Trying Out Several Goodies in My First Healthy Snack Box

Disclaimer: I received the following product(s) in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

Who doesn't love snacks? I know I do! And I loved trying all the products in my first Healthy Snack Box! So many good items and so fun to explore each one. Check out all the snacks I received and what I thought of them, below.

Quinn Whole Grain Sea Salt Pretzels - They are nicely flavored and have a good taste throughout. They are a bit harder than the average pretzel though, so I would have liked them to be a little softer. Overall, they make an excellent snack and a good amount comes in the bag.

WOW Soft Baked Birthday Cake Cookie - This cookie has the perfect soft texture, but the flavor was a bit surprising. It tastes so sweet and buttery, which you would imagine would make the greatest cookie... But I think they use to much sugar in the ingredients because the sweetness is a bit over powering.

Mozaicz Real Veggie BBQ Chips - I received the BBQ flavored Chips to try and I really love them! They have a great flavor and the texture is a soft crisp. I like that they're healthier for you than other chips. I want to try all their flavors!

Pure Organic Layered Fruit Bar - I received the Raspberry Lemonade Fruit Bar and I was actually surprised how well I liked it. The texture is like a nice soft gummy and the taste was really good and fruity. A tad sweater then I would like but overall very yummy.

Ancient Provisions Cheddar Cheezish Crackers - These crackers kind of taste like a wheat Cheezit. It's good at first and great to be Gluten Free, but then the after taste is so strange, that it does not leave me desiring more.

The Good Bean Crispy Favas - I received Crispy Sea Salt Favas to try, and I love the salty taste and the texture is really nice! They're not too hard to eat, they have the perfect crispiness to them. But I can only eat a few at a time before I start not liking them. I guess this is good so I don't binge eat on them, like I would a bag of Doritos lol.

Annie's Bunny Grahams Friends - I love Bunny Grahams! I like that these packs have all the flavored bunnies in them, and a lot of them too! But they're so tiny, that most of the bunnies were broken. Either way, they still make a delicious snack.

Made Good Chocolate Drizzled Bar - I was most looking forward to trying this bar because it looked so pretty and good. The first bite into it is pretty sweet, but the aftertaste of the bar is strange. I was really interested in the ingredients, seeing there's even veggies in there, but that aftertaste is a little too much for me.

QULA Queen of Cups Kombucha Tabs - I've never been a big fan of kombucha but I actually like these little tabs. They're so easy to use, and the taste is actually pretty good. The tablet dissolves fairly quickly, and I love the guava rose taste. I've tried the tabs in both tap and sparkling water, and though they both dissolved the same, it definitely wins in sparkling for that love of carbonation.

This has been a fun box of snacks to try and I enjoyed trying each one!

Which snack do you think would be your favorite?

   Interested in getting your own box of snacks to try?

   Become a member of Healthy Snack Boxes, (its free to join!) and wait til you get chosen for your own free box of tasties to experience.

I received a complimentary product in exchange for an honest review and compensation.. All opinions my own.

Making Leaf Creatures A Fun Fall Activity

Here's a fun Fall activity to do with your little ones! Go for a walk, collect lots of fun different colored leaves, then paint little faces on them. You can make each one look like Owl Leaf Creatures with big eyes and little beaks, or any other animal or monster you desire. Let your kids have lots of fun choosing different shapes and designing their leaf pets. If your leaves are wet, be sure to let them dry out before painting, but just be warned, the leaves will shrivel and fold on you so be quick to paint them :) I just love how they turned out though, so cute and cheery. A perfect Fall craft to do before it rains!

Why Does Baking Make You Feel Good?

Baking is something we all know about, even if we don’t all do it on a regular basis. The fact is that baking is something very special when you really think about it; it’s almost a magic trick in the way it uses heat and mixing to bring all kinds of different ingredients together to create one unique and very tasty treat.

There’s just something so good about baking and, linked to that, it actually tends to make us (the majority of people, at least) feel good when we’re doing it and even after it’s done. Despite the mess and the rules that need to be followed, it’s still a great thing to do if you want a mood-boosting activity. With that in mind, here are some of the reasons why baking makes you feel good.

Photo by Antonio Quagliata

Nostalgia And Comfort

One of the main reasons that baking makes you feel good and boosts your mood, giving you all kinds of positive emotions, is that it can link you back to the past and make you feel comfortable, comforted, and nostalgic in the most pleasant and warm way. Baking can bring back cherished memories of when you were a child or when your kids were little, and it’ll often make people think of happy family moments and traditions.

Even just the smell of freshly baked pies and cakes can be enough to make you feel great because of this (the sense of smell is the one that’s linked directly to your memories, after all), but actually doing the baking is something that brings those memories really flooding back, so, of course, you’ll feel good when you’re baking.

Creativity

Baking does have rules you need to follow, and those rules are fairly strict, especially when compared to other types of cooking - you need to have just the right measurements to make those chemical reactions work in the right way.

However, baking is also a massively creative thing to do when you think of the plethora of different things you can make and the various flavors and options you have. Although the measurements might have to be exact, you can make everything else up as you go along, creating new taste combinations as you go. Plus, there’s the decorating. If you’re making a cake or some kind of sweet treat, you can decorate it in any way you want to, and have a lot of fun letting your creative juices flow. That’s going to release endorphins in your body, and since they’re a natural mood enhancer, you’re bound to feel great.

You’ll Be Doing Something Mindful

Mindfulness is an important part of life - it’s a great way to de-stress because you’re focusing on the present moment and not worrying about the past or the future, which can be upsetting or just make you feel overwhelmed.

The issue is that it can be hard to add more mindfulness into your life, but baking could be the answer. The fact is that baking needs you to really concentrate on what you’re doing, from measuring ingredients correctly to reading the instructions for baking this classic French bread recipe or anything else you might be creating to getting your timings right, and all of that can be a way to clear your mind of everything except what you’re doing - which is a form of mindfulness.

Go See the Movie After Death in Theaters Starting 10/27

Based on real near-death experiences, the film, After Death from Angel Studios brings you stories from those that have nearly died and lived to tell. This movie contains interviews from not only the survivors, but also from doctors, authors, and scientists who have been there to see the other side and share their experiences with you. Many people wonder what happens after we die so this movie is an invitation to help you understand death a little better, from both spiritual and scientific dimensions.

Like most humans on this Earth, I have had quite a few people close to me, pass away. Though I have been taught many things, I have always wondered what happens after one has passed on...You have ideas but you will never really know until it happens to you. Watching this video filled me with interest, because these are stories from people who have actually been through, basically death, and lived to tell about it. It's interesting that so many stories end up being similar to others, really making you wonder if that is how death will be. I feel that this film After Death, is helpful to show to not be afraid of death, but I also worry that it will encourage others to look forward to death. It all depends on the person perceiving it I guess. I really did find the stories that were shared, fascinating, however there were so many guests they brought in to share their own stories, but they didn't end up elaborating on the ones I was most interested in; for example, the guy who took too much cocaine...I wanted to hear his whole story but they only shared a small piece of it. Overall, this film is good to watch and helps build up more ideas and understanding of what happens when you die.

If you would like to see After Death in theaters when it comes out on October 27th, you can purchase tickets at angel.com where you can also pay it forward! Meaning you can donate money for those who can't afford to see the movie.

~~For a limited time, you have a chance to win two free tickets to see this film in theaters. Enter my giveaway below! (U.S. Winners Only)~~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Many thanks to Angel Studios for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.

DIY Tombstones for Halloween Decor

If you're looking upon some easy DIY Halloween Decor you can make from recyclables, check out these fun Tombstones made from cereal boxes!

To make these faux stones, you need cereal boxes, scissors to cut the shape, tape to hold it down, and paint. You begin by cutting the front and back of the box, to make a round top. Make sure to leave the sides, so you can fold them down into the the top to form the round edging. Once formed, tape the tops, and you can begin painting! I used silver spray paint and then went over it with a Terra Cotta grey color of acrylic paints, because that's what I had on hand.

I think these would look even better with the stone textured spray paint, but use whatever you have on hand, to make this project cheap and easy! Once the faux stone-colored paint dried, I used black acrylic paint to write the words R.I.P. and Rest in Peace. Feel free to write something more clever if you make your own 🤣

If you look at the stones closely, I feel like I did a pretty sloppy job, but they still turned out cute! These tombstones make some fun indoor Halloween decor for your house, and you can dress them up any way you like. I wouldn't recommend putting them outside, unless you live in a warmer dry climate, but they would look awesome as front yard decor!

If you decide to entertain yourself and make these fun little tombstones, please feel free to let me know! I would love to see how they turn out! 🤍

On Moonberry Lake - Book Review

Disclaimer: I received the following product(s) in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

On Moonberry Lake written by Holly Varni, is an uplifting story about main character, Cora Matthews and her messy - turned beautiful, life. The novel begins with Cora trekking through merky unknown waters, after her broken engagement and an unexpected death of someone close to her. While wondering if life will ever get better, Cora receives an inheritance in the form of a run down lakefront lodge, but there are stipulations attached, that she is uncertain about. Once moved, she finds that her new neighbors are quite eccentric and full of interesting personalities, each one becoming very special. As time goes on, Cora begins putting pieces of her life back together, while making decisions that could change her life forever.

I loved reading On Moonberry Lake, so much so that I did not want it to end! This story was so heartwarming and full of charm. Though it is listed as a contemporary romance, I found that it wasn’t centered around solely romance, which was really refreshing. I enjoyed reading about Cora’s life and all of the new experiences she faced. I loved getting to know each character and following along, as if they were real friendships coming out of the book. This has truly been one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, I highly recommend!

You can find On Moonberry Lake available for purchase on Amazon, or in a bookstore near you.

I received a complimentary product in exchange for an honest review. All opinions my own.