Win Cookies for Breakfast Sample Box from Erin Baker's

Remember that Bill Cosby skit where his wife makes him get up in the morning to feed the kids and get them off to school so that she can stay in bed for a little bit more sleep? He wanders downstairs half asleep and spies the chocolate cake on the counter. He comes up with the brilliant idea to feed the children chocolate cake for breakfast and of course, they're thrilled. After all, what's in chocolate cake he asks? Eggs and wheat! Must be good for breakfast right?

Well OK maybe chocolate cake isn't that great for breakfast despite the eggs and wheat. But, the Breakfast Cookies from Erin Baker's are good for breakfast or any other time! Erin Baker's mission is to handcraft and bake to order in small batches with simple, wholesome ingredients… promising homemade freshness, flavor and quality.

Their original breakfast cookies are baked with heart-healthy whole grains and sweetened with fruit puree. They contain protein, antioxidants, fiber and complex carbohydrates which makes than the ideal choice for a healthy breakfast. Each cookie is individually wrapped so they work perfectly for breakfasts on the go. Just toss one in your handbag, briefcase or backpack and you're set for a healthy breakfast while on the run.


Original Breakfast Cookies are available in Fruit & Nut, Chocolate Chunk Raisin, Peanut Butter, Banana Walnut, Morning Glory, Double Chocolate Chunk, Oatmeal Raisin, Mocha Cappuccino, Caramel Apple, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Vegan Chocolate Chunk, and Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk. In addition to the Original Breakfast Cookies, you can also purchase the Breakfast Cookies in minis size.

You can eat the Breakfast Cookies straight out of the package or if you want a warm breakfast, they can be prepared in the toaster as well.  I love them straight out of the package.  The cookies are moist and lightly sweetened.   I really loved the Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookie. It honestly tastes just like a cookie that I'd have for a snack and I loved knowing that it was healthy enough to be considered breakfast too.  The Caramel Apple Breakfast Cookie was delicious too.  Although I don't eat chocolate for breakfast, my husband assured me that the Double Chocolate Chunk Breakfast Cookie was amazing too.

Their products contain expeller pressed oils, all natural ingredients, omega 3's, antioxidants, natural fruit purees and handmade goodness.  They never contain high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, artificial colors, artificial flavors, hydrogenated oils or artificial additives. The Breakfast Cookies also make great snacks for the kids.  Toss one in their lunchbox & they'll never know what they're getting is actually something that's good for them.  Erin Baker also offers granola and brownie bites. The Brownie Bites disappeared as soon as the kids saw them & from the speed they were eaten, I'd say they were delicious!

Connect with Erin Baker on Facebook & Twitter for all the latest product news.

One of my lucky readers is going to win a Sample Box of goodies from Erin Baker's.  Here's what you can do for a chance to win:

To enter you must follow my blog & visit the sponsor’s site.  Leave a comment telling me what you learned there.

For extra entries:

1. Follow me on Twitter @scentednights & tweet about the contest. +1

Win a Sample Box of cookies from Erin Baker's @scentednights #giveaway #win @breakfastcookie http://tinyurl.com/3o5tgdx

2. Be my friend on Facebook & post this contest on your wall. +1

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Remember, to please leave a separate comment for each entry. And please enter only in the ways listed above. I reserve the right to delete comments not adhering to the above entry guidelines.  You must be 18+ years old & live in the USA. The last day to enter is 5/9/2011.

My thanks to the sponsor for allowing me to review this product.

As required by the FTC: I received a product sample in order to write my review.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

Please note that  I am not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. I have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner I will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. I will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize but ultimately I am not responsible if they do not fulfill your prize win.

Seneca Farms Oatmeal & Fruit .55c off coupon!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I try to make sure that the kids eat breakfast before they leave the house in the morning but I have two teenagers that aren't easiest to get out of bed and moving first thing in the morning. When I'm lucky, they actually sit down for two minutes for some type of breakfast. When I'm not, they head out the door with nothing and I have to hope they eat something healthy at school. Of course, knowing teenagers, I'm not quite sure what they think healthy is. I have visions of candy bars for breakfast some days.

Well it turns out I'm not alone. Did you know that nearly 60% of US parents of children 3-17 admit that their child skips breakfast? Did you know that 58% of US Moms say they skip breakfast regularly and 46% of those moms say they do so because they don't have time to prepare or eat it?

Seneca Farms Oatmeal & Fruit comes in a convenient 6 ounce microwaveable cup that's easy to prepare. The Oatmeal & Fruit comes in a two pack with two separate microwaveable cups. You don't need to add water, milk or other liquid. You just heat it in the microwave for 45 seconds and you have a warm, nutritious breakfast or snack. The Oatmeal & Fruit Cups come in four flavors: Apple Cinnamon, Vanilla Peach, Cranberry Apple and Maple & Brown Sugar.

The Oatmeal & Fruit cups have no transfats or cholesterol. Since they contain fruit, they are also a good source of Vitamin C. I'm normally leery about many prepackaged convenience foods so the first thing I did was check the ingredients. They are sweetened with both fruit juice concentrate and sugar with NO high fructose corn syrup! Yeah! I really hate HFCS. The Oatmeal & Fruit Cups are also not just sweetened with fruit juice, they actually have real chunks of fruit in them.

We don't use a microwave but the kid's schools both have them in the cafeteria for the kids to use to heat up food. I sent both kids off with a Seneca Farms Oatmeal & Fruit for breakfast one hectic morning with instructions on how to heat it up. Both kids enjoyed the flavors we got to try (Apple Cinnamon and Vanilla Peach). They said it was easy to heat up and open and tasted better than the instant oatmeal packets they have occasionally.

Wanting to try one of these myself, I decided to heat it on the stove so that I could experience it as well.  I was very happy with the taste of the Oatmeal & Fruit. Many oatmeal cereals geared toward kids are super sweet and that was not the case with this.  You could taste a mild fruit flavoring instead of a sugary sweet cereal. I loved the fact that the oatmeal was actually thick cut oats that was still identifiable as oatmeal after heating it up instead of oatmeal mush.  It actually tasted like oatmeal I cook on the stove and not those awful instant packets.  The fruits are actual nice big pieces too. I wasn't sure at first when I looked at the bowl but the fruit is all on the bottom and you can see it once you stir it up.

Don't forget to print off your .55c coupon for Seneca Farms Oatmeal & Fruit.   Use their store locator to find a store near you.  I am not sure what the suggested retail price will be of these since it wasn't included in my paperwork and I haven't seen these in my stores yet but I'm looking forward to trying a few more flavors when I do find them especially with the coupon!

Connect with Seneca Farms on Facebook and Twitter for the latest product announcements.

My thanks to the sponsor and Family Review Network for allowing me to review this product.

As required by the FTC: I received a product sample in order to write my review.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

Healthy and Delicious Treats from Vitamuffin!

To say that I have a love affair with baked goods is probably putting it mildly. I enjoy nothing more than sitting down in the morning with my coffee and a delicious muffin or ending the evening with a cup of tea and a brownie. Pure bliss. Unfortunately if I let myself enjoy high calorie and fat treats on a regular basis, I will quickly gain back all of the wait that took me so long to loose. Because of this, I have always limited my consumption of muffins and brownies and saved them for special occasions and stuck to breakfasts with lower calories and fat like cereal with skim milk.

When I saw the opportunity to check out VitaMuffins, I was intrigued. Was it really possible to enjoy delicious baked goods regularly and not put on weight? At first, I thought that the selection would be limited to one or two ultra healthy flavors like bran and multi-grain. After all, how could I expect to enjoy deep chocolate or apple crumb regularly?

When my sampler box from Vitamuffin arrived, it read to keep frozen so I quickly opened it up to place the samples in the freezer. My mouth was watering just looking at the names on each muffin: deep chocolate, blue bran, apple crumb, pumpkin spice, fudgy peanut butter chip & more tempting flavors.

Vitamuffins have only 100 calories each and contain 0 to 2.5grams of fat! They contain 5 to 10 grams of fiber per 2 ounce serving. Each serving has 2-5 grams of protein, is low sodium and contains whole grains. I love how healthy they are!

Since they are frozen, they need to be thawed before eating. You can do this in a number of different ways: microwave thaw, room temperature thaw, or toaster thaw. Since we don't use microwaves  & I wanted my Vitamuffin NOW, I went for the toaster thaw method. I had a very difficult time choosing which Vitamuffin to enjoy first. So many delicious flavors! At only 100 calories, I decided that I could enjoy 2 of them!

I decided to go with the Cran Bran variety first. It's high in fiber and low in fat and cranberry is one of my favorite types of muffins.  I popped it into the toaster on frozen and it came out crispy outside and moist on the inside.  The Cran Bran is amazing. It has real pieces of cranberry in it not just flavors or invisible bits. I figured it out and the Cran Bran has 3 Points Plus so it fits perfectly into my Weight Watchers plan.

After waking up a bit more and letting the coffee kick in, I decided to go with the Banana Nut.  Awesome choice.  Definitely another one of my favorites.  Marty is a huge chocolate person & it was a bit too early for my chocolate craving to have kicked in yet so he decided to have the Triple Chocolate Chunk. He loved it! I am absolutely in love with these. 

Vitamuffins can be purchased directly from a variety of retailers.  In my area, I can buy them at Price Chopper and Hannaford.  Use their store locator to find a store near you.

Connect with Vitalicious on Facebook & Twitter to keep up with all the latest announcements.

My thanks to the sponsor for allowing me to review this product.

As required by the FTC: I received a product sample in order to write my review.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

Let's party with Nutella!

Starting the morning off with a healthy breakfast is really important. One of the best ways to start your morning off right is with a balanced breakfast. A balanced breakfast gives your brain and body the fuel it needs to get going in the morning. Nutella hazelnut spread on your favorite whole grain bakery item with a glass of skim milk and a serving of fruit is a quick and easy solution for a balanced breakfast.

As much as I love whole grains, the kids aren't that thrilled with them. They'd much rather grab something less healthy. I can easily take multi-grain toast and add a bit of Nutella to it and they're convinced it's a treat for breakfast. Since Nutella is made with roasted hazelnuts, skim milk and just a hint of cocoa, it's something I can feel good about serving them for breakfast. We have ours with a glass of milk and some fresh fruit.

I was recently chosen to have a Nutella Party to share Nutella breakfast ideas with some amazing moms and dads in my area. We had a super time sharing ideas for healthy breakfasts and everyone loved the goodie bags Nutella provided for us. Of course we all loved the delicious Nutella treats we tried too. Here are a few pictures from my party.  I made Nutella No Bake Cookies that were absolutely delicious! I'll post the recipe in a separate post.

My thanks to Nutella and MommyParties for sending us all the supplies to have a wonderful Nutella party.