Review: Green BEAN Delivery

Disclosure: I received a $35 credit to try Green BEAN Delivery in exchange for my honest review of the service.  All opinions are my own!  You can get a discount from them using the promo code in this post.

Green BEAN Delivery reached out to me about their produce delivery service available in my area.  I will tell you, I initially hesitated, because I'm not known for purchasing a lot of produce or healthy food, and when I do I often don't get to use everything.  That said, I was willing to give it a try, because I am trying to do more food prep and cooking at home.

Green BEAN Delivery is easy to use if you have any online shopping experience at all.  You schedule your deliveries, including the size of your bin.  For me, the Combo Bin was the one I preferred, because I could also add some grocery items beyond produce.

The store is easy to browse, and I really liked how picky you can be!  There are just two of us in our household, so being able to order just a couple of apples or potatoes appealed to me... no more 5-lb bags that take up my counter space!  There is a huge organic offering, and the produce is sourced as close to you as possible.

Your Green BEAN order comes in a reusable green plastic tote, with a styrofoam container within that with cool packs to ensure freshness.  My box as delivered on time and as promised!

My favorite thing about the products that arrived?  Freshness and quality of produce.  I sometimes used a grocery delivery service locally, but I'm always disappointed in the lack of care that goes into choosing the best produce for my order.  Everything from Green BEAN looked like it came from a farmer's market haul!  The apples and potatoes were in brown paper bags to minimize impact on other produce (they give off a gas, from what I've read), so I appreciated that care.

I think one of the best perks of using Green BEAN is that it really pushes you to plan your meals and snacks ahead of time.  This can benefit you financially in terms of sticking to a budget (no impulse purchases in-store!) as well as encourage healthier eating.  I have a MAJOR takeout food habit, and it was doing my waistline no favors.  With my Green BEAN delivery, I felt pushed to use the produce and cook.

I packed healthy snacks for work, added BBQ pulled pork to some delicious baked potatoes, had breakfast wraps (using tortillas and avocado from my bin) and fresh apples, and even made my orange chicken using fresh juice and slices from oranges in the bin.

The only thing I did not like about Green BEAN was the bin itself... you leave it out when you place your next order, and they swap it in for the new one.  But since I live in an apartment, having to keep the bin someplace was a little bit of a predicament.  Where to put it???

Overall, I found that Green BEAN Delivery would be perfect for someone trying to plan their meals, stay on a budget, and perhaps is a bit too busy to hunt down fresh, local produce at the farmer's market or local stores.  This solves for all of those situations, and it's really very easy to do!

Interested in trying Green BEAN?  You can use the code "Aubreyland" to get $15 off your first order!  (It expires 2/16/2016.)

24 Hours in Tampa

24 hours with Anna is never enough.  But we certainly know how to make the most of it!  Anna picked me up at the airport, and we headed for brunch at Cask Social Kitchen.  I was famished from the trip, so it was the perfect place to refuel.

I heart Anna!

We did enjoy some adult beverages, because brunch...  Anna had an amazing-looking Bloody Mary, while I had the Tito's Lemonade.  Yum!  We also enjoyed some fresh fruit with our meal, because it was just so gorgeous.

I had breakfast tacos for my main dish, and they were tasty too.  I think that breakfast wraps/tacos are pretty much perfection most of the time though.  I wish the cheese had melted a little more, but the pico de gallo was excellent.  Bacon was crispy too!

After brunch, we headed back to Anna's to change for the beach at St. Petersburg.  I was like, "The beach, in October?!  Yes yes yes."  Floridians do get to appreciate the beach a lot.  We even saw a bunch of dolphins!  Seriously, a bunch!  So close!

Does it get any better than this, when you know it's chilly and rainy back home and you're in a swimsuit at the beach?

We enjoyed ourselves sunning and chatting, then headed home to change for dinner.  As you may have read in an earlier post, Anna arranged a dinner for us at Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City.  In anticipation of the big meal, we made sure to walk the entire Ybor City main drag before dinner for a little exercise.

The murals in Ybor City are gorgeous!  It's a historic neighborhood, founded in the 1880s by cigar manufacturers.  It has always been a diverse area, populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly from Cuba, Spain, and Italy while its cigar factories rolled cigars in the millions for years.

Remember that bread pudding we ate at Columbia Restaurant?  We ran it off the next morning!  We went on a 4-mile bayside run, watching the sun come up.  It was the most scenic run I'd had in ages, and being along the water was so nice.

There was a pirate ship too... a running selfie was a must at that point!  Sorry not sorry.

After the run, we grabbed miss Ellie (Anna's dog) and walked to Piquant for breakfast outside.  I can't say no to French (or French-inspired) eats.  And if you're sitting outside, there's a "pooch" menu for your pups!

Knowing this was my last meal with Anna before I headed back to the business trip grind, I had some delicious ham and Gruyere crepes with bechamel sauce.  I had them add a fried egg on top, because it was breakfast.  They did a really great job, and I would love to come back for more French fare.

And Ellie loved her hard-boiled egg!  Love a restaurant that allows you to bring your dog along for the fun.

I had the most incredible 24 hours with Anna!  I can't believe everything that we saw, ate, drank, and just overall ENJOYED when we were together.  It's so nice to be able to travel, but it's even nicer to be able to see good friends along the way too. (P.S.  Sorry about the left and center justification inconsistency.  I tried multiple times to fix the alignment, but Blogger was spiteful so I just gave up!)

Columbia Restaurant

Last month, I had a business trip in Tampa, Florida, so I snuck in a day early to spend 24 amazing hours with my friend Anna.  I'll recap the rest of our adventures soon, but I wanted to kick off with our dinner out at Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City.

I'd never heard of Columbia before, but everyone I talked to who ever lived in the Tampa (or even Florida) area knew what I was talking about when I mentioned it.  The first think I thought when we got there was, "Where did they get all of this Spanish tile?"  That is, the colorful tiles absolutely transported me back to Sevilla.

Columbia was founded 110 years ago in 1905 by Cuban immigrant Casimiro Hernandez, Sr.  It claims to be Florida's oldest restaurant, and the largest Spanish restaurant in the world.  Now the restaurant has multiple outlets, but the Ybor City location is the original.  And when you step inside, you can see why... they just don't build restaurants like this anymore!

No girls' night is complete without some beautifully colored cocktails, right?  Anna had the sangria, while I sipped the El Floridita daiquiri.  I've been a daiquiri girl all these years, and I never knew it!  This one had a splash of grapefruit, which is my favorite cocktail addition these days.

Our dinner at Columbia was different for me... because I don't eat salad (or very many veggies, truthfully), and they're absolutely famous for their 1905 Salad, which has iceberg lettuce and julienne of baked ham, Swiss cheese, tomato, olives, Romano cheese, and a garlic dressing.  At Anna's behest, I ordered the small side salad, which was actually huge, but quite tasty.  While I skipped the olives, I managed to eat half of it.  And to those who know me, that's saying something about this salad!  I'd never to date eaten more than a weak-hearted bite of any salad ever, and here I ate a serving.

Anna made sure there was photographic evidence, which I promptly texted to my family so they would believe me.  I also texted them an "after" shot of the plate, but I'll spare you because it's ridiculous.

For my main dish, I had the delicious Pollo Manchego.  (By the way, the menu is extensive and there's so much to pick!  I could go back a half dozen times and never be bored!)  The dish was boneless, breaded  chicken breast with grated Spanish Manchego cheese.  I loved the flavor from the sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and citrus sauce.  HUGE portions too!

I was feeling indulgent having so much fun with Anna, so I insisted that we splurge on dessert.  We had the delectable White Chocolate Bread Pudding, which is made with Cuban sandwich bread and Florida eggs and cream.  It was THE BOMB.  We couldn't even finish it.  I would pick this every time.  Dang, I love bread pudding.  It just melted in your mouth.

I'm so glad that Anna got us a reservation for dinner at this place.  I hear they also have flamenco dancers sometimes!  It was truly the kind of meal that feels like you've been transported back in time, to another place.  I loved Columbia Restaurant!

(Also, note to self, when you put the photos into your Blogger post first and center them, it's really hard to get your text to align correctly. Sorry for the wonkiness!)