Thursday, January 10, 2013

New Year, New Resolutions? And a Utopea Chickpea Crisps Giveaway!

Greetings Folks!

I hope I'm not too late in wishing everyone a Happy New Year! I have such a great feeling about 2013. It's going to be the BEST YEAR EVER.

Did you make any resolutions? Or did you resolve to never make another resolution as long as you live? Or was it something in between, like me?

After my last resolution to become "plant perfect" completely flopped, I've decided this year to try a much kinder approach. My number one resolution is to be nicer to myself, especially in how I self-talk. I'm trying to be aware that I should talk to myself the same what that I would talk to someone else. I find myself saying really nasty things to myself about my body and my weight, but I am making an effort to stop and think, "Would you say that to another person?" And of course the answer is absolutely NOT. So I stop right then and there.

Next on my list is to put on my oxygen mask first. As most of you know, being a caretaker, whether it be of children or elderly parents, is a daunting task. Add in trying to exercise and put healthy food on the table and just about any one could have a nervous breakdown. Just ask me, I've been on the verge of it many, many times. So I'm going to make an effort to take care of myself a lot more this year, even if it means that I have to say no to some other stuff that I could be doing. I'm going to be a little more selfish this year, and I'm going to try to not be apologetic either.

And lastly, I'll be working on self-awareness. To that end, I have started a food/exercise/to do log in a fun notebook that I picked up over the holiday. I know it won't be perfect, but I'll forgive myself for that and start right back up again once I realize that I have slacked off.

What about you? Resolutions or no resolutions? If you've got em, what are they? What's your plan for accomplishing them?

Leave your answer in the comment section for a chance to win a fantastic treat from my friend Ilana at Utopea. Ilana is what I'll call a "kitchen entrepreneur." She is constantly concocting new and healthy treats made out of chickpeas and other stuff. I raved about Ilana, Utopea and her roasted chick pea concoctions last year in this post. Everything she makes is absolutely divine, and her newest creation is this:

These crisps are crunchy and, well, wonderful. All of Utopea's crisps are made with organic dry-roasted chickpeas and her special blends of add-ins. Her delicious flavors include:
Sweet-n-salty chickpea/carrot: organic dry-roasted chicks, carrots sweetened with organic maple syrup and sea salt.


Asian sesame chickpea/carrot: scant amount of toasted sesame seed oil, fresh ginger, toasted sesame seeds, spices, sea salt.

Baba chickpea: organic dry-roasted chicks, eggplant, scant amount of olive oil, fresh parsley, fresh garlic, fresh squeezed lemon, spices, sea salt.

Spicy chickpea/carrot/sweet potato: organic dry-roasted chicks, carrots, sweet potato, scant.amount of olive oil, spices, sea salt.

Thai curry chickpea/carrot/sweet potato: organic dry-roasted chicks, carrots, sweet potato,organic lite coconut milk, fresh cilantro, fresh lime juice, spices, sea salt.

Sweet Pea: organic dry-roasted chicks, sweet potato, spices, sea salt. These can be made sweet, spicy, or original-with a variety of spices.

Chickpea/kale crisps: variety of creations including a) Thai curry with kale/carrot/sweet potato; b) kale/spinach/carrot; c) spicy kale; d) kale/sweet potato .


Ilana is a genius. These crisps are incredible. I wish I had some right now to munch on as I write this blog posting. Whoever wins this giveaway is one very lucky person.


Utopea chickpea crisps come in 3oz. containers. Each 3 ounce container retails for $6.00. Ilana also sells a trio pack (choice of three different flavors) for $15.00. Referring a friend/family member who orders Utopea chickpea crisps gets you one 3 oz.container free in your next order.* How nice is that? You can get in touch with Ilana at tasteutopea.com, her website that is currently under construction.


Here's what's in the Utopea giveaway goodie pack:
1) chicks on a trail-trail mix
2) chicks on a date-chicks and date clusters
3) chicks on a coffee buzz-chick clusters of espresso coffee beans and non-dairy dark chocolate chunks
4) 3 varieties of chickpea crisps-mixed kale/carrot;sweet carrot/apple ginger; spicy garlic/sweet potato.

So leave your comment here answering this:
Resolutions or no resolutions? If you've got em, what are they? What's your plan for accomplishing them?

If you hate 'em, why?

One winner will be chosen at random. Contest will close on Wednesday, January 16th at noon, EST. Winner will be announced shortly after that. Good luck and please make sure to check back in at HGK after Wednesday to find out if you are the winner. Otherwise I will gobble up all of these goodies myself!

*Friend has to specify name of person that referred him or her at time of order to receive credit.

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