Pages

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Vitacost Spices Things Up!


I love to cook. Lucky for me, my husband does too. We enjoy trying new seasonings and spices. Every year, we spend at least $400 every year on spices and seasonings. I'm hanging my head in shame because I didn't realize how much we spent until I sat down to do this post. We could easily spend more if we had more to spend. One of our cabinets has become the "spice rack" and it has overflowed to another cabinet. I have two pull out spice cabinets and a full size drawer in addition the the overflowing cabinet. We even have some in the pantry and on a stainless steel rack on either side of the stove. We have decided to create a wall of spices as soon as we build our new walk-in pantry next year. We need it! We have many favorites and we shop at multiple sites to get our favorites. I recently found a new site and I had the opportunity to order a few things to try them out!

Vitacost.com is the leading online retailer of health and wellness products. I've shopped with them before. Now I'll be shopping with them even more! They recently launched a "Spice Store" that carries more than 400 discounted spices at prices up to 47% off! I ordered a few replacement items for some of my favorites. I purchased Herbamare Organic Herb Seasoning Salt. Have you tried it? It's so good! I also bought an assortment of other salts including Light Grey Celtic Sea Salt, Himalayan Pink Sea Salt, Real Salt, and Maine Coast Sea Vegetables Sea Seasonings Sea Salt With Sea Veg.



I bought a few other favorites too like an Organic Garlic Mill, Indian Curry, Turmeric, and Herby Organic Seasoning Blend. I bought a few new products to try like Chicken Seasoning, Garlic Pepper, and Poultry Seasoning. Opening my box was like an early Christmas! We sat down and unwrapped each item. I was impressed with how each item was packaged! I couldn't believe the prices. The Celtic Sea Salt was available in multiple sizes. The smallest was just over $2. I paid much more the last time I bought a package in NYC. I found the site to be easy to navigate and ordering was easy. My shipment arrived quickly and I loved getting the tracking information in an email so I could keep track of my package!



The launch of the Spice Store was inspired by the results of a recent poll of 1,191 Americans that determined basil is America’s favorite spice. Basil ranked #1 out of 23 popular spices and seasonings, with 18% of the respondents naming it their favorite. Cinnamon was second, with 12% of respondents choosing it as their top choice. Salt and pepper were not included among the options.

Other key findings of the poll:
- 23% of respondents add spices or seasonings to every meal with an additional 29% using them almost every time
- The vast majority of respondents prefer to combine individual spices to taste rather than using pre-prepared marinades, condiments or sauces when flavoring foods
- Those polled noticed an increased desire for stronger flavoring as they aged, with 45% of respondents saying they now prefer more “intense” flavors than they did when they were younger

Vitacost also conducted an internal survey that found their customers were more likely to use spices such as garlic, cinnamon and turmeric specifically for their health benefits.  The results of the survey indicated that 74% of customers regularly used these spices for health reasons.

To appeal to basil fans seeking a healthy new recipe, Vitacost food blogger Amie Valpone, a personal chef and culinary nutritionist, developed a recipe for Sweet Basil Quinoa Stuffed Squash, available at blog.vitacost.com or by clicking here.

In addition to spices and seasoning as part of its organic grocery selection, Vitacost.com also sells vitamins, supplements, baby care essentials, pet products, specialty diet products, sports nutrition and natural beauty and home care products. Currently, Vitacost.com sells nearly 40,000 items on its website with hundreds of new products added each week.  The company offers free shipping on orders of $49 or more.

Disclosure: I was provided with a credit to purchase items from their site. A favorable mention was not required.

No comments:

Post a Comment