winners notified....

The winners of the EASY LUNCHBOX system and the FIX-IT AND FORGET-IT COOKBOOK have been notified via email. 

Christy A - EASY  LUNCHBOX

Jennifer W. - COOKBOOK

CONGRATS!!

cookbook giveaway

 I am super picky about items I might review or giveaway on this blog.  To me, the intent of this blog is not to focus on reviews and giveaways but to share our journey of better and more creative eating (even if the creativity lacks from time to time... as it has lately...), and as it turns out, to be an inspiration to others.

As a part time working mom, full time chauffeur,  housekeeper, homework helper, etc. etc. etc., I have some non-wanting-to-cook kinda nights from time to time.  Ok, more often than I would love to admit.  With a little pre-planning the night before or morning of, I have found myself in love with the slow cooker more than a time or two!  Yes, I love me some slow cooker nights!  

I figure I am not the only one....   So, when presented with the chance to do this giveaway, I decided this one makes the cut!

This month, the new edition of the family favorite, Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook  was released.  The updated version includes more than 100 new recipes, substitute ingredients suggestions, as well as tips and tricks for making the most of your slow cooker.

 

Not sure all the recipes would fall under the healthy/natural foods category, but with some healthy substituting, I think a book like this would be a great starting point for crazy weeknight meals ideas and am proud to offer a copy to one of my readers!

Check out the fix-it and forget-it website to see if this is a book that would work for you.   

WANT ONE?

One Lucky Lunchbox Limbo reader will win a copy of this cookbook!  

For a chance to win, leave a comment below with your email address (use name at email dot com format).  

For a second chance, leave a second comment telling me your current favorite meal/item to make in a slow cooker!

This contest will end on May 20th, at 10:00 PM EST. The winner will be selected by random.org, and contacted by email .   If no response within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected.  The giveaway prize will come directly from FSBmedia. This giveaway is open to US readers only.

Easy Lunchboxes review and giveaway!

Kelly from www.easylunchboxes.com offered us a set of easy lunchboxes to try. We tried them out last week and here is the verdict...

LOVE them! I do love my laptop lunchboxes a ton and will continue to use them, but these easy lunchboxes will be added into the mix for sure.

My favorite features of the easy lunchboxes? 

• They contain NO lead, Vinyl, PVC, Phthalates or BPA
• There are only two pieces to wash at night!
• They come in a set of four boxes and four lids, so with two children, there is a clean set ready for the next day.  
• They are dishwasher safe.
• Inexpensive
• These could also cut down on waste if you use a typical brown bag lunch.  

At first glance on the website, I was expecting the plastic to be a little on the flimsy side. They remind me of the 'free' containers you get with some prepackaged lunchmeats, or the cheapy 'take to a potluck and who cares if it comes back' containers.  But they are not.  They are much sturdier than I expected them to be.  They are made to fit into a  '6 pack' style lunch tote, also available in many colors on the website.  The lunch tote has enough room leftover for a drink bottle, utensils, and even uncut fruit (apple, banana, etc.).  Or, if packing a lighter lunch, I have found they fit nicely in most of the lunchbags we already have at home.

My big concern was leakage.  BUT, when packing yogurt, I followed the directions on the website and added a piece of wrap between the yogurt and the lid and it traveled both directions without spilling over into another compartment.

WANT A SET?  

Kelly was kind enough to offer one set of four easy lunchboxes AND one lunch bag cooler to one lucky lunchbox limbo reader!

To enter, go to www.easylunchboxes.com and then come back here and comment below telling me which color cooler bag you would like to have if you are the lucky winner.  It's that simple!  

Want a second entry?  Leave a second comment telling me what you had for lunch today (or yesterday)! Don't forget to leave an email address (use name at email dot com format).

This contest will end on May 20th, at 10:00 PM EST. The winner will be selected by random.org, and contacted by email .   If no response within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected.  The giveaway prize comes directly from easylunchboxes.com. This giveaway is open to US & Canadian readers only. You will be disqualified if you have won or received free product from easylunchboxes.com within the past 3 months.

 I received an easylunchbox set for review.  All opinions posted above are mine. 

POM Wonderful giveaway

A representative for POM Wonderful contacted me this week to see if I would be interested in trying their products, and develop a recipe using them.  Talk about pressure!  I hope I can come up with something edible!! The juice should arrive on my doorstep in the next week or two, so be on the lookout for my concoction.  Right now, the outcome is a surprise to ALL of us, myself included!
 

The POM wonderful rep agreed to do a giveaway for my readers!  

3 lucky winners will each receive 4 FREE coupons.  Each coupon is good for one FREE 16.oz bottle of POM wonderful in any flavor!

All of POM Wonderful Juices:

• contain no added sugars, preservatives or colors
• are a good source of potassium
• are gluten-free
• are flash pasteurized to retain both flavor and nutrients
• are certified kosher

Flavors Include: 

100% Pomegranate

POM Blueberry

POM Cherry

POM Mango

POM Kiwi

POM Nectarine

see more at: www.pomwonderful.com - the POMx coffee drink really has me intrigued!

TO ENTER - GIVEAWAY CLOSED.  Congrats to the winners!  

  simply leave a comment and enter your email address below. 

Giveaway will close Thursday, November 19th at 9pm EST.    Winners will be chosen by random.org

For a second entry (leave a 2nd comment) become a follower of lunchbox limbo (or let me if know you already are!)


Winner will be posted here as well as receive an email (must leave email address so I can contact you), Once notified, winner must contact me with their mailing address within 48 hours to claim prize.


*Disclosure: I will be receiving samples to try/develop a recipe with.  No other compensation was received.* 

Funky Monkey Giveaway! - healthy and organic snacks.

Giveaway now closed.
THE WINNER of the Funky Monkey Giveaway was #11, Jen - moorethanamom.  Congrats, Jen!


Funky Monkey sent me a sample of each of their current four flavors to try.  They came in the mail last week and the kids were begging to try them from the minute I opened the box.  Between the fun name of the product, the fun flavor names, and the packaging, the kids were excited.

Here is where it gets really good! 

3 of the 4 flavors are USDA certified ORGANIC!   These snacks are just freeze dried fruit with no sugar added, no preservatives added, no coloring added, no additional flavoring added!  Funky Monkey Snacks are glute-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, and are certified Kosher-Parve.

Finally - something SAFE to serve no matter the allergies in the room! 

Just the natural fruits with crunch.  A wonderful alternative to chips or candy as they give you that crunch factor and a natural sweetness without being too hard to bite!  Each of the bags shown contain one serving size.   That one serving size gives you 3 of the recommended 4 daily servings of fruit! 

They claim that the freeze drying process retains nearly all of the flavor and nutrients found in fresh fruit.  The natural flavor of the fruit is really strong!  As soon as you open a bag, you can smell the fruit medleys!


The flavors?

• Bananamon (freeze-dried banana and cinnamon)
  
• Carnival Mix (freeze-dried banana, pineapple, apple, papaya, and raisins)
• Jivealime (freeze-dried pineapple and lime juice)
  
•  Purple Funk (freeze-dried banana and acai - pronounced ah-sigh-EE)

We have tried all but the jivelime as of yet - they were inhaled!  I think my personal favorite so far was the bananamon.  I love cinnamon and banana together!  The banana was really strong, but oh so good!

Funky Monkey snacks are available in some grocery stores (including super target, kroger, winn dixie, hyvee), all whole foods stores, online at amazon (where I see some new flavors - applemon, pink pinnaple, and mangOJ will be available soon!)

Check out the Funky Monkey website - http://www.funkymonkeysnacks.com/index.htm
Make sure you have the kids around and plenty of time!  The website is a lot of fun!

My only negative (and it is minor) has to do with the size of the package.  The serving size is a great amount, and makes a very filling snack or lunch component.  I am guessing the bag has to be larger to hold a certain amount of air because of the freeze drying?  Not sure... but the package iteself for one serving is pretty large.  I am going to see how they make it to school tomorrow when transferred to one of our airtight lunchbox containers.

Overall, I will definitely be on the lookout for these at the store!  They made a great grab and go this weekend when we went on a family mall trip!