Healthy Choice introduced 11 new meals and You can WIN!*

Staying on track with your healthy lifestyle can be hard between work, gym trips, school, sports and busy family schedules. To help you step away from the “diet” food and toward foods that’s not only good, but good for you, Healthy Choice introduced 11 new products to its Café Steamers, All Natural Entrées and Select Entrées product lines.

With four new varieties of Café Steamers, four new All Natural Entrées and three new Select Entrées, consumers can eat great tasting food every day of the week.

New Mediterranean-Inspired Café Steamers

Building on the popularity of the Grilled Basil Chicken recipe, the new Mediterranean Inspired Café Steamers such as Lemon Garlic Chicken and Shrimp and Balsamic Garlic Chicken add fresh-tasting meals options to your daily routine. And with Healthy Choice All Natural Entrées Tortellini Primavera Parmesan and Select Entrées Spicy Caribbean Chicken, consumers can enjoy delicious foods, while maintaining their healthy lifestyle.

More Information

All new meals are nutrient-rich, contain no preservatives and are available NOW at grocery stores nationwide for a suggested retail price range of $2.00 to $3.29. Please see below for a complete list of new entrées and a press release announcing these new meals. You can also visitwww.healthychoice.com for more information.

Healthy Choice All Natural Entrées:

• Tortellini Primavera Parmesan (new recipe)
• Lobster Cheese Ravioli (new recipe)
• Roasted Red Pepper Marinara (new recipe)
• Creamy Basil Pesto (new recipe)

Healthy Mediterranean Inspired Choice Café Steamers:

• Balsamic Garlic Chicken (new recipe)
• Grilled Vegetables Mediterranean (new recipe)
• Lemon Garlic Chicken and Shrimp (new recipe)
• Grilled Basil Chicken

Healthy Choice Asian Inspired Café Steamers

• Chicken Pad Thai (new recipe)

Healthy Choice Select Entrées:

• Pineapple Chicken (new recipe)
• Ravioli Florentine Marinara (new recipe)
• Spicy Caribbean Chicken (new recipe)

FROM ME : I am officially in love with Healthy Choice Meals. I eat them ALL the time, and I am so thankful I was introduced them.  In my mission to eating more healthy and also living a more healthy lifestyle all around, they have helped me IMMENSLEY to stay more on track. The meals are low in calories and have so many great vitamins in them. I love that I can eat good food and it is so healthy for me, and a cinch to cook!

My favorites from the new dishes are the Pineapple Chicken, Balsamic Garlic Chicken, and the Lemon Garlic Chicken and Shrimp. The flavors in these meals just blow me away! They taste like fresh from the farm! Seriously! who would’ve thought a frozen meal or any microwaveable meal could be so good!  But you don’t have to take my word for it, now you can have a chance at winning a  VIP coupon to try a meal on me!!!

Here is how you can WIN!!!

1. Comment and let me know what Meal from the list above catches your eye and makes your mouth water that you would love to try FREE on me ?  = 1 entry

2. Fave my site on momfaves – comment and let me know you have = 1 entry

3. Fave  Healthy Choice or Conagra  on momfaves – comment and let me know you have = 1 entry per fave

4. FAN my Facebook page : you can do that by clicking on “Follow this blog” over on my sidebar or by going to Facebook and following The Plus Size Mommy.- Comment and let me know you did = 1 entry.

5. Use stumbleupon, technorati, digg for this site/post. – comment letting me know which you have done = 1 entry per way.

6. Tweet the following on Twitter – ” Win a Healthy Meal from @HealthyChoice on @plussizemommy ’s Blog here :http://twurl.nl/vs2rp2    ” – Tweet up to 3 times per day = up to 3 entries per day. Please comment leaving tweet thread, and please leave separate comments for each entry.

This giveaway starts NOW and ends on St. Patty’s Day ! Luck o The Irish to ya my friends ! This will end at 8PM EST.

3 Winners will each receive a VIP coupon for a FREE Healthy Choice Meal  Winners will be posted to this site and not emailed directly, so if you enter, please check back, I have been getting a ton of unclaimed prizes lately.

Winners will all be chosen via random.org. Winners must be subscribers to this blog to win. Winners must reside in USA.

Thank you all for entering and Good Luck!

The Plus Size Mommy

* I was sent some free meals to try thanks to Conagra, also the prizes for the giveaway are all provided to me free of charge from Conagra. I am however paying postage to the winners on my own expense. All thoughts and comments about Conagra Healthy Choice Meals are my own unbiased opinion.

Your Shape For Wii; A Review*

I have been using the Your Shape for Wii fitness program for a little over 7 weeks now. I can definitely tell a change in my energy and have been feeling more active. I have changed my diet and been keeping track of my calories more and have been drinking a ton of water everyday, walking, and also cut wayyyyy back on soda.  My new healthier living lifestyle along with the Your Shape workouts have helped me to lose 12 pounds!

The your shape program puts a twist on all other Wii fitness programs. This one has a camera that hooks up easily to your Wii and you can see yourself side by side along with Jenny McCarthy on your television screen. It is really neat.  Seeing myself on camera and against Jenny’s fit body, motivated me to work out even more and to look like Jenny as a goal.

The only problem I have run into with this program has been the camera. It sometimes doesn’t pick up my moves and so it gives some wrong results, about how accurate my moves are. I do not let it frustrate me, I just modify my moves and keep on going with Jenny and keep with the work out.

I like that I have been able to use this program in my home. I am in PA and it has been a rough winter, so I haven’t been able to get out so much to do work outs or goto the gym as much. I enjoy being able to do this right at home. It has very modern, upbeat music that you can work out to. My children have sometimes even joined in.

Another of my favorite things about this program is how it has MANY different exercises. Do not get frustrated about not getting new ones right away, the more you use Your Shape, it seems the more you get to do. It took me a little while to figure this out.  Getting to do a new exercise is nice too. I like it to change it up a bit.

If your looking for an easy fitness program, this one may not be the one for you, however, if your like me, you can still do the work out with Jenny and just do it at your own pace.  Then as your more comfortable with it and get better at it, you can then start doing it at Jenny’s pace. Do not think that just because this is a “game” that it is going to be an easy peasy work out, cause that is not so at all! You WILL feel the “burn” and you will sweat, and you will see results with the Your Shape.

Some other equipment that I suggest you to buy along with this game, for maximum usage would be a body ball, weights (small hand type), and a step.

The Plus Size Mommy

* I have been sent the Your Shape for Wii by Ubisoft on behalf of my relationship with Collective Bias. I am in a 12 week challenge with a group of ladies who are all a part of Collective Bias. I also receive incentive gifts and gift cards for my time as part of the challenge. All of the thoughts, idea’s, and reviews and weightloss that I post are all my own honest results,opinions, and info.

Most Baby Names iPhone App.

I remember when I was pregnant with all of my children searching through baby name books and online for the perfect name for them. I loved looking up the meanings and also reading the book with my husband. It is all part of the fun in planning for your new bundle of joy.

So now there is a new iPhone App. for expecting parents :

The Most Baby Names app is based off the #1 selling baby name book in the country, The Complete Book of Baby Names.

Why Most Baby Names?

* It’s fun, exciting, colorful and interactive! Hear babies giggling and ducks quacking or shake the rattle for a rockin’ good time!

* Most Baby Names features 103,000 names – competitive baby name apps don’t come close!  (Did you know the closest app has 6 times less names than we do?)

* Look up baby name definitions by clicking on the blue arrow in your lists or choose the * “Surprise Me” option for a combination of unique names.  (Who knows, we may have found you a winner!)

* Browse by individual letter or customize it to search for a specific first and last letter

* Add names to your Favorites List to look at later!

Types of Names

Use our simple list scroll to find various baby names under exciting topics such as:

* Celebrity names (i.e. Maddox, Phinnaeus and Beckett)

* Under the Radar Names (i.e. Bianca, Piper, Georgia)

* Name Alternatives, Most Popular in a particular year, Classic names and even College Football Stadium names!

They continuously incorporate feedback from our users and recently launched a redesigned app complete with many exciting updates!

The Plus Size Mommy

Your Shape Challenge Week 6 Update*

I am at week 6 in the Your Shape Challenge. Using the Your Shape fitness program from Ubisoft on the Wii to lose weight and get healthier.

This challenge has been tough for me. As you probably already know, losing weight is not just all about exercise. It is a lifestyle change complete with an all new way of eating. Which brings us to the week 6 Challenge that we were given : Finding Healthy Snacks.

Here is the exact challenge we were confronted with :

We were all sent a gift card to cover the cost of this week’s challenge.

Your mission: Find and/or create a healthy snack for yourself each day. Use your giftcard to shop for yourself at Walmart and find some great, healthy food to snack on.

Here are the Healthy Snacks I bought :

Banana’s – which I love, and I learned as I was in agonizing pain with pulled muscles, that these help to alleviate some of that.

Craisins – I bought the regular ones. These are dried Cranberries. They were al great tasting snack (as you can tell, since my bag is empty). I also was able to use them as toppings for yogurt.

Fiber One bars – I bought the peanut butter kind. These are delish. And eating just one, was able to curb my appetite till the next mealtime. They are very fulfilling.

True Delights Blueberry rice cakes- These are so good, they have a texture of a potato chip almost and taste very blueberryish, which I love. I had a coupon for these so I picked this to try, and I was very happy with this purchase.

Nature Valley Nut Clusters – Can you tell yet, that I LOVE peanut butter? These nut clusters are very good. I love the crunchiness and they are very satisfying after just a few.

Planter’s Peanuts with Sea Salt – Again, I love nuts, and I was watching Dr. Oz the one day and he was telling how great nuts are for you, and that ones with sea salt are very much better for you than regular salt.  I was able to eat these plain or use as toppings.

I think I am much more a salt eater than sweets. I am not that into chocolate, which is amazing to most people. Every once in a while I will crave a piece of chocolate or a candy bar. Chips and pretzels and anything salty is my downfall though. So that is why I tried to chose healthier snacks that had a lot of good things such as fiber, and iron in them, that were able to satisfy my “salt- tooth” at the same time.

I also bought some bottled water with my snacks and this :

A new addition to my exercise equipment that I can use with the Your Shape. A Body Ball. I haven’t tried it yet, because to tell the truth, I am feeling a bit nervous, that I will blow it us and get on it, and it will pop and I will fall to the floor on my face! But I am going to blow it up for Week 7 and get to using it. I am also excited to see what new exercises Jenny McCarthy will have for me to do on/with it. So this is my motivation.

As far as the weigh in goes for this week, I lost nothing this week  But I didn’t gain either. I must say, I was less active this week due to having to stay in because of the yucky weather here in Pittsburgh. I still did my 30 min. with the Yourshape 4 days this past week but I am thinking I need to switch it up a bit. By using the Body Ball this week, I should be able to accomplish this, plus I am hoping for better weather so I can get out and get moving more.

I think I may have done a little too much snacking this week and not enough exercising. We shall see what Week 7 has in store for me

How is your weight loss, fitness, get healthy goal going? Comment and tell me about it. How was your past week, and what are you going to change this week?

The Plus Size Mommy

* I am participating in the Your Shape Challenge through Collective Bias , I received the game for free and I am also receicing fun prizes and perks. Your Shape is from Ubisoft.The weight loss and any idea’s are my own. I received a gift card for this weeks challenge.

Introducing – Tommee Tippee* & Giveaway!

I would love to introduce to you Tommee Tippee. What is Tommee Tippee you ask ?

It is a Brand New product that is hitting the store shelves in Babies R Us and Toys R Us stores near you!

I have had the great honor of trying their Sippy Cups and Baby Bottles on my daughter, and I wish they would’ve gotten to the USA sooner!

Here is some details of the “‘truly spill-proof first sips cup” -

• unique soft-flex spout
• advance flo- technology for easy drinking (Active Sensor valve system)
• BPA FREE
• Leak Proof
• have been around for 50 years in the UK
• Supports Natural Oral Development
• Progressively Staged

What I thought about these Sippy Cups (My personal opinion) -

Upon first glance of the sippy cups, I immediately noticed the handles. I really like the soft handles that make it easy for my daughter to hold the sippy cup. After opening it, I noticed the creatively designed spout. It is different than any other sippy cup I have ever used with my children. My daughter  seems to like these sippy cups very well. They are easy to clean and also I truly have not had any problems with accidental leakage. Other sippy cups still tend to leak occasionally when turned upside down. The only trouble I had at all with the cup was getting the lid off for the first time. It is really smooth and takes a little getting used to. On the other hand I really like this about the cup, so my daughter cannot get the lid off and spill it every where. And once you get used to the lid, it is a piece of cake.

The Tommee Tippy Cup holds 5 fl oz. of liquid, and retails at Toys R US and Babies R US for approx.  $4.99.

To learn and see more, please visit here : http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3918812

Tommee Tippee Baby Bottles

Upon first glance at the Tommee Tippee bottles, I noticed the wide mouth top, making them so much easier to fill with milk than other bottles. I also love the nipples on the bottles. My daughter took to them right away, with no troubles at all. I love the caps too, they do not fall off like other bottles I have used.

Here are some more specific details on the bottles :

• BPA FREE
• 3 packs cost about $17.99 at Babies R Us/Toys R Us, which to me is a GREAT price for a 3 pack of bottles
• 9 oz bottles instead of typical 8 oz ones
• soft, naturally flexing nipples – making them more natural for babies
• natural shape for babies to latch onto easier
• ultrasensitive anti-colic valve lets babies feed at their own pace with reduced risk of gas and colic
• very comfortable to hold

You can purchase them, read more, and see more photo’s of them, and more reviews here : http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3918819

Right now if you visit www.tommeetippee.com  you can follow them on twitter, and also on Facebook. If you Fan them on Facebook you will have a chance at winning gift cards to Babies R Us

But you can also have a chance to win RIGHT HERE , here is how :

1. Fave my site on momfaves – comment and let me know you have = 1 entry
2. Fave Tommee Tippee on momfaves – comment and let me know you have = 1 entry
3. FAN my Facebook page : you can do that by clicking on “Follow this blog” over on my sidebar or by going to Facebook and following The Plus Size Mommy.- Comment and let me know you did = 1 entry.
4. Use stumbleupon, technorati, digg for this site/post.  - comment letting me know which you have done = 1 entry per way.
5. Tweet the following on Twitter –  ” @plussizemommy is introducing @tommeetippeeUS on her blog, you can WIN  thanks to @BabiesRUs  http://is.gd/8QLxu   ” = up to 3 entries/tweets per day, please leave separate comments for each.

One winner will be chosen via random.org. Winner will win a baby Tommee Tippee gift pack containing a 3 pack of bottles and 2 sippy cups.

This giveaway begins NOW and ends on March 2, 2010 at 7PM EST. Winner will not be notified via email. Winner’s name will be posted to this site by March 3, 2010. Winner will have 48 hours to claim prize. If prize is unclaimed another winner will then be drawn after the 48 hour period. As with ALL giveaways on this blog, winner MUST be a subscriber to this blog in order to win.

Thank you for entering and Good Luck!

The Plus Size Mommy

*I was sent the Tommee Tippee sippy cups and baby bottles to review on this blog. The review of the bottles is my own personal honest review. All comments made by me are my own personal views of these products. The products were sent to me on behalf of Babies R Us to review at no charge to me. Also the prizes will be sent to the winner at no charge to me. – full disclosure

Olympic Winter Days Recipe With Hillshire Farm

If your a sports fan family, like mine is, you will enjoy this new recipe you can make while watching the games.

Baked Sauerkraut with Turkey Lit’l Smokies

PREP TIME 10 minutes

BAKE TIME 30 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. Hillshire Farm Turkey Lit’l Smokies
• 1 TBS butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 medium apple, chopped
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, packed
• 1 can (14 oz.) sauerkraut, rinsed, drained

Preperation:

Preheat oven to 350F degree’s. Open package of Lit’l Smokies and drain off any liquid. Melt butter in a large kitchen skillet over medium- high heat. Add onion and apple cook and stir until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in brown sugar; remove from heat. Place sauerkraut into a 1- 1/2 quart baking dish. Top with sauerkraut with Lit’l Smokies and apple mixture. Bake 30 – 35 minutes or until hot.

ENJOY while watching your favorite Winter Olympic games!

Thanks to the great folks at Sara Lee and Hillshire Farm, I was sent a package of : Turkey Lit’l Smokies and Hillshire Farm Chicken Smoked Sausage samples to try.

The Hillshire Farm Chicken Smoked Sausage just came out this month! So you can go pick some up at your favorite grocery store today!

My family really enjoyed the Hillshire Farm Sausages. It was  nice  for a nice hot meal that smelled soooooo great while baking. I believe you can also make this recipe in a slow cooker, if you would like the smell to linger all day long. I love the smell of sauerkraut! We ate it while watching the snow fall all around us (outside) and it made our tummies so good and full. This is a wonderful winter time meal. The chicken sausage was just as good as any other of the sausages that Hillshire Farm makes. Then yes, we did watch the Olympics on tv after. I am so impressed by the skiing and how fast they zoom down those hills like it is easy as a piece of pie! They are very fun to watch.

Enjoy the recipe and enjoy the Olympics too

The Plus Size Mommy

* I was sent the packages of sausage, coupons, and recipes at no charge thanks to Sara Lee, and Hillshire Farm. Our home has always eaten Hillshire Farm brand and Sara Lee brand items. The thoughts and review of the recipe, and words are all my own honest opinion. Hillshire Farm was also a partial sponsor of mine for the Blissdom conference.

“Snow The Race Horse” – Book Review

When the book “Snow The Race Horse” by Demi Knight Clark came in the mail, my near 2 yr. old daughter was so excited that a new book came for her. The pictures in the book are so cute, and my daughter just loves horses. This alone was enough to catch her attention. This book was very neat how they taught about teamwork and friendship between the  little horse and her friend Tuga  that were trying to win the race. You will want to read this book with your child(ren) to see the outcome of who wins the checkered flag at the end!  Snow’s adventures won’t end just there either, as you can now also pre-order up and coming books in this little series. All which will teach a lesson to your child(ren).

My 4 yr. old daughter loves horses too, and she was very drawn into this book and it is just long enough to keep their attention span.

You can read more about, Joint the mailing list,  order, fan on Facebook, and follow on twitter this book here : http://www.snowtheracehorse.com .

The Plus Size Mommy

*I was sent this book to review for  free on behalf of my relationship with Parent Reviewers. My thoughts and my honest review of this book are my own.

“Catty Wompus” Book Review

Catty Wompus is a Brightly colored book that is about Friendship written by Julie Howe.

My daughters really enjoyed this story about a little girl named Catty Wompus who had everything but was not a very nice little girl, until one day another little girl gave her a chance at friendship. It tells about how having a honest friendship is much better than any material things you could ever have.

I really enjoy reading this story to my girls. They may be a little young to understand the whole concept, but I feel by starting to instill these concepts into a child as early as possible truly can start to shape how your child see’s the World around them and the people in it.

It is very important that children give other kids a chance, even if they seem like they are mean or miserablefriendship or love might be the one missing link in their lives that they do not have, that can completely change their little World for them.

You can buy the book, learn more about the book and sign up for the mailing list here : http://www.amtopmcreative.com/clients/cattywompus/

You can Fan the book on Facebook here :  http://is.gd/8KAYP

I think your daughters will find this an enjoyable book and I believe you will enjoy reading it to them.

The Plus Size Mommy

*I was sent this book to review for  free on behalf of my relationship with Parent Reviewers. My thoughts and my honest review of this book are my own.

I tried to be good, I really tried*

Well, it is the start of week 6 of my 12 week challenge using the Your Shape fitness program for Wii by Ubisoft. I totally have been trying to be good, I swear, I am trying. But.. yes the But, which will end up on my BUTT, then some things happened.

I went away to a conference. I still tried, I had water and lots of walking. TONS of walking. We were at the Opryland Hotel for goodness sake, and well, that place is HUGE. I tried to eat as well as I was able, and watch my portion sizes.

But they had goodies there, and like an alcoholic with a smell of beer passing their nose, I crashed… and well, it wasn’t pretty. Can you say Potato Bar, where yeah, you add cheese, bacon, and so many other great toppings. Then a Friday night movie night, oh my, a TABLE FULL of candy. Popcorn, and soda. I couldn’t hold myself back.

Then I come home to a winter Blizzard, and have been cooped up in my house, and arguing kids, and stress, can you say STRESS. Yeah, Stress is DEFINITELY a trigger for me to eat.

I am not a happy camper at all, but I will get my car back on the race track. I feel like one of those racing cars that crashes into the side wall at 140 miles per house, and looses it’s tires and the pit crew needs to come and fix it all up and get it going again, WHERE IS MY PIT CREW? lol

A lot of the bloggers in this challenge have gotten off track, and it isn’t a wonder with that darned conference, lol and a lot of travelling going on right now. (by the way the conference was wonderful, and I learned a ton, and yeah had fun).

So we need to be each other’s Pit crew and get the tires back on and dents pounded out, and fluids replenished (via H2O) and we will be ready to roll this week.

Week 4 for the challenge was : Steps

Steps: Did you know that 10,000 steps a day is equal to 4 miles? This week, wear your watch (pedometer) daily. Making yourself more aware of how many steps you are getting in each day may actually help you exercise more.

I didn’t add up how many I got in this week, but I know I was not the highest stepper. Although I was proud of myself, when one day I got over 11K. That was excellent for me.

Week 5’s challenge was : Get Out Side

With the Blizzard we had here in Pittsburgh, I wasn’t able to go out as much as usual, not even back and forth on errands, since the roads were a mess. So I did get some outside time cleaning off cars, and one day I went over to my moms home and trekked up a SNOWY hill up her driveway. And the snow was up past my knee’s, so needless to say, THAT was exercise.

So we are now 1/2 way through. I didn’t lose any weight this week, but I didn’t gain any either, which is amazing considering the junk I have been eating and lack of exercise. I am happy to have Jenny to at least get me moving a few times this week. Since I am inside looking at snow and ice, which is not nice, at least Jenny is prettier to look at.

So we are at the start of week 6, and I have lost 10 pounds so far. I guess I am happy with it, cause without being in this challenge, I would still be at least 10 pounds heavier. So I guess I am okay with this.

Stay tuned to see what Week 6’s challenge will be and see if I can loose a few more pounds this week. Say a Prayer for me too This isn’t easy, even though I tried, I really tried to be good!

The Plus Size Mommy

* I am participating in the Your Shape Challenge through Collective Bias , I received the game for free
and I am also receicing fun prizes and perks. Your Shape is from Ubisoft.The weight loss and any idea’s are my own.

Valentines Day with SENSEO*

Perk up your love life this Valentine’s Day and give your sweetheart a gift that will last much longer than a box of chocolates! Senseo Gourmet Coffee is the perfect gift that will satisfy your Valentine for years to come. Enjoy superbly roasted coffee at the touch of a button with Senseo, the world’s leading single-serve coffee brand, and brew a perfectly consistent cup of coffee in under a minute.  With over 15 different coffee blends (at only 5 cents a cup!) Senseo is sure to please even the toughest loved one and keep your love life hot and steamy.

*Valentine’s Day Tip – Dress up your cup by adding whipped cream with raspberries or almonds!

Senseo Coffee Machines come in three different models – Original, Deluxe and Supreme – and range from $69.99 – $139.99.  16-18 pod packages range from $4.99-$5.49.

This coffee maker makes the perfect Valentine’s Day present for the coffee lover in your life. The coffee it brews tastes so smooth and rich. The aroma it leaves is wonderful, fills the whole house. I love how easy and quick it is to make a cup of Joe, or 2 : one for me and one for the hubster.

I was sent a Senseo Machine to try out with a package of the Kona coffee pods and also a pack of the Breakfast coffee pods. I love the breakfast one and my husband likes the Kona blend.  Something else I love is that it is only about 5 cents per cup ! You cannot beat that price. I have other name brand coffee makers and it is more expensive to buy the coffee for them.

Happy Valentines Day to All

The Plus Size Mommy

* I received the Senseo machine and the 2 packs of coffee pods at no cost to enable me to do this review. Thanks to Senseo and the MWW group.

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