Busy Mom Reviews

Did you know that Weight Watchers has their own line of foods you can find right in the grocery? Anyone can enjoy them, they're not just for people doing the Weight Watcher's program. I think it's always good to know about foods that taste good and are better for you, and I've been buying them for a long time.

Weight Watchers Supermarket Foods even has a Facebook fan page!

Lifestyle expert Susie Coelho (you might know her from HGTV) recently used some of her favorite Weight Watchers foods to prepare easy, delicious dishes for entertaining:

I got to try a couple of the baked goods, and I had planned on making a desert creation from the Lemon Snack Cakes (1 POINT) in particular, but after I ate one, the kids got into them, ate them all and never looked back. They even asked for more, so I guess that's a pretty good testimony to the fact they don't taste like "diet" food.

There's also other sweets such as cakes, muffins and cookies as well as Weight Watchers frozen treats which I love (especially the Weight Watchers Ice Cream Sandwiches) and keep in the freezer for everyone. Be sure to check out the Weight Watchers cheese and yogurt, too. I was able to try the light string cheese and didn't miss anything at all from the regular variety.

My only complaint is that the selection in my store isn't great, but I am seeing more and more items in stock. While the portions aren't huge, and you're not going to mistake the baked goods for homemade, I've really liked the things we've tried so far, and they easily fit into the family's snack routine.

Look for the Weight Watchers brand food products in your store and try them out for yourself, they don't have to be part of a "diet" for you to enjoy them.

This post courtesy of MS&L. The opinions are my own, I really do enjoy these products and no payment or compensation, other than product samples as described above, was received for this post.

Believe it or not, your sweet smelling baby will one day enter the tween years, and trust me, smelling their head will no longer be an enjoyable pastime.

While there is a certain relief when they get old enough to bathe themselves, at some point you will wonder how anyone can come out of a shower smelling worse than when they went in there. You will learn that when you ask, "Did you wash?" you must add, "With soap?"

Totally Texty shampoo was designed with you stinky headed tween in mind.

There's shampoo and conditioner for both boys and girls. It was designed by moms who wanted a shampoo that would clean a tweens scalp as well as the hair. Totally Text shampoo and conditioner is also free of harsh chemicals such as: Sodium Laurel Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Parabens, DEA, and TEA.

We received the DGG Shampoo and Conditioner for girls as well as the YTMN Shanpoo for boys, and Busy Boy (age 12) was the first to try them out.

He was confused by their titles at first, but when I pointed out it was just for fun and related to texting, he thought that was cool. He's been using it for several days, and at first thought the shampoo was a bit thick and almost sticky, but he soon became used to it and likes it.

I could tell a difference in the way his head smelled right off the bat. Now, true he may smell better because he's actually using soap, but I do think Totally Texty has been helpful. He's started football now, so that's been the ultimate test and so far, so good.

If you have a stinky headed teen or tween, take a look at Totally Texty shampoo. Though a little pricey at $15.00, he understands that you don't need to use very much for it to work, and it's made a difference here.

This post courtesy of Totally Texty. The opinions are my own (and Busy Boy's). No payment or compensation, other than product samples as described above, was received for this post.

When the good folks at Chiquita asked if I'd like to review their frozen smoothies, I was all, "Um, of course..." as we are a big smoothie making household. I mean, someone is making them all the time (with varied results, I might add).

And when the offer came with an Oster Fusion Blender, and an Oster Blend and Go Cup, then it was sealed as we (and by "we" I mean the shorter residents of the house) are forever burning out blenders.

Samples of each flavor soon arrived in the mail and we went at it. They flavors come in cans, much like frozen fruit juice. Each 12oz can makes three eight-ounce smoothies when blended with ice and water.

They are fruit based smoothies rather than creamy, ice cream like ones that you might get at a smoothie place, and I'm experiementing with adding milk and yogurt and such. The Chiquita Frozen Fruit Smoothies website (has sound) website has some recipe ideas.

The Chiquita smoothies are easy to make. As a matter of fact, 12 year old Busy Boy did the first honors. The kids loved them and they come in four flavors: Strawberry Banana, Banana Colada, Peach Mango and Mixed Berry.

In the nutrition department, Chiquita Frozen Smoothies provides 100% of the RDV of Vitamin C and at least 1/2 cup of fruit per serving. Calories range from just 115 to 125 calories per serving, depending on the flavor.

By the way, you can enter to win the blender as described above as well as a tropical vacation from Chiquita in the Chiquita™ Smoothies Tropical Smooth-stakes. There's even a Chiquita Smoothie Blog and you can follow them on Twitter (no idea why it's private, Chiquita?) and Facebook.

Look for Chiquita Frozen Smoothies in the frozen food aisle with a suggested retail price of $2.69 per can (less than a dollar per serving). We'll be having these a lot this summer!

This post courtesy of Chiquita. The opinions are my own. No payment or compensation, other than product samples as described above, was received for this post.

Looking for a Father's Day gift idea for a "car guy"? He can "cruise the web in style" with Road Mice, optical computer mice that are car replicas.

Choose from models such as Ford Mustang GT, Chevy Corvette, Dodge Charger, and Chevy Camaro. They are wireless and the best part (at least around here, anyway) is that they have working headlights!

We received one for review, and it works well, but the shape takes a little getting used to. I can't attest to how Busy Dad liked it as the kids absconded with it immediately after I got up from using it, and it is on a laptop upstairs.

Road Mice retail for $44.95 and there's quite a few models to choose from.quite a few models

Last month was National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month. Now, kids are out of school and home for the summer doing sports and being active outside. But, did you know that forearm fracture rates of children and adolescents have increased sharply in the U.S. in recent years?

It's important now more than ever to help kids build strong bones and one great way to do it is with milk. Why Milk? is a great resource to learn about the importance of strong bones, especially for our daughters, 9 out of 10 of whom do not get enough calcium in their diets.

Did you know children four to eight years of age should drink three eight-ounce glasses of milk per day (or equivalent)? Adolescents (kids nine to 18 year of age) need four servings and adults should get three servings a day.

Be sure to check out the recipes, especially the smoothies (we LOVE those around here) for some great ideas for a healthy diet to encourage strong bones.

This post courtesy of Weber Shandwick. Though I received three t-shirts for my kids, some smoothie recipes cards, and a personal blender, as a nurse and a parent, I am happy to spread the important word (and would have done so, anyway) about kids and strong bones.

The good folks at Kraft and Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger relief organization have partnered to feed the hungry and you can help.

Just visit "Share a Little Comfort" and every click means that one box (up to one million boxes) of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese will be donated to help feed the hungry.

There's also some great coupons there as well.

Additionally, Kraft is offering another way to share a little comfort. Every “tweet” on Twitter that uses the Share a Little Comfort hash tag (#BlueBox) will count toward the one million boxes donation.

The contest

Want to win a year’s supply of Kraft Mac & Cheese along with a donation of 50 boxes to Feeding America?

Rules:

1. Leave a comment (with a valid e-mail address) telling us your favorite way to enjoy Kraft Macaroni & Cheese to be entered for a chance to win.
2. Twitter about this contest for an extra entry. Leave a separate comment and a link to your tweet. Be sure to use the #bluebox hastag.
3. Blog about about it and receive another entry. Please leave a separate comment and a link to your post.
4. For yet another entry, vote for me (I'm the last one) here. It just takes a second. Please leave a separate comment telling me you voted.
5, Contest ends 10 pm CST on Tuesday, June 16, 2009.
6. Winner will be chosen from the comments by a random number generator.

Good luck!

This post courtesy of Weber Shandwick. I received no compensation other than some Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. I think this campaign is a great effort.

My kids play sports and we enjoy being outside, but the sun can be brutal, especially when you're at the soccer field for hours on end. We have a couple of varieties of pop-up shelters, but they are large and heavy and if you put them up, you want them to stay there a while. So, sometimes we just bake or struggle with an umbrella if it's raining.

SKLZ sent me a Sport-Brella to check out, and it's ideal for what we need. You can also use it for a play shelter outside, put it up over the sandbox or the kiddie pool, or you could even use it as a light tent for camping.

It's light, easy to set up (even by yourself) and it folds into a sleeve, kind of like the folding chairs you see at the soccer field, so you can carry it over your shoulder. It opens up to 7 feet wide, has ventilated windows on the side and can be set up in several different positions. Adults fit easily underneath.

It really did take me just a minute to set it up. It's very stable (comes with stakes, also) and it can sit on the ground like the picture, or you can extend the center pole and it can sit like a traditional beach umbrella. There's enough clearance for an adult to sit underneath, and we're going to take it to the beach in a couple of weeks.

Perhaps one of the most important features of the Sport-Brella is that it protects you from the sun's harmful rays. As a matter of fact, it offers sun protection of UPF 50+, is water repellent and protects you from over 99.5% of UVA and UVB rays.

The SKLZ Sport-Brella retails for $69.99. Also, be sure to check out the rest of the great sports items at SKLZ.

Want to win a SKLZ Sport-Brella for yourself or for Dad for Father's Day?

Rules:

1. Leave a comment (with a valid e-mail address) telling us how you'd use the SKLZ Sport-Brella to be entered for a chance to win.
2. Twitter about this contest for an extra entry. Leave a separate comment and a link to your tweet.
3. Blog about about it and receive another entry. Please leave a separate comment and a link to your post.
4, Contest ends 10 pm CST on Tuesday, June 16, 2009.
5. Winner will be chosen from the comments by a random number generator.

This post courtesy of SKLZ. No payment or compensation, other than product sample as described above, was received for this post.

Looking for a great Father's Day gift? How about the Kodak Easyshare Z1015 IS Digital Camera? Dads, Grandfathers, Uncles or friends can easily capture the moments with friends and family with this powerful point and shoot camera.

I've not used it myself, but it looks like it's got some great features:

* Powerful 15X optical zoom lens - The all glass 15X SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON Optical Zoom Lens (420 mm) zooms in fast to deliver extraordinary creative performance
* Fast (f/3.5) 28 mm wide-angle lens - Capture dramatic shots in tight quarters or in front of spectacular landscapes
* Image stabilization - Get sharp, steady shots when shooting at long zoom ranges as image stabilization automatically minimizes camera shake to deliver sharper pictures
* Amazing quality prints with 10 MP - 10 MP means you can make stunning prints up to 30 x 40 in. (76 x 102 cm)
* Best-in-class* click-to-capture speed (< 0.20 sec. picture-capture speed means you can capture that challenging action shot without delay)

Want a chance to win a Kodak Easyshare Z1015 IS Digital Camera?

Rules:

1. Visit Kodak.com and leave a comment (with a valid e-mail address) telling us what product you'd like to own to be entered for a chance to win.
2. For an extra entry, vote for me (I'm the last one) here. It just takes a second. Please leave a separate comment telling me you voted.
2. Twitter about this contest for another entry. Please leave a separate comment and a link to your tweet.
3. Blog about about it and receive yet another entry. Please leave a separate comment and a link to your post.
4, Contest ends 10 pm CST on Tuesday, June 16, 2009.
5. Winner will be chosen from the comments by a random number generator.

This post courtesy of Ketchum No payment or compensation was received for this post. Seriously, I just thought you'd like the chance to win a camera.

Look Good Feel Better is a community based, free service that offers female cancer patients beauty tips to look better and feel good about how they look during chemotherapy and radiation treatments. The program offers group workshops as well as one on one consultation and even free self-help materials There are programs for men and teens as well. You can find out more about Look Good Feel Better and learn about all the wonderful things they do.

The program is celebrating it's 20th Anniversary and they are sponsoring the Women of Hope is Beautiful contest where women who have benefited from the program can share their experiences.

Five women will be featured on the Look Good…Feel Better website, and will win a trip to the DreamBall at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on September 24, 2009 as well as receive a professional makeover.

This post is in conjunction with Mom Central. Additionally, the Look Good Feel Better Program is important to me as I used to be a cancer educator and my mother had cancer and I've seen the good they do firsthand

Electrolux and Kelly Ripa have kicked off their Virtual Lemonade Stand campaign to raise funds for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Just visit electroluxappliances.com to design and open your own virtual lemonade stand and even pick the flavors of lemonade you want to feature at your stand.

For every stand opened, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF). In addition, you can help the cause even more by buying and sending virtual glasses of lemonade to your friends and family, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting OCRF.

When you open your stand, and every time you log in afterward, you'll be entered to win a new French Door Refrigerator from Electrolux and when others donate to your stand, they will also have a chance to win, too!

The new French Door Refrigerator by Electrolux has some new features that make it a great for entertaining. The Perfect Temp Drawer™ provides storage for items that you want to keep at the ideal temperature. It’s also a large enough to store everything from party platters to juice boxes. The French Door Refrigerator also offers double the ice so there is always enough ice on hand.

Additionally, Mom Central will be giving away one French Door Refrigerator to a member of their community!

To enter, simply go to Mom Central and (1) tell them about the lemonade stand you designed on the Electrolux site and which flavors you are ‘selling’ and (2) share your own “summer entertaining” tips/ideas. Mom Central will pick one lucky winner in a random drawing from all entries received!

(Contest ends 11:59 p.m. ET September 7, 2009.)

Greek yogurt has a much thicker, creamier consistency than regular, non-Greek yogurt and it's a fairly new discovery for me. I love custard type things and I was very excited to try FAGE when I won some from BlogHer.

FAGE (pronounced "fa-yeh") Greek yogurt comes in both lowfat (2%) and nonfat styles. One cup (8oz) of FAGE Total 2% has only 150 calories, 4.5 grams of fat (3g saturated), and 20 grams of protein while the FAGE Total 0% contains 120 calories, 0 grams fat, and 20 grams of protein.

They've recently come out with cherry, peach and strawberry flavors that have a fruit cup attached to the side so you can mix it in, or enjoy some fruit with each bite. There's also a honey variety.

But, how did it taste?

I loved it. The texture is really, really thick and creamy. It is some serious yogurt and has a bit of a tart and tangy flavor as opposed to the common yogurt varieties you see in the store that are packed with sugar. The Total 0% is tangier and would make a great substitute for sour cream in some recipes. Once you get used to it (if you've never had Greek yogurt before), it really tastes like an indulgent treat.

Be sure to check out FAGE website for great recipes featuring FAGE Greek yogurt and you can even find out how FAGE Greek yogurt is made.

Special K has entered the protein shake market with their Special K Protein Shakes.

I'm not a big breakfast eater, so I've done the meal replacement shakes off and on during my lifetime. I really don't mind them, and there's some brands I like better than others. The only problem I have is that I'll start on them, and before I know it, they make a fine drink to have with a cheeseburger. Kind of not the point, methinks.

At any rate, I received a sample of the Milk Chocolate Special K Protein shake, and after fighting off the kids for it, I tried it and it was really good! It's smoother than some of the leading shake brands, and has a nice chocolate taste, but not overly sweet.

They come in Milk Chocolate, Strawberry and French Vanilla flavors, and they have a convenient, reclosable bottle. At 180 calories, 5 grams of fat, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 18 grams of sugar and 10 grams of protein, they are around 3 Weight Watchers POINTS.

Check them out, and you can get a $1 off Special K Protein Shakes.

This post courtesy of Kellogg's. No payment or compensation, other than product sample as described above, was received for this post.

Does your dad or grad like music?

I know my dad does, as a matter of fact, I first became aware of Slacker when he (age 78) pointed it out to me and he'd been using it for a while.

Slacker is an Internet radio service allowing users to create their own customized music stations starting with either Slacker's preset stations or their own custom built stations.

Slacker offers many traditional genre, specialty and artist stations pre-made by professional DJs like "Today's Hits", "80's, 90's and Today", "Country", etc. while also letting users build entire stations of specific artists just by typing in their name.

Be sure to check out their Graduation Party station.

Slacker is available via the web, the Slacker G2 Personal Radio Player, BlackBerry, iPhone, Sony BRAVIA TVs and more.

The giveaway: a 1 one-year subscription of Slacker Radio Plus (Winner will need a valid email already configured for Slacker, i.e. an account)

Rules:

1. Visit Slacker and leave a comment (with a valid e-mail address) telling us your favorite station to be entered for a chance to win.
2. Twitter about this contest for an extra entry. Leave a separate comment and a link to your tweet.
3. Blog about about it and receive yet another entry! Please leave a separate comment and a link to your post.
4, Contest ends 10 pm CST on Thursday, June 25, 2009.
5. Winner will be chosen from the comments by a random number generator.

This post and giveaway courtesy of Slacker. No compensation was received for this post.

I don't have a fancy skin care routine and I'm a bit skeptical of all that's out there on the market, especially the little machine thingys as I've always been unclear of the benefits of vibrating my face.

But, when I was asked to check out the Clarisonic Skin Care System, I thought, "Sure, I'll give it a shot", particularly since I was not exactly blessed in the good skin department and, well... I'm not getting any younger, either.

The Clarisonic Skin Care System is the first sonic oscillation face brush that deeply cleanses, stimulates and clarifies the skin. It uses sonic technology for a deeper facial skin clean and it has been shown to clean twice as effectively as manual cleansing and removes six times more makeup than traditional cleansing.

According to their website, in the Clarisonic studies, after eight weeks study participants reported:

o Healthier skin, 83%
o Fewer blemishes, 70%
o Fewer dry patches, 69%
o Decreased appearance of pore size, 68%
o Softer skin, 94%

So, did I see any of that stuff?

Like I said, I didn't know what to expect and many times I can't see the difference when I use revolutionary! new! skin care items.

But, you know what? I'll be darned if my makeup didn't go on better and I could see the difference after only a couple of days.

I clean my face at night and use the Clarisonic in the shower (one of my favorite things about it) in the morning. I pretty much thought I was washing my face thoroughly at night, but in the mornings, the brush looks like I just took off a days worth of makeup. It really does get your skin clean.

I don't really have dry patches, but I do have some "blemishes" (acne and wrinkles, so unfair), and I've noticed some improvement there as well.

I give the Clarisonic Skin Care System a big thumbs up and I look forward to using it a long time.

Want to see for yourself? In honor of Father's Day, I'm giving away a Graphite Gray Clarisonic brush for men.

Rules:

1. Visit Clarisonic and leave a comment (with a valid e-mail address) telling us why you'd like to try it (or get it for the man in your life) to be entered for a chance to win.
2. For a bonus entry vote for me here (I'm the last one, it only takes a second) and leave a separate comment.
3. Twitter about this contest for an extra entry. Leave a separate comment and a link to your tweet.
4. Blog about about it and receive yet another entry! Please leave a separate comment and a link to your post.
5, Contest ends 10 pm CST on Thursday, June 25, 2009.
6. Winner will be chosen from the comments by a random number generator.

No compensation other than the product sample as described was received for this post

I have a bit of a tenuous relationship with flavored water. It's left over from my first pregnancy and I developed quite the aversion to it. It's gotten better over the years, but I'm still slightly wary of it as most of it tastes chemical-y to me, but my kids absolutely love it.

When I was given the chance to try Fruit2O Essentials, it sounded pretty good and I thought I'd give it another chance since I probably don't drink as much as I should.

Fruit2O Essentials is a zero-calorie fortified water that offers the vitamins, minerals and fiber in the amounts equal to two servings of fruit.

Yeah, yeah, but how did I like it?

I'm not sure, the moment it arrived on my doorstep, the kids raided it and I only got a couple of sips of the peach-mango one. What I had was really good and I'm happy to report that it didn't give me the willies like flavored water has done for the past 15 years!

I may be cured.

At any rate, the one I tried really did taste like peaches and I didn't find a funny aftertaste like some waters have.

Fruit2O Essentials come in six flavors including Strawberry Kiwi, Cranberry Raspberry, Citrus, Peach Mango, Blueberry Pomegranate and Cherry Acai.

Want to try Fruit2O Essentials for yourself? I'm giving away a 3 month supply!

Rules:

1. Visit Fruit2O and leave a comment (with a valid e-mail address) telling us what flavor you'd like to try to be entered for a chance to win.
2. For a bonus entry vote for me here (I'm the last one, it only takes a second) and leave a separate comment.
3. Twitter about this contest for an extra entry. Leave a separate comment and a link to your tweet.
4. Blog about about it and receive yet another entry! Please leave a separate comment and a link to your post.
5, Contest ends 10 pm CST on Thursday, June 25, 2009.
6. Winner will be chosen from the comments by a random number generator.

(No payment or compensation other that the product samples described above was received for this post.)