Review: You're family will find time with Eggo Bake Shop Twists

Do you eat breakfast as a family?

In my house, this usually only happens on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Weekday mornings are spent rushing about, the girls getting ready for school, wolfing down some cereal, while I pack their lunches. I usually don't eat breakfast until I am home after walking them to school.

On the rare occasion we have a few calm moments before heading out the door, I notice we all smile a little more on that morning walk. It seems to set the mood for the day, and it's so much nicer to start the day with a smile, instead of stress.

I was reminded of this when I was given the opportunity to review Eggo Bake Shop™ Twists by Mom Central and Kellogg.

Eggo Bake Shop™ Twists, are microwaveable pastry treats made of soft, pull-apart dough sprinkled with sugar crystals and Strawberry or Apple filling made with real fruit. Here's what the Twofer said:

M, "Mommy these are YUUUUUUMMMMEEEEEE!"

L, "mmmmmmmmmmmmm" as she polished off her strawberry twist faster than I could say "smile!" as in, for a picture.

Wait, smile!

I tried them as well and the first thing I noticed was the yummy bakery-fresh dough. Then I noticed they were delicious without being overly sweet - something I was concerned about. Just enough filling, but not too much. The sugar sprinkles were just that, sprinkled -not a heavy glaze of icing or anything.

Eggo Bake Shop Twists & Circus clown cups bring the family to the table!

I realized as I popped 2 more into the microwave (25 seconds per the directions but I did 40 seconds for two) that a yummy treat would encourage all of us to find the time to sit down for breakfast together - mainly because we'd be fighting over the last Eggo Bake Shop™ Twist - but whatever gets you together, right?

My only suggestions to Kellogg:
I wish the twists were bigger.
I wish there were more than 4 in a box.
I wish they were made with whole grain like the Nutri-grain Eggo Waffles and Pankcakes.

How does your family find time for family breakfasts either during the week or on weekends?

Unilever's "Making Life Better" site can help you save money

Call it smart marketing, but when I see the Unilever "U", I know I've found a brand I can trust. I clip the Unilever coupons every week, and with brands like Vaseline, Bertolli, Breyer's, Dove and more, that means I'm saving money on all kinds of products that I use every day.

All this makes it even easier to appreciate a company website like this: www.makinglifebetter.com

Unilever has developed a very cool company site that has tips on saving money at the grocery store, quick and healthy recipes, and expert advice on everything from stress-free taxes to boosting your child's self-esteem...things that really will help to make life a little better.

For me, this means Unilever really is a company that cares and it only strengthens my trust in the brand.

Visit www.makinglifebetter.com now and see for yourself.
Want to save money?
Need a quick recipe?
Do you know your vitality level?

Then come back and tell me what you thought of Unilever before, and what you think now. Special thanks to Mom Central for the opportunity to review this site!

Is there a company site that has strengthened your loyalty? If so, tell me what it is so I can be sure to check it out!
Janine

Sparks fly and fingers are licked at Medieval Times

On the surface, it's a fake castle, in a mall, with plastic hologram cups.

But once inside Medieval Times there are knights, swords that spark when they collide, royalty, talented horses, amazingly good food, and, oh yeah - those plastic hologram cups are filled with beer.

Brave young knights

Our friends have been telling us about this place for at least a year. They decided to take a few of us there as their treat...but really, it was our treat to go!

Medieval Times IS what you make of it

With kids we made it a real castle with real knights having real battles...but not really getting hurt. We cheered our knight shouting "Red and yellow, red and yellow" and waving our flags wildly as he rode by. This got easier with each beer refill. I actually started to lose my voice.

Cheering for our knight

There is a story to follow, and the show is performed in a sand pit 'stage' with lighting and sound effects to bring it to life. I noticed the kids didn't catch much of the story, but they did see that someone was captured and thus there were "good and bad guys" - basically that's all they needed to get into it.

Prisoner (Good Guy)

Medieval cheers and jeers

Each section is color-coded to a knight and the crowd cheers and boos as needed. There is a break in the middle where the list of birthdays is read...in our case, 4 pages...and if the cheering gets weak the court clerk calls you on it.

Knights provide entertainment in the form of incredible equestrian skills, jousting, and hand-to-hand combat. The swords they use spark as they scrape against one another and the jousting poles splinter before your eyes! Chivalry exists within this castle and t didn't hurt this review one bit that our kinight chose yours truly as a fair maiden and tossed me beautiful red...carnation. (The jury is still out whether he threw it to me or the girls but I'm banking on the fact that he was not trying to woo two 6-year olds.)

Equine Skillz

Fingers are for Food

Bring your own Wet-Ones because there are no utensils but the food is GOOD. Tomato soup is served in a bowl with a handle and a slice of garlic bread - easy enough. But then a half of a roasted chicken is put down before you and there's no delicate way to dig in.

No utensils but hologram beer cups!

It all adds to the experience and you can imagine how this would have been a welcome break from the daily grind of just surviving in those dark times. The meal is completed by a mini apple turnover and even the servers admit everyone calls it a McDonald's Apple Pie. This is what makes Medieval Times so much fun - they get that it's campy, a little cheesy, but still lots of fun.

Have you been to Medieval Times? I'd love to know your experience so leave me a comment and tell me what you thought of it!

Janine

Hidden Valley makes veggies fun!

Image by alicemariedesigns via Flickr

Want to get your kids to eat more veggies? Don’t hide them in the sauce; instead bring them out to play!

That’s what the Hidden Valley Veggie Adventure game is all about.
This free online game is part of the Love Your Veggies™ campaign that was inspired by a study, which found that children consumed 23 percent more vegetables when paired with a moderate amount of ranch dressing.

In Veggie Adventure you start by battling birds, bugs and skunks as you grow vegetables on the farm and the game ends with serving and sharing vegetables with friends.

Veggie Adventures provides players with great tips and vegetable facts that you can use outside of the game, and in the grocery store to help your kids learn more about veggies. At the end of each stage, players receive a printable certificate to commemorate their success.

The game was easy enough for the Twofer to play without getting frustrated, and challenging enough that I had fun too!

Be sure to check out www.loveyourveggies.com for more activities, recipes and tips.

And remember to test your Veggie Adventure skill at www.loveyourveggies.com/games .

Special thanks to Hidden Valley and Mom Central for the opportunity to review and share this great resource with my readers!

{crunch},
Janine

A cake for us, a cake for a soldier, and a pen pal too

There is a lesson to be learned eating cake, and it has nothing to do with nutrition...or lack thereof.

How would you feel living far away from family and friends, often risking your life, on your birthday? I bet something as simple as a surprise birthday cake would make you feel pretty damn happy...even for just a few minutes.

That's what Bake Me A Wish! had in mind when they started the Freedom Cake program. When you purchase a Freedom Cake from Bake Me A Wish for someone here, a second cake is sent to a soldier serving oversees for their birthday!

My family was given the opportunity to experience the Kids Freedom Cake: a cake was sent to our home and the Twofer then wrote a letter online that will be delivered to a soldier along with a birthday cake for them!

We decided to share the deeeeelishious cake from Bake Me A Wish! with some friends and explain the Freedom Cake to all the kids.

Let me just pause here to explain how yummy this cake was. When I say my mouth is watering just remembering the chocolate, the icing the....{slurp}. And my husband who is not an big sweets guy and basically never eats dessert...ate an entire piece. Here's what the kids thought of it:

I will be ordering Gourmet Birthday Cakes at BakeMeAWish .com! for every birthday and holiday from now on. If I'm going to eat cake - I want it to be good and this was lip-smackin, mouth-watering, tounge-cleeking, eyes-rolling, don't-you-dare-touch-my-piece cake!

The next step was to go online to BakeMeAWish.com and register to 'meet' our soldier. It will take a few weeks but we will be assigned a soldier who will receive the cake in our name, and with whom we can start a correspondence.

Many kids, including our group, have already had the opportunity to write letters to soldiers. Bake Me a Wish Freedom Cake is the opportunity to wish a soldier Happy Birthday when they really need it, and maintain contact to have a pen pal.

I can't wait until we get our soldier/pen pal and the girls are excited to find out how they enjoyed their cake!

Janine