Citizen Chef Sauces Review and Recipe!

Do you enjoy cooking, but sometimes wish for an easier way to add flavor to your dishes? In need of some inspiration? Look no further than Citizen Chef! Citizen Chef is a brand of fresh meal solutions that promotes fresh ingredients, real cooking and eating together. Their sauces and salad kits help people prepare 'fresh, healthy, and tasty meals at home.' Learn more about their sauces from the promotional brochure below!

Check out Citizen Chef on Facebook and Twitter!

Citizen Chef sent me their sauces to review. I just love the variety of flavors they offer. The sauces are fresh, very flavorful, all-natural, and easy to use. I especially enjoyed using the Limone Garlic sauce for a grilled chicken salad, and I also created a special dish and new recipe from their Chipotle Adobe sauce. I made "Southwest Stew," pictured below.

Southwest Stew

1 Chipotle Adobe Citizen Chef sauce
1 lb venison
6 small cubed potatoes, baked
1/2 c. sliced mushroom pieces
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
Dash of rosemary and crushed red pepper

Brown the venison over the stove. Add other ingredients and simmer until onions and mushrooms are soft and flavorful.

This was a fun and easy recipe, and the Chipotle Adobe sauce really made the dish! What a tasty meal! I definitely recommend Citizen Chef sauces.

The Good Bean Review

Have you ever tried roasted chickpeas? Have you tried baking them for yourself and failed? I have, and for that reason I am excited to share some new products with you. The Good Bean is a company that started by selling all-natural roasted chickpea snacks in 4 flavors in 2010. These are an excellent alternative to standard snacks like chips, nuts, pretzels and popcorn because they're gluten-free, nut-free, high protein, high fiber, and low fat. In 2012, the Good Bean Fruit & No-Nut Bar was released. These are wholesome snack bars in which nuts are replaced with high-fiber, high-protein chickpeas for a bar that has 40-60% less fat than the competition. Learn more here!

Below are the products I was sent to review:

Smoky Chili and Lime: 9.5 of 10. Both flavors come through and are strong and delicious. This snack is satisfying, and the beans are quite crunchy... these are much better than the ones I attempted to make awhile ago.

Sweet Cinnamon: 9 of 10. Love that this tastes like a dessert and yet it's healthy and good for me.

Cracked Pepper: 9.5 of 10. These are fiery! They made my mouth hot, but it was a pleasant heat.

Sea Salt: 9.5 of 10. These were a great salty, crunchy snack. I added raisins to them for a tasty salty and sweet snack.

Fruit and Seeds Trail Mix Bar: 9 of 10. The chickpeas had a thick texture and reminded me of nuts - go figure! This bar had a lovely sweet, fruity flavor and I enjoyed the seeds too!

Apricot Coconut Bar: 11 of 10! This was so surprisingly delicious!! Sweet coconut, apricot, cinnamon and other wonderful flavors. This bar had a great texture and was like a fabulous dessert.

Chocolate Berry Bar: 10 of 10. A sweet, dessert-like bar with great-tasting chocolate. Yum!

I definitely encourage you to try some of The Good Bean products, especially the Apricot Coconut Bar. You won't be disappointed!

Raw Organic Whey Review

I recently received a sample of Raw Organic Whey Protein Powder to review. I typically start each day with a green smoothie and protein powder is a common ingredient. There are so many protein powders on the market though, so it can be hard to know which one to use. 

Raw Organic Whey Protein Powder is one option I recently discovered, and I am happy to share it with you. According to their website: "Raw Organic Whey was created in our quest to find the purest, unadulterated organic whey protein. Superior quality begins with what the cows eat and how they live, which is why our whey comes from cows that are pasture-fed on small family farms. We ensure that these cows are raised without hormones, antibiotics, steroids, or genetically modified feed." Sound good? I think so. :-) 

Some other facts about Raw Organic Whey are below:

• Only 1 Ingredient: 100% Pure organic whey from the milk of grass-fed cows
• No added sweeteners, preservatives or fillers
• Soy Free (no soy lecithin)
• Sourced 100% from small US farms
• rBGH/rBST hormone free
• Processed at low temperatures WITHOUT acid treatment
• Certified USDA Organic

 "Green Smoothie in a Bowl"

9.5 of 10! Raw Organic Whey Protein Powder is great! The nutrition facts are impressive - not as high in calories as some protein powders. The powder blends very well and doesn't taste chalky or gritty like some protein powders. The powder can be blended with other flavors so you can create the taste you desire. The only suggestion I would have would be for there to be some flavored options since I am partial to flavored protein powders. Still, I was able to add a little vanilla and Truvia to my smoothie, and it turned out great.

Would you like to try Raw Organic Whey too? You can purchase it on Amazon! Visit Raw Organic Whey on Facebook too!

Carrot Cake Mix Cookies

Have you ever had a box of cake mix, but not wanted to make cake or muffins? Then you can try cookies! Cookies are more portable and work great if you're traveling and want treats for the trip and to give to whomever you are visiting. I baked these cookies for a recent trip, and they turned out wonderfully. They are tasty, quick, and simple to make and store. 

Some cake mixes have a cookie recipe on the back of the box, but if not, all you need to do is add 2 eggs and 1/2 cup oil to the mix and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 min.

I've been doing a bit baking lately, so stay tuned for more recipes and ideas to come!

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July!