A Sabra Tastemakers Adventure

I was elated to be invited out to Virginia to meet the whole Sabra team, along with a killer group of bloggers. Collectively, we are known as Sabra Tastemakers, and it is pretty darn awesome. 

I was sponsored to attend this event and write a recap by Sabra. All opinions are totally my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsored posts that make this blog possible and make my life more interesting! 

Heyyyyoooo! I’m super psyched to tell you about the trip to Sabra headquarters I took with my Tastemaker peeps!

When bloggers converge…food is numero uno. Literally within minutes of getting to the hotel in Richmond, VA, we all met up and headed out to dinner at Daily Kitchen. Seriously, we ordered ALL of the appetizers. There were a ton of gluten free options, and everything was killer good. I am ashamed to say, I didn’t even order a dinner because I was so stuffed after the appetizer bender. Totally random, but they had gluten free toast (yes, I asked for toast…preggers much?) that blew my mind.

Pictured: crab salad, mussels in coconut curry broth, scallops on watermelon

The next morning, I got up, hit the hotel gym for a pant-session. I creepily stared at Alyssa (Simply Quinoa) because I recognized her face but didn’t want to seem like a creeper, bombarding her in the gym and asking her if she was there for Sabra too (she wasn’t able to make dinner the night before). Introvert problems.  No worries though, we caught up later.

We all met up to head to the Martin Agency (their creative ad/marketing agency). The office was a crazy-wonderful Google-like atmosphere, with spiral staircases, glass walls, and lots of fun, inspirational people inside. We watched vibrant videos about cultures and families coming together over food, and talked about how hummus has become HUGE in America. Here’s what I found SO interesting in all of their research:

People who haven’t had hummus have NO idea what the texture is, what occasions they should buy it for, or how to use it!!

This may be YOU! Is it?? Here, I’ll give you a swift answer: hummus is a dip or spread! It is creamy and delicious. You dip carrots/celery/peppers/chips into it. You can use it any day, anytime. You can use it instead of mayo in your sammich and save calories from fat while increasing your protein and fiber! YES, your kids WILL eat it, because kids eat what you eat!
When I started feeding my nanny kiddos real food, we started with hummus, and to this day I serve them hummus and veggies with their lunch almost everyday! They call it “dip” and when they ask for more, I know they’ve been binge-eating veggies and I am a-okay with that!
In fact, to rope kids into eating more (and you too), they’re coming out with their single-size (perfectly portioned) in a Pizza flavor! It is full of oregano, basil, and all of the yummy spices that taste just like pizza (nothing artificial)! You’ll flip when you try it (and start slathering it in your turkey wraps).

Anyways! Then we headed to Sabra headquarters and the whirlwind began. We tasted ALL of the flavors of hummus, Greek yogurt dip (like ranch but way healthier!), guacamole and spices. Their head chef introduced us to proper tasting procedures and we even got to taste some of the dips from their concept pop-up restaurant, with an East-meets-West concept [chef was none other than Mr Spiceologist himself!]. We invented our own flavors next [mine: feta, pickled onions, sumac, sea salt]. Then ate lunch (yes, we ate after eating).

 

We toured the plant where they make the magic. I was shocked by how small and extremely sterile the equipment was. Everything is made in small batches so its kept as fresh as possible.

When we discussed nutrition, we learned that beans are categorized as veggies. SO swapping hummus for your mayo or ranch or even just eating it as a dip adds more veggies to your diet. I was pretty miffed by the whole “beans as veggies” thing because I guess I always grew up with them being discussed separately. What do you think? [Because every time that “baked beans commercial” comes on where they say it’s your kids’ favorite vegetable, I scream at the TV that they’re wrong…guess I’m wrong?]

After our tour we got our creativity on and painted dip trays! I felt like I was in the 3^rd grade again, and loved it! I’m totally a terrible painter, so I kept mine simple. After they’re fired and we get them back, I’ll decide whether or not it’s embarrassing and if I can share it on Instagram.

 After that huge day, we went out to dinner (of course) to Water Coastal Kitchen. We were entertained by an “Irish” waiter who slipped in and out of various accents, learned how to use the term “on fleek,” and we took lots of group photos because we realized we hadn’t taken any throughout the whole trip!  

Bloggers pictured/on this trip:

Alyssa (Simply Quinoa)

Melissa (Hungry Food Love)

Gerry (Foodness Gracious)

Lauren (Healthy Delicious)

Dara (Cookin Canuck)

Noelle (Opera Singer in the Kitchen)

Dani (The Adventure Bite)

Jenni (Pastry Chef Online)

Erin (Well Plated)

[Pregnancy brain is definitely ruling my life! I re-counted over and over the bloggers on this trip. I kept coming up with 10. Yet I could only remember 9 names. Well, duh, I was counting myself but not naming myself…so that’s a snapshot of my life lately.]

That’s all! I headed home bright and early the next morning! Have any questions for me?? What’s you favorite Sabra product? What do you WISH they would make? 

Recipes I’ve made using Sabra hummus: this one…and this one!