Things I Love #4: Things He Loves

The only reason I am including this item in my series of 'Things I Love' is because I, too, have grown to love it. It is, however, first and foremost the love child of my husband. He will literally track it down all over the county when he has a craving and the closest Wawa that carries it is out. What is this magnificent item you ask? It is none other than Honest Tea's Half & Half.

It was about a year ago or so that I was first introduced to the wonder that is iced tea mixed with lemonade. Both Steve and I started going crazy for it, buying huge boxes of iced tea and lemonade just to mix the two together. That obsession waned for a while, but Steve continued to pursue every lemonade/iced tea mix he found looking for a dream recipe. He found it in this.

If you can find this beverage anywhere, please try it. Not only is it organic and the bottles are made to be more "sustainable," there is hardly anything to the drink at all. One hundred calories and 12 grams of sugar. No crappy ingredients, just real stuff. It's so pure, I don't even mind if my children have sips here and there. Nor would I mind if they drank it occasionally when they're older. It is one of the few drinks out there that I can really stand behind (besides water).

While I do not love it with nearly as much enthusiasm as Steve does, I find it to be a pleasant, refreshing change from the monotony of water and I look forward to his regular splurges on half a dozen or more bottles. Do find it and try it; you won't be disappointed!

Things I Love #3

I LOVE Near East Original Rice Pilaf. Of course, I also love many of their other varieties, but the original is and always will be my favorite boxed rice. Here it is pictured as dinner for Piper (and Heidi) with lentils and kale chips.

As far as boxed rice mixes go, the Near East brand is one of the better ones I've seen because the ingredients are minimal and natural. I love the flavor, the combination of rice and orzo, and the fact that it goes so well with just about anything. I can eat an entire box by myself. And I have. One of my favorite meals is roasted garlic and rosemary tilapia with this rice and just about any vegetable. Make it an artichoke, and I'm in heaven. I would wholeheartedly recommend this rice to anyone. Buy it. You know you want to.

Things I Love #2

I love Bragg's Amino Acids.

I grew up with Maggi seasoning, which no one has ever heard of, and I love it. It has changed since I was a child and it is now very hard to find the original version I know so well. This may be a good thing because it is extremely high in sodium and also contains MSG. I know, it's terrible, but I love it. There are very few recipes I use it in now, but sometimes you just need a certain taste (like when I make sauerkraut) so I'll grab the familiar bottle for a few shakes.

A few years ago, my mother started using Bragg's liquid aminos and urged me to do the same. She said it tasted the same as Maggi but without the high sodium and MSG. When I first sampled it, however, I did not agree. I didn't like the taste that much and certainly didn't think it tasted like my familiar Maggi. As time went on though, I started to change my mind. First, Wegman's in Dickson City, PA stopped carrying the version of Maggi that I used regularly. We bought just about every bottle that was on the shelf, but I knew they wouldn't last forever and since I wanted to share that taste with my children some day, I needed to find an alternate seasoning. So, I turned to Bragg's and this time, I really enjoyed it!

Rather than go through a lengthy explanation, I'll paste the description of this lovely product directly from their website:

"Bragg Liquid Aminos is a Certified NON-GMO liquid protein concentrate, derived from healthy soybeans, that contains the following Essential and Non-essential Amino Acids in naturally occurring amounts:

16 Amino Acids

* Alanine
* Arginine
* Aspartic Acid
* Glutamic Acid
* Glycine
* Histidine
* Isoleucine
* Leucine
* Methionine
* Phenylalanine
* Proline
* Serine
* Threonine
* Tyrosine
* Valine
* Lysine "
(This information was taken from the Bragg's website, found here.)

So why is Bragg's so great? It has all the salty flavor you could want but it actually gives you protein! It's non-GMO and gives an added level of tastiness to just about anything. I sprinkle some in Heidi's scrambled eggs and I use it to make my own salad dressing. Technically, it is not the same taste as Maggi, nor as soy sauce, but it is a very viable replacement because using it is a win-win for everyone.

I must say that I am in no way being compensated for this post, with the exception of the tastiness of Bragg's. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to eat healthier without adding salt.

Things I Love #1

I've decided to start a series of posts entitled, you guessed it, 'Things I Love' to give those of you who read this a better idea about who I am. Of course, once I get further into the series you may start to wonder if I really am just one person or a combination of multiple personalities masquerading as one individual. Now I know you're dying to get to the root of this post, the first little known thing I love, so I won't keep you in suspense any longer.

I love history. I LOVE history. I know, crazy, right?! Who loves history besides the people who major in it in order to teach or...what else does one even do with a degree in history? Who knows? Why? Because once everyone is done with history in school, it is never thought of again. I, on the other hand, love history (did I mention that already?) and strive to learn more of it as often as I can.

Before I go any further I must make one thing very clear: I am not even close to being anything remotely related to an expert in history. Please do not mistake my love of history for a vast array of knowledge. I know a lot of small, random facts and tidbits, about some topics more than others, but there is such a vastness that I do not know I'm almost ashamed. What I do know is passion. I have a passion for what was, the things that have passed in order to make all of us who we are today. I have a passion for spreading that knowledge to others because I believe in the importance of learning from others' mistakes. I can only hope to ignite this passion in my children and help them enjoy learning about history as much as I do.

(In the future, I may refer to specific historical events or places that I have grown to 'love' so much that they deserve their own post. Feel free to skip those.)