A Final Exam Healthier Care Package (and Vegas Pictures)
Did you have a good Mother’s Day? I had fourteen people over for brunch–great conversation and too much delicious food. Yes, there will be recipes posted soon!
Mother’s Day Flowers
The only (very understandable) disappointment was missing one of my daughters. She stayed at school getting ready for finals—smart girl! But I am happy to be sending her a Final Exam Healthier Care Package today.
A side visit to Hoover Dam – note the low water level today compared to high water mark
I really did feel for her, especially after I spent the prior week vacationing in Las Vegas. I texted her a picture from Hoover Dam and she texted me back a page full of equations with the caption “my day.”
When I decided to send something out to her, I did an internet search for healthy care packages and was dismayed to see some collections full of potato-chip like items and granola bars. That would never do! So I was happy to get a couple new products delivered for review.
Kuali Amaranth Bars for a healthier care package
The first item was Kuali Amaranth Snack Bars. We got three flavors: Chia & Quinoa, Cocoa and Cranberry. These snacks are tasty, chewy, light (80 calories) and gluten free. They come individually packaged which makes them easy to carry around to the library or a study group.
I especially liked the high fiber content–2-3 grams/80 calorie bar depending on variety. The only downside was the agave syrup sweetener, which is high in fructose, and probably less healthy than people think (though at least this was organic) But with their light sweet chewiness balanced by the high fiber, these would be a good alternative to a granola bar.
Royal Hawaiian Macadamia Crunch for a healthier care package
The other product was Royal Hawaiian Orchards Macadamia Crunch. We got three flavors again: Kona Coffee Banana, Blueberry Pomegranate (my fave) and Mango Pineapple. I liked the fact that the first two ingredients in these were healthy nuts (first macadamias, then almonds) and the fact that they were exquisitely tasty. The only thing to watch out for would be portion control–I could eat a lot of these! But that also speaks to their appeal!
Kona Coffee Macadamia Crunch Nuggets for a healthier care package
In fact, my mother was over when I opened the first package and when she came back for mother’s day, she wrote down the name so she could find some for herself. They are not just a kiddie snack and would look right at home next to a bottle of wine in a food gift basket. So I may do some bulk buying when Christmas rolls around!
Endangered Species Chocoalte
The final vendor contribution to this package was from Endangered Species Chocolate. What would a care package be without chocolate! And we’re all hearing how healthy dark chocolate is now right! And if delicious Dark Chocolate with Carmel and Sea Salt bars, and bite-sized backpack-sized bug bites aren’t tasty and awesome enough themselves, there is more. Over the past three years, ESC has donated over 1.2 million dollars to support conservation organizations through its 10% GiveBack program. So, every tasty treat purchased goes toward supporting a cause!
I will be adding a few other items to the care package including a shot glass from the Vegas trip. My daughter can always use it for healthy soft boiled eggs, right? And I should mention that I had a fruit and vegetable box delivered last week, so she is truly ready for a little indulgence!
And speaking of Vegas, I had a fun time and am sharing some pictures below. My biggest piece of advice—just like I posted on New York, good shoes!
2 glasses Sangria = 1 serving fruit???
Headed right to Paris for my first breakfast of a Napoleon (which would NOT go in a healthier care package)
Yes, a fun trip, but happy to be back home!
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that chihuly is something else! I love the idea of a finals care package. I’ll keep this one in mind for the future.
You’re such a good mom, Inger! Those healthy products you sent your daughter sound yummy!
Vegas looks like fun. I haven’t been there since 1998 and am kind of curious to go back. We stayed at the Luxor then, which was so much fun because I was very into Egypt as a 17 year old!