosas we journeyed to Whole Foods, where I spent a good fifty bucks....



I plan on experimenting with some recipes from Ani's Raw Food Essentials over break. I plan on making a bunch of different things, including raw pizza and cookies, so I'll post pictures later on how that went... I bought: flour, raw agave, buckwheat groats, hazelnuts, raw cashews, brown flax seeds, sucanat, chickpeas, raw sunflower seeds, raw kale chips, almond milk and vegan cane sugar. Whew!! I also bought two freshly baked vegan bundt cakes.. one carrot cake, and one mocha chocolate chip. Delicious.

Then we returned home and headed to Kroger to pick up some fruit and vegetables...

And yes...I DID put all my produce together in color batches :) Some is just for eating, and some will be used to make raw soups and pizza and breads...Overall, a great day. I also got some cupcakes from Sugar Cupcakery that are now in freezer...one is chocolate with a ginger almond butter icing...and the other is strawberry rhubarb! Tomorrow is Earth Day, and Sugar Cupcakery is giving away free cupcakes to those who bring a container to put them in, and a free cup or coffee if you bring your own mug! I'll be there as soon as they open :)

Finally, one parting picture that I found in Kroger. Princess grapes! I'm so excited they are now marketing fruit as a Disney product.. I'm sure it makes them taste better... :) And they have Disney trivia on teh back of the bag. Have a lovely night!