GIVEAWAY: Coffee Substitute - Dandy Blend

Dandy Blend oh how I love you.  Let me count the ways…

Actually, I love coffee but Dandy Blend, an herbal coffee substitute, is a close second.

When I was pregnant I gave up coffee because the caffeine made me all jittery and crazy feeling.  Decaffeinated coffee gave me headaches.  [Cheeseslave recently wrote 30 Reasons to Quit Coffee - it's a good read.  She also wrote How to Quit.]

Let me clarify, I wasn't hard core addicted.  Mostly I like something warm to drink first thing the morning, especially when it is cold outside.  So, when I decided to give up coffee in the spring, it wasn't that big of a deal.

But once the weather finally started getting cooler this fall, I found myself longing for my friend - Mr. Strong Coffee.

About this time I went to visit a like-minded Nourishing Traditions friend in Phoenix.  She has searched the globe, high and low, for a suitable coffee substitute.  I've tasted some of her discoveries.  Blech.

I scoffed when she offered to make a cup of Dandy Blend.

"No thank you!"

But this one is different.

"Yeah, right…like all the rest."

Reluctantly I tried one sip of hers.

***Big mistake.  Instantly hooked.  Seriously good stuff.***

It tastes a bit like a latte with a subtle sweetness and mild chicory overtones.  Definitely reminiscent of coffee. Extra bonus for being caffeine free and virtually calorie free.  Ingredients:  dandelion, chicory and beet roots, barley and rye grains.

Because I am nursing, I need to drink a lot.  Drinking water all day long is boring.  Juice has too many empty calories; carbonated mineral water makes my baby scream.  Dandy Blend is perfect all hours of the day.

I drink it strong (2 teaspoons), hot, and with cream in the mornings. Mid-day I might have it (1/2 teaspoon) in a glass of cold milk.  When evening rolls around, I like to curl up with another hot cup.  It would be embarrassing to tell you how much I've drank since my first sip.

Many of my friends have tried it, too.  If they remotely like coffee, they like Dandy Blend.

Because it is a powder, it can also be used interchangeably for instant coffee in other recipes - like tiramisu.

GIVEAWAY
until midnight Tuesday, Feb 1. CLOSED

You have three chances to win a 7oz bag (which is good for 100 cups) or single servings:

1. Leave a comment telling us if you're addicted to Joe or just curious 'bout Dandy.

2. Leave another comment after you've "liked" us on Facebook.

3.  Subscribe to Real Food in Little Rock, either via email (see subscription box at upper right) or some other RSS feed.  Leave a separate comment after doing so.

Where to buy: In Little Rock, Drug Emporium (corner of Reservoir and Rodney Parham) is now carrying it.  Otherwise contact Dandy Blend, or look on Amazon.

 - Julie

also linked to Real Food Wednesday , Monday Mania and Fight Back Friday.

Disclaimer: Dandy Blend sent a package for personal use along with the giveaway package.  Even if they didn't donate the goods, I would still be raving about the product. Uh-may-zing.

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