This Mama Cooks! Reviews

Get a $2 off coupon for Attune Probiotic Chocolate Bars!

Attune Chocolate Probiotic Bars was my sponsor at the EVO Conference last week. (They were also my sponsor at Fitbloggin.) I got great response from everyone who tried the bars. Then again, who doesn’t like delicious, gluten free chocolate that’s good for you?

It’s guilt free chocolate at it’s best – and only 90-100 calories per bar!

Get a $2 off Attune bars coupon

I still have some $2 off coupons on a seven-count box of Attune Probiotic Chocolate or Granola Bars. If you want a coupon, just leave a comment below and make sure you include your email in the appropriate box or in your comments. I will then email you to get your full name and mailing address so I can mail out your coupon.

This offer is good until the coupons are all gone and only for US residents. (I’m not sure that the coupons are good in other countries anyway.)

To learn more about the benefits of Attune Chocolate Probiotic bars, check out:

• the Attune website
• the Attune Food Twitter page
• the Attune Facebook page

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Disclosure: I received a paid sponsorship from Attune to attend Fitbloggin and EVO on their behalf.

New Harvest Omega-3 EPA supplements: all the goodness without the fish oil

Earlier this month I attended the New Harvest™ blogger event in Philadelphia, where I learned an incredible amount about the benefits of Omega-3 and why we need a more sustainable way to produce Omega-3 supplements.

How is Omega-3 fish oil sourced?

Have you ever wondered how many fish go into making Omega-3 fish oil?

25-50 kilograms of of wild-caught fish =
1 kilogram of fish oil

 

And only 15-25% of that fish oil has Omega-3s in it. Considering how much our oceans are overfished, this is not very sustainable!

So what about vegetarian alternatives? Well, flaxseed, broccoli and nuts are all incomplete sources of Omega-3s. They only contain ALA, which converts very poorly into EPA, the “good stuff” in Omega-3s for heart health. (Fatty fish contain EPA, ALA and DHA. DHA is good for the brain and nervous system and EPA is good for heart health and possibly promotes positive mood. Most fish oils contain only EPA and DHA.)

Even if you don’t care about overfishing, many people experience unpleasant “fishy burps” when taking a fish oil supplement. There are also concerns about ocean-sourced contaminants in fish oil like mercury, lead and BPAs. Plus, some fish oil is high in cholesterol. In fact, New Harvest’s trail of their Omega-3 product showed that DHA in fish oil may increase cholesterol by 14%. (This was a finding in their six-week, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study of 110 healthy men and women, ages 21-70 years old.)

Of course, eating the right foods like salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines, albacore tuna and anchovies can help get Omega-3 into your diet. However, only 1 of out 10 Americans eat fatty fish two or more a week as recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA). The AHA believes that, “Omega-3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of, or who have, cardiovascular disease.”

So how much fatty fish would you need to eat a week? About 7 ounces or 1000 mg of Omega-3 worth. That’s a lot of sardines!

New Harvest: a new and better alternative to fish oil supplements

So what’s a person to do if they’re vegetarian, want to stop overfishing, hate to eat fish, or just want a better alternative to fish oil? Well, you can run down to your nearest GNC store and grab a bottle of New Harvest. (Before going, print out this $2 off New Harvest coupon.)

The benefits of New Harvest

• A vegetarian source – made from yeast, a renewable source, not fish
• A favorable oil profile – contains no cholesterol, no PCBs and no mercury, cadmium or lead
• Highly concentrated – 600mg EPA in every 1200mg soft gel
• Natural form – natural triglyceride form, like the natural form found in food
• No unpleasant aftertaste or odor

Changing the way I think about eggs: the Good Egg Project's Farm to Table Tour

Earlier this month I attended a wonderful mom blogger event in Phoenix, Arizona as the guest of the American Egg Board’s Good Egg Project along with Anitra from The Mama Zone, Laurie from Doublebugs, Shanda from Parents with Style, Tonia from All America Mommy, Marla from Family Fresh Cooking, Kristina from MOMFormation, Ann from Healthy Tasty Chow, and Karen from the Eclectic Cook. It was a terrific group of moms who blog about motherhood, cooking and health – sometimes all in the same post!

A total egg-mersion

Our group was granted the rare opportunity to visit the Hickman Family Farms to see how eggs are produced. Before this trip I was a dedicated free range, organic egg consumer. I felt that happy chickens – ones that get to run around outside eating organic feed, bugs and whatever they could find in the fresh air and sunshine – made a better, tastier and healthier egg.

The Hickmans’ farm in Arizona is a conventional farm. Chickens are in caged stacks in sealed, temperature controlled barns. I was surprised that the barns were cool and not terribly stinky. That’s because the chickens in the top cages aren’t pooping on the chickens in the lower cages like I had previously thought they would be. Instead, there are conveyer belts between the cage levels to remove the waste. (At Hickman Family Farms, all chicken waste is turned into fertilizer, water is recycled and broken eggs are composted.)

The chickens had constant access to feed and water and the lights are kept on most of the day, turned off during the afternoon for a couple hour nap, turned back on in the late afternoon and early evening, and kept off at night. Yes, their beaks are trimmed, but if we weren’t told that, we wouldn’t have known. Their beaks looked normal and were just missing the very tip. Yes, there is a pecking order with chickens – the dominant females peck at and bully the less dominant ones. Trimming (not removing) their beaks prevent them from seriously hurting each other.

The Hickmans explained that they keep seven hens per cage – one chicken every 67 inches. The size of the cage is based on scientific studies that show that laying hens need so much room and like sharing a cage with other hens. The natural instinct of the chicken is to get cooped up (thus the expression) with their fellow chickens.

Meet my Fitbloggin sponsor: Attune wellness bars

This week, I’m attending Fitbloggin, a conference for those who blog about fitness, wellness, good food and a healthy lifestyle. While I’m there I’ll be introducing fellow bloggers to my sponsor, Attune Chocolate Probiotic Wellness Bars while passing out some free samples.

Yes, you read that right – Chocolate. Probiotics. Wellness. Someone has actually made a chocolate bar that is good for you!

About Attune Chocolate Probiotic Bars

Attune Chocolate Probiotic Bars are gluten free, delicious chocolate bars that contain five times the active live cultures of yogurt. Each Attune Chocolate Probiotic Bar is only 80 to 90 calories, contains 3 to 8 grams of sugar and 3 grams of fiber. They’re perfect to take in your purse, lunch bag, gym tote or brief case, too!

Is Attune suitable for kids? Yes, the bar is fine for kids three and older. If you have nut allergies in your family, make sure to check the label.

Do you have to keep them cold all the time?
Attune is specially formulated to allow you to take the bar on the go. The probiotics will be effective for a couple of weeks at normal ambient temperatures.

For more nutritional information on Attune chocolate bars, check their nutrition facts page as well as their probiotics page and FAQ.

Attune Chocolate Bar flavors

Attune Chocolate Probiotic Wellness bars come in seven different flavors:

• Chocolate Crisp – gluten free – the crunch is from brown rice.
• Dark Chocolate – this bar has 68% cocoa content giving you maximum antioxidant power.
• Mint Chocolate – this bar reminded me of Thin Mints, but without the guilt.
• Blueberry Vanilla – this one is made from white chocolate and is delicious.
• Coffee Bean Dark Chocolate – if you’re a fan of chocolate covered espresso beans, this one is for you!
• Raspberry Dark Chocolate – one of my fave chocolate combinations.
• Almond Milk Chocolate – get the goodness of both chocolate and almonds in this one.

I’ve tried them all and found that my favorites are coffee bean, mint and raspberry.

Shop for Attune Chocolate Probiotic Bars

I found my Attune bars in the healthy food refrigerated dairy/yogurt aisle at King Soopers (Krogers) for $1.38 a bar. My local Safeway stopped carrying them, but you can find them at Safeway, Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, Sunflower Markets and a whole bunch of other stores.

They sell online at the Attune store for $1.50, but you can get a price break if you buy in bulk like a 10 bar Probiotic Wellness Bar - Sampler Pack (which includes three of their granola bars) for $13.89. A 7-Pack (7 x 0.7 oz. Bar) goes for $9.39 or $1.34 each and a 28-Pack is $36.86 or $1.32 each. Remember, there is a charge for shipping, too. Also, if you sign up for recurring delivery, you get even more savings (details here).

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Disclosure: As my sponsor, Attune provided me with samples of their product and reimbursement for some of my conference expenses.

Nasoya-nara BlogHer Food

I learned so much at BlogHer Food. The biggest action item of the conference was to read my camera manual! Who knew I could adjust the speed and f-stop on my point and click camera? That makes me happy beyond belief.

At the conference, I made new friends, and visited with old. I even got to reminisce about the Beat Farmers and Country Dick Montana with the always terrific Grace Davis. (See her post Whereupon I Begin to Get Out More about BlogHer Food.)

I also had a chance to visit the the Richard Avedon photography exhibit at SFMOMA, which is a terrific place to get lunch and browse the bookstore, too. I even got to see Rocco DiSpirito run around and flirt with 300 people at one time. Finally, I ate too much chocolate, noshed on mushrooms wrapped in prosciutto, drank too much wine, and had a fabulous time.

I want to thank everyone who made the conference possible, from the founders of BlogHer, to the speakers and sponsors, to my fabulous roommate who helped share expenses.

I especially want to thank my sponsor, Nasoya, who made budgeting for this trip a whole lot easier. I have a few free sample coupons left over from the conference. If you’d like to try Nasoya noodles or wraps for FREE, leave your email address below. I’ll contact you to get your mailing info.

While you’re waiting for your coupons, please check out the Nasoya website for recipes and info on all their products including their noodles and wraps. Check out their new Nasoya Wrappers Recipe Booklet and my blog for Nasoya recipes in these posts:

• Going to BlogHer Food with Nasoya - Broccoli, Ham & Cheese Calzones
• See me and Nasoya at BlogHer Food - Nasoya® Morning Mini Quiches

See you San Francisco in November for the FoodBuzz Blogger Festival! Who’s going?