Chocolate Please, Gatsby is Here!

 *This post was created in collaboration with Moms Meet and Gatsby Chocolate. All opinions are my own and as always, thank you for supporting me and the brands I work with at Prim and Propah!

Per their website, Gatsby Chocolate: "makes chocolate and other confectionery products that deliver incredible melt-in-your-mouth taste but somehow contain way less calories and sugar. Our standard is to make mind-blowingly good products that make you think, “I can’t believe this exists!”

Gatsby Chocolate was nice enough to send the Propah Family a sampling of their chocolates for consumption by an average American family with average American tastes, if I am being honest. They sent us their Sea Salt Extra Dark Chocolate Bar, Almond Dark Chocolate Bar, and Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, yum! 😋This brand touts less calories than other luxury branded chocolates and even some of those peanut butter cups that you can find everywhere. As someone who is conscious of what our family is consuming (most of the time), the idea that I could find chocolate that tastes good, that my kids (and husband) would view as a "treat" and were healthier per serving sounded like a win-win-win to me!

We really enjoyed the varieties that we tried and when I ever found out that the owner of Gatsby was also a part of Halo Top's creation, it actually made total sense. Very similar vibes and also very, very tasty!

As for the taste? To quote my husband: "Those new peanut butter cups you got are pretty good!" which if you're married to my husband, you'd know that this is a glowing review! 😅

When I went to purchase additional chocolate from the site, the stock was out on a lot of the flavors that I wanted to try, so there will likely be some adjustments on stock and you'll need to sign up for updates when stock is replenished. That said, I have learned to be patient when it comes to products that I really like so I just clicked a couple "Notify Me When Availables" and moved on with my day.

If you are interested in trying Gatsby or learning more about their products, you can find them online,  Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!

Spread the word about GATSBY Chocolate by joining GATSBY’S Cash Club! Get $25 cash for every single new customer of GATSBY you refer to them. Not only that, but each of your friends gets a 50% off discount, too! Learn more here!

A Closet 52 Review

 *These dresses were gifted to me from Closet52 for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own and as always, thank you for supporting Prim and Propah.

It's been awhile since I did a review of clothing on the blog. To be honest, the past couple of years has not made me feel the greatest about my body. It's been a struggle to get my brain to get back to that place of kindness, a place of understanding... so to do a photo shoot with dresses, showing off my body in clothes, well, it wasn't at the top of my list of things I wanted to do. But when Closet52 reached out, something said to me, well, what could it hurt and honestly, it could actually help my self esteem a little bit. And I was right. Based in NYC, this brand wants to outfit anyone in the dress that they are dreaming about, at a great price and a great fit.

Floral Midi Dress

First of all, when the dresses arrived from Closet52, they all fit! You may be like ok, why is that such a big deal but often times, when trying a new brand, I may be really disappointed when the sizing is off or varies from item to item. These all fit and fit great. From the stretchy floral midi dress, to the less flexible polka dot dress, the fit was consistent with my Size Large/Size 12 norm.

Sleeveless Polka Dot Dress

The quality is pretty great too! I am not a fan of the hanger straps on these dresses but that's an easy problem to solve with a careful snip, but other than that, these dresses are comfortable, great quality and are just the right length for someone who like to wear bike shorts under her dresses during the hot Summer months... I am nothing if not practical AND stylish! I feel like the selection of dresses is pretty extensive and when searching, you're able to see what stock is like in case you're on the fence about purchasing and don't want to experience FOMO.

 Tiered Chambray Dress

Overall, I'd say that Closet52 is a pretty good option for finding good quality dresses that are unique enough to garner you some compliments while you're out and about this Summer. I can often feel like fast fashion is making it so that everyone is buying the same exact thing and you're seeing it on everyone. While this is generally OK, I do like to be a little bit different than others and also buy dresses that will last. Also, I'll never be mad about 2-day shipping, always.

You can find Closet52 on their website, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.

ELEVATE YOUR FAMILY MEAL Flavor Your Life 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 *This post was created in collaboration with Moms Meet. All opinions are 100% my own and as always, thank you for supporting Prim and Propah!

I don't generally post fancy recipes on here because I am a "thrower together" on most occassions... but that said, I do cook a lot and have a healthy pantry packed with lots of good spices and flavors for the dishes that I do make. If someone were to ask me what one of my most used pantry items is, I would most definitely shout from the rooftops "OLIVE OIL"! I love olive oil. If you love olive oil, then I think we could be the best of friends. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is in my house at all times because I use it in my cooking multiple times a week. It's just my favorite way to cook.Seriously, I use it for all sorts of dishes whether I am cooking or I want to add flavor to cold dishes and salads. MomsMeet and Flavor Your Life want you to feel the same way about 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Over our holiday break, simply put, I did not want to put a ton of effort into cooking. And we also wanted to cut back on the amount of takeout we were ordering. So then it becomes about getting creative about how to cook, make it yummy, but also make it easy on Mom! I love using 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil because whether I'm making spaghetti and meatballs or roasting a whole chicken, this will elevate my family's meal in an instant! When you use something so flavorful and high quality, there's no questioning whether we'll get a weird taste and ruin the meal. It really doesn't matter what I use the 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil for, our breakfast home fries, our sauteed squash, prepping steaks... I've used this olive oil for all of those things this past week and with consistent and stellar results! Life is too short to save the fancy olive oil for a special ocassion. Use it to cook every single day!

If you're not sure where to start, Flavor Your Life has great education on their site, you can learn how to cook with olive oil. It's easier than you think! Flavor Your Life has some awesome recipes to try and experiment with, which is all the fun of cooking, learning what works and what doesn't. I recommend taking a visit to the Flavor Your Life site to learn more about european extra virgin olive oil, how you can seamless introduce it into your cooking in new ways and how it will quickly become one of your pantry staples as well... so versatile and yummy!

Visit Flavor Your Life online, on Facebook and Twitter.

Monster Pop, a Total Hit Over Here!

 *This post was created in collaboration with Monster Pop and MomsMeet. All opinions are my own and as always, thank you for supporting me and the brands that help make PrimandPropah possible.

We recently received a great sampling of Monster Pop popcorn. I could stop the review here by saying this "it didn't last long!" My family devoured this in a multitude of ways and truth be told, I tossed some bags in our tote for a pool party and the beach, and other kids were instantly enamored as well! I think that the monster on the bag piqued their interest but the actual product is what kept them coming back for more! Both bags were empty in no time.

As a mom of two, I have come to realize that even though I want to always create the most ideal foods for my little guys, sometimes I want the best AND easiest foods to make my life a little less stressful. After the last year or so that we've had here, cute and healthy snack options are more than welcome in this house. I love that I can throw some popcorn in a bowl for movie night and since Monster Pop is not greasy like some bagged popcorn, I don't have to worry about dirty hands wiping their business all over clothes and couches haha! No artificial ingredients and two great flavors! We love the cheese but are more partial to the butter flavor for that classic popcorn feel! What do you say? Want to give Monster Pop a try?

A poem by Monster Pop:

"When your kids munch our popcorn,
Each kernel they eat,
Is a healthy and natural,
Gluten-free treat.
No high-fructose corn-syrup,
All whole grain. Nothing fake.
Delicious nutrition
In each handful they take."

Save 25% on any product on monsterpopshop.com with promo code MOMSMEET25. Expires 10/31/21.

Wayfare Pudding is Perfect for the Propah Kids!

 *This post has been created in collaboration with MomsMeet and Wayfare Foods. All opinions are 100% mine and as always, thank you for supporting Prim and Propah.

When MomsMeet reached out about trying some of the Wayfare Foods pudding, I thought why not? I am always trying to get my kids to eat healthier and make healthier choices. Why not present them with the opportunity to try something new, a variation on something they already know and love... and something that is soy free, gluten free, vegan, organic, non-gmo, and dairy free. For instance, the Wayfare team sent a sampling of their puddings, chocolate being our favorite! Here are the ingredients in that option: WayFare Dairy Free Base (Water, Organic Butter Beans, Organic Oats), Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Powder Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Gum Arabic, Organic Cultured Dextrose, Sea Salt, Organic Sunflower Lecithin, Organic Sunflower Oil, Konjac Root Powder, Calcium Citrate, Organic Natural Flavor.

Nothing funky or out of the ordinary in the ingredients list but most importantly, guess what? My kids loved it. They really felt like this was a treat, well, because pudding in all it's forms really is a treat over here. I took a couple of bites and maybe it's that I don't eat that much pudding myself but I really, really loved it! The texture is creamy so you don't miss that aspect with regular dairy pudding, plus, the refridgerator life seems to be pretty generous. We took a trip to NC this past week and I popped a couple of these in our cooler back for a nice, cool treat for one of our stops. The kids were so excited to see them in there!

This is really a great option for anyone but especially those with dietary requirements that might normally get left out or have lower quality options available to them. You can feel good about grabbing a pack of these puddings and next on my list are the dips and cheese! It would be pretty amazing to find some other alternatives to the things I love to eat but could probably find healthier and more thoughtful options! Let me know if you have tried and Wayfare Foods products! 

Wayfare Foods is now shipping Nationwide! You can save 20% on any product on wayfarefoods.com with code shareWF20