Global Green USA Green School Makeover Competition Presented by Pureology

I just heard about a wonderful new contest through my partnership with Influenster.com.
Purology is hosting a Global Green USA Green School Makeover Competition from January 1-March 31, 2013.  You can enter to win a green school makeover for your own child's school.  Let's hear why you might want to do this and why it is so important to be thinking about greening our schools!

The greener a school becomes, the more the children AND the environment benefit!  

Purology shared with me that Green schools lead to:

• Improved student performance. When children learn in classrooms filled with natural daylight, better sound quality and non-toxic building materials such as non-VOC carpets and paints, their test scores can skyrocket as much as 20%. Would you believe attendance also jumps up!

• More funds for student resources. When green upgrades are made to a school, total water and even energy costs can be reduced by as much as 40%. I was so surprised by this fact!  These savings can be moved towards resources that really benefit students, such as textbooks, computers and other essentials.

• Reduced carbon footprint. Greening a school really reduces carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming.  We all know that is a good thing!

You can nominate your own child's school for consideration in the Global Green USA Green School Makeover Competition Presented by Pureology by clicking on the links and just uploading your submission.  You can even get the principal or other school personnel to give you a hand if you like. I know your child's school needs green upgrades just like mine does.  Think about what they need and submit your nomination.  It is that easy.  I always say, someone has to win so why can't it be you and your child's school?  Take a few minutes and submit it your nomination to the Global Green USA Green School Makeover Competition Presented by Pureology today.

Alpina Revive Greek Yogurt is Fitness Mag Award Winner

I was introduced to Alpina yogurts a few months ago at a fun blog conference I attended in New York City.  I couldn't believe how yummy they tasted and I was impressed that the Alpina Greek yogurt had a lot less sugar than the leading brands. If you are always watching the extra sugar and calories like me, that is important.  Now they have even more flavors with the additions of  Vanilla Bean with Chai Spice Granola, Strawberry with Almond Berry Granola, and Peach with Tropical Chia Granola.  They are all yummy!  

I was excited but not surprised to hear that Alpina Revive Greek yogurt is featured in the January 2013 issue of Fitness magazine as a Healthy Food Award winner (page 90)! Fitness noted that Alpina Greek yogurt has two-thirds less sugar than most of the yogurts they tested, plus 17 grams of protein.  I was smiling to myself when I read that a  Fitness staffer even said the granola is so delicious that she would “buy the bag if it was sold separately". It sounds like something I would say....I love add ins. 

Alpina Revive is authentically strained Greek yogurt paired with artisan-crafted granolas created by health and wellness chef Laurie Erickson.  The Greek yogurt base contains skim milk and live, active cultures, paired with fruit or syrups made with all-natural ingredients.  Alpina Revive is now available in seven flavors: vanilla bean, strawberry, peach, blueberry, honey, mango, and plain.

You can also visit Alpina online and check out their fancy new re-designed website  and find their store locator and yogurt product details. Alpina Revive Greek yogurts are now available in a wide variety of retailers, including; Delhaize group stores, Hannaford and Sweetbay; Northeast retailers Tops Friendly Markets, Gristedes, Morton Williams, and Duane Reade;  in the Midwest at Hiller’s in the Detroit area, Shop & Save in the Chicago area, and The Andersons in Columbus; and in select Walgreens in Miami, FL.  Just a heads up, the Vanilla Bean and Strawberry flavors will be introduced in newly designed, contemporary packaging and will be available in stores in January, 2012, with Peach becoming available at the end of March.

Check them out and let me know what you think!

20 Mule Team® Borax Review & Giveaway Plus GIANT SWEEPSTAKES!

I was excited to hear that I was chosen to work with the Purex Insider team again to share some information about a giveway and a sweepstakes involving 20 Mule Team® Borax. Who doesn't love contests and sweepstakes?

 I actually have been using Boxax for years...my mom had reminded me about how effective it was on stains when I first had kids. It really helps get out those annoying stains that kids often get on their clothes from paint to chocolate and all those crazy stains in between. It is a great all around cleaner and laundry booster.  You can also get more information about how to do laundry too on their website!

Borax is the common name for sodium tetraborate: a naturally occurring substance produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes.20 Mule Team® Borax is 100% natural, and 99.5% pure (there is about a half of 1% of naturally occurring trace minerals). 20 Mule Team Borax comes from California where one of the world’s largest deposits was discovered in 1913.  Once removed from the ground it is washed, dried, and boxed for consumers.  Absolutely nothing is added. No phosphates, per-oxside, chlorine, or other additive chemicals.  Borates, borax and boron compounds are with us throughout our lives. Families use it to soak and wash diapers and other laundry, but it’s also an ingredient in cosmetics, medicines, ceramics and building materials.You can use it to clean tons of other things too!  There are so many ways to use 20 Mule Team Borax. 

Check out some of these other cleaning tips in addition to getting your clothes cleaner in the laundry room:

• For scratch-free cleaning of stains, grime, and grease throughout the kitchen, use a 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax dissolved in one gallon of hot water on sinks, counter tops, cookware, refrigerators, microwaves, toasters, and any other appliance in your arsenal. You can apply this dilution of all-natural 20 Mule Team Borax to any surface including tile, ceramic, porcelain, slate, marble, granite and stainless steel.

• You can also add a half cup of 20 Mule Team Borax to reduce water spotting, remove grime, and put a shine on dishes, utensils, pots, and pans.

• Power up your dishwasher detergent by sprinkling a 1/4 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax onto the bottom of the dishwasher to reduce spots and film on dishes and glasses.

• Just dilute a 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax in a 12-ounce spray bottle of water to deodorize mattresses.

•  All-Natural Detergent Booster with Odor Control 20 Mule Team® Borax increases your detergent's power and controls odors to give you fresh, clean laundry. 

You can also check out their website with lots of great cleaning tips here. You also might be wondering "Where can I get Borax?"  Well, check out their link and you will be surprised it is readily available at all your fave grocery spots. You can enter to win the Borax Fresh Year, Fresher Laundry Facebook Sweepstakes $1,500 Grand Prize, or one of 171 coupons for FREE BORAX! Why 171 coupons you ask? The TOTAL prize value is $2013!, Don't forget to enter the Borax sweepstakes on their website plus my contest below to win a free coupon for a box of 20 Mule Team Borax...there will be two winners!

Disclosure:  Borax provided a free sample of their products so I could review it. However, as always, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Important note: Keep 20 Mule Team Borax out of reach of children. We also recommend labeling any containers containing 20 Mule Team Borax solutions to identify the contents.

Giveaway & Review: Premama Prenatal Vitamin Drink Mix Mommy Party...no more horsepills!

I was eager to get my Premama Prenatal Drink Mix and check it out when I heard that I was chosen to host a MommyParty recently.  I have tons of mom friends who were excited about a new prenatal vitamin option so the timing was perfect this past weekend when a bunch of us were free.  MomSelect and Premama sent me an adorable Party Kit to get things started.  They included some yummy drink ideas, easy appetizers and a delicious crumb cake recipe.  They also gave me an idea for a Blind Beverage Taste Test.  A nice Sunday afternoon get together with some light snacks and fun drinks with the girls.  Perfect!

Just so you know, I am not preggers right now but I clearly remember those giant horse pill prenatal vitamins that were the requirement up until recently. Yuck. There just weren't any other options so we all just took them.  No way out of it.  They were definitely not fun to take especially with morning all day sickness that just seemed to drag on forever!  I so wish that Premama was around back when I was pregnant because we all know that Prenatal health is so important for both mom and baby.

Everyone was interested to hear that Premama Prenatal Vitamin Drink Mix is a  flavorless powdered prenatal supplement that eliminates the need to swallow a pill. Premama can be easily mixed with juice, iced tea, sports drinks, smoothies,shakes and so much more!  We tried it with orange juice, apple juice, cranberry juice and milk.

I prepped a few fun party drink recipes for my guests.  The ladies were amazed that you can actually can mix Premama with any kind of liquid you like.  Keep in mind that it is unflavored so you might want to choose something with flavor. Each cute little stick packet has two servings so you can even split them up to take during the day.  I had already tried it mixed into my morning smoothie the day before (bananas and Greek yogurt with a few blueberries for good measure) so I knew it tasted great.  One of the yummy drink recipes I made for my Premama MommyParty was the Cherry-Almond Smoothie below:

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen organic pitted black cherries
¾ cup soy or organic skim milk
1 tablespoon unsalted almond or soynut butter
1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (if not using vanilla soy milk)

Directions:

In a blender (or the small work bowl of a food processor), puree the ingredients until smooth. You can add the Premama before or after blending. Serve cold.

All the ladies were impressed to hear that the ingredients found in Premama Prenatal Vitamin Drink Mix are proven to reduce the risk of some birth defects by 70% or more:

• Folic Acid to help reduce the risk of neural tube defects
• Chelated iron for healthy blood cell formation
• Vitamin D3 for bone health and immune function
• Coenzyme Q10 to help reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia
• Ginger root to help with nausea relief
• Many more vitamins and minerals to support healthy fetal growth

We had a fun time learning more about Premama and seeing how easily it can be added to any of our regular drinks.  Check out Premama and get going taking those healthy and yummy vitamins for your baby's good health.  You can use the code Sweepstakes2013 for an extra 15% discount too!  Don't forget to enter my Rafflecopter giveaway below for your chance to win a free 30 day supply of Premama too!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer:  I received a free sample and information on Premama through MomSelect in order to review it and share the information with others.  As always, my opinion is always my own.