It’s so eassssy being green, if you’re a pistachio that is. Pistachios are wearing little birthday hats as it’s their big day! National Pistachio Day is Friday February 26th and pistachios are ready to be snacked upon. Other nuts … Continue reading
Think fast! It’s time to go to an outdoor concert with your friends or a park with your kids or a romantic al fresco dinner with your boo. What do you pack for your picnic? You need something light, portable, tasty and healthy… and a crowd pleaser cuz you don’t wanna be that person who brought the last minute convenience store cheese curls.
We recently were given some samples of new products guaranteed to liven up your summer adventures and omgee, we had to pack them for our own picnic!
For the sweet tooth:
Get your potassium on while satisfying the sweet cravings with Barnana. We didn’t really know what to expect but we were pleasantly surprised and happy campers (even Monica liked it since she does not like any banana flavor products). Simply, they are dehydrated bananas with a twist of treat. Barnana offers 4 types of munchable banana bites which are Original, Chocolate, Coconut and Peanut Butter. These are organic, gluten free, non GMO and non-dairy heart healthy snacks. Barnana consist of minimal ingredients a.k.a you won’t find a mile long list on the side of the bag.
For the purist, original Barnana is like popping mini banana chunks in your mouth. The chocolate Barnanas felt decadent, with a coco shell surrounded the soft banana inside. Tip: mix the chocolate with the peanut butter Barnanas and you will feel like you’re eating an extra healthy peanut butter cup (YES!). The coconut Barnana seemed more like a homemade energy bite with a chewy texture and flakes of coconut. We had guests over, ages ranging from 3 to 50, who quickly depleted our precious coconut Barnana supply. The bites come in a compact package, perfect for backpack carrying. You can purchase all flavors of Barnana online or search for a local vendor.
For the savory lover:
Ditch the greasy bag of potato chips and get classy with the back-packable Tuscan inspired Pasta Chips. Made with semolina flour and sprinkled with Italian herbs, Pasta Chips pair well with the picnic classics like hummus, dips or the party favorite of Wisconsinites, CHEESE!
On our summer picnic to the new Maggie Daley Park, our guests sampled 3 different flavors: Mediterranean Sea Salt, Spicy Tomato Herb and Spinach Broccoli Kale. Spinach Broccoli Kale will please the veggie lover and go well with an artichoke dip. The Spicy Tomato Herb wasn’t so much spicy as much as a pop of zesty tomato flavor. The light flaky texture would be perfect with mozzarella, tomato, basil bites as an appetizer. The Mediterranean Sea Salt could easily knock a potato chip out of the park with it’s crispy crunch and touch of salt. Dab it with french onion dip or an olive tapenade to wow a crowd with your master picnic status. You can purchase Pasta Chips online or we’ve spotted them at Chicagoland Mariano’s.
Dear audience, you know there’s nothing like a picnic with your fave friends in a park on a warm summer day. Load up your basket and get ready to Mangia! with Pasta Chips and the seductive yet not sinful Barnana. Where’s your top spot to stop for a picnic? We’ll bring the snacks if you bring the blanket and the boombox (or bluetooth speaker…but that’s not as fun *wink*).
Forget you, Olive Garden! We are bringing our own soup and salad to work. Soup is an awesome option to consume more veggies AND feel full with fewer calories but packaged soups often have too much sodium, weird looking meat pieces, or too many additives. We were souper (hehe) excited to try some samples of Smart Soups because they are (ehem..be jealous cans o’ soup) none of those things. Creator, Anne Chong Hill has long history in the prepared food industry and recognized the need for high quality, easy to make food and her recipes are inspired by her international background and travel experiences.
Smart Soups are:
Taste:
With 7 souperb (ha ha ha) flavor options, we had a hard time choosing what to try first. We received 5 options.
Greek Minestrone was Kate’s first go to. Packaged minestrone tends to be bland or have too many noodles in the way. The Greek Minestrone was packed with veggies and rich in herby flavor, possibly the best Minestrone out there except what your grandma might be able to make (if she can cook). Pairing tip: Greek Salad with feta, olives, artichokes and mixed greens.
Thai Coconut Curry is Mon’s fave Smart Soup. Full of coconut water blended with fresh red curry made an amazingly authentic dish, especially tasty on a rainy day. It includes plenty of baby corn, bamboo shoots and red pepper. Pair with side of grilled spiced tofu.
Sante Fe Corn Chowder is vibrant with red peppers, black beans, and corn, balanced with a squeeze of lime. Dunk a vegan tostada and plenty of avocado in it!
Vietnamese Carrot Lemongrass is filled with rich tasty Asian flavors and veggies. Pair the satisfying soup with a Tofu Bahn Mi sandwich.
French Lentil Soup makes a hearty meal with green and red lentils, leeks and moorish spices. Mix it up with a baguette and nicolaise salad.
Cooking:
Smart Soup stores easily in the freezer and couldn’t be more simple to make. You open the bag and pop it on the stove or in the microwave and then you’re done. You can get creative with Smart Soups too by integrating them into new recipes as well.
What’s the most delicious soup you’ve ever tried? Maybe you could inspire a new Smart Soup!
Is the old white bread rigamaroll bringing you down? We have developed a forever love of Potbelly’s whole grain bread subs (sorry Subway 
) that keeps us coming back for the skinny mushroom melt and the vegetarian Mediterranean.
But what’s this? Potbelly has unveiled a new bread experience: the flatbread gloves are off and Potbelly is ready to battle.
Last Thursday, we had the privilege of tasting the new multigrain flatbreads with the toppings of our tried and true sandwich stars. And boy howdy does Potbelly know how to make you feel special! Bottles were popping and flatbreads were flowing. Ok well, actually the new frozen raspberry lemonades with the tiny shortbread cookies on the straws were popping. We can dream right?
Once we checked in, we walked upstairs to the VIP lounge. Each table had several snack bags of BBQ Popchips awaiting our arrival. Potbelly staff walked around with samples of the several types of sandwiches on the new flatbread. We both tried a full sized veggie Mediterranean and Kate nibbled the tiny sized grilled chicken and cheese. The Wreck, Turkey and Tuna on the flats were also available but we didn’t partake. After we gobbled down our sammiches, we delighted in a “Drop the Popchip in your mouth” competition.
BBQ Popchips!
Review!
Nutrition: With 90 calories less than Potbelly’s traditional breads, the flatbread is a solid nutritional choice for somebody watching the waistline while craving a sammitch.
Taste: We are a big fan of the skinnys as too much bread can be overwhelming. The flats had a mild multigrain flavor, not too overwhelming. They have a nice balance of outside crunch and inside softness as well. The raspberry lemonade was off the chain tasty but our guess is it is not on the health conscious list. For a nice summer treat in 80 degree weather, it would alrighty but not the best idea in addition to a cookie, chips, sandwich, shake…hehehe…although light and airy Popchips are a good choice if you just hafta add the chips.
So when can you grab the flats and flatten them out? Flats go national wide on May 6 and the yummy lemonade hits stands in June.
Our VIP Goody Bag from Potbelly
Chi Organic Girls 