PureVia and Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil reviews

I've been having some great food lately!  I received 2 complimentary single serve packets of PureVia sweetener via mail to review as well as a complimentary jar of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil from Tropical Traditions.  Also, just to be clear: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review in return for the free product.  Same goes with PureVia!
Before I review the recipe I used these two products in, I'd like to share just a bit about both. 

Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil

Tropical Traditions has a great web page with lots of info. about their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil, such as how this oil is "certified organic according to strict USDA requirements."  They even have a short video titled: “How We Discovered Virgin Coconut Oil - An Interview with Brian Shilhavy, CEO Tropical Traditions” that you can see here!

There are also lots of coconut oil recipes that you can check out here!

And, if after reading this post, you're interested in some getting some tasty coconut oil for yourself, Tropical Traditions has a great offer for you!  You will get a complimentary copy of their Virgin Coconut Oil book when you take part in their Referral Program.  It's a great program for me and you since you'll get a free book, and I can earn free products!  When you fill in your account information on your FIRST online order, there will be a place to choose "How did you hear of us?" In the drop down menu, choose "Referred by a friend." Underneath this will be a place that says: "Referred by (User ID):" with a place to type in my Tropical Traditions user ID, which is 6128228.  After this the book will be automatically added to your order!

PureVia

This is an "all natural, zero calorie sweetener derived from stevia, a plant native to South America.  Its main sweetening ingredient is Reb A, a high-purity extract of the sweetest component of the stevia plant. The purity level of Reb A ensures that PureVia™ has a crisp, clean taste, without the bitter taste associated with many stevia products."  You can learn even more about PureVia on their website's FAQ page.

Now for the food!

Berry Green Smoothie

.5c frozen spinach
1c milk
1c frozen mixed berries
1 packet PureVia
1 tsp. Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil

Yum!  But frozen spinach is a lot more concentrated than fresh, so I didn't taste the PureVia very much.  It wasn't bitter though, so that's good.  I could taste the hint of coconut oil.  And when I licked off the teaspoon measurer, the coconut oil was fantastic - rich, creamy, and coconuty!  I'll wait to give these two products numerical values until I've tried them more, but so far I'm pleased :-).

Banana Smoothie with Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal (the crumbs at the bottom of the bag!)

1 frozen banana
.5c milk
1 tsp. Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil
topped with about .5c Kashi crumbs :-)

Yum, yum, yum!  I could really taste the coconut oil in this, and it was great!  I also think this is a wonderful way to use the crumbs at the bottom of a cereal bag... which just aren't that great in your cereal bowl with milk... which can be seen in a my recent breakfasts below:

This is the first time I tried Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal, and I loved it!!  It's a tad pricey for cereal, as most Kashi stuff is, but it's worth it for a nice treat every once in awhile.

This is the Diet Pink Grapefruit flavor from my Soda Stream Penguin Starter Kit!  I thoroughly enjoyed it, which is no surprise since I'm a big fan of grapefruit in general :-).

Okay, that's enough food pics for now, but I do want to leave you with a very important message about the use of plastics in the world today.  This video explains it all.  I strongly encourage you all to watch at least some of it, as it will surely open your eyes.  Yes, it is sad, but it's the truth and the reality of the world we're living in.  We need to share videos like this and raise awareness so that people will change their day-to-day habits. 

Be an example for others by using reusable water bottles, bringing your own bags to the grocery store, and trying to avoid plastic utensils.  I admit that I don't always follow these rules, but I will definitely be making it priority from now on! 

If you watch the video above, as I highly suggest you do, please share your reactions below.  I'd love to hear from you :-).

Have a fabulous weekend... and try not to let the video depress you too much.  Just let it be a call to action!

~