Cool New Finds

I love discovering tasty new products. When I was in NYC earlier this month I came across this unique, hand crafted kombucha from Beyond Kombucha. Made in a solar powered brewery in Queens, NY they have a very cool array of kombucha flavors as well as fermented ale and wine using organic and wild crafted ingredients. Though it's known that kombucha has a trace amount of alcohol this was the first time I've seen one that had 1.5% alcohol. I only had a chance to try their Yerba Mate and Oolong flavors which where spectacular. Smooth tasting albeit a tad sweet for me, I did get a tiny buzz but in no way did I feel tipsy. I'm really looking forward to trying more but, unfortunately, I don't know where they distribute to aside from the greater NYC area. For those in Brooklyn, I found this at Organic Planet on Bedford Avenue between North 7th and 8th.

With raw kale chips all the rage in the past few years, it was exciting to see new veggie chips popping up. Alive & Radiant by Kaya foods, one of my favorite kale chip companies, has recently introduced 3 new leafy green snacks called Veggie Krunch: Arugula Cabbage, Teriyaki Greens, Sweet Onion and Roots Confetti. Arugula Crunch is seasoned with sesame, dill and garlic but also chia seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and caraway seeds. At first bite I found them to be quite bitter but they grew on me pretty quickly. The seasonings definitely helped make them palatable, plus, I love how nutritious they are. Going to try the other flavors next time I'm at the health food store. I found these at Whole Foods and Mother's Market in southern California.

I am totally in love with the low glycemic, raw chocolate bars from Coracao Confections. This superfood chocolate company has a stunning collection of sweet treats. I've yet to try them all as I'm finding myself constantly grabbing for these chunky bars. It's a three way tie between Rawmond Butter, Caramel and Kefir Lime. The caramel bar is made of Organic Raw Cacao Paste, Organic Coconut Palm sugar, Organic Cashew Butter, Organic Raw Cacao Butter, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Yacon Syrup, Wild-Crafted Vanilla Bean, Himalayan Crystal Salt. I've only seen them at Mother's Market but you can order them online here.

I tried this stimulating chocolate drink mix from Essential Living Foods last week at my friend's house when I was suffering from a mid-afternoon energy slump. I blended 1 cup almond milk with a tablespoon of the mix and I was instantly bright eyed and bushy tailed. I've been avoiding stimulants (besides cacao) for a while now so this affected me much more than someone who usually enjoys a cup of caffeine each day. This mix contains all organic ingredients: coconut sugar, cacao powder, lucuma, mesquite, guarana, vanilla and sea salt. You can find these at Whole Foods and online.

Have you discovered anything new I need to try? Leave a comment if you want to share. :)