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Category Archives: Reviews

Dinner Made Easy with Ore Ida Grillers

Written on July 24, 2012 by Jeanne in Reviews

Tonight my toddler went to bed late (for him) – after 9:00 p.m. I’ve been chasing him around most of the day and I’m beat. One problem, though, my husband and I didn’t have dinner. So, here I am at 9:00 at night and faced with the prospect of finding something to eat for my husband and me. Neither one of us particularly care for frozen, microwavable TV dinners and a bowl of cereal just won’t do the trick. So I decided to fix fresh baked chicken breasts and some of the new Ore Ida Grillers I picked up at the grocery store.

We both love potatoes but we both didn’t want to wait an hour for them to bake (and I wasn’t about to boil up a vat of hot water and start mashing away at this time of night). Ore Ida Grillers to the rescue! I just took out fresh chicken breasts, gave them a seasoned crumb coating, and placed them on the baking sheet next to the Golden Thick Cut Grillers and let me oven do all the work.

In about 20 minutes I had a nice, tasty, home-cooked meal for the two of us without any hassle. I used a serving suggestion on the product package and topped our potatoes with shredded cheese, sour cream and crumbled bacon bits for a “loaded” baked potato taste which was quite yummy! My husband was particularly impressed with the Grillers and thought they would taste great for breakfast in place of hash browns.

Overall, Ore Ida Grillers were a hit for us. We loved the convenience and the taste. I’ll be picking up a bag on my next shopping trip, right along with the Ore Ida Tater Tots and French Fries we already enjoy so much. If you’d like more information on Ore Ida Grillers, visit the Ore Ida website or connect via the Ore Ida Facebook page.

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Ore-Ida. I received coupons to purchase products to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

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Arm & Hammer Sensitive Skin Plus Detergent (Review)

Written on June 25, 2012 by Sarah in Reviews

Laundry is a nemesis of mine. I feel like I’m always doing it, yet it is never done. I no sooner get it folded and put away when I notice a new pile awaiting me. With three kids six and under, I know this is a battle I’ll be fighting for years to come. While I’ve never liked the process, there was something wonderful about the sweet scent of fresh laundry. I never gave it much thought until my first son was born. As it turned out, he was blessed with sensitive skin. Rashes and irritation led us immediately to give up scented laundry detergent in favor of dye-free, scent-free brands to protect his skin. My laundry was just as clean, but I have to admit I missed the fresh scent of freshly washed sheets and towels these past few years.

Recently I had the opportunity to try something new – Arm & Hammer Sensitive Skin Plus Skin-Friendly Fresh Scent laundry detergent. I was intrigued, but a little skeptical. I thought we’d given up scents for good, but if there was a dye-free detergent that would pass the sensitive skin test and give me back that nice fresh laundry smell I wanted to give it a try. I threw in the first load and crossed my fingers. Out came a nice clean load laundry, with a pleasant but not overpowering scent. Two weeks and many loads later I have not noticed any signs of the irritation or itching we experienced with regular scented detergents in the past. I will absolutely be putting this detergent on my shopping list.

Arm & Hammer Sensitive Skin Plus detergent is specially formulated to work in both standard and high efficiency (HE) washers. The fragrance was developed and clinically tested to be gentle on sensitive skin. You can get more information at the Arm & Hammer website, and find lots of helpful household tips on the Arm & Hammer Facebook page.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Arm & Hammer and received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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OxiClean Dishwashing Booster – A Better Kind of Clean

Written on June 7, 2012 by Jeanne in Reviews

I’m an at-home mom, so a lot of my day is spent not only caring for my toddler but cooking, cleaning, and washing…all the regular household chores. While I rather enjoy making a mess, I really don’t like cleaning up after myself so I try and have tools at my disposal to help make the job a little easier. One of those items is what I consider an invaluable appliance – my dishwasher. After my original dishwasher broke several years ago, my then-boyfriend-now-husband got me the most practical and wonderful gift ever – a Bosch dishwasher. I loved it then and I still love it today, however, it seems it hasn’t been performing up to par lately.

When I put dishes, utensils and cookware in the dishwasher I want them all to come out sparkling clean. Recently it seems like our Bosch is leaving spots on all our dishes which drives me nuts. This is even after using rinse agents and resorting to white vinegar in the rinse…but nothing seems to help. It seems I’m not alone: according to a recent survey almost 1 in 3 respondents (32%) say their biggest kitchen challenge is achieving sparkly dishes; 30% say spots on dishes are their biggest kitchen complaint. As it turns out, the real issue is that many dishwasher detergents have been reformulated and therefore don’t perform as well as they used to, meaning cloudy dishes.

Recently I had an opportunity to try new OxiClean Dishwashing Booster so I jumped at the chance. I use OxiClean for all sorts of things around the house and like their products, and I was hopeful this new one would deliver results.

I took a picture of one of my drinking glasses straight out of the dishwasher. While my photography skills are lacking (and my glasses a little banged up), you don’t need a magnifying glass to see it is cloudy and spotty (but if you do, just click & load the large picture file for an up-close view). Very frustrating.

My husband is the one who loads the dishwasher at our house, so I had him use the OxiClean Dishwashing Booster according to the directions. When the cycle was finished, we were surprised with the results! It managed to accomplish what my Bosch with rinse agent couldn’t – clear and residue-free dishes. My husband was really impressed by its performance and said it made a loyal customer out of him. Ladies, when your husband is impressed with a dishwashing product you know it’s good! From here on out we’ll be using OxiClean Dishwashing Booster whenever we run a load of dishes.

If you would like more information on OxiClean Dishwashing Booster, visit OxiClean.com or Like their OxiClean Facebook page. Once again, Oxi delivers!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of OxiClean and received a product sample and serving tray to facilitate my review, and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate

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Summer In A Glass

Written on May 16, 2012 by Sarah in Food & Recipes, Reviews

The weather is heating up and that calls for something cold to drink! I drink a lot of water, but it’s nice to have something with a bit of flavor to break up the monotony. Until recently I would have reached for a diet soda, but I’ve been trying to cut back on the artificial sweeteners. I love lemonade but not all the calories. What’s left? A nice tall glass of iced tea? Yes, please! I usually brew my own, but there are days when I just don’t have the time. Naturally I was thrilled at the opportunity to give Lipton Pure Leaf Iced Tea a try.

Lipton Pure Leaf Iced Tea comes in both sweetened and unsweetened varieties and several flavors. All varieties feature all-natural ingredients and contain no preservatives. The sweetened varieties contain no high fructose corn syrup, a big plus in my book.

You’ve heard of an Arnold Palmer, right? Half tea, half lemonade? Aside from those, it never occurred to me to drink tea any other way than straight up. Now I’m looking at tea in a whole new way. I tried this recipe for Fruit-Tea Smoothies, it was the perfect afternoon treat – so refreshing!

Fruit-Tea Smoothies

16 ounces of Pure Leaf™ Iced Tea with Lemon or Pure Leaf™
Unsweetened Iced Tea, chilled
2 cups frozen strawberries
1 cup Breyers® Fat Free Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream
1 Tbsp. sugar

In blender, process all ingredients until smooth. Serve immediately in tall glasses and garnish, if desired, with fresh strawberries.

Next on my list to try – this fresh take on the Cosmo:

Green Tea Cosmo

3 ounces of Pure Leaf™ Green Tea with Honey
1 ounce orange juice
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce cranberry juice cocktail

In shaker filled with ice, and all ingredients. Shake well, then strain into chilled Martini glass. Garnish, if desired, with lime peel.

Tip: For a special twist, substitute 1 ounce vodka for 1 ounce orange juice.

Lipton has thought of all kinds of creative ways to drink your tea and even a few ways to use it in savory recipes. You’ll find lots more ideas on their Facebook page. You can find Lipton Pure Leaf Iced Tea in 18.5 oz single serve bottles and 59oz multi-serve bottles.

Are you a sweet tea drinker or do you prefer the unsweetened variety? Have you ever used tea in a cocktail or other concoction? I’d love to hear your recipes!

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Lipton Pure Leaf. I received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

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Mountain High Yoghurt: Keeping It Simple

Written on April 18, 2012 by Sarah in Food & Recipes, Reviews

Are you a label reader? Do you ever get label shock when you read the nutrition information for foods that you thought were healthy? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been surprised with what I’ve found on a label – lots of added sugars, chemical additives and plenty of hard to pronounce ingredients I’m not familiar with. Over the past year, I’ve been making an effort to clean up our diet. I want to know what’s in the food we’re eating.

Yogurt has been a favorite food of all three of my kids since before their first birthdays, it was love at first bite. Until recently, I assumed that yogurt was a healthy anytime snack choice. When I glanced at the label of the brand I’d been purchasing the most, I wasn’t thrilled. The ingredient list was quite long, including artificial flavoring and colors. Blueberry yogurt that doesn’t contain any blueberries? Surely there were better options out there. I decided to look for a new yogurt.

This is when I started buying Mountain High Yoghurt. The ingredients list was both shorter and simpler: Cultured Pasteurized Milk, Nonfat Milk, Cream, Crystalline Fructose, Natural Vanilla, Pectin, Natural Flavors, Live, Active & Probiotic Cultures.

I was worried about how my kids would react to the change, as they had been eating the old brand for so long. As it turned out, there were zero complaints, they loved Mountain High. We love yogurt for many reasons, but what I love most about Mountain High Yoghurt is the simplicity.

Have you tried Mountain High Yoghurt? Did you enjoy it?

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Mountain High Yoghurt. I received a gift card to purchase yogurt, a product kit, and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

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