Easter Gift Guide - Munk Pack Oatmeal Fruit Squeezes - Review & #Giveaway

READY TO EAT, ON-THE-GO

Munk Pack™ is a satisfying mix of whole grain rolled oats, flax and delicious fruits. A good source of fiber, it provides sustained energy to carry you through your day. Available in:

Rasberry Coconut
Apple Quinoa Cinnamon
Blueberry Acai Flax

 Munk Pack™ is a perfect breakfast or snack. A good source of fiber, it provides sustained energy to carry you through your day. You know you’re getting the best quality when it tastes this good!

My Thoughts

When my kids were babies, they loved the little fruit pouches, but as they got older, they outgrew them. The flavors were too bland.  Finding Munk Pack was exciting for us, because they come in the same fun pouches, but they are designed with older kids and even adults in mind. Each one is loaded with whole grain oats and real fruit, blended together to provide a tasty snack people of all ages can enjoy.

My son is three, and he is the most finicky eater in the world. He'd live off cupcakes and hotdogs if I let him. While he always tries new things, nine times out of ten, he spits them back out in my hand, especially the healthy stuff. I was amazed when we didn't have that issue with Munk Pack. He sucked them right down asked for seconds.

As a mom, I love Munk Pack as well. I tried them too, and WOW, they really do taste amazing.  The raspberry coconut was my favorite, but they were all tasty. The texture wasn't as thick as I expected. They go down really easy. I also love how convenient they are. They are shelf stable, so I can toss them in my bag so I always have a healthy snack on the go. Plus, they're vegan friendly, gluten-free, kosher, and contain no GMOs.   If you're looking for a tasty alternative to chocolate and candy for your Easter basket, Munk Pack would be a great choice. To learn more about this fabulous company  and all they have to offer or to find a location near you that sells them, be sure to visit their website. To keep up with new products and promotions, follow their social media.


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The Giveaway

One lucky winner is going to receive a Munch Pack Sampler Box! To enter just fill out the Giveaway Tools form below. Open to the US only. Giveaway will end 3/25/15. The winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to reply. Thanks again to Munk Pack for offering this fantastic prize.

Entry-Form

Holiday Gift Guide - Crispy Green

real fruit, real taste, nothing else!
Crispy Green: Delicious and Healthy Snacks During the Holiday Travel Season

Airplanes, buses, trains and car rides – OH MY! The holiday season is packed with people on the go, which makes it easier for most people to pack on a few pounds during the holidays. Most healthy snacks, while delicious and nutritious, tend to take at least some prep-time like cleaning and cutting your fresh fruit. Who has time for that during the holiday season? Try packing award-winning Crispy Green Crispy Fruit freeze-dried fruit snacks along for the ride. These convenient grab-and-go packs provide fresh fruit taste and nutritional value – without the preparation and mess!

“The holidays are a hard time to stick to healthy snacking,” says Angela Liu, President and Founder of Crispy Green. “It’s good to have healthy options when it comes to grab-and-go snacks, and that’s exactly what Crispy Green snacks accomplish.”
Crispy Green Crispy Fruit are made from 100-percent freeze-dried fruit with no additives or preservatives and are full of delicious fresh fruit taste. Crispy Fruit snacks are available in convenient single-serving 10-15 gram (.36 - .53 ounce) bags and come in seven delicious flavors: Crispy Apple, Crispy AsianPear, Crispy Banana, Crispy Cantaloupe, Crispy Mango, Crispy Tangerine and Crispy Pineapple. Have more than one holiday travel day? Try Crispy Fruit in the handy "Grab and Go" 6-pack – six single-serving bags in one convenient multi-bag (MSRP: $7.99). and the brand new variety box, which contains three of our favorite flavors all in one convenient, money-saving variety box. Each box contains 8 bags of Crispy Apples, 4 bags Crispy Asian Pears, and 4 bags of Crispy Tangerines (MSRP: $18.99). You can see all of the Variety Packs here.

All of Crispy Green Crispy Fruit products are free from preservatives (including sulfides), fat, and cholesterol; are vegan-friendly, peanut/tree-nut-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free; and are kosher-certified. The special packaging of Crispy Green Crispy Fruit are great for children’s “little hands” – and the perfect size for adults, too!

Crispy Green products are available in stores such as The Fresh Market, Harris Teeter, Giants, Shop Rite, Earth Fare and selected Whole Food Market. To find a retailer in your area that carries Crispy Green’s products, go to www.crispygreen.com/where-to-buy.html. For more information, please visit www.crispygreen.com. For news updates, information and special offers, follow Crispy Green on Twitter @CrispyGreen and become a fan at Facebook at www.facebook.com/crispygreen.

Sign up for Crispy Green's newsletter and receive 10% off your next order!

About Crispy Green
Crispy Green Inc. (www.crispygreen.com) is the maker of Crispy Green® Crispy Fruit (freeze-dried fruit) snacks. The Crispy Fruit line of snacks is made of only the finest fruits available. A sophisticated freeze-drying process removes the water from fresh, sweet fruit, leaving behind the fruit’s true essence in a light and crispy texture that’s perfect for snacking. Crispy Fruit is a delicious, convenient way to add more fruit to your daily diet. The company was founded in August 2004 with a vision to be the leading provider of high quality, natural food products desired by everyone who wants to live a healthy and better life. Crispy Green introduced its line of Crispy Green Crispy Fruit in the United States in 2005. Since then, the company has been consistently providing high quality freeze-dried fruit snacks to its consumers and adding new flavors to its Crispy Fruit line to meet market demands.

Our Thoughts
I love Crispy Green.  I've tried them before so it wasn't hard to accept a review request!  Crispy Green sent me four of the Crispy Fruit packs:  Tangerine, Apple, Asian Pear, and Pineapple.  I am not ashamed to admit I ate them in a very short period of time! 

Out of the four, I couldn't decide between the Asian Pear and the Pineapple as my favorite.  Both flavors are excellent (well, they ALL are!).  Asian Pear and the Apple flavors are a little lighter, more "puff" like.  The Pineapple and the Tangerine have a slightly rougher, crunchier texture.  Most of the freeze dried fruits, you look at them and can immediately tell they are freeze dried fruits.  But the Tangerine . . . you almost need to look twice, they look just like they are fresh!

Following the paleo diet, good quality packaged snack foods are hard to come by, unless you make and pack them yourself. I avoid most commercial dried fruits specifically because of the preservatives and sulfides used.  While I like dried fruit, it's soft and chewy.  Sometimes I want a crispy snack!  Freeze dried fruits are a great way to get that satisfying "crunch", and Crispy Green is perfect for that!  I like they offer variety packs as well as single bags to purchase.  Great travel food, great snack packs!  And, great stocking stuffers for all ages!

Review: Stretch Silicone Covers and Ice Pop Makers

**Product was received in exchange for an honest review**

Stretch Silicone Covers

In late March, Deborah Dash introduced a line of Stretch Silicone Covers which she manufactures and sells directly to consumers through her webiste: www.accidentalshopping.com.

Get ready to change the way you store and prepare food and throw out all of those awful, mismatched plastic containers and lids. This smart innovation (Patent Pending) lets you use your own bowls and bakeware for cooking and storage. The food safe Silicone Stretch Covers are sold in a convenient set of 8 different sizes (3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11 inches) for just $25. Stretch Silicone Covers are strong, reliable, multi-use lids that reduce both environmental and financial waste by eliminating the use of plastic wrap and aluminum foil.

The Covers were highly praised in an article by environmental journalist and Sierra Club Green Home Contributor, Debra Atlas, as a "Practical alternative to plastic wrap." The Covers were also invited to be on consumer savvy website, TheGrommet and were also honored by being selected as part of "20 Essentials for Summer Entertaining on Living.MSN.com."

Stretch Silicone Covers are eco-friendly since silicone is made from sand. USDA approved food grade silicone can be used in the oven, microwave, dishwasher, freezer and fridge. They do not retain odors and do not stain. They keep food fresher longer since on most containers/bakeware, they make an air-tight, water-tight seal. This also makes them ideal for traveling. And don't just think of them for indoor use--they are especially practical outdoors where they keep bugs out of your food. And MOST importantly, they do not leach harmful chemicals into food (or you) since they do not contain BPH, BPA or other potentially carcinogenic substances.

Additionally, by selling the Covers exclusively online through her website Deborah has kept the 8 Piece Set an affordable product. So far the reception has been amazing from consumers who love them because they are easy to use, multi-functional and environmentally responsible. Word of mouth has propelled sales and many customers buy them not only for themselves but also as gifts for friends and family.

And the time is ripe for a replacement for plastic wrap. If you watched Bill Maher recently (6/28), his "New Rules" segment gave a hilarious and true critique of why he hates "Saran Wrap." It not only made us nod with recognition and laugh, but pointed out some of the reasons why Deborah developed these Covers in the first place: because plastic wrap is hard to use and wasteful. Here is the full episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAO9h-fmpt4

For more info about these Covers and to see pictures of them in action, take a look at Deborah's website: http://www.accidentalshopping.com/Food-Safe-Silicone-Flexible-Covers.html

Ice Pop Makers

Set of 4 (fucshia, light blue, lime green, bright yellow) cone shaped, push up Ice Pop Makers. Made of FDA approved Food Safe Silicone that is flexible, reusable and dishwasher safe. Lids are leak proof.  Great for traveling and for kids--won't drip.  No sticks required.  Easy, convenient and fun! Saves freezer space by letting you freeze pops individually anywhere you have room in freezer. Makes any type of popsicle including sugar free and fat free in about 2 hours.  

Our Thoughts

Who hasn't ever had an issue finding a lid for a bowl? It's a constant issue in my house as well as a thousands if not millions of other houses across the country. The Stretch Silicone Covers aim to cure this issue.

If you're like me, you want to get things ready the night before if you're having a party. I usually just throw veggies in a bag and then put them on the tray right before people get here so that I don't have to deal with the mess of saran wrap. Most of the time doing that just makes a bigger mess than cutting up stuff the day of because I'm trying to get everything into bags and trying to get the bags stacked just right in the fridge so they don't fall out. OR if I get too frustrated with things I put the food prep off until the morning of an event. These practices NEVER work well for me. 

The silicone covers and ice pop makers came just in time for my oldest son's birthday party over the weekend. I was once again I was cutting up veggies, resigned to just dealing with the saran wrap mess so I wouldn't have to deal with getting things together last minute when my husband reminded me the covers had come in the mail on Friday! Stretch covers to the rescue! Here's the picture I took of my covered dish... Best part is that these covers are so very easy to remove and are dishwasher safe! They wash up fantastic in the dishwasher! My Mother-in-Law and Grandmother-in-Law both said they want the covers... They'll probably be getting some for Christmas! 

The largest cover stretched nicely over my football shaped tray! 

The ice pop makers are just as easy to use and just as great! They are so easy to fill with whatever you'd like to freeze (i.e. water, fruit juice or smoothies). I used the ice pop makers to make ice cubes to keep things like the cold pastas cool in their bowls. It was so easy to pop the ice out of the tubes and so easy to wash them in the dishwasher just like the covers. I can't wait to try the ice pop makers with smoothie mixes for the kids soon! 

I highly recommend the stretch covers as a basic part of any kitchen and the ice pop makers are great if you have kids! Both products are just fun, such great quality, and nicely priced! Go check out Deb's website as she has a lot more products to see! 

**Please note that I did not receive any form of monetary compensation for this review. The opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced in any way.**