Hello, my lovely readers! To celebrate my birthday month and share my love for Japan, I’m hosting a special giveaway in collaboration with Kokoro Care Packages. One lucky reader will have a chance to win a special box filled with unique, premium Japanese foods delivered to your doorstep. And to say I’m excited to share this little culinary gem I found would be an understatement.
Food in Japan is not just a source of sustenance or business. It is a deep-rooted culture. Every prefecture has an array of local ingredients and produce that they are known for. You see local specialty foods and desserts made with local cooking techniques at grocery shops and bus or train station stores. After personally interacting with locals in rural areas and tasting the food from the source, grown and produced with love, deliberate care and attention, I know for a fact that everything has a completely different, premium taste. One of my favorite things to do while exploring Japan was picking up omiyage, or edible souvenirs to try treats from each place.
Now that I moved back to the US, maintaining that connection is definitely more difficult. Cue: Kokoro Care Packages, which I was thrilled to discover on Instagram. There are two major reasons that attracted me to this particular subscription box service. One, it is founded by brilliant ladies – LA-based Lillian Rowlatt and Tokyo-based Aki Sugiyama – who brought their creative powers together and channel their love for Japanese food culture by running this amazing venture. Two, they collaborate with farmers from all over Japan and hand-pick items that are sustainable, all-natural and organic, sans additives and chemicals. All products (including snacks, spices, soups, teas and more) are made in Japan and many cannot be found outside of Japan.
I love the concept of food subscription boxes, in general. They have a surprise factor, you have something new and exciting to discover each time and they also challenge you to be creative with the ingredients included in the package. Lillian and Aki hand-pick each item for their packages and ensure that everything is of premium quality, healthy and delicious. You have a choice to order monthly Nourishing Essentials Care Package, which comes filled with 5+ Japanese packaged foods, or quarterly Seasonal Delights Care Package, which includes 7+ seasonal delights plus a special artisanal gift made locally in Japan. Packages come with a brochure in English with details about each item and tips on how to cook them.
Like any subscription box there are items you will be excited about and others which will require more research and creativity to use. For example, my May subscription box included 5-grain udon noodles, my absolute favorite yuzu miso paste, soy coffee (I had no idea coffee-less coffee could be so good!), a package of seaweed snack and premium oyster souse, which includes the whole oyster together with the broth. I am no expert cook, but I immediately had my wheels turning and thought that noodles and oyster souse could be combined in a stir fry, while yuzu miso can serve as a dressing for pretty much anything. It perfectly complimented tilapia and rice that I cooked last night for dinner. The seaweed was my least favorite and didn’t quite work for me as a snack, but I will add it to a bowl of miso soup, so it all works! The truth is, possibilities are endless and I love that I can keep a connection with Japan even when I’m on the other side of the ocean.
If you share my love for Japanese food, now is a great chance to give Kokoro Care Packages a try. We’ve teamed up to give away a June Nourishing Essentials Care Package to one lucky winner. Inside the Care Package you’ll discover:
- 5+ premium-quality Japanese foods that have been carefully selected for their purity, flavor, and benefits.
- Easy to enjoy snacks, spices, sauces, soups, teas and more.
- English translations of the ingredients and nutritional information, plus reasons why they chose the product and why you’ll love it!
To qualify for the giveaway, you must:
- Follow @travelswithnano and @kokorocares on Instagram. Then, comment “I’d like to win!” and tag a friend under my giveaway photo. More people you tag, more chances you’ll have to win!
- Subscribe to Kokoro Care Packages newsletter on their website.
The contest will close at midnight (PST) on May 30th and the winner will be announced on May 31st via My Stories on my Instagram page!
Kokoro Care Packages is also kindly offering my lovely readers a 10% discount on your first order from a subscription purchase. Use the code: NANO_10. The code expires at the end of June and is limited to one use per customer. I hope you guys give it a try and enjoy it as much as I did!
xoxo, nano
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