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Packing Lunches with Udi’s Gluten-Free Foods

I used to live so close to IHOP that we would walk there. Since I have moved, it’s still very close but it’s a “load up the Jeep” distance now. I could probably walk there but after eating, I would have to be rolled back! We don’t eat out as much as we used to because there just doesn’t seem to be enough time anymore. With baseball, twice the homework due to having 2 in school this year and just being busy.

Eating out can be quite costly as well and IHOP knows this!  IHOP has been inspiring American breakfast for over 50 years, and is now introducing amazing values to delight breakfast lovers everywhere. Now you can get all of your IHOP breakfast favorites in a combo for only $4.99! Yes, I did say just $4.99! Their new weekday classic offers  2 of IHOP’s famous fluffy buttermilk pancakes served with 2 eggs, your choice of 2 bacon strips or 2 pork sausage links and a side of golden hash browns. I am a ham kind of a girl so I get mine with extra. This great deal is avaliable Monday through Friday all day and night! Our IHOP is open 24 hours too!

Just think, you and your sweetie can go have breakfast for $10. That is simply unheard of these days! I just love IHOP’s hash browns. Who am I kidding, I love hash browns period! Check out their delicious menu!

We had a table filled on the morning we went! Yes, we had chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks at 6 am… SHHHHH… I am not a big fan of butter on my pancakes and I always forget to tell them to leave it off. That is why mine look a little yucky in the photo. The butter just melts way to fast and you end up with soggy pancakes… blech!

Because I love you all, I want you to have breakfast with your sweetie(s) too! Whether it is your wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, kids or even a parent! Enter below to win a $50 IHOP Gift Card!

Disclosure: I was compensated in some form for this post. This post is not endorsed, sponsored or has any connection to Twitter, Facebook or any other Social Media network that may be mentioned. It is the sole property of MAK Media, LLC.  All opinions are 100% mine, honest and not persuaded, whether positive or negative, by any compensation. If I don’t like something, I will say so! Please take a moment to read our Policy Disclosure.

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These were so fast and easy to make that Spencer did them! We all loved the perfect balance of chocolate and peanut butter. They were moist and delicious! I can’t wait to try the others.

Make the mix and spoon into the cupcake papers. Sprinkle with the topping and bake. That's it!

Bake and eat!

Disclosure: MAK Media was compensated with product for this post. This post is not endorsed, sponsored or has any connection to Twitter, Facebook or any other Social Media network that may be mentioned. This post is the sole property of MAK Media, LLC.  All opinions are mine whether positive or negative. You can read more about our Policy Disclosure here.

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If you have been following me long enough, it’s no secret I’m a pasta junkie. I love to make spaghetti gravy and cream based sauces but, sometimes I want the meal without the mess or time spent preparing them. I mean, after a long day, preparing a delicious home-cooked meal can be quite a challenge, and getting started is often the hardest part. While there is nothing that can take the place of Mom’s cooking from scratch, new Progresso Recipe Starters cooking sauces give you a head start to a home cooked meal!  Maybe you are not the from scratch type of cook, and that’s ok!
Progresso Recipe Starters sauces will be available in five flavorful varieties that can each be used as a starter to create numerous home-cooked meals. Inspired by the five “Mother” Sauces that form the basis of classical French cooking, including Béchamel, Velouté, Tomato, Espagnole and Hollandaise, Recipe Starters use a variety of ingredients and the best techniques to make sure your family has endless solutions to the weeknight dinner dilemma. The five varieties are:

• Creamy Parmesan Basil: This creamy, full-bodied and indulgent sauce that was inspired by alfredo and creamy pesto sauces can be used to make meals such as Crispy Garlic-Parmesan Chicken, Creamy Chicken Alfredo, Basil Chicken Ravioli Carbonara and Basil Chicken Thai Noodle
• Creamy Roasted Garlic with Chicken Stock: With caramelized, roasted chicken broth, garlic and a touch of cream, this stock is perfect for dishes such as Creamy Lemon Chicken, Chicken Pot Pie and Chicken Enchiladas
• Fire Roasted Tomato: A medium-thick tomato sauce, accompanied by flavors of roasted, caramelized tomatoes, oregano and bell peppers, which can be used as a great way to begin creating  Pulled Chicken Sandwiches, Easy Weeknight Chicken Parmesan, Cheese-stuffed Mini Meat Loaves and Mole Tacos
• Creamy Portabella Mushroom: Creamy and highly indulgent, this smooth sauce is rich with sautéed Portabella mushrooms,  giving you any easy way to start decedent meals like Easy Weeknight Beef Stroganoff, Steak and Mushroom Sandwich and Tetrazzini
• Creamy Three Cheese: Rich and creamy with a blend of yellow and white cheeses, and a savory background of chicken stock, onion, garlic and cracked pepper, this is a great way to satisfy cheese lovers with Easy Weeknight Bacon Mac & Cheese, Twice-Baked Potato Pizza and Cheesy Egg Breakfast Tacos

I have to tell you I was bot impressed with this line at all. It is quite possible that because I cook from scratch a lot of the time, my standards were to high. I found all of the flavors to be very bland. Even after attempting to doctor the Creamy Three Cheese, it still didn’t taste right to me. If you try them, please come back and tell me what you thought! Not everyone loves the same things

For added inspiration, Progresso created 80 recipes utilizing this new line of cooking sauces that can be found on Progresso.com. Many of these recipes are classic family favorites, such as Bacon Mac n’ Cheese, Chicken Pot Pie and Chicken Parmesan, and utilize ingredients your family may already have on-hand.  Progresso Recipe Starters is available in stores now so look for them in the soup aisles!

Disclosure: MAK Media was compensated with product for this post. This post is not endorsed, sponsored or has any connection to Twitter, Facebook or any other Social Media network that may be mentioned. This post is the sole property of MAK Media, LLC.  All opinions are mine whether positive or negative. You can read more about our Policy Disclosure here.

When I was younger, it became a tradition to go to Hershey Park each year on my birthday. Sadly that tradition ended about 10 years ago but it was always so much fun!  Hmmm…. yes… most of us can not turn down chocolate so how can you not love a day spend smelling it? I can’t forget tasting it through out the day either. Hershey’s is an amazing company that has so many different products out there. Unless you are a complete chocolate scrooge, you are bound to find something you will love. The Hershey Company is the largest producer of quality chocolate in North America!

Chocolate lovers have a reason to celebrate!  Hershey’s Simple Pleasures Chocolates is a new delicious line of chocolates with 30 percent less fat compared to the average of the leading milk chocolates.  They are individually wrapped for easy portion control, making them the perfect afternoon sweet snack.

This new line is available in 3 varieties which includes, Milk Chocolate with Chocolate Crème, Dark Chocolate with Chocolate Crème and Milk Chocolate with Vanilla Crème.  These are a very smooth and creamy chocolate. I am not a big fan of Dark Chocolate so all I can really say about these is, it’s not the worst I have ever tasted. The boys liked them as their second choice. The Milk Chocolate with the Chocolate center was my favorite. It’s not a rich chocolate where you eat one and can’t tolerate another. I actually found myself going back for more on more than one occasion. The Milk Chocolate with the Vanilla center, none of us liked this one. It seemed to leave a film in our mouths. The center flavor wasn’t very appetizing.

Disclosure: MAK Media was compensated with product for this post. This post is not endorsed, sponsored or has any connection to Twitter, Facebook or any other Social Media network that may be mentioned. This post is the sole property of MAK Media, LLC.  All opinions are mine whether positive or negative. You can read more about our Policy Disclosure here.

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It’s grilling season, and we all know how tempting it can be to over indulge during backyard BBQ’s. Personally, I am a cheeseburger kinda girl. I can’t eat a burger if it doesn’t have cheese! But, we all know that cheese can be killer on the waste line if you indulge in to much of it. Before you hold the cheese on that burger, rest assured that it’s possible to enjoy your favorite foods without all the calories. In an effort to help you create a better-for-you grilling experience for the whole family,I have teamed up with Mom Select to bring you sensible options from Weight Watchers Cheese! Are you sitting there crinkling your noise? Most “diet” food tastes bad right? I mean if it’s supposed to be better for you, it’s going to taste awful right? Being Italian, I am a big fan of cheese.. I love everything from Havarti to your basic cheddar. I wouldn’t say that I am a cheese expert or anything but, I know my cheeses. Weight Watchers Cheeses are all low in calories, fat and sodium so you don’t have to choose between these benefits and can enjoy the rewards of all three at once. Here is what I received to try… Make sure you scroll down to the “My Finding” part!

• Weight Watchers Jalapeno Pepper Gourmet Cheese Wedges
• Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Whipped Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread
• Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Whipped Onion and Chive Cream Cheese Spread
• Weight Watchers Reduced Fat PepperJack Singles

My Findings: When I opened this box I was a bit disappointed. The only thing that I was excited to try was the Whipped Onion and Chive Cream Cheese Spread. I love strawberries but I hate almost everything strawberry flavored. While I love cheese, I am not a fan of PepperJack because I don’t like the heat or the pepper flavor….. normally…

Let’s start with the Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Whipped Onion and Chive Cream Cheese Spread. It was a very creamy and easy to spread treat. I had it on a basic salt-less wheat cracker. It’s a savory whipped treat to enjoy at all times of the day, on bagels, sandwiches, veggies… whatever you like! It is also unique in its category – no one but Weight Watchers Cheese offers a reduced fat whipped onion and chive cream cheese. It has less fat than regular whipped onion and chive cream cheese, added fiber and all the flavor you want. In a two-tablespoon serving, the spread has only 60 calories and a PointsPlus value of 2. I think I might have gone over a little

Next up is Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Pepper Jack Singles. I don’t usually like individually wrapped cheese on my sandwiches. For some reason, right from the deli cheese makes a big difference. However, when making a hot sandwich, you can’t tell the difference really. These Pepper Jack individually-wrapped singles make it easy to enjoy the ooey-gooey goodness of melted cheese without all the fat and sodium of regular cheese singles. They are an excellent source of calcium with 25 percent of the recommended daily dose in every single along with 1 gram of fiber per single. Each slice has 45 calories and a PointsPlus value of 1. The claim is that the jalapeño peppers in these singles add a hint of heat to burgers, sandwiches, paninis, and more. Personally, we used them to make Grilled Turkey and Cheese sandwhiches and I didn’t think these were hot by any means. I am a baby when it comes to “hot” foods and this was very good. We also made turkey burgers and used the cheese as well. If you don’t eat turkey burgers, try them like this!

Are you getting hungry yet?! My favorite so far, the Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Whipped Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread. This decadent, fruity variety of the Original Weight Watchers Whipped Cream Cheese is the only one of its kind on the market – you won’t find reduced fat whipped strawberry cream cheese from anyone but Weight Watchers Cheese. With a fluffy, whipped consistency, each two-tablespoon serving has 60 calories, a PointsPlus value of 2, and is sure to freshen up the blandest of breakfasts. Like I mentioned earlier, big fresh strawberry fan but not a strawberry flavored fan. I was very reluctant to try this. To my surprise, the flavor is very light. It’s almost as if you don’t even taste it at first but then you get the strawberry flavor. I had this on a wheat bagel is and was devine!

I saved this one for last because it actually took me about 4 days to even get the courage to try it. The Weight Watchers Jalapeno Pepper Gourmet Cheese Wedges is a spreadable cheese that is perfect for spreading onto crackers, fruits, vegetables, bread and more as a quick, filling snack. Each rich and creamy wedge packs 2 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber into just 30 calories, and has a PointsPlus® value of 1. Once again, as I mentioned earlier, I do not like heat or peppers. But… I had to try it! It is an extremely creamy cheese. Almost melts in your mouth. This was one a little hotter than the Pepper Jack cheese. I had a bottle of water on hand and a little sip did just fine. No lingering burn in your mouth. While it wasn’t my favorite of all I tried, it was decent for me personally. I wouldn’t buy this one because it’s not something I liked but not because it was a bad product. Have you tried any of these? What did you think? These are great products to add to your meals and not feel guilty

Do you do the Weight Watchers Program? Have you tried the cheeses? What do you think!?

If you have read this far then you deserve a coupon! Here is a printable for $1 off any Weight Watchers Cheese product, and it’s good for 30 days after it’s downloaded and printed! Happy Shopping!

Disclosure: MAK Media, LLC was compensated in some form (product, monetarily etc) for this post. I wrote this blog post while participating in a Mom Select blog campaign. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own whether positive or negative. This post is not endorsed, sponsored or has any connection to Twitter, Facebook or any other Social Media network that may be mentioned. This post is the sole property of MAK Media, LLC. You can read more about our Policy Disclosure here.

For all the time that we spend in the kitchen cooking, we spend an equal amount washing dishes. Who likes to wash dishes? NOT ME! I rarely rave about a product I have tried but in this case, Dawn Power Clean deserves it!


I often look at products and think that it’s not likely to perform as well as they claim.  Let’s get real, sadly a lot of products these days just don’t. Here is Dawn’s claim. “With Dawn’s line of power products, you can get the amazing power of an overnight soak in just five minutes. These products cut grease and dissolve tough foods on your everyday dishes (even the ones you bake in) without the effort of elbow grease!” Are you thinking what I was thinking? YEA RIGHT! So, I put it to the test on two of my pans. I made lasagna and let the pan sit on the stove so it was nice and stuck on when I tried the challenge. The other had homemade Chicken Fingers on it.

Click any image to see a larger version

Here are some time saving kitchen tips:

1. Clean as you cook! Don’t go sit on the couch, don’t stand there and watch the water boil. This makes clean up after dinner much faster. For me, it’s knowing that after dinner I am not going to look at the kitchen and think, “URGH! Now I have to do all that.” More time to spend with the boys before bed

2. Pre-prep meals… Usually on Sunday when I go grocery shopping for the week, I get things ready for the week. It only takes me about an hour but saves me a TON of time during the week. Big meals are always prepared at the beginning of the week because I prep. I don’t want anything going bad of course! If I am making Chicken Alfredo, I cube up the chicken and put it in a zip lock bag. If I am making Lasagna, I get the ricotta cheese mixed up with my herbs and cheese and put it in an air tight container. Doing these little things makes dinner go a lot faster. Late week dinners usually consist of fast easy things. Grilling up hot dogs and hamburgers, grilled cheese etc.

3. This one goes with #2. I make a lot of slow cooker meals during the summer simply because it keeps me out of the kitchen out out of the house! You would be amazed what ou can make in a slow cooker while you are sitting at the pool.

John and I were amazed at how well this stuff really works. As I stated earlier, I didn’t put much faith in it working like it claimed but I am now a loyal user of Dawn Power Clean! I think so highly of this product, i am personally giving it 5 STARS!!

Disclosure: MAK Media, LLC was compensated in some form (product, monetarily etc) for this post. I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Dawn blogging program.The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. This post is not endorsed, sponsored or has any connection to Twitter, Facebook or any other Social Media network that may be mentioned. This post is the sole property of MAK Media, LLC. All opinions are mine whether positive or negative. You can read more about our Policy Disclosure here.

Even if you aren’t living gluten-free, chances are you know someone who is. I watch posts go by on my Facebook feed from one of my friends who is on a Gluten-Free diet. It’s simply crazy and I really didn’t know that I could do it. I think I have this notion that anything that isn’t the “norm” for food just has to taste like garbage. I came across products from Udi’s and I slipped them into our daily eating to see if the boys would notice. Most of them they didn’t notice. But let me tell you who and what Udi’s is first!

• Udi’s Gluten Free Foods, the #1 gluten free baked goods brand, revolutionized the category when it introduced the first gluten-free bread that tastes and looks like “real” bread.
• Udi’s products are so delicious that you will wonder if they are truly gluten-free.
• Udi’s Gluten Free Foods are now 150 Wal-Mart stores across the country. I have also seen them at my local Kroger store.
• Walmart will carry 5 of Udi’s best-selling products (soft white bread, soft whole grain bread, plain bagels, chocolate chip cookies, and pizza crust) in the bakery department.
• To see if there is a Walmart near you that carries Udi’s, enter your zip code into our store locator: www.udisglutenfree.com/stores

What we tried were the Blueberry Muffins, Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, Snickerdoodle Cookies and the Pizza crust. To be quite honest, I found the muffins to be very dry. Even grabbing a glass of milk didn’t help. The boys each ate about a hald of one before they “decided” they did’t like it. I believe this was due to the part that I comments that I didn’t care for them.

The Cinnamon Raisin bagels, while so different that the bagel type I am used to, were not that bad. I don’t know that I could eat them all the time but much better than my experience with the muffins. Next I decided to let the boys make their own pizza. They had a blast and the crust was very good. It wasn’t dry like I had anticipated.I have actually purchased this product on my own to make Pizza with the boys since then.

Six years ago, Sara Tidhar found herself in a predicament. She had suddenly become a single mom and realized that to make ends meet, her stay-at-home status had to change. And quick.

So she did what came naturally: She started to cook. She hoped the comfort she felt at the stove would help her think of a way to continue putting food on the table. But it was her son who came up with the solution: “Mom, you should sell those nuts you make for us.”
 Sara had been making roasted nuts for her kids since they were little. She felt good about giving them a healthy snack, and the kids were crazy about them.

Candied Pecans

Simply scrumptious: These buttery mammoth pecan halves kissed with pure cane sugar are deliciously addictive.

We give you fair warning: these nuts are so delectable, you may not be able to keep your hand out of the bag. We slow roast big, flavorful pecans with a bit of organic canola oil to give them featherweight texture and amazing crunch. Each nut is then sweetened just right with nothing but the purest cane sugar. Eat them straight out of the bag and be transported to a more carefree time when treats were as innocent as they were delightful. Toss them in a spinach-and-blue-cheese salad to give your lunch an instant status upgrade.

Candied Walnuts

Deliciously back-to-basics: These creamy walnuts kissed with pure cane sugar are dreamily delectable.

Oh, the noble walnut: so rich, so flavorful, so ready to be Santé-fied! We slow roast premium walnuts with a bit of organic canola oil to give them our trademark light texture and amazing crunch. Each nut is then sweetened just right with nothing but the purest cane sugar. Put a bowl out at your next party and watch them disappear. Mix them into your favorite pancake recipe and your kids will call you a superhero.

Garlic Almonds

Zesty garlic, cayenne and black pepper give these almonds their savory punch. A touch of pure cane sugar makes them irresistible.

Buckle your seatbelts: these crisp almonds are as peppy as a sportscar. How do we get them that way? We slow roast them with a bit of organic canola oil to give them our trademark light texture and amazing crunch. We then season them with our secret recipe of zingy spices and sweeten them just right with nothing but the purest cane sugar. Keep a bag in your desk at work for an afternoon pick-me-up that’s way healthier than a candy bar. Just make sure you lock the drawer. These nuts have a way of vanishing when you’re not looking.

Roasted Salted Pecans

Deliciousness pure and simple: Mammoth pecan halves roasted and salted to perfection.

Be prepared: Our pecans will forever change what you think about regular roasted nuts. That’s because we use a secret family recipe (shhhh!). We carefully roast them with a bit of organic canola oil to make them light as air and oh-so-crunchy and then add just enough salt to make them undeniably delicious. Of course, they’re to die for straight from the bag. But don’t stop there. Chop up a handful for your grandmom’s chocolate chip cookie recipe. Toss with linguini, shrimp and olive oil. Sprinkle over waffles with syrup. The possibilities are endless.