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Fruit2O Essentials – Review/Giveaway

Posted on May 11, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

If you come to visit our house, I apologize in advance that you will typically not find soda here. We only buy it for birthday parties and when we know we are having dinner guests that drink it. The boys, TechyDad included, do not like carbonated beverages. I do, but not that often. When visiting Disney World, I have been known to have a Sprite or another decaffeinated soda of choice. NHL loves water, milk and from time to time vegetable juices. The little guy could live on water alone. TechyDad and I drink 64+ ounces of water in our Nalgene bottles daily and rarely have anything else. From time to time, I do crave something different like a sugar free peach ice tea or lemonade. I have tried flavored waters, but often found them to be too sweet for me.

Recently, I was asked by Sunny Delight Beverage, Co (via Mom Select) to try the new Fruit2O Essentials. They mentioned a wide variety of flavors that sounded interesting, so I said yes.

More about Fruit2O Essentials:

From the creators of Fruit₂O®, the original fruit flavored water, comes a new fortified water unlike any other – Fruit₂O® Essentials™ – providing nutrients found in two servings of fruit with zero calories in each bottle.

"Studies have shown that 80 percent of Americans do not drink the recommended eight glasses of water a day, and as much as 77 percent of Americans do not eat the recommended servings of fruit a day,” said Tammy and Elysee Lakatos (The Nutrition Twins) certified trainers and nutritionists. “More than any other consumer group, women have expressed a particular desire to be healthy and consume the recommended daily intake of fruits and water. But with an increasingly hectic lifestyle, many find it difficult to incorporate these important elements of nutrition into their daily diet."

Fruit₂O Essentials was created with that in mind. Every bottle provides nutrients found in two servings of fruit, including important vitamins and minerals and one gram of fiber. Each of the six delicious flavors combines a popular fruit with a super fruit delivering uniquely beneficial nutrients.

Unlike many other fortified waters in the category, Fruit₂O Essentials has a subtle fruit flavor, zero sugar, zero calories and only one gram of carbohydrates. It is a great tasting way to help women achieve the appropriate level of hydration to keep them looking and feeling healthy. And, most importantly, the nutrients and benefits are as clear and easy to understand as the benefits of drinking water and eating fruit, making it simple for women to incorporate this drink into their life and diet.

Available in six flavors:

Cranberry Raspberry – An excellent source of Manganese and a good source of Zinc, Vitamin E, Phosphorus and Potassium
Strawberry Kiwi – An excellent source of Manganese and a good source of Vitamin E, Phosphorus and Vitamin B6
Peach Mango – An excellent source of Vitamin E and Vitamin B6 and a good source of Manganese, Phosphorus and Vitamin B5
Citrus – A good source of Potassium, Phosphorus, Vitamin B5 and Vitamin B6
Blueberry Pomegranate – An excellent source of Manganese and a good source of Vitamin E, Vitamin B6, Phosphorus and Potassium
Cherry Acai – A good source of Manganese, Phosphorus, Vitamin B5 and Vitamin B6

Only available in US markets at this time. Grocery stores sell single bottle at $1.00 to $1.19. Club Stores sell 15 packs at $8.99 to $10.99.

Fruit2O also has a Facebook page. You can "Like" them to receive product information, new fitness videos, tips, coupons and special events in your area. Fruit2O has also partnered with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to help women to make small changes that create lifelong health improvements. Fruit2O will be on tour this summer sharing information about Small Changes, Lifelong Results campaign and partnership with the ADA. Starting this Friday, May 14, visit online to make a pledge. If you do, $1 will be donated to your local ADA chapter to help fight diabetes. More updates are available on the Facebook page.

What we thought:

Our samples of Fruit2O Essentials arrived during Passover, so I put them aside to have after we were finished with the holiday. When we were done switching things out, I placed the seven bottles (one of each flavor listed above and an extra Citrus) into our refrigerator to chill. One thing I have noticed is that flavored water typically tastes better when very cold.

The first one that we tried was the Citrus flavor. Let me preface this with a little information. When we go to restaurants and I am served water with lemon in it, I will ask for a new water with no fruit inside. I am not a fan of lemon in my water, yet I do like lemonade. When I took a sip, I was not too sure how I felt. I allowed my very eager six year old son, NHL, to try some. He loved it and begged for more. I tried a little more and handed over the bottle to NHL. He quickly drank it and asked if we had more. I told him we would try another flavor the next day. I think the reason I was not a fan of this flavor was because it was too similar to lemons in water and I seriously do not like that.

Our favorite flavor was the Peach Mango. I saved this until later because I was most intrigued by the combination. I love peach ice tea, and anything with the fruits sounds delicious. I was pleasantly surprised. There was a definite peach/mango flavor that was not overwhelming. Since I rarely drink anything other than plain water, I was sensitive to another taste – which was in all of the drinks. From process of elimination, I believe it was the sodium. Yes, apparently my taste buds are that sharp since we do low salt meals here! NHL and JSL both adored this one. As you will see below, we all shared and finished this flavor together.

Overall, the boys really liked the Fruit2O Essentials drinks. NHL keeps asking if we have more for a special treat. As I stated at the start, I am a plain water kind of girl. If I was really hot and out in the sun, I think I would have appreciated these drinks a little more (will try again this summer when we head to Six Flags for the day). People that like flavored water will probably enjoy Fruit2O Essentials since the flavors are present, not too strong and they are packed with a lot of extras in the line of vitamins and more.

Giveaway:

Thanks to MomSelect and Sunny Delight Beverage Co., one lucky reader will win variety pack of Fruit2O Essentials to try for yourself. Below are the bottles that I received for review.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Answer the following question: What small change are you making to live a healthier life?

For all bonus entries below, please be sure to leave a separate comment for each extra chance you are allowed.

Bonus Entry – What flavor of Fruit2O Essentials are you most interested in trying and why?
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Fruit2O Essentials Giveaway in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): What small changes are you making to be healthy? Let @TheAngelForever know. Chance to #win Fruit2O Essentials #giveaway http://bit.ly/b753RN
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of April/May. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
1 Bonus Entry – Enter any of my other current giveaways (keep checking back – more being added all the time). Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries.

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today May 11 and ends at 10:59 EST on May 25, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: This review and giveaway was made possible by MomSelect and Fruit2O Essentials. They provided me with the product samples to facilitate this review. The opinions of this review were mine and I received no other compensation.

Categories:
giveaway health awareness photos Product review

Marcal Small Steps Winner

Posted on May 8, 2010 1:48 pm by TheAngelForever

Thank you to everyone that entered my Marcal Small Steps giveaway. I used Random.org to select the winner:

An e-mail will be sent to Lois shortly and she will have 48 hours to send me her information or another person will be randomly selected. More giveaways will be coming this week, so be sure to check back. Do not forget to enter my Yoplit Greek Yogurt giveaway. Thank you again to Marcal for making this giveaway possible for my readers.

Categories:
giveaway

Yoplait Greek Yogurt (Review/Giveaway)

Posted on April 26, 2010 1:15 pm by TheAngelForever

For quite some time, I had heard people talking about Greek yogurt. I have to admit, I did not really understand the hype. I saw that it was quite a but more expensive than the regular yogurt and did not have as many options. Sometime last year, I finally saw the light and looked at the only Greek yogurt that was at our local store. Looking at the label, I quickly realized the powerful punch that it contains.

As a family that is mostly vegetarian, thanks to the extreme cost of kosher meat, we are always looking for high protein food sources. When I finally looked at a container of Greek yogurt I was floored that most contain 12 or more grams of protein. A typical 6 ounce container of yogurt has about 6 grams of protein. To put that into perspective, here are what some other protein rich food give you:

4 ounce hamburger patty = 28 grams
3.5 ounce chicken breast = 30 grams
6 ounce can of tuna = 40 grams
1 cup milk = 8 grams
1/2 cup of most beans cooked = 7-10 grams
1 large egg = 6 grams
1/2 cup tofu = 20 grams
2 tablespoons of peanut butter = 8 grams

My little guy is a VERY picky eater. He does not like most chicken, meat, or fish. He will tolerate yogurt, so this was a perfect way to get more protein into his diet. He loved Greek Yogurt, and so do I. When MyBlogSpark asked us to try the new Yoplait Greek Yogurt, we agreed. While shopping, I had seen it and was curious about how it compared to the brand we usually bought (Chobani).

More about Yoplait Greek Yogurt:

Each 6 ounce serving of Yoplait Greek Yogurt contains 12 grams of protein. Yoplait makes Strawberry, Blueberry, Honey Vanilla and Plain Greek Yogurt at this time. Complete nutritional information can be found here. The Yoplait Greek Yogurt has no fat, 15% vitamin A, 20% Vitamin D, and 30% Calcium (based on Daily Recommended Values).

Yoplait Greek Yogurt has a website with more information about each of the flavors. In addition to this, they also have a variety of recipe suggestions for using their product in. They include smoothies, dill yogurt dip, fresh apple streusel pecan cake and more. While there, be sure to print out a coupon to try some Yoplait Greek Yogurt for yourself.

What I thought:

As I said before, I am a big fan of Greek Yogurt. On a whole, I really like the thick nature of the yogurt and the much higher protein content. When I opened up a container of the Blueberry Yoplait Greek Yogurt, the first item I noticed was there was no need to mix it. Unlike the other brand that I have had, where fruit is on the bottom, this had blueberry throughout the yogurt and was immediately ready to eat. I really liked this, especially since I had two little boys eager for taste testing.

The boys really liked what they tasted and each asked for another spoon before running off to play. I like the thick custard-like consistancy of the Yoplait Greek Yogurt. It was really smooth and not gritty. Since the fruit was already mixed in, there was a nice blend of the yogurt and never spots without fruit. I also liked that it was not overly sweet since a lot of fruit yogurts can have that tendency.

I would definitely consider buying more of this yogurt for my family and only hope that more flavors are available soon.

Giveaway:

Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Yoplait, one lucky reader will win a Yoplait Greek "Nourish Your Inner Goddess" gift pack like the one I received below. Two coupons for free Yoplait Greek Yogurt are included along with items to help you relax. Please note, the coupons for free cup of Yoplait Greek Yogurt are not valid in some states, including California, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Tennessee.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Answer the following questions: Which flavor of Yoplait Greek yogurt would you like to try the most?
1 Bonus Entry – What is something that you do for yourself to help your inner Goddess come out?
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Nourish Your Inner Goddess Giveaway in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Chance to win a Nourish Your Inner Goddess gift pack from @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/cVr6ov
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of March/April. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
1 Bonus Entry – Enter any of my other current giveaways (keep checking back – more being added all the time). Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries.

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today April 26 and ends at 10:59 EST on May 10, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: This review and giveaway was made possible by My Blog Spark and Yoplait. They provided me with the gift pack and coupon to purchase a package of Yoplait Kids yogurt. The opinions of this review were mine and I received no other compensation.

Categories:
food glorious food giveaway Product review

Marcal Small Steps for Earth Month and beyond (Review/Giveaway)

Posted on April 22, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As a community, we all need to work together to help our planet to stay clean and healthy for future generations. In our house, we have switched all of our light bulbs to the more energy efficient variety, the boys help us to recycle items, reusable bags are always with us when shopping, and we have our Nalgene bottles for water. Of course, we do other things like try to take lunches in reusable containers, plastic bags are used less often and paper plates at a minimum. I have always used scrap paper around the house to make lists. I think a lot of this stems from growing up with my Papa running a recycling plant when I was little. Seeing all of the magazines, newspapers, books and more in piles higher than my house was an eye-opener.

Recently, I was contacted by Marcal about their new line of products. They asked if I would like to review the Marcal Small Steps line of product

About Marcal Small Steps:

Marcal Smalls Steps makes toilet paper, napkins, and paper towels from 100% premium recycled paper- not trees. It may seem like a small thing, but it actually adds up. If every household in the U.S. replaced one package of traditional toilet paper with Marcal Small Steps, together we could help save nearly one million trees. And, in your own home, a family of four could save two trees a year (17 trees over 10 years) just by switching to paper products made from 100% recycled materials.

For those of us watching our budgets (who isn’t?!), Marcal doesn’t have the “green premium” often attached to earth-friendly brands. In fact, Marcal Small Steps typically sells for less than traditional paper goods that are made by cutting down trees and often contain dyes and fragrances that Marcal doesn’t use.

To celebrate Earth Month, we’ve created a calendar of the many ways you can help the environment with your own “small steps.” We hope you’ll visit our Facebook page and download this Marcalendar with some great ideas for getting a little more green this month and beyond! http://tinyurl.com/ykdm6cd

Small Steps paper products are:

100% premium recycled paper
Hypoallergenic
Virtually Lint Free
Free of Dyes and Fragrances
Manufactured without Chlorine Bleaching
Inner core is made from recycled paper

To receive a coupon and join the Marcal Movement head here to get more details. Price Chopper supermarkets carry these items. To find a store near you head to the store finder.

What we thought:

Marcal sent us a package that contained bath tissue, facial tissues, paper towels and napkins to try. We have already started to use the bath tissue. I must admit, I am a toilet paper snob. I do not use generic store brands since we have not found one that meets up to my standards. For the most part, I am loyal to a particular kind, unless sales woo me another way.

I was a little skeptical about using a recycled paper product for this manner. When I took the roll of toilet paper out of the package, the first thing I noticed was it felt similar to the toilet paper that we usually use. It felt a little different to the touch, but nothing drastically different. It was certainly not anything that my children and husband noticed. The roll was similar in size to our other rolls. It did a nice job doing what it is supposed to do, I was very pleasantly surprised. The other item I noticed, the roll seems to last longer than our other rolls. Seeing how many trees we could save with toilet paper alone, we will looking to see if the stores near us actually carry this for future use.

Given how we liked the bath tissue, my family will continue to try the rest of the products in the coming days and I will report back here.

Giveaway:

Thanks to Marcal Small Steps, one lucky reader will win a package similar to mine that will contain samples of their new products for your home.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Answer the following questions: What is a "small step" that you will take beyond Eath Day to help our environment?
1 Bonus Entry – Which Marcal Small Steps product are you most interested in trying and why?
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Marcal Small Steps Earth Day Giveaway in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Earth Day Giveaway! Win Marcal Small Steps products from @TheAngelForever to try with your family http://bit.ly/cu434Z
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of March/April. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
1 Bonus Entry – Enter any of my other current giveaways (keep checking back – more being added all the time). Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries.

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today April 22 and ends at 10:59 EST on May 6, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: I received the Small Steps products complimentary of Marcal to facillitate this review. No other compensations was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own feelings about the product that my family tried. The giveaway is also made possible thanks to Marcal.

Categories:
giveaway Product review shopping

National Geographic Little Kids (Review/Giveaway)

Posted on April 12, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Admit it, we all love getting things in the mail. Adults may not like the bills, but most other items are welcome, especially magazines to read for pleasure. Kids today are lucky, there are a lot more magazines specifically geared to children. NHL, now six, has had magazine subscriptions to several different publications. JSL, almost three, was still a little too young for most of them.

Recently, I was asked by Family Review Network to review National Geographic Little Kids magazine. I had heard about it, but had never actually seen it at stores. The concept intrigued me since it is made for children ages three to six. I figured this was a great opportunity to see how kids on both ends of the age spectrum liked the new magazine.

About National Geographic Little Kids:

Aimed at preschoolers ages 3 to 6 and their parents, National Geographic Little Kids is the magazine for young explorers, packed with teaching tools to help parents inspire a love of learning in their children. The Association of Educational Publishers chose National Geographic Little Kids for its highest award, the Golden Lamp, in 2008 and named the magazine Periodical of the Year in 2008 and 2009. National Geographic Little Kids also won a Parents’ Choice Gold Award for 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Filled with lively photographs and engaging stories to develop prereading and early reading skills, plus interactive picture games and puzzles to teach logic and counting, each 24-page issue contains fresh and imaginative instruction tools. There are captivating animal stories, answers to questions on kids’ favorite topics, features on different cultures to inspire a sense of understanding about the world, plus interactive experiments to introduce simple science. Each issue also includes a set of six wild animal cards.

National Geographic Little Kids is a perfectly sized magazine for little hands, at approximately 6 1/2” by 7”. National Geographic Little Kids is available by subscription for $15 a year (six issues; international subscription cost varies) and on newsstands for $3.99 a copy. Explore online at littlekids.nationalgeographic.com.

What we thought:

NHL immediately took the National Geographic Little Kids and went to the couch to read them. We received the current issue (seen above) and three past magazines to review.

He immediately dove into the January/February 2010 issue with Lion Cubs on the cover. NHL adores lions and wanted to get inside to see what he could learn. As I watched him reading, he had no trouble with the words. He could quickly read from cover to cover and tell me about the photos and items inside. He had fun trying to tell what the items were on the Naming "What in the World Are These?" activity page. When he got to the pages on the lions, he was mesmerized with the photos of the lion cubs. True to National Geographic, the photos are stunning and surrounded by just the right amount of print for this age group. Next, NHL did the Little Lions Maze and named all of the other animals in the picture.

As a parent and teacher, I really liked how National Geogrpahic Little Kids puts a little of everything into these magazines. There is a Geography section filled with maps, vocabulary and pronunciations of foreign words (like Phane in Botswana). If this is not included, a Culture section is given with similar items for children to learn some new words.

For my younger son, JSL, there was a matching game. When JSL heard what his big brother was doing, he jumped in and was able to do a nice introductory matching game with mittens. There were also rhyme time pages as well as sorting out which item in a photo is different than the others and how are they the same. Great early learning skills for an almost three year old.

An activity page with a craft item is also included. The items that are needed are clearly labeled and photos of children with finished projects as well. The boys are both eager to try some of the ones included in the National Geographic Kids.

As a Science geek, I loved the Science Experiment pages. Past issues had Drawing With the Sun, Spinning Eggs, Balloon Trick and my personal favorite Dancing Raisins. When NHL was looking at the January/February 2010 issue, the Dancing Raisins immediately caught my eye. I actually did this experiment in my classroom with older elementary students. It was presented in a developmentally appropriate way to teach 3-6 year olds the wonder of buoyancy. Kuddos to National Geographic for making science fun!

Over all, we really enjoyed National Geographic Little Kids. I do feel that the magazine in general is probably a little too young for my first grade son. He enjoyed the photos, but often wanted more than the text offered to him (good thing they have National Geographic Kids for his age). I do believe that we may ask someone in our family to get JSL a subscription to National Geographic Little Kids for his birthday (this May). Although parts will be over his head, the general feel of the magazine will offer a lot of great subjects to him for exploration. Of course, mommy will be just as excited to see it come in the mail.

If you are interested in subscribing to National Geographic Little Kids, they have given a special URL with information about it. Please click here for details.

Giveaway:

Thanks to National Geographic Kids, one lucky reader will win a copy of the current National Geogrpahic Little Kids magazine.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Answer the following questions: If you could pick an animal to feature on National Geogrpahic Little Kids, which animal would it be and why?
1 Bonus Entry – Head over to National Geographic Little Kids website and tell me an activity, recipe, or experiment that you would like to try and why.
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and National Geographic Little Kids Giveaway in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Chance to win copy of the latest National Geographic Little Kids magazine from @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/d0JpVk Stop by to enter
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of March/April. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
1 Bonus Entry – Enter any of my other current giveaways (keep checking back – more being added all the time). Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today April 12th and ends at 10:59 EST on April 25, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: This post was written for Family Review Network as part of a program for National Geographic, who supplied the magazines for review and giveaway. No other compensations was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own feelings about the product.