Tru Moo Flavored Milk - Fun for your Halloween Parties, if you can find it

BzzAgent asked me to try TruMoo chocolate milk.  I was happy to be asked to the TruMoo campaign because I thought that it would be something my daughter would enjoy. She likes flavored milk, and gets chocolate milk with lunch in school every day.

 One thing I noticed first: I went to the Tru Moo website and put in my zip code, only to be told that there was nothing locally. Wrong. I know I've seen it in my local stores. Turns out it's licensed to different dairies depending upon where you live. For us, it's Tuscan. If you go to the "My Dairy" link on the website it now tells you who your local dairy supplier will be.

My ShopRite and Stop & Shop both carry Tru Moo but I haven't been able to find the Vanilla variety, either plain or orange for Halloween. Too bad, it would have been a nice thing to try.

 I picked up a gallon of the Tru Moo chocolate milk for Haley. Sadly, it wasn't her favorite. She said she prefers the chocolate milk that they serve in school. Both are low-fat (she prefers low-fat milk) and both have similar nutritional labels, but she wasn't sold on the taste of Tru Moo and asked me to buy some powder to put in her milk instead.

So, now I had nearly a gallon of Tru Moo to use and she really didn't want to drink it. I'm not a chocolate milk kind of person, I'm a coffee hound, and my husband wasn't about to drink it. So, I did what I always do, I baked!

 I used recipes from the Cake Mix Doctor book by Anne Byrn, and where it would call for milk, I would add the chocolate milk. I figured it would give an extra chocolate kick to the recipe. This worked really well! My daughter and I made red velvet cupcakes using 1 cup of chocolate milk, and we added 1 cup of chocolate milk to the batter of my son's mocha birthday cake. In addition, I used chocolate milk to thin my chocolate buttercream frosting for spreading. So, this was definitely used and tasted good as part of those projects.

Enter to win a Goosebumps Haunted Hollywood Vacation and instantly get a $2-off coupon for any Goosebumps DVD with your next TruMoo^® purchase

Pros: seems to be locally available available in both fat-free and low-fat varieties
available in half and full gallon sizes
less sugar than soft drinks
They're having a Goosebumps sweepstakes, so enter

Cons:
My kid didn't like it as much as another brand
No matter how they sell it, it's still extra sugar in the diet.
Other flavor varieties (vanilla, orange-tinted vanilla, strawberry) weren't available locally
Price (cheaper to buy regular milk & add chocolate milk mix)

Kashi Hummus Crisps - Yay or Nay?

BzzAgent asked me to try Kashi's new Hummus Crisps. I was intrigued.

I loved the Kashi Hummus Crisps. Truly. I would be buying them if I could find them. They are fantastic. I thought that the Sea Salt & Olive Oil is great. These are good, healthy snacks, they taste great, and go with a variety of dips. I like to use healthier dips like Tzatziki sauce or a nice Fage Yogurt dip, in order to keep things healthy.

The protein in the Kashi Hummus Crisps is a huge positive to me. As someone who lost weight with weight-loss surgery 10 years ago, I strive to eat healthy and to incorporate protein into my diet in as many ways as possible. I have talked about this online with friends, and have told friends near and far that the Kashi Hummus Crisps are great and a good food for those of us who have had weight loss surgery. So, here's my dilemma: where the heck do I find them? I have asked every supermarket in my area (ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Pathmark, Whole Foods) to carry them and they can't get them from their distributors. I have used the product locator and have not come up with a single place that has them. I tried 60 miles away in each direction, since I travel down to south Jersey to visit relatives and up to Westchester to visit friends. NOTHING! I can't find them anywhere. I have a stack of coupons to hand out that I can't give away because no one can find these Hummus Crisps. I am very disappointed that this campaign was launched before the product distribution went national. My Stop & Shop has half an aisle devoted to Kashi products, but they don't have these, and from the looks of things, they won't any time soon. It's quite sad.

I would love to blog about these and try the other varieties, but without having the product (and I am not ordering from Amazon or ebay at inflated prices) I won't be able to do it. Pros: Great nutritional snack, guilt-free eating, adds to your protein count. Cons: Can't find them in the northeast! New York, NJ, PA - no.

Fage Yogurt - A staple in my house

Bzz Agent asked me to try Fage (pronounce it Fa-yeh).  That's like asking a chocoholic to try chocolate! I eat Fage all the time. It's a great way to get in protein and natural probiotics. As a matter of fact, this is my drawer in the fridge at work:

What BzzAgent wanted, though, was for people to try Fage in their recipes. Not a problem! I love the idea of cooking with yogurt, since it goes with so many things. I have bought the large tubs of Fage in the past to use in cooking. I made a killer Tzatziki sauce a couple of years ago for a barbecue and people are still talking about it.

My Bzz Kit contained three coupons. One for me, two to give away.  I, uh, used two. Couldn't help it. I gave my cooking buddy, Yvon, coupon #3.

You know what I love about Fage? It's a great way to get calcium and protein into my diet. I need large quantities of both, and Fage helps me get it. By adding Fage to different foods, I'm adding good-quality protein, and no artificial ingredients. Fage is 100% natural, and has been for well over 80 years. That's good! What's in it? Milk and live active cultures or milk, live active cultures and cream. Perfect! No additives, no corn syrup, nothing to take away from the deliciousness of this yogurt. It's the #1 selling yogurt brand in Greece, so almost 11 million Greeks can't be wrong! Fage is smooth, creamy, delicious, and it really is a staple of my daily diet. I use it on baked potatoes and pierogis in place of sour cream.

Yogurt is good for you. You don't have to buy gimmicky yogurt to get the benefit of the probiotics. Eat Fage and you'll be regular without having to ingest silly additives.

My only quibble with Fage, or more likely with my local supermarkets: They don't like to carry the Fage Total. I like fat. Fat tastes good. I am also one of the people who believes (and I've read the studies that back it up) that fat doesn't make you fat, carbohydrates/sugars do. I won't go on and on with the low-carb lecture and I won't bore you with my low cholesterol numbers, but I do indeed like the full fat version and it's hard to find! Shop-Rite never carries it, Stop & Shop used to carry it but lately they haven't stocked anything except the 0% & 2%, and it takes some work to uncover the good stuff. Luckily I found it at Jack's Foodtown in Caldwell, NJ, near my place of employment.

So, what did I whip up with my Fage?

First, my friend Linda wanted to come over and make dinner with me. She had a kebab recipe she wanted to try, and it sounded good. I told her I'd make the side dishes.  She mixed up her meat and it was very spicy!

You can see the hot pepper flakes in the meat

Linda frying up her kebab patties

So what did I whip up to go with this? Raita! 

• 1 cup Fage Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 cup chopped & seeded cucumber
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt to taste

I love raita, and it's the perfect way to top off an especially spicy dish.   It's so easy to make, and it can complement a variety of meals. Try it!  You can cut the recipe in half if you only want a small amount.  Dinner went very well that evening, everyone enjoyed it, although the kebabs were a bit spicier than I would have liked (and I like spicy food!).

Next up: My husband is a big fan of polenta. I decided to make polenta for the family using Fage, since my husband was making chicken cacciatore. My son, my daughter, and my son's friend Neo were joining us for dinner, so it was a great time to experiment.

Polenta:

• 2 cups water 
• 1/2 cup quick polenta or quick cornmeal
• 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese 
• 1/4 cup Fage Total 
• Salt & pepper to taste 

Bring water to a boil, then slowly stir in cornmeal with a wire whisk. Reduce heat to the lowest setting you can manage. Stirring constantly, continue to cook for 5 minutes. Turn heat off and add cheese and Fage. Season with salt & pepper and serve.

They all loved it! My husband was dying to know what I'd done differently, so I told him: I used Fage with parmesan cheese to make the polenta. My son and his friend really liked it as well. Neo said I should open a restaurant he liked it so much. Good to hear, and since it's easy to make, it's now going to be part of our rotation. If you have anyone in your home who needs to be gluten-free, this recipe fits right in.


Third item: Cake!

I like to bake and decorate cakes for my family & friends. I haven't taken any of the classes, but when I find the time I will.  If you are pressed for time making a cake and you're going to use a box mix, ignore the instructions on the box and use the recipes in Ann Byrn's Cake Mix Doctor books. They come out so much better and people love them. Shameless library plug: get them at your local library. If your library doesn't have them, ask them to get them for you via inter-library loan.

Many of Ms. Byrn's recipes call for sour cream. I made a basic chocolate cake for my son's friend's child. I substituted Fage for the sour cream.

1  package devil's food cake mix
1  box instant chocolate pudding mix
1 Fage yogurt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs

I used the Wilton Spider-Man pan, so I followed the baking directions for the pan, 25 minutes at 350.  

The finished product:

Brian loved the cake, as did his guests, and I enjoyed making it for him.

My next idea is to use Fage in my cream cheese buttercream frosting that I use when I make red velvet cake. My daughter's birthday is coming up on June 8th, and she loves red velvet, so I just may try it.

Like I said before, I eat Fage on a daily basis. If I buy a large tub of the plain, I sometimes mix my own jams into it. I usually stock up on the individual sizes for work, and I love how easy it is to use Fage in recipes. I think it'll work great in any recipe that calls for sour cream and will continue to try it. I look forward to trying more of the recipes I've seen on the Fage website.

You can find Fage at http://www.fageusa.com/ and there you'll find nutritional info, great recipes, and a product locator.

The Four Musketeers Need Your Help!

 Ad hoc communities spring up all the time, and we become close to people via those communities. I belong to a few different groups of people, and one of the best started on the site Obesity Help, but quickly moved over to Facebook. It was there that I met Georgina, a wonderful woman and great mother, who spoke in glowing terms about her family. I looked forward to updates from her about her daughter and her nieces, and the kittens she recently adopted.  I was horrified to see that tragedy struck this happy family: Geo's sister, the lovely Penelope Stephanie Sanchez, was brutally murdered.

Three lovely little girls are now left without their mother. Georgina is left without a sister, and Clara is left without her aunt.

Our online community was just as stunned as if we were local. This horrific tragedy means that the surviving family needs to band together to raise these girls in a household filled with love. Some really great ladies, Kristin and Nicole, set up this donation site via indigogo in order to raise money to help the family. The grandparents need a van to transport all these children. Georgina's parents will be moving closer to create a solid family environment where the sisters and their cousin can be raised together, with help from Georgina and her husband.

Life is unfair. Violence is evil, but love is more powerful than all of those things. Please consider donating to this family and let's show them that love does indeed conquer all.

Let's also hope that they catch the responsible party and that justice is swift.

Please, give and share. Thank you.

Lysol Touch of Foam Hand Soap

Ok, so BzzAgent asked me if I wanted to try Lysol's Touch of Foam Hand Soap. I said "sure, why not?" It's from Lysol, so it has to be good at killing germs, right?

I've never used a foaming hand product before, since I thought it was a bit of a gimmick. I do buy liquid hand soaps, and I tend to like the ones that have hand softeners in them. But, I figured I'd give this a try.

I work with the public and when I first started out, I was constantly sick. All day long I'd be taking library cards, money for fines, touching returned books - you don't realize how many germs are passed along that way! You can build up some immunity but chances are you're going to get every illness that comes along, especially if you work in the children's room. I recently caught a rotavirus after filling in at the children's desk and it put me in the hospital. I'm not taking any chances. Everything will be scrubbed from now on! Lysol advertises that this product kills 10X the germs compared to the leading competitor. Bring it on, Lysol! Can you stand up to the germs of a public library?

So, BzzAgent sent me the Vanilla Orchid scented soap, and a pack of coupons for .75 off. I put the soap in the downstairs bathroom and waited to see what the family's reaction would be. My almost 10 year old daughter loves it because she thinks the foam is fun, and she likes the scent. I am usually not a big fan of artificial vanilla scents, but this is a bit more floral than vanilla, and I like it. My husband thinks it's a bit too girlie, but he then said it wasn't any worse than any of the other liquid soaps.

When you dispense the product it doesn't drip. The foam stays on your hand, and it dispenses just the right amount. No more double and triple dips, or soap falling off into the sink before you have a chance to really wash your hands. I'm finding that the soap is lasting a good, long time - much longer than traditional liquid soaps.

Foamy!

Besides being antibacterial, the pump has anti-microbial properties to prevent nasty little microbes from building up in the pump. If you use regular liquid soap and you don't wash or sterilize it in between fills, you're going to get a build-up of ick. With the Lysol pump, you don't have to worry, which is a nice touch.

I had a big gathering of friends a couple of weeks ago and we were all cooking together. They all had the opportunity to try the soap and liked it. I handed out some of the coupons to them, since they seemed interested in it.

Half gone, it lasts a very long time

Lysol advertises this as being gentle on hands. It might be gentle, but I do find it to be a bit drying. Sure, we're coming out of a cold winter and spring, but my hands are dried out and I do need to moisturize after using it.

Now, getting back to that rotavirus and working with the public: I decided to buy another couple of bottles of Lysol Foaming Hand Soap and bring them to work. They're on sale at Stop & Shop for 3.00 a bottle. Normal price there is 3.50, which I think is rather high, but I did have the .75 coupons, and I noticed there was a coupon dispenser mounted near the soap that was giving away 1.00 coupons.

I bought the other two scents, Rose & Cherry in Bloom and Wild Berry Bliss, so that I could compare them to the Vanilla Orchid. I put the Rose in the staff bathroom and the Berry in the staff kitchen.

 The scent of the Rose & Cherry in Bloom seems like a traditional floral scent, which is not always to my liking, but others on staff here seem to like it.

We have 5 full-time and 6 part-time people here, so there's a steady stream of people going in and out of the bathroom and the kitchen.

The Berry scent is very sweet, not completely my cup of tea, but all three fragrances are light and not overwhelmingly cloying. I wouldn't object to having any of them in my home.

All in all, I figured this would be a marginal purchase product with a gimmick, but I'm finding that I really do like it. I just wish it had more of a moisturizing aspect to it.

What I like:

• Lightweight
• Antibacterial
• Antimicrobial pump, so no worries
• lasts much longer than liquid soap
• dispenses a proper amount of foam with no waste
• foam doesn't drip or slide off your hand before you have a chance to wash
• the scents are light and don't overwhelm the user

What I don't like:

• I would prefer the product to be moisturizing
• I'd like a peel-off label so I don't have to announce LYSOL to the world
• Price is higher than regular liquid soap, but I think the value evens out

I can't attest to the antibacterial properties, since I didn't buy a petri dish and try to culture my hand after washing, but I feel pretty secure that my hands are doing well.

The Touch of Foam soap is sold in larger bottles for refilling the original unit, so that's good. My verdict? Give it a try, you might be pleasantly surprised! Good for families.

Mad for Chocolate

Anyone who knows me knows that I run on chocolate and caffeine, so being picked by BzzAgent for a chocolate campaign was pretty cool. I am a chocoholic, I freely admit it, and I know that I share that particular passion with many of my friends and coworkers. Heck, I bring dark chocolate in to motivate the staff at my library, because chocolate cures all.

I live near NYC, so I get to visit some of the most incredible US chocolatiers. I don't always have the money (who does?) but I do try to get a nice variety. When I'm in a supermarket/drugstore/warehouse store I'll get Dove Dark Chocolate Promises or Lindt Truffles. When I'm in Manhattan, I might visit:

• Charbonnel et Walker
• Debauve & Gallais
• La Maison du Chocolat
• Pierre Marcolini
• RichArt Design & Chocola
• Jacques Torres
• Black Hound
• Li-Lac 

In Brooklyn I'll hit:

• The Chocolate Room (amazing desserts)
• NuNu Chocolates
• JoMart

That's not to say that I only like expensive chocolates, some of my favorite places are actually family-owned businesses, like Al Richards in Bayonne, NJ or Lepore's in Hoboken.

So, BzzAgent asked me to try Pure Madness Chocolate, an upscale, designer chocolate with somewhat exotic truffles. If you're not used to the confections coming out of the NYC shops, then yes, they might seem exotic, but I'm kind of used to these combinations.

My Bzz package contained Smoky Almond Bar, a 9 pc. set of truffles, and a bunch of 15% off coupons to be used online.

Bzz Guide!

My Eagerly-awaited Bzz Kit!

I have to admit, my husband and I broke into the Smoky Almond bar immediately. It was good, a decent milk chocolate with almonds. I didn't notice them being particularly smoky, but the slightly salty taste was good. My husband said "it's chocolate" and asked me more about it. The bars are 8.50 each, which seems high. This didn't seem like a spectacular designer chocolate, it compared more to the Lindt or Ghiradelli bars which are much more readily available.

I held off on the truffles knowing that I had friends coming the day before Easter. Well, wouldn't you know it, our dinner party had to be canceled due to illness, so we held off on that party until Friday, April 12. I had a group of friends over that evening, and decided to let each one try a truffle to get their reaction.

When I said I had chocolate truffles to share, everyone was happy to partake. I asked for comments on each one and this is what I was told:

Classic - a decent milk chocolate, but not an absolute favorite
Chili Lime - a nice combination, a little different, good.
Vanilla - boring
Sea Salt Caramel - doesn't stack up to other Sea Salt Caramels they've tried
Hazelnut - a mild hazelnut, not bitter.
Raspberry - a little bit of a fruity bite.
Rum Raisin- didn't taste like rum raisin to the person who tried it.
Espresso - good, rich mocha flavor.
Dark Classic - a decent dark chocolate.

Most of the people  who tried them liked them, but felt that they didn't compare favorably with other offerings. One person suggested that they should be a more interesting shape, which is funny, because the shape really has nothing to do with taste.

I gave everyone the opportunity to take the 15% off coupons.One friend asked "so how much is a set like that?"  9 pieces are 27.00. There are also shipping charges, and during warm months (May - October) they charge an additional $10.00 for ice packs.  My friend remarked "I can pick up a 12 pack at Jacques Torres, in a nicer box, with prettier shapes, for less and I wouldn't have to pay for shipping." I argued that she'd have to pay the toll but she said she's always in New York, so that wouldn't matter.

Pure Madness also offers sipping cocoa, as do many other top-end chocolatiers, but I haven't tried it.

I am honestly surprised by this campaign. It seems very high-end, yet the product kind of fell flat, and coming from a confirmed chocoholic, that ain't good. It's a marginal purchase at best, not something you'd buy just to satisfy a sweet tooth, and I think there are better gifting options out there in chocolate land.

Garnier Skin Renewal Dark Spot Peel

I have to laugh at people who review a long-term use product after only using it for a day or two. Unless it causes a reaction, how can you say "OMG it works!" You have to give it time. It's not believable that it would work so quickly.

That being said, I've been faithfully using this product for a month and feel I can give an unbiased review about Garnier's Skin renewal Dark Spot Peel. I'm 47, so I don't look like the 20-something models which advertise the product. I wish they'd use women who have actual sun damage/age spots/blemish scars instead of these airbrushed beauties, but that's the way of the advertising world.

I first read the directions, which say to use at night and follow with your night cream. OK, I can do that. It's not a peel in the sense that you peel it off; instead, you apply it and it supposedly peels away to reveal newer skin underneath.

I dispensed a little of the product and smoothed it on. It has a light feel, and dries pretty quickly. The scent is light. Being that it's scented, I was worried that it might cause an allergic reaction, but it didn't.  Once it was dry I followed up with my Olay Regenerist night cream. I don't have Garnier's night cream and Olay has been my go-to for years, so I'm not switching. By itself, the Dark Spot Peel is a bit too drying. I like a lot of moisture in the evening. My night cream does glide on smoothly over the Dark Spot Peel, so a least I know I'm getting that moisture.

What you need to know about my skin (for comparison): my skin is extremely fair, dry in the winter, normal to dry in the summer. I don't wear foundation so I get sun exposure, although I wear moisturizers with SPF 15 or above.


Over the course of the last month, here is what I've noticed:

My skin does appear a bit brighter, less dull.
Although it didn't completely fade the dark, freckled area on my right cheek, it did lighten it, and the redness on my forehead, somewhat. Here are the results:

Before starting Garnier Dark Spot Peel

Two weeks of use

Close-up of cheek after 1 month of use

This morning

You can see in the closeup that the spots on my cheek are lighter. I didn't think I would see much of a result, but I am happy to report that I do. Is the result dramatic? Not really, but there is a noticeable lightening.

Summary:
Works at brightening skin tone
Works (slowly) at lightening dark spots
Glides on - a little goes a long way
Didn't cause me to break out
Didn't cause an allergic reaction
Light fragrance (should be fragrance-free!)
Drying without a moisturizer over it
Pricey for a Garnier product at approx. $17.50 per bottle

Garnier Olia, New Hair Color

I was asked to try new Garnier Olia Haircolor by BzzAgent. Since I enjoy coloring my hair, I decided I would give it a try.

So, what's different about Olia? It's oil-based, and is supposed to be more gentle on hair. What does this mean? It means no ammonia, with 60% oil, and that oil is flower-based. Sounds good, right?

I have dry, curly, fine hair. It damages easily. I look for hair products that won't hurt my hair, and haircolor is always a big variable. I usually use some of the top-end products like Excellence and Feria, although I have used Garnier's Nutrisse. My natural hair color is a light to medium golden brown with red highlights. When I color, I generally use a dark golden blonde to provide some oomph. I have tried using auburn shades in the past, but they tend to come out too red for me, and much too brassy. Sometimes I'll use light golden brown.

4 days before Olia. I had colored my hair with Excellence Light Golden Brown at the end of January.

I received my BzzKit with a coupon for a free box of Olia last week. Over the weekend I went and picked it up, but didn't have time to do any coloring. First issue: there's no dark golden blonde. The color selections for Olia aren't as varied as they are for other dyes (including their own Nutrisse line) and the Light Golden Brown looked a bit darker than I would have liked. I decided to bite the bullet and picked up 6.43, Light Natural Auburn.

I went with Light Natural Auburn!

On Monday I decided I'd color my hair when I got home from work. My friend Linda was there when I got home, and she was able to partake in the whole adventure.

Even the directions look high-tech

 I opened the box and found that the kit contained developer in a tube instead of a bottle, colorant in another tube, and the obligatory conditioner. The mixing bottle is bulb-shaped. The gloves are black plastic. There's a lot of black in this kit, on the packaging and on the directions sheet. I think it makes the directions a bit hard to read.

I mixed the developer with the colorant and proceeded to put it in my hair. I was slightly disappointed by the amount of the mixture - I would have liked a bit more product. My hair is very thin and one bottle usually does it, but I barely squeaked by this time. However, when I had finished putting the color in my hair and opened the mixing bottle to rinse it out, I discovered that there was still a lot of the mixture adhering to the inside of the wide, black applicator tip. I think that the design of the bottle doesn't allow all of the product to come out. The dye has a great, light scent! It doesn't have a harsh, chemical scent at all. It's very pleasant and kind to the nose. This was a major plus.

The process took 30 minutes. That's pretty average.  I know there are some that are quicker, and some that take longer. I was afraid that if I went any longer it would come out bright red. Years ago I colored my hair with  auburn and it came out the color of Ariel's in Disney's The Little Mermaid, so I've been auburn shy ever since.

I rinsed my hair and applied the conditioner. Not bad, it has a nice scent, too. It's a bit heavier than the scent of the dye, but still pleasant. It was reminiscent of papaya.  I rinsed, toweled my hair dry, added a slight amount of Carol's Daughter's Hair Milk to control frizz, and waited.

I have to say, I'm very happy with the color. I was afraid I wouldn't like it, but I do. It is a very natural auburn and is not brassy at all. My hair doesn't appear to be damaged and is soft to the touch. I've received a few compliments at work, and my husband says that he likes it on me. He doesn't think it's very different from the colors I normally use, but he likes it and says that it makes my skin glow.

Badly light bathroom shot, but this is my after color.

OK, my badly lit bathroom shot taken at work this morning. You can see that the hair is shiny, there's no gray and the color is even. I'm happy with it. I'm not wearing makeup in order to show just the hair.

Would I use it again? Yes. Would I recommend it? Yes. Are there others out there that do the same thing? Yes, of course, it's hair dye, but as far as boxed dyes go, this is a good one.

Cafe Escapes

Recently I was asked to try Cafe Escapes by Bzz Agent. I love my Keurig, and I recently purchased one for my staff at work, so I was eager to try the campaign.

Cafe Escapes are part of the Green Mountain family of coffee products. I buy a lot of the Green Mountain Colombian Select, but every now and again I like a flavored beverage. I don't drink a lot of flavored coffees, and won't order flavoring like hazelnut, vanilla or caramel when I'm out at say, Dunkin Donuts. I do, however, enjoy the mocha lattes and I'll always enjoy a hot cocoa. I figured that trying products that come from a reputable name in the coffee biz would be the way to go. So, bring on the Bzz Kit.

Here's a picture of the Bzz Kit that I uploaded to Twitter when I received it. The kit includes 2 each of the new Cafe Vanilla and Cafe Caramel, two Chai Lattes, a Milk Hot Chocolate and a Dark Hot Chocolate.

My daughter grabbed the Milk Hot Chocolate as soon as the box was opened. She's 9, likes her hot chocolate, and was looking forward to this. She said she liked it quite a bit.

I tried the Mocha Latte, which is one of my favorite occasional treats. Even though I used it on the standard middle setting on the Keurig, it seemed a little too watery and a bit too sweet. I like my Mocha to have a very dark chocolate taste, since I'm not into overly sweet beverages. It compares to the General Foods International Coffees more than it compares to something from Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts.


Next up for me was the Cafe Caramel. Sadly, I wasn't thrilled. It has a very sweet, fake taste to it, like an aspartame after-taste. It's also very watery, and won't be on my purchase list for the future.  I gave the second K-cup of Cafe Caramel to a coworker, who felt it tasted all right but was a bit too thin. She didn't want to add cream because she didn't want to add fat to it. I would have. It might have given it some bouyancy.

I pretty much felt the same way about the Cafe Vanilla. It's too sweet, too thin and tastes artificial. I left the second K-Cup at work in case a co-worker wishes to use it.

The Dark Hot Chocolate is good, but not spectacularly dark. It's more like a regular hot chocolate. It's best to make it on the smallest cup setting to get the most flavor, so you're not getting a lot for the price. I have a friend who, when he makes a mug of this, puts it on the least amount of water setting, and then uses 2 K-cups. It's the only way he can get enough of a mug of cocoa that's sufficiently chocolately for him. I think it's way too sweet.

That leaves the Chai Latte. You don't mind the thinness as much with the Chai Latte because it's a tea. At least that's how I feel about it. When brewing, you immediately pick up the scent of the chai spices. Great, very promising. Only problem for me is that once again this is way too sweet, and has an artificial aftertaste.

I think this product is good for a niche market, but for regular home use, I think I will pass. I know that K-cups in general aren't considered to be a cost-effective option, but these don't seem to measure up to less expensive alternatives. I can buy a box of 20 Twinings Chai teabags for 3.00 or less, add my own milk or cream, and not add sugar (since I don't like the sweetness). I can even use the Keurig without a k-cup in it to heat the water. Problem solved. I can get many more flavors of coffee, mocha and other beverages from GFIC, and pay 2.50 - 3.50 a can. They are a bit richer and even their sugar-free varieties don't have a particularly bad aftertaste.

So, the jury is out on this one. It's not my cup of coffee/tea/beverage, but it might be yours.

Pros:

Convenient
Good to have on hand for company who might want something different
Flavor Variety
Available at supermarkets and mass-merchandise places

Cons:
Too sweet (subjective, I know, but my opinion)
Too watery
not cost-effective
artificial after-taste with most of them.

A Goya Weekend

BzzAgent asked me to participate in a Goya campaign. No problem there, my pantry is usually filled with Goya products. My BzzKit arrived with a can of low-sodium black beans, a bottle of Goya Adobo, and a box of Goya Yellow Rice. So far, so good. I grew up fully aware of Goya products, since they advertise heavily in the NY area. I've been using them ever since I married way back in the dark ages of 1985. Goya has good quality products at a decent price. My BzzKit included coupons for various Goya products, so that was an added bonus.

I knew I wanted to use my crock pot on Saturday because I had a lot of running around to do. I worked 9AM - Noon, and then I had laundry, car repairs, shopping, etc. which all required me to spend time away from home. I had a pack of boneless pork ribs I wanted to make, so I started with that.

Into the crock pot went:
1 pack of boneless pork ribs
2 packets of Sazón Goya seasoning with Coriander and Annatto
2 cups of water

1 packet of Lipton Savory Herb & Garlic Soup Mix (You can use Lipton Onion but I was out of it).

I put it on low and headed out for the day's events.

When I came home I checked the pork, which smelled great, and set about making the rest of our dinner. I made the yellow rice according to directions. In 25 minutes you have perfect yellow rice. While the rice simmered, I started the beans.

Here's how I make the beans:

I get my frying pan out, put in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter.The butter won't burn if it's in the oil. I dice up some red onion (I used about a third of a large red onion) and I add a heaping tablespoon of chopped garlic. I sautee the onion and garlic in the olive oil & butter, and when the onions are clear I add the beans and a few sprinkles of Adobo. I simmer this for 10-12 minutes. Sometimes I'll add 1/4 cup of white wine but I didn't this time.

Everything came out great! It was a hearty, satisfying meal which came together in a half-hour. Having the ribs cook in the slow cooker all day helped, but the rice and beans are a stove-top staple which cooks up quickly & easily.  Both the husband and the kid were happy with the results.

On Sunday I wanted to make some fun stuff for the big game. Is there anything better in life than bacon? How about bacon wrapped beef? I ran it by the husband, who sounded very appreciative. I'd love to make it with shrimp but I'm allergic. Again I ask, why couldn't I be allergic to something else instead???? How about Brussel Sprouts? I digress.

I had some beef cubes and bacon acquired at Costco, so I seasoned the beef cubes with Goya Adobo, wrapped each with a half strip of bacon, and secured them with toothpicks. I sauteed them for 10 minutes in olive oil (flipping them frequently), drained them, and served. They were a hit.  I had trouble keeping Charlotte the cat away from us as we were trying to eat them, but she knows a good thing when she picks up the scent.

Monday is back to work day, so I try to get something ready in the crock pot the night before. I had everything I needed to make a decent pasta sauce, which I love to let simmer.

My recipe:

1 lb. ground beef
4 cans  (8 oz) Goya Tomato sauce
1 can  (6 oz) Goya Tomato paste
1/2 red onion, minced
2 tablespoons chopped garlic (we like a lot of garlic, adjust if you need to)
1 teaspoon Goya Adobo
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano

I fry the ground beef until there's no more pink. I put all ingredients into the crock pot, stir, set for low and simmer for 10 hours minimum. When I get home tonight we'll have a great sauce to put over spaghetti.

I have been a loyal Goya user for years, and I like the variety of products that they offer. When I can't find everything at Stop & Shop, I'll head over to Twin Cities, a Supermarket on the Jersey City/Bayonne border which caters more to the Spanish-speaking market. There I find a huge selection of Goya products.

The Goya website if great if you're looking for recipes, coupons and product information. Try it out.

Morningstar Farms Meatless Mondays

I was asked to try out Morningstar Farms products for Bzz Agent. I was a little surprised that they chose me, because I am first, and foremost, a carnivore. I've always loved meat and I have a rather unique need for it: I had a specific type of weight loss surgery (Duodenal switch) that requires very large amounts of protein. If I eat carbs, I get sick. If I eat protein, I'm fine. So, I must say I approached this with:

Hahaha. Anyway, yes, I decided to try it and see how it went. I do like to make sure my daughter eats healthy food, and whereas I can eat a very protein-rich, high fat diet, she shouldn't. We all need everything in moderation. I do keep chicken nuggets on hand for quick snacks, quick meals, etc. My 9 year old likes them and my 27 year old will steal them from her. Changing to a meatless variety sounded like a challenge.

So, I took my coupon for a free trial of any Morningstar Farms meatless product and picked up something I thought my daughter would be willing to try: chicken nuggets. Well, actually, they're Chik'n Nuggets. I know many people will probably try the burgers, but Haley has always been a chicken fan, and I wanted her opinion on these. It was a good night for me to try this because my husband and I were both a bit late coming home from work, Haley had cheerleading practice, we had a friend coming for the night because her heat was broken, and we had our usual chores. Quick and easy sounded very good to me!

I used the oven, rather than the microwave, since it was the preferred method. The first thing I noticed was that they did have the aroma of actual chicken nuggets. My husband came downstairs and said "you're making chicken nuggets for Haley?" I showed him the package, he was surprised. He then ran out to walk the dog.

There were 14 nuggets in the box, which I felt was a small number for the price. The retail on this was 4.99, which is what it was at Jack's Foodtown in Caldwell. I sat Haley down, asked her how many she wanted. She wrinkled her nose and said "two." Uh, two? You're 9, you usually eat 6.  "Not sure if I'll like them."  OK, so, I give her two.

Well, she definitely liked them! Haley said "they really do taste like chicken, can I have more?"  I give her another 4, so now she has 6. She asks for another two after that, and tells me she likes them because they are crispy, they taste good, they aren't too spicy, and she's happy.

A serving size is listed as 4 nuggets, which might satisfy the average toddler, but not a larger child and certainly not an adult.  The nutritional information is 190 calories for 4 nuggets, 19 carbs, 12 gr of  protein & 9 gr of fat.  2.5gr is monosaturated fat and 1.5gr saturated fat per serving. I think that's kind of high for a vegetarian offering, but it explains why it tastes/smells so good. There is 600mg of sodium, so that's something to keep in mind if you're on a low sodium diet. You have to double these numbers for Haley's intake since she had 8 nuggets, and that's a bit troubling. I am also surprised that Morningstar Farms is saying it's half the fat in regular chicken nuggets. I don't know what nuggets they buy, but I get Perdue. The serving size is 5 nuggets, and it is listed as 9 grams of fat. 2 grams saturated. The sodium is lower (480 mg for 5 as opposed to 600 for 4) and there's 14 grams of protein.

My friend Linda arrived, and although she was going to have some leftover chicken parm from Sunday's dinner, she saw the nuggets. I told her about how we were trying them. She's dating a vegetarian and is very familiar with other Morningstar Farms products, but had never tried the nuggets. She had one, and liked it, and said she'd buy them for when her boyfriend is visiting. I figured I'd better try them, since I'm the one who is conducting this taste test.

My impressions: Haley is right. They are good, they do taste like chicken nuggets.

So, I had 2, Linda had 2, the husband had 2, and Haley had 8. None left over.

Later on, I had problems. The high gluten content set me off, and I had horrendous gas. Due to my rerouted anatomy, this is not going to be a product for me. I do eat soy (love tofu and order it frequently) so I'm guessing it was the wheat gluten in here that did me in.

Pros; Quick, easy, good for someone who wants to go meatless, tastes goo, Kosher dairy for those who are observant.

Cons: More expensive than chicken nuggets, higher fat & sodium count than my regular chicken nuggets, contains allergens: soy, wheat, egg, milk and a ton of gluten. If you're trying to stay away from gluten, these are definitely not for you. They're not vegan, either, if that is a concern.

Would I go out of my way to buy it again? No, but if my daughter wants them, I will. I think it's good for people who are trying to stick to a vegetarian lifestyle, but it's not an essential purchase for me. I do like the idea of going meatless on Mondays and we'll have to try some other Morningstar Farms products, like the burgers, to see how they stack up.

Covergirl Blast Flipstick

BzzAgent asked me to try the Covergirl Blast Flipsticks. OK, I love makeup. I don't wear it every day, but I'm like a kid at heart. When I get it I go nuts playing with it. Keep me away from makeup catalogs because I'll order all the little gimmicks.

So what's new with this lipstick and why did I want to try it?  Covergirl says it's 2 lipsticks in 1. One side is a cream, and the other side is a shimmer. I think that's actually 3 in 1 because you can blend the shimmer over the cream to get an entirely new color combination.

There are 13 color offerings. I was sent three: #820 (Vixen), #840 (Stunner) and # 855 (Minx). My favorite of the three is Vixen, and I think that Minx is way too dark for my light skin.

What I liked:

• 
  It's moisturizing. I really felt good wearing this product even though it's been a cold, dry winter. My skin & lips are dry, and this seemed to help condition them without being waxy. That's a big plus.
• It's long-lasting. I'm surprised that something so moisturizing is so long-lasting, but I'm glad of it.
• The blending of the shades works very well. I liked being able to wear one color to work, and then I would add shimmer for going out after. 
• Price: It's well worth the list price of 8.49, and I've routinely seen if for .50 less.

What I disliked:

• Wasn't crazy about the amount of lipstick left on my coffee cup. For something this long-lasting, I'm surprised there's so much transfer. I'd be hesitant to kiss someone while wearing this product.
• Not crazy about the case tops. I think they come off too easily and I'm afraid it'll get messed up in my behemoth of a purse.

Vixen is described as burgundy with pearl pink shades. I like pinks and corals, and the pink in this worked well with many of my work outfits. Stunner is bright pink and gold. Wearing a gold shimmer over the pink works to make the teeth look less yellow, so this one is also a winner. It seems to have a bit more coral than they are admitting, which also goes with a lot of my work wardrobe.  Minx is a deep brown with gold, and while nice, is definitely too dark for me. I'm pale, with light brown eyes, light reddish-brown hair, and this color washes me out. On a more olive-complected woman it looks great.

It took me a bit to review these lipsticks because my 9 year old absconded with some of them. I had to get them back from her!

Here's Vixen, with the shine:

Spring is coming, and every spring I look for the perfect new color to wear with my lighter outfits. I will be trying out some of the other Blast Flipstick shades to see if one will capture my heart. Whisper looks like it might be a strong contender.