Healthy living has always been a struggle in my family. Having a family history of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cancer has always been a major concern of mine. Through regular exercise, eating on a regimen that fits my blood type, body type, and characteristics and being open to new healthy living experiences has made me and my family healthier in general! That’s why I was excited to pair up with NOW Foods to travel to Bloomingdale, Illinois, right outside of Chicago to see how they make their wellness, beauty, sports and food products*. Take a look at my awesome nutrition and health-filled time I had and how you could win a $500 NOW Foods prize pack to enjoy with your family.

*Please note: Dietary supplements are natural products that are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or relieve the effects of diseases, ailments, etc..  Please consult a physician or health professional for your own dietary and health goals. 

NOW Foods #Giveaway for YOU and My Healthy Living Experience

The moment I got into my room I was greeted with the most amazing two bags of NOW Foods products! I was amazed… and you will get a chance to win your own products too! From snacks and quinoa cups to supplements and beauty products for the whole family… I could tell this was going to be an awesome event.

All of my products couldn’t even fit in the picture

Our First Night Starts Off with Meeting the CEO and an “Iron Chef’ Healthy Food Event

It was an exciting event because I got to meet other bloggers who were from all types of backgrounds and blog genres: healthy living, recipe creation, family and home lifestyle like Stagetecture.

The first night we all met to meet Jim Emme, CEO of NOW Foods and the recipe and development team to have an “Iron Chef” event! It was so much fun to see how their natural food products are perfect if you need:

• Their Living NOW products are certified gluten free, certified kosher, sugar-free ( as well as a better tasting stevia), pasta – tastes like wheat ( but is gluten free)- made without corn- better for those with wheat and corn intolerances.

Suzy Sing, Recipe and Development Chef made us a delicious dinner that was PURE comfort food but made with all NOW Foods healthy ingredients.

All images by Stagetecture.com

Healthy Living Starts with a Healthy Mind & Body

After a wonderful night, we all headed to bed because Friday was going to be a whirlwind of events.. like waking up to a 6:45 am yoga/pilates/cardio workout on the terrace overlooking this gorgeous golf course at Eaglewood Resort.

Our morning yoga and pilates was great! I was so sore for the next two days I could tell I used muscles I had never used in my regular workouts. Between the gorgeous sky, the cool, crisp air, and our Yoga Instructor – Vanessa Mackay’s pumping music, it was the perfect start to the day.

We Learned How to Make our Own NOW Beauty Recipes!

After our morning yoga, we learned how to make our own roll-on essential oil blends as well as hand foaming soap! These are great recipes if you like using essential oils or if you like giving beauty products as gifts. My personal favorite beauty product is the shea butter lotion. It smells like heaven and every time I put it on it lights up my mood. Healthy living isn’t only about eating and exercising, it’s also about making yourself feel good, right?

Here are a few healthy living notes I learned about the NOW Beauty Products:

• NOW Doesn’t test on animals, they only test on people. Their products are gluten free and they make sure all of their products are pure.
• They have products for kids, teens, and adults including kids mouthwash, toothpaste and
• Did you know your skin is the largest organ? Your skin can be exposed to over 200 chemicals on skin per day. WOW!

Next Stop: Touring the NOW Foods GMP Facility:

After the beauty products seminar, it was time to head back to our rooms to pack up and head to the NOW Foods plant tour. This was going to be good! Take a look at just some of the wellness supplements and sports nutrition supplements products they create at their plant.

We walked through the Bloomingdale plant to see how they make their supplements, powders, foods, beauty products and more. They actually make 1,400 high-quality, natural and affordable products. Isn’t that insanely awesome?

The picture on the bottom right of the image above are solid marble tables that ensure all of their weighing and testing are exact. My analytical/architectural nerd side found this fascinating.

NOW Foods offers Healthy Living Supplements, Beauty Products, and Natural Food Ingredients

My husband and I use to always get NOW Foods products at our local health food store, but never realized the wide array of products they truly have. Whether you are trying to find supplements to help you lose weight, gain muscle, replace vitamin deficiencies or help your overall mental well-being, there are products to assist with your goals.

It was truly a pleasure learning how the NOW Foods stands by their motto of “Living Happy, Living Health, Live NOW”. From the staff and the quality testing to the countless number of quality-assurance tested practices that go into every product, it was quite an amazing event. I encourage you to follow NOW Foods on their social channels below and visit their website to see how you can start living NOW.

Healthy Living Starts Here: Follow NOW Foods on their Social Channels

Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram accounts. All of their social channels are a great way to keep up to date on their latest products but to also get inspired on how others in the NOW Foods community from around the world are living healthier lives!

Here’s Your Chance to Win! Now Foods Giveaway – Product Pack valued at $500!

Note: Contest entrants are only eligible to win once per sweepstake, per household as part of a campaign sponsored by Influence Central

Official Rules for the NOW Foods Products Prize Pack:

1. Contest starts on Sunday, August 13th and ends at 12 am, Wednesday, August, 16th 2017.
2. Please follow the Rafflecopter directions below and enter as many times as you’d like, once a day, between the afore mentioned dates.
3. The winner will be announced on Stagetecture.com on Wednesday, August 16th.
4. The winner should live in the Continental United States and have a postal address, not P.O. Box address for NOW Foods to ship to.
5. The winner should contact me by using the Contact Form here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more healthy living tips on Stagetecture, visit our wellness archives here.

How to Make Winter Roasted Cauliflower Soup Recipe

Image via: Vine Health Care

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Ingredients:

Yields: 6 servings

2 heads cauliflower separated into florets

2 cloves chopped garlic

2 chopped shallots

1 tablespoon olive oil

750ml chicken stock

250ml water

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried thyme

500ml double cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Image via: Woman and Home

Directions:

20 minutes + Cook: 1 hour

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. toss cauliflower florets with olive oil, shallots, and garlic in a large bowl. Spread out in a baking tray or roasting tin.
2. Roast in the preheated oven until toasted and tender, approximately 30 minutes.
3. When the cauliflower is done, transfer it to a soup pot and pour in the chicken stock and water. Season with bay leaf and thyme and bring to boil. Cook over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
4. Using a hand blender puree the soup in the pot, or transfer to a liquidizer and puree in batches, and then return to the pot. Stir in the cream and season with salt and pepper. Heat properly before serving but do not boil.

Use a whole roasted cauliflower when cooking your soup:

While many vegetables you have to use a higher quantity due to the waste of the core and stems, feel free to use the entire cauliflower when roasting. This will save you money and help your soup stretch further.

Do you know the health benefits of cauliflower?

Besides being a creamy substitute for starchy potatoes in your favorite soup recipe it also has many great health benefits. It can help fight cancer, boost your heart health, it’s rich and vitamins and more! For 8 health benefits of cauliflower check out these other advantages.

This is a great soup to start out with kids especially if they are picky with their veggies. It is so creamy and yummy that they will have no idea there is so much nutrition in it. Little pots of croutons, grated cheese, or plain yogurt for stirring will also help to make the meal time more interesting. Would you be trying this roasted cauliflower soup recipe tonight?

For more soup recipes on Stagetecture, click here.