Life is Sweet.

Everyone… it’s here. It’s finally time! I’ve been looking forward to this and I hope you have been too. I went shopping at our local food co-op to find $20 worth of wonderful stuff to giveaway to one lucky reader and my mission was spectacularly successful.

Each one of these boxes is going to have a theme and a reason behind what went in the box. So, here’s the theme for this box….

LIFE IS SWEET

It’s true. Life IS sweet. Sometimes it’s sour, but most of the time it’s wonderful. At least it is when you choose to focus on the little things that make you smile; a gesture of kindness, a kiss on the cheek, a “thank you” from a co-worker, a delicious treat that you bought for yourself at the store. They all add up to making life sweeter.

Now, WHAT’S IN THE BOX??!?!?! Well, it’s mostly sweet things! I can admit it, I’m a sweetsaholic. How could I NOT fill my first RWWF Love and Gratitude Box with sweet things? But it’s not all sweet. Here’s what one lucky reader will be receiving (maybe a few surprises too….)

- One bottle of Madhava Raw Agave Nectar. It’s natural, it’s sweeter than honey (so you don’t need as much) and it’s absolutely delicious. I haven’t actually bought a bottle of honey since I discovered how perfect of a substitute this is for anything that requires honey. I put it in my smoothies, I put it in my tea, I put it in my recipes (like the Agave-Lime Salmon), I mix it with goat cheese and spread it on french bread. It’s delicious and only 2 PP per tbsp.

- Two Larabars! One is “peanut butter cookie” and the other is “chocolate chip cookie dough”. I have to admit, I haven’t actually eaten a larabar before, but I hear only good things about them and they were on a special “owner’s deal” at the coop. They look amazing and I can guarantee they are sweet, delicious and will make more appearances in future boxes. I calculated them at 6 PP each.

- Food Merchants Brand Original Polenta. Yep, a roll of polenta. It’s not exactly sweet in flavor, but what IS sweet about it is that it’s super easy to whip up a delicious meal with it. I’ve used it in breakfast dishes (like Bella’s Goetta Polenta Egg Sandwich) and even just sliced up, pan fried and topped with feta cheese. It can serve as a replacement for noodles or tortillas in casseroles or even rice. It’s also organic and low in points. It’s one of my favorite pre-packaged foods, so I just HAD to include it! It’s only 1 PP for a 1/2 inch slice or 9 PP for the whole package. SWEET!

- One bar of Clearly Natural Essentials Aloe Vera Pure and Natural Glycerine Soap. Obviously you won’t be eating this, but it smells so good that you’ll be glad to put it in your bathroom! I sniffed 5 different soaps before I settled on this wonderful summery scent. Sometimes you need to indulge in body care items and this stuff is a worthy indulgence.

- One 3-serving bag of PopChips Sweet Potato Chips. I’ve done a PopChips giveaway before, but this flavor is new! Its points are just like the other ones at 3 PP per serving, or if you want to eat the whole bag in one sitting, it’ll be 10 PP! PopChips are a fantastic snack for those looking for a healthy, low-calorie potato chip with great flavor. I’m a huge fan.

- One Bobo’s Oat Bar: Peanut Butter. I haven’t had these before yet, but they’re beautiful, chocked full of goodness and made with natural ingredients. The only drawback is that they are heavy in WWPP at 5 PP for half (since the serving size is 1/2 the bar… really?) or 10 PP for the whole thing. This is an indulgent treat, but we all need to indulge a little, right? That’s why we have 49 extra PP per week! So that you can eat a Bobo Bar :)

- One small jar of Fat Toad Farm Cinnamon Caramel. Holy goat farm, this stuff looks aaaaaahhhhmaaazzzziiiinnnngg. I’m a sucker for anything caramel and you can bet I use a lot of my points on things covered in caramel. This caramel is made from goats milk on a small goat farm in Vermont. I couldn’t find any nutrition fact for this specific brand, but in my searches for caramel nutrition facts, I decided to go with the nutrition facts for McDonald’s’ caramel sauce. Theirs is rich and creamy and so is this stuff. I’d say it’s safe to guess that 2 tbsp is equal to 5 PP. So, get yourself some low-fat ice cream or a brownie and drizzle one tbsp of this over it for a ridiculously tasty treat. How’s that for sweet?

Now you know what’s in the box, but HOW DO YOU WIN THE RWWF LOVE AND GRATITUDE BOX??!?!??!?!?!!

ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY

There are multiple ways you can enter! And since I’m not picking a winner until JULY 10TH, you have about a week and a half to get in as many entries at you can. And how appropriate is it that I choose my 28th birthday as the day to announce the winner of my first RWWF Love and Gratitude Box? SWEET DEAL! :)

Ways to Enter (make sure to leave a separate comment for each one, otherwise they won’t be counted as multiple entries):
1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what you’re grateful for – 3 entries max for this.

2. “Like” my Facebook page and leave me a comment on THIS POST that you did or already do – 1 entry.

3. Become an email subscriber for this blog and leave me a comment saying that you did or already do (if you follow in Google Reader or another reader, that’s fine too, just make a note of it in your comment) – 1 entry.

4. Follow @ReluctantFoodie on Twitter and leave a comment on this blog telling me that you did or already do – 1 entry.

5. Tweet the following message “Win a RWWF Love and Gratitude Box of goodies from @ReluctantFoodie! Enter here – http://wp.me/p1cn3Q-wK” and leave a comment on this blog telling me that you did – 3 entries max for this.

6. Share my blog post link on Facebook with the following in the comment box, “Win a RWWF Love and Gratitude Box of goodies on The Reluctant WW Foodie blog!” and leave a comment on this blog telling me that you did – 3 entries max for this

7. Go to the FB pages of Madhava Sweeteners, PopChips, Larabar, Bobo’s Oat Bars, or Fat Toad Farms and “like” them AND leave a comment on their blog letting them know that you were sent there because you’re trying to win a giveaway from The Reluctant Weight Watchers Foodie that includes one of their products – (1 entry each, 5 entries max in total for this)

8. Get on KLOUT and give me some Klout for Blogging, Cooking, Weight Watchers, Food or Recipes and leave me a comment letting me know that you did – (1 entry each, 5 entries max in total for this).

There’s TWENTY-TWO entries possible for each of you.  That’s a lot!  Just make sure to have all your entries submitted as separate comments on THIS BLOG POST by MIDNIGHT on July 9th and the winner will be chosen at random (using random.org) and announced on July 1oth!  The winner will have two days to respond to my initial email letting them know they won, otherwise I’ll have to choose a new winner.  Enter them all at once or spread them out, just enter!  I can’t wait to see who’s going to win!