Funky Monkey – Take a Fruit Filled Adventure

Funky Monkey are freeze dried fruit snacks that my kids just love to eat. They have a popular lineup of flavors including Applemon, MangOJ, and Pink Pineapple. My favorite are the Applemon and it is my kids favorite too.

Applemon contains freeze dried apple and organic cinnamon. MangOJ has freeze dried mango and orange juice. Pink Pineapple has freeze dried organic pineapple and guava!

There are also flavors like Bananamon, Carnaval Mix, JiveALime and Purple Funk.

My 4 and 2 yr. old daughters just love these snacks. We can take them to the park when we go and when they take a break from playing they can fuel up on some tasty snacks. I love that they are a healthier alternative than chips or candy.

You can find out more info. on Funky Monkey Snacks by visiting : www.FunkyMonkeySnacks.com

The Plus Size Mommy

*Disclosure- I was sent FunkyMonkeySnacks to taste and let my kids taste to review. All opinions are my own 100% honest ones.

Crustless Quiche Recipe From Hillshire Farm

Crustless Quiche

Prep Time : 15 minutes
Cook Time : 45 minutes

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients:

1 pkg. of Hillshire Farm Beef Smoked Sausage

8 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1/2 cup green bell pepper (chopped)

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut sausage into 1/2″ cubes; set aside. Place eggs, cream, dry mustard, salt, and black pepper into a large bowl, whisk until smooth.

2. Stir in sausage, 1 cup of cheese and green pepper. Pour egg mixture into a greased 13×9 – inch baking dish.

3. Bake 40-45 min. or until eggs are set. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This is a great breakfast to make the kids first day of school to have them wake up to a wonderful hot breakfast surprise setting there waiting for them. I have tried the recipe and it is scrumptious!
This is also great to make for morning play dates or if your going to a covered dish breakfast meeting

Enjoy!

The Plus Size Mommy

I Met The Jimmy Dean Sun!

When I was at Blogher this past month, I was so excited to meet the “Sun” from Jimmy Dean. He was a very nice sun! It definitely brightened up my day!!!

This was truly one of the highlights of my trip.

The new Jimmy D’s breakfast sandwiches are so great and I love the sausage rolled up in a pancake and on a stick, who wouldn’t love that. And talk about appealing to have the kids eat this before they run out the door to catch the bus in the mornings, PERFECT!

Thank you Jimmy Dean for being an awesome sponsor for Blogher 2010! and for bringing the sunshine to the conference floor, literally!!!

The Plus Size Mommy

Lipton Onion Burgers Recipe (SPON)

Lipton Onion Burgers Recipe :

Makes 8 servings

Prep Time – 10 minutes

Cook Time – 12 minutes

Ingredients:

1 envelope of Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Soup Mix

2 pounds of lean ground beef

1/2 cup of water

1. combine all ingredients in a large bowl, shape into 8 patties

2. Grill or Broil until done

Alternate choices : Lipton Recipe Secrets Beefy Onion, Onion Mushroom, or Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix.

Cost per recipe = $6.80

Cost per serving = $0.85

*Based on Average retail prices at national supermarkets.

You can find more great recipe idea’s and learn how to get your kids cooking in the kitchen with you by visiting : www.thefamilydish.com . You can also enter to win a family cooking vacation to Florida by submitting your 1 minute family cooking video to : www.thefamilydish.com. Contest submission ends 8/30/2010.

Shared by: The Plus Size Mommy

*Disclosure- I am sharing this recipe as an Ambassador for Unilever’s- The Family Dish Program. I am a contributor to www.thefamilydish.com . This post was created in connection with my appointment as an Ambassador in Unilever’s Family Dish Program. For more great idea’s, go to www.thefamilydish.com.

[Yellow Tail] Wine Review – PJ Party

I was asked to goto a PJ party with some friends at Blogher. We just had a small gathering of friends there and had some snack foods and wine.
The wine was sponsored by [Yellow Tail]. They sent me a case of wine to share and do taste testing with, with my friends.

It was a Tree -Free Chardonnay. The neat thing about this wine, is that was named by a fan of [Yellow Tail]! The fans name is Jared Kendall and he is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana! The brand had an online naming contest in Nov. of 2009 and he won with his Tree-Free Chardonnay name.

The name Tree-Free comes from the fact that this wine is not aged in Oak.

The wine tastes like it has hints of citrus in it. Like Grapefruits and Limes. It is a light and crisp wine.

It retails for $7.99 a bottle, so it is extremely affordable. There are 4 varieties in the Tree-Free portfolio; Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc.

[Yellow Tail] is from South Eastern Australia 88% and New Zealand 12%.

This wine would go great with pasta or chicken. Since it is a light wine, it doesn’t lay heavy on your belly.

At our PJ party everyone enjoyed the wine who tried it. A huge Thank You to [Yellow Tail] for providing it. It made our small get together fun.

For more info. on [Yellow Tail] Wine please visiti : www.discoveryellowtail.com

You can also find [Yellow Tail] on Facebook and Twitter.

The Plus Size Mommy

*Disclosure – All attendee’s of the PJ party were over the age of 21. The brand nor I condone drinking of minors. Please drink responsibly.
All of the Wine was provided for us to try at no cost to us from [Yellow tail]. All of the opinions stated in this post are 100% my own honest opinions.

Egg Recall – Not Eggland’s Best Eggs

By now you must have heard about the egg recall.

Not only did we want to let you know that Eggland’s Best eggs are not part of any recall you may have heard about, but we also wanted to give you some hard facts:

· EB eggs are safe.

· EB eggs are not produced in Iowa

· EB has the most comprehensive food safety quality assurance program and will never compromise when it comes to consumer safety.

What makes us different?

· The Eggland’s Best food safety quality assurance program was introduced in 1995 and adheres to and goes beyond the FDA Egg Safety Rule in many ways, including our requirement to vaccinate all hens 3 times to create resistance to Salmonella infection so that consumers can use EB eggs with confidence.

Yes, that is correct! All EB hens are vaccinated 3 times against Salmonella!

· Eggland’s Best hens are fed an all-natural, all-vegetarian diet that does not contain animal fat or other animal by-products, a potential cause for salmonella.
· We require extensive cleaning and disinfecting of poultry houses.
· We require strict pest control inspections.
· We require proper egg washing and plant sanitation procedures.
· We implement a strict bio-security program– ensuring that all visitors and employees on farm premises follow proper disease-preventive practices.
· We require proper refrigeration of eggs at or below 45 degrees.
· All operations are certified under the Safe Quality Food (SQF) Program.
· All plants producing EB eggs are inspected by USDA.
-All farms and processing plants are inspected by a certified veterinarian on an ongoing basis.
-EB has stricter standards for eliminating cracked eggs, which helps to ensure that no bacteria get into EB eggs.
-USDA allows regular generic eggs to be stored up to 21 days before packing into cartons, whereas Eggland’s Best sets a maximum of 7 days. Most EB eggs leave our farms within 24-48 hours after production, or as soon as they have completely cooled to 45 degrees or below. Fresher eggs are more resistant to bacterial growth.
-EB conducts over 45,000 tests annually to ensure that our product meets the highest standards.
-A USDA publication states, “After washing, the eggs should be quickly and completely dried to reduce the risk that any bacteria remaining on the surface of the eggs are aspirated into the eggs as they cool to ambient temperature.” Only Eggland’s Best uses supplementary drying fans to ensure that eggs are 100% dry when eggs are packed into cartons. -Regular eggs that go into the carton wet, sit in a moist environment conducive to bacteria and mold growth.
-EB eggs are produced by younger hens, not just because the egg quality is better, but also because younger hens are more resistant to disease. They will most likely have had fewer chances for exposure to disease.
-FDA put into effect the Egg Safety Rule on July 9, 2010, but the program was proposed in September of 2004. Eggland’s Best began to implement the program years before it went into effect.

If you would like more information about how Eggland’s Best eggs are more nutritious than ordinary eggs, please visit our website at http://www.egglandsbest.com

Consumer ALERT shared by The Plus Size Mommy for Eggland’s Best.

High Plains Bison Meat & Win $50 Gourmet Bison Meat Sampler

Do you have a hubby that loves game meat? Are looking for healthier meats/meals to cook for your family? Do you love tender, lean steaks that melt in your mouth ? Look no further! I have recently been send a box of High Plains Bison meat, and it fits into all of the above categories, and more!

I was sent a variety pack box with hot sausages, steaks, hot dogs, and burgers and man o man did I make a huge hit with my husband! We enjoyed grilling and eating all of the Bison meat. It was so good and to me really didn’t taste too different than beef, except it is so much leaner! There is hardly a drop of grease. Because of the non-grease factor, you do need to cook them slow and low so you do not dry them out, but the High Plains Bison company has taken care of that for you. The meat comes to you in a box with instructions on how to cook the various cuts.

I was really impressed with the selection of meats, I mean Bison hot dogs! How neat! I also loved the way it is so professionally wrapped to seal in the freshness.

I love how good this meat is for my family. A lot of the meat carry the American Heart Assoc. seal of approval. Meaning that it has met the criteria for saturated fat and cholesterol for healthy people over the age of 2.
Bison meat has less calories than beef, chicken, pork, and even fish!
Less fat, less saturated fat, and more iron! There is so many great factors about eating Bison over other meats.
I am truly in awe of all of this.

To Learn More about High Plains Bison, please check out their site HERE :  www.HIGHPLAINSBISON.com

Also : You can Use  discount code EATGOOD22 for 20% all  highplainsbison.com food items. This would make great Labor day picnic food for you to grill!

To share the news on Bison meat with my readers, ONE lucky reader from here will win a $50 gourmet bison meat sampler for some yummy Bison meat! Here is how to WIN :

Follow Me on Networked Blogs (right sidebar) comment and tell me you do= 1 entry

Follow this blog, comment and tell me you do = 1 entry

Follow me over on Twitter (@plussizemommy) = 1 entry

“Like” me over on Facebook (I am under Plus Size Mommy)  = 1 entry

Tweet the following on Twitter : “Try some LEAN Bison Meat from High Plains Bison on @plussizemommy ‘s blog, HERE : http://bit.ly/dA9TxX ” – tweet up to 5 times per day (separate comments please) = up to 5 entries/day.

Comment and let me know what you will do with the Bison meat if you win, give as a gift, eat it, try a new recipe, give it to your kids, or what else? = 1 entry

This giveaway is open to USA residents ONLY. This giveaway starts NOW and will end on Sept. 2, 2010 at 9PM EST.
Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Winner will NOT be emailed, winner will be posted on this site in another post.

Thank you for entering and good luck!

The Plus Size Mommy

*Disclosure – I was sent a Bison meat to try to share my thoughts with you. I have shared my honest opinion on this product, as I do with any product I receive to review.

Get Hydrated With Crystal Light Pure Fitness (spon)

Crystal Light has launched an exciting and tasty new way for women to enjoy the water their bodies need.  In fact, women who drink Crystal Light actually drink 20 percent more water.

Crystal Light Pure Fitness is the first nationally-available, low-calorie fitness beverage mix with no artificial flavors, preservatives or sweeteners and colored with natural ingredients. With only 15 calories per serving, it’s sweetened with evaporated cane juice and Truvia^TM, an all-natural, calorie-free sweetener derived from the stevia plant, and it’s colored and flavored with natural ingredients.

Pure Fitness also contains electrolytes to aid hydration during light physical activity, making it a great fitness partner.  Each packet will transform a 16.9-ounce bottle or cup of water into a light, refreshing beverage in any one of three flavors – Lemon Lime, Strawberry Kiwi or Grape. Learn more at www.Facebook.com/CrystalLight, and follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/CrystalLight.

From Me:

I was sent some samples of the Crystal Light Pure Fitness drink mixes and I love them. I use them all of the time. They make plain water taste so good and when I get bored with plain water, this mix makes it taste so good. My favorite is the strawberry kiwi, but they also come in flavors lemon lime and grape which are really good as well. They only have 15 calories per serving so I can drink them guilt free while staying on my diet.

Shared by: The Plus Size Mommy

Disclosure – I received a sample of Crystal Light Pure Fitness from Kraft Foods.

Winners Post For Cascadian Farms & Penguins Of Madagascar

Congratulations go out to the following 2 people for winning 2 of my giveaways :

Cascadian Farms = winner is :  Trish@Iamsucceeding  congrats !

Penguins Of Madagascar = winner is : Erin Casey  congrats!

To claim your prize packs, please email me at plussizemommy@gmail.com  with “winner” in the subject line. You have 48 hours to claim or another winner will be chosen. I need- name, address, and phone numbers for shipping.

Thank you to all who entered and to the winners, enjoy!!!

The Plus Size Mommy

Disclosure- Winners will receive their prizes direct from the companies. I am not responsible for any damage or lost items. I received the same gift packs from MyBlogSpark to review for my blog and to hold giveaways.

Moms, Take The Hillshire Farms Fresh Taste Challenge

Hillshire Farm is inviting moms across the country to take the challenge and re-think their perception of how fresh lunchmeat can taste – simply by trying any participating Hillshire Farm lunchmeat. Anyone who agrees that Hillshire Farm tastes fresher than they think pre-packaged lunchmeat tastes, can instantly download $5 in coupons at www.gomeat.com and, if not, can sign up for a $5 Grocery Gift Card*.

Hurry challenge ends on Aug. 4th!

*Choice of coupons or grocery gift card dependent on challenge response. Limit of 1 gift card per address.

Shared by: The Plus Size Mommy

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