Private Selections Make Your Summer Meals

As a bzzagent I've had the opportunity to try some more of the Private Selections foods.  Private Selections is Kroger's exclusive store brand.

I was sent coupons in order to try the Private Selections Angus Ground Beef, Private Selections Ice Cream and a Private Selections 6 inch apple or cherry pie.  I was also sent a bag of the Private Selections chips in Sea Salt and Black Pepper.  The kit I received is pictured here:

Upon arriving at the store I found that our Dillon's store does not carry the Angus Ground Beef.  I chatted with the meat manager at our largest store and he hadn't heard about it.  He assured me that my coupon doesn't expire until August 1st so to keep checking back.  A few weeks later, no such luck, so let's start by talking about the chips.

My husband and daughter are big pepper fans, I'm not.  I tried the Sea Salt and Black Pepper chips though.  They weren't bad.  The pepper did come in after a few bites.  Hubby and daughter liked them, but felt they were too hard and thick.  Four of my grandkids were over and hungry--they finished off the bag of chips, not saying a word about the pepper.

But......the store has the chips on sale 2 bags for $5 and they put out a coupon to buy 1 bag get 1 free.  How could I resist not trying some of the other chips with such a great deal?  Here is what we bought:

 The Tortilla Thins were eaten by my teenage daughter.  I asked her what she thought.  She replied that they were good, but tasted like they were fried in a different oil.  I checked the bag and it says vegetable oil.  She did like them and finished off the bag in 2 days.  She did let the grandkids have a few tastes.  My 4 yr old granddaughter especially liked them.
But.....let's talk about those Sea Salt Rice and Bean Chips.    Wow!  These are outstanding and so delicious!  Thin and crisp with just the right amount of salt.  
Since buying those 2 bags, I went back to the store and bought 2 more bags of the Beans and Rice Chips in other flavors.   I chose Salsa Picante Rice and Bean Chips and Chipotle Cheese Rice and Bean Chips.   Both just as grand as the Sea Salt ones.
I noticed they had quite a variety in the Private Selections chips, even including cinnamon and sugar chips.   I can't wait to try even more of them.

Now let's move on to the pie and ice cream.   I chose to use my coupon to get the half gallon of the Private Selections Ice Cream.  I bought Crushed Vanilla Bean flavor.   I also chose to get the 6 inch Apple in the Private Selection Pie.

Just look at this photo of a little slice of the pie, warmed up, with the melting ice cream on it!

 It was yummy.  The apples tasted great.  I did think the pie crust was a little too thick for my taste.

Do you have a Kroger store in your area?  If so, I encourage you to try the Private Selections brand.  Lots more food is available on top of the items that I have reviewed.

Disclaimer:  I received a Private Selections campaign kit as a bzz agent (http://www.bzzagent.com)  in order to try the products for this review.  I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions of the products are my own.

Frugal Friday Link Up--Living Below the Line $1.50 a Day Challenge

I want to continue this week talking about the Living Below the Line challenge I am taking part in.
I am taking part in this as a bzz campaign with bzzagent.com.

 I've ran across a lot of "nay-sayers" this past week.  Not only in comments on my own postings about what I am eating, but the postings of others as well.

We are hearing things like--3rd world countries are eating beans and rice
Most don't have access to grocery stores, let alone sales and the use of coupons
The usual people commenting on losing weight, not getting near enough to eat, nutrition isn't good.
One person really got in to it commenting that this challenge isn't teaching anyone anything (and she is taking part in the challenge)  I can't go in to details on her comments without quoting her, which I do not have permission to do.

Others are very supportive telling us we are doing a great job.  

Here are my posts on gather if you would like to read about my journey and what I have eaten.  I will come back and link up the post I do tonight once I get it done.

Live Below the Line Challenge--I'm In, Are You Up To It? (bzz campaign)


Living Below the Line $1.50 a Day Challenge Day 1

Living Below the Line $1.50 a Day Challenge Day 2 

Living Below the Line $1.50 a Day Challenge Day 3 

Living Below the Line $1.50 a Day Challenge Day 4 

Living Below the Line $1.50 a Day Challenge Day 5


I am supporting the Global Poverty Project and you can find my page here: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/marsha32
So far I've not helped by raising any money  :(   I do hope that my postings have at least opened the eyes of some.

My husband and I have had a hard time keeping food in the house....or so we thought until this challenge.  In other words, we always have food, it's just not what we are hungry for, so we moan and groan about it.
Even though my husband and daughter didn't take part in the challenge with me, they have watched me and been supportive.

It takes a lot of time and effort to take what something costs, divide it out by ounces or servings and know a cost.  Take the Kool-Aid for example.  Now, I say Kool-Aid, but I am using the store brand.  I had to add the packet cost in with the cost of the sugar.  The sugar was on the package as servings by the teaspoon.  Boy wasn't that figuring fun  LOL
On that note, I would also like to add that I was asked if I was adding in the cost of the water for my tea and Kool-Aid.  The answer is no.  I would have no way of knowing what we pay the water company for each cup of water!

I posted about the challenge here in my Frugal Friday post last week.  I talked about how milk was on sale for $2 a gallon.  What a blessing that we stocked up somewhat so I could drink more of it.   Double blessings came Friday evening when my hubby called me from the store.  He was so excited to find half gallons of milk on a manager's special for just .50 each!!  He brought home 6 to make sure I had enough for the challenge.  This extra special price did afford me the luxury of a glass of milk with supper most nights too.

Also, eggs were on sale for $1 a dozen so he bought 2 dozen to make sure I had enough.  And, they had the 1 pound packages of potato salad and macaroni salad on sale for just $1.  He went a little overboard on those buying 5 packages of each!  We have some left for our Mother's Day dinner.

Could I have accomplished this challenge without using sale prices and coupons?  Probably so, but I would have been suffering through eating Ramen noodles every day.  I barely got myself to eat one package this week, half at a time.  I would have had very little else during the day.  

I want to mention that in our house we have a lot of food that didn't cost us anything.  I could have well used any of those foods and eaten 3 or 4 times more than what I did.  These are foods such as beans, rice, pasta, canned soup, etc that over time I have gotten from government commodities.   I also had made a trip to the local food bank recently and we still had some of that food left. (yeah, we had no meat whatsoever so I went to the food bank---of course the income tax refund came in the very next day.....and we did a shopping whopping stock up trip to Aldi)   I felt a little on the bad side using sale prices and coupons and didn't want to try to throw in things that I got free on top of those.   I shouldn't feel bad though!  If it weren't for sales and coupons we wouldn't eat near as much or as well as we do.

On that note, I would like to mention just yesterday, what a blessing of food we had!!  In the mail I rec'd 2 free coupons for any Gorton's seafood items.  I won those in a blog giveaway.  (I used one this morning for a 30 count bag of crunchy fish fillets that cost $10.97!) Later in the day the Fed Ex truck stopped with a package for me.  Inside I found a box of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal from PurexInsiders.  Along with that came 5 free coupons for more boxes.  I will be using one of those for us and giving the other 4 away here on my blog.
I was accepted at crowdtap for the McCormick Grill Mates party and will be receiving a box of marinades, bbq sauce etc.  I am signed up with bzzagent for the campaign on pork and will be receiving coupons to buy pork.  I just signed up for another bzzagent campaign for Private Selections.  With it we will get free coupons to get a bag of chips, a box of Angus Burgers, a pie, and ice cream.  (there's one whole meal totally taken care of!)    Am I counting my blessings?  YES!!

I think I have rambled enough here to call it a book, so will close for now.   I hope I have enlightened some on what it's like to try to eat on so little....as well as the blessings.   Please link up anything frugal you have to share in the linky this week.  I've not had much participation with the linky but would love to see it start to grow.  Inspire us all to live the simple and frugal life.

Disclosure:  I received a product sample, coupon, collateral or other special premium from BzzAgent. 

Frugal Friday Link Up---Live Below the Line Challenge

For this Frugal Friday I want to talk about the Live Below the Line Challenge.
I am taking part in it through bzzagent.com.
The challenge starts Monday, May 7 and goes through Friday, May 11.

Live Below the Line is a campaign that challenges individuals and communities to eat and drink on just $1.50 per day for 5 days. By exposing participants to a glimpse of some of the daily difficulties experienced by the 1.4 billion people who live in extreme poverty every day, for everything, the campaign provides a unique window into understanding the realities of life for so many.

I feel up to the challenge!  (that might change after a couple of days).  It's fitting for me to post this for Frugal Friday.  How else would you eat and drink on just $1.50 a day if you aren't frugal?


I do feel as I will be cheating somewhat though.   I have my plans made.  I have bought foods and drinks on sale, and many times also with a coupon.


I bought a lot of my foods at Aldi.  Therefore each package of Ramen noodles is just .166 each.    A 2 lb bag of carrots just .99  (I haven't figured out yet how much 1 carrot is but will).
I was able to buy 2 boxes of Barilla whole wheat pasta for .38 each after coupon.  Milk was on sale for just $2 a gallon so I stocked up ahead to have it for that price next week.  Eggs are on sale for just $1 a dozen!


I will be posting what I eat and drink each evening over on gather.com.  Next Friday I plan to place those days here on my blog as well.


Do you think you are up to the challenge??  If you don't think you can live off $1.50 a day yourself, pass on the information and the Live Below the Line website to friends and family who you think will be up for it. Be sure to tell them to choose the BzzAgent network from the drop down menu on the Live Below the Line sign-up page so we know your Bzz is working!

I encourage you to please visit my profile page for the challenge as well.  It will open in a new window.  I am supporting The Global Poverty Project.
https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/marsha32


Thanks so much for reading, please do leave me your thoughts.....and don't forget to link up below.  Linky remains open all week.

 

Kroger The truly Awesome homestyle chocolate chip cookies Review

(I originally shared this in a post on gather here.) 



My latest bzz campaign with bzzagent.com is for the Kroger The truly Awesome homestyle chocolate chip cookies.
Cookies.....yum!  I was very excited to be able to get in on this campaign.  I've been wanting to try these cookies, and having sweets in the house, as of late, has been slim.
I was xcited to open the box when the mailman came to the door with it.  Inside I found 2 boxes of the Kroger The truly Awesome homestyle chocolate chip cookies.
It didn't take Jasmine and I long to devour one box by ourselves.



There are 8 large cookies per box.  Oops, only 7 in the photo above.  One was broken in half and I scarfed it down before taking the photo.

The other box we shared with 3 of the grandkids.  They sure got excited when I got out the cups, the milk and the cookies for a bedtime snack the other night.  hhmmm    5 people and 8 cookies.  We each got 1 1/2 cookies with 1/2 a cookie left over that everyone was fighting over.  (Grandma, that's me, won and ate it  he he)
1-2-3 dunk!


Final thoughts:  I think these cookies taste truly awesome as the name says.  They are a hard cookie, over the soft that I prefer.   I found them to have plety of chocolate chips in each cookie.
There are only 8 cookies in a package with a retail price of $2.99.  I find that a little steep in price for myself.  I was sent 5-$1 off coupons to share though and fully intend to share a couple of them with myself.  I will buy them for $1.99.

Further information:  Serving size is 1 cookie.  Per serving there is 120 calories 10 grams of sugar, 125 mg of sodium and 6 grams of total fat.  Each cookies does provide 4% of the recommended daily intake of iron and 4% of vitamin a.
Contains: wheat, milk, soy, and eggs.  May contain peanuts, coconut, pecans, cashews, and macadamia nuts.

Disclaimer:  I rec'd the Kroger The truly Awesome homestyle chocolate chip cookies as part of a bzz campaign with bzzagent.com.  I was not compensated in any other way.  All opinions are my own.

My own about.me Page!

Do you have an about.me page?  If so, I would love for you to share your link with me!  Just add your url to the comments on this post.

I signed up for the bzz campaign over at bzzagent.com some time ago.  Pretty much kicking myself for procrastinating so long on actually getting in and getting my page made. 

The process of signing up and making the splash page was so easy.  Now I can just promote the splash page and anyone who cares to follow me is ust a click away from finding me on lots of different websites on the internet.

Check out my about.me profile!

Elmer's CraftBond and X-Acto Designer Series Review (for bzzagent)

It's so exciting to get a bzz campaign from bzzagent.com anytime.  This campaign I am particularly excited about as a crafter.   Along with my own crafts, I have a crafty teenager that I homeschool, and she loves doing projects.

(I've done a gather post review with photos as Jasmine works on a project using the Elmer's CraftBond and X-Acto Designer Series products.  I hope you will click over and check it out:  )

Project With the Elmer's CraftBond and X-Acto Crafting Products (Bzzagent review and photo essay)

Below is a photo of all the products I rec'd in my bzz kit:
Elmer's CraftBond All Purpose Glue Stick, Permanent Tape Runner, Clear Glue Pen and assortment of sticky spots.  I also received 2 pairs of X-Acto Designer Series Scissors; Zig Zag decorative edge and Scalloped decorative edge, as well as a Corner Rounder Punch.



Now, let's review them!

Jasmine liked the Permanent Tape Runner the best over all the sticking stuff.  She even found she could round it and make a circle while gluing things down.  It's sure a neat product.  I can see using it for making gift wrapping super easy too.

I like the Designer Series Scissors.  I have a set of scissors such as this already, but they are small.  The larger ones like those in my kit were much easier to use since they could do a longer cut.


The Elmer's CraftBond glue stick is just like any other glue stick that you buy for school supplies.  However, I found that it has a tougher hold.  We are putting together trivia cards where we are gluing pieces together, then laminating them, and the papers held together much better with the glue stick provided in my kit.

The Double Sided Glue Pen is really nice.  One side as a wider flat strip of glue.  The other side makes a thin line of glue.   The downfall we found with it is that it leaves bumps on thin paper where the glue is.
 
 The Corner Rounder Punch is really nice!  It rounds the corners very nicely.  Jasmine messed with is on lots of papers.  She discovered that if she folded the paper in half and used it, it then opened up very nicely.  She made grandma a birthday card on cardstock using the tool.   I wish I had gotten a photo of it.  We did find that the Corner Rounder Punch does not work on super thin paper, like magazine pages.

 The Sticky Spots are very useful!  We are collecting postcards from all the states and putting them on cardstock in page protectors, inside of a lapbook.  It was so much easier using the thin sticky dots, just one on the back of a postcard to put it into the book.
We also found that the thicker sticky dots in the package work great for hanging up posters.  We live in a basement.  As homeschoolers, we have a lot of educational posters, but have not been able to hang them up on the concrete walls.  The thicker sticky spots worked wonderful, as you can see from the photo below:

 
 I hope you have enjoyed my review  :)




 

Covergirl ShadowBlast and ShineBlast Review

My most recent bzz campaign with bzzagent.com is Covergirl's Shadow Blast and Shine Blast products.  I love make up and I get excited when I get to try new things.

I received #820 Citrus Flair in the Shadow Blast.  I was taken aback with the green, but happy to report that it goes wonderfully with the brown and doesn't go on dark as I was afraid it might.
In the Shine Blast i got #825  Smolder.

I really like the eye shadow's that are not powder, so the Shadow Blast is perfect for me.  It's so easy to apply.  First you use side one and cover the whole lid, then you use side 2 in the crease and to line your lid.  I've not tried it lining under my eye yet, but will.

Shadow Blast has an average retail price of $7.99.  I've only looked for it one place so far, and that was Walgreen's where it sells for $8.49.  I fully intend to buy myself some more of the colors!

The downfall that I see after reading others comments, is that because it's not a powder, it does crease during the day.   I have this trouble even with powder eye shadows, but still prefer to use eye shadow like what is offered with the Shadow Blast.  Despite the creases, which I am used to, I still love this product!  I feel it's very innovative on Cover Girls part.


I also am enjoying the Shine Blast as well.  It goes on smoothly and really adds a shine to my lips that I like.  It has the ShineSculpt applicator that hugs your lips' contours.  Very easy to apply.
It doesn't leave a thick sticky feeling on your lips at all.  It has a nice fruity scent too.

Shine Blast has an average retail price of $7.49.  I would also like to have more of it as well.

I was sent 5--$2 coupons with my bzz campaign kit to use myself and hand out to others.

Below is a picture of my eyes after putting on the Shadow Blast and my lips with the Shine Blast on them.  

Bzzing About the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner!

I have been using the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner for over a week now that I rec'd as a bzzagent.

I've used one before so I already knew that I like them. I am one of those that puts off cleaning the shower until it's almost too late! It's made to hang over the shower head, but I don't choose to put mine there with the other things already there.

It's easy to use. Just press the button. You will hear a beeping for 15 seconds, giving you time to shut the curtain or the shower doors. It sprays in a 360 degree angle.

It's safe on most surfaces, but not recommended for brass, natural marble and finished wood surfaces. Suggested retail price for the starter kit is $14.99 and includes the power sprayer, batteries and one refill. Additional refills are just $3.99. It will last around 3 weeks with daily use.
It's best used right after you shower because it combines with the water already on the shower walls to start working immediately.

I really enjoy using it and intend to buy a refill once this bottle is done. As I said, it's one of those convenience products that I don't like to do without. It leaves a clean scent when done, not too overpowering.

You can visit www.automaticshowercleaner.com to watch a cool animated demo and get more information on the system.

I'm sorry that it's dark in my shower for the camera. I had my daughter holding one of those push lights to try to help. You can see well enough to see it spraying in a full circle, and in the beginning you can hear the beeps before it starts working.

BABIES Audio Spot

 As A bzzagent I am sharing all kinds of different things about the BABIES movie.  It will be in the theater May 7!  Please click and check it out.


Everybody loves... BABIES. Coming to theatres this Mother's Day Weekend (May 7th), this visually stunning new movie simultaneously follows four babies around the world - from first breath to first steps. From Mongolia to Namibia to San Francisco to Tokyo, BABIES joyfully captures on film the earliest stages of the journey of humanity that are at once unique and universal to us all.

BABIES in USA Today!

Sharing this great article about BABIES by Susan Wloszczyna of USA TODAY as a bzzagent.
Parents, movie fans are cooing over 'Babies' documentary.
If you were enraptured by just-hatched creatures of March of the Penguins, wait until you see Babies.
The collective cooing began last fall when the film's trailer first appeared in theaters. Two African children play with rocks inside a hut when the younger one decides to reach for a nearby plastic bottle — only to have the older toddler suddenly push her and grab it away. One bites, the other shrieks, tears are shed and the laughter of shared recognition fills the air. Click for full article.

Babies Sweepstakes!

The Babies are coming...and now's your chance to show off the moments in your baby’s life with the “Everybody loves...your BABIES sweepstakes!”. Become a BABIES Facebook fan and share a photo or video of your baby’s moments. Your baby could be featured on the BABIES DVD and you could win a Kodak Easyshare M350 Digital Camera plus an exclusive, limited-edition JOHNSONS® diaper bag, created by high-end designer Timi & Leslie, and filled with a year’s supply of JOHNSON’S® Baby products! Visit Facebook.com/BabiesMovie to enter.

(sharing as a bzzagent, please click the widget for all the info!!)

Babies Photos

As a bzzagent, I am blogging about the movie, Babies.
Please click for more information! By doing so, you will also help me earn a point for a chance to win a prize too.

Looks like a very interesting movie and will be in theaters May 7.



Thanks!

Bzzzing Ultracept Handwash

This is also posted on gather at Bzzzzing Ultracept Hand Sanitizer

As you know, I am a bzz agent. A bzz agent gets items to try and then by word of mouth we get the word out about these products.

My current campaign is Ultracept Antiseptic Handwash.

My kit consisted of 3- 2 fl. oz bottles.

Ultracept says they are the next generation in hand sanitizers.

*Eliminates 99.99% of many harmful bacteria and germs in as little as 15 seconds.

*Long lasting

*Moisturizes

*Non-sticky, non-greasy formula

(*Tests indicate Ultracept Antiseptic Handwash lasts up to 6 hours. Individual results may vary.)



Complete drug facts are found on the back of the label.

Other Ultracept information:

Used by surgeons and other clinicians because of the added persistent germ control.

Repeated application increases germ-fighting persistance.

Just launched on Nov. 16

Available exclusively on ultracept.com



I can attest to the long lasting. My daughter and I have been sharing one of the 2 oz bottles for a week now and it's not even half way gone. She uses hand sanitizer a LOT!

I can also attest to the moisturizing. I have really dry skin in the winter time, but have not used any lotion on my hands since using the Ultracept.

This hand sanitizer is different than any I've tried before. What I've bought before came in a pump bottle and was in a gel type form. Others that I have used have been the kind that are like soap dispensers and dispense out a foam. This is liquid, but spreads on your hands very nicely, which surprised me.

The smell is about the same as other hand sanitizers. I bit strong at first, but soon dissipates.

I really like it much better than other hand sanitizers I've used.



Are you interested in giving it a try? Go to Ultracept.com Enter the code "ULTRABZZ" for a 10% discount on your order.