I won’t lie…it’s pretty fun getting travel and health/wellness related items sent to me to try out. I’ve been super lucky as I’ve really enjoyed everything that has been sent my way (so far at least)! Here are some cool things I tried out this past month:

Travel The World On $50 A Day Book

How to Travel the World on $50 a Day – From the famous travel blogger Matt Kepnes comes his revised and expanded edition of ‘How to Travel the World on $50 a Day.’ In this traveler’s guide to the world, Matt provides signature tips and tricks to comfortable budget travel based on his experiences traveling around the globe. He offers advice ranging from how to avoid paying bank fees anywhere in the world to how to find discounts on anything from tours to transportation. So up my alley! There is even a sample budget for a one year around-the-world excursion. Matt’s mission in this book is to help show you how to travel cheaper, smarter and longer no matter what your budget or destination. I can’t wait to put some of his advice to use on my next international trip and save some cash!

KeVita Probiotic Sparkling Drinks

KeVita Probiotic Drinks– These sparkling probiotic drinks are low-calorie, gluten-free, dairy free and vegan with no sugar added. The premise behind these drinks is to offer up “beneficial bacteria” (like that of yogurt) to help your gut and support digestive and immune health. The combination of a poor diet, stress and environmental toxins wreak havoc on our digestive systems and it is believed that our bodies thrive with a constant influx of probiotics to counteract these negative effects. So, here’s your option! I tried a few different flavors and particularly liked the mango coconut. I will say that it does take a few sips to get used to the drink since it is a little tart from the apple cider vinegar, but I really liked it after I got used to it. My friend Rachel tried out the hibiscus berry flavor and agreed that while it was good, it just takes a little getting used to. Check out KeVita as a great benefit to get some probiotics in your diet, especially if you are vegan and don’t eat yogurt.

Reed’s Ginger Chews And Ginger Beer

Reed’s Ginger Chews and Ginger Beer– Because I absolutely love anything with ginger in it or ginger flavored, it is of no surprise that I loved Reed’s ginger chews and ginger beer. The ginger chews as well as the drinks can actually help with travel related motion sickness and associated nausea. Even if I’m not traveling, I love the ginger chews just to keep in my office as a little midday treat. And the ginger beer…well, let’s just say the sample I received went towards making one of my favorite drinks, a Moscow Mule (vodka, fresh lime juice and ginger beer). So traveling or not, Reed’s line of ginger products will be staples for me.

OMG, I Can Meditate App

OMG I Can Meditate App– Meditation seems to be the new buzzword everywhere you go doesn’t it? I feel like everything I read has someone suggesting meditation as the way to live a more peaceful and healthy life. I truly do believe in meditation, but just haven’t been able to get very far with it on my own. I know there are so many meditation apps on the market now, but I had the chance to try out the OMG, I Can Meditate App. This app really helps anyone who has never meditated before using an innovative approach to build confidence, set clear expectations and overcome common meditation roadblocks. The app keeps you on track in just ten minutes a day and there are even specialty meditations around happiness or relationships or meditations for insomnia (I used this the other night while experiencing insomnia and it actually helped me fall back asleep). The app actually has so many different options and things to try that I haven’t made it through all the possible options yet! What I like is that I can do this anytime and feel like I have my own personal meditation coach to help me through it. Check out the app if you are also trying to get on the meditation track.

Seven Spoons Skillet Meals

Seven Spoons– Being a busy professional and now with my growing Vegetarian Tourist site, finding time to cook healthy meals is getting harder and harder. Luckily I’ve found Seven Spoons, which are internationally inspired skillet meals that can be prepared in fifteen minutes or less. So my kind of cooking! The frozen meals are 100% natural, with no preservatives and are also gluten free. Using only the highest quality ingredients and frozen at the peak of freshness, these authentic and exotic dishes are an awesome way to eat healthy as well as try some exotic and authentic international dishes. One of my favorites was the Moroccan Chickpea Tagine; a vegan dish with chickpeas, fire-roasted eggplant, zucchini, and carrots all in an aromatic, and spicy sauce served alongside basmati rice blended with organic apricots and cilantro. I was pleasantly surprised at how much flavor and spice these dishes had as I was expecting something kind of bland. I will definitely be buying more Seven Spoons to help get me through the weeks when I don’t necessarily have the time to cook something from scratch.

Daiya Key Lime Cheezecake

Daiya Cheezecake– As I’ve mentioned before, vegan desserts are not normally my thing. The taste, texture or both are usually off from the “real” deal and just don’t do it for me. Well, I’ve been proven wrong again, this time by Daiya and their new line of vegan and gluten-free “cheezecakes”. I was invited to a launch party here in Chicago and have to say I was blown away by not only the consistency of the “cheezecake”, but more so, the taste. Of the four flavors available (plain, strawberry, key lime and chocolate) I have to say picking a favorite is a tough toss-up between strawberry and key lime, both which were exceptional. Made from coconut cream and other non-gmo products, this line of vegan cheesecakes are awesome. This is a vegan dessert I will actually buy on my own…now that’s huge!

The Easy Vegetarian Kitchen Cookbook

The Easy Vegetarian Kitchen Cookbook– From the author behind the great vegetarian blog Naturally Ella (www.naturallyella.com) comes this awesome vegetarian cookbook. Not only are there tons of great recipes, but there ways to adapt the recipes based on seasonally available ingredients. For example, take the frittata recipe and add fresh asparagus in the spring or make the fall’s version with curried butternut squash and feta. I love that there are so many options and ways to “amp” up each recipe.  Also, if you want to make these dishes vegan, the recipes can be adapted with flavorful substitutions. Time to get cooking.

Please Note: While I was offered to try out these various products and books, all opinions are my own.