honey smoked salmon

January is #NationalTeaMonth! Want to Celebrate & Host A Tea Party? Here’s 5 Quick Tips +Book Giveaway

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5 Quick Tips for Hosting A Tea Party |SobeSavvy.com

Disclaimer: Thanks to our friends at Honey Smoked Fish Company and Mango Publishing for sending product for review to facilitate this blog post. Opinions are 100% my own.

Hi, my name is Leslie. My favorite color is purple, I like to dance like no one is watching and I am a tea lover. I decided to start a new tradition to celebrate the holidays and welcome the New Year by hosting a tea party in my home. You can find me enjoying tea anytime of the day not only for wellness but it also it provides me with moments of serenity. Sipping a cup of tea encourages you to focus, slow down and relax because you don’t want to drop hot water on you, right?! This time, I wanted to catch up with a couple of friends and invited them over for an intimate gathering of just ladies enjoying tea together. The holidays/New Year and the fact that January is National Hot Tea Month are just some of the many reasons to celebrate! Throwing a holiday tea party was so fun and easy to do. Here are my 5 Quick Tips for Hosting a Tea Party:

1. SEND THE INVITE

Facebook is a great way to make a quick invite to guests, track RSVPs, set reminders and communicate with invited guests. I sent the following customized invite:

The mug exchanges were so much fun! Everyone got a chance to take home a new mug to enjoy during tea time. My friend who loves to shop local, gifted me a beautiful, handcrafted mug from Gather. I just love it!

2. CHOOSE A THEME/BUY DECOR

I chose to do a holiday theme as it paired well with the time of year. Also, I love being festive and spreading cheer! My local thrift store was the perfect place to buy decor like matching tea sets, mugs, saucers, cloth napkins, tier stands, a red table runner and this cute sleigh which served as something to hold some of my tea bag selections.

3. PLAN YOUR TEA MENU

Although, I planned to have a variety of tea on hand (along with Mimosas), I created a poll on the Facebook invite page to ask guests: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TYPE OF TEA(s)?

Since I received a variety of answers, I decided to serve an assortment of teas like earl grey, english breakfast, mint tea, lemon lift, hibiscus tea and more. My personal fave of the day was Ginger Tea from NC’s own KimBees !

4. SERVE SAVORY & SWEET EATS

Sandwiches and Desserts are mainly what I served to nibble on while we sipped our tea. I also had a crab balls and coconut shrimp from BJ’s as an appetizer. World Market is my jam for entertaining especially when you want foods that are quick and delicious. For the tea party, I grabbed the last Amaretto cake (another customer put me on to how amazingly good these are..and she was right!) and I randomnly found these macaroons while in line at Ross. I served it on a cupcake stand along with some crackers, cream cheese and pepper jelly.

For my savory bites, I was excited to partner with Honey Smoked Fish Company and introduce guests to their delicious and nutritious Honey Smoked Salmon! It is perfect for entertaining because it is fully cooked & ready to eat, fresh and flavorful straight out the vacuum sealed package. Serve it with olives,cheeses, peppers, capers, toast points and you have the makings of a perfect charcuterie board.

There are so many ways to enjoy this superfood protein which comes in four delicious flavors: Original, Cracked Pepper, Chipotle & Lime, and Cajun Honey. One of my favorites for entertaining is using it in a deviled eggs recipe. It was a crowd pleaser when I served it as an appetizer for my last Get Hooked on Honey Smoked Salmon at home tastings. After realizing I did not have enough eggs to pull it off this time, I made an egg salad instead and combined it with Honey Smoked Salmon to make a Honey Smoked Salmon Egg Salad Sandwich.

Here is my recipe:

INGREDIENTS | Chopped hard-boiled eggs, Original Honey Smoked Salmon, flaked with a fork, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, onion powder, paprika,salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS | Mix ingredients together. Spread on whole wheat or rye bread. Cut into 4 squares. Enjoy!

SobeSavvy Tip: Visit their online website >>HERE to see recipes and all the benefits of getting creative using the Superfood ingredient of Honey Smoked Salmon! Take a look at these fun facts!

5. GIVE “TEA-SPIRATION”

No matter what I am hosting at home, I like to give guests a thank you gift. Just a little something to take home and remind them of the wonderful time we had together. This time everyone received a book from award-winning blogger of The Cup of Life, Lu Ann Pannunzio, titled TEA-SPIRATION Inspirational Words for Tea Lovers.

This book is “steeped in wisdom” and aims to create a quiet movement where one can experience devotions, comfort, inspiration and the simple joys of life while reading and sipping a warm cup of tea. It is such a unique gift for women as we all need to be reminded to slow down and relax from the daily grind.

My friend and tea partner in crime has already made TEA-SPIRATION book a part of her daily ritual! Love it!

#SobeSavvyGiveaway | Do you love tea or know someone who does? I would like to gift you a book of your own to keep or share!

•Enter to win (1) TEA-SPIRATION Inspirational words for Tea Lovers book. Comment below in this blog post your favorite tea! Bonus entry if you comment on this Instagram post also! ⤵️

Winner chosen by random.org on Wednesday Jan 9, 2019 at noon/EST!

Good Luck!

#TastyThursday Review on @HoneySmokedFish #Superfood #HoneySmokedSalmon + Recipes !

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Recently I went to the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Expo held at the Raleigh Convention Center and had the opportunity to sample “The World’s Finest” Honey Smoked Salmon. I was not only hooked on this healthy, delicious protein but inspired to share some recipes and prepare some dishes for friends to taste and experience this amazing superfood themselves! 

Before I share the menu, recipes and feedback from my #SobeSavvyEats Lunch, let me give you THE FACTS (courtesy of Skyler Mason, owner of Honey Smoked Fish Co.) on what makes the Honey Smoked Salmon different, why you should add “the Protein of the Future” to your dishes and why fully-cooked, ready-to-eat Honey Smoked Salmon is one of the most versatile, nutritious products on the market today:

  1. Honey Smoked Salmon is delicious on its own, but is best used as an ingredient to compliment any dish.
  2. Our proprietary firing system incorporates honey into the smoking process without ever touching the salmon directly, making it diabetic-friendly. When the honey hits the flame, it causes a combustion explosion that seals the salmon, locking in 3x the omega-3s than other comparable products.
  3.  The result is a highly concentrated SUPERFOOD Salmon. Our unique process also makes Honey Smoked Salmon more cost efficient than other proteins — allowing smaller portions to be used while still remaining filling, energizing, and packing a high concentration of nutrition.  
  4. Longer shelf life! Honey Smoked Salmon has a 90 day refrigerated shelf life before breaking the vacuum seal, and will remain fresh and tasty 10-12 days after opening. 


THE INVITE

THE MENU + Recipes

Honey Smoked Salmon is vacuum sealed for long-term freshness. Fresh out of the oven and never frozen. 

I served 3 of the 5 flavors: Original, Chipotle & Lime, and Cracked Peppers at ROOM TEMPERATURE so the salmon could soften, which brings out its natural juices and flavors from the rich moisture of the Omega-3’s! This is what stands them out from any other smoked salmon. It is also diabetic friendly, gluten free and certified kosher. Here is what the ‘Original’ flavor looks like out of its packaging:

Honey Smoked Salmon is fully cooked, lightly smoked, ready to eat & 99% boneless. No preservatives, coloring, artificial flavors ,nitrates or MSG added.

Serve this easy appetizer recipe at your next party! Because the salmon is highly concentrated in taste, a little goes a long way to flavor any dish.

In this recipe, I combined both the Original flavor of Honey Smoked Salmon and the Chipotle & Lime together to create a light, pasta dish with a hint of spice and citrus.

This is the dish that got me hooked in the first place at the expo! It is loaded with spinach, Honey Smoked Salmon, mandarin oranges, almonds, tomatoes..and more!

Honey Smoked Salmon | Five Superfood Salad Recipe

Not only is it tasty but has so many health benefits, and is easy to make. Check out the video >>here<< showing how simple it is to make this energizing superfood salad! I used the Cracked Peppers flavor for this and had it flaked for guests to top their salads themselves.

Honey Smoked Salmon ‘Cracked Peppers’ flavor

THE FEEDBACK

Guests enjoy wine before lunch time for #SobeSavvyEats Honey Smoked Salmon Tasting

The Honey Smoked Fish Company’s All Natural Honey Smoked Salmon was Voted Best Smoked Salmon and my guests loved the fish and the recipes they tried. Here is some of what they had to say: 

  • The cracked pepper flavor was my favorite! I loved how it was spicy with a hint of sweet. ~   Nicki McNeil, Blogger at SingleBubblePop
  • I was so impressed with the Original Honey Smoked Salmon but fell in love with the cracked pepper. This salmon is delicious and I enjoyed trying the different recipes. ~ Jovanhanna , The Spiritual Love Coach
  • The cracked pepper on the salad was a great combination of flaky, peppery and creamy. I’d definitely make this salad at home. ~ Erica Santos , #ericasantosphotography
  • All 3 were delicious in it’s own served dish deviled egg, pasta salad and tossed salad. My fave: cracked pepper salmon/tossed salad with rasberry vinegrette/ranch dressing. Great spicy and sweet combo! ~ Mom
  • Loved the Chipotle Lime Salmon! The versitility of the smoked salmon was the most impressive. Great idea to show us the video of their process and to provide all of the possible recipes by scanning the QR code provided. ~T.Hedley

    See more Video Recipes on You Tube from Honey Smoked Salmon

  • I loved how Leslie incorporated the salmon into every dish we tried. My favorite was the deviled eggs topped with salmon. Definitely some good, quality salmon. ~Kiara , @kiararuth

I am so happy everyone enjoyed themselves and loved the Honey Smoked Salmon. No one left hungry or unsatisfied. The number one thing everyone wanted to know was where can we buy this locally?! It can be found at Sam’s Club and if you don’t see it there, Demand It! It can also be ordered online. For more information and recipes, please visit their website http://www.honeysmokedfish.com.