Cottonelle Clean Care Routine Sampling Review through #Crowdtap

Disclosure: I received Cottonelle products pictured above complimentary in order to provide my own unbiased review and share with my friends. As always, the opinions here are my own. 

The large pack and one of the tubs was for my own use. The others were meant to be share with friends.  My lucky recipients were Tammie and Stacie.  They were both so excited to receive my gift.  They had used wipes before but had not tried Cottonelle before. They each have two young children and reported back to me that the kids were raving about the gentle Cottonelle tissue and wipes.  Tammie said that her son Trevor told her he liked my Cottonelle wipes and Cottonelle Clean Care tissue better than Tammie's because it was softer.  She said, "I will have to make the switch or Trevor will keep making me nuts about it."  She agreed that it was much softer than her no-name brand.  Stacey pretty much said the same thing. Her children thought Cottonelle was much softer and gentler than her tissue and they loved the wipes.

I was already pretty familiar with the Cottonelle Clean Care toilet paper since that is what I usually buy at ShopRite. My hubby and little one were so happy to see the wipes in the house and my little one asked me to buy them more often. She said they felt really soft and nice.  We pretty much agreed that Cottonelle is the best toilet tissue out there. It is reasonably priced and cleans really well. This is a serious matter. Everyone needs to use toilet paper and we all want to be as clean as we can be.  The Cottonelle wipes help you feel cleaner and fresher and they are 100% flushable. The scent is very light and almost undetectable too...just clean.

We will be keeping a tub of Cottonelle Fresh Care wipes on hand and I will plan on buying Cottonelle Clean Care since I loved it anyway. It is often on sale at ShopRite so look for the sales at your own local stores and just stock up!

If you would like to have the opportunity to sample and share many other brands you can sign up for Crowdtap yourself.  I’ve been a member of Crowdtap.com for a while now and there are always great opportunties.

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The Fast Metabolism Diet Mommy Party

I have been going to the gym, getting to boot camp and doing pretty well all winter but we can all use a little help as bikini season stares us in the face, Glamamama included.  I was a little bit excited when I heard from MommyParties that I was chosen to host The Fast Metabolism Diet Mommy Party.  You can pre-order The Fast Metabolism Diet by the well known auther Haylie Pomroy now!  I love this plan because it is a life kind of plan, not a crash diet.

Haylie really has some solid ideas that are reasonable and can be incorporated into real life. I knew that my friends were going to be so excited for this party so I got to work fast finding a weekend day that would work for everyone.  We had a great time this past Sunday afternoon too.  I suggested a pot luck to make it easier for me and to get everyone in the mindset of healthy cooking AND eating.  It was great because we were able to use Haylie's easy recipes that were provided to use from Phase I, II and III of her The Fast Metabolism Diet.  You can see below that they are easy recipes that look good and I can tell you, taste great.

We started out with a little ice breaker game.  I had everyone to bring an index card with a fun fact on the the front and a "healthy advice" tip on the back. We mixed them up and after everyone arrived and I finished the smoothies below we tried to guess who's card was whose.  It was funny and we were all laughing.

I prepped the Watermelon Smoothies.  Super easy to make with 4 ingredients. You can't beat that.  Took me two minutes once the watermelon was cut up.  Gorgeous too. Everyone was oohing and aahing over how pretty they looked.

Julie offered to make the Phase I Chili from The Fast Metabolism Diet and promised to follow the recipe exactly. It came out really delicious.  Boy, that chili had ALOT of beans.  White beans, kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, and lentils. She couldn't find the adzuki beans. I know I have seen them at ShopRite, I think Eden organic has them.  She used lean organic ground turkey too.  Haylie says you can use buffalo. I think buffalo is very lean as well.  I know I have seen it at ShopRite and maybe Whole Foods. It was very filling and everyone enjoyed it.  Haylie says this actually counts as a grain and a protein as well as a veggie serving because it has so many starchy legumes (beans!).  

I made the Phase III Sweet Potato Hummus & Cucumbers with a little help from my hubby.  He is the hummus expert so he always liked to make it. It came out great. I bought a several of those nice English cucumbers that are seed-free and we used those as dippers. The sweet potato added a fun twist to our regular hummus and all the ladies really enjoyed it. 

Barb volunteered to make the Phase III Coconut Curry Chicken.  I am not a huge curry fan but I have to admit it tasted pretty good.  I loved the blend of spinach, tomatos and coconut milk...it kind of made the flavor multi-dimensional.  

Cindy came with the ingredients prepped for the Phase III Berry Nutty Oatmeal Smoothie.  She wasn't sure what kind of frozen fruit to use so she bought organic frozen blueberries, blackberries and strawberries.  It was very thick but smooth since she had really ground up the sunflower seeds and the oats beforehand so they were almost powdery.  It was really filling and flavorful. 

Here is an additional recipe from The Fast Metabolism Diet for a nice spicy Pepperoncini Pork Roast.  Let me know how it is....it looks yummy!

We did a check in and talked about our eating habits.  We agreed it would be helpful to make the diet diary to see what we were really eating on a daily basis and how we could make it better.  We all agreed that exercise was going to be key as well as diet. I am a gym rat but some of the ladies have been slackers. They promised they will get moving with Haylie's suggestions. I also suggested fast walking or jogging now that the weather is getting good and even offered to let people borrow some of my weights for strength.

The ladies all left with leftovers and little goodie bags that I put together. Everyone was pumped up to be looking good this spring and summer after following the plan. We are going to keep tabs on each other and support, support, support to be successful through all three phases of the plan. 

I love that The Fast Metabolism Diet includes 4 weeks of healthy meal plans (easy to make ahead too...she is conscious of us busy, working mamas!) and more than 50 recipes.  The recipes includes options for vegetarians, organic and even people on gluten-free diets.  

I had started a week or so before the party and it has been going pretty well. I have lost 4 pounds at this point and I feel great.  I want to let you know that I do get to the gym regularly which I think helps a lot. I do a crazy boot camp regimen on Saturday mornings and a mix of weights, pilates, boot-camp type regimens on Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays.  Gotta keep it honest. I think the best way to do it is a mix of activity along with the clean eating that Hayley recommends.  I will keep you all updated with my progress on The Fast Metabolism Diet.

You can learn even more about the book and about Haylie Pomroy on The Fast MetabolismDiet FAQ Page.

Disclaimer:  I received books, recipe cards, a $20 Target gift card and other extra coupons and recipes through MommyParties from brand partners Applegate, Artisana, CrockPot and Celestial Seasonings to help put together my party.

StrongMoms® Empowment #StrongMomsEmpower

#StrongMomsEmpower  
It is such a challenge to be a mom today. Working, staying at home, juggling it all either way you do it.  We all have a different story, but it is the same story.  We try our best to make the decisions we hope work the best for our family.  There are a million judges out there all waiting to tell us we are wrong, we are not smart enough, we don't know the right thing to do.

I say you do what you think is right for your family and you.  For me, this means squeezing in 3-4 times a week at night and Saturday monring at the gym in between work and family. My hubby squeezes in his Ultimate Frisbee games/practices in season as well and maybe a gym day or two. Does my child do a few less activities than some of the other kids? Sure. Are we happier and healthier as a family?  Yes 200%. Do I feel guilty sometimes?  Sure. Do we eat at McDonalds and Burger King?  Never. Do we cook healthy meals almost 7 nights a week from scratch?  Absolutely.  Do I buy organic meat, veggies, fruits, wild salmon and tuna and canned items that are organic BPA free whenever possible?  Definitely. Everyone chooses what feels good to you.  It is weird to some parents but it makes us happy and I hope will help us live longer and healthier lives.  

Check out some of these parenting stories like this one "Dear Mom on the iPhone" and  tell me what you think. Lord it is hard to be a parent today.


Don't forget to go to  strongmomsempower.com and take the pledge yourself to do the best you can and make your own best choices.  

Disclosure: I am participating in a blog campaign with One2One Network. I have not received any payment. All opinions are my own.