News / Georgia Made

I was raised in Southwest Georgia where there were at least two carbs at every meal and a pitcher of sweet tea ready to be poured by family and friends alike at the dinner table.

As I am preparing for my wedding this upcoming November, I realized that this habit would not help me feel my best on one of the most important and most photographed days of my life.

After becoming familiar with the Keto diet from a friend, I decided to give it a try. I will admit that after hearing about this diet I thought it was just another fad such as the grapefruit juice diet or South Beach Diet that was not a day at the beach for lack of a better cliché.

The Keto diet’s premise surrounds a low carb, high fat diet that causes your body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates.

Individuals who swear by the diet have stated that you reach a sense of euphoria after being on the diet for a week or so.

I’m sorry but this idea made me a little skeptical of such a great diet that emphasizes little to NO carbs. However, it’s worth a shot to at least try the diet for a week for the sake of November 10, 2018.

After purchasing a Georgia Crafted Keto Deluxe Box, I had an arsenal of snacks and meal ideas to effectively begin THE KETO DIET.

Day 1: To be perfectly honest, day one was not as bad as I anticipated, but it included a lot of hunger and stomach growling. Unknown to my fiancé, we were in this together so he would be forced to eat the same dinner as my Keto-focused self.

The dinner consisted of lettuce wraps featuring Dinner Tonight! Burger seasoned burgers with a few slices of tomatoes and some special keto sauce. The folks at Wholesome Yum said that this recipe would taste like a Big Mac without the bread. With a sauce combination of mayo, white vinegar, mustard, paprika, and pickles, I must say that I didn’t miss Mickey D’s in the slightest.

Day 2: Day one began with optimism but on Day two the carb withdrawals began to hit. I wanted nothing more than a slice of bread. It didn’t even have to have anything on it. I went to the grocery store for a few groceries and I kid you not I could smell the bread from six aisles away.

However, I persevered and made it through day two with a little help from a Keto-approved fruit dip recipe perfect for strawberry dipping. With greek yogurt, Georgia Grinder Honey Almond Butter from my Georgia Crafted Keto box, and a little bit of honey, I whipped up a dip that tasted almost like cookie butter without the guilt.

Day 3: Because the weekend was over, it was back to work for me and hopefully a space free of carb-filled distractions. With the help of Front Porch Pecans Sea Salt Pecans from my Keto Box sitting beside my monitor at my desk, I could thoughtfully snack and keep myself full and focused without traveling to the temptation riddled break room.

Day 4: Ah! Day four was not a breeze but this no carb thing is getting a little easier. I still daydream about Oreos and find myself drooling after scrolling to a Tasty video on my Facebook feed but I have not broken. I am a Keto-strong warrior! I prepared an “I can’t believe it’s not a chocolate shake” smoothie with Nourished in 5 Back to the Basics Plant Protein powder from my Keto box to get my day off to a wonderful start.

Day 5: When I wake up in the morning, I feel less bloat and more confidence. I head back to the office with Striplings General Store Beef Jerky to help me have a protein-packed snack throughout the day.

My energy has increased, and I feel ready to hit the gym after work. Most of the time, I feel too sluggish to do anything but eat then sleep after a long day at the office. However, after participating in the Keto diet, I feel ready to run on the elliptical for about half an hour.

Day 6: The sense of euphoria has not quite been reached but I do feel better and ready to tackle the day. I enjoy a protein-packed breakfast featuring a sweet potato toast recipe from Little Bits of Real Food and Real Talk covered in Georgia Grinders NaturAlmond Honey Almond butter and a few banana slices.

Day 7: The week is already over? I survived without inhaling an entire row of Oreo cookies?

I am pretty proud of myself but prouder of the Keto diet. Although I felt as if this diet was simply a bunch of hype created by fit influensters and bloggers, I must say that this diet works even for a carb-loving Georgia Peach.

Without the help of the Georgia Crafted gift box for snack and gift ideas, I would not have had the perfect catalyst to begin this healthier lifestyle. I am excited to continue this Keto journey until my wedding in 9 months and plan on getting another Georgia Crafted Keto box to help me reach my health and fitness goals.

For anyone considering the Keto diet, living with little carbs is not an easy feat and the first few days will consist of foggy thoughts and a little hunger.

Research low-carb recipes that fit your tastes and preferences, and check out the Georgia Crafted Keto and Keto Deluxe Gift boxes as well as the Keeping it Keto section of their site.

You’ll gain plenty of delicious snack and meal ideas while also supporting small businesses throughout Georgia including Georgia Crafted.

I drive past the blue city limit sign that indicates I have reached the hometown of Luke Bryan, Buster Posey, Phillip Phillips, and Carly Mathis. This small town in Southwest Georgia is not only home to this big talent but also houses some of the finest people you will ever have the opportunity to meet. Most especially, the Goodson family, who are the proud owners of Goodson Pecans, call this small town home.

Goodson Pecans is a small business located in Leesburg, Georgia that creates and sells shelled pecans, gourmet pecans such as the cinnamon sugar or sriracha flavors, and pecan butters. The idea for this business stemmed from Goodson Farms where all of the pecans are harvested for Goodson Pecan products.

David Goodson, the driving force behind making the dream of Goodson Pecans a reality, said that he pushed for his dad, a farmer since 1972, to bring the pecans grown by Goodson Farms to the internet.

“I had always been telling my dad about two years before we started we need to start getting our pecans online. The internet was a huge avenue already for things. We talked about that for two years and nothing. No traction.”

Goodson then took the business idea into his own hands and started to build Goodson Pecans.

“After that second year, I was like I just have to get out there and try it. We built a website and we essentially started Goodson Pecans at that point. We got a business license, and we were selling shelled pecan halves and pieces. The next year we added some sugar coated pecans and every year after that we’ve just been expanding.”

Goodson started running Goodson Pecans from his home, but as the list of pecan products kept growing, a new facility was needed.

As he sits on a metal stool in the middle of their packaging area, he said:

“We moved from our home into here when we started making pecan butter. We couldn’t do that in our home. We were required by the department of agriculture to be in a commercial facility. It was a big step for us to move from our home into a commercial facility.”

The facility is not incredibly large but allows the Goodson family to create most of their gourmet flavors and all of their nut butters in house. The store smells like warm pecans, cinnamon sugar, and chocolate. As you look around, you can tell that this facility is used to create, pack, and send Georgia grown pecans to people all across the country not just in this corner of Georgia.

One flavor of Goodson Pecans, Mimi’s Sugar Pecans, was created from an old family recipe and some flavors, such as the chocolate covered variety, are made locally. However, most of the delectable artisan products that Goodson Pecans sells are surprisingly created by trial and error.

“I love creating and it drives my wife crazy because I’ll say we need to try a savory flavor and I’ll get in the back and play with it. We’d play with recipes and say it needs a little more of this or a little more of this and we’d go back to the kitchen and work it out. That’s how Sriracha came about.”

The Goodson Pecans Gourmet Sriracha flavor has proven to be a successful savory and spicy flavor for the business, winning the 2017 Flavor of Georgia for the snack category.

“Sriracha won Flavor of Georgia back in March, and it’s been flying off the shelves this year. We’ve been super encouraged with it. We never thought that it would have been as popular as it was.”

Goodson Pecans prides itself on being a family business that creates products that are georgia grown.

“Georgia grown is important because of my product and our pecans are Georgia Grown. Pecans taste different here. They taste better. People say that and I’m probably biased but there’s also a little truth behind that.”

Goodson also knows the importance of georgia crafted products to his business as well:

“It’s valuable to be Georgia Crafted because that’s also who we are. We take what we grow and we craft it into something else. We add value to our product and that’s where I think there is great value in being Georgia Crafted.”

In this small town of Leesburg, Georgia, the taste of a Goodson Pecan reminds you that you’re in the part of the South that keeps it Georgia Grown, Georgia Made, and Georgia Crafted. 

To try Goodson Pecans, you can check out the 2017 Flavor of Georgia gift box featuring Goodson Pecans Sriracha flavor or purchase the Cinnamon Sugar or Sriracha flavors by the bag in the Build a Gift Box section of our website.

 

At Georgia Crafted, we aren't strictly B.Y.O.B., but we do give you that option. Our B.Y.O.B. may not stand for the same words you might be thinking of, but we promise our Build Your Own Box option can be just as fun.

Why Should You Build Your Own Box?

There are three reasons why Building Your Own Box can be the best option for your gift giving.

Budget: The holidays are tough and money's tight. With our B.Y.O.B. option, you control how much you spend on each person on your gift list. By choosing the items yourself, it's easier to make sure that you stay within your holiday spending budget.

Personalization: Giving gifts is no fun if you know your Georgia Crafted Peaches picked out all of your box's products. You can make your gift more personalized and cater to the receiver's likes, favorites, and personality.

Preferences: If you have a certain theme in mind for your gift box, but still want to control the price and personalization, you can sort our products based on categories such as city or product type. We have Georgia made products to fit any theme from Marietta to spa days to food.

How do you create your own box?
It's as simple as 1, 2, 3, and 4.

1. Go to the Build a Gift Box tab on the GeorgiaCrafted.com homepage.


2. Next, select the shop by city or shop by type options if you want to create a themed gift box.

3. Select the products you wish to go into your gift box and add them to your cart. You can always keep a running total of all of the products in your box by simply clicking on your cart in the right hand corner.

4. Finally, after you've created the PERFECT gift box, proceed to checkout where you will have the option to create a special message for your friend or family member who will receive the box.

There's no better or easier way to win the holidays than giving your own personalized Georgia Crafted gift boxes to everyone on your list. You will definitely receive texts, phone calls, and emails about how thoughtful, wonderful, and possibly scrumptious your Fresh Picked Gift Box items were. If you're ready to get started, click the image below to begin building the perfect box for your friends or family.

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Hallmark holiday shopping just got a whole lot better with our 2017 Flavor of Georgia Gift Box available in-store Nov 18 at Norcross! Stop by for a meet-and-greet with our founder, Erin Zwigart, and the chance to stock up on personal holiday gifts. 

There's always something to be thankful for, and this week it's our family-style Thanksgiving Gift Boxes. From cranberry pepper jelly to crispy cheese straws, we've got all your comfort food favorites that family, friends, and clients will be thrilled to receive.

Based in North Georgia, we can always count on Unicoi Preserves for lip-smacking & low-sugar fruit spreads. Get to know founder Suzy Neal in our Artisan Spotlight!

We KNOW your employees don't need another company mug. Make corporate gifting special this year with a tailored box of Georgia goodies!

Pillow mints are so overrated. That's why we teamed up with Kleenerly to give you Airbnb welcome gift boxes!

Georgia Grinders' Jaime Foster is our go-to lady boss for local pecan, peanut, cashew & almond nut butters. Get to know Jaime in this month's Artisan Spotlight!

Our February subscription box was full of our current favorite sweet treats! In fact, we loved it so much that we're adding it for purchase in the Curated Gift Box section of our site: Sweet on the Morning Gift Box.

Let's see what's inside! And if you're a subscriber, remember to tag us @georgiacrafted on Instagram or Facebook when you receive your box!

Haven't subscribed yet? Check out the 1, 3, and 6 month subscription options on our Subscribe page!