Review: Tea Sparrow Subscription Box

I love tea. Drinking tea is simultaneously a very personal experience and a social one. The brewing of the perfect cuppa is something that the tea enthusiast takes very seriously and everyone will tell you that "their" brew is best. Brew a pot of tea to calm your nerves, awaken your spirit, warm your body, cool your temper. Brew a pot of tea in times of sorrow and in celebration. If you aren't a tea drinker, I suggest you give it a try. I'm guessing you'll find that the process of discovering tea will lead you to a love for it.

The wonderful people of Tea Sparrow love tea. They have turned their passion into a shared experience. Providing a monthly subscription box of teas and herbal brews from around the world.

Each box is personally curated by one of their tea experts. They peruse various tea blenders, looking for exciting loose leaf teas to add to their monthly collections.

Each collection includes 4 pouches of loose leaf tea and herbal blends. Your monthly box will cost only $20 and that includes shipping and tax for Canada and the Continental US.

Loose leaf tea is a labor of love. It requires more care and attention than simply plopping a bag in a mug and sloshing hot water over it. Various tools are required to brew a pot of loose leaf tea and each tea blend has its own requirements to produce the perfect cuppa. Tea Sparrow has taken the time to include detailed instructions on how to handle each unique blend.

My monthly box featured the following four teas:

Red Rose Rooibos- An herbal rooibos blend with linden blossoms, rose petals, orange bits and lemon bits.

Treasures of Japan: A caffeinated green tea blended with Sencha, Bencha, GenMai, Cha, Kukicha, Gyokuru (these are all various preperations of green tea) strawberry pieces and red currents.

Passion Peach: A caffeinated black tea blended with peach pieces and natural flavors.

Spring Kiss: An herbal tea with lemongrass, peppermint, raspberry leaf, cardamom, licorice cornflowers and rose flowers.

Each box of Tea Sparrow teas will contain a different collection, so rather than go into great detail about what I received I thought I might go into a bit of information about the types of tea and their differences.

All true tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant and the variations on tea come from how the tea leaves were picked and prepared. There are six primary types of tea; Green, Yellow, White, Black, Oolong and Post-fermented.

Herbal "teas" are blends of flowers, dried fruits and spices and are not true teas but have adopted the name tea due to the process of pouring heated water over dried leaves. Rooibos tea (pronounced Roy-boss) is an herbal tea that comes from the Calicotome villosa plant from the Western Cape region of South Africa.

I am traditionally a black tea gal. I love a good strong cup of Earl Grey with a little sugar and just the slightest splash of milk. That being said, I wasn't a fan of the Passion Peach black tea in my Tea Sparrow box. I can't quite place it and I'm sure others would love it,  but it wasn't for me.

I did however, really enjoy the Spring Kiss. It had a cool, calming flavor that was perfect for just before bed time.

Treasures of Japan was my second favorite. It had a very fruity, tart flavor and a nice kick of caffeine. Its a great breakfast tea or mid afternoon pick-me-up.

The Red Rose Rooibos is a great after dinner tea. Rooibos is naturally caffeine free and has wonderful digestive properties.

A Tea Sparrow subscription box would be a wonderful way to introduce yourself to the world of tea. You can sign up for your very own subscription at www.teasparrow.com or visit their Facebook page to find out more!

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Review & Giveaway: PetBox Subscription Box (for Cats)

It is my honest opinion that cat products do not get enough love when it comes to subscription boxes.  So, when I heard about PetBox's cat option, I nearly jumped for joy, or I would have if my cat, Angel, hadn't been sleeping on me.

PetBox is a subscription box company that offers dog and cat subscriptions and gives you the option of choosing what exactly goes in your box.  Founded in April of 2013, PetBox was created to help pet owners discover healthy, premium brands and products at lower than retail prices.

Each month, you have the option of choosing the products in your box, or to be surprised and let them choose for you.  The boxes start at $29/month with a 12 month program and top out at $39/month with the month to month option.

If you are having troubles and need to talk to a person, they even have a number that if you call during business hours, you get a REAL person. I called outside of standard business hours and, though I did not get a real person, I did get the option to leave a voicemail or, using my smart phone, to put my name and number on a list in the correct department to get a call as soon as possible.

PetBox has teamed up with BOGO Bowl and with each box that is shipped, they feed a rescue animal. They utilize social media by having #PetBoxFridays, which allows the Twitter and Facebook communities to nominate a shelter to receive that week's shipment of food and supplies.  I think that this is a really neat thing, as it helps to spread the donations around the country.

Enclosed inside the box I recieved, neatly wrapped in black paper, were six products: Smittens cat treats; Bella's Blissful Hemp Pouch; Natural Balance Perfect Bites Cat Treats; Innovet Biopel Spray; Twigo Pet ID Tag; and Aussie Naturals Cat Set.

Smittens cat treats are interesting in the fact that they have only one ingredient, Icelandic Haddock.  They are crunchy little hearts that smell STRONGLY of fish.

Seriously, these things smell.  I opened the bag while we had some friends over, and EVERYONE knew the exact moment I opened it.

One of my friends decided to taste test them, and, according to him, they taste of a cooked fish patty that has been sitting under a heat lamp for too long, and they have a texture more forgiving than kibble.

Angel, however, devoured the small handful that was offered so fast, I didn't even get time to snap a picture.  These are definitely the preferred treat, even if I do have to keep them in an airtight container to keep the house from smelling.

The Natural Balance Perfect Bites Cat Treats were the other treats in the box.  These also have a fish flavor, this time salmon, which Angel also likes.

They do not, blissfully, smell anywhere nearly as strongly of fish as the Smitten treats do.

Natural Balance has formulated them to be a 1 calorie/treat that has no corn, soy, or wheat.

As you can see, Angel enjoys fishing for her salmon treats!




For the cat that doesn't want to jingle while she walks, the Twigo Pet ID Tag is a silent, no engraving required, tag.

All you need to do is write your information on the back with the enclosed pen (or any ball point pen if you lose it) and boil for three minutes to seal the ink.  While I love the idea of this, the clasp unfortunately broke while I was tightening it onto her collar.

Innovet BioPel Spray is a naturally formulated spray that repels fleas, ants, flies, and mosquitoes that is safe to use around pets and is made in the USA.

It is composed of lemongrass and cinnamon oil - both natural insect repellents, along with Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, an insect repelling emulsifier. Unlike some other natural insect repellants, lemongrass is not harmful to cats.

Biopel Spray is touted as safe to use anywhere (including on your pet), other than into the eyes.

I am spraying it around the cat tree, the cat box, and the doorways.  It leaves behind a lemon scent that doesn't feel artificial, thanks to the lemongrass oil.

I have noticed a decrease in fly activity in the house, so I'm going to keep using it. I like having a non-toxic insect repellent on hand, especially because we also have a small child in the house.

I am always way more excited than Angel is about cat toys.  I suppose it's the optimist in me, hoping that I will one day interact with her beyond petting and feeding and cleaning the litter box.  So I was very excited to see the Aussie Naturals Cat Set.

The set of three appealed to me with its natural materials; the ball is made of wool and filled with coconut fibers, the mouse is leather, and the dangle toy is a bamboo fishing rod with a burlap fish attached via jute cord.

However, as with any other toy that is not stuffed to the brim with catnip, Angel wanted absolutely nothing to do with them.

Of these toys, the one that gets the most played with is the fishing pole, and that is by my three year old son.  I probably won't stop trying to get her to play, though, and neither will my son.


Bella's Blissful Hemp Pouch, however, was most definitely a hit with Angel. She would not wait for me to get it out of the packaging, not even to get a good picture, and she tore the bag open to get to the catnip goodness.

This fully biodegradable pouch is filled with catnip, buckwheat hulls, and silver vine.  Silver vine is part of the kiwi family and has a similar, though more intense, effect on cats as catnip.  Now, not all cats react to catnip, but Angel definitely loves the 'nip.  She will take this and, if she's feeling energetic, bat it around the house, pouncing and attacking.  Should she be feeling more lazy...er, lethargic, she'll carry it to her preferred perch and just lick it.

If it fits, I sits!

All in all, Angel and I really enjoyed the PetBox and all of the goodies within. I'm definitely telling my cat owner friends about this and I think it would be a wonderful catwarming gift!

Thank you PetBox for not only offering a cat subscription box, but also for giving back to rescue animals!

PetBox Website
PetBox on Facebook
PetBox on Twitter

Additionally, PetBox is generously offering a one PetBox (winner's choice of the Cat or Dog Box) to TWO of our readers.

This Giveaway is open to US residents only and will end at midnight (EDT) on July 31, 2014.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment in this entry as instructed by the Rafflecopter, and then leave your Username and email in the Rafflecopter entry. This will open up additional option entries to increase your odds of winning.

Don't forget - There is only ONE mandatory entry requirement, but you have to do both parts - you have to COMMENT on this post, and then leave your Username and email in the Rafflecopter! That's so we can identify you and inform you that you've won!

Don't click that you did this, and then don't post - the first thing we do when Rafflecopter selects a winner is maker sure that person commented.   We hate disqualifying winners, so make sure that doesn't happen to you!

Good luck, everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Tomato Basil Chicken (Meal Plan)

So while I’m sure you all are waiting with bated breath for Lynda’s weekly meal plan, I’m almost sorry to say I’m taking it over this week! At first I thought it would be fun, give me an excuse to try new things, but after I committed to doing so, its meaning took a bit of a turn.

I am currently 30 weeks pregnant and discovered last week that I have developed Gestational Diabetes.

What this means, along with pricking my own finger four times a day to check blood sugar, is a pretty strict diet. I will likely post more entries discussing it further, but for now we will just stick to what I ate this week as most was planned out before knowing I had extreme guidelines I need to follow.

I live in the middle of the Mojave Desert, forty miles from the closest town. We have one grocery store (the Commissary) available with slim pickins’ for produce and meat. I recently discovered an organic food co-op in the nearest town from us that is a collection of different farms in the area. You can get produce, meat, dairy, and other goodies for less than what we would pay in store and much better quality! The decision to make the switch was obvious!

This past week we received our first big haul!  This is what we got:

Lettuce
Onion (1 lb Red sping, 1 lb white spring)
Oregano
Basil (Italian - 1 bunch)
4 Pickling Cucumbers
Mediterranean Cucumbers (1 lb)
Red Potatoes
Seasonal Fruit (red plums/nectarines)
Summer Squash (over 3lb variety mix, zucchini, yellow)
5 Ears of Sweet Corn
3 large Tomatoes
Watermelon (2 little stripy ones)
Leeks (1 bunch)
Nopales- cactus leaf (1 lb - 8 paddles)
Jalapeños (1 lb)

Hot Dogs (6 Organic Beef/Pork. no casing)
Ground Beef (2 lb 85% Lean & 15% Fat-100% grass fed and finished-frozen)
Chicken Breast (2 boneless, skinless)

Raw Whole Milk (1 gallon)
Cream Cheese (7 oz Made from organic pasteurized, cultured milk & cream,sea salt. No gums, fillers,or stabilizers)

We have not used all of this, or probably even half, but the wonderful thing that we haven’t been used to with store-bought  produce is that it's still good!  Typically, our commissary produces starts to go bad even before we've gotten it home, making it very hard to choose to eat fresh foods over processed - the co-op produce is so much fresher!

We pick up our co-op groceries on Tuesdays, so I'm going Wednesday to Wednesday on planning. Here is how my first week looked:

Wednesday -
Chicken Salad - chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, Parmesan cheese, balsamic vinaigrette.
Watermelon slides
(We did not use the farm fresh chicken as we already had store-bought thawed. It was great, easy, and summery!

Thursday -  

Pasta with Parmesan, Chicken and Zucchini
This was an amazing dish prepared by good friends (and fellow RCH writers!) Jessica and Matthew at one of our game nights. (Recipe will be added soon!)

Friday -
Hamburgers
(farm fresh grass-fed beef!, lettuce, tomato, red onion)
Corn on the Cob

Saturday -
Chicken Burritos
(shredded chicken, taco seasoning, tomato, onion, black olives, sour cream, tortilla)
Refried Beans

Delicious blueberry pie for dessert made by my good friend, Taylor!

Sunday -  
Pan-seared Tilapia (with lemon and pepper)
Sautéed zucchini and Nopales  
Peanut butter cookies for dessert because my husband is an evil tempting man (my next morning sugar levels weren't too great, thanks to those…)

The Nopales cactus leaves (prickly pear) were odd. We only used two, so still many more to use. They had a sour taste I didn't care for too much.

Monday -
Cheat day (flat crispy crust pizza, veggie only)

Tuesday -
Tomato Basil Chicken
Egg Noodles
Broiled summer squash (patty pan, green, yellow, onion with olive oil and parmesan cheese)

For this we used the farm fresh chicken and it was an entirely different experience than store bought!  Here's the recipe for this one:

Tomato Basil Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thawed)

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 large Tomato diced (about 2 cups)

1 handful (about ½ cup) chopped fresh basil

2 cloves minced fresh garlic

4 tbsp butter

Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat the olive oil in a pan (while waiting, I prepped all other sides like heating the water for noodles or chopping vegetables)

Once heated, add chicken. Cook for about 5 minutes on either side.

When almost done with second side, add tomato. After about 30 seconds, add fresh basil, butter, garlic and more salt and pepper.

Stir sauce to mix around and turn down heat once chicken is thoroughly cooked.

If you plan on slicing chicken as opposed to serving whole, remove from pan and let sit for a minute to not lose all the juice. This also gives sauce a chance to thicken a bit.

This is amazing served over egg noodles with the sauce poured over top! Enjoy!

We also served ours with a medley of summer squashes (patty pan, green, yellow) and red onion, roasted in the oven, drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Is there any vegetable that doesn't taste great when roasted??

If you have any ideas on how to use some of the produce I mentioned, I’d appreciate the suggestions!  This is a very new way of food preparation and eating for me, and I am happy for any advice I can get.

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