Lately, there has been a push to have simpler foods with natural, wholesome ingredients. This has been the philosophy of Back to Nature Foods since 1960. Not only do they make delicious foods, but they also lead the way in greener packaging by using 100% recycled paperboard with at least 55% post-consumer content. That means 55% from paper recycling from you and me. Even the ink is from renewable vegetable sources such as flax, soy and tree nuts.
But if you're not swayed by buying green, the taste of Back to Nature foods will win you over. My favorite Back to Nature snacks are their seed and herb crackers: Sunflower Basil, Sesame Tarragon and Poppy Thyme.
I tried the Sunflower Basil crackers and they were seriously the best tasting crackers that I've ever had. Delicate and savory, I took these to work so I didn't have to share them with my family. Instead they hoarded the Chocolate Chunk cookies and didn't share any of them with me!
If you're new to Back to Nature Foods, or if you've been an ardent supporter for years, check out their new cookie flavors arriving in stores in January 2011: California Lemon, Madagascar Vanilla Wafers and Triple Ginger cookies. You can find Back to Nature products at Whole Foods and many other retailers.
Thanks to Back to Nature for providing samples for review.
If you have a smart phone with a touchscreen, you’ve inevitably run into the problem of trying to operate it in the bitter cold of winter. I’ve had my iPhone ring and have answered it by rubbing my nose on it. Those ridiculous antics are over with Isotoner’s SmarTouch gloves. These gloves have conductive thread on your index fingers and thumbs which allow you to operate your touchscreen device without removing your gloves. A non-slip palm improves grip as well.
The Isotoner SmarTouch is excellent for basic phone operations such as dialing and answering calls, but don’t expect to have coherent text messages or emails, especially with the iPhone. Here are my test messages: “$6.49 is a good deal fortunes fm trasittes”, which should have been “$6.49 is a good deal for for the fm transmitters”. Another attempt got completely garbled, “Dour gne t u can't really re org his ice?”
But if you’re really just interested in answering your phone or working your touchscreen GPS with your gloves on, the Isotoner SmarTouch will fit the bill. The SmarTouch is available at most department stores and mass merchants nationwide. Check out this hysterical video of life before and after Isotoner SmarTouch gloves:
Thanks to Isotoner for providing a review pair of gloves.
Who knew that hearing protection could be so discreet and cool? EarPeace offers silicone ear plugs that are skin toned so there are nearly invisible. They are meant to enhance concert-going experiences by reduce volume while maintaining sound fidelity.
In our family we use hearing protection from yardwork, to music jams, to automobile and motorcycle races to airplane trips. The EarPeace ear plugs do not provide as much sound attenuation as ear muffs and some foam earplugs, but they are meant to enhance your concert going experience while protecting your hearing. EarPeace gives about 11-17 dB attenuation which is ideal for bringing the sound from nightclubs and concerts down to a hearing damage free level. They are comfortable, reusable and easy to clean.
For more information on hearing loss and the importance of hearing protection, check out their article here. You can purchase EarPeace with a carrying case for $14.95 with free shipping at their store.
Special thanks to EarPeace for providing a review sample.
This is sponsored content from BlogHer and ABC's No Ordinary Family.
ABC’s No Ordinary Family poses the question, If you could give each of your family members or friends a super power what would it be and why? Check out the trailer for this new show premiering on Sept 28, 2010.
In a recent episode of This American Life on Superpowers, the first act featured a story where John Hodgman asks the question,”Which superpower would you choose, the power of flight or the power of invisibility?” How you answer tells a lot about what kind of person you are.
My first thought was invisibility, but then I went back and forth on the flying. I often have dreams of flying, of traveling through the world either by gliding through the air or just over the ground effortlessly, or by shrinking the earth into the size of a map so I could walk into another country with a single step. But then the sneaky suspicious side of me would just love to spy on people when I am invisible.
In the end, how you choose shows whether the gallant person with nothing to hide overcomes the darker, guilty, suspicious person. They said that men choose flying more often and women choose invisibility.
But the superpower that I would want over anything else would be the ability to be in more than one place at a time. I could finally be supermom and work full time, take care of the kids full time, and even split my time helping with homework, piano or violin practicing at the same time. Of course these leads to no down time, but I could choose when and whether or not to split or clone or whatever it takes to be in more than one place at a time.
Just this past weekend, I wished for this superpower again. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and I drove my convertible to my therapeutic massage appointment. The weather was absolutely perfect, and I put on my music and enjoyed my little getaway from the kids. My husband Doug took my son to his first soccer game of the season, which is something that I’ve done countless times. However, this time my son Adam scored three out of the five goals helping his team to its first solid win in ages! Oh how I wished I could have been there! But if I were able to be in those two places at the same time, would I have relished my getaway if I weren’t really away? I’ll worry about those philosophical dilemmas when I get to them.
The power I choose for Doug is the ability to stop time. In Nicholson Baker’s book, The Fermata, the main character uses this power to do all sorts of kinky sex acts, but there are many more uses for this power. Doug would love to invoke time stopping when the kids get too loud and crazy. He could just stop time and everything would be quiet. He could catch his breath, relax and relish the moment of silence. Plus with his new job, he can finally get everything done despite our jam-packed family schedule.
My son Adam is pure of heart and would embrace flying without question. He loves to defy gravity on the swings. It is completely fitting for him.
My daughter Dova would definitely be the invisible one. She already loves to sneak up on you and scare you any chance she gets. Hopefully this won’t lead to a dark life of deception in the future.
Have your kids caught the Silly Bandz fever? Collect-A-Bands have character bands for your favorite characters such as Looney Tunes, Scooby Doo, Star Wars and more. They come in a 24 pack with 8 different characters, which makes it easy to share (unless you're my 6-year-old daughter).
*** If you'd like 24 pack of Shrek Forever After Collect-A-Bands, leave a comment below. Please include your email address in your comment. ***
For extra entries, promote this contest by tweet, blog post, StumbleUpon or other social media and leave a separate comment for each with the URL or username. Up to five entries per person.
This giveaway ends September 24, 2010 at 11pm EST and is open to US residents.
Special thanks to Bulls-i-toy for providing samples for the giveaway and review.
Juice is juice right? Not when it comes to Welch's. The new Healthy Start line of juices take nutrition and flavor to a new level.
Grape
White Grape Orange Mango
Blueberry Pomegranate Concord Grape
Each of these juices have the unmistakable flavor of high quality Concord grapes. With 260% of Vitamin C DV, and loads of natural anti-oxidants from grapes, you can feel good about giving it to your family. Even my son with the fruit aversion loves it.
If you'd like to try Welch's Healthy Start, click the coupon image below to visit Welch's Healthy Start and print out a coupon. Healthy Start will be available nationwide in October and is currently available at Kroger, Safeway, Food Lion and Publix. It will also be available in mid-September at SuperValu, Bi-Lo and in mid-October at Walmart .
Thanks to Welch's for providing juice samples for review.
This is a sponsored review by BlogHer and Newman's Own.
OK, I admit it. We love pizza. Even frozen pizza. When I heard that Newman's Own was offering a new line of thin and crispy pizza, I loved the thought of all natural ingredients in a brand that I trust. We love Newman's Own salad dressings, salsas and fig newtons, I mean Fig Newmans™! And don't forget that all profits go to charity. Newman’s Own Foundation continues Paul Newman’s commitment to donate all profits to charity. Over $300 million has been given to thousands of charities since 1982.
Newman's Own Thin & Crispy pizza definitely delivers. We tried the uncured pepperoni pizza and in 12 minutes were treated to a delicious meal. Uncured means no sodium nitrites, something we definitely look for. The full taste was four thumbs up from our family of four! The thin crust means 25% less carbs compared to rising crust pizzas, but we did need two pizzas to feed four of us for dinner.
Newman's Own Thin & Crispy pizza can be found at the following stores:
East Coast - Shaw’s, Big Y, Price Chopper, Demoula’s Market Basket, Hannaford, Foodmaster, Roche Bros, Stop & Shop, Harris Teeter, Giant (MD), Giant Foods (PA), Giant Eagle, Kroger, Shoprite, Key Food, King Kullen, Food Town, Kings, Grand Union, D’Agostino’s, C-Town, Bravo, Met Food
West & Southwest – Albertson’s, Gelson’s, Lucky/Save-Mart, Raley’s, Fry’s, Bashas, King Soopers, Haggen’s, QFC, Fred Meyer, Kroger, HEB
*** If you'd like win a Newman’s Own Gift Basket valued at $75 (contents may vary), visit Newman's Own and leave a comment below with your favorite pizza variety. Please include your email address in your comment. ***
For extra entries, promote this contest by tweet or blog about this promotion and leave a separate comment with the URL. Up to three entries per person. Please see BlogHer.com Newman’s Own official rules.
This giveaway ends October 31, 2010 at 5pm PST and is open to US residents.
