True Citrus Review & Giveaway

Once upon a time, many many years ago, when I worked at Curves, a dietician would come in periodically to educate members about healthy eating. I always loved listening to what she had to say, and she introduced me to some new (to me) products. One of the things that she brought in was called True Lemon.

It was in a little packet (the size of a packet of sweetener). She explained that it was crystallized lemon--basically the equivalent of one wedge, and it wasn't sweetened at all. She showed the members this product and said that it's a great way to start drinking more water--you can add a packet to water, and it tastes just like water with a squeeze of lemon in it. I tried it and really liked it, but I wasn't able to find it in the store.

Fast forward almost 10 years, and I got an e-mail from a company called True Citrus--the original "True Lemon" company. They asked if I would like to try some of their products, and I was really surprised when I saw how much they had branched out. In addition to the True Lemon, there is also True Lime, True Orange, and True Grapefruit. The True Lemon and True Lime also come in shaker bottles to use larger quantities than the small packets.

They've even added some products that are sweetened--iced tea with lemon, lemonade, and raspberry lemonade. These are similar to products like Crystal Light, only they are sweetened with Stevia rather than artificial sweeteners.

I was excited to see all the bright citrus colors when I opened the box:

I've spent the last couple of weeks trying out the different products. I started with the four unsweetened products--True Lemon, True Lime, True Grapefruit, and True Orange.

Here is the what the contents of a packet look like (this is the True Lime):

I added it to some sparkling water (unsweetened--just plain old carbonated water) and ice, and it was really good! The True Lime tastes just like a squeeze of lime juice. I tried the orange, grapefruit, and lemon packets the same way. Normally, I am not a grapefruit person at all--I don't like grapefruit, and I don't like grapefruit juice. However, I have to say that the True Grapefruit was my favorite!

Jerry and the boys all agreed that they like the grapefruit one the best also, but we really liked all four flavors. The True Lime was screaming at me to use it in a cocktail (yes, screaming), so I looked online for a very simple recipe using lime, and I came up with a Paloma.

Why yes, that is a Sam's Club-sized bottle of tequila, thankyouverymuch.

A Paloma is a cocktail made with tequila, grapefruit flavored soda, and a lime wedge. A shot of tequila has 4 PointsPlus, so I used diet soda; and in place of the lime wedge, I used two packets of True Lime (I love lime, so I used two, but one would work too). It was fantastic! My only regret is that I didn't salt the rim of the glass, because that would have made it extra yummy. I made the kids a mocktail version (just the soda and True Lime), and they loved it.

Shaker bottles to sprinkle on veggies,
popcorn, pasta, meat, etc.

You can use the True Citrus products many different ways--almost anywhere that you would use citrus juice in a recipe. These are convenient in that they don't go bad (I've thrown away more lemons and limes than I can count because they've grown mold); they are also portable, so you can carry the packets in your purse.

Here are some ideas from the True Citrus website:
*Sprinkle True Lime on popcorn or tortilla chips.
*Sprinkle True Lemon on vegetables instead of using salt.
*Add True Lemon or True Lime to butter to make a lemon butter or lime butter.
*Make flavored ice cubes.
Click here for the full list of ideas on their website.

I haven't tried this yet, but I want to try adding a packet of True Lime to cheesecake pudding for a key lime pie-like dessert.

The lemonade mix and the raspberry lemonade mix are both very good as well. In the summertime, I like to make a five-calorie Arnold Palmer by mixing unsweetened iced tea with Crystal Light Lemonade (50/50)--but I am now going to switch to the True Lemonade, because it's sweetened with Stevia.

Overall, I honestly cannot say anything negative about any of the products they sent me. I really enjoyed them! And I discovered that my local Kroger carries the True Lemon and True Lime (unfortunately, not the True Grapefruit). They are in a strange spot of the store--with the sugar and other sweeteners. So if you check your store, try that aisle.

True Citrus is very generously going to give away a box of all of these products to one lucky Runs for Cookies reader! You will receive the same box that I did, which includes:

A box each of True Lemon, True Lime, & True Orange for Cooking, Baking & Beverages (32 packets/box)

A box each of True Original Lemonade, & True Raspberry Lemonade for Your Water (10 stick packets/box)

A box of True Grapefruit for Your Water (32 packets/box)

A canister of True Lemon Iced Tea for Your Water (6/2-quart packets)

A True Lemon & True Lime Shaker for Cooking, Baking & Seasoning (2.85oz/shaker)

That is a LOT of products. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me how you would like to use one of these products. I will accept entries until Saturday morning (10/13/2012) at 8:00 a.m. EST. I will announce the winner Saturday evening, and the winner will have 48 hours to contact me or I will select a new winner. 

You can find True Citrus on their website, Facebook, and Twitter. 

(In full disclosure, I was given the True Citrus products for free to review, but was not required to give a favorable review. All opinions are my own.)