Healthy Options Shopping Haul (August 2016)

Before anything else, I’d like to announce that Healthy Options has now launched a mobile app for members to access the Lifestyle News Digest, healthy recipes, customizable shopping lists and the digital membership card for tracking points. The app is available for Android and iOS users. This is great news for those who like trying something new and people who are always on the go…like me! 🙂 Once you have your digital membership card activated through the app, you can save more space in your wallet. At the store, simply show the digital card on your phone to the cashier to receive all discounts and rewards just like you would with your plastic card. Amazing!

Moving on to this post, here I’m sharing the grocery items we got from Healthy Options – Eastwood last month.

Healthy Options Shopping Haul (August 2016)

Quick bites: all different, all good

Introduced to my palates by Angel, Pretzel Perfection’s English Toffee Twists taste sweet and salty. These white chocolate-covered gluten-free pretzels are addicting with a capital A. These are great to brighten your mood, perk up your appetite, and maybe provide satisfaction when hunger pangs hit on the open road.

A stark contrast to the spicy and salty flavor profile of the English Toffee pretzels, the Pretzel Perfection Gluten Free Twice Baked Pretzel Sticks in Chipotle BBQ feature a blend of earthy smoked jalapeno and southwestern spices. The more you eat, the more you’re going to love it. These tasty treats are perfect for a quick snack at home while watching a movie, catching up with a TV series, doing homework, studying or just watching the sunset.

The All Natural Xpressos Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans by Kimmie Candy taste bitter and sweet. It has combined the classic go-together flavors of coffee and chocolate, and for me, that is culinary heaven, a delightful coffee experience without drinking coffee. 😉 These mouthwatering espresso beans were roasted to perfection and then layered with a rich dark chocolate. The consistency of the bean size, the crunch and flavor, the chocolate coating thickness, the richness of the chocolate with strong coffee undertones, the perfect mixture of chocolate to coffee flavor—excellent!

Breakfast buddies

Peanut butter with white chocolate? Hmmm, that definitely caught my attention. My hopeful spirit went down though when the taste of white chocolate was not as pronounced in the spread as expected. Nonetheless, this peanut butter tastes delicious for sandwiches. It’s good to be paired also with berries as a snack or as an ingredient in your favorite baked goods. It’s verified non-GMO, certified gluten-free, vegan and kosher. It doesn’t contain hydrogenated oil and also no high fructose corn syrup.

Our kitchen ran out of honey, so I got another bottle of Miller’s Smokey Bear American Wild Flower 100% U.S. Honey. This honey is gluten-free, fat-free, all-natural, contains no cholesterol, no trans-fats, and no sodium. Taste and consistency is good, and the container looks so cute. 🙂 But what’s more interesting about it is the story behind: In partnership with the USDA Forest Service, Smokey supports American beekeepers by sourcing honey directly from U.S. hives. A portion of the proceeds from every sale goes to support the educational efforts of wildfire prevention. 

The Wild Garden Hummus Dip Roasted Garlic is another new breakfast favorite, best enjoyed as a topping for chips, pita break, or spread on sandwich. To make it even more flavorful, add lemon or olive oil to taste. This creamy garbanzo bean dip contains no preservatives and no cholesterol.

Drinks 

Smooth Move teas are my best bet in relieving occasional constipation. This is my third box of Smooth Move (I’ve tried the chocolate and peppermint flavors before), and I love that this herbal tea never fails to produce bowel movement within the next 6-12 hours after intake. It’s not medicine but a warm drink that’s best taken at bedtime so you can sleep easy knowing you’ll be right as rain in the morning.

With the aid of chamomile, this tea can also help ease stomach cramps and avoid gastrointestinal aggravation. Acting as a gentle narcotic, it assuages stress, a standout among the most widely recognized reasons for stomach torment. Drinking this makes me feel less bloated and most importantly, my tummy doesn’t cramp or feel painful or airy like it does when I take over-the-counter laxatives.

With just a small hint of vanilla, the Pacific Natural Foods Rice Non-Dairy Beverage is a refreshing alternative to dairy. It’s naturally sweet with no added sugar. The reason why I got it is that online reviewers say it’s by far the best rice milk ever. Finding rice milk that doesn’t have sunflower in it or some type of seed oil is difficult. Those who don’t have severe food allergies, on the other hand, can also appreciate drinking this with lattes, milkshake, smoothies, and hot choco or baking cookies, muffins, pancakes, etc.

Packaged in a glass “milk” jug, Silly Cow Sea Salt & Caramel is the third variety we tried from Silly Cow (after Peppermint Twist and Chocolate-Moo-usse). It’s my sister’s favorite hot chocolate drink that warms both inside and out. The powder contains natural cane sugar, Dutch processed cocoa (with alkali), natural vanilla, and sea salt and caramel flavor.

I also got Nature’s Gate: The Original Moisturizing Liquid Soap which has a very pleasing and refreshing smell that’s not overpowering. Texture is moisturizing and really nice. It leaves hands feeling clean and smooth. The attractive packaging looks good in bathrooms, kitchen, and laundry room and makes it a presentable gift to friends and relatives for the upcoming Christmas season.

Considering serious health implications of factory-farmed chickens, I thought it’s time to try organically grown chicken instead of chicken meat being sold in ordinary grocery stores. (To know more about the truth about factory farming, click here.) Mom cooked these Healthy Options chicken wings to make sibut 四物(four-herb Chinese soup) with dried roots, barks and herbs for dinner. Yummy!

Lastly, I bought another box of Nature’s Plus Ageless Kidney Support (90 tablets) for my grandfather. This product counters catabolic kidney distress with targeted protective antioxidants and factors of growth and renewal.

About Rochkirstin Santos-Sioco

Health and technology freak. Food and lifestyle blogger with a large appetite for food and travel.