Almondina Biscuits - The Healthy Guilt-Free Gourmet Cookie

Almondina - The Gourmet Cookie without the Guilt
 

Snacks are a big deal in my house. My daughters are ages 6 and 7 and are always on the go! Running in and out of the house, through the neighborhood, playing and simply being kids. All that playing can wear a kid out and what better to boost your energy than with food! Other than Lunch and Supper, I try not to make my girls food that's going to upset their tummies if they decide they want to go play some more right after their finished eating. Snack food ends up being our main go to area during these moments in the day. After a while, I've realized that most of the snacks that my kids eat are full of sugar and don't do much good for them except tame their hunger a bit and give them a 20 minutes "Sugar High" which makes the girls crash once all that sugar wears off... that's never a good thing!

So when I received an email from an Almondina contact asking if I would be interested in trying out a sample pack of their biscuit cookies, in return for my thoughts and opinions, I wasn't about to say no and miss the chance to possibly discover a new delicious snack for my little girls. So, I quickly agreed and begin to wait for the package to arrive at my door. In less that 2 weeks, I was holding a box containing lots of Almondina Cookies in a variety of flavors!

In the box, I received the following flavors:

Choconut

• Almondina Original
• Choconut
• Cinnaroma
• Sesame
• Chocolate Cherry
• GingerSpice

Some of the other flavor options available are:

• AlmonDuo
• AnniversaryT
• BranTreats - Cookies For Breakfast
• Seasonal Pumpkin Spice (Seasonal)
• Chocolate Dipped Original
• Delights
• Yougurt Dipped-Brantreats

We received one tray per flavor except for the original which we got 2 trays of. Before I had a chance to look at all the flavors, Loran and Jade had already started snatching up a couple cookie trays and were on their way outside to try out their new snack!

- What are Almondina Cookies? -

Let me explain...

-- Almondina is an all-natural, crispy almond cookie that has no cholesterol, no added fat or salt or preservatives and has only 30 calories!

Original Flavor

-- Once a world renown musical conductor, Yuval Zaliouk has been the owner of Almondina for the past 20 years, with his company based in Ohio.

-- Zaliouk's Almondina Cookies are created with love using the a special recipe that originally came from his Grandmother Dina.
-- These cookies are now sold in all 50 States as well as in several foreign countries too.
-- Almondina is All Natural, Healthful, Versatile, Crunchy, Addictive and come in Several different flavors!

Since my girls had already grabbed a pack of cookies a piece, I headed their way to steal a taste for myself. Loran had the Choconut while Jade was eating the Original flavor.  I had the girls give me a cookie from each pack and I since I'd never ate anything like Almondina biscuits before, I wasn't sure what to expect. Was is going to taste like hard bread? Since it's name has the word Almond in it, Were the cookies going to have a strong nutty taste? I wasn't sure, until I took a bite....
To my surprise, both flavors tasted great. Their sweet, crunchy and taste nothing like bread. Between Choconut and Original - My favorite was the Choconut, Jade was convinced that they tasted like coffee but I believe her 6yr old taste-buds were playing tricks on her since everyone else was loving the chocolaty taste. My fiance was at work when the Almondina Cookies arrived but he has just as much as a snack addiction as our girls do, so I knew he would be trying them out soon. 

Throughout the next couple days, I personally, ended up trying 4 out of the 6 cookie flavors that we received. The Cinnaroma and GingerSpice cookies disappeared -- My daughters ate the whole tray of both packs without me knowing so I missed out on those but since Loran and Jade ate every last Cinnaroma and GingerSpice cookie, they had to of tasted pretty great or I would of found the cookies later, just sitting alone wherever the girls were when they decided they didn't like them... All I found was empty packs laying on their bed, not even a crumb! When it came to the Almondina Sesame and Chocolate Cherry cookies - The unique flavor of the Sesame, quickly hooked Jade and I, they're definitely both of our favorites! I wasn't sure how the Sesame flavor - added to a crunchy, bread-like surface - could taste any where near sweet enough to be labeled a cookie. Who doesn't think of a Sesame Seed bun when you see the word Sesame? Once I took my first bite of the Sesame Cookie, the exotic flavor with a touch of sweetness over took my mouth and I swear that I felt my taste-buds do a little dance! Jade has been eating on the Sesame Cookies for a few days now, I've come to realize that she may be stretching the last few out to reach more than just one day, she's a silly but smart little girl so I believe she may be on to something good!
My daughters aka "The Dancing Diva's", made their own video reviews of how they felt about Almondina Cookies. Jade and Loran's video's are below:

Jade

Loran

Once Alan was finally able to try the Almondina cookies he headed for the Chocolate Cherry! I had already ate a couple of them as well as giving a few cookies to a friend who wanted a taste. The chocolaty flavor was mixed with not only the real cherry taste but I'm pretty sure I saw and tasted big chunks of REAL cherries as well!! They were "out-of-this-world" delicious!! Where else can you find a chocolate crunch and a real cherry squish in one cookie? (I'm not talking about the fake fruity squish, these were REAL Fresh cherry squish bits!) Before I realized it, Alan had eaten the rest of the Chocolate Cherry cookies in a matter in minutes! His response when I asked him what he thought, was..... "Those were bangin'!" Translation -- "Those were awesome!" Which surprised me since he was eating the Chocolate ones, Alan don't eat alot of food with chocolate flavoring because he says it's too sweet, but apparently the Almondina Chocolate Cherry Biscuit Cookies had just the right about of chocolate that the sweetness didn't take over and it didn't hurt one bit that my fiance just happens to loves cherries!
--The Almonds were visible in every cookie but the taste never overpowered the other flavors, which made me extremely happy! I couldn't of chosen a better healthy cookie to give to my little girls. Not only are they super delicious but the health factors truly blow my mind!

Almondina Biscuit Cookies are:

• All Natural
• Free of Cholesterol, Coloring and Preservatives 
• Kosher and Pareve (no dairy)
• No added Fat or Salt
• Perfect side to pair with Tea, Coffee or even a glass of wine
• Can be used as a Cracker with Cream Cheese, Chocolate Spreads, etc
• Crumbled as an Ice Cream Topping!
• Milk and Cookies for the kids!
• Would also make a wonderful little breakfast on the go!

Don't Almondina Cookies sound delicious? -- My daughters sure thought so!! Points to Mommy for saying YES to Almondina Biscuit Cookies!!

Guess what else found out.......

You can not only order these yummy gourmet cookies online but in many stores as well!! The Almondina Brand can be found in stores such as - Walmart, TJ Maxx, MarshallsPublix, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Giant Eagle, Mollie Stone's, Hannaford, Jewel, The Fresh Market, Fairway, Cost Plus World Market, Publix, Trader Joe's and so many more!

View Almondina's complete distribution on their site.

(Under the Store Finder Tab) 

One of my favorite parts about the Almondina Brand - other than their cookies - Is the story behind the cookies... Grandmother Dina!

Even though she was very generous about sharing her recipes with family.... She waited until the very end to release the Family favorite.... Read the whole story to understand why I enjoyed it so much! (The story is not very long but is extremely interesting and touching)

You can also hear the story of the Yuval Zaliouk - Owner of Almondina

To Purchase and/or learn more about Almondina Biscuits Cookies: Visit their website. You can also find Almondina on Facebook and Twitter

Keep an eye out for a #Giveaway soon!!

Be on the look out for the Almondina Giveaway around Friday, June 28!

(Giveaway expired)

Disclaimer: I received the product(s) mentioned above, complimentary from the sponsor in return for my honest thoughts and opinions. All opinions are all my own and may differ from your own. Even though some sort of compensation may have been received, I only write about products that I have personally used and/or believe my readers will enjoy or benefit from. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

This blog may also contain affiliate links

See Full Disclosure for further details.

Going Natural with NatureBox - My Review

#Sponsored By +NatureBox

Bringing Nature into my family with NatureBox
 - My Review -

My family and I are no where near organic. Some may not even consider us Green, but I do my best to  bring green products in to my home and help out the earth when ever I can. When I ran across NatureBox while on Facebook one afternoon, I was very interested to see what all consists of a NatureBox. The more I looked into it the more I realized that the snacks you receive in the NatureBox could be a nice addition to my family's normal eating habits.

NatureBox is a monthly-subscription company that ships a box of Healthy Snacks to your door, once a month.

-- What comes in each NatureBox? --
Healthy, yummy snacks! Each month the NatureBox team gathers company and customer input to come up with new, carefully crafted snacks to add to their growing collection. Around the same time each month you will receive a box including 5 all-natural, high quality snacks!

When I received my March box, I was curious to see what was inside. My daughters had me open it in the car, just so they could see what was inside too! I found 5 bags of natural snacks, all different and the flavors sounded really nice.

Once we got home my fiance sat down and opened each bag. We tried all the snacks and were very surprised at how delicious they all tasted! As soon as I saw the dried Granny Smith Apples (Vegan)... I knew I was in heaven! I'd been looking for some similar to the one in my Naturebox since I was in middle-school and a school-mate brought some in for an Appalachian Project in English Class!
Also in our NatureBox we found - Sunshine Chips (Vegan-Veggie Chips), Toasted Cheddar Stix, Honey Mesquite Almonds and Roasted Kettle Kernels (Corn Kernels).

My personal favorite were the Granny Smith Apples, they tasted so good and brought me back to my middle-school years.
My daughters LOVED the Roasted Kettle Kernels and they were the first bag to be emptied! The Honey Mesquite Almonds weren't far behind.

It's hard to believe that my family enjoyed every natural snack that was in the NatureBox! I didn't expect that at all! We're use to store chips and sugar filled gummies!

When I asked Loran (age 6) what she thought about her new snacks, this is the response that I received - "I ate all the nuts and corn seeds and they were so delicious. They were all yummy and I liked the spicy cheese stix too!"

We truly couldn't be happier with our NatureBox! It was DELICIOUS and HEALTHY! You really can't much better than that!

I recommend NatureBox to anyone looking to bring healthier snacks into their home. Vegan choices are also available.

NatureBox is just $19.95 per month
Shipping is always FREE

Visit NatureBox to learn more!
You can also find NatureBox on Facebook and Twitter

The opinions above are from no other than myself at My Kind Of Introduction and may differ than your own . I received no compensation for this post other than the product itself for reviewing purposes only. I give my honest opinion and was influenced by noone.

This blog may contain affiliate links.

Making Meal Time Fun

I recently read a wonderful eBook called "What to Cook for Dinner for Picky Eaters" and it got me thinking. What making food fun? I know, I know, We were all taught not to play with our food. But what if alittle play helped our picky eaters to eat more... to eat healthier? I'm not talking about letting your child build a tiny fort with their carrot sticks and ranch dip (even though that may work) but alittle creativity in the kitchen can go a long way.

Let me explain what I'm talking about...

Kids are naturally attracted to fun and colorful things. Try making their food fun and colorful too.

• Give your child a plate of pretzel sticks and have them spell out different words or biting regular pretzels into different letters and shapes
• Make funny faces out of fruit slices
• Sandwiches are the simplest snack that can be made with a variety of ingredients.
• Use whole wheat bread instead of white bread. Try different combinations of lunch meats and spreads to see which ones your child enjoys.
• Maybe a Nutella and Peanut Butter sandwich or squish up a banana mixed with some peanut butter and add it to a sandwich or between graham crackers.
• You can use cookie cutters to make fun shapes with the sandwiches and let your child help squish the banana.
• If your daughter helps you make the pasta for supper, Name it "Anna's Fantastic Pasta" and make a big deal about it when you bring it to the table and serve it to your family. It will make them feel good about themselves and they will want to try it more because they made it along with everyone making a big deal about something they helped with.

Kids also like things that are their size. Miniaturize their food.

• Bagel Pizza's are always a big hit - Split a bagel and cover the top in tomato sauce. Add some low-fat mozzarella cheese. Heat until the cheese is melted
• Make a bagel snake out of mini bagels - Split the mini bagels and cut each half into half circles. Spread the halves with toppings like cream cheese, egg salad, chicken/tuna salad, peanut butter, etc. Decorate with small fruit or veggie slices. You could use raisins or olives for the eyes.

Who don't enjoy Smoothies?

• Mix your kiddo's favorite fruits with yogurt and milk (you can also use soy milk or even juice)
• Try Soy Milk, Strawberries and blueberries with some low-fat yogurt.
• 
  
• Let your kids gave control of the smoothie making sometimes. Have them pick out the fruit they want and put it in the blender. They can also help add the yogurt and milk/juice.
• 
  
• Even better - You can turn your left over smoothies into Popsicle's!
• 
  
• Pour the smoothie mix or juice into small paper cups, add plastic wrap to the top (Aluminum Foil would work good also) Poke a wooden craft stick down the middle of the wrapping. Try not to touch the bottom with the Popsicle stick, if you do, don't worry about it. Pop in the freezer for a few hours and you have a healthy fun snack for a hot day! You could even stir in some fruit slices to your mix before you add it to the cups.

Be creative and Don't forget to add some fun to your meals!

The Little Green Pouch Giveaway

The Little Green Pouch is the coolest idea I've seen in a while!! I am always buying those little pouches full of fruit at the store and they vary in price fro $1 a piece to almost $2 a piece! My daughters LOVE them though and they make great lunch-box and after school snacks. But the money adds up when your buying 5 or 6 of those pouches at a time.

With the Little Green Pouch you can wash and reuse the pouch over and over again and add anything you like!

The giveaway is for (1) 4 pack of Little Green Pouch

 

OPEN TO US AND CANADA

 

Read below to learn more!

This review/giveaway is hosted by The Momma And Boys!

Little Green Pouch was made to make mom's lives easier. Your able to feed your children on the go without a big mess. One of the great things about Little Green Pouch is that they're reusable and dishwasher safe!!

As you see, on the back of the pouches they have very simple directions on how to fill them up, which makes it extremely easy to use.

When trying to open them I found that they were real simple to open without any problems.  I was able to open Little Green Pouch with one hand and hold on to it while filling the pouch with the smoothie I made for my son.

Another great thing is that if you need to... you can freeze them.

As you see Momma's Boy #3 loved the Little Green Pouch and drank his smoothie.  We didn't have any issues will spilling either.  It's a nice thing to bring on the go also.  There's a lid that places over it so while it's not in use you can make sure it doesn't spill out. When you are all done using your Little Green Pouch you can put it on the top rack of your dishwasher!

It's dish washer safe!!

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Disclaimer: The Momma And Boys has received the product as a gift to do a review and giveaway and all opinions are from The Momma And Boys! The Momma And Boys and My Kind Of Introduction is not responsible for shipping of the product.

Get a Coupon for $5 Off a Purchase of $15 or More at Squooshi: Reusable Food Pouches for Babies and Kids

Get a Coupon for $5 Off a Purchase of $15 or More at Squooshi: Reusable Food Pouches for Babies and Kids ~ Hurry! The deal ends Feb 12!!
CLICK HERE!

This coupon gets you $5 off a purchase of $15 or more at Squooshi! Squooshi refillable food pouches make wholesome eating fun for kids of all ages - plus, they're convenient and cost-effective for mom. Fill them up with baby food, yogurt, oatmeal, and whatever else you can squish! These pouches are freezable, puncture-resistant, dishwasher-safe, BPA-free, lead-free, phthalate-free, PVC-free, have a no-choke cap, and they reduce waste going into landfills. With Squooshi, you can feel good about benefitting your child's health, your wallet, and the planet!

Don't they sound wonderful!! THEY ARE!!! This is one deal that you don't wanna miss!

Newmans's Organic Owl Giveaway! *LIVE*

Have you tried Newman's Organic Owl products? I have and the Ginger O's are awesome! My daughters love pretzels and I have to say that the Newman's brand taste the best to me and my family. So when I heard about this giveaway, I had to be a part of it! Read below to read another mom's review of Newman's Organic Owl and the giveaway where you can get your own Newman's products for FREE!

This Review is done by The Momma And Boys

It was like Christmas in this house all over again. The boys faces lite up in joy when they received this box of Newman's Own Organic to review.

There were so many choices to try first and we didn't know where to start. Newman's Organic Owl sent us pretzels, dried apples, dried berry blends, Ginger O's cookies, Mint cookies, different flavors of licorice, chocolates, mints, and popcorn. That isn't even the best part of it, the best part is that they are all organic!

Momma's Boy #3 loved the organic dried berry blends. He was in love with it so much we had a hard time to have him share with us, and when he did share I must admit they were delicious. There was not one thing in that box that the boys and I didn't love. 

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DISCLAIMER:

Disclaimer: The Momma And Boys has received the product as a gift to do a review and giveaway and all opinions are from The Momma And Boys! The Momma And Boys and My Kind Of Introduction is not responsible for shipping of the product.

Get your Fresh Fruit from Pittman & Davis

Spring is knocking on our door and what better way to welcome in Spring then with Fresh Fruit?! Healthy eating is very popular these days and my kids are my top priority. Since my daughters love fruit, Pittman & Davis is a no brainer. Pittman & Davis sales some of the freshest fruit available online. Each fruit sold is grown in it's prized area. For example; There is only 2 places where Ruby Red Grapefruit can be grown to reach their best quality: The Texas Rio Grande Valley and the Florida Indian River area. Pittman & Davis have packing houses in both areas and the same is with Apples and Pears being grown to their very best in the Northwest. The fruit from Pittman & Davis come in gift basket style and boxes. They have sets for any holiday and sale much more than just fruit. Some of their other products include candy, cheese, flowers, smoked meat and much more. The best part is that they ALWAYS offer Free Shipping to all 50 States!! Click HERE or the photo to see what Pittman & Davis can do for you! From a stay-at-home mom to you... This fruit will put a huge smile on the faces of the whole family.

Written by Autumn B. These opinions are of noone but my own and may differ from yours. I was not paid in any way for my words. This post may contain affiliate ads.

YumEarth Organics Giveaway *Live Now*

YumEarth Organics Giveaway Hosted by Pea of Sweetness

Valentine’s Day is coming, which means we're surrounded by sweets and treats! Why not offer a healthier alternative like YumEarth Organics? YumEarth offers sweets that are yummy and contain healthy ingredients. YumEarth was born out of our commitment to feed families a diet rich in delicious healthful foods free of high fructose corn syrup and artificial dyes. YumEarth tastes better because they choose real fruit extracts and planet friendly ingredients grown on sustainable family farms. YumEarth also has no gluten, peanuts, or tree-nuts, just award winning taste.

View the full YumEarth organic gummy bears review on Pea of Sweetness.

For More: Visit the YummyEarth Website, connect with them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.

Thank-you to our amazing co-hosts: Giveaway Gator , Couponing with Integrity, Mommy Lesson Plans, and Meg's Daily Bytes, Reviews and other Online Distractions and all of the awesome participating bloggers!

About the Giveaway: This giveaway begins on 1/30 at 12:01am and ends on 2/13 at 11:59pm (times are EST) and is open to US residents ages 18+. Please refer to the full terms and conditions in the Giveaway Tools.

The Prize: A bag of YumEarth Organic Gummy Bears!

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Disclosure: I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are my own and may be different than yours. 'My Kind Of Introduction' is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Win a Case of Earth's Best Organic Fruit Yogurt Smoothies!

 Enter to Win a Case of Earth's Best Organic Fruit Yogurt Smoothies!!!!

 To Enter : Go to their FaceBook Page by either clicking here or at ~ https://www.facebook.com/EarthsBestOrganic?sk=app_507556599260301

The link should take you to the Form.

Fill out the Form and click Submit 

 THAT'S IT!!!!!!

 GOOD-LUCK EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!

Let the Smoothie Celebration begin! Submit your entry form for a chance to win one of (25) Grand Prizes: FIVE cases of Earth's Best Organic™ Fruit Yogurt Smoothies!

Prizes include a case of each five varieties from our Sesame Street® line - each one providing an excellent source of Calcium and Vitamins C and D, plus a full serving of fruit - helping to meet the needs of growing toddlers.

Make your own Pre-Sliced Apples that don't go Brown

No-more Brown Sliced Apples

Those packages of pre-sliced apples you can buy at stores are a great healthy snack for lunches and school snacks, but it can get pricy!

Make your own by slicing apples, soak in cold water for 3-5 minutes, then soak in a lemon-lime carbonated soda (such as 7-up or sprite) for 3-5 minutes. Divide into snack size portions and store in Ziploc bags in the fridge. The lemon-lime soda will keep the apples from browning and make them last longer