(How cute is our welcome mat, by the way? Speaking of dogs, if you look closely at the top of the photo you can see the blur of Jack’s paws as he attempts to tackle me in greeting.)

The lovely people at POM Wonderful sent me a box of their pomegranate juice to try out.

And what did I do immediately after tearing into the box? I did what any hardworking gal does after a particularly rainy Tuesday: I added a little juice of my own and sat to down enjoy Jeopardy!

I’d actually like to do something with the pomegranate juice besides drink it all in martinis (I think….). I’ll probably incorporate it into some morning smoothies. And maybe a vinaigrette to finish off all of that CSA lettuce.

• Amazing Meal
• Superfood
• Energy Bars
• Kidz Superfood
• Wheat Grass

For those of you who don’t already know, Amazing Grass makes nutritional supplements and energy bars made with organic grasses, fruits, and vegetables.

I am not a particular fan of nutritional supplements because, ideally, we would be getting all of our necessary nutrients from the (good, whole, and unprocessed!) food we eat.  Realistically, this is not the case. And health-wise, Amazing Grass is not a terrible alternative.

I started my Amazing Grass adventure with smoothies.  I tried two: one with a packet of Chocolate Infusion and one with a packet of Pomegranate Mango Infusion.

• Banana
• Handful frozen spinach
• Handful frozen peaches
• Almond Milk
• 1 packet Amazing Meal

Honestly, I was not a fan of these two flavors.  They were really intense.  The chocolate was chalky and the pomegranate mango was sicky-sweet for my liking. It felt like they were trying too hard to cover up all the healthy stuff in the powder.  But I say, if I’m going to eat wheat grass, I would just like to eat wheat grass. I know what vegetables are and I’m not afraid of them in my smoothies!

So I tried the original flavor of Amazing Meal and it was delicious.

“It tastes green,” remarked The Boyfriend, and he is correct. These are healthy smoothies. But I like green. And I like being healthy.  Conclusion? Thumbs down, flavored Amazing Meal.  Thumbs up, original Amazing Meal.

In theory you can mix Amazing Meal and Superfood packets in any beverage.  I’m not so sure.  I tried a packet of the berry flavored Kidz Superfood in some seltzer.  Not a fan. I think the key to enjoying these healthy packets is to mix them WELL in whatever you are drinking.  I think I’ll stick to blended smoothies from now on.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, check out the vitamins in these bad boys.  You can’t deny you’re doing good things for yourself by drinking these:

I moved on to the energy and protein bars: Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar, Chocolate Whole Food Energy Bar, Berry Whole Food Energy Bar, and Whole Food Energy Bar.

As a disclaimer I will say that I do not normally like bars.  I would rather just eat real food, frankly.  An apple and a cheesestick work just as well as an on-the-go snack.  I do eat Larabars, however, mostly because the ingredients list contains about five things.

The list on the Amazing Grass bars is MUCH longer.  But it is filled with yummy, good-for-you foods.

These bars are great.  The Chocolate Peanut Butter bar is fantastic.  It’s a green, chocolate-coated bar with a consistency that is similar to a Larabar — full of dried fruit and nuts.  The Boyfriend and I split one.

“This tastes healthy,” remarked The Boyfriend.  He is a man of few words when he is eating.  But he added: “I would buy this.”

I liked all of the bars, in truth, but the Chocolate Peanut Butter was my favorite.  I didn’t feel overly full from eating them, nor did I get a sugar high or the feeling of a lead ball in my stomach like you can from processed nutrition bars.  Definitely a good choice when looking for a healthy bar.

The verdict? There is nothing bad about Amazing Grass products.  Prepare yourself for the “healthy” taste, but also know that you’re enjoying a product chock-full of healthy stuff.

PAMA is having a contest on Facebook from now until December 16 for the best recipe using their pomegranate liqueur.

I love a culinary challenge, so I had to see what I could come up with.  Right off the bat I opted to make an entree.  Dessert, while delicious, is a pretty obvious choice for the contest and I wanted to shake things up! So I turned to a classic (spaghetti and meatballs) and jazzed it up a little.  I made PAMA-infused tomato sauce (think a twist on a sweeter tomato sauce made with red wine) and rosemary-pomegranate turkey meatballs.

SPAMAghetti and Meatballs

For the sauce:

• 2 15oz. cans whole tomatoes
• 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1 c. PAMA liqueur

In a large pot, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, oregano, and parsley. Simmer, stirring occasionally. After 40 minutes, stir in the PAMA liqueur (saving 1 teaspoon for the meatballs). Simmer for another 20-30 minutes.

While the sauce simmers, make the meatballs.

For the meatballs:

• 1 lb. turkey beef
• 3/4 cups bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• Seeds from 1/2 pomegranate
• Fresh rosemary, about 3 sprigs

In a bowl, combine the turkey beef, pomegranate seeds, rosemary, breadcrumbs, egg, plus 1 teaspoon PAMA liqueur, and form into small balls.

Fry the meatballs in a skillet until cooked through. While the meatballs are cooking, boil water in a large pot and cook 1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti.

Place the spaghetti and meatballs in a serving dish. Spoon the sauce over the pasta and enjoy!

I was actually surprised at how tasty this is.  The rosemary and pomegranate are a winning combination and the liqueur brings out the sweetness in the tomatoes.

Of course while I cooked I made myself a PAMAtini with vodka and PAMA.

(Did you really think there wasn’t going to be drinking involved?)

If you like this, please vote for me on Facebook! Voting is open to the public on the PAMA fan page for one month. You can vote once a day (if you’re a compulsive Facebook checker like myself).  You’ll find me listed as “SPAMAghetti and Meatballs.”  Thanks, everyone!

I started this morning with almost an hour-long workout: Solar Flow from Yoga Download and Jillian Michaels Shred. It was a great start to a very busy week (almost done with Horrible Temp Job!!).

To refuel and rehydrate I had water, coffee, and a smoothie with Amazing Meal.

I love that mug, by the way.  It’s huge, first of all, and it says: Good Morning! Believe in Yourself!

Amazing Grass sent me some of their products to try last week and I’ve been making my way through them. I’ll give you a full review later in the week. Today I added the Pomegranate Mango Infusion packet to my smoothie:

• I frozen banana
• Handful frozen spinach
• Handful frozen peaches
• Almond milk
• 1 packet Pomegranate Mango Infusion

Here’s the deal with this powder: I thought I might mind the wheat grass (the “healthy taste”) of the mix, but that’s not what bothers me.  With the flavored Amazing Grass powders, there seems to be a underlying chalky sweet taste that really overpowers the beverages.  With a superfood mix that includes fruits and veggies, protein blends, wheat grass, barley, and alfalfa, you should just accept it for what it is and not bother covering it up with flavor.  So that being said, I’m actually looking forward to trying the Original Amazing Meal, since I think that lacks any flavor.  I drank half the smoothie and I’ve saved the rest for tomorrow morning.  It’s certainly not horrible, just sticky-sweet, which is not my thing.  But stayed tuned because I have other products to review (and I didn’t have complaints about them all )!

I’m off to tackle a hefty to-do list.  This weekend was super productive and I’m trying to drag that productivity into the week.  I got some big projects done, including major room reorganization.  It looks so pretty now. It’s got such a good, positive feeling and it was so peaceful doing yoga on the floor this morning.

You can see Jack’s bed and Tike’s tank.  I hung up photos and pictures, finally (only lived in the place for 6 months…).  I hope you enjoy The Ninja Tips for Healthy Living.  That was there long before I moved in…

Off to be productive! Happy Monday, everybody!

I like all varieties of yogurt, but I am a big fan of the Greek yogurt from Chobani.  I’ve been eating and gushing about Chobani for a while now.  And now the company is undergoing something of a face-lift with more flavors and a shiny new website.

Chobani is all-natural and all-tasty.  My mother, who used to make her own Greek yogurt, tried Chobani and thought the label was a misprint because it’s low-fat, but it tastes so creamy.

Lucky for me, Chobani sent me a case of yogurt to love eat. And lucky for you, they want to send you one, too! To enter, check out the recipes on the website and leave a comment here telling me which one you’d like to try (how about a CHOttata?). Or follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway! Contest ends Saturday morning at 9am and I will randomly pick a winner and announce it on Saturday’s post!