Information:
Where to Buy: Where Litehouse Foods are sold.
Description:
Because Taste Matters
Taster’s Review:
Recently, LiberTeas asked if anybody was interested in doing a review on Litehouse Foods product line in conjunction with Mother’s Day. I jumped instantly at the opportunity. My mom is a huge foodie! She is an amazing little chef and baker in her own right. My childhood memories are flooded with happy times with family members and there was something fantastic to munch on. My mom was thrilled to participate and so was my dad. We had a ton of incredible spices and dressings to play with.
We started the day out with making up some dip. Salmon dip. Salmon dip with these amazing freeze dried spices that Litehouse Foods provided. My mom gave me a face when she saw the jar and I told her that all she needed to do was add water. She was a good team player and went with it. it I think she is addicted to them now. Litehouse Foods has an array of different freeze dried spices from cilantro to ginger. All you do is add water to the spices and Viola! You have instant fresh spices. The taste fresh too. Just like you bought them fresh from the local market.
Salmon Dip
1-can pink salmon
1 pk cream cheese
pinch of garlic powder (or to taste)
Litehouse Foods Freeze Dried Chives- 2 tablespoons (or to taste)
Litehouse Foods Freeze Dried Dill- 3 tablespoons (or to taste)
We took a can of pink salmon, a package of cream cheese, Litehouse Food Chives, Litehouse Food’s Dill, and garlic powder. Mix all of it up in a bowl. We basically added the spices in to taste. Wowza! The dip turned out so good. Rich and creamy with a hint of tang from the dill and chives. The dill and chive spices tasted so fresh and bright.
Since we used so much cream cheese, the salmon flavor was very light and subtle. Such a delightful treat to start our day with. We all said we could see this being a spread that you could put on break for finger sandwiches. Since I have an issue with carbs, we stuck to this being a dip instead.
I think my dad single handedly took down half of this dip. We dipped veggies and crackers into this delight. Yum!
We also opened Litehouse Foods’ Cucumber Dill Dip. We are the family that always has the veggie tray at these festivies. My mom ate half of this dip on her own with carrot sticks. She proclaimed this to be the best veggie dip ever. And she has always been a lover of the Ranch Packet dip.
Next, we made my Buffalo Chicken Street Tacos. A recipe I can come up with one day for dinner.
1 can of Buffalo Chicken (I get mine from Costco)
1 can of corn-drained
1 can of diced tomatoes-drained
1 green pepper-diced
1 pkg of taco seasoning
Dump all ingredients into a pan or combine all into a crock pot for ease. If you want the mixture spicy, add in some red pepper flakes or jalapenos. Warm up the mixture and allow the ingredients to simmer together.
Take either soft tortillas or hard shell shells and pour some of the mixture in. Add in any kind of cheese you would use for tacos.
Since this is Buffalo Chicken, I was hit with “inspiration” for this dish and thought, Litehouse Foods has my favorite Blue Cheese dressing- Chunky Bleu Cheese. The best part of this dressing, it is Gluten Free! I try to go as Gluten Free as possible. So, after we made up the tacos, we added in some of the dressing instead of using a salsa or sour cream. Oh mama! Were these ever delicious! We gobbled them down like you wouldn’t believe! The creamy blue cheese dressing calmed the spices in the mixture just a bit and brought out an amazing buffalo chicken flavor.
We are huge salad eaters at our family functions. One of my aunt’s duties each get together is to bring the salad. She was so excited to see an Litehouse Foods’ Organic Ranch dressing. She adored it! She said it was rich and tangy with an incredible texture. All she could say was Yum !Yum! A Yum!
To end our Mother’s Day luncheon with a dessert my mom makes with crushed pineapple, chunks of angel food cake, layered like a parfait with sliced strawberries on top. It is a MUST for my family. My 9 year old destroys a bowl full in a matter of seconds. Too add a bit of a fresh twist, we added in a couple of pinches of Litehouse Foods Mint. When we received the Litehouse Foods box a few days before Mother’s Day, I was the most excited and looking forward to was trying this freeze dried spice out. I couldn’t wait to add the mint into teas, dessert, yogurts, smoothies, and possibly an adult beverage or two. One bite of this dessert and it was this fantastic array of flavors. . the sweetness of the pineapple and strawberries and the fresh mint compounded with the vanilla sponge cake. . just so good! We all were in heaven.
We had a great time with the Litehouse Foods and spices, dips and dressings. I can honestly say that I have bought Litehouse Foods products in the past and have enjoyed them. But for one reason or another, just never seemed to pick those products up again. I can say after this Mother’s Day luncheon, Litehouse Foods has renewed customers out of us. I am dying now to pick up the Cilantro and other herbs they offer. And I can say without any kind of hesitation that I will never run out of this Bleu Cheese dressing. Thank you Litehouse Foods for giving my mom and I a fantastic lunch!! We appreciated the products and can’t wait to get our hands on more!
When we got back home from my parents, my boyfriend handed me a bag and said “Happy Mother’s Day”. He gave me the most thoughtful gift I have ever received! I just had to share.
Smashberry Tisane from Piper & Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Piper & Leaf
Tea Description:
An Incredible Fruit & Herbal Infusion of Tart Apples, Sweet Strawberries, Rosehips, & Special Herbs
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I enjoyed a fantastic day today with my parents, boyfriend, aunt, grandparents and kiddos. We celebrated Mother’s Day and just had a great time together. My dad was in a tea drinking mood and I was excited to share with him. We plowed thru the tea I brought and had fun doing it. We even received samples of herbs from Litehouse Foods for a fun addition to the tea. (A full spread on the amazing Litehouse Foods samples will be coming soon).
What better to pair with a Strawberry Herbal tea? Lemongrass and Mint from Litehouse Foods.
Threw my sample of this strawberry tisane into my tea pot and threw in a couple pinches of both the spices. These spices are so much fun. They actually expand with water and are freeze dried. I brought the water to boil in the ol whistling kettle and then let it steep for about 10 minutes. Grabbed two glasses out of the cupboard and dumped some ice in and served. I had wanted to garnish the cup with a strawberry but my mom had already cut them up for strawberry shortcake. At that point, I wasn’t going to complain. I had strawberry shortcake in my future.
Before I could even take my first sip, my dad had downed the cup. I asked him what he thought of it and he said it was good and that it felt good on his tummy. Crisp and fresh like. I agree. The tea had this fantastic strawberry flavor with a hint of lemon and mint. The apple flavor was very subtle and in the background. It reminded me of something you would serve to little girls while they are having a tea party. The chunks of fruit are huge in this tisane and nothing in this sample was crushed up. You can tell Piper & Leaf take time creating their teas. Each tea I have sampled from them so far has had giant chunks of fruit or herbs. The tea has tasted fresh and crisp. Definitely impressive so far.
I can’t say I would buy anymore of this particular tisane. It was good and adding the herbs was a lot of fun. Even though it was really good, I just can’t say it wowed me to the point of thinking I need more.
What I can see myself doing is picking up more of these herbs and seeing what I can come up with or what creative ways I can use them to freshen up tea that may need a simple tweak here and there.