Review and Giveaway: Cascadian Farm's New, Organic Tail Mix Chewy Granola Bars

I was elated to be able to try Cascadian Farm's New, Organic Trail Mix Chewy Granola Bars, which are just perfect for fall. The two new, yummy flavors are: Dark Chocolate Cranberry and Vanilla Almond Cherry .Both of these bars are delectable, and contain at least 95% organic ingredients. These bars are an easy way to enjoy many whole foods, in a convenient package!


Dark Chocolate Cranberry Chewy Granola Bars
These scrumptious bars contain raisins, dried cranberries, peanuts, dark chocolate, and rolled oats. These were my favorite new variety. The marriage of dark chocolate and dried cranberries, is a heavenly one, in my opinion.

Vanilla Almond Cherry Chewy Granola Bars
My favorite thing about these bars is that they contained a lot of fun, flavorful ingredients including: vanilla chips, pretzels, almonds, and dried cherries. The vanilla chips and pretzels blended so well, together.

Cascadian Farm is graciously giving away some of their new trail mix bars to one Lily of the Valley reader.

Win it:
1. Leave me a comment telling me which flavor you would most like to try.

Additional Optional Entries:

2. Follow Cascadian Farm on facebook. Write on their wall telling them that Lily of the Valley sent you.

3. Follow Lily of the Valley on GFC. (or leave me a comment telling me that you have done so)

4. Share on your blog, facebook, or via e-mail.


Contest ends November 6th, at 12 pm EST. I will select one winner via random.org. Giveaway open to US residents only.

Disclosure: I received trail mix bars  from Cascadian Farm in exchange for an honest review. Cascadian Farm also supplied the products for the giveaway.

Manna Organics Review and Giveaway

I am so delighted to be able to review and to host a giveaway of Manna Organics Bread.  Manna Organics sells quality sprouted and sourdough breads that are so delicious. Manna Organics sprouted breads are: salt-free, unleavened, high fiber, contain no added sweetener/flour/oils, are yeast-free, and contain nothing artificial. I was so impressed by the ingredients of their breads. Manna Organics sent me a pack of four of their breads: Fig Fennel Flax Sprouted, Bavarian Style Rye Sourdough, Banana Walnut Hemp, and Sunseed Sprouted Bread.

1. Fig Fennel and Flax Sprouted Bread

I loved all of the delicious seeds, including flax, poppy, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower, on this bread! I was so pleasantly surprised about how sweet this bread is, despite having no added sugar. The reason is, according to the Manna Organics website,  

"By fully germinating our grains, we convert the starches into easily digested natural complex sugars, similar to those found in fresh fruits, hence the sweetness."

The fig and fennel seed tasted so good and gave it a black licorice taste!

2. Bavarian Style Rye SourDough

This bread was very rich in flavor due to it being a sourdough bread.This is just perfect for making sandwiches!

3. Banana Walnut Hemp Sprouted Bread

Banana Walnut Hemp Sprouted contains all of the deliciousness of banana nut bread with no added sugars! We loved eating a slice for breakfast, right after drinking our green smoothies. It is just perfect with a cup of tea.

4. Sunseed Sprouted

Sunseed sprouted contains six seeds: organic sunflower, organic sesame seeds, organic flax seeds, organic millet, organic poppy seeds, and organic caraway seeds. It is naturally sweet, and one slice contains a whopping 28% of your recommended daily fiber. It also contains 13% daily iron recommendation. It is an excellent source of Omega 3's.

Manna Organics is graciously hosting a giveaway of a four loaves of bread: Fig Fennel Flax, Bavarian Style Rye Sourdough, Banana Walnut Hemp, and Sunseed to one reader of this blog. This blog giveaway is open to continental US residents only.

Giveaway (mandatory entry)
1. Leave a comment letting me know that you would like to be entered into this giveaway.


Additional (optional entries) (leave a separate comment for each)
2. Become a facebook fan of Lily of  the Valley and Manna Organics.
3. Follow Lily of the Valley on GFC (or leave a comment telling me that you already do)
4. Follow Manna Organics on twitter here.

Giveaway ends November 6th at 12 pm, EST. I will select one winner via random.org.

Disclaimer: I received four loaves of bread to review and bread for a giveaway, via Manna Organics, in exchange for an honest review.

Sunwarrior Protein Powder

I had heard great things about Sunwarrior's Protein powder. I am really picky about the types of protein powders I will try because many brands contain harmful ingredients. I was so impressed by Sunwarrior's stellar ingredients. Both the chocolate and vanilla flavors contain only 5 ingredients: whole brown rice protein (Bio-fermented raw sprouted whole grain brown rice protein), vanilla/cocoa, pectin, xanathan gum, and stevia. Both the vanilla and the chocolate samples were delicious. I was pleasantly surprised that stevia made both shakes taste so sweet. I love that SunWarrior's protein powders are 100% raw foods. As a nursing mom, I love being able to whip up a quick healthy shake, or to make a shake for one of my childrens' snacks. Would you like to receive free samples of Sunwarrior's products? E-mail your sample request to support@sunwarrior.com .

A Great Opportunity to Bless A Child this Christmas

Operation Christmas Child is a division of Samaritan's Purse ministry. Through this program, you can pack a shoe box(es), with Christmas gifts for a child in another country. More than likely, this may very well be the only gift that child has received in his/her entire life! There have been many testimonials from those whose lives have been radically transformed, from those who have received a shoebox the past. Giving a tangible gift to those in need, is symbolic of Christ's free, life-transforming gift of Salvation. Those who receive a shoebox gift are given a Bible, as well as the opportunity to take a Bible class for twelve weeks, in which the Gospel message is presented to them. The gift and then the Bible class have been tools that God has used to bring many to Him. Making the time to pack a showbox may seem simple, but is such a gift of love that can, through Christ's grace, me instrumental in changing a life. We may not be able to help every child, but we can start somewhere. How about making a commitment to pack just one box, this year, to help one child? The boxes will be collected November 14-21 at various locales across America. To find your closest shoebox drop off point, visit here.

Here is a video showing how one woman's life was transformed through receiving a box. She has traveled with Samaritan's Purse to pass out shoeboxes to other children.





I think this could be one of the best homeschooling experiences, we will do this fall! Not only will it be fun going on a shopping spree for someone else (even getting a few items at the Dollar Store would be a huge blessing to a child), but you can also learn geography because you can track which country your box is going to. So, this project can help teach your family the joy of giving and geography!
Some families have box-filling parties, where one family member brings 10 toothbrushes (one for each box), another brings 10 t-shirts, another brings 10 tennis balls,etc. Imagine what a blessing it would be to have a party (complete with yummy drinks and goodies) while filling boxes with gifts for children in need. What a blessing that would be!

Divided the Movie

I just watched this movie, and it is phenomenal. Divided presents a biblical paradigm for worship, and shows the pitfalls of youth ministry.


Divided Trailer from NCFIC on Vimeo.

You can watch it for free here.

"My message to you fathers is a simple one and that is that God has given you an unbelievable gift, the gift of investing into the life of your children, and your children's children. Somehow, somebody has convinced us that the best thing we can do with that gift is to pass it on to someone else." 
                                                                                                                          -Voddie Baucham

October Musings

I realized that it has been a while since I shared a more personal update. Here are a few of my musings as of late:

* My baby is 19 months old. I will continue to call her "baby" until/if God sees fit to send us another blessing. For now, I am just relishing this toddler stage. She comes up with new words every day, and is growing way too fast. It is a joy to see how much her older siblings love watching each new phase as well. We are all quite smitten by Olivia Grace.

* My favorite snack, as of late are pitted dates. They are so sweet and healthy. They even help me when I am craving something like chocolate. I need to keep plenty of them on hand.

* Speaking of dates, I would love a date night with my hubby. Having four younger children, we hardly ever go out just the two of us, and we have gotten used to "date" nights at home. But we both really want to see the movie Courageous , while it is in the theater. We love supporting Sherwood Baptist Church's movie-making ministry. It is the only time we are willing to pay full price for movie theater tickets. It feels much more like supporting a ministry rather than just watching a flick.

* We have been so sick. I really hope we are getting over it. I didn't have a voice for 4 days, which is very challenging, especially as a mother to little ones. I am so thankful to have my voice back, and I hope I will never take it for granted, again. One of my daughters keeps getting a stomach bug. I hope all of this illness will be gone for good soon.

* While I was sick, someone broke into my van and stole my GPS. I am so thankful that it wasn't worse, but it really is frustrating that someone keeps stealing our stuff. I really felt like my GPS was my brain when I travel, and I really miss it.

* Since my house was broken into in June, and now my van, I am starting to understand Matthew 6:19-21,

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt , and where thieves break through and steal : But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt , and where thieves do not break through nor steal :  For where your treasure is , there will your heart be also "
  
Every earthly good we have on this earth is so fleeting. 


* Speaking of treasure in heaven, I was so blessed to read how this woman graciously spent her birthday blessing others. She taught her children volumes simply by including them in her gracious giving.


*One thing that I am so thankful for is that God recently answered "no" to two of my prayers. Over the past couple of months, we found two dream homes at dream prices. Both homes were foreclosures, and were in good condition. One house was 2500 sq. feet and had 5 acres.  This was an absolute dream to me, as my hubby and I would love to have a simple homestead, one day. We only felt comfortable to bid up to a certain point because we still have to pay on our current home until it sells. We were outbid and lost that home. Then, a couple months later, we bid on another lovely home on about an acre. Once again, we were outbid. At the time, I was so upset that we lost both homes. But now, considering the economy, I am very, very, very grateful that I don't have two house payments. Our current plan is to save diligently, continue paying off our current house, and to sell our home before bidding on any others. The waiting period until we sell may even be a few years. It would have been so stressful for us to sell our house quickly, when most houses in my neighborhood aren't selling as swiftly as they had in the past. I am so thankful that God protected us from what could have been very taxing to us monetarily.


I would love to hear how you and your families are doing! Blessings, friends!

Navitas Naturals Review

Navitas Naturals recently sent me a few of their quality products to sample. Navitas Naturals sells a variety of healthy snacks, seeds, berries, and more, which are nutrient-dense. 

I absolutely loved their Trail Mix, which contains all organic products including: mulberries, goji berries, goldenberries, raw cashews, and cacao nibs.

I loved the intense flavor of the berries, cashews, and cacao nibs. This was the best trail mix that I have ever had!

I also received two sample packs of Navitas Naturals Power Snacks: Cacao Goji Berry and Raw Citrus Chia. These bite-size snacks are perfect for on the go, and taste delicious. They contain several superfoods such as chia, maca, cacao, goji berries, and more. These are perfect snacks to have on hand for busy moms! I love the ease and convenience of  Navitas Naturals prepackaged foods without the guilt of preservatives.

Disclaimer: I received some product samples from Navitas Naturals in exchange for an honest review.

Deliciousness

Sandwich containing: Sprouted bread, alfalfa sprouts, romaine lettuce, nitrate-free meat, raw cheese

Homemade Raw Almond Milk 

Banana Ice Cream This is super easy to make in the Vita Mix. Ingredients: Just a smidge of raw almond milk and several frozen bananas. Great healthy snack when you are craving something sweet.

What deliciousness have you been enjoying?

Kashi TLC Peanutty Dark Chocolate Layered Granola Bars Review

I was delighted to review the Kashi TLC peanutty Dark Chocolate Layered Granola Bars as a member of Green Moms Meet. I received a large Kashi bag chocked full of these delicious granola bars to sample with a few of my mom friends. Peanut and Dark Chocolate are a flavor match made in heaven; these bars are delicious. I had to hide the bag of bars in my bedroom closet until the meet up, because my little ones loved them so much! Not only are these bars scrumptious, but they are also high in fiber and contain no preservatives.

My little ones adored their Kashi bars
 
It was so much fun to plan a meet up with other moms (though not everyone was able to make it due to illness) and to share more about such a delicious product. The consensus is that these are some of the tastiest granola bars that we have ever sampled. These Kashi bars are available at most major grocery stores at about $3.89 a box. In my opinion, these bars are much heartier than your average granola bar, and are a great value.



Disclaimer: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

Find Kashi on the web here.
Find Kashi on facebook here.

ProBar (coupon code)

In my quest to find healthy snacks for my family, I happened upon ProBars. I have picked up a couple at a local health food shop, and my family loved their delicious taste. Each of the Art's Original Collection ProBars contain 15 whole foods and are suitable for a meal replacement. They contain no preservatives and are about 70% raw. Many ProBars contain chia seeds, which are the highest whole-food source of Omega 3 acids. ProBars is graciously offering Lily of the Valley blog readers a 40% discount on their first order by placing an order here and entering the coupon code: blogger.

October Update

I am sorry that I have been scarce at blogging.We have been battling terrible chest colds/illness this week. I lost my voice on Wednesday night, which has made mothering very challenging! I miss reading to my babies. This morning, my four year-old , Annie, has gotten sick to her stomach. Keeping Olivia (19 months) away from Annie has been a great challenge as well. I greatly covet and appreciate your prayers for a swift recovery. Thank you so much!