Monday, July 6, 2009

Ecstatically full of Glee...Gum

I love Glee Gum, so naturally it was the first sample I broke into, although I wasn't really sampling it, since I already am a Glee Gum addict! Everyone lately has been so crazed with making everything sugar-free that for a long time I've had to give up my gum chewing addiction.
Now I by no means advocate excess sugar in the diet, but do you really want to be ingesting acesulfame k, which may be carcinogenic or splenda, which was found in a lab while trying to create a pesticide? I surely don't want that in my body! 2 pieces of Glee Gum only have 5 calories and 2 grams of sugar, nothing to put yourself in a tizzy over if you follow a healthy diet.

So far I've tried the triple berry, bubblegum and tangerine flavors of glee. All three flavors have really strong, natural flavors, and the gum is perfectly chewy, not to hard that you'll break your teeth, or so stringy that it falls apart and gets all caught in your throat. The only major downer about the gum is that the flavor doesn't last long enough. :( I guess that's the price you pay when you don't use scary chemicals to create your product.

The best part about the glee company, which you can find much more information about on their website (gleegum.com) is that they are all about using sustainable means to harvest the chicle in the rainforests where they source their gum. The company helps promote economic justice and environmental sustainability. Anyone who puts that much heart into producing gum definitely has my vote!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Fancy Food Show 2009....Yum-O!

This week I had the incredible opportunity to attend the NYC 2009 Fancy Food show. I was so ignited by my passion for the gourmet and natural food products that I decided I had to start a blog as a way to spread the word about all my favorite foods! I am a holistic health counselor and finishing a nutrition degree and I stick mainly to whole, natural foods, but I've come to learn lately that life just isn't fun when you can't have that occasional, sinfully decadent (gluten/dairy free, in my case) brownie or a scoopful of lucious, creamy coconut milk ice cream. As comedian Jason Love says " I want to have a good body, but not as much as I want dessert." I also realized I am addicted to all kind's of bars and peanut butters as I knew every company from their first products. Even the creator's were amazed. I think I have I see a food marketing career in my future ;)

The highlight of my days there was getting to finally meet Justin of Justin's Nut Butter! He really does look like his cartoon! Aside from being the nut butter guru, he's also tall, adorable and oh so sweet! I was one lucky girl when he let me sample three new flavors that are coming out in fall. There was Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate Almond Butter(Justin's Favorite) and my favorite Chocolate Hazelnut Butter! Nutella's got nothing on this stuff! Let me tell you, it was decadent! The best part is it's all natural and vegan, so you don't have to worry about having that extra spoonful! When fall comes I urge you all to run out and buy it, because this stuff is what foodie's dreams are made of. Here are some pics of all the loot I smuggled out...(you weren't allowed to take samples out of the building, but a little wink at the security guard seemed to do the trick =0P ) I'm so excited because I have some great stuff to review like all new larabar flavors, new peanut butters, tea's, chocolates and more. So stay tuned and see what new product I review first!