Private Selection Holiday Part 2

In my last post I mentioned all of the private selection items I got free in order to participate in this campaign for bzz agent. Well, I finally found the olives! I bought the garlic stuffed ones as they seemed the least scary. They are pretty good, but too much garlic just to eat. I chopped them and put them into spaghetti sauce and they weren't bad. Here is just a little funny story about the private selection greek yogurt. Steve went to the fridge and saw we had some yogurt, so he decided to have one as a midnight snack. When I woke up and went to the fridge to get something to drink, I saw the opened package of yogurt sitting on the top shelf. When he got up he asked me if the yogurt in the fridge was expired. I laughed so hard!! It was so gross to him that he thought it was expired yogurt. I explained to him that it was greek yogurt. He said, "from now on I will make sure I am eating the right yogurt".

Old Navy sample and share for Crowdtap

As a member of crowdtap, I got to take part in the Old Navy style council sample and share. I got 2 coupons for free sweaters, one for me and one to give to a friend. I gave my 2nd coupon to my sis-in-law, Erika! I was so excited to get in on this opportunity! I love Old Navy and was so excited to get something from them for free! Especially a sweater, which comes in really handy when you live in Ohio! When I went to Old Navy, I was a little disappointed in the variety of sweaters they had available. There really weren't many styles to choose from, but they did have a wide variety of colors and prints for the styles that they did have available. Since I am nursing, I wanted a sweater with a high enough neck that I didn't have to worry about wearing a high necked camisole underneath. I ended up buying a red button up cardigan. I was really pleased with the high neck and the fit of the sweater! I love it! My sister in law ended up buying the same style cardigan in an animal print. It looks super cute on her! I think the sweaters are great and I know I will be wearing mine a lot!

Private Selection Holiday campaign

This is one of my most recent campaigns for bzz agent. I received a free package of water crisps, a coupon for a free jar of pasta sauce, a bag of coffee, and coupons for free deli sliced cheese, free olives, and cents off some greek yogurt. I used the pasta sauce to make spaghetti and meatballs since that is Steve's favorite dinner! I usually make my own sauce, but decided to give this a "go". It was very good! It had a better flavor than most jarred sauces, but I like chunky sauce and this was pretty thin. All in all it was pretty good, but I don't know if I would buy it again simply because of the price. Usually if I do buy pasta sauce, I buy the cheapest stuff and doctor it up to fit my tastes. I don't think I would pay the almost $3 price for this stuff. Next I tried serving the water crisps just with salsa. I LOVE chips and salsa, so I thought I would give these a try in place of my usual tostitos. They were very good! They were light and really didn't have much of a flavor, but that was good because the flavor from the salsa is plenty! Since,I got this box included already in my bzzkit, I don't know what the price is for these. I prefer saltines though, and those are really cheap! The coffee was pretty terrible. It was a costa rican blend. It was good when I first took a drink, but then it left a terrible after taste. I had to wash my mouth out with mouthwash after taking a couple of drinks because it was so awful! I wouldn't serve it to anyone else because I didn't like it. So, I didn't feel like I could force it on anyone else. I decided for my free cheese to get the garlic herb cheese. When I noticed the price, I was shocked. It was almost $5 a package. There is no way I would spend that much money on cheese when I can buy regular slices for $ .99 a package. I tried the cheese for sandwiches. It tasted ok, but the herbs were a little over whelming. It was certainly not a mild cheese. It was difficult to get out of the package because of all the herbs in it. It was very, very crumbly which made it difficult to deal with. I also tried it on my hot dogs. It was ok, but nothing compared to my 2% milk american cheese. So, I think I will stick to my american cheese, thank you very much! :) I have yet to find the olives at my kroger. I am not a fan of olives, but would like to find them and give them to someone to try. Besides, they are free. So, hopefully I will find them soon. Finally, I tried the greek yogurt. I bought 2 different flavors. Cran-raspberry and Strawberry. I will say I am not a huge fan of greek yogurt. It makes my mouth dry and always makes me extremely thirsty. However, because of the added fruit on the side it added some moisture and made it very tasty. When the fruit ran out however, I found it difficult to finish the yogurt. I definitely think that it needs more fruit so you can have some with every bite of yogurt. These are kind of pricey for yogurt, and since Kroger rarely makes coupons for their own products I don't think I would be buying it again. I must say I really enjoyed this campaign. I got so many things for free and many things to try. I enjoy trying new foods and am looking forward to trying new Kroger private selection foods in the future.

Update to Green Mountain Coffee Campaign

My last blog was about my latest campaign for bzzagent where I got to try some fair trade coffee for free. Well, yesterday I went to Target and bought a box of the pumpkin spice fair trade coffee. My husband wanted the new COD Black Ops II and I had a coupon for $10 off a purchase, so basically I got my coffee free. Well, I am glad it was free because it was not nearly as good as I thought it was going to be. I was so excited to try it, but was a little disappointed. There wasn't much pumpkin flavor, but the nutmeg was overbearing. Thankfully it was a light roast, so it wasn't a really strong coffee anyway, but I think the pumpkin should have been stronger and the nutmeg a little less so. It smelled a lot better than it tasted! I might give it another try with a different creamer to see if I can lighten up the taste of nutmeg, but I don't think I will buy this flavor again. I probably will go back to the caramel vanilla that I like so well! So,now I am trying to figure out if I can return the product (since I bought a whole box) even though I tried one. I contacted the company and next I will call Target to see if they will take it back. We will see!

Green Mountain Coffee(r) fair trade certified

My recent bzz campaign for bzz agent was for Green Mountain Coffee. I received 2 sample packs which included 4 flavors of the Fair Trade Certified coffees and also received several coupons for $1 off. Fair Trade Coffees not only taste great for me, but they are great for the farmers as well. It helps them get a fair price for their beans, improves working conditions,and assists in protecting the environment. The coffee I received was Wild Mountain Blueberry,Vermont Country Blend, Sumatran Reserve Extra Bold, and Colombian. My favorite was the Wild Mountain Blueberry. It smelled awesome, and while I don't think it tasted much like blueberry, it was still very good! I did not like the extra bold, but I am not fond of really strong coffee anyway. I usually like flavored coffees, like French Vanilla or Caramel Vanilla. I typically do like green mountain coffees and I am hoping to be able to try pumpkin spice fair trade coffee, because it sounds really good! K-cup packs are kind of expensive, so most of the coffees I get are free sample packs. I would not pay full price for any of these flavors because they just weren't my favorite. I am looking forward to trying some of the other fair trade certified coffee flavors.

Glade Expressions(R) Collection

So, this bzz campaign was for Glade expressions. They have new products that look like home decor and are supposed to blend in with your regular decor. I received coupons for a free oil diffuser and a free mist as well as many coupons to pass out to friends and family. It took going to a few stores to find the fragrances I wanted to try. Because of my allergies I had decided I wanted to try the Pineapple Mangosteen and the Fuji Apple and Cardamom spice. CVS only had the cotton scent, so i ended up going to Meijer. They had all of the scents in stock, so I got the pineapple mist and the apple oil diffuser. They really did go well with the decor and look pretty, but I was more interested to see what they would do to my allergies. I will start with the Pineapple Mangosteen mist. I put the mist in the bathroom because the generally the place where it is needed most! :) It does look good in the bathroom, but I find the holder kind of pointless. If I was going to be the one paying for it, I would buy just a spray and not pay the extra for the refillable one. It does look prettier I suppose, but in my opinion isn't worth it. The scent is nice. It smells very sweet! I like it as opposed to the oil diffuser because it isn't a constant stream of fragrance into the air, it only smells when you spray it.

The oil diffuser is the one I got in the fuji apple and cardamom spice scent. It did look nice with my fall decor and smelled good, but it was sooooo strong. I had it in the living room for less than 5 minutes and my eyes were burning and my chest was heavy. I ended up putting it outside. I think I will take it to church and put it in the mens bathroom! :) I think no matter what the scent, I wouldn't be able to handle the oil diffuser because of the fact that it is a constant smell and not just occasional. So, in conlusion, I would not be purchasing the oil diffuser and probably not the mist either unless it was on sale. I prefer my scentsy because I can use more food scents to which I am not allergic.

UNREAL candy. Candy UNjunked

So, this bzz campaign was for Unreal candy. I had seen some of this candy in the store, but had never tried it. The kit included a coupon for a free bag and several buy 1 get 1 free coupons. The first candy bar I tried was the caramel/peanut/chocolate bar. It was pretty good! I was surprised at how many peanuts were in it. I kind of expected them to skimp on those. The chocolate tasted a little "off". Kind of like cheap chocolate from the dollar store. I liked it though, and for the right price I would buy it again. They are 1.19 at the local CVS, and that seems a little ridiculous for a candy bar. I saw it on sale though at Kroger for .88 and that isn't too bad. The next kind I tried was nougat/caramel/chocolate. This was pretty good as well, but not enough nougat. The big selling point they are trying to get across is that they have NO artificials, NO Hydrogenateds, NO corn syrups, NO preservatives, and NO GMOs. All of that stuff doesn't really matter to me. Maybe it should, but it doesn't! The one thing I like about these candy is the fiber and protein content. They have 4 -5 grams of fiber in them, and I like to eat a high fiber diet. So, in conclusion, I would probably buy these if they were on sale, but not at their regular price. I don't think they are worth 1.19 each. Try them and tell me what you think! :-)

Bzz Campaign: Family Night With Kroger Part II

So, as I mentioned in the previous blog, I involved in a campaign to try some of the Kroger brand foods. We just tried the pizza we got with the free coupon. It was a pepperoni pizza with a multigrain crust. It was surprisingly good for a frozen pizza. I don't usually enjoy frozen pizza so my expectations were pretty low. As with most frozen pizzas, I didn't think it had enough pepperoni for the entire pizza. I moved the pepperoni to one side, so I could have just cheese on my slices and so he would have enough pepperoni. I am not sure of the original price, but I saw them on sale for 3.99. That is not a bad sale price, but I would prefer a $5 pizza from Little Caesars Since it is much bigger than the frozen pizza. We were also able to use our coupon for the free box of frozen fruit bars. I got a box that has lime and raspberry. They are both very good flavors! The lime I think is my favorite though. The price was around $4 for a box. I might buy them again in the future, but I prefer ice cream! :)

Bzz Campaign: Family night with Kroger

The most recent bzz campaign I am involved in was having a family night with some foods from Kroger brand. The Bzz kit included a free bottle of flavored vitamin water, a free bag of CUPZ tortilla chips, coupon for a free Truly Awesome Pizza, coupon for a free box of frozen fruit bars, several 20% off coupons to pass out to friends and family. We first tried the water. Steve loved it! I took one sip, but let him have the rest. It was an orange flavor. He said it was like orange juice but better! :) He is not a big fan of orange juice. He said he would definitely buy it again. The price isn't too bad, but I am not a fan of flavored water so I probably wouldn't purchase this unless it was on a really good sale. Then I tried the tortilla chips. They are very good. Not quite as good of flavor as tostitos, but they are lower in price. They are similar and wouldn't be a bad substitute if Tostitos weren't on sale. They are shaped great for dips and salsas! They also are great for making appetizers because you can place stuff in the cups and bake them and serve them as is. They have the same texture as tostitos and almost taste as good. We have yet to use the coupons for the free items, but I am looking forward to trying those!

The Hangman's Daughter - free for my Kindle

So, the newest thing I was supposed to try out for bzzagent was this book as well as the sequel "The Dark Monk" I received both books for free, so even though I didn't think I would like the books, I figured that since they were free I would give them a try. I got through the third chapter of the book and found the first swear word. I wasn't impressed! I even told them that if the swearing continued I wouldn't finish the book. Well, I was able to get several more chapters before finding another swear word. It was an interesting read, but the swearing was completely unnecessary! (as it usually is) Also, the title "The Hangman's Daughter" seems odd considering that she isn't the main character in the book. Her story is kind of a side plot. It could have had a much better title that actually had something to do with the main story in the book. The book was a little gory and gross as well, since it was all about the executioner and his family. Definitely not a great read for young readers or those who get grossed out easily! I would not read this again, and I will probably not finish the book either. Although, I am almost at the end, I don't think it is worth finishing.

Private Selection(R) Ice Cream

As mentioned in the previous blog post, I am involved in a new campaign for bzzagent in which I received coupons for free beef,free pie, and 1.50 off ice cream as well as a bag of chips. I previously reviewed the chips and beef. Well, we just couldn't wait any longer, so we tried the ice cream! My excuse is that I am 8 months pregnant and LOVE all things food! :-) I ate the Black Raspberry Dark Chocolate Chunk. WOW! Usually I put a LOT of toppings on my ice cream!! However, this ice cream definitely did not require any additions. The chocolate chunks in it were so good and really chocolatey! So many times in ice cream the chocolate doesn't taste like real chocolate, but not in this one! It tasted like very rich and delicious chocolate! I had to make myself put it back in the freezer or I would have eaten the entire pint by myself in one sitting! Steve tried the Cookies n Cream. He liked it, but said that it wasn't quite as good as a brand like Breyer's Blast. He said it was pretty comparable to it though. The one thing that is a little odd about this ice cream is the price. The pints were on sale for 1.79 each (which is the size that the coupons were good for), but the half gallons were on sale for 4.99. 4.99 for a half gallon of ice cream seemed pretty high for a store brand! When Breyers goes on sale, it is usually around 3.50 for a half gallon, but when the regular Kroger deluxe brand goes on sale you can get it for around 2.50. Again, just like with everything else, I buy according to price so I pick the flavor I want and buy whatever brand is the cheapest and still has the flavor that I want. The taste of this ice cream is definitely superior to some other brands, but not so much that it would cause me to spend that much money. I don't often buy pints either because most brands are cheaper to buy in larger amounts. I will admit though, that since being pregnant, I have bought more ice cream than I usually do. Once I even bought a small container of Ben and Jerry's just because I had a craving! :-) So, I won't say that I will NEVER buy one again, but the chances aren't very good!

Private Selection (R) Taste of Summer

Another one of my campaigns from bzzagent was for the Kroger(R) Private Selection(R) brand. As you may recall, I have previously tried some of the products from this line and was not impressed! This time I got a kit which included a bag of Private Selection (R) sea salt and black pepper kettle chips, coupons for free ground beef and a free pie, a coupon for 1.50 off a pint of ice cream, and several coupons for 20% off that I am supposed to pass out to other people. I first tried the chips, since they came in the box and I didn't have to go to the store to get them. They weren't bad. They are not the kind of chip that you could eat very many of by themselves as a snack, but they are good with salsa or dip. The flavor of the pepper is too strong to have many of them by themselves. I really like Kettle chips! They have a great crispy texture and they have ridges which are perfect for dipping!! Today, I went to Kroger to pick up the other items that I am supposed to try. I was able to get the ground beef. I got 1.4lb of Angus ground beef for free. The price marked was 4.87. If I hadn't had the coupon, I would not have bought the beef had I not had the coupon because it was more expensive than the regular store packaged ground beef. I usually buy based on price, so unless the beef goes on "Managers Special" I wouldn't buy it again. The taste of the meat was very good! I made burgers. My husband and I aren't big fans of fancy burgers with lots of stuff in the meat, so I just added taco seasoning and salt and pepper. We then melted cheese on top for extra flavor. I used Provolone and Steve used American. We don't have a grill, so I cooked the burgers in a skillet using a little EVOO. They tasted really good! They probably tasted even better since they were free! :-) I think this campaign may improve my opinion of this brand! While I was at Kroger, I also picked up a pint of black raspberry dark chocolate chunk ice cream, which I only paid 27 cents for because of the coupon I was sent. I also bought a pint of cookies n cream for Steve because I didn't think he would like the other. I had a coupon that Kroger had sent me in the mail for their ice cream, so I paid about $1 for the second pint. We had hoped to try these for dessert, but we are too full from the burgers, so we will have to try those later. I was unable to find the pie that I got the coupon for. I was disappointed that they didn't have any available. I guess I will have to keep looking. Hopefully, they will have them available before the coupon expires. I was also hoping to buy a bag of chips of a different flavor with another coupon I had, but they didn't have any Private Selection Chips. I thought this was odd considering that the Private Selection(R) brand is a Kroger brand. I am really hoping to get a chance to try the pie! They look really good! I will keep checking and hopefully have a review of the pie as well as the ice cream, soon!

Pork(R) Be Inspired(R) Bzz Campaign

I am currently a member of a new bzz campaign! It is for pork! I got a coupon that enabled me to get free pork chops! I was supposed to pick a recipe and try it!
Tonight I tried a great recipe!
 
  Braised Pork Chops with Peppers and Onions

 Ingredients:
4 boneless pork loin chops, about 1 inch thick, trimmed
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 small red or yellow bell peppers, quartered and cut into 1/4 - inch slices
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced - I used garlic powder because I didn't have any fresh garlic
1/2 cup dry red wine (I used vegetable broth, since I don't cook with alcohol)

1. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, warm oil. Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper and cook until browned. 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove chops to a plate and set aside.

2. Add tomato paste to skillet and cook, stirring for 15 seconds. Add bell peppers and onions to skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally for 1 minute.

3. Add wine and bring to a boil, scraping up and stirring in any browned bits in the skillet. Return chops to skillet, nestling them in the liquid, and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook 4 minutes. Turn chops, cover, and cook until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. Remove chops from skillet and let rest 3 minutes.

4. Serve Pork with pepper and onion mixture spooned on top.

This recipe was very good! I served it with mashed potatoes, but there are any number of side dishes that would work great with this recipe. I am looking forward to trying some of the other recipes that were included in the bzz kit! This has been a great campaign! Especially considering I got a 10 pack of pork chops for free!

A Survey site review - Toluna

Toluna - survey site

I joined the Toluna community on July 23rd of 2011. I had heard about the site from one of the deals sites that I follow. It said that they were accepting new members so I decided to try it out.
 Mostly the points accrued on this site are from regular surveys that they send you in an e-mail. Surveys range from 1,000 - 12,000 (approximately) based on how involved the survey is. The most points I have gotten was 20,000 for buying Neutrogena foundation and taking a survey on how it worked and how I like it. Basically the points for that one paid for the foundation (plus I had a coupon, so it made it an even better deal) and a little extra. They also have just recently started allowing participants to sign up for product tests. Once you sign up, they pick a certain amount who fit the profile that is wanted by the company and they send out a free product. Once you try the product, you answer a survey to let the company know what you thought of it.
  So far, I have redeemed 150,000 points for 2 $25 dollar gift vouchers which I then used to get 2 $25 Amazon gift cards. They have many different stores you can choose to get gift cards from, but I really like Amazon and you can buy almost anything from them.
 I would definitely recommend this survey site. I have not even been a member for a year and have gotten $50 and am on my way to another one. You also have the option to cash out to get a $20 check at 60,000 points or a $50 reward bucks voucher for 150,000 points. I have chosen to cash out for a $25 voucher at 75,000 points.