Dunkin Donuts Fall Preview

One of my favorite things about the seasons changing is that I get invited to Dunkin Donuts' blogger meetups.  We get to try all the new products they are bringing out for the season.

As you know, autumn is pumpkin season.  Pumpkin spice EVERYTHING!!  I am a serious pumpkin spice junkie.  Of course, it was the first thing that they brought out for us to try. 

Dunkin has 3 different types of pumpkin lattes. {They can also be made into coffees, iced coffees and iced lattes.}  They have pumpkin, pumpkin mocha, and pumpkin creme brulee.  The pumpkin mocha is honestly my favorite.  They pumpkin was sweeter than I expected and the creme brulee wasn't as sweet as I expected but, I'd still be perfectly happy drinking any of them.

Next up was the spicy sausage breakfast sandwich.  A spicy sausage, egg and cheese on an English muffin.  Ken said it was delicious!  {Yes, I bring him to taste the stuff I can't}

We were given 3 new desserts after the sandwich.  {The pattern was sweet, savory, sweet, savory...}  We were given the pumpkin pie donut (a yeast donut filled with pumpkin cream and topped with graham cracker crumbs), a pumpkin glazed donut (a pumpkin cake donut that has been dipped in white glaze), and the pumpkin spice muffin (a muffin that as all the flavors of pumpkin spice, a crumble on top and a sweet drizzle).  Ken's favorite was the pumpkin pie donut.  His only complaint was that there wasn't enough filling in it.  My favorite was the muffin.  I'm a sucker for a good moist, crumbly muffin!

As our next dish they brought us the new chicken wrap.  Chicken tenders, bacon, and cheese wrapped in a tortilla.  I took mine home for the girls to try and they couldn't stop talking about it!

Final sweet dish?  The new french vanilla and hazelnut swirls for the coffees and lattes.  I really enjoyed the hazelnut.  Ken surprisingly liked it too.  He normally hates hazelnut.  Ingenious thought!  I wonder......if you mix together the hazelnut and the mocha, will it taste like Nutella?

Side note:  Dunkin now serves almond milk!  I'm very excited about this!  I have a soy intolerance and I don't drink regular milk.  

Dunkin has a new "Supreme Bagel" that they just released on Thursday.  OMG, it was amazing!  I ate my whole sample.  It's a spinach artichoke topped bagel.  

We also got to make Munchkin Whoopie Pies!  

I loved everything I tasted.  I can't wait for winter when the Christmas flavors roll out.  You know why you should love me going to Dunkin Donuts?  Do you want it to feel like Christmas??  Well, you can!  I'm giving away 1 pound of Dunkin's new dark roast, a $20 gift card, a frequent buyer card {buy 7 coffees, get the 8th free} a DDPerks membership and a spiffy button!  So enter below!!!!

Earth Fare Jacksonville

As I've mentioned before, I love grocery stores.  I love wandering around looking at all the products.  Every time I visit a new city I always check out the local supermarket.  You can tell alot about an area by what you find in the store.  

A few weeks ago I was offered a private tour of the new Earth Fare before it opened.  Of course I jumped at the chance.  Earth Fare is a great store.  Their vision is to be "the most trusted organic and natural food market in the country - a place where healthy decisions are easy, people have confidence in the food they buy and everyone feels welcome."  I love that vision!

At Earth Fare they have a few rules.  No, not your typical "No shirt, no shoes, no service" type rules.  They have food rules.  

All of the food that you find at Earth Fare never contains:

• Antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones
• Artificial fats or trans-fats
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Artificial sweeteners
• Artificial preservatives
• Bleached or bromated flour
• Artificial colors or flavors

Let me take you on a little tour of the store.

Gorgeous fresh vegetables and fruits.  Everything is seasonal and as they become available you will be able to find locally grown fruits and veggies.  {Local is considered within 100 miles of Jacksonville.}

 They have an amazing bulk section.  Granola, seeds, nuts, oatmeal, grind your own peanut butter and even syrup, honey and agave dispensers.  If you'd like to bring in your own container to fill up you can do that.  I'm definitely going back to fill up on oatmeal.  

 {Across from the bulk section was the peanut butter aisle.  They must have had 10 different types of peanut butter and it was driving me crazy!  75 days until I have my pick of peanut butters!}

Sunny didn't have school the day of our tour and she was really excited when she got to try some of the bulk candy.  All the candy has no artificial dyes.  She tried all natural candy coated chocolate candies and some gummy candies.  The chocolate candy is dyed using fruits and vegetables.  

I thought it was awesome that if you want to try something before you buy it, ask an associate.  They will open a package for you and try it with you.  If you decide to buy it they'll give you a fresh pack.  

Beyond the bulk section is the health and wellness department.  They have everything you could imagine.  The employees are very knowledgeable.  If you have any issue, or ailment talk to them.  They can probably find something to help you.  They also have a big section of baby things.  Lotions, soaps, creams, baby food, wipes, etc.  My favorite was the bulk bath salts.  My muscles need the muscle soak!  They had 6 or 7 different types to choose from.  Muscle soaks, relaxing soaks, and they all smelled amazing.

Most of us don't put much thought into what type of makeup we buy.  Did you know that most makeup contains gluten and/or animal products?  Vegans and people with a gluten intolerance or Celiac don't have the luxury of buying makeup from any CVS or Walmart.  Earth Fare carries a full line of Vegan, cruelty-free makeup and also a line of gluten free makeup.

The Meat & Seafood Department was huge!  The prices weren't bad either.  I know that some specialty stores have horribly expensive meat and seafood.  These prices seemed about as low as Publix.

The freezer section was huge.  It carried all the standard type items; ice cream, veggies, pizza, etc.  I was excited because they carry unique vegetable blends {green beans and broccoli get boring, right?}, frozen roasted sweet potatoes, and frozen quinoa.  They also carry a huge variety of veggie burgers, many that don't contain soy.

I thought this was awesome.  A scoop your own ravioli bar.  This is only available at Earth Fare!  This house LOVES ravioli

Bulk, grind your own coffee.

They also have an olive bar, a full bakery, huge gourmet cheese department, sushi counter, a salad bar, and a hot foods bar.  I cannot wait to go back for dinner!  

They have great deals going on in the prepared food section.

Tuesday -- Real Meals

Every Tuesday in the prepared food section they have great home-cooked meals.  According to the website right now it's pot roast, carrots and potatoes.

Wednesday -- $5 Sushi

On Wednesdays the sushi is only 5 bucks!  You can't even get gas station sushi for that price!  They have a wide variety of sushi.  They also have vegan and gluten-free sushi.  All hand-made, fresh, in the store.

Thursday -- Family Dinner Night

Family Dinner Night is a great thing!  Every Thursday from 4:00-8:00 pm you can get up to 6 kids meals free with the purchase of 1 adult meal ($5 minimum purchase).  They have great bikini approved options for mom (and dad) and healthy options for the kids

You need to get down to Earth Fare!  It's located at 11901 Atlantic Blvd.  on the corner of Atlantic and Kernan, next to Academy Sports & Outdoors.  Not in the Jacksonville area?  That's okay!  Earth Fare has over 30 locations in 9 states.  Click HERE to find one near you!

Want to win a $50 gift card to try some of the great things Earth Fare offers?  I'm giving away a $50 gift card to 1 lucky person!