The other day, I shared a recipe for Rustic Kale Butternut Squash Pasta, and I wanted to tell you a little more about the brand of
Kale & Butternut Squash I used to make it.
Path of Life is a family owned, natural and organic food company based in Chicago, Illinois.
Created with the desire to make eating better, flavorful and easy for the entire family, Path of Life products are simply good, clean food.
According to their
Our Story page:
'Owners Jason Eckert and Scott Schmidt had both been in the food industry for several years when members of their immediate families’ were diagnosed with serious medical conditions.
While supporting their family members through the treatment process, they both began to learn more about the benefits of eating ‘clean’. In additional to traditional medicine, many also recommended certain foods to help prevent/alleviate their symptoms. As the health of their families improved, they became more passionate about providing more options for families just like theirs.
And just like that…Path of Life was born. Inspired by Psalm 16:11, Path of Life brand initially started out in 2013 with frozen organic broccoli and now includes a full line of frozen products.
"You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:11'
While I appreciate their inspiration, I was most interested in the healthy eating possibilities, and so I was very interested in being able to review these products, which were sent to me via the mail in a Styrofoam cooler.
We initially had a little trouble with getting the review delivery to me, but I was honestly thrilled when I finally found the package by my front door.
I honestly was a little worried about the shipping because of the hot Texan fall temperatures, and since we live on a military base our packages tend to somehow randomly end up at the neighbor’s house (or at least this has happen twice since moving here in August!!).
When I opened the box, the dry ice was completely melted and on a first glance I feared the food got spoiled but to my surprise it was all frozen solid and in perfect condition.
I was a little overwhelmed by the generous amount of products I received for this review and instantly started digging through the bags and making a mental meal plan.
The package contained the following:
- All natural Roasted Garlic Cauliflower
- All natural Mediterranean Quinoa
- All natural Kale and Butternut squash
- Organic Quinoa and Kale
- Organic Superfood pilaf
- Organic Quinoa and Brown Rice
They all looked amazing!
I honestly tend to stay away from websites of products that I review until I have tested the product / products myself, just to avoid reading other people’s reviews. I like to put things in to my own words and form own experiences, but I couldn’t help it. I was just simply curious.
Their website is beautifully build and super simple to navigate. I loved the
recipe ideas and how each recipe preview came with an estimated time that it will take you to complete it.
This is another point which made me realize just how family focused they are and how they really try to make things as convenient as possible for their customers.
The
POL 30 Day Challenge part of their website is also something that you should check out. It’s a great challenge and motivation if you are seeking a healthier lifestyle.
If you look at their products section and click on a product that you like, on the bottom of the page you can also find some very interesting fun facts about the nutritional value, which I think is just such a cool feature!
You should also periodically check their website for amazing coupons and special offers!
We generally try to eat healthy and wholesome, but often the time is my biggest enemy in keeping that commitment. The time to run to the store for fresh produce, the time to pack up all the kids, the time to keep them distracted so that I can focus on the task on hand in the kitchen. Some days are really a struggle. We love healthy sides like Quinoa and brown rice but on days when everything has to get fast it’s just not doable with a cooking time of almost 45 minutes.
Path of Life foods are such a wonderful alternative for those situations.
There bags are steamable, which means you can just pop them into the microwave for a few minutes and you’re ready to go with a healthy side for your family meal!
But we don’t own a microwave. It’s not a problem though. Even on the stove top it only takes about 5min to heat up a bag!
Now let me get through the individual bags I’ve received and how I - and we as a family - liked them.
All Natural Roasted Garlic Cauliflower and
Quinoa and Brown Rice:
This has to be one of my favorite combinations!
I was cooking up a big Sunday dinner and about 15 minutes before our chicken was done, I realized that I did not get any sides besides the broccoli started. I savaged through my fridge, pantry and freezer like a mad woman to come up with something. I usually cook almost anything from scratch, so there were no mashed potato packages or anything relatable. The solution came in the freezer though!
I immediately started heating up the quinoa and brown rice & roasted garlic cauliflowers. Within a few minutes, it was done and ready to eat.
The quinoa and brown rice were perfectly done. I was a little concerned that the rice may turn slimy from being frozen and thawed out like that but it didn’t. The quinoa was also cooked perfectly.
The real hit was the roasted garlic cauliflower though. It smelled mouthwatering and tasted just simply amazing. The cauliflower hat a nice little crunch to it but was not hard or undercooked, the garlic gave it also a wonderful taste. Even my husband who usually doesn’t like cauliflower ate some of it and was surprised by how good it tasted.
Definitely a hit!
The next day we had leftovers and I ended up mixing up the
Broccoli and Roasted Garlic Cauliflower to save myself from having to do more dishes and this had to be one of the best ideas I had in a while. They both really go well together. You should give it a try!
All Natural Mediterranean Quinoa
Another great dish side or even main dish! We ate it for lunch with some chicken strips and a side salad.
It is a Blend of cooked white quinoa, cooked red quinoa, chopped spinach, sliced cherry tomatoes, feta cheese crumbles, sautéed garlic, organic extra virgin olive oil, basil, sea salt and organic black pepper. All in all, a great combination.
I personally ended up adding more feta to mine as well as some fresh cocktail tomatoes because there was not that much in the mix.
I have always been a big fan of the Mediterranean cuisine and spent countless summer and fall vacations there as a child. The flavor was very ‘authentic’ or at least what I would consider ‘authentic’ but after eating half a bowl I was just simply full. It was a great meal but it is not one of my favorites.
All Natural Kale and Butternut Squash
I really enjoyed this one and even ended up using it in one of my
recipes. But even on its own, it was delicious. I loved the little sweet hint that the maple sugar left and the raisins just perfectly accompanied that.
It is definitely one of my favorites. My family did not care for it (unfortunately I let them know that there are raisins in it which scared them off), which meant there was more left for me!
Organic Quinoa and Kale
A blend of cooked white quinoa, cooked red quinoa, organic kale, organic garlic, organic extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and organic black pepper.
I personally enjoyed it even if I think there could’ve been a little more kale and garlic in it, but my family instantly walked away from this dish. My two-year-old ate a few spoonfuls but also wasn’t too fond of it. If you like Kale then you should give it a try!
Organic Superfood Pilaf
This is also one of my absolute favorites. It a blend of organic white quinoa, organic carrots, organic butternut squash, organic kale, organic red quinoa, organic onions, organic sweet potato, organic extra virgin olive oil, organic garlic, and organic pilaf seasoning.
Now I'd never had Pilaf before and don’t know what it is supposed to taste like but I enjoyed it so much that I didn’t need anything else with it. It made a quick and healthy lunch for me.
There’s just something about that Path of Life flavor that has left me very satisfied with this review. I really think eating healthy is something very important and they just really make it a lot easier – specially on stressful days when everything has to go snappy.
Their packaging also deserves a mentioning. The bags are all quite sturdy and I feel like the plastic is a little thicker than regular ‘cheap’ frozen foods that you can buy at the store. Due to only a minimal amount of air in the bags you can also easily store them in tight places in the freezer.
The design and the colors are also a great combination that really make the products stick out compared to others. I feel like even from a distance you can tell by the look that you are buying a ‘healthy’ product.
What also deserves a mentioning: I can read every ingredient on the package without needing a dictionary or google to find out what’s really in it. This is such a precious detail that is so hard to come by with most products. It is also a great sign that their products are ‘real’ and without a load of preservatives.
I felt good about eating it and fed it to my children without a second thought.
I honestly wish I would live closer to one of their
store locations (the closest one to me is about 47miles away!) so I could try it out their other products.
Especially the fruits and chocolate covered strawberries have caught my eyes!
Great products. Convenient. Easy peasy directions. – A big thumbs up from me!
http://www.pathoflifebrand.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pathoflifebrand/
Now, there is more to this though:
Here is the how to guide:
