As someone with a variety of food allergies and sensitivities, I’m always on the lookout for new ways to balance my bacteria. I love kefir and yogurt, but a lactose intolerance means that those aren’t the right fit for me.

Enter IsoThrive’s prebiotic nectar. It’s non-allergenic; the small packets – taken once daily – can either be added to water, or drunk straight out of the container. They taste fruity and sweet, but not unpleasantly so.

Question: what’s the difference between probiotics and prebiotics? Probiotics are live bacteria that help with digestion; prebiotics are food for the bacteria already in your gut.

Some more about the logic and approach of Isothrive:

“1. Go where probiotics can’t
Most probiotics are neutralized in our stomachs and never make it to our lower digestive tract. To heal GI issues, the whole digestive system has to be re-balanced. A daily dose of fermented microFood like ISOThrive fuels the good bacteria to tackle the organisms that cause acid reflux, constipation, bloating, and gas.

2. Rebalance our diets the ancient way
Most modern diets lack nutrients to feed our “good” bacteria—more particularly, a very specific type of microFood that our ancestors got by eating lots of fermented vegetables or sourdough breads made from heirloom wheat. ISOThrive adds back this bacterially fermented food to rebalance our diets and keep our bacteria happy. (And, no, the sauerkraut on your hot dog or the kimchi on your bibimbap won’t get you the the microFood you need—you’d have to eat several cups of fermented veggies every day to get the same amount of microFood in one 1/4 teaspoon of ISOThrive microFood!)

3. Prep our bodies to prevent disease
Because the modern Western diet is so deficient in specially fermented microFood, our starving “good” gut bacteria are “breaking bad”—adapting to use other energy sources (such as our gut lining), and making us sick. Fermented microFood restores this imbalance, enhancing immune function and staving off disease.”

I’ve been taking the supplements about a week now, and am cautiously optimistic – my digestion does seem to have improved, though I started a probiotic vitamin regimen in the week leading up to taking Isothrive.

All in all, if you’re having problems with food sensitivities and nutrition absorption, I recommend trying Isothrive to see if it works for your system.

I love making one-dish meals, so I was happy to receive a package full of Lee Kum Kee Ready Sauces to try out. The basic idea is that you add meat to one frying pan, toss in veggies and sauce, and voilà! Dinner is served. I tested out the full line of flavors, and had tasty dinners all week.

We tried Kung Pao Chicken:

Broccoli Beef:

Orange Chicken:

Mongolian Beef:

And Lettuce Wraps:

Every single one of these meals was delicious. The package advises that you serve these on rice or noodles, but because we’re trying to cut down on unnecessary carb overload, we just had the dinners by themselves and it was perfect. Because we ate them alone, it served perhaps a little less than the 4-6 servings listed on the package – Jai and I each had a plate for dinner, and usually had leftovers for lunch the next day, but not with every single one. I admit that my serving size could have been a little smaller on a few of these occasions, which is what I got for skipping breakfast. 😉

Look for Lee Kum Lee Ready Sauce in a grocer near you, and be sure to check them out on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube!