My family has always been a big fan of the Nature Valley granola bars. They are a regular on our Costco list so I was thrilled when MyBlogSpark sent me the new Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters to try.

They were a HUGE hit. I was actually pretty hungry when I picked up my mail from UPS that day so I opened up the Roasted Cashew ones on the way home. I had to stop myself from eating the whole bag. Seriously, they were that good! The next day my husband and kids found them and that was the end of that in our house. DH ate the entire bag of Almond ones for breakfast and by the next day all four bags were gone.

I got to try the Nut Lovers one as I snaked it out of a kids hand and they were OK but my money would go to the Cashew blend. Here is a printable coupon for $1/1 bag to get you started. But be prepared to have the whole bag gone shortly after it is opened!

EDIT TO ADD RECALL INFO
Kudos to the PR reps for Nature Valley for getting this information out about a voluntary recall.

We moved into our house just months ago and it is pretty, shall we say, BLAND? A friend introduced me to the uppercase living company and I was HOOKED! Let me be real clear on this, I was in no way compensated to review this product but I was so in love with it that I wanted to share. I was able to buy my sayings during a buy one, get one half price sale in April. My ‘consultant’ told me there may be a sale in June. The new catalog comes out in July.

But in any case? Why am I so nutso over this stuff? It is so EASY, and not really all that expensive to do. The two sayings which I had custom made in the photo below came to roughly $80. That included Karen (consultant) installing them.

Basically, these are vinyl stickers that you can get made to say practically anything and in many colors, fonts so on. When on the wall they look exactly like they were stenciled. Karen shared a story of a women buying the saying “Yes, you are the fairest of them all…” for her sister who was recovering from breast cancer. She put it on the mirror in her room.

Here you can see Karen finishing up the “Please silence your cell phones..” (which is a family joke)

You can make your own personalized sayings or choose from thousands of pre-designed ones. You can only buy uppercase living through a consultant. I think it may be best to find someone close to you to consult with so they can see the area and help you through the initial buy. If you are in Denver area, I really recommend Karen. Her link is: http://karen.uppercaseliving.net/Home.m

I am a big Chicken Noodle lover BUT I do not like vegetables. Go figure. I normally eat Campbell’s Condensed because they lack just that! I recently tried Progresso an I was able to get down the carrots. They were soft and flavorful. Not mushy and tasteless like other soups I have tried. I still could not bring myself to eat the celery. One thing at a time I suppose. If you love Chicken noodle soup and have not Tried Progresso yet, give it a try. If you would like a printable to save some money on your purchase, please leave your email address and I will send them to you. (I can’t post them because I have to send them to you via email through General Mills) then come back and tell me what you thought!

America Has Spoken: People prefer the taste of Progresso®
National taste test confirms consumers prefer Progresso Traditional Chicken Noodle
over Select Harvest Chicken with Egg Noodles

Progresso unveiled on Oct. 20, 2008, the results of a national blind taste test that shows 7 of 10 people with a preference chose the great taste of Progresso’s Traditional Chicken Noodle over Campbell’s Select Harvest Chicken with Egg Noodles.

Campbell’s recent advertising campaign touts the ‘real taste’ of Select Harvest Chicken Noodles and compares the soup with Progresso, says the marketing manager for Progresso. This taste test proves there is no comparison: The majority of consumers prefer the taste of Progresso Traditional Chicken Noodle over Select Harvest Chicken with Egg Noodles. No amount of advertising can change that, adds the marketing manager.

Progresso is encouraging consumers to choose for themselves at the Progresso Taste Challenge Web site, www.ProgressoTasteChallenge.com, where visitors can download up to $3.00 in coupons. The site also provides a money-back guarantee to anyone who is not fully satisfied with the taste of Progresso soup.

Consumers have a choice when it comes to soup, and we want people to make their own decision about which soup tastes best, says the Progresso marketing manager. If you taste our soup, we guarantee you’ll love it — or we’ll send your money back. We’re confident that consumers will continue to choose Progresso.

National taste test confirms consumers prefer Progresso Traditional Chicken Noodle over Select Harvest Chicken with Egg Noodles.

• You can see for yourself at www.ProgressoTasteChallenge.com.
• Progresso: We guarantee you’ll love our soup—or we’ll send your money back.

I recently had the chance to try a product called the Days Ago Digital Day Counter. I will be completely honest in saying, when I first received this product, I was thinking there is no way this would be useful to me. Food doesn’t last long enough around here to need these! Then I went to the Days Ago website and started to look around. The uses for this product are only limited to your own ideas!

Beyond its functionality as a kitchen gadget and tool, the DaysAgo is unique in that it can be used in every room in your house! In the family room, track how long it’s been since you watered the plants or changed the filter in the fish tank. In the bathroom, track how long it’s been since you’ve taken your medication. Outside, track how many days it’s been since you fertilized the vegetable garden.

The many unique uses of the DaysAgo make it a great gift for any busy household. Families have discovered that it’s the household tool they’ve been missing!

The DaysAgo Digital Day Counter is the first and only digital day counter that attaches to a variety of surfaces with a magnetic or suction backing and counts up to 99 days. It’s a simple gadget that is re-usable, versatile and helps save money. You can use it on food containers to let you know how many days ago you opened it, closed it, tried it, sauced it, grew it, etc. As for leftovers, it eliminates the doubt about when to throw it out.

Look here to find out about fresh storage tips for your refrigerator.

Beyond its functionality as a cool kitchen gadget and tool, the DaysAgo is unique in that it can be used in every room in your house! In the family room, track how long it’s been since you watered the plants or changed the filter in the fish tank. In the bathroom, track how long it’s been since you’ve taken your medication. Outside, track how many days it’s been since you fertilized the vegetable garden.

The many unique uses of the DaysAgo make it a great gift for any busy household. Families have discovered that it’s the household tool they’ve been missing!

The ideas here are just the tip of the iceberg – this is the kitchen tool that keeps expanding its uses! Families who have bought the DaysAgo often write to us, telling us about all the new ways they have been able to use this gadget around the house.

They area avaliable in 3 different styles

The Magnetic DaysAgo – Snaps to most metal surfaces. Perfect for jar lids and refrigerators.
The Suction DaysAgo – Sticks to most smooth surfaces. Great for plastic and glass containers.
The Band DaysAgo – Great for bottles, jars, and glass containers and bags.

First off, I have to say that I am not an adventurous person when it comes to makeup. I tend to stick with safe, neutral tones. So when Chandi at Mineral Basics offered to send me this kit, I thought “why not try something new?”

I was shocked when I got the samples. Holy crimey, they were BRIGHT in the little baggies. I was afraid I was going to look like a bad Diana Ross drag queen in them. But, I was shocked. On the skin, they were delicate and flattering. The colors were rich but not over powering. Certainly, something I would wear.

My friend Angie was over and I gave her some for her and her daughter to try. The next time she was over, she looked radiant. I asked her what was different and she pointed out that she was wearing the purple eyeshadow I had given her. It looked really nice. I asked Angie to write her opinion for you all:

I have tried the Mineral Basics eye shadow on a few occasions. I was surprised to find that is lasted as long as it did. The colors are bright and fun. As an adult, I would wear most of the colors for a fun occasion or for a costume because they are a little too bright for me to wear everyday. As for my daughter though, who is 12 she will wear them more often.

Over all, the makeup is bright, fun and playful. We are enjoying them.

Overall, would I recommend this product? Yes, especially for something fun, a girls night out, fun date, and so on. I like that you can order a sample pack for $42.

Come visit our giveaway to win some!

If you are anything like me, you really love your cake! You want to be healthier this year but GOD! The cake is so good! lol With all of the items you can buy these days, can you believe that even Little Debbie now has 100 Calorie snack cakes and cookies? YES IT’S TRUE! So far this year I have lost 13 lbs on my Wii Fit and going to the Gym but I refuse to give up the things I love. I guess you could say I am making it harder for myself lol

ANYWAY, I was so thrilled that McKee Foods (Little Debbie’s parent company) wanted me to review their new snack cakes! I mean really, who would turn down this opportunity? I will admit that when I received the box it was bigger than I expected! There were EIGHT boxes of Little Debbie 100 Calorie snacks! It included a box of each of the following:

Marshmallow Treats
Triple Fudge Brownies
Chocolate Cakes with Chocolate Icing
Yellow Cakes with Butter Cream Icing
Nutty Bar PB Stix
Nutty Bar Singles
Gingerbread Cookies
Snow Puffs

No one in my home was able to try the Snow Puffs because none of us are fond of Coconut, so we had a few friends try them. They all agreed they were yummy! My Favorite by far is the Triple Fudge Brownies. Since these are obviously cake, the portion size was a bit smaller than I had expected. If you just need your sweet “fix”, a small treat for the kids or a little reward for a good day/week of working out these will definitely work for that. If you’re looking for an all out desert, I suggest you buy the bigger higher calorie ones lol The Gingerbread Cookies were a little dry to me, The Chocolate cakes are a Dark Chocolate and I am still undecided on the Nutty Bar PB Stix as they are whole wheat Wafers.

Attention Little Debbie! I would be SO IN LOVE with the Snow Balls if they didn’t have Coconut! can you make something similar? lol

This review was sponsored by Little Debbie

I am a very picky eater and I am trying to raise my sons to NOT be. I have been lucky that my 2 year old will try anything once and my 6 yr old is getting better as he gets older. I try very hard to keep a good selection of snacks in the house that are good for them. I do let them have things like Fruit Snacks and such but not every day. They are big on fruit and things like granola bars. My 6 year old would eat Peanut Butter & Jelly day and night if I let him!

The thing I had most about the unhealthy snacks (other then them being unhealthy!) is that they are not trying to tell you that their product is good for your children. They are trying to tell you “Hey your kid will love this because we put SpongeBob on the front!” Most kids don’t care what it is if you slap Spiderman or Barbie on it.

When I came across Revolution Foods, the first thing I noticed was something written on their packaging. It said, “We believe that all kids deserve healthy, delicious food”. Now if this alone does not make you love this brand, let me tell you a little more

Revolution Foods is part of the nest collective. Nest is a place to hatch world-changing ideas, grow mission driven companies, and nurture anew way of doing business that embraces the best of what nature and people have to offer. Nest is a collective of companies and people out to make the world a little better, twig by twig. Revolution Foods offers a full line of healthy, organic, natural and tasty snacks for kids.

They believe that all children deserve access to healthy, wholesome foods where they need it the most – in their schools. Their organic lunchbox snacks and sandwich builders make it easy to nourish your kids with yummy, balanced nutrition. And when you purchase their products, you’re helping to nourish even more kids through their School Lunch Program, making every bite matter for all kids.Your Purchase Helps Support the Revolution! 3% of the net revenues from your purchase of these products goes to our School Lunch Program, helping feed even more kids in under served schools. Thanks for supporting the School Lunch Revolution.

I was able to try several of their products. My favorite by far was the Jammy Sammy’s. Like my son, I am a complete PB&J fanatic. Jammy Sammy’s are a snack size twist on a lunchbox favorite. Each yummy bar is made with nourishing ingredients that help kids have more sustained energy throughout the day. And each one is individually wrapped and ready to go – perfect for when you’ve gotta jam. They come in 3 yummy flavors. PB & Strawberry, PB & Grape, Apple Cinnamon & Oatmeal. They contain 100% Whole Grains – Wheat free, are filled with organic fruit spread and sized just right for snack time. They contain No Trans Fats, No High Fructose Corn Syrup, No Artificial Ingredients!!

The favorite for both of my boys were the PopAlongs. They ate them so fast I never even got to try them LOL. From reading and writing to recess, PopAlongs keep kids humming along throughout their busy days. They’re made with whole grain rice, corn and oats – important ingredients for supplying steady energy and preventing late afternoon lulls. And PopAlongs love adventure, so kids can just grab them and go! They come in 3 flavors (Purely Original, Cheesy Cheese, Simply Cinnamon) and are 100 Calories or less per serving! They also have also have other products you can check out like Mashups, Fruit Snacks, Peanut Butter and Jam & Jelly.

This review was sponsored by Revolution Foods