Welcome to a new week of Robin Recommends! While we all gear up for Thanksgiving and the holiday season in general, I’m excited to share with you a new week of recommendations for my favorite snacks, local spots, gift ideas, and more. Read on for more of my favorites! Note that most of these items are also shoppable on my Amazon storefront.

1. Siete Tortilla Chips

Siete is a family run company that makes tortilla chips, queso, tortillas, and more. Their Nacho flavor tortilla chips are one of my and my family’s absolute favorites. They taste like Doritos but are a much healthier option! Their products are all gluten-free and made from simple ingredients They are lower in sodium and use natural ingredients in their spice blends (like serrano and roasted garlic for the nacho flavor). They’re grain-free, paleo, non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and vegan! We love the Nacho flavor plain, and often dunk the dipping chips into our favorite salsa or guacamole. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

2. Taja Candles

I was recently gifted a beautiful candle from Taja, a Florida-based company that makes fully customizable hand-poured candles from soy wax, and I was VERY impressed. Soy wax is a cleaner, healthier alternative to paraffin wax, since it is vegan-friendly and biodegradable. It also burns slower and lasts longer than many traditional votives. You can design your own candles on Taja’s site in the color of your choice, with symbols, designs, personalization, and notes to fit your style. When the candle is gone, you can reuse the jar as a small planter or decorative container. These candles are created to burn 20 hours plus in their beautiful glass jars. They make amazing gifts, as I can attest, I love mine!

3. Boxcar Cantina
Boxcar Cantina in Greenwich, CT has become a favorite spot of ours. This restaurant is super family-friendly, and serves dinner 7 days a week, with the option to dine in at their patio or order takeout or delivery, if you are local to the area. They’re also now open for lunch. The dinner menu includes a mix of delicious fresh appetizers, and entrées including guacamole, salads, tacos, and enchiladas with various healthy proteins like organic chicken, wild-caught shrimp, organic salmon, and more. The kids and I discovered them recently this fall at the Westport Farmers Market. Ever since my son asked to try their tacos for lunch, we have become regular weekly customers! The (big and little) boys enjoy the beef and chicken taco kits. I love the kale salad with grilled chicken. We ALL agree that they have one of the best guacamoles we’ve ever tasted! And I am ecstatic that this means a couple of meals I DON’T have to cook for the week. Their portions are generous, and we love leftovers! You must check them out if you are local!

4. Let’s Be Bessties Pancake + Waffle Mix

Let’s Be Bessties makes high-fiber foods, including crackers and breakfast mixes. Their high fiber organic pancake and waffle mix is, believe it or not, made with just three ingredients (wheat bran, dates, and cinnamon). Each serving of pancakes gives you about 64% of your daily fiber needs, and you just add eggs with a bit of water or milk to whip them up. Since they’re packed with fiber, they’ll keep you full for longer than traditional pancakes, and you can mix in your favorite fruits and toppings to customize them (like berries, honey, chocolate chips, banana, etc.!) My kids and I loved the chocolate chip pancake mix…with a drizzle of maple syrup of course. They’re a great healthy swap that makes pancake mornings much easier. Not to mention, this is a local company. The products are manufactured in Westport, and one of the co-founders, Bess, was born and raised here. We love to support local!

That’s all for this edition! Check back next week for more of what I recommend, and make sure to read last week’s blog, if you missed it!