Christmas-Design Dial Hand Soap Review

Do you use Dial hand soap? Check out the Christmas-design foaming hand soaps! They are so cute! I was sightly disappointed that the scent was just the regular berry scent and was hoping for a holiday scent like peppermint and fresh snow, but they still smell good and they look great around my house! Now when people come over, our bathroom looks festive and we even stuck one by our sink for convenience and a wintry touch! But wait! You don't have to get the Christmas designs because Dial has other handsoap designed bottles available! I am hoping for some cute ones for Valentine's Day and Easter! These were a hit at my house! The Christmas designs this year were a snowman, Santa, candy cane and Christmas trees! I am looking forward to seeing what designs come our next! Keep an eye out in your local store and check out their Facebook page!
Dial handsoap is a #1 doctor-recommended antibacterial foaming soap and kills 99.99% of germs you you can rest assured that your hands are clean and bacteria free. Each has Dial's berry scent and a great pump that gives you just the right amount. Their formula is gentle on skin while it does a great job washing and leaves your hands fresh.
Where will you put your foaming Dial hand soap?



Disclaimer: I am a Purex Insider and received a free product for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

Purex plus Oxi Review and Giveaway

Have you seen the new Purex plus Oxi and Zout detergent? I was able to test some and I have to say, I enjoyed using it. Now, it still bothers my allergies some so I mainly still use free and clear, but I don't mind if my husband needs to use this. You can use some of the detergent pre-wash to rub into stains, let it sit five minutes, and stick it in the wash and it does a pretty good job of getting difficult stains out! We tried doing this for dirt, grease, paint and red juice stains on my husband's ABUs and the grease and juice stains were completly removed and the paint and dirt stains were less noticeable. I think that had we put just a little more detergent on and rubbed a little more and maybe sent through two washes, all those stains would disappear even more.
I love that the Purex plus Oxi detergent is hypoallergenic with a light, fresh scent. I cannot have any scents, but their formula really is pretty much hypoallergenic like they say. Some people are allergic to the blue dye and this is blue so you still may have issues, but for the most part, you should have no problems with this variety. Purex plus Oxi is great for any load you need to put through the wash, even those with tougher stains as it takes care of over 101 different stains! Just pre-treat the fabric by rubbing some detergent in before washing and letting it sit for five minutes. This laundry detergent is also good for all washing machines including those that are high efficiencey and is pretty affordable at most stores and on sale at other stores! For the most part right now, I have only seen these at a couple of our drug stores and large bottles at Harris Teeter, but I am sure these will get into more stores soon.

Check out these before and after photos of my husband's ABU stains!


Right pocket before

Right pocket after

Left Pocket Before

Left pocket after

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Disclaimer: I am a Purex Insider and received a free product for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity. 

Green Mountain Fair Trade Coffee Review

 

Bzzagent recently allowed me to sample some of the Green Mountain Fair Trade Certified K-cups. I was given four different flavors--Extra Bold Sumatran Reserve, Wild Mountain Blueberry, Vermont Country Blend and Colombian Fair Trade Select.


First is the Worst
You all know that my reviews are honest, so I have to admit that one flavor was not to my liking. I have a very diversified palate when it comes to coffee, but the Extra Bold Sumatran Reserve just did not have it for me. Perhaps my Keurig was just having issues and brewed it TOO bold, but this was bold to the point of bitter. I drink black coffee, but this I had to dump out. Even cream and sugar did not help. I may just not be the ideal person for so much boldness, so if you like your coffee REALLY strong, this one may be for you.

                                                                                    Second is the Best

My very, very favorite of all my coffee selections was the Wild Mountain Blueberry. I do not typically find myself drawn to the more exotic coffee flavors for an everyday choice (though I do enjoy drinking them) but the Wild Mountain Blueberry was AMAZING! It had such a sweet aroma that put a smile on my face and had a delightful fresh blueberry taste! Usually when I try fruity-flavored coffees it is difficult to taste the fruit, but not with this one! There was a slight tang and the texture was so smooth. Delightful and amazing pretty much sum it up! No cream or sugar was needed!

Third Quenches Thirst
The Vermont Country Blend was a very nice brew and I enjoyed it, even black. While bold, the Vermont Country Blend was actually pretty good and had some delightful nutty and earthy undertones. The aroma was amazing and rich and the texture was buttery which felt neat in my mouth. I did not need to use any cream or sugar in this one and it was very satisfying.

Fourth Passed the Test
Lastly, I tried the Colombian Fair Trade Select. Both a little bit bold, and a bit earthy, this variety tasted and smelled just like typical coffee. Different varieties will give you different scents and different tastes, but when you think of the basic, or most common, coffee varieties, this is the one that pops up and it tasted just like it should. I did try it black first to taste it au naturel to truly know what it tasted like, but it was a bit too bold for me at the time so after my first tastes I added some milk and sugar and the coffee was delicious after that. I try not to add cream and sugar when it is not necessary, but I felt it was with this and it was a good choice on my part because it turned out to be some great coffee.


So What Does it Mean to be Fair Trade Certified?
Fair Trade Certified means that the coffee bean farmers are treated fairly. Many companies will not pay coffee farmers a fair, honest price for their beans which leaves many of the farmers living in poverty and other poor conditions. Fair Trade makes sure coffee farmers are taken care of and treated as they should be to keep them from poverty and dangerous working conditions. Fair Trade is a non-profit organization that works with companies like Green Mountain Coffee to certifiy and provide coffees that are not only good for drinking, but good for doing good!

Want to Try For Yourself?
You can find Fair Trade Certified K-cups in most any grocery store and several drug stores as well as home stores and online! Use the code "PASSIT-ON" at GreenMountainCoffee.com/FairTrade to save $2 on your online order*! Don't forget to check out Green Mountain Coffee on Facebook!

*This offer expires 11:59pm EST on 1/31/13 and is only good on Green Mountain Fair Trade Certified varieties.



Disclaimer: I am a BzzAgent and received a free product for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

Soft Scrub Review and Giveaway

 

I had the awesome opportunity of trying out Soft Scrub's new Total Bath & Bowl and All Purpose with Bleach foam/spray cleaners! Now, in all honesty, I am allergic to any household cleaners that have a scent, strong chemicals, anything. The way we tested this, was I took before photos, left the house, let my HUSBAND try out the sprays and I came back and took after photos once the house cleared out! I have to say, I was impressed. My husband doesn't always clean to my satisfaction, so the dirty drains were not as clean as I would have liked, but with how he cleans, this product is awesome! The foam sprays really did a lot of the work by themselves! When I first got these in the mail, my initial thought was that the chemical smell would linger in the house way too long and the sinks would not be any cleaner than before, but they looked fantastic! I love the Soft Scrub brand and I know their products are amazing, but I grew up with the actual scrub so I really did not know what to expect of the new sprays. I like them! The only thing I was not fond of was that something in our sink caused a chemical reaction with the spray and left some black gunk around the drain. With another cleaning this pretty much went away, but I would have rather had to clean it only once. Our sink looks nice and clean and shiny now though! Check out the before and after pics for our bathroom sink which tends to get a lot of rust and grime in it from our water:



Before

After

I love that even though the Soft Scrub foam/spray contains bleach, it is fairly gentle. I alo love that you can choose a fine mist OR a thick foam depending on what the cleaning job needs! I have always been a fan of foams as they are more fun to clean with and they really do a great job and will stay more to the area you are working rather than a spray that gets everywhere. Since Soft Scrub Total has both, it makes this product so versatile with your personal preference and specific needs! I know that when I can use sprays (as I mentioned, usually free and clear sprays,) I will accidentally tip the container upside down to get into hard-to-reach places and am always disappointed when nothing comes out. Well, you can even spray with the bottle upside down! How neat is that?

For those of you wondering, as I know some of you do not use bleach, the only one of these that comes with bleach is the one that states it! Since bleach mixed with ammonia is a toxic combination, this may be the way to go if you use a lot of products that contain ammonia regularly. You can use Soft Scrub Total all around your house, not just in the bathroom; try it on your stovetop, kitchen sink, your bathtub, and get creative! Let me know where you Soft Scrub! Take a photo of someplace in your home that could use Soft Scrub Total and post it on my Facebook wall!

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Disclaimer: I am a Purex Insider and received a free product for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

Combat Source Kill Review/Giveaway

Where we live, there are SO many bugs it's ridiculous! I am used to being outdoors and having a lot of bugs certain times of the year, being from Wisconsin, but here they are all year-round and there are a lot of them. Every day we find new bugs...it's sickening! We recently found out that there is a gap in the seal on our door and it was letting in a stream of ants...disgusting! That's when we grabbed out the Combat (perfect since we are on a military base, by the way.) We put the ant gels inside to kill the ants in the house then cleaned up the floor (to get rid of their sticky footprints that lead more ants in) and put a couple of the ant baits outside of the door on the patio to stop the aunts before they came inside. The aunt problem was eliminated right away! I was in awe! I still had to clean everything down to erase their tracks, but the Combat really did work so we now keep two little ant baits outside of our patio door at all times to make sure we don't have another ant raid inside of our house. After all, with the economy like it is, we need the food for us, not to feed the ants. They can find plenty of food outside!
The Combat Source Kill Max Ant Gel contains Fipronil which is great for killing ants fast, say, if you find a batch by your oven. This will kill the ants right at the spot, but will not eliminate the problem completely as you will still have the rest of the ants to deal with. Combat recommends that you place the Ant Gels near the trails or openings where the ants are entering such as by cabinets, doors, and cracks in the floor and walls.
The Combat Source Kill Max Ant Bait, on the other hand, will not kill the ants immediately, but will act as food to be taken back to the ant hill and fed to the rest of the ants. This allows for the problem to be dealt with at the source, killing the entire colony (including the queen,) where you may not have otherwise found the source to get rid of it. This means that the effect will be long-lasting. The Ant Bait is child-resistant so you don't have to worry about having your little ones playing in and outside of the house when these are set up--something I am thankful about as my son just discovered these outside of our door. This formula is also pretty quick-acting and will not leave any stickiness around your house. I remember growing up we couldn't find a good ant bait in containers so we would put a drop of sticky blue goo on a piece of wax paper and stick those around the house. Needless to say, sometimes we would end up stepping on them. My sister was a toddler, about the age of my son, at that time as well and we always had to watch carefully so she didn't play in it. This is just another thing that makes the Combat Source Kill Ant Gels great!
See how to combat ants in your home!

Congrats Anita L, our Combat winner! So sorry the Rafflecopter isn't announcing winners again. Please contact me as soon as possible with your info so your prize can be sent!

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Disclaimer: I am a Purex Insider and received a free product for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

Glade Expressions Review

From BzzAgent, I was able to try out the new Glade Expressions collection of home fragrances! Glade Expressions is stronger than the cheapo fragrances and helps to eliminate bad odors in your home! They come in sprays and an adorable oil diffuser. I keep the diffuser in my kitchen, which connects to most every room in the lower part of our house, and I keep the sprays in each of the bathrooms and our house always stays smelling great in spite of having a kitten and toddler running around stinking up the place! Our house is inviting when people come in and the fragrances are not overwhelming like some can be and they don't bother my allergies. My husband LOVES to have fragrances all over the house, so this is GREAT for me. I have stocked up on Glade Expressions...you should see my closet...so I will not run out for a while! I love these! My only complaint is that they got rid of my favorite scents pretty quickly at the stores by me and I would like to see those scents and others back.
For a limited time, print this $4 coupon for the diffuser starter kit (about $5.98 at Target...pair with the $1 Target coupon for Glade products) and this $2 coupon for the spray starter kit (about $2.98 at Target...pair with the $1 Target coupon for Glade products to try free!)


Disclaimer: I am a BzzAgent and received a free product for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

UNREAL(TM) Candy Review

As a BzzAgent, I recently had the ooportunity to try the new UNREAL(TM) Candy. Have you seen those in your stores? I have noticed them now at all of our drug stores (Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS.) You may have seen me post some deals to try them free at CVS. If you were able to try them, I would love your feedback!
My take on UNREAL(TM) Candy is that it tastes a lot like Nestle chocolate and is pretty good! You can't tell that it is missing any unhealthy ingredients, which I love. The texture was pretty smooth and I really enjoyed the candies as did my son and husband. BzzAgent only gave us one free candy to try, the candy coated chocolates, but we got some other deals to try out more like the peanut butter cups and one of the nougat bars. I cannot say that I had a favorite as I would usually say the peanut butter cups but they melted in the hot car haha. I really enjoyed being able to feed my family chocolate without having to worry too much about all the additives. Even the colors for the candy coated chocolates were natural!


Disclaimer: I am a BzzAgent and received a free product for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

Rubbermaid LunchBlox Review

Recently we tried out the new Rubbermaid LunchBlox containers and I have to say, this is a pretty cool product! Now, I don't have a kid who is old enough for school and my husband can come home for lunch, so we didn't test out the LunchBlox in that respect, but I did find on our 23-hour trip that the LunchBlox made a nifty product for an on-the-road meal for my toddler! We filled it with a peanut butter sandwich, some fruits and veggies, dried cranberries, a cookie and a couple marshmallows. This made for a very quick and accessible meal on the road for my hungry son which meant fewer stops plus he was able to have a well-rounded, well-proportioned meal! This was SO much better than all the fast food stops we would have otherwise had. The LunchBlox is great because it has perfectly-sized containers for kids' meals and all the blocks snap together to make them less messy and helps them not to fall over! The tops stayed on tightly and I absolutely loved the fact that the LunchBlox comes with a snap-on freezer block for the bottom to keep the cold food cold! How convenient! This wouldn't be the ideal product for an adult's meal (at least for my husband haha) as it is rather small, but if you have children in school or are headed on a road trip (or even a picnic at the park,) the LunchBlox would be a great addition to your supply list!

Photo credit: Rubbermaid's Flickr

As I mentioned earlier, the LunchBlox is very convenient in that it snaps together, and this feature also saves you space in your lunch box which means you will have enough room to add a drink, special treat or a sweet little note. The LunchBlox containers are the required portions for away-lunches which takes the guess-work out of filling up a hearty, healthy, well-portioned meal. Each package has a large container (ideal for sandwiches, meats, etc) as well as a medium container, two small containers and a Blue Ice™ pack. Right now, each package also has a little coupon booklet to help you with the cost of lunch items! The LunchBlox is dishwasher and freezer save and does not contain BPA so you can rest-assured that this is a great product that will be suit your family's needs and is safe!

Photo credit: Rubbermaid's Flickr

Now, we tried the Sandwich kit, but there are several more kits available including a Salad kit and Entree kit and you can even purchase individual containers and a special lunch box that fits the LunchBlox perfectly! You will also find a $1.50 off printable coupon here to get you started! You can purchase the LunchBlox at rubbermaid.com, Target, Kmart, Kroger, Safeway, Bi-Lo, Winn-Dixie, HEB, other grocery stores, some Walmarts, and I have even seen the Sandwich kit in our Walgreens! The LunchBlox retails for around $12.99 but prices may vary by retailer. Don't forget that you can use your manufacture coupons and even store coupons (like percent off coupons, 5% off with your Target RED card, etc) to save even more! This is a great back-to-school or back-to-work item or a great gift for an on-the-go mom!
Check out Rubbermaid's Adventures in Organization blog for great tips, and visit them on Facebook and Twitter to keep up-to-date on new products, promotions and more!


Disclaimer: I received a free product for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

Sassy Steals Review

Have you heard of Sassy Steals? It is a great site where you can purchase discounted homemade items! They have new items each day from jewelry to clothing to crafty items for your house. I had the opportunity to purchase a few different items (earrings, necklace and chalkboard labels) and I am so happy with them! They came within the time promised too. The earrings were much bigger than I was picturing, but they were very cute. I LOVED LOVED LOVED the chalkboard labels and there were more than I was expecting which was great. They look fantastic all over my house and I love the ease of erasing what is written so I can keep it updated for cheap! The necklace also was larger than I was picturing, but I loved it!
From Sassy Steals, you will find so many adorable items for a great price and great quality. They also have weekly giveaways to win some of their great items! Sign up for the newsletter to get emails every time there is a new item up for grabs and follow them on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on all the great deals. At Sassy Steals, you will find some great homemade and boutique deals and with Christmas coming up in the next few months, now is the time to start looking for deals! So check out Sassy Steals and come back and let me know what you'd like to 'steal!'

 

The widget is not posting the winner, so I will. Congratulations Sarah M! Thank you to all who entered!
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Disclaimer: I received a free product for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

Dry Idea Advanced Dry Review & Giveaway

I had the opportunity recently to try out the new Dry Idea Anvanced Dry unscented hypo-allergenic antiperspirant and deodorant roll-on. Well, since I want to uphold the fact that my reviews are honest and I want my opinions to be trust-worthy, I have to tell you I did not really like this deodorant. I was rather disappointed to feel this way as I like Dry Idea in general, but there were a few things that made me feel this way. One, you have to shake the bottle before you can apply (something I forget often as I do not usually have to shake my deodorant) so sometimes it ends up applying funny. Two, this is a roll-on so obviously it will be liquidy, but it was a little bit too liquidy for me and left my underarms feeling wet and sticky for some time. When I first applied it, I found it dripping down my arm. Perhaps I put too much, but I didn't feel that I did. I've been trying to do a very quick swipe lately and that has seemed to work a little bit. Three, I usually prefer things that are unscented due to my allergies, but my deodorant is one thing I prefer to be slightly scented to mask the smell of perspiration. Now, Dry Idea Advanced Dry is also an antiperspirant, but I didn't find that it worked for me. We do live in the South as of recently and I am not used to so much heat so I guess I was sweating more than usual, so maybe that's why it isn't seemed to work for me. I could see this being a great seasonal deodorant for Fall to Winter seasons. One last thing I didn't really like is that this deodorant contains aluminum--something found in a lot of antiperspirants, but it is not the greatest for you.
Of course, there are some things that I do like about Dry Idea Advanced Dry roll-on. I like the ease of application and how you just roll it on and it is nice and smooth. I also like that this is hypo-allergenic. As I mentioned previously, I have some terrible allergies and try to purchase things that are hypo-allergenic so as not to bother my allergies. Dry Idea Advanced Dry also has Vitamin E which is very soothing (though I did notice if I applied just after shaving it did sting a bit, but then I could feel the Vitamin E kick in but my skin was most likely a little broken due to the shaving irritation and the warnings DO say to not use on broken skin.) I also did like how the bottle is shaped; it is not top-heavy and is very well balanced (unlike several of my husband's deodorants that are thin and fall over a lot) and it is easy to grip. Because it is a roll-on, you can move it any which way and not just up and down. I also like that it is a liquid so you don't have to worry about breaking it to pieces.
Overall, would I recommend Dry Idea Advanced Dry? Probably not. However, I have heard of a lot of people liking this product so I'm not going to tell you don't even give it a shot. Try it for yourself and you just MAY like it! Bodies are different and what may not soak into my skin and feel sticky may work perfectly for you.

Disclaimer: I am a Purex Insider and I received a free product to test for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

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Brew Over Ice Review

I am a huge fan of anything coffee and tea related and have always wanted to own my own coffee shop so I have most any coffee or tea equipment you could imagine and last Christmas my mother-in-law added a Keurig to my collection! The Keurig makes single-serve hot and cold coffee shop-quality drinks without the mess! It is so simle to use and I just love it! The Keurig is my go-to coffee maker. Well, Green Mountain Coffee gave me the opportunity to try their Brew Over Ice variety! I have used the Keurig for all sorts of hot drinks, but this was my first time actually brewing over ice. I have to say, I LOVED it!

Brewing over ice was so simple and it really did feel like I was at a coffee shop and the taste was great! I tried three different flavors from them: the new Sweet and Creamy Nutty Hazelnut, Half and Half (half tea and half lemonade) and Southern Sweet Tea! Now, since I have recently moved to the south, I'm sort of going crazy on the sweet tea and Brew Over Ice Southern Sweet Tea tastes just like homemade Southern sweet tea! It is SO good! Now I can brew my sweet tea in a matter of minutes rather than having to take a pitcher full of water and sugar and loads of teabags and let it sit for hours and hope it comes out alright.
Now, when it came to the Half and Half K-cups, they were not my favorite, but then, I have never really been much of a fan of tea mixed with lemonade. My husband, on the other hand, really enjoyed it. The only down-fall to me is the price, but if you watch for deals in stores you can find some good bargains. There are also several companies that periodically give our free K-cup samples so watch my Facebook page for these updates!

I was truly surprised that NO ONE at my BBQ (besides myself) wanted to try the Brew Over Ice K-cups, but then, we did also have a SodaStream and most decided that they wanted soda instead of tea. Crazy since we're in the south! I did, however, share some with others who own a Keurig and had them try out the Brew Over Ice K-cups and they loved them. It is so easy to make great-quality coffee and tea and I love that the Brew Over Ice was made a bit stronger so that the ice didn't water it down. Mmm it was so good!

Green Mountain Coffee is a great company; they are close to their farmers, they support local communities, protect the invironment by brewing green, demand sustainable products, partner with non-profit groups and treat their employees well, helping them to reach their goals. They make sure they choose the best coffees and are Fair Trade Certified. Green Mountain Coffee also has the largest selection of K-cups including coffees, teas, hot chocolates and now even vitamin drinks! Brew Over Ice K-cups retail around $12 in stores for a small pack or $17 online for a larger pack and can be purchased online or in most any retailer (Target/Kohls/grocery stores/Sams Club.) Go here to find a retailer near you. A lot of times the best deal you will find is at Kohls when you have a percent off to use in stores. Be sure to check out the Brew Over Ice Facebook and Twitter pages and become a part of Tumbler Nation and watch for coupons!

I have a how-to video to upload but it won't work right now so when I get to somewhere with faster internet I will add that.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

Disclaimer: I received a free product to test for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

Rudi's Flatz Bread Review

We were able to try some Rudi's Flatz bread and we loved it! Rudi's Organic Bakery is a company that provides fresh, organic, gluten-free bread to its customers. Their products are also free of harmful additives such as artificial ingredients, trans-fat, high fructose corn syrup, GMOs and preservatives! This means Rudi's Organic bread is healthier than most! Rudi's also has a lot of flavor and it doesn't taste "healthy"! Rudi's Flatz are just what you'd think--flat bread for sandwiches and bagels! Flatz are 110 calories or less and have plenty of fiber and whole grains! They fit perfectly in his little hands too and were fun to eat! Surprisingly to me, I really enjoyed the Rudi's Flatz sandwiches myself! I thought it would be more something for kids, but we made some great-tasting hamburgers and a delicious turkey sandwich on them (check out the Wholly Guacamole post for the recipe)! Even my husband loved them! Flatz bagels are great too and I love that you can fill them with fun ingredients and they stay pretty clean! Try them with cheese, eggs and bacon! I also love to fill them with berry-flavored cream cheese. Yum!
Rudi's Flatz are a great product for on the go and with kids! Because they are flat, they do a pretty good job of keeping the contents inside, they are easier to hold and the liquidy ingredients you may use don't leak through!  My son loved to eat peanut butter Flatz sandwiches and I loved feeding them to him too because they gave him a lot of much-needed nutrition and he didn't make a peanut-buttery mess like most sandwich breads! The ONLY thing I did not like is that they expire very quickly and I found mold on a couple pieces the day that they were supposed to expire. I guess I will be sure to refrigerate them from now on or eat them more quickly!
Rudi's doesn't just have Flatz though, so be sure to check out their site to find out more about their other products! Sign up to get coupons and check out Rudi's on Facebook! Not sure where to buy Rudi's bread? Find a retailer near you at this link.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

Disclaimer: I received a free product to test for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

Wholly Guacamole/Salsa Review

Wholly Guacamole sent me a bunch of guacamole and salsa to review and I have to say, it is sooo good! I never used to like guacamole, but something recently made me love it and I've been wanting it on everything and Wholly Guacamole is my all-time favorite guacamole brand! For those of you who may not know, guacamole is sort of like a salsa made with avocados rather than tomatoes! It can be spicy or mild and it tastes good on most everything! Wholly Guacamole salsa is better than other brand in that it is kosher, gluten free, fat free, all natural with no preservatives or additives) and you can freeze it for up to three months!! That is, if you can manage to not eat it for that long! Wholly Guacamole also has a line of salsa called Wholly Salsa and it is pretty good! They have a lot of flavors to choose from and they also are just as healthy as the guacamole! Wholly Guacamole, however, says do not freeze the salsa, just the guacamole.

Wholly Guacamole comes in several varieties: Regular and Spicy Guacamole in containers and snack packs, and Avocado Verde, Classic Mild, Guacamole and Spicy Pico, Roasted Tomato, Classic Medium, Classic Hot, Red Pepper Mango, and Pineapple Salsa.

The Avocado Verde went over by far the best at our BBQ and there was almost nothing left! Classic Mild Salsa also went over well, but I would have preferred the Medium or Hot because the Mild was not spicy at all to me. I did notice that the salsa seemed a bit liquidy, but that was probably because it was sitting out on the table. The Wholly Guacamole Avocado Verde and the guacamole were perfectly textured though. They were smooth but chunky and had great flavor.

I tried my guacamole on a sandwich! You can see my recipe below. The guacamole and salsa also went great with the Food Should Taste Good chips! Since we just recently moved, I haven't been able to mess around with more recipes with this salsa and guacamole, but there is so much that you could make with them and their flavor and texture is great for almost any dish you could think of! Personally, I'm tempted to try to come up with a dessert using the guacamole. Yum! If I come up with anything tasty I will let you know!
Here are some of the reviews from the guests at our grill-out:
-"Perfect spiciness; great product"
-"Avocado Verde, changed my LIFE! Where can I get a Big Box? I love it. I couldn't stop eating it"
-"The salsa is almost as good as my mom's!"
-"[Salsa] was very flavorful and healthy"

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!
Check out Wholly Guacamole on Facebook and Twitter and be sure to look for the coupons!

Tasty Turkey Sandwich

Rudi's Whole Wheat Flatz
Deli turkey
Provolone cheese
Slice of tomato
Spinach
Lots of Wholly Guacamole guac
Drizzle of olive oil
Dash of black pepper



Disclaimer: I received a free product to test for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

Food Should Taste Good Review

Have you heard of Food Should Taste Good chips? I had seen them before but I had not tried them and really knew nothing about them until I did this review! Food Should Taste Good is a brand that produces natural, healthy chips free of GMOs, cholesterol, preservatives and trans fat. They are made with wholesome ingredients, the kinds you can pronounce. Food Should Taste Good chips are also gluten-free, kosher, and a great source of fiber! Many of these chips are multigrain chips which means they are very healthy. In fact, many companies are now pushing the importance of getting wholesome grains and Food Should Taste Good does a great job at keeping their chips healthy AND tasting good!
Food Should Taste Good offers many different flavor varieties. Below is a list of the flavors offered:

-Multigrain     -Sweet Potato     -Olive     -Jalapeno     -Lime     -Cantina     -The Works!

-Chocolate    -Blue Corn     -Cheddar    -White Cheddar     -Toasted Sesame     -Hemp

-Jalapeno with Cheddar     -Kettlecorn     -Original Sweet Potato

-Barbeque Sweet Potato     -Salt & Pepper Sweet Potato     -Salt & Vinegar Sweet Potato

Food Should Taste Good chips were a great addition to our grill out! The Blue Corn chips paired perfectly with the Wholly Guacamole Salsa, they Multigrain Chips were great with the Wholly Guacamole guac and the Barbeque Sweet Potato chips were great all by themselves! My personal favorite is the Blue Corn because I have always loved blue corn chips; they are tasty by themselves and you can pair the with almost anything, plus they look pretty! I didn't mind the Barbeque Sweet Potato chips, much to my surprise, as I am not the biggest fan of sweet potatoes that aren't drowned in butter, cinnamon and sugar. They weren't the greatest, but I would still eat them. My son couldn't get enough! Sweet Potato is one of those flavors you either love or hate. If you hate sweet potatoes to start with, you probably won't like this kind. I was not, honestly, a fan of the Cheddar variety, however. I cannot put my finger on why, but they had a sort of funny after taste to me but everyone else loved them. I loved that all the chips were very crunchy and even a little bit stale they still tasted pretty good! Some did say, though, that the Sweet Potato line had a funny texture (Sweet Potato ends up much chewier than regular potato chips.) I love that they are healthy for me and have a unique flavor compared to other chips and the seasoning was just right. These are definitely a chip that I would purchase for my family. I am excited to try out more of the flavors! We tried a few more than mentioned, but the ones that I described were the ones that went over the best at our party. I really want to try the Chocolate and had some but they are in a different state right now so once I try those I will let you know what I think! Since some of my chips did end up in a different state (and Food Should Taste Good was so generous as to resend them to my new address) I let my mom bring them to a family get-together in exchange for more opinions! Here are some of the things my party guests and my family said about Food Should Taste Good chips:

-"Personally not a fan of multigrain"
-"BBQ wasn't the greatest. Blue Corn and Cheddar were delicious"
-"Very healthy. BBQ weren't the greatest"
-"Creative. Nothing like Lays. Much more original"
-"Jalapeno were pretty good" (one said this kind tasted like cardboard)
-"I even liked the Kettle ones and I can't stand kettle corn"
-"Kettle and Blue Corn were enjoyed by all"
-"Sweet Potato was take it or leave it, nothing impressive"
-"BBQ Sweet Potato no one really cared for"
-"Sweet Potato Salt & Vinegar-not bad but a little sweet"
-"Sweet Potato Original most didn't care for but those who did loved them"
-"Multigrain Cheddar-loved, loved, loved!"

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!
You can purchase Food Should Taste Good chips online or in stores. Go here to find a store near you. Check out Food Should Taste Good on Facebook then go onto their website, join the club, and get a $1 off coupon!

Disclaimer: I received a free product to test for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

SodaStream Review

I had the wonderful opportunity of trying out the SodaStream, a machine to make your own soda at home! I personally try not to drink too much soda, but my husband drinks quite a bit so this was fun for him to try out! The SodaStream is a stand-alone soda maker meaning you don't have any plugs to plug in and it doesn't use electricity or batteries which saves you money! This product's goal is to eliminate plastic waste for a cleaner earth while providing its customers with several different beverage flavors! You have the Sparkling Naturals line which is a healthier alternative to your average soda syrups, your diet and regular varieties which have flavors like Orange Mango, Cola, Cream Soda and Grapefruit, and your MyWater drops which are basically a flavor essence that you would put into soda water for a hint of lemon lime, orange, etc.

A SodaStream consists of four different items: the actual SodaStream device, the CO2 carbonator, the carbonator bottles, and the flavor syrups/essence. SodaStream offers a few different soda maker styles for different looks to fit your home and different uses/levels. These machines include the Fountain Jet (pictured here,) Genesis, Dynamo Deluxe, Pure, Fizz, Crystal and Penguin. These generally run from $79.99 and up and can be purchased at retailers such as Walmart, Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond and online on the SodaStream website and many more locations. See here for a location near you. You can also find the flavor syrups at these locations. I love their huge selection of syrups because they really try to cater to everyone. They have energy drinks, Country Time lemonade, tea, diet everyday and unique soda flavors and the same in the regular mixes and of course the Naturals and Essence! You can see a full list of flavors on their website. These retail around $6.99 and up. If you choose to purchase your syrups online, you will get a free bottle after every 9 you purchase! The bottles are specific to screw into the machine and get that signature soda fizz. They come in 1 Liter and 1/2 Liter sizes in stores and retail from $14.99 for two small bottles. These are not dishwasher safe or heat safe and care should be taken towards this end. If you choose to order online, however, they do sell bottles that are dishwasher safe as well as glass bottles!
You may be thinking, this sounds pretty expensive. In all honesty, it is, but if you find yourself purchasing soda a lot this will actually save you a ton of money and help to keep the earth clean. The SodaStream saves on packaging and waste, you don't have to purchase a whole entire pack of one flavor (if you're like me, you like different flavors depending on your mood) and many of the drink mixes are healthier than the average soda! My father-in-law drinks a lot of soda and has a soda stream and it is saving him quite a bit. He loves it! Personally, I will only purchase the syrups if they are on sale, though you have to think about the fact that those $6.99 bottles make several bottles of soda worth, soda which usually would cost you around $1.69 per container (that means you can only get about 4 bottles of soda for the price of one bottle of syrup which makes several more than 4 bottles.) I prefer to use the SodaStream machine and shoot in a few squirts of MiO Water instead of the syrups. It is healthier and tastes great!
Check out SodaStream on Facebook and Twitter!

Here are some of the reviews my party guests left:
-"Lime water was ok but lack flavor or sweetness"
-"Very expensive for the flavor"
-"Too expensive in my view. It was okay"
-"Cool idea; sort of time consuming; hight up front costs"

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

I will post a how-to video once I get somewhere with faster internet; mine won't let me upload videos right now.

Disclaimer: I received a free product to test for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

Newman's Own Organics Review

I had the privilege of trying out several different Newman's Own Organics products. Newman's Own Organics provide tons of different organic-certified products and you can find them all over! Go here for a full product list and here to find out where you can purchase Newman's Own Organics. Plus, part of all Newman's Own Organics sales is donated to various charities!
Below are some of my favorite Newman's Own Organics products:

Newman O's:
Newman O's are a lot like those very popular chocolate cookies with a cream filling only they taste much better and are much better for you because they are organic! We loved our Newman O's and my son couldn't get enough of them. They are perfectly sweet and perfectly crunchy and of course the cream in the middle is the best part! Mmm. I felt a lot better serving my family Newman O's than the 'other' brand because they are a lot healthier. These delightful cookies were also a hit at our BBQ! Now, I don't dip my cookies in milk, but my husband thinks these are great dunked! Personally, I love them crushed up and sprinkled into ice cream!

Family Recipe Cookies:
Newman's Own Organics offers several kinds of family recipe cookies--flavors like your grandma would make like Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Gingersnap but my very favorite was the Orange Chocolate Chip. I absolutely LOVE when orange flavor is incorporated into anything that has chocolate and I have not had it incorporated into a chocolate chip cookie before! They were so good! The cookies were bite-size, which I really like because they were the perfect size for my son and the perfect size for me to just pop in my mouth, and they were crunchy! You could definitely taste the orange flavor and it complimented the chocolate chips so well. Even the chocolate chips were amazing! They seemed a lot richer than just regular chocolate chips and I love the fact that when I eat this food I know what I'm eating because it doesn't have all the fillers and preservatives that I can't even pronounce like other cookies and you can definitely taste the fresh difference!

Dried Fruit:
I have always loved dried fruit because it is an easy way to get your daily fruit intake, it's very tasty and goes great in a lot of recipes! This is why I love the Newman's Own Organics dried fruit! It is just as flavorful as any other brand, but is more plump, very sweet, very fresh and organic! I love the tangy flavor of the dried fruits and the unique blend in the berry mixture. Newman's Own Organics dried fruit is a great addition to trail mix, cookies, breads or just alone as a snack! Even my picky son loved it!


Hermits:
Now, the name totally threw me off and my husband was wondering what these were too, but Hermits are a cookie that is soft and tastes basically like a gingersnap cookie with raisins in it! They have some large sugar crystals on the outside and a slight spice with the sweet raisins and were very good! We tried the cinnamon flavor which was great. My son again enjoyed them and so did I. Personally, I think gingersnap cookies taste the best when they are still soft and chewy and that's what these reminded me of, plus the raisins added an extra ounce of yummy. Newman's Own Organics Hermits also come in Original and Ginger varieties. Mmm. I think I'm going to go sneak one before dinner.

Licorice:
Licorice has always been something that I have liked, even black licorice (I know, most people find it gross) but Newman's Own Organics offers more varieties of licorice than I knew about! They have a new 'Sour' line that was not at all what I was expecting but I loved them! When I opened up the pack for the sour licorice, each was coated with sugar like a very popular sour candy. Well, they tasted even better! I know the package has several servings, but the Newman's Own Organics licorice was so addicting that I could not help but eat the whole pack myself haha. I think my husband should hide them and only give me a couple for special occasions! These are so healthy compared to most licorice, though, that I really don't feel so bad eating so many. They are natural and organic and made with real fruit flavors without the artificial fruit flavors. They have perfect sweetness, perfect tang, and a perfectly chewy licorice texture (not too tough or too mushy like some other popular brands.)

Signature Series Chocolate Bars:
I love chocolate. That's all there is to it. BUT, once in a while you come across that chocolate that just tastes better than the rest; well, Newman's Own Organics Signature Series Chocolate is one of those, and I'm not kidding! I will eat any chocolate, but I can get rather picky when trying to find one that I am in love with and I usually end up picking the organic ones. I love that Newman's Own Organics offers each of their flavors in dark and milk chocolate as I love flavored dark chocolates a lot and I love to have that choice. The Mocha Milk Chocolate bars are exquisite. The chocolate had perfect amounts of flavoring and was super rich and creamy. It melted in my mouth! My husband loved it too and keeps sneaking pieces of what's left over. This is definitely a chocolate I am happy to serve to my family. What makes the Newman's Own Organics Signature Series Chocolate even better is that it is not just certified USDA organic chocolate, but it is also certified by the Rainforest Alliance! This means they have truly organic chocolate that is grown on good farms and the workers are treated well. This is something that does not happen as often as it should.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

Be sure to check out Newman's Own Organics on Facebook and read this article to learn more about the company and their organic products! You can also print some coupons on their website, up to 2 per household!

Kale-Berry Salad

1 bunch fresh kale
1/4 cup olive oil
1-1/2 lemons, fresh
2 teaspoons honey
Pinch of kosher salt
Dash of black pepper
1/2 cup of Newman's Own Organics dried cranberries (more or less as desired)
1/2 cup of sesame sticks (more or less as desired)

Rinse your kale and remove it from the stems. An easy way to do this is to grab both sides of the leaves at the base near the stem and pull down until the whole leaf comes off. Pile up your kale leaves and slice them into strands to make the salad. Fresh kale by itself is rather bitter, so you will want to sort of massage it until it gets softer. To do so, put a little olive oil and the juice of the 1/2 lemon in to get the kale wet and toss in just a pinch of salt. Once the kale is soft, you can start on the dressing.

Dressing:
In a bowl, whisk together the 1/4 cup of olive oil, honey, the rest of the lemon juice and pepper. When well-blended, your salad is ready! All you have to do now is put the dressing on the salad, toss, and serve topped with the dried cranberries and sesame sticks!
~Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I received a free product to test for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.

Mt. Olive Pickles Review

Mmm pickles! Personally, I am a HUGE fan of pickles and could eat them all the time and Mt. Olive Pickles are my favorite! I used to eat their spicy pickles all the time but now I got to calm it down and eat some of their regular pickles and hamburger pickles and they have such a great, pickle taste! Some pickles have a funny after-taste or tang that sticks to your tongue after, but Mt. Olive Pickles don't have that. They are 100% delicious and add such a great taste to your burgers, hotdogs, and other pickle recipes! We had ours on our Rudi's and King's Hawaiian burgers at our Grill Mates BBQ! Mt. Olive pickles are perfectly-sized for any occasion and are very fresh and delightfully crunchy. My BBQ guests said the following about Mt. Olive pickles:

-"Always delicious"
-"Refreshing"
-"Pickles were fresh and crunchy. Tastes great"

Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Inc is based out of Mt. Olive, NC (right by me!) but they distribute everywhere in the United States. Mt. Olive produces a couple different types of pickles: processed and fresh pack. Processed pickles include those like relish and salad cubes. Fresh pack pickles are those that are whole pickles that come completely whole, sliced, or made into hamburger chips. Mt. Olive pickles come in flavor varieties such as sweet, sour, dill, kosher dill and bread & butter. Yes, if you need to eat foods that are kosher, you can eat Mt. Olive Kosher Dills! 
For some fun recipes and history for pickles, check out their website! You will also be able to sign up to win freebies, print neat coloring sheets with their mascot, Ollie, and submit a pickle recipe for a chance to win a free t-shirt! Be sure to check out Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Inc on Facebook and you can even send a friend request to Ollie!
You can also visit Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Inc for a video tour and to check out their gift shop (I'm hoping to find a pickle ornament for our Christmas tree--we like to hide the pickle and whoever finds it gets an extra gift!) and visit them at the annual Pickle Festival in North Carolina each April (I will be there!!) or for the annual New Year's Eve Pickle Drop at the Mt. Olive location at the corner of Cucumber & Vine at 7 pm on New Year's Eve! How fun would that be to go to?!

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

Check out this recipe from Couponing 4 You:

Southern Fried Pickles

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 11 ounce jar Mt. Olive hamburger dill pickle slices
2 cups buttermilk
Instructions
Preheat 8 cups of vegetable oil to 350 degrees in a large pot. Drain dill pickles in a colander and then place into a medium sized bowl with the 2 cups of buttermilk. Place all dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Take about a handful of the pickles out of the buttermilk and dredge into the seasoned flour. Shake off excess flour, and place battered pickles into hot grease. Be careful not to place too many pickles into the hot grease or the pickles won't fry up crisp. Fry pickle slices until golden brown. Continue cooking pickles until all are done. 

Thanks Couponing 4 You!

Disclaimer: I received a free product to test for my review! These views are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity.