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Blendtec Blender and Stonyfield Yogurt Blends Giveaway

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Sometimes as a blogger you just get lucky. You meet the right people at the right time. One of those meetings was with the people from Stonyfield Yogurt. I love their company’s commitment to organic food and creating healthy products for kids. When we don’t make our own yogurt, we buy organic Stonyfield. My kids are huge fans of the YoKids yogurt tubes, which I can’t make myself. When my friends at Stonyfield said I could review the new Stonyfield Blends yogurt I was excited. Then they said I would also get a Blendtec blender. Oh, my.  I was giddy with excitement to test out the blender.

A happy Stonyfield customer

The yogurt arrived first. My kids think it’s normal to get yogurt delivered to their door. I still think it’s really cool! There was a big fuss as the kids picked out which Stonyfield Blends yogurt flavor to test out first. It’s fruity yogurt, without all clumpy “fruit on the bottom” flavoring of the past. No high fructose corn syrup or artificial food dyes either.  Each flavor was a success in our house, plus I used one of the French Vanilla cups to flavor our homemade yogurt. It was delicious.

Blendtec blender green smoothie

The smoothies we created with the Blends yogurt made us fall in love with the Blendtec. Our old blender was fine, but it doesn’t make smooth smoothies like the turbo powered Blendtec Wildside blender. No more ice chunks, no more leafy spinach in each cup. We have made some with and without yogurt, depending on the recipe. The pumpkin smoothie made with the French Vanilla Blends yogurt is my favorite so far. (Here is the recipe post!) The coolest thing is getting the kids to drink green smoothies. Green veggies are hit or miss at the dinner table so it feels great to see them drink up a spinach smoothie and ask for seconds.

Healthy Pumpkin Smoothie

Stonyfield wants to celebrate the launch of the new Blends yogurt line by giving one of my readers the opportunity to enjoy a case of the new yogurt AND a new Blendtec Blender, valued at $455!! 

Blendtec Blender and Stonyfield Yogurt Giveaway

The giveaway will be open until midnight Feb 18th. US residents only. Winner will be notified via email. Please enter using the form below.

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Disclosure: I was provided the blender and yogurt to help facilitate this review as part of my participation in the Stonyfield Clean Plate Club campaign, focused on providing healthy recipes for families. This in no way influenced mine, or my children’s, opinions shared here.  

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Baby News and a Giveaway!

Baby News at Random Recycling

After a week of birthday celebrations, we feel very blessed to have two healthy children in our lives. We are excited to share the news that we will be welcoming Baby #3 to the family in late spring. A few of my local readers saw me recently without my coat on and were totally surprised about our news. Guess it’s time to share the news “officially” in the world of social media.

Before you ask, no, we are not finding out what we are having. There is just nothing better than that wonderful surprise at the end. Finding out if it’s a boy or a girl is such a major motivator to keeping pushing through delivery! Plus we would miss that phone call to the grandparents to tell them if it’s a boy or girl. We are lucky to have both already and look forward to meeting our new addition in a few months.

And now Giveaway Time! $200 value!

I’m excited about this giveaway since it’s a lot of items that I would love to receive as an expecting mom. It would also make a great gift! Thanks to the generous sponsors, you can win some gift certificates from Annee Matthew ($100 ea) and A Mother’s Boutique ($50 ea) to use toward nursing apparel as well as a nursing hat from Moboleez and breastfeeding baby apparel for your little one from One Creative Mama.
Some Favorite Things About the Prizes: 
  • Huge selection of bras and nursing apparel at A Mother’s Boutique
  • Annee Matthew nursing apparel has some of the most stylish nursing clothing on this planet!
  • One Creative Mama breastfeeding advocacy baby shirts speak for themselves and break the ice
  • Moboleez nursing hats make nursing in public so much easier and more convenient, especially helpful when you’re new to breastfeeding and a nursing cover just makes things harder
Purchase: You can shop Annee Matthew and A Mother’s Boutique for a great selection of nursing bras and nursing apparel. They carry some of our favorite brands like Cake Lingerie, Bamboobies, and Bella Materna. You may also acquire a Moboleez hat and check out the adorable baby apparel from One Creative Mama (pictured below).

Win The Package! Our sponsors are blessing two of you with the entire package as outlined above.

Special thanks to AnaB Social for hosting this giveaway. Huge thanks to all participating bloggers as well! Giveaway ends February 27th at 12:01 am, open to US residents, ages 18+. To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below. Thank you!
Disclaimer: AnaB Social, Eco-Babyz, and all participating event bloggers are not responsible for sponsor prize shipment. I did not receive anything for hosting this event, just thought some of you might like to enjoy these products.
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Does This Look Like a Walking Billboard to You?

Relan Bag Giveaway at Random Recycling blog

Sustainable fashions have come a long way.  Eco-friendly clothing and accessories are on trend, colorful, and easier to find through the help of the Internet. I use to think of “green fashion” as an oxymoron. Everything always seemed so bland and itchy. There were more items to say no to than YES! As a former retail buyer, I love finding new fashion lines that do something to reduce waste and create something people actually want to buy. Relan Bag is one such company that I happen to spot at Whole Foods one day.

Imagine all those billboards used to promote the latest theater showings in Times Square. They often end up in a landfill somewhere once the run is over. Relan is able to come in and repurpose the vinyl into handbags, totes and accessories. The product is cute, but also helps eliminate a giant waste stream.

Relan Bag Tony Tote using repurposed billboard vinyl

I have the Tony Tote and one of the things that jumped out to me was the material used for the bottom of the bag. Since I have little ones, I often have to put my bag on the ground when we are getting in and out of the car. The material is super durable…turns out they use recycled rubber tires. My tote may become one of our beach totes this summer since it can hold up when we sit in the “wet sand” area. If only that would save me from the spilled sippy cups inside…

I think you all would love to see what Relan Bags can create. For the giveaway, I want you to check out their store and let me know which item is your favorite. When you want to make a purchase, you can work with the Relan team to suggest a color family for your item. The final item does depend on material availability, but it’s pretty cool to say you have a one of a kind tote.

The winner will get the entire package in the photo above: the Dandy Tote, Makeup Bag, and Makeup Brush Bag. Enter the giveaway through the Rafflecopter below. Contest ends on February 9th at midnight. Winner will be notified via email and have 48 hours to respond. Good luck!

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Disclosure: I was provided a sample tote from Relan Bag to help facilitate this review. This in no way influenced my opinions shared here.

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Get Your Kids Excited to Cook {Giveaway}

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One of the things I am most passionate about it is teaching my children how to cook. As soon as they are steady, they received their own kitchen step stool so they can work right at my side as we make breakfast, lunch and dinner. While they may not always “help” I know that keeping them in the kitchen with me has led to good eating habits and a curiosity about how to make, bake, and create things in the kitchen. As we hear the news about the increase in childhood obesity, my greatest wish is for kids to learn how to make healthy choices at a young age. Thankfully there are a number of great tools available to help those families looking to bring some excitement into their kitchen.

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I recently learned about Season’s Eatings, an online class developed by a local teacher, that helps bring simple, seasonal foods to the dinner table. Leah Cherry is a Rhode Island mom with a passion for food, nutrition, environmentalism and community. As an extension of her blog Skill It, Leah created Season’s Eatings to offer an easy way for families to get seasonal meal plans delivered to their inbox.  Each class includes the following:

  • 4 weeks of family friendly recipes delivered via email
  • Ideas and tips to customize each meal.
  • Activities like Chef’s Note, Table Setting Tips and more
  • Connection and community in a private Facebook group.

I totally agree with Leah’s sentiment that we have to make family dinnertime important. So many studies have shown an improvement in kid’s health and emotional well being when they are able to sit down as family every night. It may not be at 5:30 for every family, but I encourage you to make it work for your schedule.

Another favorite tool to get kids excited about cooking is having them help choose what to make. I make my meal plans every week and I often ask what the kids want. I often hear either “meatballs” or “chicken nuggets,” not exciting but I like giving them a chance for input. For older children, they have the chance to read through recipes and make suggestions. Chop Chop is the fun cooking magazine for families that can help inspire new things to make in the kitchen. I’ve met some of the editors and stylists from Chop Chop magazine and this group really gets it when it comes to making things appealing to kids.  Their simple suggestion of prepping as much as you can prior to having kids help was a big time saver when it came to cooking with my toddlers. If there are a lot of ingredients to measure, I can set some of them aside in bowls so the kids can be in charge of dumping them. My kids are still a little young for the magazine, but I love seeing older children flip through it and ask questions about the kids pictured in the articles cooking real food.

A few other fun accessories you can bring into your cooking routine to add some excitement is using lots of color, both in your food choices and dish ware. Silicone baking cups can be used to house a side dish or extra fruit and add color to a plate. Skewers are a new favorite in our house at both lunch and dinner. Create some silly faces with your food, there are lots of inspiring pictures to be found on Pinterest. Dipping sauces are also fun to offer with different meals; let your kids know there are other options besides ketchup and ranch dressing.

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I’m excited to share that two lucky readers will win a subscription to both Season’s Eatings online meal course starting February 4th and  Chop Chop magazine. (English or spanish editions available!) Please enter using the Rafflecopter below. Giveaway is open till midnight on January 25th. Winner will be notified via email and must be a US resident.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The Ninja-My Little Kitchen Helper {Giveaway}

Ninja Cooking System Giveaway Random RecyclingIf you are a regular reader of my meal plans, you know that I often use a slow cooker.  What you don’t see is how often I use it for non-dinner meals and for making homemade yogurt. About six months ago, I realized we need a second slow cooker.  Luckily, I got the opportunity to review the Ninja Cooking System.  It has all the features I wanted in a slow cooker, plus a few more.

Here were my requirements in my new slow cooker, which the Ninja is able to do.

  • Programable timer for either low or high heat
  • Ability to saute/braise right in the slow cooker insert (less dirty dishes to wash)
  • Hold a roast chicken that is five pounds
Only one and half hours to cook this chicken.

Only one and half hours to cook this chicken.

Here are the other cool features I like about the Ninja.

  • Oven function. You can set it like a normal oven temp, then set a cook timer.
  •  Stove top function. At low, medium or high, you can sauté and braise without having to clean a second pan.
  • Easy clean up.
  • Steam baking. Haven’t tried this yet but the recipes will get a second look from me in the new year.

Ninja Cooking Chili Random Recycling

When I made chili the first time and could brown the beef in the Ninja without having a second pan to clean was the biggest selling feature for me. I often try to make the chili before heading out to church on Sunday so it’s a crazy rush and not coming home to a greasy pan is just a nice treat. One note to those who love the ease of a slow cooker-when you use the oven or stove top function, it’s considered “active” cooking.  You should still be around when you have the Ninja on using one of these functions.

My baked pasta dish in the Ninja.

My baked pasta dish in the Ninja.

So how would you like to own a Ninja Cooking System for your kitchen?! I get to giveaway one to my lucky readers, it’s the Ninja MC701 3 in 1 Cooking System, a $200 value. Contest is open to US residents only. Ends at midnight on 12/27.

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Note: I couldn’t make my yogurt in the Ninja so far. I’ve tried twice. I think because it can heat faster than a traditional slow cooker, my temps are a bit off. The official chefs in the Ninja kitchen may test it out. If I revise my yogurt recipe for the Ninja, I’ll let you know!

Disclosure: I was provide a product sample to help facilitate this review. All opinions shared here are my own.

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Urban Canvas Giveaway

The Butterfly is my favorite Urban Canvas project.

Ever notice how excited kids are to play with a box instead of the toy that came in it? There is just something magical about cardboard boxes and a child’s imagination. Urban Canvas brought these elements together to create a line of design oriented art projects using recycled cardboard. The line of art projects is designed by a mom of three who has a background in interior design and art education. She also had children who loved the cardboard box as much a my two kids. Urban Canvas just launched this year and I love their commitment to using sustainable materials, very little packaging and creating a project that eventually can be recycled.

The train set is appropriate for ages three and up.

Want to try out an Urban Canvas project with your kids? Or maybe give one as a gift? You can get 25% off using the code: COOLTOY. If you buy one now, you can also snap a picture of the finished project and enter it into a contest. All entries will get another Urban Canvas toy. You can also buy these projects in a few local retailers, including Henry Bear in the Boston area.

To celebrate the holidays, Urban Canvas is also going to give a lucky reader their choice of an art project! Take a look and see which one you like; there is also a note about the appropriate age for each project in the details. Contest is open to US residents and runs until midnight 12/22.
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Good luck!

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