The next product we tried were their pine nuts. I made a great basil pesto that I then made into a delicious pesto pasta. Their pine nuts were full of flavor and did great in my pesto. They were much better quality than the brand I had been buying.

We also tried their hazelnuts. I am planning to make some cookies with these. I hide what was left, for the cookies, after we had nibbled on them. They were also amazing. Again, these were also much better quality than the brand I had been buying.

The last product we tried was the quinoa. The quinoa was not only a great product, but also had a great price. Quinoa has quickly became a pantry staple in our home, and it was great to find a company that has a good price on this healthy grain.

Not only does their site have nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, but they also have choclate, candies, snack mixes and granola, gourmet coffee, ice cream, and baked goods. You can buy all these things in bulk, and even make special requests for events and celebrations, such as bulk jelly beans all in one flavor.

The site is really easy to navigate. For large events, you can even shop candies by their color. There are also beautiful gift baskets for every occasion. And did I mention everything is kosher. I think its best in the corporate world to always give kosher gifts, especially if you don’t know the recipient very well.

Thanks again to OhNuts! for letting us try your great products!

Disclaimer: Oh Nuts! provided me with a free sample of their products to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review in return for the free product.

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This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and McDonald’s.

I just wrote a whole post about how we spend quality time together as a family, going into detail about our activities, then my husband came home with some shocking news. His coworker had just lost her 11 year old daughter. The little girl had a fever that lasted more than 24 hours and continued to get worse. The mother procrastinated on taking her to the ER. However, after almost 2 days, her daughter had gotten so sick, she took her to the ER as a last resort. A few hours later, the daughter had passed. An autopsy has to be preformed, but encephalitis is suspected.

My husband and I have both been very fortunate to have good health. Many times, when we see other sick kids, even when we were at the Ronald McDonald House®, we think, that’ll never happen to us.

The death of this extraordinarily healthy little girl made me realize death may be a mosquito bite away. It’s terrifying, we get several bites everyday. It’s nearly impossible to avoid those pesky mosquitoes here in Florida. Especially since foreclosures have left abandoned pools as breeding grounds for the critters. Budget cuts have nearly eliminated mosquito control. And the worse thing is that poor horse owners can’t afford to vaccinate their horses, which could lead to an outbreak of Encephalitis or West Nile.

When the death of a child touches close to home, the importance of quality family time is reinforced. Every moment counts with our children. We could lose them in a blink of an eye. It could be a mosquito bite, a snake, a car could hit them, lightening could strike, a creepy drifter might snatch them, you just never know.

Ok, enough giving you nightmares, let’s focus on the positive. Let’s try to make every moment count, and spend some quality family time together. I’ll touch a little on the previous post I had written.

Our attempts to make moments count are first and foremost having dinners together every night. After dinner, we usually make some popcorn together, or some other snack. Tonight, for instance, we’re making s’mores.

During the day, I take him to the pool alot. We like to go to a local water park on the weekends together, and he does pretty well, till he wants to go on the big slide and cries uncontrollably, “Baby’s a big baby, I go on big slide!” Yes, he refers to himself as “Baby,” and I can’t seem to break him from it, oh well. I guess I liked that dinosaur show too much back in the day. You know the one where the baby dinosaur, named “Baby” keeps hitting the Daddy on the head with the frying pan and saying “Not the mama!”

We also go to the kiddie park and doggie park during the day. We’ll color, read, talk, cuddle and watch T.V., and cook. Most of the time it’s hard to keep his attention at these activities. However, he has no problem demanding every bit of my attention in the bathroom or shower. Toddlers. We take what we can get. We are fortunate enough to live minutes from the Disney and Sea World. We go when we can, those parks are so amazing. We also like to go to state parks to enjoy the nature, and to the beach to relax.

In the essence of appreciating every quality family moment, McDonald’s has developed a great way for us to easily donate to the Ronald McDonald House Charities® that won’t cost you a cent, and only requires your time. As part of the “Family Time. Happy Time.” campaign, McDonald’s® and Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) have developed the “Make Family Time Happy Time” online widget application. The “Make Family Time Happy Time” widget encourages moms to join other moms in the Family Time conversation and share “happy” tips for quality family time.

Through the widget you can pledge minutes or hours of activities with your family in celebration of what matters most – spending time together. We also invite you to join the conversation and share your favorite family activities with other families through the widget. You can then share the widget with your friends and family through Twitter, Facebook, and email. In addition, as part of this campaign, McDonald’s will donate 1 penny to RMHC® for every minute of time you pledge to spend with your family up to 1,000,000 minutes. Minutes and pennies are tiny amounts that, when added up over time, can make a big impact, so start pledging your family time!

As part of the company’s ongoing commitment to bring families together, McDonald’s launched a new national fundraiser in support of Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®). For each Happy Meal® and Mighty Kids Meal® sold in the U.S., a portion of the sales will be donated to RMHC – McDonald’s “Charity of Choice” for more than 35 years. As part of the campaign, you can get involved by pledging time with your family through the “Make Family Time Happy Time” online application. For each minute pledged, McDonald’s will donate one penny to the Charity, with the goal of reaching 1 million minutes and a $10,000 donation to RMHC. You can learn more here.

And now time for the giveaway. This giveaway package includes a McDOnald’s smile tote bag, a set of current Happy Meal Toys, a $25 McDonald’s Arch Card, a McDonald’s Characters Vintage T-Shirt, a Pen Buddy Notebook, EOS Organic Lip Balm Multi-Pack, a 16 oz Stainless McDonald’s Tumbler, and a Just Give Gift Card for any charity of reader’s choice. Please visit McDonald’s Facebook or the widget below to pledge time with your family and leave a comment below to let us know what you’re doing to help families in need at RMHC. And, if you have a favorite family memory tied to McDonald’s, I’d love to hear about it!” or … “Have a favorite family memory tied to McDonald’s? Tell us about it!”(...)
Read the rest of Family Time. Happy Time. Giveaway. (44 words)

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Go-gurt was actually the first way I could get my son to eat yogurt. Maybe it was their fantastic marketing, or the clever way you eat it. I’m not sure, but whatever it was, it appealed to him.

Here’s a great tip I learned from this promotion about Go-Gurt. You simply freeze it the night before and toss it in your child’s insulated lunch bag to keep things cool till lunch. The frozen yogurt will keep all the food fresh until lunch, and as it thaws to keep things cold, it will melt and be ready for your child to eat with their lunch. How cool is that? Now you don’t have to waste time and valuable space with one of those cold blue ice pack things.

Go-Gurt is nutritious too, it contains a good source of calcium and vitamin D, providing a wholesome addition to a well-balanced lunch. It’s available in a variety of cool, fun flavors like Strawberry Splash and Chill-Out Cherry.

You can download an .85 cent printable coupon here for Yoplait Go-Gurt. *This coupon offer for free Go-Gurt is not valid in some states, including California, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, North Dakota and Tennessee.

Here’s your chance to win the prize pack pictured below which includes an insulated lunch bag, a sport bottle, two cool pencils, a fan pen, a flower highlighter, a calculator, and a coupon for a free full size sample of the Go-Gurt pictured.

To enter, just either tell me your child’s favorite yogurt flavor (my son’s is strawberry) or your packed lunch tip. For extra entries, you can:

1. Retweet
2. Share on Facebook
3. Like Eclectic Recipes on Facebook
4. Blog about the giveaway.

Again, please leave an entry in the comments section below for each entry. Giveaway ends Tuesday Aug 17. Winner will be selected by Random.org Aug 18, and has 72 hours to claim, or another winner will be chosen. Thanks and good luck!

Thanks so much to MyBlogSpark and Yoplait.

Disclaimer: Yoplait through MyBlogSpark provided me with a free sample of this product and the prize pack pictured to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

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- Contest Closed – Congrats to Noelle! –

I was recently sent a jar of Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil to review. Before learning about coconut oil, I remember the 1980′s campaign against all tropical oils, more specifically palm oil. If you had of asked me a few days ago, I would have categorized coconut oil with palm oil too. I have researched coconut oil on the web, and have learned it’s much more nutritious than I ever thought. Many sites say it can cure almost anything. That may not be true, but it is still a very nutritious oil. There have been many studies backing up these claims, however all the studies are questionable because of such a small amount of people participating and countless other factors that lead to biased research results. That being said, it’s definitely not bad for you and could be very good for you. And the best part – coconut oil is extremely tasty.

One thing I found about coconut oil is that because they were imported from poor countries, they were targeted for high taxation. The people who lobbied for and got the high taxation approved were on the side of American farmers. The high taxes were eventually removed. Then there was research that said all saturated fats are horrible. What a great excuse to again go after foreign cooking oils, so a negative high dollar campaign was launched to rid American homes and the American food industry from ever using coconut oil again. At the time, many companies used it because it is so stable and has a high smoke point. Then the food industry turned to trans-fat oils. And, we as a society, have paid the price. Even though many prepared foods now say trans-fat free, they may still contain trans-fat because of guidelines. You have to look on the ingredient list and search for the term, partially hydrogenated. That denotes trans-fat, one of the most horrible fats of all.

In my effort to prepare more and more homemade foods for my family, and advocate others do the same, I am incorporating coconut oil into our diet. Not just because it made the best popcorn I have ever eaten in my life, but because I am very impressed with its possible healthful benefits.

Tropical Traditions is the most popular virgin coconut oil sold in the United States. It is USDA certified organic and is produced the old fashioned way, by hand. Because of the way it is processed, it is much higher quality. Another interesting thing I found about coconut oil is that the type of fat it has, although saturated, is the same type of fat in breast-milk. This type of fat is currently only known to exist in coconut oil and breast-milk. This makes me feel not so bad about eating so much popcorn.

Tropical Traditions has a great site filled with more than just coconut oil. They have more healthy oils, organic foods, skin care, household products, supplements, pet products, and more goodies. You can find out alot more about their products on the Tropical Traditions website.

To enter in this giveaway to win the jar featured of Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil just leave a comment telling me about your favorite movie snack. For extra entries, you can:

1. Retweet
2. Share on Facebook
3. Like Eclectic Recipes on Facebook
4. Blog about the giveaway.

Giveaway ends Tuesday Aug 10. Winner will be selected by Random.org Aug 11, and has 72 hours to claim, or another winner will be chosen. Thanks and good luck!

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

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This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and McDonald’s.

I am so excited I get to finally share with you the big Chicago trip I got to take last month. I, along with 9 other bloggers, was invited to McDonald’s Family Time Getaway in Chicago. I know what you’re thinking, Ang, WHY? Well, you have to give everyone a chance, and listen with open and receptive ears. And that’s exactly what I did for 3 days. I, along with my new blogging friends, have developed a brand new opinion of the infamous fast food giant.  Not only did I get to spend time with 9 other amazing bloggers, but also their sweet families. We got to spend time having fun together, got to meet with top level executives, spend time in the test kitchen, taste new menu items, and learn more about the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Day one started with an early morning pickup by our local limousine service in a town car for transportation to the airport. (It’s nice how big business treats us bloggers.) After a quick flight, we traveled to the McDonald’s campus from O’Hare.  Yes, McDonald’s has its own campus, amazing.  Here’s some great shots I took late in the evening with my ISO cranked high. Funny, I thought the McDonald’s campus would be more artificial looking, however, I was amazed at the park-like setting of the grounds and the Frank Lloyd Wright inspired architectural design of the hotel and other buildings on the property.

When we arrived at the Hyatt on the McDonald’s campus, we were greeted by a group of very happy smiling women.  We all got name tags, an itinerary of what we would learn in the next few days, and a t-shirt.  My son was super excited about his t-shirt.

We checked in the room, and relaxed for a few minutes, before all the mamas went to meet up. We chatted for a little while, brought the rest of our families in and did some of those silly break the ice activities.

We then went on the patio for a BBQ dinner.

I missed the wine bar over to the side in my photos.  Hubs and I seemed to be the only ones taking advantage of the red wine. The buffet offerings, to my surprise, were not McDonald’s food. I expected all McDonald’s all the time at this event, and actually was very nervous going into it that there wouldn’t be anything to eat but McDonald’s food; thankfully I was wrong.

The food was great. They had separate tables for all the families, so it was hard to mingle. My hubs constantly pushed me to mingle while I tried to look after our son. I guess he’s my safety net when I don’t want to be social. My son had a blast though, and I didn’t want to miss a minute of the wonderful time he was having. I live vicariously through him, since my childhood was so serious. Here’s Julien enjoying his balloon animal, balloon flower and getting art from the face painter.

Aren’t the hands of this artist beautiful against the young skin of a child?

After we were done eating, the kids got a big surprise; Ronald McDonald.  I remember my first encounter with Ronald McDonald back in ’83. It wasn’t fond. Thankfully, Julien’s first experience with Ronald was 1st class. This Ronald must be the actor they use in the commercials. He was absolutely perfect in every way, down to mannerisms and tone of voice. It was amazing.

Right after this we were each ushered away one by one for an on camera interview. Those 2 glasses of wine I just polished off didn’t seem like such a good idea right about then. One of the questions was what is your favorite menu item. I said the first thing that came to my mind, a Big Mac. But my favorite menu item isn’t offered any more. It’s the old fries and I am still upset about the change in fat for frying that happened sometime in 1990 that changed the old perfect fry into its current state. French fries were prepared in a blend of vegetable oil and beef shortening until 1990. In 1990 McDonald’s switched to 100% vegetable oil to prepare French fries and in 2008 switched to a trans fat free canola oil blend. I remember the perfect taste of those amazing fries. The old McDonald’s French Fries were not just loved by the average Joe; respectable foodies such as James Beard and Julia Child loved these tasty bites too. The secret to the fries of the past is beef tallow, or beef fat mixed with a small portion of cottonseed oil. Memories.

On to the rest of the cookout. Here’s Julien having some bubble fun:

And here he is trying to fly a kit in no wind:

Not too long after this, Julien keep wondering further and further away from the activities. We all escaped the fun for a short walk then slipped back to the room to get a good night’s sleep before the next day.

Day 2 started off with a scavenger hunt for the kiddos. Julien is obviously too little to understand, so we took advantage of the hotel’s paddle boats and set off on the lake. We paddled around for a while and got a good workout while enjoying the peaceful scenery.

For lunch, we went to their flagship restaurant on the campus and were given gift cards and encouraged to try one of their newer menu options, like one of their salads or a McCafé. After lunch, our kids and better halves were quickly escorted away from the restaurant while we awaited the meeting with the McDonald’s top female executives. We meet with Jan Fields, Karen Wells, and Danitra Barnett.

Each executive had a story about their own meager start, and how they rose through the ranks at McDonald’s, very inspiring rags-to-riches stories. Each was very touching, and the women were all truly grateful for their present positions in the company. We were all able to ask each of the women specific questions about McDonald’s plans, their policies, and stances on current issues. At this time I felt truly unprepared for what was taking place. I listened as the other mom’s talked about things I had no idea of, all I could do was think about how to fix the McCafé I had just had (it was way to weak and milky), and how swollen I was going to be the next day from all the sodium I just ate if I didn’t get some water soon.  The other women asked why McDonald’s doesn’t offer a fruit cup, offer wheat bread, how they felt about recent criticism concerning toys in happy meals, and other great questions. All answers given to us were either, we have tried that and it didn’t work or we are working on that.

After our meeting, we were then escorted to Hamburger University for a talk about McDonald’s commitment to children. They explained that they try to convey in their ads the joy of the experience of a Happy Meal for a child. This is one reason they have decided to go back to the Happy Meal box to make the Happy Meal feel more special for the child consumer.  They showed us advertisements from various markets as examples of how they want their company to be portrayed. The most exciting part of this segment for the other moms was a walk down memory lane as they were able to view antique Happy Meal toys from the past. Unfortunately, and I guess fortunately for me as a child I never had a Happy Meal except for one time, at my birthday party with the weird Ronald.

In this section we also learned about all the nutritious Happy Meal options they have tested in different markets here and abroad. They also pointed out that they were the United State’s largest supplier of apples. I thought that was amazing, I had no idea so many people were getting their kids to eat apples, wonderful.

After this we were off to the local Ronald McDonald House. This was the main reason I wanted to come on this trip. The House was designed in such a peaceful way. The yard is planted in native prairie grasses and flowers, it’s so tranquil:

There are two wings of the House that extend like open arms as you walk up to the House.

Here is a photo of the entrance, notice the art hanging. This modern art is a local artist’s interpretation of bee hives:

The bee hives are a symbol of how a community works together,  supports each other and achieves a nearly impossible feat.

The inside of the home was also stunning. It was a mixture of modern and traditional elements that created a nice clean, peaceful environment.

I really loved all the modern light fixtures:

We were able to tour the home and the kitchen. The kitchen was a dream, however I didn’t take pictures because there were families there. We also heard tear jerking stories from the women about the House. It was a very emotional time, we were all sobbing. I am so thankful for my healthy little boy. I know the most difficult thing in the world is having an ill child and the worst, is the loss of a child. After hearing those heart wrenching stories, all I wanted to do was hug and squeeze my little guy.

Not knowing exactly what the Ronald McDonald House was going into this, I found out that they are a charity that provides the families of sick children a quiet and peaceful place to stay while their child is in the hospital. I thought that the charity was only income based but found out it isn’t.  This one of the biggest reasons I wanted to participate in this event, to tell as many people as possible about this wonderful charity and help spread the word that they are not income based. There is a general misconception that was held by me and many others. However, THE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE IS NOT INCOME BASED. They do ask for a donation of $10 per night, if you have it. They say that many people give much more per night, closer to that of which they would pay in a hotel, so they can stay in a peaceful enforcement with others going through the same stressful experiences.

Day 3 started off early with an early morning tasting of breakfast items at the test kitchen. We started off with an Egg McMuffin. I put my son’s in front of him and he dry heaved, embarrassing to say the least. We also had the McGriddles.  I apprehensively gave it a try, and to my surprise it was actually very tasty.  I am not an Egg McMuffin person, but my hubs, along with another McMuffin loving mama blogger said it was better than any Egg McMuffin she’s ever had. We also taste tested a new menu option, a Fruit & Maple Oatmeal. It was amazing, and we all loved it. I really hope they will be introducing this menu item in every market. If approved, it will be available any time of the day, and will have the low price of $1.99.

Here is a quick video of our taste testing session with the new oatmeal.

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We also got to see the main reason we were invited to this mama blogger event – the re-branding of McDonald’s. This will be beginning with a healthy new option of berry smoothies that are targeted at health conscious women in our age bracket. We were not able to sample the smoothies, but they looked amazing. There will be 2 flavors, strawberry banana and wild berry. I also learned that just to make these new wild berry smoothies, they have to secure growers of the -blackberries. If they just dipped into the -blackberry market, without first arranging growers to grow extra berries, they would take approximately 30 percent of America’s blackberry crop and send the price of blackberries for us through the roof. It was a real eye opener to me what a huge affect McDonald’s has on our economy and how every menu option and decision they make has to be very carefully planned out as to not disrupt our food prices.

During this day, we were also able to listen to one of the head veterinarians about animal welfare. He assured us, something I have known for years, that McDonald’s chicken does not contain any added hormones. I am here to tell you NO CHICKEN HAS ADDED HORMONES in the United States. It has been illegal to give chickens hormones since 1959.  It is also illegal to give hogs growth hormones. The “no hormones” statement on poultry and pork is only for marketing. The veterinarian also told us that they haven’t had to use antibiotics in any of their chicken houses for 1 year. That’s a pretty impressive track record. To set the record straight about big breasted chickens, chickens get bigger and bigger breasts by selective breeding, not hormones.

We also talked with the nutritionist. She showed us many nutritional facts on their menu items and other common lunch items. She talked about making healthy choices when ordering off the menu and about moderation. We all had concerns about the amount of sodium used in their items. Even though they have taken strides to reduce fat and calories, sodium is still through the roof. Their response was, “We’re working on that.”

I was not able to ask the question that has been weighing on my mind since ’95 till after the discussion was over. My question, do you use Holstein beef to keep the price low in your hamburgers? The answer, no. My next question: It is an urban myth that the meat you use for your hamburgers is not beef, it has been rumored to be everything from cardboard to worm meat for years. Even the cabby that drove me from the airport claimed your hamburgers were made from worms. Of course, anyone with any sense knows you are using real beef, are you using dairy cattle in any way to make the ground beef for your hamburger meat?

The response was… dairy cows play an important role in the lean portion of the meat.  She also said that they play an important role in using these animals that would otherwise be discarded. The fat in the hamburgers does come from beef cattle, and the fat in the angus burgers comes from angus beef cattle.

The process of dairy cow slaughter is cleaning out, or culling, the dairy cow herd.   I, personally, choose not to eat or serve my family dairy cattle beef if possible. The reality is dairy cattle make up approximately 8% of the beef production in the U.S annually. They are not just used for fast food hamburger meat, but also other cheap lean cuts of meat. Dairy cow slaughter is good, it prevents waste and it provides cheap, lean meat for many Americans.

A question I wished I could have asked is do you use hormones in the dairy and beef cattle used to make your hamburger meat. However, after I asked my first question about the beef, we were quickly told there was no more time for questions. Hormones are given to most beef and dairy cattle in the United States. The European Union has already outlawed the use of hormones in their beef and dairy cattle, however, we haven’t. The European Union has even banned the import of U.S. beef and dairy products because of our extensive hormone use.

To end the day, the kids spent time in the kitchen with Chef Dan making smoothies. By this time, my little one was exhausted and had passed out in my arms. We went ahead and left a little early so we could get back to the hotel for check out.

Lastly we met up for a fairwell luncheon with a Hawaiian theme. We chatted for a while and did a fairwell interview before getting ready to go back to the airport.

Here are some great insider tips I learned for ordering in our behind the counter tour of the restaurant in the headquarters:

1. You can add additional espresso shots to your McCafé if you like it stronger. I did this while on our tour and it was as good as that very expensive chain coffee – UPDATE – I just did this locally and my advice is not to bother with this, they will charge way more than your favorite snooty coffee house for the extra shots.
2. You can request regular bacon on the egg McMuffin and they have to make it fresh
3. Request no salt on the fries and they will make them fresh
4. You can also have it made for you, you can request no anything and also request additional anything else.
5. The $1 sweet tea is also for unsweetened tea, if not contact the area manager through the site (I had to do this in my region).

We learned so much about McDonald’s on our Family Time Happy Time getaway, and while I probably will not go to McDonald’s any more frequently, I will be making plans to volunteer or contribute to my local Ronald McDonald house. Are there any new facts you learned from reading this post? If you have any questions about my trip or McDonald’s, please ask them in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

So, congratulations if you have made it this far, you are now ready to enter the giveaway! McDonald’s is offering one lucky reader a Family Time, Happy Time Prize Pack valued at $100! The prize pack includes: a McDonald’s Smile Tote Bag, a $25 AMC Gift Card, a $20 McDonald’s arch gift card, a McDonald’s fleece blanket, McDonald’s French Fry Playing Cards, a McDonald’s Frisbee, a Monopoly Junior Board Game, Organic Lip Balm, a McDonald’s Vintage Character T-Shirt, a McDonald’s Stainless Steel Tumbler and a surprise set of Happy Meal Toys.

As I shared before, my favorite McDonald’s item is the French fries circa 1989 fried in beef fat, so fatty but so good.  My next favorite has to be the fruit and nut oatmeal I tried that will hopefully be part of McDonald’s future. What’s your favorite menu item, past or present? Answer below and you will be entered in my giveaway.

You can also add an extra entry, for a total of 2 entries per person, by tweeting or blogging about this giveaway. Remember to please leave a comment for each entry so that I can easily see all your entries

Here are the official rules for the giveaway. Don’t forget to stop by BlogHer.com special offers page so you can enter the other blogger’s giveaways too!

I want to thank BlogHer and McDonald’s for this wonderful trip again. It was an amazing experience. I also want to thanks McDonald’s for the amazing gifts for my child. He received every current promotional Happy Meal Toy, along with many other goodies.

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- Contest Closed – Congrats to Laurie!

Frito Lay contacted me with not only the tasty recipe you just read, but also a few other healthy tips for summer BBQ season so we don’t pack on the pounds. You can check out their site to find out more about their brands, healthy snacking, and even where the potatoes were grown for your chips. Be sure to check out their recipe page to where you can find even more great dip recipes.
Vegetable and bean dips are a great way to integrate veggies into your diet. With just 3 ingredients, Frito Lay corn chips are a perfect accompaniment to those dips.

Sabra Hummus and Tostitios Salsa are also great with Frito corn chips and Tostitos tortilla chips.

At cookouts, use whole grain breads for hamburger and hot dog rolls.

You can also use SunChips multi-grain snacks that have 18 grams of grains in every once serving.

The most important tip to summer BBQ season – downsize your dish. Swap that 12 inch dish for a 10 inch dish, and you’ll have less space to pile up the calories. Aim to fill your plate half with veggies, a quarter with grains, and a quarter with lean proteins.

Here is another bonus recipe from Frito Lay perfect for Tostitos Scoops:

Eclectic Recipes

Chipotle Salsa

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chipotle chilies, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 jar Tostitos salsa

Ingredients

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Serve with Tostitos scoops

This was printed from: Eclectic Recipes
The site URL: http://eclecticrecipes.com
The Title: Frito Lay Giveaway
The URL: http://eclecticrecipes.com/frito-lay-giveaway/
© Copyright 2010 - All Rights Reserved

Frito Lay is also offering a patriotic prize pack to one lucky reader who comments below. It includes this cute platter and some Frito Lay snacks.

Just tell me what your favorite dip is to enter the giveaway. The winner will be chosen by Random.org. Giveaway ends July 23rd at midnight. Winner announced July 24th. Winner must respond back to me with contact info within 72 hours, or I’ll go to the next winner. Void where prohibited. Must be over 18 years.

For extra entries, share on Facebook, stumble, retweet, blog it, subscribe to my new newsletter, like Eclectic Recipes on Facebook, suggest Eclectic Recipes to some friends on facebook, or link to me somehow. I’m not picky. Just leave an additional comment for each extra entry you do so I can count them easily. Thanks for participating!

Disclaimer: I received a few bags of chips as part of this review.

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Proflowers has a great site to browse through a variety of gifts for every occasion. You can browse their flowers and gifts by occasion, type of flower and even flower color. Their site is easy to navigate. Here’s some of my favorite flower arrangements:

Another great feature is their Proflowers Florist Express. Order online at your convenience and have the flowers arranged and delivered by your local florist. Add something special to the flower arrangement, like a gift certificate from restaurants.com.

Proflowers also has a variety of gifts extending beyond the usual freshly cut flowers. I always love to receive the gift of flowers, but its so sad when the die. I always dry, press, or sometimes even freeze one flower from my bouquet to enjoy it in the future. If you would rather give some delicious treats, they have fruit and snack selections as well as these sweet treats:

Proflowers has another great alternative to fresh cut flowers, a whole line of beautiful living green plants. What could be better than a living plant that can last for years. The plants come with directions for care and there are even more tips on the website. There are cute bonsai tress, potted plants and even some orchids.

Proflowers sent me this gorgeous Gardenia Bonsai to review.

It arrived in a large box. When I opened it, I was so impressed with the packaging. The plant had lots of room in the box, while the pot it was planted in was secured and very well cushioned in the bottom of the box. The plant was in good health, and not wilted at all. When I removed the packaging, the plant had good moisture in the soil. The packaging was so good, that none of the soil had came out of the pot. It was much better than expected. The plant also arrived in bud form. It has 3 or 4 buds on it and I am anxiously awaiting the buds to open. The sweet smell of gardenia is my favorite flower smell. My granny had a big gardenia plant in her yard and the smell brings back such great memories. When we first moved in our home, a gardenia was the first plant I planted. Now when its in bloom, I’ll take the flowers not only in my home, but will also set them on the car dashboard to make the car smell good. I am so happy I now have that wonderful smell in my home, without having to pick the flowers off my outdoor gardenia. It makes me very happy!

Disclaimer: I was only sent the Bonsai plant you see in the photo in turn for a product review.

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The information, sample, prize pack, and giveaway have all been provided by Lawry’s through MyBlogSpark.

We were contacted through MyBlogSpark by Lawry’s to try two of their new grilling marinades. They sent us a great get grilling kit that included two of their new marinades, Tuscan Sun-Dried Tomato and Szechuan Sweet & Sour BBQ, a set of skewers, and a marinating dish. We tried the Szechuan Sweet & Sour BBQ marinade first. I used it on some wings and then baked the wings on a rack in the oven instead of firing up the grill. They turned out very good. I served them with oven roasted corn and roasted zucchini and yellow squash. The marinade was not too spicy, but still packed lots of flavor. The second one we tried was the Tuscan Sun-Dried Tomato. I also used that marinade on wings. I cooked them the same way on a rack in the oven. They also turned out delicious. I served them with oven roasted corn and roasted zucchini and tomatoes with Italian herbs.

Now time for the fun part! One of my readers who comments below also has a chance to win their very own prize pack from Lawry’s. It includes a marinating dish with lid, a set of skewars, and thir two new marinades, Tuscan Sun-Dried Tomato and Szechuan Sweet & Sour BBQ. The winner will be chosen by Random.org. Giveaway ends July 16 at midnight. Winner announced July 17rd. Winner must respond back to me with contact info within 72 hours, or I’ll go to the next winner. Void where prohibited. Must be over 18 years.

Just tell me in the comment section below about your favorite marinade.

For extra entries, share on Facebook, stumble, retweet, blog it, or link to me somehow. I’m not picky. Just leave an additional comment for each extra entry you do so I can count them easily. Thanks for participating!

Disclaimer: I received a grilling set and product sample only as part of this review.

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The information, sample, prize pack, and giveaway have all been provided by Wanchai Ferry through MyBlogSpark. We also received a beautiful tea set with organic green tea, two modern tea cups, and 2 tea leaf strainers. I have to say that I enjoyed the tea set much better than the product sample. The tea was wonderful, and the little strainer sure is cuter than my mom’s teaspoon strainer.

The beef and broccoli dinner was easy to prepare. It had white rice in a separate pouch that you cook in the microwave. It turned out much better than expected. I thought the microwave rice would be either dry or mushy, but the texture was very good. The stir fry is prepared in a skillet, and takes just a few minutes to heat up and thaw. The meal is also low in fat (6 grams per serving) and does not contain MSG. It was tasty, and we all enjoyed it. The only problem I have with the product, other than the fact it is pre-prepared, is that the portion size was pretty small. The product is supposed to serve 2. Well maybe 2 really skinny, non-active people. If you do try it make sure you get something to go along with it.

You can get a $1.60 off coupon here to try this new product. You can also check out the Wanchai website for more summer meal tips. There are also two other new flavors, Kung Pao Chicken and Szechuan Style Chicken, which will soon join five other delicious varieties including Orange Chicken, Shrimp Lo Mein, Spicy Garlic Chicken and Sweet & Sour Chicken.

Now time for the fun part! One of my readers who comments below also has a chance to win their very own prize pack from Wanchai. It includes one VIP coupon and 2 tea sets (2 mugs, 2 tea strainers, and 2 tins of green tea). Shown in my photo above. The winner will be chosen by Random.org. Giveaway ends July 2 at midnight. Winner announced July 3rd. Winner must respond back to me with contact info within 72 hours, or I’ll go to the next winner. Void where prohibited. Must be over 18 years.

Just tell me in the comment section below about your favorite Asian dish.

For extra entries, share on Facebook, stumble, retweet, blog it, or link to me somehow. I’m not picky. Just leave an additional comment for each extra entry you do so I can count them easily. Thanks for participating!

Disclaimer: I received a tea set and product sample only as part of this review.

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The NuNaturals people were very generous and sent me lots of their products to try. I was amazed at how sweet their product is. It only takes a very tiny amount to sweeten your beverage or food. Before NuNaturals contacted me, I had heard of stevia and knew it was a sugar substitute, but that was about it. I learned that Stevia is actually a herb that is super sweet. The Japanese have been using it for years as a sugar substitute. Many other countries have also used it, although it was banned here in the states in the early nineties. It has since been legalized. Some have thought the early ban in the United States was due to the fact that stevia does not need a patent for production, so other industry leaders pressured government for the ban. The World Health Organization has done extensive, long term studies that have all determined stevia is a safe product. Some studies even suggest stevia may help those with hypertension and type II diabetes.

I have also heard stevia can have a bitter aftertaste, yet none of the products that NuNaturals sent me had a bitter aftertaste at all. NuNaturals prides itself in having a product without the undesirable bitter flavor that some other stevia products can have. They also state their stevia products are sweeter than others.

These stevia products could not have came at a better time for me. I am very concerned about having too much sugar in my family’s diet. Stevia can help manage blood glucose levels for healthy people as well as diabetics. Managing your blood glucose levels helps you to maintain weight and health.

Here are the products I was sent to try. I have included links back to their website so you can check out their products.

NuStevia White Stevia Powder is just the simple form of concentrated stevia sweetener. You can measure it yourself and add it to whatever you like.

MoreFiber Stevia Baking Blend is described as the revolutionary way to cut more sugar out of your recipes. This is the product I used in my banana coconut bread. The bread came out tasting perfect, and the stevia baking powder actually added more fiber.

NuStevia White Stevia Packets was another product I was able to sample. These are perfect for travel. I just put some in my purse, and we have convenient stevia packets for our coffee and tea when we are away from home.

Pure Liquid Clear Stevia is a little squeeze bottle full of concentrated stevia. This was my husband’s favorite product to add to his morning cup of coffee. I also loved this product to use in dishes that I would previously would have had to make sugar water for, like my cucumber salad or sweet poppy-seed salad dressing.

Pure Liquid Vanilla Alcohol Free Stevia is a great product with many possibilities. I enjoyed using this in my coffee and yogurt. I am sure I will be coming up with many more uses for this product in the near future.

NuStevia White Stevia NoCarbs uses Erythritol, a natural filler that is produced from corn. This actually enhances the flavor of the stevia. This was a really great product too. If their other products aren’t sweet enough for you, this one is sure to please.

NuStevia White Stevia Quick Dissolve Tabs were the perfect pre-measured way to enjoy stevia. I really enjoy adding a few of these to my tea pitcher when I am making iced tea.

Sweet Health Erythritol Crystals is the product you use in place of sugar crystals. Its great when you need that crunch and sweetness that only a crystal can provide. My favorite way to eat this was on fresh strawberries and grapefruit.

Pure Liquid Cocoa Bean Extract was my favorite product of all, because it was chocolate! This makes the most perfect mocha latte, one of my weaknesses. You can also squeeze a little on your tongue if you’re in need of a do or die chocolate fix too. It has all the benefits of dark chocolate and is sweetened by stevia, perfect!

NuNaturals is also offering everyone who enters this giveaway event a special discount. This discount promotional offer gives everyone a –15% DISCOUNT off of any participant’s future web order placed through their website : www.nunaturals.com. When you go to the checkout on their website you should enter this code :  BLG710, and you will receive a –15% discount on your TOTAL ORDER with them. You will also receive FREE SHIPPING on all domestic orders totaling a net $35.00, and over, AFTER this special discount.

This offer to giveaway participants, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, ENDS JULY 1, 2010.

Now time for the giveaway! NuNaturals will award four (4) readers one (1) box of their NuNaturals White Stevia Powder, 50 ct, packets, PLUS one (1) bottle of their Vanilla Stevia Liquid, 2 oz.

Giveaway is limited to U.S. residents only. Contest ends at midnight, June 6, 2010. Winner will be chosen by Random.org. 4 entries possible per participant.

To enter the giveaway just a leave a comment below telling me your favorite sweet indulgence. For 3 additional entries you can stumble, retweet, and share on facebook. Just leave a separate comment in my comments for each entry you have done. Thanks and good luck!

Disclosure: The good people at NuNaturals let me sample these products free of charge.

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