Live Happy, Live Healthy, Live Now + NOW Foods #Giveaway

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of NOW Foods.

 I think my new “Live Happy, Live Healthy, Live NOW” shirt sums it all up to a T! When a company whose products you already love, loves you back with double-puffy-hearted hospitality, it’s a win-win-win – for me, for them, for YOU! Recently, I was invited to visit Now Foods at their Midwest Operations Facility and Corporate Headquarters in Bloomingdale, IL (a suburb of Chicago) to learn more about their products lines, core values and mission to “enable people to live healthier lives.” NOW Foods Blogger Immersion 2016 It was a fun and fact-filled two days with a group of other health and fitness influencers.  Of course, we naturally had fit a group workout into the festivities and headed over to Lifetime Fitness for a specially developed HIIT workout that targeted 9 body parts to promote Target’s awesome athletic line called “C9.” That serious sweat session was followed by a bit of relaxing yoga and a delicious post-workout smoothie made with nourishing NOW products. NOW Foods Blogger Immersion 2016 My excitement is bubbling over from seeing with my own eyes how NOW products are made from start to finish and meeting with company executives including Jim Emme (CEO) and Dan Richard (son of founder). Oh, and by the way, please feel free to take a virtual tour of the Midwest Operations Facility yourself! NOW Foods Midwest Operations Facility Not only did I get a chance to tour the facilities, but also got to participate in some fun and educational sessions including a presentation by the lovely Dr. Wendy Bazilian on Food Tribes (more about this in an upcoming post) and impact these different diet choices (like Gluten-free, Paleo, Vegan, etc) have on athletic performance. It was also fun to partake in a DIY session where we made our own Aromatherapy Bath Soak and also Exercise Equipment Cleaning Spray using very versatile and pesticide/herbicide free Now Essential Oils. So, to recap my amazing experience, I want to share with you three awesome things I learned about this honest, totally-transparent and quality-focused company that started out way-back-when in 1968 as a simple health food store.  Also, make sure to read through to the end, they are generously sponsoring an enormous giveaway of products for one lucky reader to win! 1) NOW Foods makes and sells nearly everything on my shopping list! Seriously, I think this company makes almost everything I need to support my healthy living . . . except fresh fruit and vegetables. Not only does Now Foods make a vast array of vitamins, supplements and sports nutrition products (how I first found them), but they also have an impressive selection of personal care and wellness items, essential oils, healthy foods and even natural pet care products! Even though this large company produces so many different items, each individual product is very thoughtfully and carefully made — it’s as if each came from a single-focus boutique operation. There is just that much passion among the employees at this company that has been recognized as one of the “101Best & Brightest” to work in the nation!

Now Sports Plant Protein Complex and Sprouted Brown Rice Protein  Over here to the left, a couple of the protein powders that started my love affair with NOW Foods. Oh, and their food lines is amazing and so many of their products, from BetterStevia™ (it really is better) to gourmet, small-batch Ellyndale Foods™ to  , are the foundation for many of my healthy recipes on the blog including my Kiwi, Apricot and Feta Salad with Hemp Honey Dressing   (I used their organic hemp seeds and avocado oil for this yummy summer dish). Gold Kiwi Apricot & Feta Salad with Honey Hemp Dressing is an easy, elegant and amazingly nutritious addition to your dinner party. Also, the Living Now™  line up is has a nice variety of tasty, junk-free products that make it easier and more convenient to keep a gluten-free diet. Ellyndale Gourmet Oils by Now FoodsWe also had an interesting and informative “oil tasting” led by the adorable and talented Executive Chef in their corporate test kitchen. Apparently, there is a proper way to appreciate the flavor of oils (think wine tasting) and I slurped in little bits of various oils one at a time, from pumpkin seed and almond to olive and sesame, and let them slowly wash over my tongue!  At the end of this taste-test, I have very moist lips as a whipped up a homemade berry salad dressing using the macadamia nut oil.  We also made to-go salads for our travel home that day and packed our jars from a rainbow array of produce, nuts and healthy grains – of course, I went straight to the Organic Tri-Colored Quinoa from  NOW Real Food™ , one of my favorites ( because, when meat isn’t on the menu, this near-celebrity-status seed offers a complete amino acid chain). Jar Salad with Now Foods Tri Colored Quinoa 2) NOW products are a blessing for my body and budget Now Foods products are both affordable AND high-quality — gasp, I know!  These two factors are important to so many of us trying to live, role model and share our passion for the “fit life.” It’s such a common assumption in the natural health food and supplement industry that the more expensive, the better   — not so! In fact, many times (not always), an expensive product is actually quite cheap in quality and just jacked up with a big marketing budget. But NOW Foods never tries to trick you into thinking that you’re getting something you’re not. They don’t waste money (which is ultimately your $) on overkill advertising because they are confident that their products always stand up to the test – literally!

My reaction at the hotel to my bags full of NOW products! High quality and affordable, whoohoo!

My reaction at the hotel to my bags full of NOW products! High quality AND affordable, whoohoo!

Just one example, I can get NOW Whey Protein Isolate for double the amount for half the price (okay, that’s a generalization, but the point is it’s a very good deal) as many other brands I’ve tried – plus the macros are spot on in my opinion, as opposed to many of the other protein powder options out there. Same goes for product after product in their collection of hundreds (if not thousands) of different items. NOW also maintains a highly efficient, low-error operations facility that helps keep costs down.  And, because NOW is privately-owned, they don’t have to jack up prices to please profit-margin focused shareholders – actually, NOW wants to please YOU, even if that means a little less moola in their own pockets 3) NOW Tests to be the Best

NOW Foods labratory

Learning some of the high-tech testing that goes on at the $40M lab at NOW.

So what did I just mean when I just said in #2 that “products always stand up to the test”?  I mean that NOW is highly committed to quality and bringing you the cleanest, safest products. Their 263,000 square foot facility is widely regarded as one of the most scientifically-advanced in the natural products industry. The $40+ million lab of this privately-owned company is simply amazing and is nearly unmatched both nationally and world-wide. I could tell from the giddy grins on the otherwise serious chemists, bio-scientists and other laboratory professionals’ faces that the NOW lab was THE place to be. jennifer now foods facilityNot only does NOW test the quality of their finished products, but they also monitor and maintain quality all through the entire manufacturing process which starts with product development and receiving raw ingredients from vendors and ends with storing in appropriate thermostatically-controlled environments and shipping out from a precision-inspired, highly-streamlined warehouse.  They also keep samples from each batch of products for a lengthy six years to ensure that if there ever is a problem, they can identify and correct immediately. I really appreciate that NOW is very transparent about the make-up of their natural products, ingredient lists and macros for nearly everything on their website. Plus, with all this testing I’ve described – I am 100% confident I’m getting what’s sold. Plus, they stand by their products if there ever is a rare, rare, rare exception.  The overwhelming majority of NOW products certified organic and non-GMO, those few that aren’t are always in the pipeline to meet those standards as soon as viable in the ingredient sourcing process. Feel free to read more about the Must Use Ingredients and Must NEVER Use Ingredients. Join the twitter chat on June 16th (9PM EST) to learn get into the conversation — follow @NOWfoodsand #NOWgetfit Gigantic giveaway of NOW products Enter my giveaway for a huge haul of NOW products, the same two huge bags of items they sent me home with!  It’s so much stuff, I can’t even describe it all – but it’s a bit of everything (probably $200+ at least) and you won’t be disappointed! USA only! Thank you FitFulFocus.com for the photo of loot, because I was so excited to try everything that I forgot to snap a pic! Don’t miss #NOWGetFit Twitter Party 6/16 9pm EST w/ me @NowFoods and @Fitfluential #ad a Rafflecopter giveaway

210 thoughts on “Live Happy, Live Healthy, Live Now + NOW Foods #Giveaway

  1. I totally want to try their quinoa spaghetti! All the other brands I’ve found contain corn – a no-no for my gluten free kids – so this sounds delicious!

  2. Goodness, so many amazing products! Also, loving that pose that you’re doing on the powder, lol! I would really love to try the CLA Extreme® – 180 Softgels and the Hyaluronic Acid Firming Serum – 1 fl. oz.!

  3. I would love to try the Pea Protein Dutch Chocolate and the Dried Pineapple Rings!

  4. I would love to try the Tru-Food Vegan Natural Berry Flavor – 2.2 lbs. I also want to try the Hemp Seed Hearts, Organic – 8 oz.

  5. Jennifer I want that tee! Can you do something about that for me? I would love to try the plant protein complex. Among many other things.

  6. I would love to try the Sugarless Sugar! Sweet treats are my weakness so cutting out sugar has been difficult for me.

  7. I would love to try the Aloe Vera 10,000 mg soft gels from NOW Foods as well as their Liquid Coconut Cooking Oil.

  8. I would love to try the Go with the Flow™ Tea – and the Green Coffee Diet Support

  9. So many good products!!! I would buy products for the top of my smoothies. I like the NOW Real Food® Shredded Coconut, Dried Tropical Fruit Dices and Dry Roasted and Salted Macadamia Nuts

  10. I would like to get Now Foods’ Sunflower Seeds, Certified Organic, Raw, Unsalted – 16 oz.

  11. I would love to try the Peace, Love & Flowers Essential Oil Blend
    ~Essential Oils~ …I love Patchouli and orange oils and never thought about mixing them up with ylangylang….good luck to everyone

  12. I would love to try the Peace, Love & Flowers Essential Oil Blend
    ~Essential Oils~ …I love Patchouli and orange oils and never thought about mixing them up with ylangylang….good luck to everyone

    oopps …I put my email address in where it need my name….:-)

  13. Wow! So many products I would like to try but especially their essential oils…I’m kinda addicted to essential oils. 🙂 Thank you.

  14. I would love to try the Cajun sesame sticks snack! I love ANYTHING cajun!!!

  15. I would love to try the BetterStevia® Cinnamon Vanilla. I love flavored, sweet coffee but don’t like all of the bad things that go with it.

  16. What a great selection of products! I’d love to try their organic raw cacao nibs and sprinkle them over my granola yogurt parfaits!

  17. I would love to try the Apple Cider Vinegar 450 mg – 180 Capsules & the Thyroid Energy Veg Capsules.

  18. All your products sound great. Love the taste of Cinnamon so I would have to go with your products that have to do with it.

  19. I’m impressed by the selection but I think I’m most intrigued by their pet supplements. I have an aging cat and I want to keep her happy and healthy for many more years to come.

  20. I want to try everything muahahaha! on a serious note i wouldn’t mind trying the quinoa noodles

  21. Wow! What a selection! I’m especially interested in the teas! I looked around that section and I see that they have an Ojibwa tea! What a coincidence! I’m Ojibway. 🙂 Really there is so much to see at their site, I need to bookmark it.

  22. I’d love to try the sugarless sugar or the protein powders! Thanks for this amazing giveaway!

  23. I would love to try the digestive enzymes and probiotics. I have GERD and am dependent on medication but would love to see if I could get my digestive system functioning properly again and get off the meds.

  24. I’d love to get some digestive enzymes and probiotics. Also some lotions! Thanks for the giveaway!

  25. Would love to try their aloe soothing gel as well as maybe some shea lotions and other body care items! – Emily Ann Benzing

  26. All that running exposed to the sun has given rise to sun spots on my face which I’d love to get rid of using the Dark Spot Serum.

  27. Some of this definitely looks interesting to try. I don’t think I will tell my husband until he actually easts it though.

  28. I would like to try the Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Mix, Gluten-Free
    and the Flax Seed Meal, Certified Organic – 22 oz.

  29. I would like to try the organic golden berries, I had never heard of them before

  30. I would love to try their long lasting deodorant stick! The nut mix would be amazing as well!

  31. I would like to try the Organic, Virgin Coconut Oil, the Crystallized Ginger Dices, and the Honey Roasted Pecans.

  32. I would get one of the probiotics like he cranberry, manoose, and probiotics combination

  33. I would love to try the L-OptiZinc 30 mg – 100 Veg Capsules and the Colloidal Minerals 32-oz. from NOW Foods.

  34. THE ULTIMATE ENERGY SPORTS SUPPLEMENT MIX Im always looking for new ways to up my game in the gym.

  35. I love NOW Foods products! I would love to try the Nutri-Shave™ Natural Shave Cream.

  36. I would like to try the Cajun Sesame Sticks and Crunchy Clusters™ Cran-Blueberry.

  37. I would like to try the Brain Elevate™ – 120 Veg Capsules. It could help with my memory.

  38. I am on a low carb diet so I would love to try your almond flour and agave nectar for baking!

  39. I would like to try their EcoGreen Multi Vitamin-I like that it is iron free.

  40. Where has this brand been all of my life!? I would love to try the alternative flours as well as Cacao nibs and the almond crunchy clusters 😛

  41. I would love to try the Cacao Nibs, Raw (Organic)! Thanks for an awesome giveaway!

  42. I would like to try the Crunchy Clusters Almond from Now Foods. I see lots of great foods available on their website.

  43. I’d love to try the Now Foods Branched Chain Amino Acid Powder. The one I use currently is made by BSN. Love to see if this one is better!

  44. I would love to try the coconut oil! I have never had it, but I really want to add it to my diet! Fantastic Prize! Thanks so much for the opportunity!

  45. NOW Foods is amazing and I’ve used their Jojoba and Coconut Oils before. Very good and high quality. I would love to try NOW’s Organic Raw Cacao Nibs.

  46. I would love to try the Marcona Almonds! They look great – that’s my favorite healthy snack.

  47. I would love to try the dried papaya spears. That can’t be found in my supermarket and they are so good for digestion.

  48. I would love to try everything, but I would start with the thyroid energy capsules. Thanks for the giveaway and keep up the good works.

  49. some of the healthy snack products – maybe Cajun Sesame Sticks to start !!

  50. I would like to try Cholesterol Pro. This would be a more natural approach to lowering my cholesterol.

  51. I’d love to try the essential oils but even more I want to try the Almonds Roasted & Salted.

  52. I’d like to try lots of their stuff but especially their Liver Caps, I bet it beats eating liver!

  53. I would like to try Essential Oils the most of all products on the web site.

  54. Hello! I’ve been reading your website for a long time now
    and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out
    from Atascocita Tx! Just wanted to mention keep up the great job!

    • Thanks for the reminder (and thanks for entering) — I was waiting on her acceptance of the prize and forgot to go back and do that! Have a great weekend!

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