Giveaway: Nourish Your Inner Goddess...

Okay, gals, it's time for another giveaway. This one came to me from Yoplait (via BlogSpark).

You all know I'm a HUGE fan of Greek yogurt. The extra (and I mean EXTRA) protein in Greek yogurt makes it a very satisfying snack for me in the afternoons and evenings. Yoplait Greek Yogurt has 12 grams of protein in each container. Greek yogurt tastes thicker and richer than regular yogurt too. Which I like a lot. Don't get me wrong, I love Weight Watcher's yogurt, but there's something about Greek yogurt being thicker that makes it feel like a more substantial snack for me.

Anyway, below are the details for the giveaway, but before I go much further, here's something cool...

To celebrate Yoplait's new Greek yogurt and to encourage women to nourish their inner goddess, Yoplait has teamed up with actress Izabella Miko, who plays Greek Goddess Athena in the epic adventure new Warner Bros. Pictures´ and Legendary Pictures´ film "Clash of the Titans," which opened in theaters on April 2 in 3D.

Here's a cool gadget you can click on to get free yogurt and watch scenes from the movie. Be quick, though, because only the 1st 50 people to click will get the free yogurt.

General Mills "Grains of Goodness" giveaway...

I had a lot of fun with the Yoplait giveaway last week. I hope you did too. I had so much fun, I decided to do it again. But this time, it's with General Mills cereals.

General Mills, through MyBlogSpark, sent me a VERY cool "Grains of Goodness" package which included 2 coupons for free cereal, a beautiful shiny black breakfast mug, a natural looking blue canvas (sort of) tote back and the coolest container I've ever seen for eating cereal on the go:

I'll get to the giveaway in just a sec. I wanted to tell you about something in the package, first. The breakfast chiller is the coolest thing. I absolutely LOVE it!
I use it 2 or 3 times a week when I'm running late but don't want to sacrifice eating my healthy whole grain cereal. Have you ever tried to take cereal on the go? It usually includes multiple items--a plastic bowl, a spoon, some sort of container to carry the milk in, and some sort of thermos bag to keep the milk cold. And a big back to carry all those things clacking around in.


Enter the Fit & Fresh breakfast chiller. It keeps the milk cold and the cereal dry, has a compartment for fresh fruit, and best of all it has a built in bowl and fold out spoon all in one package.


The spoon snaps into the lid of the bowl and everything stack and snaps together perfectly. Here's a video showing how it works:


Cool, huh?!

I really LOVE cereal too. I didn't used to. Cereal was a waste of a breakfast item for me. I'd rather have sausage and eggs with cheese & onions and fried potatoes and biscuits and gravy and... Well, suffice it to say, breakfast was a huge meal for me. That is, before I started Weight Watchers. Even after the first year or so, I still couldn't eat JUST a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I'd still have to have oatmeal or eggs and toast or something warm.

But it turns out I was just eating the wrong cereal. I would always choose the sugary cereals that quite frankly didn't stick with me for more than a half hour or hour after I ate them. And because they were so sugar, I could only have just a little bit. It wasn't until I started eating cereals high in fiber before cereal started to make perfect sense for a great breakfast meal. Fiber, especially in the form of whole grains, helps me stay fuller longer. Who knew?!

And did you know that studies have found that a diet rich in whole grain can be helpful in maintaining a healthy heart, managing weight and may also reduce the risk for diabetes and certain types of cancer?

Do you know what whole grains are? I thought I did, but it ended up that I really didn't. Here's a link to a quiz on the General Mills website where you can take a "whole grain IQ test" (to take the quiz, click the box that's on the left about half way down the page). I'm embarrassed to say that I failed the test. Or rather, my whole grain IQ was quite abysmal. If you take the quiz, let me know how you did.

So General Mills has offered to give one of you the same package they sent me. Trust me, you're really gonna want this package. Its awesome. Plus the coupons for the 2 free boxes of cereal. Double awesome!

To enter the contest, just leave me a comment on this blog telling me what your favorite healthy cereal is and why. Or tell me how you like your cereal... what do you like in it, what type of milk do you usually use, etc.

My favorite cereal is Total or Wheaties with dried cranberries and chopped walnuts in vanilla almond milk. Quite a delight!

The contest will end at 10pm on Friday, April 9th. I'll choose one winner at random using random.org.

In the mean time, here's a coupon for $1 off any General Mills cereal.

Good luck!

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New Weight Watchers Products...

I've been so fortunate lately. I've been contacted by several companies wanting me to try their weight loss products/foods/etc. and this one was particularly special because it was a PR company (MS&L) that promotes new Weight Watcher products.

They asked if I'd like to try some new flavors of their yogurt and ice cream. Of course I said "heck yea!". So they sent me a coupon for 2 free cups of yogurt and a free box of ice cream novelties.

They have 2 new flavors of ice cream bars:

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Bar

and Strawberry Smoothie Bar

Unfortunately, I couldn't find either of them at my local grocery stores. I did ask the Publix to see if they could get them in stock, so I'll check back next time I'm at the store and see if I can get one.

But what I did find at the store was both of their new flavors of yogurt:

Apple Pie a la Mode:



and Blueberry Pie:

Both of them were great, but I have to say the Apple Pie a la Mode was amazing!! It truly tasted like I was eating a piece of apple pie with ice cream. I felt like Violet Beauregarde from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original, of course) when she popped that piece of gum in her mouth and all of the sudden she started tasting dinner and dessert.

It had little pieces of baked cinnamon apples and little speckles of nutmeg spice swirling throughout the creaminess of the yogurt. And I don't know how they did it, but I could actually taste the flaky crust and the vanilla ice cream.

Wow, it was VERY good.

As for the Blueberry Pie, it was good, but no where near the experience of the Apple Pie a la Mode. It did taste like blueberry creaminess but I couldn't taste the crust. It had a very rich blueberry flavor, though.

They both had 6 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber. Because they were only 100 calories and fat free, they were only 1 point (but I'm pretty sure all WW yogurts are 1 point).

What I do have to mention, though, is that there were 12 grams of sugar and 240 mgs of sodium. While neither of these are all that horrible, they are both a little on the high side taking into consideration it was only 6 ounces of food. And it had a long list of ingredients that I wasn't very happy with either, like fructose, modified corn starch, sucralose (splenda), and a ton of artificial flavors and colors. But on the flip side, it did have inulin (fiber) in it which helps your body absorb the calcium better and 30% of your daily recommended portion of vitamin D. So I guess you'd have to take the good with the bad and hope they cancel each other out.

Bottom line, though, I'd definitely buy them the next time I'm hankering for a sweet treat. These puppies would be great as an evening snack--besides the usual ice cream or cookies after dinner.

Have you guys tried any of the new Weight Watchers yogurt flavors?

Oh, and don't forget to leave a comment on my previous blog to enter to win the Yoplait gift pack. I'm having the drawing Friday night at 10pm. Okay, was that a bit weird that this whole post was about Weight Watcher's yogurt then I end it with a plug for competitor's yogurt?

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Giveaway: Yoplait YoPlus Gift Pack...

Okay, so who likes yogurt?

I know do. Especially greek yogurt. I've recently become addicted to it. So rich and creamy. Mmmm.

Recently I was contacted by Yoplait (and MyBlogSpark) to try their new flavors of Yoplait YoPlus yogurt. (Not exactly greek yogurt, but yogurt nonetheless.) They sent me a coupon to try it for free and also a "better for you" gift pack.

The gift pack had a lunch sectioned container and a lid that had utensils in it, a canvas-type insulated lunch bag, and a cool pedometer. The coolest part is that they have offered to send another "better for you" gift pack to one of my blog followers (which includes a coupon for a free 4-pack of YoPlus yogurt). So I've decided to have a contest to give it away. The details of the contest are below. Here's a picture of the package:

Yoplait YoPlus yogurt now provides three important health benefits in each 4 oz. cup:

• Antioxidant vitamins A and E (now with 20% of your recommended daily value)
• A blend of probiotic cultures & fiber (3 grams of fiber per 4-ounce serving) for digestive health
• Calcium and vitamin D for bone health

I bought one of their new flavors—Blackberry Pomegranate. Was very good. I was surprised at how good it tasted, actually. It reminded me of a sweet blackberry custard. I couldn't taste the pomegranate seeds in there, but it had a hint of pom flavor in it.

Each 4 oz container was only 2 points. It had 3 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein, so it made a wonderful afternoon snack. It tied me over quite well 'til dinner.

Okay, so here's all you have to do to enter the giveaway. Just leave me a comment on this post telling me what you're favorite healthy afternoon snack is. What ties you over until dinner?

You can also enter by Tweeting your answer. Just use the hashtag of #yoplaitgiveaway. My Twitter name is @mag_maker if you want to follow me.

I'll pick one winner at random using random.org. The contest ends on Friday, Good Friday, the 2nd at 10pm.

Until the winner is announced, here's a coupon for you to save $1.00 on one package of Yoplait YoPlus yogurt.

Good luck.

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Greek yogurt like no other...

I think if you guys know anything about me, you know then when I find something I like, I have a tendency to shout it from the mountain tops. Well, I've found something I like.

Actually, found it about 4-5 months ago and it's really been helping me with my diet (as in food choices, now restrictions from food).

Chobani Greek Yogurt.

Have you guys ever tried it? I've tried other greek yogurt brands and frankly they all grossed me out. They had a very sour taste or were WAY too thick and gooey, and—and this is the most important for me—they were all WAY too expensive.

Not Chobani.

Their texture is thick and creamy, but not heavy at all. The fruit flavors are amazingly fresh tasting. I don't feel like I'm eating sugared down yogurt or artificial flavors. And I love the size of tub that it comes in, it looks larger than regular yogurts although it's the exact same ounces as the rest of them.

The best part is the HUGE amount of protein in every serving—14 to 19 grams!!! It keeps me fuller longer and is a great recovery after my morning runs.

Before I go much further, I have to say that they asked me to taste test 2 of their newest flavors, raspberry and strawberry-banana. And they sent me one container of each flavor. Who am I kidding, I would have done this even if they didn't ask me or send me free product.

First I tried the strawberry-banana. I have never been a fan of strawberry-banana flavored anything. It always tasted like it was too sweet and had a fake flavor like kool-aid. Not so with Chobani's strawberry-banana. I could taste fresh bananas mixed in with fresh strawberries. It was amazing.

Then I tried raspberry. Oh my gosh was it divine! The raspberries tasted like I was eating fresh raspberries straight from the produce section. These weren't sugared down, sweetened raspberries, these were real honest to goodness tart raspberries. Lets face it, raspberries, by themselves, are not sweet. But mixed in with the sweet creamy flavor of the yogurt it was the perfect balance.

I don't think these flavors are available in the grocery stores yet. And so far, in my local stores I've only been able to find blueberry, strawberry and peach. But as luck would have it, those are my 3 favorite flavors anyway.

(Oh, and by the way, Publix has them on sale right now 10 for $10. The sale goes until Feb 5th.)

They also have honey, pineapple and pomegranate. I can't wait to try the pomegranate. Oh, and I tried the pineapple in December when I won a whole case of yogurt FREE from a game I played on their website.

It's called SPOONS. You have to follow @ChobaniNicki on twitter and whenever she says "ok, Spoons has started" you click on the link which takes you to their website and all you have to do is click on a spoon and you win a free case of yogurt. The trick is, you gotta be quick, with over a thousand twitter followers the game usually only lasts a few seconds.

I just won again today. I'm going to try their honey flavor this time. Can't wait for the case to arrive.

By the way, if you guys go to twitter and start following @ChobaniNicki, be sure to tell her @mag_maker (that's me) sent you. :)

You can follow them on Facebook here. They're always coming up with new recipes and great ideas to incorporate greek yogurt into your daily menu.

Have you guys ever tried Chobani? What's your favorite flavor? Have you made any recipes with greek yogurt?

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Slim Shots—Appetite Suppresent

So here is my obligatory review...

A couple of months ago, I was approached by SlimShots to try their product for free and write a review about it on my blog.

They sent me a free 14-day trial and I just used my last one today. Here are my thoughts on the product...

Ingredients:
First of all, I researched the heck out of the product and its ingredients. It contains palm oil, oat oil, water, natural and artificial flavors, aspartame, beta carotene color and phenylalanine.

Research the Ingredients:
Okay, so this is what I found out about the ingredients. I did my own research on each ingredient and not their marketing material or website. (I'm just that kinda gal.) The palm oil can be used as an appetite suppressant. By itself, though, the body can't absorb it, so it needs an emollient. That's what the oat oil is for—it a natural emollient. Skip the water and flavors and colors, there's aspartame, which can cause some people headaches (the blue sweetener—NutraSweet) but doesn't effect me. And last but not least is phenylalanine. As best as I can tell, its an essential amino acid, meaning that it is necessary for human health, but is not produced by the body. But then I've read that aspartame contains phenylalanine. Either way, none of these ingredients sound harmful or all that unnatural or artificial.

Product Appearance:
So, like I said earlier, I just finished using the 14-day supply today. They say you can take it twice a day, once with breakfast and once with lunch (they recommend taking it with food). But I only took it at lunch. You can see by the picture above that they come in a small container that looks just like a creamer shot.

Taste:
The taste wasn't that bad but it was a bit oily. I just drank mine all in one shot. They say you can add it to your milk or cereal or anything liquid. Mine was chocolate so I just downed it. I kinda got used to the flavor and it really wasn't all that bad tasting.

Results:
As for the results, it did just what they claimed it would do—it helped curb my appetite.

My body is on a clock of getting hungry around 11am, 4:30pm and 8:30pm. This is usually when I'll have a light snack. But after I took the Slim Shot, I didn't get hungry in the afternoon or evening. It was great. I would still have a light snack, though, because I know my body needed it. I couldn't feel that it needed it, I just knew that it did because of the eating schedule I'm on.

It was really nice not getting hungry, though.

Recommendations?
Would I recommend this product? Yes and no. Yes, it was great for curbing my appetite, though this can be a tricky thing. If you can tell that your body is hungry, how will you know your body needs food. Isn't that what hunger pangs are for? I think it's a bit risky because it could fool your body into thinking it's not hungry and if you don't eat enough and regularly it could mess with your metabolism and put it all out of whack. So much so that it could have an opposite effect rather than losing weight. One of the first things I learned when I started on this weight loss journey is that if you go hungry it's not good for your body. Especially for long periods of time or on a regular basis. Your body gets to know that there is no food coming and so it starts storing the fat in your body.

So, yes, it worked, but no I wouldn't recommend it for anyone looking for a balanced and healthy diet.

My weight loss progress while taking the product?
I didn't lose any weight at all. As you'll remember, I broke even on my weight loss efforts at last Saturday's weigh in. This week, so far, from me weighing myself on my home scale, I'm down a pound from last Saturday's weigh in, but that could go back up a pound before Saturday (that's exactly what happened to me last week).

So there, that's my review of Slim Shots. Take it for what it is.

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