Search Results for: family

Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese #Review #HGG18 #foodie

2018 Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews · December 1, 2018

I received the below mentioned complimentary product either for free or a discounted price for the purpose of this post. All opinions and thoughts are 100% my own.

About The Product/Company~

Charles, George, Thomas, and Mark Crave
Raised on a 40 cow dairy farm near Beloit, Wisconsin, we began farming together in 1978 in Mount Horeb, milking 57 cows on a rented farm. We purchased our Waterloo dairy farm in 1980 with the goal of building a successful agribusiness.
Our family is proud to produce and promote high quality milk and cheese. Through our dairy farm and cheese factory, we enjoy telling the story of dairy farming that emphasizes cow comfort, quality milk and working in harmony with the land to produce quality milk and award winning cheeses.
Numerous groups, international visitors and students have toured our farm. Each of the brothers has also traveled to foreign countries to conduct seminars and help train others in dairy management techniques. In addition, Crave Brothers Dairy Farm has offered work experience for a number of international trainees.

Crave Brothers Farmstead Classics cheeses not only taste good, they make you feel good about your choice. Our cheese is made from our farm-fresh milk, produced on a state-of-the-art farm with sustainability practices that help preserve the environment for future generations.
Now that you know a little more about our business practices, we hope you’ll join us in the quest for sustainability. We invite you to reuse and recycle our packaging. Most of all though, we invite you to enjoy our cheese.
~Family Owned and Operated
~Our Own Farm Fresh Milk
~A Carbon Negative Company*
~Sustainable Farming Practices
~Recyclable Packaging
~100% Green Power
~Water Conservation & Recycling
~ Our manure digester produces more electricity than we need for our farm and cheese factory.
Crave Cheese Samplers
The Crave Cheese Samplers Gift box is a great gift. It comes with 1-12oz package of Cheddar Cheese Curds, 1-8oz container of Marinated Fresh Mozzarella, 2-8oz containers of Mascarpone, and 2-12oz coils of our Farmers Rope string cheese.

My Review/Thoughts~

Boy, Do I love cheese. Now I know people say this but in reality they like cheese. I mean I love cheese. I could eat it 24/7. Every dish that has a ton of cheese in it is my favorite. This is why I was thrilled to review Crave Brothers Cheese Sampler for my holiday gift guide. Just knowing the cheese was made the core values that I hold dear and this farm believes in, It exactly what I have been looking for. Each of the products in the sampler tasted better than the last. The fresh tasting, High quality and farm fresh milk is what sets this cheese a part from the other cheese makers. Plus their price are super affordable. I cannot see myself buying any other brand of cheese because I love it this much. This would make the perfect gift for yourself or any foodie on your holiday gift list. You can go HERE to order yours.

I highly recommend Crave Brothers Farmstand Cheese and give it my thumbs up.

How To Help A Loved One In The Hospital

Reviews · November 26, 2018

It can be a difficult time when you have a friend or family member in the hospital. In addition to the obvious health concerns, there will also be a tremendous amount of stress, anxiety and practical issues that make this a challenging time. It can be hard to know how to help someone when they are spending time in the hospital, especially if you find it difficult to visit them. A good friend will always be able to find ways to help no matter how big or small the gesture, and the following are just a few different ways that you will be able to help someone.

Visiting

Obviously, one of the best things that you can do is to visit the person when you are allowed (but always check ahead before visiting). You should spend this time listening to their concerns and making sure that they are well cared for, but they may also want to take their mind off of their health issues so do not shy away from talking about yourself or what is happening outside of the hospital. Bring gifts, such as:

Their favorite flowers
Books, magazines and newspapers
Any hobby-related gifts that they can do in the hospital such as knitting
Spa treatments

Handling Matters At Home

The person in the hospital should be focused purely on their own health and not have to worry about their life outside the hospital. This means that it can be of great help to handle aspects such as notifying their employer and keeping them up to date, picking the kids up from school and looking after them, feeding pets, watering plants, keeping in touch with friends and family, etc. Be sure to ask them if there is anything that you can do to help when you visit.

Make Sure They Are Getting Proper Care

Most hospitals have excellent levels of care, but they are not infallible, and mistakes can easily be made. It can be difficult when you are a patient and unwell, which is why a good friend needs to make sure that they are getting the care that they need and that there has been no negligence. If there have been mistakes or a lack of care that lead to injuries, then you can make an injuries claim, and they could receive compensation. Making sure that they are getting proper care will involve attending appointments with them, keeping a running log of medication, meals, and checkups.

Plan For Their Return

A great friend will also think about ways that they can help when the person is discharged. This might involve picking them up from the hospital, tidying the home and preparing it for their recovery, picking up groceries and offering to help with their daily chores until they are back on their feet. Other ways to help them include:

Stocking up the fridge for them
Moving furniture (if they agree to it) so that everything is within reach
Preparing the bedroom
Helping them settle in

Nobody likes to spend time in the hospital, and it can be upsetting to see a loved one having to spend time there. These are a few ideas for how you can help your friend during their time of need and help to reduce stress so that they can focus on getting better.

The Spice Lab Spices #Review #HGG18

2018 Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews · November 25, 2018

I received the below mentioned complimentary product for free or a discounted price for the purpose of this review. All opinions and thoughts are 100% my own.

If you have a cook or a Foodie on your Holiday gift list, Then you need to include The Spice Lab~

About The Product/Company~

What started as a hand-made Christmas gift in 2009, has turned into a multimillion dollar business, named to the 2018 INC 5000 list of the fastest growing U.S. private companies, for the fourth consecutive year.
Today this women-owned and family-run business has a 75,000 sq ft HAACP-certified production facility in Pompano Beach, Florida where it processes and packages seasonings, spices, salts and gourmet gifts for major retailers, specialty food companies, grocery and private label and sold online on Amazon and at www.spices.com
How it all began:
Technology entrepreneur Brett Cramer wanted to share his new-found fascination with gourmet sea salts with his family and friends. Enjoying woodworking as well as being an avid gourmet cook, he handcrafted a wooden base out of scrap lumber to hold test tubes filled with exotic sea salts from around the world. His wife Jennifer, an interior designer, wanted to start a company and thought that Brett’s creation would be an ideal way to enter the gourmet gift business.
Throughout 2010, the company’s online business grew as the company added an array of smoked sea salts and salt collections and became a direct importer. Jennifer’s design background influenced the products and packaging that garnered early market acceptance and ignited sales. Selling his dot-com business in January 2011, Brett joined Jennifer along with a growing staff to devote their energies full time to building The Spice Lab and its retail distribution.
The Spice Lab carries Blends Seasoning & Rubs, Spices, Salts, Teas and Gifts.

My Thoughts/Reviews~

I have been married going on 20 years. I was not the cook in the family until around 10 years ago. My Mom was a fantastic cook. I learned quickly that to be a good cook that you quality ingredients and that goes for your spices too. I received the Taste Of America which INCLUDES: 4 Shaker Jars of one each of the following Chicago Chop Seasoning, Key West Seafood Seasoning, Fiery Southern Charm & Everything and More Seasoning. The fragrance of the spices was simply amazing. I loved how adding these to my dishes really knocked them out of the park. I have never before had so many complements on my cooking as I have after using spices from The Spice Lab.

I give this product my thumbs up and my highest recommendation. This would make the perfect Holiday gift for yourself or that Foodie on your gift list. You can go HERE to order.

Reasons To Appreciate Life

Reviews · November 24, 2018

Life is a truly crazy thing. It changes so much and leads in so many different directions that it can be hard to really look at it objectively and appreciate what you have. Many people are always looking for something else or looking forward to the next thing, rather than keeping their current situation in their mind and looking for the positive even in what might be a negative time at first glance. Here are some of the best reasons to appreciate your life and make the most of what you have.

You Can’t Go Back

One of the biggest reasons to spend your time appreciating what you have now is that the past cannot be revisited. You can remember it, think about it, enjoy those memories, but you can never actually go back there. This is why it is so much better to enjoy the present. This involves being what is known as mindful – appreciating the present time, even if it isn’t what you might have wanted. It can be hard to do, but it will make you less stressed, worried, and more able to focus on what you are doing, and do it well.

You Can Change Things

When you appreciate what you have and what is good in your life, you are better placed to see what is not so good in both your own life and other people’s. When you can do this successfully, you then have the power to change things. Create or sign a petition such as the call to end daylight saving time if it will make lives better. Change what you are doing so that you are able to be more positive. Help other people make changes in their own lives. If enough people were to do this, real positive change can be achieved in every part of every life.

You’ll Waste Time

If you are constantly waiting for the next thing to happen, or looking beyond what you are doing now to the next big achievement, then you are wasting the present, and that is something you can never get back. You might not enjoy school so you wish for graduation, for example. However, this means that you aren’t really looking at what you could be doing now to make yourself happier. The same is true in every aspect of life – take the time to appreciate what you have right now, and you’ll realize that you can always find something to enjoy, and you don’t have to always be striving for the next event or achievement to happen.

You’re In Control

When you step back and look around you and start to appreciate you life more, you put yourself in control. This means that other people and the circumstances you find yourself in don’t have any power over you anymore, and you are more easily able to stay happy and positive. For those who don’t appreciate what they have and are always looking for something more, the actions of other people and circumstances beyond their control can easily serve as an excuse for not changing how they live or how they feel. Remember that it is always your choice to be happy and positive, no matter what is going on around you – keep this in mind and practice it all the time and you will always be the one in control.

No One Is Perfect

If the reason that you don’t take the time or have the inclination to appreciate your life very much, if at all, is that you see everyone else around you doing better, having more fun, with more money or with a great family – perhaps things that you don’t necessarily have – then you need to think again. It is likely that you are seeing these things on social media, and this is the problem; people portray a life that they want others to know about on social media. This doesn’t mean that it is their real life, and it doesn’t necessarily show how they really feel.

Take a look at your own timeline, and you’ll see; much of what you have written, much of the content you have shared, and the photos you have posted will be positive, showing off what you have and how much you are loved. Then relate that back to your real life; in between all the good things that you were posting about, there will have been bad things that you didn’t mention. This is what everyone’s life is like, and comparing yourself to others is useless. The less you do it, the more you can appreciate what you have. Even if you aren’t happy all the time, the good times will hopefully outweigh the bad, and this is what you need to focus on.

Money Won’t Buy You Happiness

Many people feel that more money would buy them happiness, and so they work harder than ever, spending less time with their families, even making themselves sick because of worry and exhaustion. However, if you have food, water, somewhere to live and people you love around you, this is what you should be thinking of and appreciating. Ambition is a good thing, but not when it takes you away from your family and makes you sick. With more money you could buy more things, but do you really need them, or would it be a case of spending the money just because it is there? What would a bigger house, a newer car, or a five-star vacation really do for you that a small house, older car, and a vacation in your own home town couldn’t? Appreciate what you have, and you’ll be much more content, and happier too.

Other People Aren’t So Fortunate

Finally, it’s important to remember that no matter how little you have – or think you have – there will be someone who has less. This doesn’t negate the fact that you might want or need more, but it should give you a little more perspective and allow you to appreciate what you do have a little more.

Mrs. Renfro Gourmet Salsa #Review #HGG18 @MrsRenfros

2018 Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews · November 24, 2018

I received the below mentioned complimentary product either for free or a discounted price for the purpose of this post. All opinions and thoughts are 100% my own.

I am so very much in love with Mrs. Renfro’s Gourmet Salas. This would be the perfect Holiday gift for any Foodie on your gift list~

About The Product/Company~

In 1940, with the Depression still a vivid memory, George Renfro took a big risk for a man with a family. He quit his job selling restaurant supplies and condiments. And with little more than sheer determination and the support of his family, George and his wife, Arthurine, co-founded George Renfro Food Company in the garage of their north Fort Worth home. In their new venture, they distributed packaged spices and pepper sauces throughout Fort Worth and the surrounding areas.
With hard work, George Renfro Food Company grew steadily. By 1948, the Renfros expanded the company’s product line, buying a local syrup manufacturer. Through the tireless efforts of George, his family and a small sales staff that literally sold goods from the back of a truck, the company’s Dixieland Syrups soon had wide distribution throughout Texas grocery stores. Virtually every Dallas-Fort Worth restaurant purchased the syrup from George Renfro Food Company, approximately 85% of the restaurants in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
Only four short years after adding syrup to its manufacturing line, George was again looking for his next quality product. This time George and Arthurine acquired the formulas of Gold Star Foods. They reworked the ingredients, making them taste more like family recipes. Before long, George Renfro Food Company had entered the jelly, preserve, vinegar and chow chow business as well.
At the time, few Southerners could imagine eating beans or peas without homemade chow chow, especially during the cold winter months. Realizing they had one of the few commercially made, yet homemade-tasting chow chows available, the Renfros capitalized on public demand and created the popular Dixieland Chow Chow.
Response to the blend of cabbage, bell peppers, sugar, spices and vinegar was so tremendous that, by 1960, George Renfro Food Company had become a one-product business focusing exclusively on Dixieland Chow Chow.
By 1963, company sales had more than quadrupled. The Renfros now distributed their chow chow to nearly every grocery store in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and northern Louisiana. As great as everything seemed, George knew there were a few problems. During the warm summer months, grocery store sales traditionally slumped. Consequently, the company created the Mrs. Renfro’s label and began selling the chow chow directly to fruit and vegetable stands. The Dixieland label was exclusively reserved for grocery stores.
With this new direction, sales began to take off. Soon fruit and vegetable stands throughout Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee were carrying the increasingly popular Mrs. Renfro’s products, which by the mid-’60s included Corn Relish and Tomato Relish. There was still, however, a lack of chow chow popularity among younger consumers. For George, the time had come again to look for yet another expansion opportunity.
In 1972, shortly after incorporating under its current name, Renfro Foods, Inc., the family purchased the recipes of Olé Foods, a Mexican-style hot sauce maker. The Renfros anticipated that customers’ tastes were changing, and they quickly made plans to ride the wave of interest in Mexican foods. Reworking the basic taco sauce ingredients of Olé Foods, the Renfros created a richer and tastier salsa recipe. Mrs. Renfro’s salsas gained popularity fast, earning a reputation for quality flavor at a reasonable price. This quick surge in demand lead to a major facilities expansion that more than doubled the company’s production operations.
With George’s death in 1975, Arthurine and the children, Bill and Jack, were left to lead the company into its greatest growth period yet. The country’s love of hot and spicy foods was escalating, and with this, so was the rise in demand for Mrs. Renfro’s products. The product line soon expanded from the original hot or mild sauces to a variety of picantes and medium-style sauces.

My Thoughts/Review~

We love salsa in my home and you can have the great taste of Texan hospitality delivered right to your home too. Mrs. Renfro offers salsas, relishes, peppers and more. They are always coming out with new products and flavors. I received the Nacho Cheese Dip, The Classic Barbecue Sauce, The Craft Beer Salsa and The Medium Salsa. It is funny but we used to love anything the hotter the better until we got in our 50’s and now we can handle only slightly hot. But that’s the thing about Mrs. Renfro. You can get the heat in a level you want or don’t want. This has opened up my world to trying new flavors that I would otherwise would not of. About the products I received- Everyone was tasty and flavorful with just the right amount of ingredients.

I give these products my highest recommendation and my thumbs up. You owe it to yourself and that Foodie on your Holiday gift list to order some by going HERE.