Carob What?

Peanut Butter + Bananas, in a tortilla? In a Created Whole Tortilla? Yeah, it doesn't get much better. Great for breakfast, a mid-afternoon snack, or a enjoy as a healthy and tasty dessert. Try something new and make homemade Carob Ice Creme. "Carob, what?", you say. Here's the 411 on Carob.

Carob is often used an alternative choice to Chocolate. Compared to Chocolate, carob is 3 times richer in calcium, has 1/3 less calories, and 17 times less fat! Carob is a legume and comes from an evergreen tree, that looks more like a shrub, native to the Mediterranean. After harvesting, the carob pods are roasted, and then ground into powder. Carob is naturally sweet and comes in powdered form or is available to buy as chips for baking or candy at specialty grocers. Take a look at this article to learn a bit more about Carob.

The Carob Ice Creme recipe is an easy, naturally sweetened, and tasty treat that, just like Tortillas, is another one of Tim's specialties. So give Carob a try and make Peanut Butter Banana Tortilla Roll-ups and Carob Ice Creme for Dessert Tonight!

Peanut Butter Banana Roll-ups
Peanut Butter
1 Banana
Created Whole Tortillas

Heat tortilla on a skillet over low to medium heat, for 2-3 mins or until warm. Remove from heat, and spread with peanut butter. Add banana slices and roll-up tortilla like a burrito. Top with Carob Ice Creme.

Carob Ice Creme

4 cups soymilk
1/2 cup carob powder
1 cup raw unsalted cashews
2 TBSP Vanilla Extract1 1/2 cups dates
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
2 Bananas, frozen

Place all ingredients in blender and blend well until smooth and creamy. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and freeze according to freezer instructions. (note: half this recipe if you have a quart size ice cream maker or only freeze half the recipe at a time. It freezes faster for obvious reasons. We use this Cuisinart ice cream maker, and it's awesome.

Traveling Nutrition Challenges or Creativity? You Choose!

Traveling puts a new perspective on the day to day. Along with new sites, meeting new people, and maybe dealing with language and culture differences, one has to face different habits and practices when it comes to food and eating. Out of the entire month of March, I've spent all of 2 nights at my apartment (I just cringe when I think of that fact and my LA rent...ughhh). But, the lack of time in LA, has lent itself to the adventures of 10 days in Italy, and I'm currently finishing up a 19 day work assignment in Rockford/Chicago, Illinois.

When it comes to your nutrition, living out of a hotel, hostel, or spending an entire day on an airplane or wandering airports, creates either challenges or lends a hand to a creativity, depending on how you want to look at it. Sometimes healthy options are not readily available, and you are forced to make the best choice that you can, or you must give yourself full permission to embrace the experience.When you are constantly on the go, it's hard to plan ahead with your meals, but there are some simple things that you can do, that will save you time, money, and the headache of finding yourself starving, and nothing available to eat.

Here are some tips for when you are on-the-go:

• Pack raw almonds in your carry-on bag. Protein and healthy fats keep you satisfied.



• LaraBars are awesome; easy to pack, all raw, and contain lots of fiber.



• Drink water! It's soooo easy to let yourself get dehydrated when traveling. Take an empty Klean Kanteen with you through security and fill it up on the other side. You save money and help reduce environmental impact.



• Eat as balanced as possible when you are traveling. You feel more jet lagged and tired when you are just grabbing candy and sweets.



• And probably the best tip, and I'm serious when I say this because I've learned from experience; Tortillas are awesome to have in your bag when you travel! It's so much better than the Kraft packaged snacks that Southwest dishes out or the snack packs that you pay a pretty penny for. Take Justin's individually packaged Nut Butter's with you or individually packaged hummus, or of course, I just eat tortillas straight. When you leave for the airport, take your tortillas out of the freezer, and when you eventually reach your destination, just put them back in the fridge...that's if there are any left after that 10 hour flight:)

Tortillas took a trip to Whistler, B.C.

Best Mountain Snack EVER!

www.thebesttortilla.com

Catch The 96

Did you know that it takes Safeway just one week to do as much business as Whole Foods does in 30 days, or what Wal-Mart does in 60 seconds? Often, when talking with people about our tortilla company, there eyes light up, and they'll say, "You know what you should do? You need to get into Whole Foods!" This is a little humorous, because they will make the statement with the conviction that the idea has never surfaced ever before.

We have a healthy product, that has a niche in Whole Foods or Trader Joes, but our tortilla is also for those that have never stepped foot into a Whole Foods Market. There is a thriving industry outside of the growing 108 billion dollar organic and health market. 96 percent are currently not buying natural, organic, or healthy products. Now the question is, why spend all the energy and effort marketing to 4 percent when there is a huge potential of people outside of that need to be reached?

These people that fall into that 96 percent may not be engaged in the natural or organic markets, not because of disinterest, but because of mis-information, cost, convenience, or dare we say, taste? We are firm believers that healthy products don't have to taste like health (i.e. cardboard tortillas or tasteless entrees). What's great is our tortillas can fit into both the health food markets and the mainstream markets, and the plus side is, we don't have to educate people on what a tortilla is, because everyone has heard of a tortilla.

Zappos has created a thriving business of selling shoes, along with other items, online. Shoes, historically, are a product that people want to try-on, but Zappos has skirted that issue through free returns, great customer service, and their tag line of "selling happiness." Some companies are capable of telling consumers what they need, for example, take Apple. No one knew they needed an iPad until Apple told them, and iPod is now synonymous with MP3 player. These companies have not followed the historical way of business, but have created a better way that works. This is something to admire.

An idea for us is to heavily market Created Whole tortillas through our online store. When you think of where to buy whole wheat tortillas, the first place probably is not cyberspace, but why not? It's convenient, cuts out costs that the consumer won't have to pay for, and at this point gives us more of a direct relationship with our customers. We hope to be the Zappos of online tortilla sales while developing devoted followers like Apple.

Check out these interesting articles:

The Future of Wellness: Lessons From The 96 Percent
A World of Consumers Exists Beyond Whole Foods Market

Order your tortillas online at http://www.thebesttortilla.com/