Nature's Path Dinner

This evening, the kind people at Nature’s Path invited me to dinner at GustOrganics. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the evening, but since I’m a huge fan of their products (especially their cereals), I immediately agreed!

GustOrganics is the first and only certified organic restaurant in NYC, the world’s first certified restaurant using 100% organic ingredients, and the first and only USDA certified bar. Impressive!!

I arrived at the restaurant and was greeted by a table of smiling faces that included Nature’s Path representatives, registered dietician Ashley Koff, cookbook author Lorna Sass, Stacie of One Hungry Mama and Lindsay of the Happy Herbivore.

While we got to know each other, the group enjoyed a couple of vegan samplers, which included quinoa with cranberries, grilled eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, steamed kale, grilled tofu, lentil stew, wild mushrooms and a vegan empanada.

I tried a few bites of each, and the empanada was definitely my favorite. Stuffed with corn, oregano and red peppers, it was deliciously flavorful.

There was also a salad with hearts of palm, green apples, endive, sprouts, celery and chipotle aioli. I loved the apple/hearts of palm combination!

As my entrée, I chose the grilled vegetable pizza on a whole-wheat crust. It was topped with zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, yellow squash, tomato sauce and olive oil.

The crust was thin but chewy, just the way I like it, and the ample veggies made for a perfect cheese replacement. It’s rather difficult to find a good vegan pizza, but this fit the bill perfectly.

For dessert, we shared pretty much one of everything on the menu. My kind of happy ending!!

There were chocolate and dulce de leche alfajores, apple tart and lemon cheesecake:

A light vanilla cake covered in chantilly cream that I didn’t catch the correct name of:

And a chocolate fondue with apples, strawberries, oranges, muffin, bananas and walnuts for dipping.

I helped myself to tastes of everything, and went to town on the fondue. My favorites were the apple tart and caramel alfajores- so different and so good!

Nature’s Path also gifted each of us with Lorna Sass’ cookbook, Whole Grains for Busy People, as well as a few of her “Ancient Grains Granola Peanut Butter Bites,” or “Gruffles” (Granola Truffles). I had to sample one!

These are amazing- sweet but with a nourishing texture and plenty of whole foods. I’ll post the recipe when I whip up a batch of my own!

Even better than the food was the conversation. To be honest, I was kind of expecting a “talk” on the Nature’s Path company, but in reality, it felt like a lovely dinner party with friends! We all chatted about our passion for healthy foods, our different eating habits, our favorite foods, and our lives in general. I had no idea how committed Nature’s Path is to creating its products and giving back to the community, and the women truly embodied that. I’m always inspired by meeting women who have made a career out of their interest in healthy eating… thinking about careers in general is kind of daunting at my age, so it was wonderful to hear about different paths these women had taken and how successful they’ve been.

Overall, it was a wonderful evening full of good food and good company. Thank you so much again to Nature’s Path for having me!

I was invited to this event by Nature’s Path, but received no monetary compensation for attending or posting about it. No advertisements about the company or its products were made, and all opinions presented are entirely my own.

How conscious are you of buying organic products? I buy organic produce when possible, but it does get pricey and I opt for conventional fruits and veggies when it’s not the “dirty dozen.” When it comes to packaged products, I’m lucky that many health-food brands are already mostly organic!

PS- In light of a comment I received today, I’d like to state just once for the record that I will not be responding to  rude “Anonymous” comments. I feel no need to defend my eating habits to ill-meaning strangers, so if you don’t like my blog, please just don’t read. If you have a genuine question or concern, I’m happy to answer emails sent using your real name. Thanks.