Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie

If you love chocolate like I do, you always find ways to try to sneak it in to your daily eatings. Well for this smoothie, I took your average chocolate covered strawberry (my fave) and deconstructed it into a super simple smoothie. The cocoa powder is a great because it is low calorie and also contains antioxidants.....double bonus! The next time you are craving chocolate covered strawberries, or chocolate in general, whip up this smoothie instead. I promise you won't regret it! Enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients
4-6 strawberries, frozen or fresh
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
1 cup (8 ounces) Unsweetened Almond Milk (or milk of choice)

Optional
Protein Powder
Ice (if I use frozen berries I don't need it, but for fresh I do)

Place all ingredients in a blender.

March Birchbox Review: Harvey Prince Signature Fragrance and Number 4 Reconstructing Masque

After reading the description for the Signature fragrance by Harvey Prince, I should have known it wouldn't be my cup of tea. If you've read my other fragrance posts, I tend to go for certain types of scents, those mostly containing strong rose or peony notes. But never less, not one to waste ANYTHING, I proceeded on to use it. The scent wasn't awful by any means, I mean I did make it through the whole sample, it just wasn't something I would consider purchasing and want to wear constantly. The fragrance did have a really strong staying power. Imagine that, a scent that is not my fave holding on to my skin so I'm forced to smell it all day LOL. As with any scent, the way it smells on me or my tastes will be very different from anyone else, so don't necessarily rule it out because I didn't like it. That's why samples are great! You get to try it out for a week or so and really smell it to finally come to a decision! A plus about this fragrance (on the Birchbox site, I haven't checked others) is that it comes in different sizes. A smaller version to throw in your bag or for travel and a larger one to sit atop your vanity!

Now on to my favorite item in the March box, the Number 4 Reconstructing Masque. I had heard and read many amazing reviews about this product line in general that I was very eager to try it myself. Well, I absolutely loved everything about this hair product! The scent, the consistency, how my hair felt after......EVERYTHING!! My hair was so soft after just one use that I was amazed. What else was amazing was how little of the product I actually used. I was pretty bummed when I first saw the sample because I thought I would barely get one use out of it. However on the back of the package it said a little goes a long way, so I tried out that method, and it worked!! So not only did I find my new go to hair masque, but the fact that you only need a little bit made me feel better about the price! If you haven't tried the Number 4 hair care line yet, you should!     

Carton Brewing

This is Kevin, Casey's husband bringing you another rousing brewery review.  We decided to check out Carton Brewing out of Atlantic Highlands, NJ this go-around.  Now you may ask yourselves, what is the algorithm for brewery selection?  It could be location, yelp/google reviews, or because I have tried a particular beer from a brewery that I've enjoyed enough to warrant a visit.

This may sound creepy, but at times I just hang out at the craft beer section at liquor stores and observe patrons selecting beer.  If someone is shopping around for a while, unsure about what to get, then I know they are just experimenting with a new brew.  However, if someone dives right in to the beer cooler with a purpose, I know right then and there that they must enjoy what they are getting.  In this case, I observed someone walk right in to Whole Foods' craft beer section, and made a bee line for 077xx, a double IPA by Carton Brewing.  Long story short, I grabbed a 4-pack of cans and checked out as well.    Delicious.  It was one of the best double IPAs I've had, right up with Victory's Dirt Wolf DIPA.

Upon arrival at the brewery, we took a short, basic tour through the facility.  Tours are required for tastings in New Jersey.  One interesting fact about this particular brewery is that it is right next to a school.  Because of that, they are not allowed to ventilate the brewery the way other breweries do, giving the building a strong brewing aroma, which honestly should be captured in a candle or something...amazing.  Another uniqueness to the brewery tour is that they have a 20 gallon "experimental" brew kettle for them to create new recipes.  They have these small batch, experimental brews rotate through the tap room depending on what recipe they are trying to perfect and feedback received from their regulars.

After the tour we headed upstairs into a modestly-sized tasting room. The first thing we noticed was the incredible artwork.  I am usually the most oblivious person in the world when it pertains to interior decorations.  In fact prior to marriage, I think every domicile that I've inhabited has had bare, white walls.  This artwork was really cool though and added to the ambience of the tasting room.  The artist is Kira Yustak and I recommend checking out her artwork online.  My hope is to eventually acquire one of her paintings when we buy a home.

For $5/ea we received 6 tastings, one of was an obligatory Boat Beer, which is their flagship beer.  The other five I tried were BDG(Brunch, Dinner, Grub), 077xx, Red Rye Returning, Launch Golden Ale, and Carton Canyon.  Casey tasted just about the exact same, but also tasted a Gilded Lily which is a fruity ale with truffles infused.  Of the tastings 077xx was still my favorite but overall all of the beers were excellent.  Red Rye Returning, a RyePA, was very smooth with a perfect balance of hops, maltiness, and good mouth feel.  That was my second favorite of the batch.

All in all, I highly recommend checking out Carton Brewing.  If you are ever planning a brewery crawl and stumble through the northeast, this place is a must.  Don't just take my word for it, BeerAdvocate gave Carton's brewery a place score of 99/100.  Try and go early in the day if you can.  By the time Casey and I were left it was packed wall to wall.  I recently read that they purchased the building next door for future expansion, so hopefully that will alleviate some of the crowding later in the afternoon/evening hours.