Jumpin-Beans

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. There is no denying that we need to eat healthier.  I know it, but it can be so hard at times.  If you let the kids (or husband) see / know that healthy is even a thought, you would swear that they are thinking you are trying to poison them... At least that is how it goes in our house!    When I was contacted about reviewing a new Gluten- Free Veggie Muffin from Garden Lites, I was thrilled.. but was secretly hoping that they would arrive when no one noticed so I could serve them without the box being seen...  Let's be real "Veggie Muffins" is not something that my husband will jump at!   So- they arrived and I was thrilled!!  The Veggie Muffins come frozen - but let me te...

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. If you know our family... You know we love snacks.  A-Whole-Lot. The thing is, it is hard to attempt to eat healthy when you have all sorts of delicious foods around you. Luckily for us, we were recently given the opportunity to "get popped" when we were sent a box full of an assortment of the popchips brand snacks for us to try out.  I told a few friends about this new to me treat and guess what??  They all started chiming in on what flavor they enjoyed the best and how absolutely delicious they were...  At that point, I was excited to give it a try...  I will be honest, I immediately spied the Sweet Potato Chips and had to try them out as soon as it was possible.  They were aweso...

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Food connoisseur I am not... I know that and will admit it... but I do know when I have good food and that is what I want to tell you about today...    A while back, I learned of a new (to me) company... Sincerely Nuts...  Sincerely Nuts is all about nuts..  sort of like the Bubba Gump of nuts, if you will...  But they are so much more than that!   Nuts... Seeds...  Dried Fruit... Chocolate...  See what I mean? We were given the chance to review their pistachios... I am not sure what it is... I used to think that pistachios were nasty... (I had never even tried them at this point.)   Then,I tried one and fell in love...  Have you ever eaten o...

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. We recently had the chance to check out a new snack...  Harvest Snaps.  I will admit, I was a bit unsure about what to expect... This was part of the email I received:   Formerly known as Snapea Crisps, Harvest  Snaps   is launching new flavors under the Snapea and Lentil varieties that will appeal to all snack fans. Super crunchy and full of flavor, Harvest   Snaps ’ Snapea Crisps are made from naturally dried peas, which make up 70% of the product, while Lentil   Snaps   are made from 65% Lentils and contain 5g of protein and 13% of your daily fiber. Harvest  Snaps  will undoubtedly impress your taste buds. Snapea Crisps are available in four different...

Let's get right to the point... Broxton will try most anything, if you work with him on it... If you try and force it, he will adamantly say no... Kinda like his mom... except he is up for trying more... I am not a fan of cranberries, but Marc is... Then, I saw Funny Face Dried Cranberries ... and get this.. they are flavored cranberries!  They come in four fun flavors: strawberry, cherry, grape and raspberry!  (No worries, they have fun names to add to the funny face of it all!) So, when I had the chance to review Funny Face Dried Cranberries, I thought Broxton would be a perfect taste tester for me.... Lucky for me, I was able to have the honest truth by sending it in as a treat for his classmates! They were able to enjoy (or not, whatever the case may be) them as a treat during school one day. To get an accurate review, his wonderful teacher did a head count and here are the results: For the rootin' tootin' raspberry, we had 5 out of 9 love them.  As ...

I love Smoothies.  I love sweets.. I love fruit.  I love cold treats... I love love love... Do you get where I am going with this?  We recently had a chance to review these really tasty Whole Fruit Smoothies . They were so good... but I will be honest... It says that you can eat it as is... Or you can pop the top off and throw it in the microwave for 20 seconds to turn it into more of a "drink." I tried both and personally, I loved just diving right in from the freezer with it!  I thought I would like the mixed berry the most, but I am in love with the pineapple mango!  I actually enjoy them while Broxton is at school, because if I try and eat them when he is around, he tries to eat it ALL and not share! Do you enjoy smoothies?  If so, you need to check these out!!!! FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product ...

Broxton will always ask for cookies or ice cream or any sort of treat... always at the wrong moment.  When we were sent a "good for you" treat, I was excited to see his thoughts... Okay, let me back up and tell you... I like treats too, so he gets it honest... not to mention I have not seen Marc turn sweets down!  So, I was eager to check it out... Until I saw what was sent to us.. Sweet Potato Oatmeal Raisin didn't seem too bad, I am not an Oatmeal Raisin fan, but I can do damage to Sweet Potatoes in ANY form!!!    But then the other one: Lemon Broccoli.  What? I mean really, what were they thinking?  I did not read any of the names to Broxton, I just opened them and put them on a plate for him!  Broxton was enjoying the fact that they were letter shaped, so he could work on his alphabet.  His favorite was the Oatmeal Raisin ones... No surprise there... Come on.. Lemon Broccoli?  So, as I was cleaning up, I tried them both... ...

With Back to School Planning for Broxton, I am also trying to think of things for me... I mean, as a stay at home mom for these three years, what am I going to do with myself while he is in school?  I know that I want to try and get out more.. Be it going to take pictures or going to the gym.. Making time to enjoy a book in the park, really... I do not know what I will do, but I did find some pretty cool products that I want to tell you about. Originally, I stopped over at the Cool Gear Website to see what they had as far as idea's to help Broxton with his lunch at school, but the more I started looking, I thought that several of their products would make great teacher gifts... as well as great mommy gifts too! (Never to early to start thinking about Christmas gifts, that is what I think anyways..) So, Cool Gear : Cool Gear has been around since 1986.  As you guessed by the name, it is Gear to keep things COOL..  And it looks pretty cool too!...

As I work on my list of items to get for Broxton's school year, I still go back to the lunch idea's.   I know a few I will be getting, but then I had the chance to review the Welch's Fruit Snacks and I had another great item to send to lunch!   We got to review a few different flavors and loved them all.  I was just surprised to see what the big assortment of flavors was they offered.   You know, most places just have the basic fruits... Not with Welch's Fruit Snacks. Photo Credit: Welch's Facebook Page The flavors:   Mixed Fruit:  Strawberry, Raspberry, Orange, Concord Grape and Peach Berries 'N Cherries:  Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Blackberry and Cherry Tangy Fruits:  Tangerine, Lemon, Pink Grapefruit, Cran-Grape, Cherry and Green Apple Island Fruits:   Strawberry-Banana, Tropical Punch, Pink Grapefruit, Guava-Kiwi, Mango, and Pomegranate-Passion Fruit Fruit Punch Strawberry Concord Grap...

As we know, I am nervously preparing for Broxton to head to preschool this year.  I know he will be fine and he is so excited to go, but I tell you ... This mama here is worried... Things go through my head all the time, but I will tell you one thing that I have started thinking about and trying to plan for...  His lunch time. You see, as a stay at home mom, we had endless options for lunch idea's...  But now that he will be going to school, he also takes a lunch too!   I do not want to send him with a sandwich and chips each day, but I don't want to send him with fruit and veggies only either.  I want to mix it up... Make it fun and different... and not only be good for him, but make sure it also tastes great!!!! That being said, I was excited to try out the new flavors that Peter Rabbit Organics introduced.  (They have 11 flavors total now!) ·           Peach and Apple  – N...

Whenever we have the boys here, I have to plan on having plenty of snacks on hand...  If you think about it, adding three growing boys to the mix, we have to keep them going :) They are now 16, 14 and almost 12... so yes, they are really growing...  As much as they would like to munch on candy bars, chips and drink coke all day long, I know that is not possible.  (I mean, wouldn't we all?!) So, when I heard of the Healthy Food , PROBAR Fruition , I knew I would love the chance to try them while the boys were here...  I had to try them when they came in and I will not lie, I was so nervous that they would not like them.  I just could not eat them... I think it was the texture.  Probar Fruition is full of fresh fruit... but also full of nuts and seeds.. I just could not deal with it.  Marc said they were "okay" but that was about it..  Remembering whenever I have tried to get the boys to try something new, I almost decided ...

Now that we are all back in the routine of school and work and not all the holidays, it is time to regain focus on time management and on being healthy! No, I did not make any resolutions this year, I never do... But, I want to try and be healthier.... I had the chance to review the Breakfast on the Go - Oatmeal Blends. I was excited to try them, as I loved the Nut and Granola ones... I am a fan of oatmeal, but I have to be in the mood... With these.... you are always in for a quick little pack!  Be it for a breakfast on the go or a pick me up snack during the day... We were sent all three flavors: Maple and Brown Sugar, Apples and Cinnamon, and Blueberries and Creme... All three were delicious... although I was surprised to like the Maple and Brown Sugar the least. I love that flavor of Maple and Brown Sugar for the oatmeal, so I was surprised that it wasn't my favorite out of these packs!!!! I had the boys try it and they were quick to pick out the goodies that we...

I used to never want to try anything different...  Not really sure why, but I would just eat the normal foods I had always eaten. Recently, I have started branching out...  Trying new, organic, different. To be honest... If organic/healthier foods were cheaper, I could totally see me going more in that direction... (Well, for me... and Broxton... Marc, not so much!!) We recently had the chance to review a few products from the SunRidge Farms Line and I loved it!!! I loved it!!! (It worked in my favor that as soon as the boys saw "organic" they were completely turned off!) First up, the Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds. This was amazing! I would eat a couple each night to get my sweet tooth fix.   I love Almonds... I love Chocolate... It was wonderful for me!!!! All Natural Dark Chocolate Almonds From their site: Crunchy and sweet. Skillfully crafted in the time-tested European confectionery traditions Small Batch Roasted Almonds. Freshly roasted in ho...