The below excerpt post is taken directly from the blog XC FOODIE:

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I was sent granola to try from Love Grown Foods (opinions are totally my own!). I tried each flavor alone. I found all of them to be very dry and super crunchy, so they would probably be best mixed with milk or yogurt, but definitely still taste fine on their own. The thing that struck me the most was that the clusters are huge! I hate when you get granola and it’s all crumbled apart. They also do not skimp on the fruit and nut mix-ins. Love Grown Food does not mess around – this granola has everything I could ask for in a granola.

hugh jass clusters right there.

It’s also good for you! Chock full of gluten free whole grains, healthy fats from the nuts, and naturally sweetened. There are no genetically modified ingredients, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, or artifical flavors.

First I tried Sweet Cranberry Pecan which is Gluten-free toasted oats, honey, agave, dried cranberries, and pecans.

Upon opening the bag, I was instantly hit with a vanilla cinnamon aroma. You look in the bag and you see the oats, pecans, cranberries, sunflower seeds, and big flakes of coconut. It tastes “warm”, sweet, and reminds me of the fall.

Next I tried Simply Oats – gluten free toasted oats, honey, agave.

This flavor came in a sample bag rather than a regular sized bag. This one was my favorite. It was a very basic, super crunchy granola. In a way it reminded me of graham crackers. I loved the simplicity of it and that there was nothing to distract from the plain granola taste.

Following that I tried Cocoa Goodness – gluten free toasted oats, honey, agave, cocoa powder, and dark chocolate.

It looks like chocolate, it smells like chocolate, and it tastes like chocolate. Therefore I love it. The only thing that disappoints is that it is so dry, since I associate chocolate with richness that you don’t quite get with granola. Regardless, chocolate is fabulous and occasionally you got a chunk that was super chocolatey, which was a nice surprise every now and then. The chunks of granola in this flavor were HUGE, I would assume that is because the chocolate melts a bit so they stick together easier.

Last I tried Raisin Almond Crunch – gluten free toasted oats, honey, agave, raisins, and almonds.

This flavor is essentially the same as the sweet cranberry pecan, except you get raisins and almonds instead of cranberries and pecans. It was a little “cooler” than the sweet cranberry pecan too and didn’t remind me of autumn. I personally liked the sweet cranberry pecan better, but I prefer pecans over almonds so it’s all just a matter of taste preferences! It was still very good.

If I had to rank them from my favorite to least favorite, I would go with Simply Oats, Cocoa Goodness, Sweet Cranberry Pecan, and then Raisin Almond Crunch. I would eat any of them in a heart beat and would highly recommend them for any granola fiend. They also have a flavor called Apple Walnut Delight, which I did not have the opportunity to try but I wish I did! I bet that would have ranked either 2nd or 3rd favorite.

I also love eating this granola as a preworkout snack, as I did for my run today:

Fuel of champions. It’s great for those times when you feel a little hungry, but not enough to really eat much, so a handful does the trick. No one likes being struck with a talking tummy mid workout.

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How do you like your granola? I like it with lots of clusters and mix-ins.

Favorite Pancake Mix-in? banana or chocolate chips.

Have you ever had any issues with workout machines? I drop my ipod all the time. I’ve also fallen off the elliptical and pedaled so fast on the bike that I broke the straps.

Okay okay last time: Featured Food Friday. Click that link if you don’t know what that is. Tomorrow. Oat Bran. Email me. Kthxbye.

The below was taken directly from the blog THE LIFE AND LESSONS OF RACHEL WILKERSON:

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That? Is an empty bag of granola.

I ate all but the crumbs before I got around to writing a review — so that should tell you something!

I’m going to get right to it: this granola is delicious. I’m picky about granola because most is loaded with sugar, but Love Grown has relatively low sugar (6-7 g per serving) and is SO much tastier than Bare Naked Fit, which is my staple. They sent me a bunch of flavors to try, and the raisin almond crunch was my hands-down favorite — and my mom and Eric both discovered it in the pantry and loved it too.

I typically eat granola with Greek yogurt, but I preferred this granola straight out of the bag or cereal-style with milk. The raisin almond crunch tastes exactly like an oatmeal cookie, so I often had a few nibbles after dinner when I wanted a little something sweet or ate a handful when I had a carb craving. It was satisfying and filling, because the granola is super hearty.

Want some yet?

Good — Love Grown Foods is going to give ONE lucky person THREE bags of the granola for herself!

To enter to win, go to the Love Grown Foods website and look around. Then come back and leave a comment on this post telling me what your perfect breakfast involving Love Grown would be. Like, “I’d like to eat the raisin almond crunch atop Greek yogurt while on a balcony overlooking a Greek beach.” (Right?!) Or “I’d like to eat the simply oats granola plain with a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice in California.”

You get the idea!

You have until Sunday July 17 at 11:59 PM PST to comment to enter! I’ll pick a winner at random and announce the winner next week.

Over and OUT!

Best Movie Ever?

Can you even question it? The combination of Kate Hudson’s witty humor and Matthew McConaughey’s goofy southern accent create a combination of the perfect explosion of cinematic genius.

It has also inspired this weeks BLOG GIVEAWAY. How to Lose the Love in 1o Days! (not because you want to, but because its just that delicious and you can’t stop eating it!)

Let me count the ways…

1. Sprinkle the cocoa goodness over a melted marshmallow. Plus it gives you an excuse to have a bonfire. Bonus!
2. Give it to someone you have a crush on! You can give Spread the Love a whole new meaning!
3. Keep it in your glove compartment so that your traffic filled commutes home from work can be more bearable. Hey, if it catches on maybe people will start calling the glove compartment the LOVE compartment!
4. Feed it to your horse! A healthy treat that both you and your horse friend can share!
5. Donate it to charity! Check out the great work that all of our blogging friends and putting together to help one of their own.
6. Feeding off of #3, talk yourself out of ticket with it! Any police officer I am sure will happily give you a warning in return for a handful of Sweet Cranberry Pecan!
7. Top it on your salad for a healthy replacement for the boring crouton!
8. KITCHEN EXPERIMENTS! Nothing is more fun then inventing a tasty treat of the LOVE! Check out our good friend Amie’s great Pistachio and Green Tea Cilantro Pesto!
9. Throw it to the crowds at a parade. I know the 4th of July parades are over, but its never too early to start planning for next year, plus its a way healthier alternative to candy!
10. Open up a few bags before hosting an Open House! You know what they say: A house will sell faster if it smells like a batch of fresh cookies, so thankfully Raisin Almond Crunch tastes and smells just like an oatmeal raisin cookie!

Comment on this post with how you Lose the Love, and you will be entered into a GIVEAWAY for a chance to win an entire case of the LOVE! How do you “Lose the Love”?

The below post was taken directly from the blog LIVING WITH A HEALTHY HUNGER:

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Saturday morning was beautiful.

Which was fortunate for us at lululemon since we hosted Breakfast Yoga Club!

Led by Jenny Parum, of Jenny Parum Yoga, who helped open lululemon in Dallas.

The morning was especially memorable since we surprised Jenny and asked her to be our newest yoga ambassador.

After building up an appetite, it was time to refuel and celebrate with some nutritious breakfast sponsored by the amazing people from Chobani and Love Grown Foods!

A variety of both: protein-packed Greek yogurt, and delicious, gluten-free granola.

The hungry crowd came marching in…

And everyone REALLY enjoyed this combination!

Chobani and Love Grown Foods have both been incredibly generous in showing support for several events we’ve hosted at the store. We are so appreciative!

Maddy, the co-founder of Love Grown Foods, is spreading LOVE all around the U.S. She is such a dear friend to me! Read about her adventures HERE.

I speak for the whole lululemon NorthPark team when I say, “THANK YOU!”

We loved getting to share your delicious products with our guests.

Have you ever been to an outdoor yoga class?

What’s your favorite yogurt + granola flavor combo?

 

The below was taken directly from the blog EATING BIRD FOOD:

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Hi from Vegas! I’m here for the week on business, but the cool part is that Isaac is here too! He was in Vegas for a bachelor party this weekend and extended his stay so they he could stay and help me play while I work. But before I get into all that jazz, let me tell you about my fun morning yesterday…

I had the pleasure of meeting up with Maddy and Becca of Love Grown Foods, an awesome granola company based in Denver! They are touring the nation spreading the word about Love Grown – doing product demos, attending events, making love drops, meeting with mom groups and even teaching nutrition to kids!

I fell in love with their granola a few months ago after seeing it over on Ashely’s blog, theedible perspective. As soon as I heard that they were bringing the Love Tour through Richmond I knew I needed to find a way to meet up with them. Luckily Maddy and Becca were free on Saturday so we met at Ellwood’s Coffee, one of my favorite local cafes.

How cute is the LOVE Prius? I didn’t get to see elby a.k.a LB or Love Bus because they weren’t sure of the parking situation at Ellwood’s. But I did see on their website that the elby and I have the same b-day. It’s true, valentines babies are always full of love. 

We all ordered something to sip on and the biscuits were calling out to Maddy so she got one for the three of us to share… with butta and jam. It has been oh so long since I’ve had a biscuit and this one was delish. I think I need more biscuits in my life.

We ladies enjoyed our treats while chatting. Of course, I had a ton of questions – where Maddy and Becca had been on the Love Tour and where they planned to go, what they went to school for and when I could join the company (j/k, sort of  ). I also found out that how the company got started and that Maddy is younger than me! It’s amazing to think that she and her boyfriend, Alex, started Love Grown Foods as college students, during an economic recession and are doing this well. Their granola is in 1,300 of 2,400 Kroger stores across the country and sold in Whole Foods stores out in Colorado. At this rate, I’m sure the number of stores will be increasing very soon. Their granola is too good for that not to happen.

Maybe it’s just the marketer in me but I adore hearing how companies and products got their start. It’s so interesting!

Check out the box full of LOVE they brought for me..

One of the things I like in granola is dried fruit – Love Grown definitely delivers there. The second thing is pieces of granola that have been baked into large chunks. Although Love Grown granola isn’t all large chunks there are plenty in each bag – it’s like hitting the jackpot when you find them! (Can you tell Vegas is on my mind  )The Simply Oats, Raisin Almond Crunch and Cocoa Goodness are my favorite flavors, but honestly I like every flavor. I don’t discriminate. 

Inside the box there were also two super cute magnets – they already made it on the fridge.

I packed plenty of the snack size packages, which are perfect for traveling! And, I also brought my Love Grown shirt to Vegas so I’ll be sportin’ that soon!

Apparently Isaac and the guys didn’t get into bed until after 4AM so I’m thinking we might rest up a bit, do some shopping and then head out for dinner. We made reservations at Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay’s restaurant. We’ve heard rave reviews from some of our friends so I’m super excited to eat there. We’ll be staying at the Bellagio tonight and then moving to the Venetian where my conference is for the rest of the week.

I’m going to be pretty busy all week. I’ll probably get a chance to pop in at some point but I also have some fun guest posts for your entertainment.

Have you ever been to Vegas? I’ve only been once before and it was a work trip as well, but with a different job. Definitely let me know if you have any recommendations of places we should check out!