Relish Review & Giveaway

I was recently contacted by the owners of Relish! Menu Planning website to see if I was interested in reviewing their website. I have *long* been trying to get better at menu planning, so of course I jumped at the chance. They provided me with one month's access to their site so I could really get a feel for how it worked. Below is my review!

Being good at menu planning is a skill. You have to set aside time to plan out your weekly dinners and shopping lists, and sticking to it can be tricky. When I've done my own weekly menu planning in the past, I've been *so* happy with the results....I love knowing that I have a week's worth of delicious dinners planned, and that my one or two grocery trips have procured all the ingredients I need for the week. It's a satisfying feeling. However, I'm not great at remembering to do it, and even when I do remember, sometimes picking recipes can be overwhelming. Enter Relish!, the meal planning website!

Their concept is simple: have a list of varying recipes that subscribers can pick from, then compile the recipes (and the shopping list!!) into an easy to print PDF format. Their execution of this idea is fantastic. To begin, there is a list of 15 or so dinner recipes, and you check off the five you are interested in. There are vegetarian options, seafood options, and traditional meat options ( they even have a gluten-free menu planning site!). Then, you can go print off the menus and best of all, the shopping list! The shopping list is wonderful; the ingredients are separated into sections that include things you probably already have in your home, things you may have in your home, and then the rest of the ingredients. Each ingredient also has a letter designation next to it that corresponds with the recipe that it's for; that way, should you decided not to make a certain recipe, you can easily find the ingredients and cross them off the shopping list.

Each recipe has been tested and tried to make sure it's tasty. There are kid-friendly options as well as lower-calorie recipes, and nutritional information is provided for each recipe. There's even a way you can save your favorite recipes so you can add them to any weekly menu! Also, there's a freezer recipe section that allows you to print out recipes that you can stock in the freezer. I'm telling you, the layout and design of this site is really great.

The two things that I thought could be improved upon are recipe variety and also good use of leftovers. For frugal use of leftovers, maybe something along the lines of being able to choose roast chicken as a meal, and then have a subsequent meal made from the leftovers, like chicken enchiladas, soup made from the stock of the chicken bones, etc. Or have grilled steak one night, and then choose a steak salad recipe for another night. As far as recipe choice, I would have like slightly more options to choose from. The selection is still pretty good, but a few more would have been even better. Sometimes I found myself choosing meals that didn't sound all that appealing just so I could finish out my 5 recipes.

All in all, though, I think this is a good website with a great idea and wonderful execution. And.....Relish! has provided me with a one year subscription to their website to give away ($58.80 value)! Awesome!

Here's the skinny:
How to enter: leave a comment on this post telling me what you are making or having for dinner tonight (I'm a total food voyeur and I'm always looking for ideas!). I'll close comments at 11:59 p,m. mountain time on November 20th, 2009 and I'll have random.org pick a number for a winner. I'll email the winner (so leave your email in your comment or make sure I can access it via your profile!!) and they will have 48 hours to get back to me, if they don't, random.org will draw a new number. One comment per person, and entry is limited to those with US shipping addresses. Good luck!


***Comments are closed and a winner has been chosen! Congratulations to number 10, I'm Anitra!!***

My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure DVD review and giveaway!

****Contest closed, winner chosen, details at bottom of post*****
We just received 2 copies of the upcoming release, My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure DVD: one to review and one to giveaway! I'll give you my review first, and giveaway details will be after that. First, let me tell you a little more about this DVD. From the website:

"All the ponies can’t wait for the Winter Wishes festival where the Wishing Star grants each pony one special wish. But when the Wishing Star disappears, they go on a journey to find it. But will they make it back in time for the festival? Join Pinkie Pie and all her pony friends on their journey as they discover that friendship can make wishes come true!"

It will be available for purchase on October 13, but you can win one now, from moi! Lemme review it, and then I'll get to the good part (free movie!).

Lila enjoyed the movie, but me....eh. I mean, there was nothing wrong with it, I just found it a little cutesy and nothing special. There are some shows and movies that I love watching with Lila, shows that I find smart and cute and funny and enjoyable for all age levels, and this one doesn't quite fit the bill. I guess my best description is that it's nothing above average; a lot of children's tv is like that, in my opinion, so this is nothing unusual. However, like I said, Lila enjoyed it, so it was a hit there! I'm sure kids around her age would enjoy it very much. Her favorite parts were the songs; she liked those the best by a long shot. And the songs are catchy, I'll give them that! Another thing that I did like was the color of some of the scenery....beautiful muted pastels in some of the scenes, very nice to the eye! Also, there are a whole bunch of extras on the DVD, including all the songs that are in the movie as well as different activities (coloring sheets, a letter to Santa, things like that).

Should you want to purchase this DVD from Toys R Us, Shout Factory has nicely provided a coupon for you to print out (click to make it bigger):



Now, would ya like to win your own copy for a little one in your life? Read on!

How to enter: leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite movie from your childhood. I'll close comments at 11:59 p,m. mountain time on October 7th, 2009 and I'll have random.org pick a number for a winner. I'll email the winner (so leave your email in your comment!!) and they will have 48 hours to get back to me, if they don't, random.org will draw a new number. One comment per person, and entry is limited to those with US shipping addresses. Good luck!

(oh, and I have two favorite movies from childhood: The Last Unicorn and an obscure anime version of Swan Lake)


***And the winner is....#57, Tiffany819! Thank you all so much for participating!***

Peter Rabbit Organics Review

A few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to review Peter Rabbit Organics Fruit Pouches. I'd been hearing/reading about them for awhile, and was excited to get the chance to try the product for myself.

First, let me share with you a little about this U.K.-based company. From their website:

PR Organics is a small, privately-owned company; we are passionate about what we do and we have a lot of fun working together.

The company was founded by Elizabeth and Mark Buxton for the simple reason that they couldn't find organic children's food with no added sugar in the shops. Elizabeth and Mark are now proud grandparents to Finlay, and they have passed the carrot-baton on to us.

And now, onto the fruit pouches! I'm going to copy and paste from their website again to describe the pouches:

Our fruit pouches contain organic fruit with no added sugar or artificial ingredients. Similar to squeezable drink pouches, they’re easy to drop into a diaper bag, lunch box or purse without breaking like glass jars or spilling like other snacks. Unopened pouches don’t need to be kept in the refrigerator, so they’re great for car trips and play dates.

Peter Rabbit Organics pouches contain a full serving of fruit and are ideal for babies ready for solid food, as well as toddlers and elementary-aged kids. Kids will enjoy the fruit straight from the pouch – no spoons required! They have a thick texture, which kids love, as we don't dilute them with water or juice. Plus, choke-free caps make them safe for the little ones.

Okay, finally, what I (and more importantly, Lila) thought about them!

We received 3 flavors:

- Strawberry and Banana

- Mango, Banana & Orange

- Apple and Grape

and my first thought was that I *loved* the packaging. It's small, it's portable, it's re-closeable, it DOES NOT need to be refrigerated until it's opened, it's not messy....seriously, this packaging is great. Lila gets so tired of raisins or fruit leather as our go-to "on the go" snack. (You know, like you've got 5 minutes until you have to leave and the shoes aren't on and the hair hasn't been brushed and you still need to find a snack to take with you) I'm happy that I can add another easy "take it and run" snack to our stash, and that it's all natural, no sugar added, and organic!

Lila really like the flavor of the Strawberry & Banana and Mango Banana Orange pouches, but she wasn't at all into the flavor of the Apple and Grape package. However, our neighbor kiddo (who is 4) loved the Apple and Grape, he thought it tasted like applesauce (which I guess it kind of is!).

All in all, I think these are a great new addition to the snack shelf. I'm pleased I got the chance to review them! Thanks, Peter Rabbit Organics!