All the Olive Oil Please

*I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions.

I love olive oil. If you love olive oil, then I think we could be the best of friends. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is in my house at all times because I use it in my cooking multiple times a week. It's just my favorite way to cook. When Flavor Your Life offered to send me some EVOO as well as information on using the best from Europe (in this case Zucchi), I was like yes, please and thank you very much. What they sent was the most amazing package of not just olive oil but also some fantastic recipes for me to try at home with the fam. I rocked out the chunky sweet potato turkey chili and I don't think we'll ever look back.

Flavor Your Life is a campaign funded by The European Union and a consortium of European olive oil growers. The program aims to educate consumers on the benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Europe, including: Taste, Health, Functionality, Heritage, and Quality. Today, most consumers purchase and stock only 1 bottle of EVOO in their pantry at a time, compared to Europeans who have an entire cupboard of EVOOs for different occasions. The folks at Flavor Your Life want to encourage consumers to see EVOO in this way—different oils to complement different meals— just as we do with wines. 

I'll be completely honest. I'd never looked at olive oil that way before. I only had one bottle and that's basically how I would have probably spent the rest of my days unless someone educated me on the joys of different types of olive oils, especially those from Europe. The Europeans do have some of the most delicious foods and also appreciate the ingredients that they're using so why not take a closer look at the types of olive oils that they use for different foods, cooking and how it enhances your experience and the results. Like look at this Carrot Cake made with fruity extra virgin olive oil... I need to make that, like, yesterday. Olive oil fudge brownies? Yup, add that to my list of things to make. Not just for savory foods, olive oil is way more versatile than I originally thought.

While I might need to do some more educating myself (I just signed up for a Tuscan cooking class at the Boston Public Market Kitchen!), now that I'm aware of more types of olive oil and all the uses, I am definitely going to be more cognizant of what I'm buying and how I plan to use it. Turkey chili is a staple in my house but Mama can and will branch out because variety is the spice of life, which also goes for Extra Virgin Olive oil as well!

What's your experience with Extra Virgin Olive Oil? I'd love to hear all about it!