Progresso Light Creamy Soups Blog Giveaway #MyBlogSpark

Okay...the days are starting to get cooler, I know.  Are you beginning to crave soups with rich and creamy flavors, but don’t want to splurge on calories?  Dreaming about all those yummy, creamy soups for the chilly and cool months?  Worried about all those calories? You worked so hard for that bikini body this summer.... I know...me too!  I have the perfect solution thanks to Progresso and you even have a chance to WIN a gift pack too!

With two new creamy flavors, Progresso^® Light soups are giving those who are managing their weight a new reason to celebrate! At 100 calories per serving,now you can indulge in a bunch of warm, creamy soups like Light Creamy Potato with Bacon and Cheese* and Light Chicken Pot Pie Style* without feeling guilty.  Who needs any more guilt anyway?  We need to be able to have some joy even if it is just a little cup or bowl of soup for lunch!  

Progresso^® Light soups  have the solution for any busy mom!  Packed with indulgent, satisfying flavor, these two new Light creamy soups are the perfect way to make thoughtful eating decisions without sacrificing incredible taste.
  
Some facts from Progresso:

• These two new Progresso Light creamy soups are joining the lineup of more than 40 flavorful soups that are 100 calories or less per serving

• These Weight Watchers^® endorsed soups have 100 calories and a 2 PointsPlus^® value per serving 

• The Creamy Potato with Bacon & Cheese variety boasts pieces of potato with savory bacon and rich cheese flavor

• The Chicken Pot Pie Style variety exudes a home-style essence with cuts of white-meat chicken, hearty potatoes and classic vegetables

Everyone can save on these yummy Progresso soups by using coupons.  Visit HERE or HERE to download a printable coupon for $1.25 off the purchase of 4 cans of Progresso^®soup. 

Don't forget to visit Progresso on Facebook for more fun ways to connect with your faves.  

*Light Chicken Pot Pie Style:  At least 33% fewer calories than regular ready-to-serve soups.  Light Creamy Potato with Bacon & Cheese: 50% fewer calories than the leading potato, cheese, and bacon ready-to serve soup.   See nutrition information for sodium content.

Now, don't forget to enter to win in my contest below! a Rafflecopter giveaway









"Disclosure: The coupons, information, and gift packs have been provided by Progresso^®through MyBlogSpark.”  The opinions and ideas are all my own.  #SNL

Kashi Soft Baked Squares Giveaway and Review

I LOVE the Kashi brand so much that it was really exciting to hear that I was chosen as part of Moms Meet to review a new product for them....just in time for back to school snacks and all that fun!  It can be a challenge to find healthy snacks period...never mind healthy back to school snacks or afterschool snacks for a mom....I know you agree! The other confounding issue for moms is that we know it has to taste good or they won't eat it. Boy, we have a tough job! Kashi has done a good job with their other snacks so I was very hopeful before I tried them.

Kashi's new Soft Baked Squares are made with very surprising, nutritious ingredients that you can feel good about like sweet potatoes and black beans!  It is your little secret though because, trust me, you cannot tell. They taste just like little chocolate brownies.  Bing!  After school snack. Bing!  Dessert for the school lunch box!  They are a true win-win for moms and kids.  You know you can trust Kashi's new Soft Baked Squares to provide your family with good nutrition like 7 whole grains, fiber and protein to keep them going all day long while your kids will eat them up because they taste yummy! My family loved them even my hubby who is always suspicious of anything that might be healthy-now that is success! They are soft and chocolate-y....at home we even put one in the microwave for 10 seconds and it was even yummier.  Perfect with a glass of milk for dessert too.

Kashi's Chocolate Soft-Baked Squares are a tasty and secretly nutritious twist on everyone's fave chocolate-y kind of snack but these ones have 4g of fiber, 10g of whole grains and only 160 calories per square.  Thanks Kashi! I need to remind my hubby of this when he snatches  four one for his own snacks! I can even have one without guilt...who wants to undo all that hard work at the gym, right?

Kashi foods always feature a signature combination of 7 whole grains and are natural, minimally processed, and free of highly refined sugars, artificial additives and preservatives.  That means, as a mom, you can feel good about feeding Kashi products to your family.  

You can find lots of family-friendly recipes, fun articles and even learn more about Kashi's kid-friendly foods at kashi.com/family or the Kashi Sampling Center at greenmomsmeet.com/kashi. You can also check out Moms Meet here for more great ideas.   a Rafflecopter giveaway


I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer.  As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog.  My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

Neon Tiki Tribe Party #NeonTikiTribeParty #Neon Tiki Tribe Party

We had such a beautiful day on Friday it worked out perfectly for our Neon Tiki Tribe Pool Party.  You could not have asked for better weather at the end of August. All the kids were excited to hear more about these cool superheroes.  Everyone was all hopped up about reading all the new books and getting a colorful pair of super power sunglasses as well all thanks to #Neon Tiki Tribe and MommyParties.  All the parents were thrilled to see a wholesome book series with positive characters woven into the story lines!

What is the Neon Tiki Tribe you may ask?   The Neon Tiki Tribe is a team of very cool super-heroes that help the world by constantly thwarting the evil Ku Tiki Tribe. The Tiki’s, which is an acronym for Thoughtful Intelligent Kind Individual, originated from Tiki Island and were discovered by a young man named Greg and his dog Sniff-Sniff.

There are currently three great kids books available all with positive lessons for kids the learn. The best part of the Tiki Tribe books is that the kids love the characters and story lines so much they don't realize they are learning a lesson!  I also wanted to mention that each book is has great colors plus a font that was created to help kids with dyslexic symptoms!  I didn't realize that almost 1 in 10 children have some form of dyslexia?  That is wonderful too.  This is my favorite below:


Tiki Tribe Beach Battle

Price: $7.95

During a trip to the beach, the Tikis discover the ocean water turning an strange, dark color. Zeke finds that someone has been dumping trash in the ocean! Even worse, Zeke meets some poor turtles that have soda rings caught around their shells. The Tikis move quickly to find the source of the ocean trash.   They soon encounter a mysterious masked man in a boat. Who is this mystery person and what will happen when the Tikis confront him? Tiki Beach Battle teaches children what can happen when we are careless with our trash.

Dog Rescue Mission is also another great kids book from the series.   The Neon Tiki Tribe help a neighborhood boy find his dog.  The boy is upset that he lost his dog, and even more upset that he lied to his parents about how it happened. Using special shades the Neon Tiki Tribe use special superhero sunglasses to hunt down the dog. They have to battle the evil Ku Tiki Tribe in the process! “Dog Rescue Mission” teaches kids about the importance of honesty and the courage to tell the truth no matter what the consequences.

The third book is Playground Pusharound.  This a great book to reinforce with the bullying issues in the schools.  All the kids seemed to love this one.  Poor Maya needs to get some help with bullying. At school her classmates teased and bullied her about her new glasses. Maya hopes Greg and the Tikis can help her learn what she can do to prevent bullying.  Join Mowah and Tia as they help Maya to manage bullies.

The kids had lots of fun at our Neon Tiki Tribe pool party. All the parents were in awe of the books.  I was not surprised at all.  Honestly, what parent wouldn't like books with wholesome and positive themes that provide kids with excellent role models like these? 

It was interesting to see the kids wander over and grab a book during the party and sit down and start to read it quietly at the picnic table...several times! Right in the middle of a pool party with tons of other friends, a pool and lots of treats.  None of them were encouraged...the kids just naturally gravitated towards the colorful covers and interesting and moral but super-cool characters. Other kids joined them and grabbed a book or leaned in and read with them. Fascinating and very satisfying to see as a parent too!

The Neon Tiki Tribe tee shirt winner and the poster winner were all excited too.  MommyParties had also provided us with those items as well to award to a lucky recipient.

I would definitely recommend the Neon Tiki Tribe books for your own children, as a gift or even for your child's teacher. I bet teachers would love to have these as part of a classroom book collection!

You can find Neon Tiki Tribe on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest so don't forget to follow them and catch all the latest updates...maybe even some promotions or discounts if you get lucky!  

Disclosure:  By publishing this post, I received free products as part of a promotional program with MomSelect. All opinions as always, are my own.

Win with Purex in the $1,000 Back to School Shopping Spree Sweepstakes

Can you use a little extra $1,000 to help out with back to school expenses?  

Enter to win in the Purex Back to School Sweepstakes and maybe you will be the big winner!

Don't forget to take a few minutes to enter the Enter to win in the Purex $1000 Back to School Shopping Sweepstakes.  Be sure to take a peek at some of the easy tips to help you get back on track with all those crazy school routines.  Purex has some great downloadable lists that include back to school essentials and other goodies.  I am a busy mom and we all know any help we can get is always welcome!!
http://www.purex.com/back-to-school

The Magic Tap Blog Christmas Giveaway & Exclusive Deal

I discovered another great product this summer through the SwagSuite at the BlogHer conference.  I had never heard of the Magic Tap® before but have found it to be super useful. It is a wonderful little beverage dispenser!  If you have lots of thirsty kids or if you are just someone who likes to drink water or other beverages often you will love it too!  It is perfect for someone who has arthritis or limited hand or arm movement as well.  It just makes dispensing any beverage so easy.  No lifting, opening, maneuvering or anything like that.  I really love my Magic Tap® since it makes it easy when you have the kids running around. They can just reach into the refrigerator and get their own water without me worrying about spills. 

EXCLUSIVE OFFER!
Magic Tap is offering my readers and special promo you can get $15.00 buy 1 and get 1 FREE plus 15% off by buying it directly.  Here's the quick and dirty math: You will get 2 Magic Tap devices for just $12.75 +$8.99 shipping and handling. That’s a 15% SAVINGS and one for FREE too!  So each Magic Tap device ends up being just $10.87 shipped!  You can get an early start on those holiday gifts.  What a great little gadget for Christmas present or even for that Secret Santa gift. 

 

1   The Magic Tap® will dispense up to 28 gallons of your favorite beverage on two AA batteries. Wow--is that cool?  We used it for a week straight and drank right through 10 huge bottles of Poland Spring water when we were at the beach. It was so easy to pop it right on a new bottle too.  The little ones drank a ton of water just because it was so fun to use.  Shhh...lets not let the cat out of the bag and remind them how healthy it is to drink water too. It is still going strong with the same batteries two weeks later and we drink a lot. It can even be that early birthday present to yourself!

•    The Magic Tap® features a swiveling top which will allow you to easily turn the spout to the side when not in use, further ensuring that the trigger will not be accidentally activated.

•     There seems to be no limit to any large format beverage bottle that the patent-pending universal cap won’t fit.  Buy in bulk, save $$$ and stop all that  back breaking lifting and end those messy spills that come with trying to pour from those giant containers and bottles!

•    You can use The Magic Tap® to dispense your favorite non-carbonated beverages including milk, sports drinks, ice tea, Kool-Aid, water and any number of juices. Just remember, the Magic Tap® is not designed to dispense beverages containing heavy pulp but other than that you are good to go.  

Don't forget to check out and follow Magic Tap® on Facebook and Twitter too. You never know what special promotions they may have going.

THE GIVEAWAY:

One Glamamama's Goodies reader will win a Magic Tap Drink Dispenser! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lifeway Frozen Treats Kefir Blog Giveaway and Review

You can WIN this plus other Lifeway goodies!!!

I was so excited to see Lifeway as one of the companies at the BSM Media Suite during the BlogHer conference. It was such a hot day it was truly thrilling to sample some of their newer products including the Lifeway Frozen Kefir. I already was so familiar with the brand I knew I would love the newbies too! The have a grown-up Lifeway Frozen Kefir (just like ice cream but better for you!!) in fun flavors like Pomegranate, Dulce de Leche and Strawberry pints and they also have a ProBugs Frozen Kefir just for the kiddos in their own fun flavors!

I have tried alot of the Lifeway products over the past few years but the Lifeway ProBugs Frozen Kefir is a new product that they added to the ProBugs line that I had not seen before.  There are several yummy flavors including fun flavors like:

Goo-Berry Pie

 

Strawnana Split 

Orange Creamy Crawler

They sound yummy right?  They really are!  I loved the Orange Creamy Crawler.  It tasted just like a delicious Orange Creamsicle except that you, as a mom, know that it is better for you and the kiddos. All Lifeway products are all natural, probiotic and GMO-Free so you can feel good about giving them to your kids. We will just keep it our major, bank-safe deposit box double key little secret.

Lifeway carries a whole line of healthy products including frozen Kefir products and refrigerated Kefir drinks.  Another frozen item I love is the Lifeway Frozen Kefir in pints. I have a secret stash a container in the back of the extra freezer for emergencies.  I often buy alot of my Lifeway faves at ShopRite or at my local fruit and vegetable store when I am in a rush.  UPDATE:  I also found the ProBugs kids at Target by the yogurt!  I also found alot at Stop & Shop.  I recently found a stash of the low fat Strawberry and Blueberry Lifeway 8 oz "grab and go" Kefir drinks at Costco too! Boy, hubby and little one couldn't drink them fast enough!  Here is the Lifeway Store Locator to check them out in your own area.  I like to use the Lifeway Kefir as a basis for a fruit and veggie shake for myself or my little one.  I will add whatever fresh fruits and veggies I like and make it fun. Just know that Lifeway Kefir has 12 exclusive live and active probiotic cultures, is 99% lactose free and gluten free.  Lifeway Kefir is also an excellent source of calcium and protein. We all need more calcium and protein!

Here is one of the great recipes from their Lifeway Community Blog. Check it out and see all the great suggestions they have there!

     Sweetheart Cookies Courtesy of Lifeway Recipes

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar - packed
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup Lifeway Nonfat Plain Kefir
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

Directions:  Beat sugars, margarine & shortening until light & fluffy. Add Lifeway Nonfat Plain Kefir & vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt & chips.
Drop on sheet sprayed with Pam.
Bake at 375 degrees for 8 -12 min.
Cool 1 minute on sheet & then remove to racks.

Lifeway is always posting yummy recipes and promotions on their Facebook and Twitter pages so don't forget to follow them and let them know how much you enjoy their products. They are even on Pinterest too!

Don't forget to enter to win your free coupons for Lifeway products below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lifeway provided free coupons for this post. My participation is voluntary and my opinions, as always are my own.  

Gevalia Kaffee Coffee Fika with Friends Sweepstakes, Review and Recipe Ideas

I was excited to meet with the peeps from Gevalia Kaffee late this summer during the BlogHer conference in NYC.  I didn't realize that Gevalia has been around since 1853--that is a long time!  Gevalia used to be available online only but now the Top 10 varieties are available nationwide in the coffee aisles of supermarkets.  Check your local supermarket HERE for availability.  Gevalia believes everyone including busy moms like us deserve a second moment for themselves to savor a delicious cup of coffee!

  Gevalia was kind enough to send me several varieties of coffee to try at home.  Hubby was very excited as he loves premium coffee brands like Gevalia.  I received a Gevalia Traditional Roast and a Gevalia House Blend variety to try. 

The Traditional Roast comes in whole bean and ground for convenience.  This is a really balanced blend that tastes great.  We both loved it.  My mom was visiting for a week and this was a fave of hers as well!  It is made from choice, mountain-grown Arabica beans but it is not super heavy...it is a medium roast.

The Gevalia House Blend is a little more robust than the Traditional Roast.  It isn't bitter it just has that darker roast kind of flavor but not as dark as a French Roast if you know what I mean.  It has a great aroma and the flavor is nice and deep--good for when you need a little more than a nudge on those EARLY mornings.  Kind of like when school is starting....you all know exactly where I am going, right ladies?  I really enjoyed the House Blend too. 

Want to try a yummy Gevalia recipe?  This one is a little fancy....perfect for guests!


Frothy Mocha Seville

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 squares (2 oz.) semi-sweet baking chocolate, cut up
• 1 square (1 oz.) unsweetened chocolate, cut up
• 1 1/2 tsp. grated orange peel
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 cups freshly brewed double-strength Gevalia Espresso Roast Coffee
• 1/2 half-and-half or light cream, warmed
• Whipped Honey-Orange Topping

Directions

1. Place brown sugar, semi-sweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, orange peel and cinnamon in blender container; cover. Blend until chocolate is finely chopped.
2. Add hot coffee to blender container; cover and blend on medium speed until chocolate is melted.
3. Add half-and-half or light cream; cover and blend until frothy. Pour into 4 coffee mugs or cups.
4. Top each serving with a spoonful of Whipped Honey-Orange Topping and additional grated orange peel. Makes 4 servings.
5. Whipped Honey-Orange Topping
6. Mix 1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream, 1 tablespoon honey and 1 tablespoon orange liqueur or orange juice in chilled small bowl.
7. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form.

Would you like to win $50,000?  Oh, come on....who wouldn't love that?  Gevalia has an exciting sweepstakes promotion right NOW where you can have the chance to win $50,000!  Even the 2nd place prize is fantastic....a trip to Hawaii!  What the heck....you have to be in it to win it so throw your name in the hat.  Mine is in there so we will cross our fingers!

Don't forget to follow Gevalia on Twitter and on Facebook for lots of other fun ideas with coffee.  

I received complimentary Gevalia products from Kraft as a part of this blog post.  All opinions are my own and include my personal experiences with the products.