The below was taken directly from the blog A HEALTHY SLICE OF LIFE:

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Yesterday was another good and busy day (are you tired of me mentioning how busy I am yet?  I should wait until September so I can see what busy really means, right?) Thank goodness I’m organized!

Anyways, when I arrived home from the office I saw a brown box at the front door and my heart fluttered with excitement. MAIL!  Now, with Hubbs’ job, he gets a lot of packages delivered to the house, but this one looked different.  I ran up for a closer look, saw MY name on the address label and a new brand that I’ve been hearing so much about on the outside.

Love Grown! EEE! I squealed out loud and made Koda turn her head, perk up her ears and look at me with that huh? puppy dog face.

Ripping it open I discovered a sweet, handwritten note from Laura, which I thought was a truly lovely touch.

Check out the goods!

If you haven’t heard of Love Grown Granola, check out their website, and let me fill you in.  Owners Maddy and Alex met in college and it didn’t take long to combine their love of healthy eating and natural entrepreneurship into what is now Love Grown Foods.

Their ingredient list is all recognizable, nutritious and simple- which I absolutely love.

I was pumped to finally try the delicious flavor I had heard so much about, and decided breakfast would be the perfect opportunity.

Today is a cloudy and calm morning…

but breakfast brought some sunshine into my life!

I whipped up a breakfast parfait with some defrosted organic berries, Chobani 2% mango Greek yogurt, and Love Grown’s Raisin Almond Crunch Granola.

Beautiful, isn’t it? But more importantly, the taste was frickin’ amazing.  I pulled out a few of the larger granola pieces to try on their own and WOAH was I impressed.

I first noticed the perfect texture of crunch.  Not the –ouch I think I just broke a tooth- kind of crunch, but a natural, hearty –mmm- kind of crunch.  The taste is incredible.  I loved being able to to taste the real ingredients, not a sugar coating (because there isn’t one!).  I savored the juicy raisins, crunchy almonds and the natural sweetness of honey and agave.  I loved, seriously LOVED, that it wasn’t overly sweet.  Just perfect.

But don’t take my word for it- try it yourself!

I’m going to send one of you a large bag of their Raisin Almond Crunch Granola to try out, along with this… look familiar?

 

I picked a winner, but after a week of no response from them, I’m picking a new one!

To enter to win a chance to win this fabulous Anthropologie-esque apron and a big bag of Love Grown Raisin Almond Crunch granola, simply leave a comment telling me your favorite way to eat granola.

Yu can like me on facebook or follow me on twitter (@AHealthySlice) if you want, too, but it’s not necessary.

Contest will run through Sunday night and I’ll pick a winner Monday morning.  Be sure to check back to see if you won… otherwise I’m keeping the apron for myself

Have a GREAT weekend!

 

I took a quick 24 hour trip back to Denver to spread the LOVE at Whole Foods Rocky Mountain Region’s Local Symposium. This fast trip was simply not long enough, but at least I got to breathe some mountain air and enjoy an evening at home with Alex. Despite flying in late at night (and then being delayed), Alex had picked up dinner from our favorite restaurant: SUSHI TAZU. We dined in, enjoyed some sake, and did our best to not talk too much about business. It was the perfect night! Just being home (and not in a 32 foot hallway of a bus) was refreshing. Plus, the sushi from Sushi Tazu is OUT OF THIS WORLD!! Best sushi in all of Denver (big claim, I know)!

Then, Alex surprised me with my most favorite dessert: Chocolate Covered Strawberries AND he also took it to another level and covered mini marshmallows with peanut butter and chocolate…INCREDIBLE! If that’s not love…I don’t know what is!

Let’s just be honest: Oprah is all about LOVE. So…naturally…as we traveled through the midwest and hit up Chicago, it just made sense to do a massive LOVE DROP at Harpo Studios. Security wasn’t too thrilled with us, but we managed to spread MAD LOVE to all those attending Oprah‘s show that day and a great deal of those working at Harpo Studios.

We haven’t had any calls to be on her final episodes..but we aren’t losing hope. I mean, it’s not like she’s retiring…there’s always her next endeavor!

The below was taken directly from the blog RHODEY GIRL TESTS:

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Love Grown granola is the best granola I’ve ever had out of a bag.

I do not say that lightly.

You all know by now how much I love supporting mom & pop shops, especially ones in the U.S. Love Grown Foods was created by a couple’s passion for health and entrepreneurship, and they live right in Colorado. I recently received a (love) care package from the company with their granola, and PB and I immediately fell in love.

My favorite is the raisin almond crunch granola, um, without the raisins. I personally don’t like raisins in my granola so I pick them out and add them to PB’s bowl. Instead of using crushed TLC bars in my yogurt bowls I now use this granola and it is sooo good. Just take Fage yogurt and add some berries, mini chocolate chips, and a big handful of Love Grown granola. My favorite are the whole roasted almonds that add the perfect crunch and staying power I need.

I think testing granola and canned tomatoes are a favorite hobby because I test out different brands all the time to be sure I am enjoying the best out there. So far here are my favorite granolas in order of love:

1. Love Grown granola- The raisin almond crunch is my favorite but they are all equally crunchy and yummy. I like the price point- $4.99 for a good size bag- and I love the people behind the company.
2. Frog Hollow Farms granola- The issue with this granola is access and consistency. It is expensive (in general) but even pricier because of the shipping cost. Also, each batch can be slightly different. Jessi found the recipe online here if you want to try it.
3. Crushed TLC roasted almond crunch bars- These are great because of the long shelf life. However, they do not have the fresh natural taste that the above two do.

Check out this granola- if I like it this much I am confident you will too!

So I must admit, after 3 weeks of being on the road and feeling somewhat closed in by the 32foot walls of Elby you could say we begin to get Cabin Fever…or ‘Love Bus Jitters.’  To paint the picture, I live with my mom, we live in a bus, we eat Love Grown, we spread the LOVE, and do it all again the next day. Pretty much that is what we do…24/7. No weekends. No holidays. No vacations. BUT, I am most certainly NOT complaining because my life is pretty sweet. I mean, here I am 23 years old, traveling the country, seeing places I never even knew existed, and spreading LOVE to all sorts of incredible people. PLUS, I live in a bus that is covered in LOVE. All I am saying is that sometimes I get a little stir-crazy and just when I think I have created every possible combination there is to match with the LOVE of Love Grown Foods…I discover another!

I introduce: Elby’s S’MORES!

Take 1 tablespoon plain peanut butter (we LOVE Justin’s) and 1 tablespoon dark chocolate chips. Melt together in a microwave safe cup/dish. Dip a marshmallow and top with LOVE GROWN. In this delicious mock S’MORE LOVE GROWN is the graham cracker (making it gluten-free) and to give it a little more pizazz we add in the peanut butter. SO DELICIOUS!

Just a little late night snack coming to you from Indiana!