Enjoy Life....Indeed

There has been a huge lifestyle change at my house.

We've gone from lazy days of summer to the more regimented days of school.

They all went off to their first day with a smile on their face and so many stories to tell when they returned home.

Along with the joy of school comes the task of lunches.  My kids don't have a cafeteria and thus have to brown bag their lunches...which I love but then I also have to constantly be thinking of nutritious and delicious foods.

I was given a wonderful surprise when Enjoy Life Foods contacted me and asked if I would like a sampling of their crunchy cookies.

I gladly accepted their offer and was so stunned when I opened up their package to reveal this

We received all four varieties:

Sugar Crisp
Vanilla Honey Graham
Double Chocolate
Chocolate Chip

The great thing about Enjoy Life is that their cookies are gluten free, nut free, and soy free.

Did you know that not only can you enjoy the cookies straight out of the package but there have been numerous recipes developed USING the cookies in them.  To see some of the delights please click here (my favorite is the double stuffed sugar cookies).

When my kids hear "gluten free" they often think the product will be lacking flavor...but I assure you they had no idea that the gluten was lacking in these products.

They happily gobbled up the samples and gave 6 thumbs up (2 for each child of course).

They are now begging me to break into the bigger boxes of cookies.  Won't they be so excited when they find a cookie in their lunches!  They will indeed be going back to school in style.

Thank you Enjoy Life for giving me the opportunity to sample and review your cookies...they are a treat above the rest.

Have you tried any gluten free foods?  Did you enjoy them?

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Plenty of Plentils

I was contacted by the nice people of Enjoy Life Foods and asked if I would like to try there new chips called Plentils.

I naturally said "Of Course."

I knew I couldn't turn down a chip made from lentils and one that was bound to be better for me than the traditional potato chip.

I was so very excited when I opened the box and saw these 4 beauties:

They sent all 4 of their new flavors (which I have already seen at Whole Foods):

Sea Salt
Margherita Pizza
Dill & Sour Cream
Garlic & Parmesan

I jumped in and started with the margherita pizza.

The chips are super crunchy and light.

Not to mention bursting with flavor.

I didn't feel overly full or weighed down and there were no greasy fingers.

What is really nice about Enjoy Life products (their mega chunks are my favorite!!!) is that they are gluten free and free of the eight major allergens:

wheat
dairy
peanut
tree nut
egg
soy
fish
shellfish

Would you like to know a little bonus about them?

They are also certified GMO free.

If you would like to pick up a bag, or two, be sure to use one of their coupons (found on their website).

Christmas is less than a week away...are you ready?

Be sure to come back tomorrow as it is big reveal for December's Improv challenge.

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I'm Not Nuts but I have some Winners!

Do you see what I see?

It appears that a little elf has left me a treat in my tree...well not exactly.

I was contacted by the wonderful and generous people at Enjoy Life.

They asked if I would like to try their snack mix "Not Nuts."

I thought to myself I would have to be nuts not to try it (as I have loved everything from cookies to mega chunk chocolate that I have tried of theirs).

They sent me two varieties:  Mountain Mambo (sunflower kernels, pumpkin seeds, raisins, apples, chocolate chips, and cranberries).

And Beach Bash (sunflower kernels, pineapple, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, and apricots)

Just look inside at all of the goodness:

One small handful of this stuff and I am energized and ready to go with my hunger curbed (which definitely makes staying on task at work easier).

Plus there are only 130 calories per serving (1/4 cup). 

My suggestion would be to get a bag Not Nuts and eat a serving before the holiday parties so that you don't over eat the decadent and rich food.

If you would like to connect with Enjoy Life you can do so on Facebook and Twitter.

A side note for those with special dietary concerns the mixes are vegan and gluten free which just makes my heart happy to hear.

What do you do before a party to make sure you don't over eat?  Or do you prep all day in anticipation of the bounty of good food by eating less?

A little business I have it to announce the winners of  my two giveaways I was running.

The winner of the 32 oz of Tropical Traditions coconut oil is: Juliana (who said she would use it for her hair)
The winner of the $25 Burger King gift card is: Ms. Composure

I have sent each of you an e-mail if I don't hear back in 24 hours I will have to select another winner...I would like your prizes to ship as soon as possible :)

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

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Enjoy Life...it is good for you!

I was contacted by Enjoy Life to sample some of their gluten free cookies.

Kind of a no brainer...after all who says "No" to cookies?

Certainly not me.

I was gifted with 4 different types to taste test:

• Double Chocolate
• Sugar Crisp 
• Vanilla Honey Graham
• Chocolate Chip

First up on the tasting block was the chocolate chip, as my kids couldn't wait for me to get the box open.

With ample chocolate chips, and a taste almost like homemade, these were an instant hit.

We ate these straight up because really you don't need much to accompany a chocolate chip cookie, except maybe a cold glass of almond milk.

Next up vanilla honey graham.

This one we all agreed is perfect with ice cream or gelato (I just happened to have some Talenti Raspberry Sorbet handy)

I was expecting more of a graham cracker taste but it had way more vanilla and was similar to a short bread.

Owen happily munched on his, while Caroline couldn't take the yum factor anymore and just had to lay her head down (in reality she was not feeling well, but I thought the photo was funny all the same):

Our 3rd trial was sugar crisp.

This is a fantastic and versatile cookie. 

While eaten alone is a great crunchy sugar cookie but given that it doesn't have any "extra" flavors it can be paired with a number of other desserts and fruit easily.

I haven't done it yet but I would like to use these as ice cream cookies filled with a favorite ice cream like SO Delicious. 

Last, and my absolute favorite, is double chocolate.

I am slightly ashamed but I have hidden these from my kids (I know they would eat them all).

These are the best cocoa cookie filled with chocolate chips...it is must to serve with cold almond milk as you will be inclined to dunk the cookie (go ahead let the kid in you out).

So whether you need a gluten free cookie due to dietary restrictions OR if you are simply looking for a delicious cookie give Enjoy Life a try, and I promise you will not be disappointed.

The cookies, in addition to be being gluten free, are wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, and tree nut free.

Have you tried Enjoy Life?  If so what was your favorite flavor?

*The ideas and thoughts expressed in this post are my own and I was not paid for my work other then the boxes of cookies

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Inside Out Peanut Butter Cups

I know that is a super long title for what you will find is a super easy recipe.

At my house "treats" are welcome everyday all day.  For my daughter she would love it if I would allow her to have a treat first thing in the morning before she has had a decent breakfast.

To be fair the term treat has a very broad definition at my house.  It could range from granola to Larabar to the cookies and cake.  In this case the treat that I made was Inside Out Peanut Butter Cups in ball form.

Ingredients

1/2-3/4 C peanut butter
2/3 C powdered sugar
6 Tbsp Enjoy Life Mega Chunks

I started out with 1/2 of peanut butter (I prefer smooth but I am sure chunky would just add more texture to the ball) and added my powdered sugar.  As I started to mix the two I found that more peanut butter was needed and added an additional 2 Tbsp.  It was just enough to make the mixutre moist, but not sticky.

Next I poured in my Enjoy Life Mega Chunks. 

Ok I need a quick sidebar here.  For those of you who haven't seen these or haven't sampled these OMG they are delicious.

They look a little different in color then a traditional chocolate chip, but the flavor is immense and the size, well lets just say in this case that size does matter.

Once rolled up I got 12 out of this mixture (I am sure if you like small balls you could make more, but again size matters and I like them big).

I put these to my official taste tester panel

A thumbs up from both boys.  Unfortunately these didn't last long, but that's ok they are so easy to whip up that I can easily make more.

The flavor honestly is just like a certain name branded peanut butter cup...at least so says my husband the Reese's cup connoisseur.

“Mmmm, you’ll find tasty recipes like these in the HostelBookers.com Backpacker Recipe Guide.”

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