Things I love: Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze

For YEARS I've been drinking skim milk.  Because for years, nutritionists and know-it-all's alike preached the health benefits of it.  Who doesn't love things that are fat-free?  And when you compare the stats on skim milk to whole fat buttermilk, skim wins by a watery landslide.

But when I started reading more about soy milk and almond milk, I became curious.

I've found a new love - especially for coffee and oatmeal.  It's UNSWEETENED Vanilla Almond Breeze.

The stats stack up like this:

That's ONE (1) point for a cup of this...and because it's thicker, I think it feels more indulgent than skim milk - but again, it still has the same point value!

Like I said, I use it in my coffee (my to-go cups hold two cups of coffee, one cup of this, and a few squirts of sugar-free syrup) every morning.  Here's my tip for coffee: heat up the "milk" first before mixing it with the coffee...it keeps your coffee hotter longer instead of cooling it down immediately.  Lukewarm coffee isn't my favorite.

The flavor is *slightly* nutty and there is a vanilla flavor (not sweet though)...but definitely not overpowering.  The color is definitely darker than skim milk and again, it's more opaque. 

I think it's available in the normal dry goods sections of stores, but I get mine in the refrigerated section - and the half gallon is typically good for about a month (according to the expiration date on the carton).  They suggest that you use the product within 7 days of opening, but by using over a cup a day, this isn't a huge issue for me.

There are other flavors that I'm aware of are pictured above - but they are more calories and the sweetened versions are definitely sweet.  My father picked up some regular sweetened almond milk and it was too sweet to mix into my coffee...then again, I'm not a huge fan of overly sweetened coffees.

Have any of you used low points options (other than milk) to lighten your coffee?

Things I love: Sugar-Free Syrups

Not long ago, I used to frequent my local Starbucks most mornings on my way to work.

I'd get a Skinny Vanilla Latte in varying sizes and it was my own very special treat to start the day.  The skinny latte was less points/calories/fat/sugar than what I could get out of the machine at work.  And since there was no coffee pot where I was living, Starbucks seemed like a viable option.

Is here where I say that I cannot afford daily Starbucks trips?  Okay then.

picture from amazon.com

When I moved into my new place at the end of September, I had a plan.  One of the first things I unpacked was my coffee machine - and the second was opening a box with six different varieties of sugar-free syrups made by Torani.

I LOVE to make my own coffee now.  Sometimes I use flavored coffees (Dunkin' Donuts' Seasonal Vanilla Nut is my current favorite) but I always use a squirt or two of the sugar-free syrups.

First, the variety is nice because it means that it's just one more thing in my day that I get to choose - not have to endure.  I like feeling empowered - and even if it's just with a stupid syrup in the morning, I feel good about getting to pick what I want.

I set up each bottle with it's own pump (I have six bottles but only five pumps - bummer!) and they're neatly stored in my pantry - just waiting to be used. 

I haven't even come close to using even one bottle fully - and since I only have five pumps, I haven't even touched the raspberry flavor.*  So these bottles (at least for me) seem to last a LOOOONG time. Some of the reviews on Amazon indicate that people don't like the Splenda flavor - but I haven't noticed it...probably because I don't use a lot of the syrup...just one pump (or if I'm mixing I use a half pump of one flavor and a half pump of another) in my travel mug is all I need.  They're just a few calories and 0 Points Plus value.

Now, I've read some articles about the benefits of limiting sugar AND sugar-free items from our diets.  I fully believe those studies and claims.  Which is why I try to limit my sugar/sugar substitute intake.  Coffee is one of those things that I love to have just a bit of sweetness in and I don't see myself deviating from that any time soon.

*Sugar-Free Raspberry syrup...yours for the taking for FREE.  Just pay shipping (I have no idea what this would be but it can't be much, right?) and I'll get it to you.  It's never been opened or used...I just don't think I'd enjoy it in my coffee.  Send me an email at happyfunpants [at] gmail [dot]com and I'll be happy to send it to you.

And also? No one from Amazon or Torani knows I'm writing this review.  I wasn't compensated in any way...just wanted to share something that I like. :)

Review on the new WW Barcode App

About six months ago, I was standing in line to be weighed at my Weight Watchers meeting and a fellow buddy and I were talking about the WW app for our iPhones.

I made the statement that what would be REALLY cool is if you could scan the bar codes on the products and WW would automatically calculate the points. 

Obviously, I don't think that WW is bugging their weigh in lines, but they created the app that I was talking about!

Here's what I know about the app:

1) First of all, it's a separate app.  You have to download it separately. All of the people in my meeting didn't know.  I suspect that has everything to do with the fact that the average person in my meeting is at an age where smart phones aren't exactly "their thing."

2) It works! 

You just align the red bar with the bar code and viola!  It gives you your points plus values in just a few seconds.

I took it to the store last week and used it.  I wanted to get some chocolate pudding from the store and given the nine thousand different varieties, it would've normally taken me a few minutes to enter all the values into my calculator on the app and try to remember which value belonged with which product.  With the bar code scanner, I had my answers within a few seconds and easily picked out the one I wanted.

The cool thing about the scanner is that after you scan the bar code, it actually shows you a mini picture of the product with the description.  It's helpful because it makes it much easier to keep separate items straight when you're comparing points plus values.

To give you an example, I just scanned in my Crystal Light package and put the picture to the right.

Also, if you ever wondered what my keyboard at work looks like, now you know.  See?  I'm a giver.

3) I wish that it was an upgrade to the current WW app and not a separate one.  First, you have to log in every time you use it (the app remembers your user name and password so this isn't a huge deal), but it's just weird that you have to switch back and forth between this app and the regular app to see all of your stuff.

Overall, I'm thrilled with this app and I'm glad that Weight Watchers is striving to make their already award-winning program easier to use.

Feeling better without breaking the budget

Wednesday morning, Joe complained of feeling ill.  I got home from work Wednesday night and he was in bed sleeping.  He roused when I made him take more medicine and once again when I got home later that night to take yet another dose.

He, apparently, was in bed all day yesterday too.

When I got home last night, I felt horrible.  I took my temperature and was running a 101.5 temperature.  Nice.  I made a trip to Walgreens (just a block away) and spent more than a few dollars on everything from zinc drops to cold/flu symptom reducers to ibuprofen to echinacea.  Thank goodness they had a few essentials in their buy-one-get-one-free sale!  Those new items will last us through the weekend at least.

I came home, took some meds, had some soup, crocheted while watching my new guilty pleasure (a game show called "Baggage" hosted by Jerry Springer if you're curious), and then went to bed. 

This morning my temp is down to 99.5, but I'm sure that'll go up as the day goes on.  Hey, it's something to look forward to.

Oh yes, and I'm at work. Because it's within my last two weeks, I can't take the time off. Awesome.

Anyway, the timing of this sickness couldn't be better...because I get to have a hand in giving away a $100 gift card to Walgreens.  Woohoo!

All you have to do is go over to my review page and follow the directions there. 


P.S. Also, I have a drug test to take for my new job on Tuesday.  Do any of you know if the medications I'm taking now will skew the results?  I'm staying away from poppy seed muffins... :)

Breakfast Smoothies

I like to mix up my breakfasts...for a while, I was enjoying a toasted double fiber english muffin with peanut butter and bananas.  Then, I made an oatmeal that was chocolatey and hearty.  Recently, I've been going old school and enjoying quick oats, milk, and raisins (microwaved together) for a breakfast that I can make in the office.

But I've still been hungry before lunch...and that is presenting a bit of a problem.

See, since I've had this new, longer commute, I've been snacking on some almonds in the car.  The raw almonds are there to fend off the HAM phase, so the container isn't quite big enough to be able to munch on all week long.   

So after I munch on almonds, I come into the office and drink some tea or coffee.  I'm not really full - or satisfied.  At this point, I'm just no longer hungry.  Around 10ish I start to get really hungry.  It's kind of too early to eat my lunch, but it's a bit too late to eat the oatmeal - because I know that that will fill me up until later.  I wish I could find something that would help me feel full in the morning and then last all morning long. 

Limiting factors: I don't like to get up early to make breakfast.  Even if I did, Joe doesn't get up as early as I do.  I our tiny loft sounds travel like crazy (I blame it on the fact that we don't have "ceilings" to top off the wall partitions in our place...think of it as us living in a cubicle environment).  And oh yeah, at work, we have a fridge and a microwave so I can't get too creative there.

I feel better and more satisfied, all day, if I have a hearty and filling breakfast in the morning.

But I want to lose weight, too.  So eating a few handful of almonds (I'm not measuring) isn't exactly the "best" thing I could do...and certainly snacking from 10 to noon isn't helping.  I started bringing fruit in, but I don't usually turn to it for some reason.

And then I got to thinking about Roni's smoothies that she's done.  And I started thinking about how I could do that too.

We do have a blender, but ours is big and bulky.  And I knew that if I had to drag that thing out every day, I would eventually not do it.  Add that to the fact that it doesn't blend things completely and you get an unappealing option (for me at least).

So I went to researching on the internets and found (what I feel) is the best option.

Monday, I bought what Roni uses to make her smoothies in - the Magic Bullet from Costco.  I know the Costco site says that they're on sale until January 30th for $39.99, but it was only $34 at my local Costco - with an instant manufacturers rebate. You *can* buy the exact same kit it from Amazon, but it's a bit more expensive.  Around the same price as at Costco, you can get a bit of a different kit on Amazon, but it doesn't have the "on the go" tops which make it easier to not slosh around in your car.  I drink mine through a straw while in the car, but the top makes it easier for me to walk the few blocks to my car without spillage.

The people from Magic Bullet have in no way compensated me - they don't even know that I'm writing this...heck, they don't even know who I am.  But I figure if you've been searching for the same thing as I have, you might be curious to know what I like and what I don't like.  To be clear, I haven't used it for anything else (although apparently there are many things you can do with it)...I've just made smoothies. :)

I've had two breakfast smoothies since then in the Magic Bullet and here are the things that I really like:

1. I LOVE that it's a smaller gadget.  We don't have much room so anything that doesn't take up much space is handy.  The base is about the size of a coffee grinder.  Of course, you do have to find room for the mugs and tops.
2. I love that you can mix the drinks right in the mug - without having to wash more stuff.  I don't have much time in the mornings and I don't love washing out stuff that I'm just going to use again the next day.  With this, I just use one mug for each day - and the mug I used goes right in the wash.  There is a new mug/blender assembly waiting for me the next day.
3. Your drink is already proportioned.  I'd hate to make a whole smoothie and then not have enough space in my mug/glass to fit it all in.  This way, what you fit in the mug is it's capacity.  So nothing goes to waste.
4. It blends everything really smoothly.  Admittedly, the first time, it wasn't so smooth...and I had bits of spinach and blueberries that I couldn't just swallow without chewing a bit (it should be noted that I actually hate pulpy orange juice for this same reason- so this is my issue, maybe not yours).  The second time, I made sure that I blended everything for longer...and it was perfect!  As far as the ice, it's smoothed out completely - no huge chunks like our traditional blender.

Things I'm not a huge fan of:

1. The smell.  It has a hot or burning smell sometimes - usually when I hold it down for long periods of time (go figure!).  I just try to pulse it when it gets to this point.  I've read other reviewers complain of the same thing...and it makes me doubt the longevity of the product. I just ease up for a few seconds and then go at it again and it blends just fine after that.  But so far, so good.
2. You have to be kind of careful about how you add everything.  I find it best to add the fruit/veggies first to blend it all smoothly and THEN add the ice to make it a smoothie. 

ANYWAY, no matter what appliance you make your smoothie with, there are now countless options for me!

My first smoothie was made with: blueberries, a spear of pineapple, probably a half of a cup of spinach leaves, and non-fat plain greek yogurt.  It's pictured to the left.  As you can see, there are some small chunkies of blueberry skins and veins of spinach leaves in there (as I mentioned previously).  The next time I vowed to blend more. According to other blogs, I add more spinach, it's supposed to greener (making it a "Green Monster") versus the purple-ish/brownish color that is displayed here.

In my second smoothie (in addition to blending more thoroughly), I added some healthy oils, a strawberry, and a small bit of agave nectar (the yogurt that I use is plain and has a bit of a tarter taste than what I'd ideally like). 

So far, so good.  When I got to work, I was completely satisfied and have enjoyed water each morning until lunchtime .  What's more, I feel fantastic that I have used healthy ingredients to make a healthy and delicious morning treat.  It's fast, easy, doesn't take up a lot of room, and is something that I can enjoy on the go.

For all you Weight Watchers, if you make it with just fruit and veggies, I guess this would be a 0 point drink (although I don't know because I'm not a member...perhaps this is something you should take to your leader :) ).
I'm looking into maybe adding some protein powders to it, or some nut butters, or perhaps a bit of flax seed.  Something to give me more protein or boost it's nutritional value.

Do you enjoy smoothies?  If so, what do you put in them?  Do you add any powders or mixes to boost the nutritional value or are you a fruit/veggie purist?

I can't wait to hear from you guys - this is something I'm super excited about and I'd love to know what more of you all are using or have used.  So PUHLEEZE chime in!

Last Reminder!

This is the last reminder for the BlogHer/Laughing Cow contest over on my review blog.

For the low price of a comment, you can enter to win a $150 Visa gift card to spend on anything you want. 

This past month, I've seen more entries than any other month.  Someone's got to win - might as well be you, eh?

Contest runs through midnight tomorrow! :)

Quick Reminder

Just a quick reminder to enter in the review blog's sixth month to win $150 from BlogHer and Laughing Cow if you haven't already.

Contest ends on the 28th...so you don't have much time left!

Tips for managing the holidays

Guess what today is?

It's the launch of the LAST MONTH of Laughing Cow/BlogHer's monthly contest.

That's right - this is the last month you can enter to win a $150 gift card for the low, low price of a comment.

Click on over to my review blog (which has been loading slowly this morning - so have patience!) to read about my plans on how I'm going to manage the barrage of treats this holiday season.

I can't wait to read your tips as well!

Quick Post

I should know better.

When I complained about the complications from my last post, somehow the universe thought that I was asking for more complications.

I have an infection on my incision.  The good news is that it's superficial - meaning only on the top - it doesn't go through the whole site and (hopefully) doesn't indicate an internal infection.

But good grief!

In other news, the winner was picked for last month's Laughing Cow contest.  Although the new post isn't up yet for this month, did you know that there is a chance to win $100 weekly at their hub?  True story.

Click here and enter.  It's like the easiest way to earn $100.  Okay...it's the easiest way to earn $100 LEGALLY. :)

Another chance at $150

It's that time of the month again...where I've (with the help of BlogHer and Laughing Cow) put together a chance to win a $150 Visa gift card, just by entering a comment on my new post on the review blog.

This month's topic?  How to get motivated to exercise when you've lost your mojo.

Click there to enter...and a "real" post is coming soon!

True story...

The first guy I kissed had a mullet.  And not just one of those namby pamby mullets, his could rival Billy Ray Cirus'.

Maybe that's why I always had a soft spot for Tony Little.


Want to know more about why I'm bringing him up?  Click here to read the third month (in a six part series) entry for the Laughing Cow/BlogHer promotion.  Comment about ANYTHING funny and you'll get entered to win $150 via a Visa card.

Last month's winners were drawn - and we only had 34 entries to choose from (and really, it was less...there were some duplicate comments and one deleted comment). So all I'm saying is, ENTER and your chance of winning $150 is at least better than if you don't enter. 

It's Monday...

And you know what that means.

Head on over to the review blog to enter to win this month's Laughing Cow contest.

Share something funny (anything funny will do!) or link to the post...or even tweet  - all of those will get you an entry into the best contest ever.

Winner gets $150 Visa card...which could buy a lot of healthy food or even a Wii Fit or other exercise equipment!

I want to say I cook better than this, but mom taught me not to lie

Click here to read my funny story about how I once helped make something so horrible that only my dad would eat it.

You thought I meant dog, didn't you?   Nope. I mean my dad.

Share ANYTHING funny in the comments section over there and you get to be entered to win a $150 gift card - sponsored by the folks at BlogHer and Laughing Cow.

A Wii bit of a review

For my birthday this past year, Joe gifted me a Wii.  At first, I thought this gift was really for him that doubled as obligatory present for me.  But I have to say that other than ON my birthday (where he beat me soundly at each game we played), he hasn't touched the thing. 

I knew that I wanted to do something more active with it - I wanted some fitness games that would be fun to do on the Wii but still provide a good workout.  That's when I bought Dance Dance Revolution (and no...you still can't watch me dancing to such hits as "Never Gonna' Give You Up" and "Ice Ice Baby").  While it IS fun, the songs aren't long enough for me to really break a sweat before moving on to a different impossible dance combination for my clearly uncoordinated self.  Each "song" is just an excerpt and seems to last just a minute or so.

So I did what anybody else would do - I Googled the crap out of Wii Fitness Games including tags like "Top Rated" and "Best Workout Games for Wii".  And then I read eleventy hundred reviews and blog posts of these games which meant that I was thoroughly confused.  The thing is, comments like "Best Workout Ever!" are helpful...but only if you know what fitness level the reviewer is already at. 

So, I emailed Krissie at Questions for Dessert - I knew that she had just run a half marathon AND that she had a Wii Fit.  She was awesome and answered back immediately...and basically said that the Wii Fit is more fun, but the Biggest Loser Wii game is better a workout.

I took that knowledge and did NOTHING with it for months, as I am wont to do.  You may call it procrastination, I call it "letting thoughts marinate."  Truthfully, it's because I didn't want to waste a lot of money on a game that wouldn't be a good workout.  I learned my lesson with the DDR game.

Recently, I decided to invest in the Wii Fit Plus program.  I wanted the balance board, the games, and the goal setting.  I also secretly hoped that inside the box would be a fairy that would make me want to lose weight and do the exercise. 

Sadly, no fairy was in the box.  Looks like it'll just have to be me in charge of my weight loss and fitness program.  Bummer.

Katy asked a question in yesterday's post about if the Wii Fit was worth it - which made me remember that every review is subjective to the person doing it AND dependant on the person's beginning fitness level.  I figured that there must be some of you in the same boat, so I'm willing to let it all hang out...just to benefit you.
Here is my current fitness level:
I'm a 33 year old female.  I can run 3 miles easily without stopping to walk.  If I take one quick break (walking about 1-2 minutes in the middle), I can run 4-5 miles.  My longest run was 6 miles.  When I was running regularly, my pace was under 10 minutes a mile.  Now it's up to around 11 minutes (yes, if you don't use it, you lose it).  On any given day, I weigh between 225 and 230 pounds (UGH) and wear a large top and a size 16 bottoms. I'm between 5'9" and 5'10" (doctor's offices have measured differently).  I used to do the 30 day Shred DVD every day.  Climbing stairs or hopping up and down (hello jumping jacks!) hurts my knees, but running doesn't (I know.  I'm weird.).  Other than my weight, I'm pretty healthy (seriously, did I JUST write that?  I know...it's preposterous).

There you go - that's how healthy I am now.

Having said all of that, here is my review (not compensated in any way - just trying to share information):

Wii Fit Plus:
The Wii Fit games ARE fun - even if I am apparently as uncoordinated as a bowl full of jelly.  They have several different types of games but aerobic and balance games are the only ones I've tried.  I've heard that balance is good to work on - and judging from my scores on these games, I have a LOT to work on.  I usually score the lowest in this area...and only burn about one calorie per activity.  Better than sitting on the couch, I'm sure...but I might burn more calories when I'm eating chips and sitting on the couch (due to the hand movement from the bag to my mouth).

The aerobic parts have been fun too - I've tried the step class, the boxing, and the running.  Here I'm better, but you can't speed up the pace or music - so it's not a great workout.  I've done the freestyle running program and have definitely broken a sweat.  The jogging program is fine, but because you have to use the Wii balance board (for other games within the Wii Fit game) without socks or shoes, I found myself running barefoot on our wood floors, which is not how I choose to run.  Even if it's all in my head, I feel better about running in place with the support of my shoes.

Incidentally, I think it's cool that when you play the Wii Fit, it brings the other little characters you've already created to help you.  Joe and I created "Klaus" on my birthday who looks like an older male transvestite - with a full white beard, pink beanie cap, and wonderful make up.  He even has a beauty mole on his face.  He's a total train wreck and seeing him as my coach in soccer or in my step class cracks me up.

Biggest Loser Wii Game:
Yesterday I tried the Biggest Loser Wii game - and this was a whole different ball o' wax.  Granted, I've only tried it once, but in the 30 minute circuit work out I did (on the medium intensity setting), I had sweat dripping off my face.  I picked Bob Harper as my trainer (swoon!) and the circuits were long enough that I wasn't jumping all around and changing positions like crazy, but short enough that I really gave each my all because I knew I didn't have to do a ton of reps. My workout last night had one circuit (of many different activities that equaled 10 minutes) that I repeated three times.

Things I am not a fan of:  when you're on the ground doing hip raises, planks, and push ups, he switches moves on the screen - and since you're not looking, it can be hard to realize that he's switched.  I just went with the flow because so far it wasn't a big deal to me...only slightly annoying.

What I really didn't like is that apparently it must be hard for the Wii to figure out my movements - I would do them perfectly (or so I thought) and wouldn't be scored appropriately.  The game has little icons that flash on the screen when you're doing them right - and you're supposed to try to get five in each activity.  There would be some (like ladder climbers) that I would do perfectly and get NO icons (and therefore no calorie credit).  Because I'm a person driven by awards, I found this a bit discouraging.  I thought about screaming how it wasn't fair, but Bob doesn't like excuses so I saved my breath. 

At the end of my 30 minute work out, the game said I had burned 82 calories.  Umm...NO WAY is that correct.  I wouldn't say that this game is FUN per se, but it did what I wanted it to do - gave me a good workout and knowing that I have signed on for a 12 week program makes me want to keep coming back.  I don't understand how I can get kicked off yet (which I hear is a possibility) so if you're interested I'll write more later after I've had more experiences with it. Hit me up in the comments if you want me to expound more about it later.

So there you have it - my review of my games on the Wii.  Basically, exactly what Krissie said. 

Things I'm thinking about adding to make my workouts even better: weights, a stair riser, and some sort of padding.  Thanks to Jessica for letting me know that some of these are possibilities.

There are a few styles of weights that you can either add to your Wii remote (and they look like barbells!) or velcro on your wrists.  When I worked out regularly, I used 5-10 pound weights in each hand...the Wii remote ones are only 2 pounds each.  So I might start out with those and then graduate to the weights you just strap on your wrists/ankles.

The stair riser would raise the Wii balance board to a full 4" off the ground - which would be about the same height as most risers at a step class in a gym.  To me, that would make the stair stepper on the Wii Fit much more challenging.

The padding would be used for when I'm running in place or when I'm having to be on my knees to do planks or push ups.  I don't have great knees to begin with and having them on hardwood floors doesn't feel great.

Do you have any questions or comments about these or other games?  I'd love to know your opinion.   Tina mentioned Wii Active (I think by EA Sports?)...has anyone tried that?  And Tina - if you're still reading, what do you love about it?

What do you call a giggling bovine?

A lauging cow.  Oh...you thought this was going to be a joke?  Sorry 'bout that.

Which reminds me, if you haven't already done so, enter to win the $150 Visa Card giveaway sponsored by Laughing Cow on my review blog.  As of now, only 37 entries have happened AND you can enter in on every one else's Laughing Cow pages (all links can be found here) for more chances to win.

Just My Size Clothing Review

You know what would really hit the spot right about now?

A $500 giftcard.

If you'd like, hop on over to the review blog to read my review of their clothing line (yes! They have clothing too!) and enter to win $500.

Seriously, at the risk of sounding like Chandler Bing, could there BE better news on a Wednesday?

POMably not what they had in mind

The kind folks at POM Wonderful sent me some POM juice the other day.  They actually didn't ask me to write a review...they just wanted to send me some juice.  Normally, I'd shy away from this sort of thing (the whole something for nothing routine), but since they didn't pull up in my neighborhood asking me to get inside their white van, I figured I was okay.  Probably just as well, chances are, I'd have run straight into the side of it anyway. *

Actually, I was pretty psyched about getting the juice...I remember Jack (who thinks the bottle can double as a sex toy) and Roni talking about the freebies they got from the company, but they seem like such BIG bloggers...how did I get included on this list of who's who?  I felt *very* cool.  Which is funny...because I'm so NOT important.  It's not like I'm Obama.  Or Ghandi.  Or Brangelina.  Or even one of the Olsen Twins in their heyday (circa 1982).  So basically, I got on the list via a typo by someone.  Whatever, I'm totally taking it.

Anyway, I came home one day and Joe said that I might've received an organ in the mail.  Thinking he meant a pipe organ, I gave him a quizzical look.  So he said, "You know, like a heart.  Not like a church organ! Who would send you that?"  In my defense, he couldn't exactly think of someone who would send me a vital organ either.

It turns out, he didn't know what was in the box, but he did see that it had a sticker on the side that said "REFRIGERATE IMMEDIATELY."  So Joe did - without opening the box (he didn't want to violate my privacy).  Thus his joke about someone shipping me organs.

So I'll say this to any POM people who could or would be reading.  You could really remove a lot of confusion surrounding the double meaning of the word "organ" if you would put a sticker on the side that said, "Refrigerate immediately.  Don't be alarmed, though.  This box does not contain any organs.  Of any kind.  Probably."  That way if they WANTED to put organs in the box, they totally could without having to re-print stickers.  Look at me, POM people.  I'm totally making your shipping department more streamlined.  You're welcome.

When I finally got around to opening the package, there were a few bottles of POM Blueberry Pomegranate juice and some great tips and info about pomegranates and it's juice.  All of that is at home or else I'd probably go into it here.  Let's just say it's probably got a lot of health benefits.  I know.  I'm the worst on-the-spot reviewer ever.

When we first got it, I drank some and handed the little cute-as-can-be bottle to Joe.  Who took a sip and said something profound like, "meh."  I liked it...it was sweet and tart, tangy and sweet.  I should stop and say that I drink juice maybe once a year.  I just got out of the habit years ago and never really reintroduced it.  So while the POM juice was a welcome surprise and pleasant change, it's not something that I would normally pick up, just like the fate of any other juice.  It's nothing personal, POM people.

I WILL try cooking with it because they list a lot of great recipes on their website...and some of them look pretty tasty. 

But last night?  I was trying to make room in the fridge for leftovers.  Leftovers being something that I cooked and decided to not waste calories and stomach space on by eating.  Smart right?  Yes...you'd think so.

While re-organizing the kitchen for better space usage, I saw these few little bottles of POM just waiting to be moved.  Because they are weird shaped (but so cute!), I couldn't really stack them on top of each other...or stack them...or shove them in the fridge door.  So I decided to drink one.

But after a sip, inspiration struck me.  I decided that what it would go REALLY well with was some Malibu Rum that was also in the fridge door.

YIKES.  What I found out was that this was the best tasting mixed drink EVAH.  Tart, sweet, tangy, fruity, and YUMMY.

Two little POM bottles later (16 ounces of juice, and 360 calories of JUICE) and a few shots of coconut flavored rum mixed in each time and I was happy.   I even let Joe have a sip who said that I know how to mix a good drink.  Right.  That's me.  The bartender....the one with hot-shot complicated drinks... like juice and alcohol.

Good thing I passed on the leftovers...nothing like wasted calories, huh?

(sigh)

* Which reminds me, you totally need to enter that sweepstakes via the link...seriously, not many people have done so, so your chances of winning $150 are looking better each day!

Disclaimer: I was comped a few bottles of Blueberry Pomegranate POM Wonderful. But the honest review and tipsy-ness that ensued shortly afterwards was all me, baby!

Laugh and win

Good morning!!! I have something SO exciting to share with you.

I was picked to write funny posts about fitness, eating, and cooking each month for six months by Laughing Cow and BlogHer. How cool is that?!?

It's like the movie "Julie and Julia" but without Meryl Streep. And without Amy Adams. And it's not only about cooking. Also, it's not a movie. But you know, other than all that, this is JUST like that movie.

So...since it's a sponsored thing, I can't post it on this blog. You have to go to my review blog to read it. But please do!

It's my first post on that blog... and I'm feeling a like I've just invited a bunch of people to a party, it's a few minutes until it starts, and no one is arriving yet. What's going through my head is the typical hostess cry, "OH MY GOSH WHAT IF PEOPLE DON'T SHOW?!?!? And what am I going to do with all of this cheese?"

Leave a comment and you can win $150 in this month's sweepstakes. Although I don't have any control over it, I would love for the winner to be one of MY readers - because (and I may be a bit biased here) you guys are the best. If you want, you can become a follower on that blog and you won't miss another opportunity to enter the next few month's drawings as well. Also I will feel less like the kid picked last for kickball.

Good luck and thank you in advance for checking it out!