Category Archives: Food and Drink

SIGG Halloween Water Bottles and a Trick-Or-Treating Packing List

October 26, 2012Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Food and Drinkhalloween, SIGG, water bottleAlicia

You’re ready for Halloween, right? Or are you?

You have the kids Halloween costumes, you have the Halloween decorations (at least out of the attic), and you have the candy. Now what about all the stuff that’s going to keep your kids comfortable and happy while they’re walking 5 miles to collect candy and say please and thank you? Pleases and thank yous require a lot of energy you know.

Here are a few items you should pack for your trick-or-treating excursion:

Bring a wagon or stroller if your kids are 5 or younger
Wipes – candy hands are sticky hands!
First aid kit (bandaids, antiseptic wipes, etc)
Flashlights
Flip flops or socks – just in case your princesses shoes hurt her feet after a while
A dumping bag (a pillow case for when the kid’s treat haul gets too heavy)
Camera
Safety whistles or walkie talkies (talk to your kids before and tell them to stop when you blow the whistle)
Healthy snacks
Water (it’s important to stay hydrated!)

SIGG Halloween water bottle

Speaking of water..

SIGG offers kids a super cute way to stay hydrated this Halloween and beyond with their festive Halloween aluminum water bottles! As you know from previous posts, we are huge fans of SIGG water bottles. Madelyn was very excited when she opened a box from SIGG with a Little Witch water bottle with a glow in the dark cap! She had that bottle glowing within 10 minutes of having it out of the box! I was in the pitch dark bathroom with her while she swirled the water bottle around and around so we could watch the “shooting starts” zoom around the bathroom. The glow lasted a long time!

This SIGG water bottle is small enough for little hands and you won’t lose it while trick-or-treating because it will be glowing!

Halloween theme water bottles

Monster Family
Witches Broom – purple bottle with pink top
Little Witch – maroon with green top

Check out the kids area on the SIGG website where you’ll find lots of other festive, cute, and spunky designs in their Kids area.

The bottles ship within 1 business day so hurry and order yours today!

SIGG also sells aluminum lunch boxes and other accessories and be sure to take a look at their adult size water bottle designs while you’re on the site. There are so many colors and designs to choose from!

Now that you have a trick-or-treating packing list make sure you have what YOU need to be festive too! Halloween isn’t just for kids you know!

Connect with SIGG:

Disclosure: SIGG provided us with a water bottle for review purposes, free. All opinions are 100% honest and were not influenced in any way. I was not told what to write or required to write this post.

Kellogg’s Exciting ‘Seed to Spoon’ Approach – Start Simple, Start Right

October 15, 2012Food and Drink, New postsGluten Free Rice Krispies, Kellogg's, recipesAlicia

Eating breakfast is especially important for kids. Children need the energy they get from eating breakfast in order to perform well in school. At ‘Meet-n-Greet’ before the school year starts, three of my kids teachers told parents that they are going to ask our children what they had for breakfast every day. Talk about putting parents on the spot! Breakfast should be a meal and cereal is a great starting point for a good, wholesome breakfast.

When I shop for cereal, I look for a cereal that contains mostly natural ingredients and a small amount of sugar and no food coloring. I also look for cereal that will go well with fresh fruit. We have 4 boxes of cereal in our cabinet now in addition to the five listed below and they are Kellogg’s Corn Pops, Kellogg’s Raisin Bran, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes (my guilty pleasure), and Kellogg’s Fruit Loops (my son’s guilty pleasure). I’m not kidding.. I suppose I could be a Kellogg’s spokesmom. Or we could be a spokes-family. I grew up eating Raisin Bran and Corn Pops and enjoyed Rice Krispies Treats on special occasions. It’s interesting how childhood memories can revolve around cereal, isn’t it?

So what is “Start Simple, Start Right” all about?

Kellogg’s works closely with local farmers and suppliers to understand the way a single grain, Nebraska corn, Louisiana rice, and Michigan wheat, work. This is what Kellogg’s calls their “Start Simple, Start Right” approach. Then Kellogg’s prepares their cereals in a method similar to what you do in your own kitchen — just on a larger scale.
That way from seed to spoon, field to family, you get our best in every bite.

Wouldn’t you love to see that? The making of a cereal with such minimal ingredients and superb flavor.. and yummy snack potential?

Kellogg's Seed To Spoon Approach — Click to enlarge this image

Before I go on to the review aspect of the Kellogg’s cereals, let me tell you that I have been ‘out of commission’ as a parent and practically as a human-being for the last five weeks. I had surgery September 11th and was in my 2nd week of recovery when I had to have emergency surgery September 26th and I am still in recovery from that surgery. Because of this I have not been able to try or photograph my kids eating these cereals as I normally would for a blog post like this. However, my kids were more than happy to try all of the five Kellogg’s cereals we were sent and share their thoughts about them.

Kellogg’s Raisin Bran – This is my son’s favorite cereal and thank goodness for that because two years ago his favorite cereal was anything with mad amounts of chocolate in it. Raisin Bran is also one of my favorite cereals and you can bet I’ll be eating it in the morning again once my recovery is over.

Kellogg’s All Bran – It took the kids a few tries to get used to All Bran. The cereal is not as aesthetically pleasing as children would hope but they were pleasantly surprised by the flavor. Kellogg’s All Bran has 40% of your daily recommended fiber and don’t fret, there are some pretty amazing recipes to be made with All Bran including Chocolate Chip Cookies and if you’re looking for a little crunch with your ice cream, here’s a recipe for that.

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes – The kids are happy with the texture and flavor of Corn Flakes as long as they add some type of berry or other fruit to it. We keep a plethora of fruit in the fridge so they just grabbed some and put it in the Corn Flakes and they were happy!

Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Original – Rice Krispies is an all time favorite. A classic. We all know what recipe the kids LOVE that Rice Krispies is the main ingredient in, right? So, not only does Rice Krispies make for a fabulous breakfast cereal but also a fun after-school snack in the form of Rice Krispies treats. If you feel like it, try out my award winning “Very Berry Rice Krispies Treats” recipe! You and your kids will love it!

Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Gluten Free – Much like the original Rice Krispies (also Gluten Free), this version is crispy and snap, krackle, and poppy and the kids love the texture and flavor. For those with Gluten issues, this is a great alternative.

The new cereal eliminates barley malt (the source of gluten in the original Rice Krispies® cereal) and is made with whole grain brown rice to differentiate it from the original and for flavor. Each serving of the new gluten-free cereal contains 120 calories, less than 1 gram of sugar, 1 gram each of fat and fiber, 3 grams of protein and 190 milligrams of sodium. The cereal is fortified with several vitamins and minerals.

Learn more about the Kellogg’s cereals we tried here:

Check out this “Seed to Spoon” Kellogg’s video showing how they make their cereals.

Do you have a favorite cereal and/or cereal recipe?
We’d love to read about it in the comments below!

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Kellogg’s. I received sample products to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item as a thank-you for participating. All opinions are 100% my own and honest.

Watch #HungerHitsHome, a New Documentary from @FoodNetwork

March 27, 2012Food and Drink, New postsAlicia

“We’re the richest country on the planet and we don’t have a single community that’s hunger free. We should be ashamed.”

– Jim McGovern, Congressman

You would never think that this statement would be spoken about our country. It should not be true but as heartbreaking as it is, it is true.

Hunger Hits Home — a new documentary about childhood hunger in America premiering April 14 at 8pm/7c on Food Network features real parents who you would not think were struggling to feed their family. Jeff Bridges, National Spokesperson for Share our Strength tells us that we can end child hunger by 2015.

Check out the trailer for Hunger Hits Home here.

The new documentary, “Hunger Hits Home,” takes a first-hand look at the crisis of childhood hunger in America through the eyes of the parents, children, anti-hunger activists, educators and politicians on the frontlines of the battle. The film is part of an ongoing partnership between Food Network and Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign to end childhood hunger in America by 2015.

For information about hosting your own viewing party, visit Foodnetwork.com/hungry and click on DOWNLOAD GUIDE under “See it.”

Change begins with you. See it. Share it. Support it.

For more information visit Foodnetwork.com/hungry.

Pepsi NEXT Taste Test and Review

March 26, 2012Film, Food and DrinkPepsi NEXTAlicia

Pepsi NEXT had its national U.S. launch today. Referred to as a “mid-calorie” soft drink, the latest PepsiCo beverage offers 60 percent less sugar and 60 percent fewer calories than regular Pepsi. I know a lot of busy moms who rely on soda, usually diet soda, to get them through the day. Myself included until recently when I decided to quit just to see if I could do it. I’m happy to tell you that I did quit and I’m fine.

My husband is a Pepsi fan. He drinks a few Mountain Dews a day and is still thin as could be. I’m not saying anything about his health but outward appearance would lead you to believe that he doesn’t touch sweets or high fat foods. Which is very far from fact I’ll have you know.

A few days ago I received a package in the mail. It was heavy for such a small box. I was surprised to find a six pack of Pepsi NEXT in a pretty cool looking clear case. My son has since commandeered the case and it using it for who knows what in his room.

My husband tried Pepsi NEXT since I am currently not drinking soda (we’ll see how long that lasts). The first thing he did after opening the can was smell it like he does wine. He works in the restaurant business and is very much into the aroma and presentation of food and drinks. He said it smells like regular Pepsi. Then he took a sip. And another. And another. He was apparently parched and was very happy to have a drink. His overall thought was that Pepsi NEXT has the same type of taste as Coke Zero, but that he prefers the flavor or Pepsi products. He said that Pepsi NEXT does not have a diet-y flavor. My husband is not one to eat or drink sugar free or fat free so for him to say that he enjoyed this lower calorie Pepsi is significant.

Want to know more?

Disclosure: I received a 6 pack of Pepsi NEXT free. I was not told to write a review. All opinions are my own (or my husband’s in this case).

Schwan’s Easter Dinner Home Delivery Makes Mom’s Life Easier

March 26, 2012Food and Drink, HolidayEaster, Schwan's Home DeliveryAlicia

For the next few days we’ll be decorating the house with Easter decor, spring flowers, and all things pastel. My daughter insists that we decorate for every holiday and I don’t blame her. Decorating is fun and the decorations add excitement to the house. But.. I’ll be honest, one thing I don’t particularly enjoy about holiday’s is meal time. I have what I call kitchen-claustrophobia and I would prefer not to ever prepare a meal for more than my family of four. That’s why I am thrilled that Schwan’s is delivering our Easter dinner this year.

Schwan’s Home Delivery offers up traditional Easter fare that is sure to satisfy family and guests including: Sliced Ham, Au Gratin Potatoes, Green Peas, Old-Fashioned Apple Pie & Vanilla Ice Cream to name a few.

Delivered right to your doorstep and ready in minutes, a Schwan’s home delivered meal will provide you that extra time away from the kitchen and with your family. Sounds pretty great doesn’t it? Check out Schwans.com today to plan your Easter menu. Schwans.com offers an assortment of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, and a LiveSmart™ section where you’ll find delicious, real, better-for-you food with minimal additives or preservatives, moderate calories, sodium and fat, and zero grams of trans fat.

Here are a few sections to be sure to check out on Schwans.com

Kid’s Favorites – Take a look at the Oven Roasted Chicken Bites on the Kid’s Favorites LiveSmart™ menu.
Desserts – Cookies, brownies, cakes, and cobblers.. oh my!
Seafood – The Fire Grilled Italian Code looks delicious!

Schwan’s Home Service, Inc. brings grocery shopping right to your door with no muss or fuss, making “convenient” seem like an understatement. Offering a wide variety of products – vegetables, sides, complete meals, and desserts – will help busy moms satisfy hungry family members any time of the day.

Finally, here is a great meal idea for another day:

Start off with Sweet Potato Fries.

schwan sweet potato fries — Schwan Sweet Potato Fries

Then enjoy a juicy, tender and flavorful Bratwurst.

Fire Roasted Vegetable Blend

And end your meal with Passion Punch Sherbet.

Is your mouth watering?

Just imagine an Easter dinner that is delicious, requires almost no preparation, and is delivered to your door!

Connect with Schwan’s:

Disclosure: Schwan’s is providing a meal for my family for review purposes. All opinions are 100% honest and my own. Schwan’s did not require that I write a post about their service of products. I only write about products that I stand behind and would purchase for myself and my family.