Does anyone in your family have allergies? Whether indoor (dust, mites, or mold) or outdoor (grass, mold) or animals, don't you wish you had a guide or something that could help you know what to do if you need to take your miserable family member to the doctor?
The Allergy Guide for Moms & Kids to the rescue! This handy guide was created by Children's Claritan to help you when you just don't know what to do.... You can click on the link below and download the guide to keep on your own blog, website ~ probably even on facebook.
This giveaway has closed and the winners have until Sunday 7/10th Noon to reply or I will draw another winner! Thanks everyone for helping me have a successful giveaway again =D Tina "The Book Lady"
Emerald Nuts
Breakfast on the Go
" 93% of people believe that Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but less than 43% actually eat breakfast every day. "
Emerald Nuts has these awesome little Breakfast on the Go packs that fit right into your pocket or purse. They are filled with granola clusters, dried fruit, chocolates and various kinds of nuts and 200 calories or less. I've been eating them for the last 3 years or so (ever since they first came out).
When they first came out I was having a lot of trouble with dizziness and nausea and so I would try to eat something with protein thinking that was my problem. Turns out it was actually that my thyroid had stopped working and my body wasn't producing any Vit D - but these little packs would get me to lunchtime when I could eat a better more nutritious meal of protein and veggies. They are ideal for a snack for kids or grown ups and easy to throw in your athletes backpack, in the diaper bag or in your desk drawer at work.
Recently Kelton Research ran a survey for Emerald Breakfast on the Go and they found some surprising results. Check 'em out:
41% of breakfast eaters eat "on the go" at least once a week.
35% have balanced eating while driving.
20% eat while trying to get dressed in the morning.
Among some of the oddest foods consumed for breakfast include: pizza, birthday cake, fried chicken, nachos, rice and ketchup and macaroni and cheese.
There are 3 varieties of Breakfast On the Go packs:
Berry Nut Blend:Roasted peanuts, granola clusters, dried cranberries, vanilla yogurt raisins, glazed walnuts and dried blueberries. Breakfast Nut Blend: Vanilla Yogurt Covered Raisins, Granola Clusters, honey roasted peanuts, dried cranberries, apple cinnamon glazed walnuts and dried apples. Smores Nut Blend: Peanuts, Cocoa Roast Almonds, milk chocolate candies, graham cracker squares, mini marshmallows and granola clusters.
You can see they are chock full of yummy goodness and while I think they are more suited to snacking - most people love sweet things for breakfast and these will be right up their alley! YUM!
Emerald Breakfast on the Go is offering 2 of my readers 1 box of each kind (that's 3 boxes each). These will be great snacks and great breakfasts for those days you're running late for work and school. This contest will end on 7/7 at 10 pm, US readers are welcome to enter.
Mandatory Entry: Go to Emerald Nuts and look around. Come back and share something you learned in a comment below. This is mandatory and MUST be done before any other entries are done.
Optional Entries: (These are optional and can be done ONLY after the mandatory entry is done)
Sign up for the Emerald Nuts Newsletter and start getting news, deals, tips and other news for nut loving friends like yourself!
Tweet, FB or Stumble this review & giveaway ~ use your own and include RT @FamilyLiteracy and a link to this post OR use the button below to make it easy. Thanks! 1 Entry each & 1 Comment each. (Note: you can Tweet this daily for 1 entry each day)
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received "a box of Emerald Nuts Breakfast on the Go Samples"for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
I don't know how many of you have been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on TV this season but I watched an episode on hulu.com and was amazed that he would actually be told he couldn't go into the schools, the kitchens, talk to the employees or students about nutrition! Do people really care about the almighty dollar so much that they don't care about our children's health and nutrition? Amazing & very sad!
I understand that LA feeds THOUSANDS of meals each day and it's expensive and harder to provide healthy meals. I understand that fruit is going to run out (maybe it's time to bring in MORE fruit?) - but why not have the kids help plant a garden and have everyone volunteer (mandatory if necessary) to help care for that garden? If parents can be expected and told it's mandatory to volunteer their time in their children's classes - there is absolutely no reason that gardening and mentoring our children shouldn't be included as an option to volunteering in the classroom. If everyone donates 15 minutes each week to working in the garden they would be able to provide all the fresh fruits & veggies needed for the year.
Some ideas for bringing nutrition into the schools:
1) Mandatory parenting classes - why not include simple health and nutrition tips that all parents can use? Include contacts for groups, churches, food banks, Angel Food Ministry programs for inexpensive ways to bring in nutritious food.
2) CommunityGardens: Why not provide space in abandoned lots, unused areas of school grounds, parks for CommunityGardens? Food grown on school grounds should be donated to the school kitchens in exchange for rent - students can donate 1/2 hour each day to weeding, planting, gathering and watering the gardens.
3) Use this time to teach basic math/science skills: Teachers & a parent group can use the garden to teach basic math skills in the garden! This wonderful resource includes activities for everyone 5 years old to adults, there are math & science activities (such as graphing, measuring, soil/water information, harvesting activities, (Examples here of the chart). You'll also find things like a Data Snacks Activity, Hand Spans Activity and more!
So....
WHAT IS A COMMUNITYGARDEN?
Community gardens can by urban, suburban or rural. You can grow flowers, veggies, or fruit. This can be one big community garden (ideal for churches or schools) or many individual plots rented by families (you can rent for $ or it can be one big garden and produce can be donated to the food bank, an area school or the local city missions).
Did you know?
A community garden:
·Improves the quality of life for people in your community
·Stimulates Social Interaction
·Encourages Self-Reliance
·Beautifies the neighborhood
·Produces Nutritious Food
·Reduces Your Family Budget
·Conserves Resources
·Creates opportunities for recreation, exercise, therapy and education
·Reduces Crime
·Preserves Green Space
·Creates Income Opportunities and Economic Development
I found this chart on the American Community Gardens Association website and it also mentioned that it “Reduces City Heat from Streets and Parking Lots”. That’s NEW to me!
Don't know of a community garden in YOUR area? Check out thishandy tool!
***Blogger is having serious issues right now. I was able to put this in the HTML tab of the Editor - but am unable to see it. I apologize for any funny, wonky things this may have that I'm unable to correct. Thanks for understanding! ***
Spongeables® Lavender Nectar provides a luxurious, tension-relieving way to recover from a bad night’s sleep, get a head start on the most hectic day – or recover one’s equilibrium after a long one. A patented infusion process provides a guaranteed number of uses. Lavish helpings of rich Olive Oil keep skin soft and restore supple, youthful resilience.
And then there’s the gentle massage texture that turns from lightly exfoliating to soft and silky when you give it a squeeze…stress and muscle aches disappear down the drain, while the body complexion is buffed to a healthy glow.
Available in 20+ uses 3.5 oz unit and a 1.2 oz, 5+ use travel size.
My experience:
I really loved the spongeables sponges. I received a two pack of the lavender nectar which includes a buffing pad on one side and the sponge on the other side. I was a little concerned because I have very sensitive skin and the first time I used the spongeable I was really itchy but I noticed that it wasn't as bad with each time I used it.
My favorite:
Ihow my skin feels. The dry skin on my feet around my ankles and the bottom of my feet have gone away (YAY) and the flakiness I had on my lower legs has gone away which is wonderful. The last two years were really embarrassing due to the dryness but the little mesh thing I've been using with shower gel just wasn't cutting it. It's gone! Iit!
Spongeables comes in several scents, styles, sizes and types of sponges & has loads of bubbles. You can also get it in a travel size, their are cute heart, duck and flower shapes for kids of all ages.
Kids & Baby willthe ducky ones - they have a fruitilicious scent, are made with gentle cleansing gel, olive oil and shea butter perfect for anyone with sensitive skin.
The Men's Spongeable has a bracing massage with the scent of Unexpected for Man which leaves their skin tingling and great smelling - (wish I could add a scratch and sniff sticker here). It comes in a 2 pack with over 20+ uses each!
Your hands get their own moisturizing spongeable with healing botanicals and SalSphere Seaweed for deep moisturizing and softness. Add in an exfoliating texture and Honey Lotus-Quince aromatherapy for a luxious, relaxing hand massage, for 20-plus uses.
Spongeables are beautifying, exfoliating, moisturizing, protecting, massaging and cleansing! Order yours online or find out where you can purchase yours near your home (Click HERE).
Spongeables is offering one of my readers a set of the Lavendar Nectar Spongeables. You can go ahead and purchase yours now if you can't wait, or you can enter the drawing below:
Mandatory:Go to http://www.spongeables.com and tell me what makes Spongeables so Special? Leave a comment and tell us what you learned.
This is all you need to do to enter the giveaway ~ unless you'd like to do some of the optional entries. Please leave 1 comment per entry, do not enter them all in the same comment or you won't have the maximum number of entries you've completed..
Optional: (These are optional and may be done ONLY after the Mandatory entry has been done.)
Click HERE to find out where you can find Spongeables near you & tell us in your comment.
Tweet: " Get a fragrant, bubbly, #spa experience every time you #shower with a moisturizing Lavendar Spongeable. #Giveaway @ " (plug into the Twitter link at the bottom of this post before the tiny.com link)
** Note: due to the issues blogger is having I resaved this post as a new post and moved the few entries I've received over to this one ***
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas a Minneapolis SEO and Web Design firm. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.
Real Life Blog is hosting a FUN contest and you are welcome to join in. Here's what she says:I would love to gather all the best recipes from my awesome blogger friends in one place, and spread the link love at the same time!
You gather the grill recipes you’ve already written on your blog, or write some new ones. (Grilling is timeless, it doesn’t matter how old the post is!)
You link your recipe posts right here on the Summer Grill-tastic linky.
Link back here in your post, so others can come share their recipes.
We have some great prizes so far, and we may be adding more throughout the week! You can link as many recipes as you want, and you get an entry for each one.
I'm sorta a creature of comfort when it comes to my seasoning recipes. I love my Montreal Seasoning by McCormick I think the most. The marinade is wonderful for steak or pork chops and so easy to make.
The Montreal Steak Seasoning and the Montreal Chicken Seasoning in the GrillMates line of seasonings are awesome. I actually found out about them when I stopped and talked with the butcher at HyVee years ago and he told me that they used the Steak Seasoning on their steak kabobs. I've been hooked ever sense. Both of these seasonings are full of flavor, have a lot of bite (it might be a little too much for kids) and are available in regular or a 25% less sodium option. The regular version is pretty salty so you might want to consider the 25% less one.
I use the Montreal Steak Savory Marinade on the bottle for my steaks, kabobs, pork chops, etc. I've had a lot of compliments on this:
Mix 1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp seasoning (I usually use 1 tsp)
Add 1 lb steak, marinate for 30 minutes and grill.
I also love this recipe that I got off their website. (I LOVE grilled veggies) You can also use the seasoning on mushrooms if you are grilling big ones or even roasting your veggies in the winter.
Easy Grilled Vegetables Makes 6 1/2 cup servings
5 cups assorted cut up vegetables, such as zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, eggplant, mushrooms or onion
1. Toss vegetables with oil and Seasoning in large bowl.
2. Place vegetables in grill basket, grill rack or thread onto skewers.
3. Grill over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender, turning occasionally.
Why not go to McCormick's website and find something to grill this week? Tell us what your hungry for!
Disclaimer: I entered the Grilling contest on RealLifeBlog. The opinions in this post are my own and I wasn't paid or given anything to post or enter the contest.
Last month I WON the King Arthur Flour Scone Bakeware and 2 Scone Mixes from Momma Told Me and I got it last Friday. As usual I had another long night with no sleep and thought since I'm wide awake I'm going to make up one of the mixes and have those for breakfast.
King Arthur has 18 scone mixes. All you have to do is cut in 8 Tablespoons of butter/margarine, add an egg and milk and blend it all together. The only thing I had trouble with was not knowing if I should just pour the dough in the scone pan or scoop up enough to fill in a section and work around the pan one at a time. I ended up doing each individually.
Aronia Berries: I also added about a cup of Aronia Berries which are really high in Antioxidants and great for people that have problems with chronic illnesses, inflammation, helps to lower glucose and more. (Click here for information). They are pretty tart and definitely not sweet like blueberries are. So if you prefer sweet try blueberries, blackberries - or you can do nuts, dried fruit, coconut, etc.
Jenna at Momma Told Me mentioned in her review that her scones came out a little dry and mine seemed a little "wet" (actually it was like banana bread thickness). That could be because I added the berries or because I used So Delicious Coconut milk instead of regular milk (I did have to cook it for about 10 minutes longer than on the box). Not sure. Why don't you try a mix and see if you have the same results?
There are lots of recipes on the King Arthur site - check 'em out!
PS: Don't get your berries from Superberries as they are extremely expensive. The place I get it from at the farmer's market sells it for $5 a pound and you can order it in January for the year. (I order 3 pounds for the year and just throw them in the freezer). I'll find out their information and if you'd like me to forward it - leave a comment with your email info (I can't get your email from Intense Debate Comments)
Well, that was a long rambling post - I hope you enjoyed it. Would love some comments - have you ever used King Arthur's Mixes to make anything?
