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TwoDegreesFood has a mission to feed 200 million hungry children – one child at a time. For every bar you buy, they give a nutrition pack to a hungry child.
Nutrition packs are revolutionary treatments for severe and chronic malnutrition. Known as Ready-to-Use Food (RUF), these nutrition packs have been endorsed by the World Health Organization and treat chronic and severely malnourished children with up to 95% success rates. As convenient packs that do not require water or refrigeration, they have shifted the treatment of hungry children from doctors in hospitals to a community-based model focused on mothers in homes. But despite their success, these nutrition packs reach just 3% of the children who need them.
The development of nutrition packs has revolutionized the treatment of malnutrition. As highly fortified, nutrient dense pastes made from grains, nuts, seeds, milk powder, sugar, oil, vitamins, and minerals, these nutrition packs are ready to eat straight from the package. They are precooked, portable, and do not require water for preparation or refrigeration for preservation. Their convenience and efficacy has shifted the treatment of childhood hunger from doctors in hospitals to mothers in homes. Community-based interventions – known as Community-Based Therapeutic Care (CTC) or Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) – were developed by our partner Dr. Steve Collins, Chairman of Valid Nutrition and Valid International, and have become the standard of care endorsed by the World Health Organization.
I really respect what they do. YOU can help by purchasing their bars!!!
There are three flavors:
They sustainably source their ingredients from small, local farms whenever possible. For example “Our chocolate comes from a fourth generation family-owned business in New York. Our prunes are grown in a small farm in Oregon that started as a family garden. Our peanut butter comes from a family-owned business in Eugene, Oregon, that started in the family’s garage. Our quinoa is Fair Trade Certified from Bolivia and Peru.”
I wasn’t too keen on brown rice syrup being the first on the ingredient list. However, because of their mission to support the hungry children, these bars tasted more delicious than ever. I felt good inside and out enjoying the bars.
I also liked the combination of different textures and flavors. The cherry almond one was my favorite. While the cherry gave a nice tart and chewy texture, the quinoa and roasted nuts/seeds gave nice crunch. The puffed rice was a nice addition as well! There are also CHIA SEEDS, which I’ve been obsessed with lately. The bars also include prune puree to make everything stay together. Btw, prune is good to get things flowing smoothly in your intestine. haha, is that too much info? 
You can support their movement by purchasing their bars =]
Giveaway:
1. What are some ways you help or give back to the community?
2. Link back to this post.
3. Twit about the giveaway.
4. Add me to your blogroll~
This giveaway ends on June 5th, 2011.
Together, they’re the ultimate grab-and-go nutrient boost & natural recovery fuel for your active lifestyle.
Drink up, and you’ll be ready for yoga, cycling, a hike, or a day at the office.
- Balance provides energizing, balancing nutrition in a delicious, convenient drink mix. It’s perfect for before exercise, or any time throughout the day as a snack or energy drink alternative.
- Vitality is convenient and tasty recovery fuel for after exercise, any time you need a green boost, or instead of caffeine during the day.
Balance & Vitality work on a cellular level to provide:
- energy & endurance
- digestion & intestinal health
- focus & clarity
- skin detoxification & nourishment
- fat metabolism post-workout
They also supply:
- 16% daily protein (vegetarian)
- electrolyte preload to prevent muscle cramping
- post-workout muscle replenishment
- anti-oxidants for longevity
How To Use
- Dissolve contents of each packette into 2-6 ounces of water, juice or tea.
- Shake or stir vigorously to completely dissolve.
- YogaEarth can also be added to smoothies, yogurt, or other foods.
Balance:
- For exercise, sports, or yoga, drink Balance with water or juice at least 90 minutes before physical activity.
- For daily energy, health, or hunger satiation: consume Balance before, during, or after meals, or in place of snacking.
Vitality:
- For recovery from exercise, sports, or yoga, drink Vitality with water or juice within 90 minutes after physical activity.
- For daily energy, health, or hunger satiation: consume Vitality before, during, or after meals, or instead of caffeine during the day.
- Balance may be combined with Vitality at any time in the day for a convenient single dose.
Review: I mixed these with water. I used Balance pre-workout and Vitality pro-workout. Truthfully I did not notice any changes on the first day. I always feel energetic for yoga since I fuel myself properly few hours before. But the second day, I felt more “flowy” through my yoga experience. I felt like I could keep going with Vinyasa Power Yoga for at least two hours! But of course I stopped at 90min to keep myself sane 
I also loved the taste. It doesn’t have any of that weird after taste that some fitness products do. These make the water taste fruity citrusy that I love so much! I still have few packets left so I will definitely going to try with greek yogurt. almost like parfait! sounds yummy, no?
The probiotics, the digestive enzymes, the electrolytes in these products are there to prevent muscle cramping and provide you with the energy that is needed for yoga or any type of sport.
Finally, I loved finding these ingredients in their products: CoQ10, Cordyceps, Resveratrol, and Amalaki. CoQ10 enhances cellular absorption, cordyceps is an age-old immune strengthening agent used in the Orient, Amalaki is an Ayurvedic staple, and Resveratrol is a potential cutting-edge anti-aging booster. The twenty plus ingredients read like a star-studded list of super food supplements.
Here’s an exciting news for An Apple A Day readers: Get 50% off a month’s supply of Balance or Vitality.
Just enter the coupon code at checkout:
for Balance, enter “BALANCE”
for Vitality, enter “VITALITY”
I like dark chocolates, especially when they are raw because it means they haven’t been heated too high =]
“TRADITIONAL CHOCOLATE bars are made with heavily roasted cacao beans. Each FEARLESS Chocolate Bar is crafted with unroasted Cacao beans and other uncooked and unprocessed ingredients. We slow-grind the Cacao at temperatures well underneath 118F and introduce our unique mixtures of ingredients at even lower temperatures in order to preserve the natural nutrients, enzymes, anti-oxidants, amino acids, and oils present in these natural whole foods.”
Fearless chocolates are Dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and using only mineral-rich unrefined whole sugars, FEARLESS is a delicious good-for-you gourmet organic chocolate.
Fearless currently has five awesome flavors:
Midnight: this one is darkest with 75% cacao. I love the bitterness. Small square is enough to cure my dark choc cravings =D
Sweet&Hot. The name says it all. I adore anything spicy so this one was a hit. I tried spicy chocolate awhile back and had high hopes for this one. It did not disappoint at all. Loved the spicy touch to the bitter dark chocolate.
Green tea & Mint! Two of my favorites in one combination within dark chocolate, yum! I liked this one but could have used more minty flavor. I was looking for that “fresh mintiness” after indulging on a piece. It wasn’t as much present as I hoped. However, I was still able to get that minty plus dark chocolate combination. love the concept of green tea and mint together. yes!
Superseeds? chocolate + seeds? omg, yes please! seeds give that nice crunchy texture to the smoothness of chocolate. It went so well. I like different textures when I eat so loved the crunch factor.
Another plus to their chocolates is that they use Rapadura: “RAPADURA IS an organic, minerally intact, whole-cane sugar from Brazil. Beyond fresh whole sugar cane, Rapadura is the closest thing to a “raw”, unrefined sugar on the planet. Featuring approximately 50% of the sucrose (the actual sugar) of conventional white sugars and “evaporated cane juice,” Rapadura organic sugar is the perfect unbleached, unrefined sweetener to use in place of refined sugars in FEARLESS chocolate. With its minerals and carbohydrates in-tact, we believe Rapadura offers superior nutritional value above all other dry sugars that we have encountered.”
Although I am not a huge fan of coconuts, this one was tolerable. Coconuts were not overwhelming that it ruined the dark chocolate. It was nicely presented so that it enhanced the dark chocolate at the side.
Lastly, I love love love the packaging of Fearless Chocolates. It is recyclable paper and the design of the chocolate is just so adorable. When you open it, it is shaped as if someone bit off a corner. I thought it was really cute!
Design and presentation play an important role in capturing the consumer’s heart, and Fearless did a great job with it!
Thanks, Trevor!
One Lucky Duck‘s raw snacks are so delicious and made with organic nutritious ingredients.
I loved every little bite I got to taste of their products.
I got to try:
Striped Cinnamon Squares
This was like a classic sugar cookie (like those hard ginger snap cookies!). The ingredients are raw and organic almond flour, organic maple powder, organic maple syrup, raw and organic coconut oil, organic vanilla extract, Himalayan salt, organic cinnamon, organic nutmeg.
I don’t know how they make the stripes with just almonds as the base! They are incredible. I usually like soft cookies but wow, these changed my mind. These aren’t too hard but crunchy. I think these would go so well dipped in almond milk! I enjoyed them with a cup of kombucha =] Perfect afternoon treat! Also, the coconut oil gave the nice texture and gave a boost to the flavor. LOVE the cinnamon flavor too, favorite<3
These are the raw version of cereals. The base is raw sprouted buckwheat, one of my favorite grains(actually it is fruit seed) out there. Buckwheat is technically not wheat so it is not full of gluten. Therefore, it is full of digestible protein~ The crispies can be eaten straight from the bag like chips or as breakfast cereal splashed with nut or hemp milk! Also, can be broken to pieces and sprinkled on top of ice cream or yogurt =]
I enjoyed them straight from the bag. The buckwheat pieces gave a nice crunch texture. The chocolate version was not too sweet with a nice balance of vanilla scent. I really enjoy the maple flavor too =D
The vanilla version is added to the crispies line recently. This one is unlike the other two because it uses agave instead of maple. I really love this one too. Just a hint of sweetness to the full aroma and flavor of vanilla. YUM!
Carob Powder!!!
I’ve been looking everywhere to find this
Carob is high in calcium amongst other minerals, it is 8% protein and contains vitamins A, B, B2, B3 and D. It is used by many as an alternative to cocoa as it is free from caffeine and theobromine which are the stimulants in cacao. It is also naturally sweet so requires less additional sugar to sweeten it.
The carob tree is a member of the legume family and it grows in Mediterranean areas. Developing carob pods have the appearance of green broad beans but they turn a dark glossy brown with maturity. The seeds inside the pod are what is ground into the powder, though the pods themselves are also edible.
Carob is a great alternative for cacao. There’s nothing wrong with cacao, since it is superfood too. But I heard great things about carob so I really wanted to experiment with this too. I used this in milkshake (carob, raw brown rice protein, berries, raw almond milk, ice, spinach) It was marvelous. I did not need any additional sweetener at all. delicious!
Raw buckwheat groats
This wholesome fruit seed (commonly thought of as a cereal grain) is a great way to replace grains, especially for people sensitive to wheat gluten. Buckwheat is both wholesome and rich in nutrients.
Consuming buckwheat has been linked to lowering levels of cholesterol and blood pressure. It is high in flavanoids, phytonutrients that protect your body from disease. Buckwheat is also a good source of fiber, as well as magnesium, which relaxes blood vessels and improves blood flow. Buckwheat may also contribute to lower blood sugar levels, and has been proven to satisfy hunger better than any other grain.
These are perfect in place of cereal or grain toppings. I love buckwheat because of its crunch. I love how they can be eaten raw too. It is perfectly crunchy! And this really satisfy your hunger instantly. You don’t need much to be happily satisfied, which is good when you want to feel light and not down by food
i just sprinkled these on top of the smoothie I tried with the carob powder (mentioned above). Love the crunchiness =]
I want to thank One Lucky Duck for helping me with the review on the blog. I wish I could visit the store and PureFoodandWine someday! It is my top restaurant to visit in NY. =D
Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend, everyone. What are your plans?
Giveaway: two winners will receive a package of the Cinnamon Squares! yay
1. Let me know your favorite raw food company~
2. Link back to this post!
3. Twit about this giveaway
4. Add me to your blogroll~
This giveaway ends on June 2nd, 2011
Natural Zing is a great online store where you can purchase raw, organic, all natural ingredients, snacks, and other foods.
I found many of my favorite raw snacks there! they also have food under their brand, such as fruits and nuts.
One of my favorite bars is Lydia’s Cacao Crunch. I can’t seem to find these at stores so I was happy to see this on their site.
This one is made with organic sprouted buckwheat, agave, sea salt, sunflower seeds, quinoa, and cinnamon. It is really great as a snack or even as raw granola by breaking them to pieces.
I also tried raw dehydrated mango slices. Theses were a lot tougher than I would have liked. But they were very moist and sweet. I broke them into smaller pieces and ate it like candies! Just let them melt in your mouth. Then it got chewier! I loved the fresh taste of mangoes. YUM!
Giveaway: (of their online store giftcards)
1. Visit the site and let me know any products you would like to try.
2. What is your favorite type of fruit?
3. Link back to this site.
4. Twitt about this giveaway.
5. Add me to your reader and blogroll.
This giveaway ends on May 31st, 2011. thank you!
