Zevia All Natural Soda Review + Giveaway!!

I was lucky enough a couple of weeks ago to get to try Zevia through a friend of mine.  And while I'm not a soda drinker (pretty much ever) its really great.  Since I liked it so much, that I contacted Zevia to see if they would be willing to host a giveaway on my blog.  And guess what???  They said yes!!  But more on that later.

Zevia is sweetened with Stevia which makes it all natural and zero calories.  You truly can't beat that in a soda.  I mean diet sodas and the new zero sodas are sweetened with all kinds of artificial stuff.  And that really can't be a great thing to be adding to your body all the time.  Zevia being sweetened this way also makes it a great choice for diabetics, those on a diet or just those wanting to watch the amount of sugar in their diets. 

 Zevia has 12 different flavors and by now I've tried most of them.  Zevia is always best when cold and straight from the can.  It can go flat quickly if you pour it into a glass.  My favorite way to have Zevia is the ginger root beer in a glass with a scoop of egg nog ice cream on top.  Absolutely delicious!!  And yeah while it does get a little flat when I make a float the ice cream totally makes up for it.  :)  The rest of the family is quite fond of it too.  So far the ginger ale, black cherry and grapefruit citrus are the big flavor winners at my house.

Zevia is available in 6 packs at Whole Foods and a host of other retailers.  As far as I can tell my local Whole Foods carries all 12 flavors.  So hopefully yours does too.  :)

And now on to the giveaway!!  Zevia was kind enough to send me a coupon for a free 6-pack to giveaway.  Giveaway open to US entries only. 

High Value Betty Crocker Coupons

There are two great new high value Betty Crocker coupons you can print.

The first is for $.85 off one box of Fun-da-middles cupcake mix.  This should make for a pretty good deal.

The second is for $.75 off a pouch of Betty Crocker Molasses Cookie mix.  This should make them really great when pairing with a sale.  :)

MyBlogSpark sent these over to share with y'all.  Hope you get a great deal with them.  :)

Mariano's Fresh Market Coupon Policy

Mariano's Fresh Market Coupon Policy

Since I've been unable to track down an official copy of Mariano's coupon policy, I finally contacted them about it.  They emailed me one quite quickly.  This is a lot more clear than what I've heard from staff is that we take one coupon per item.  Like almost all other stores in the Chicago area they don't take free internet coupons.  But they also don't take internet B1G1 coupons.  There isn't anything to say that you can't use a B1G1 regular coupon though on a B1G1 sale.  Also, during Double Daze they don't double coupons that say do not double.  That's something to keep in mind too as you plan your Double Daze trips.

Manufacturer Coupon Acceptance Policy

We will gladly accept manufacturer’s coupons from our customers. The following rules

apply to the acceptance of all manufacturers’ coupons within our stores.

Coupons must be presented at the time of purchase.

 Coupons are not accepted past their expiration date.

 We do not accept voided coupons. Coupons are considered voided if they are

copied, duplicated, altered, etc.

 We do not accept coupons for products not purchased.

Items received free through store promotions are not eligible for further

discounting by manufacturer’s coupon.

 Only one coupon per purchased product is accepted.

 Coupons are accepted for products only of equal or greater value; we do not give

cash back on coupons.

 Coupons presented and products purchased must match exactly. We follow all

purchase stipulations set forth by the manufacturer.

Examples include size restrictions, quantity purchase requirements, etc.

 Sales tax is paid by the customer at full retail.

Specific Policy Points

Buy One Get One store promotions

 Coupons will be accepted only for the product(s) purchased. Coupons will not be

accepted for the products(s) received free.

Meal Deal store promotions

 Coupons will be accepted for the product(s) purchased by the customer

associated with the meal deal. Coupons will not be accepted for any of the free

products associated with the meal deal.

Internet Coupons

 We accept internet manufacturer’s coupons, with the exception of free or buy one

get one free internet coupons.

Internet Coupon Policy

We gladly accept internet manufacturer coupons.

 .

We do not accept “Free Product” or “BOGO” internet coupons.

Internet coupons are manufacturer’s coupons. As with all manufacturers’ coupons,

you may only accept one coupon per item.

Determining if an Internet Coupon is Valid

To be a valid coupon, the document must…

1. Clearly indicate that it is a manufacturer’s coupon.

a. “Manufacturer’s Coupon,” “Manufacturer’s Internet Coupon,” “Manufacturer’s

Instant Coupon,” or similar must be printed at the top of the document.

2. Clearly indicate coupon expiration date.

a. We only accept coupons that have not expired.

3. Have a watermark printed on the face of the coupon. Watermarks are generally

found around the value of the coupon or the product image.

4. Have an identification number of the coupon printed. Each internet coupon is

traceable by the company printing the coupons. Generally, you will find a PIN

number, dot-scan bar code, etc.

5. Have a billing address for the retailer to send redeemed coupons for payment.

6. Have a website address identifying the company generating the coupons.

7. Have a barcode to scan at the POS (point of sale) register.

Double Daze are every Wednesday with your Roundy’s Rewards Card.   The first five coupons are doubled, up to and including one dollar in value, with a minimum purchase of 25.00 (subtotal after your Roundy’s Rewards card is scanned and in store coupons/specials are deducted).

Roundy’s does not honor competitor coupons or coupons where the manufacturer states “Do Not Double”.

Applegate Farms Chicken Nuggets

Applegate Farms was kind enough to send me some of their Natural Chicken Nuggets.  I have to say these are fantastic!  It's great that they are all natural, dairy-free, casein-free and also use refined oil to make them pretty much soy-free too.  This was great for me as I've got an awful allergy to soy protein or soy flour.  Eating or using anything with soy in it gives me horrific migraines. 

The bag is extremely eye catching.  And lets face it green is definitely one of my favorite colors.  :)  It's also resealable so you can make a few at a time instead of having to use the whole bag. 

Here's a pic of the nuggets straight out of the bag and ready for the oven.  They were very round.  Looking like whole chunks of chicken unlike other nuggets I've had in the past.  I was also surprised that they only took 12 minutes to bake.  This is great as it makes for a very quick nutritious meal.  Other nuggets I've had in the past take closer to 20 minutes.  So this was a plus too.

Here's a pic of when they're done.  They turned out nice and crisp.  The breading was light too.  Which was also a nice change from all other nuggets I've had in the past.  These are something I'd definitely recommend picking up.  In the Chicago suburbs, I see Applegate Farms products are available at Dominick's, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.  As these are all close by I'll definitely be picking more of these up soon.

One last pic to share with you.  There is one member of this family who absolutely loves boxes.  :)  The minute I got the cooler out of the box, Seven practically did a Maru slide into it.  It's the absolute perfect size for him and allows him to hide from Miss Rosie in the kitchen.  After all these years you'd think she'd realize that cats are almost always hiding in wait in boxes to attack you.  :)

*Applegate Farms sent me these products so I could review them.  Besides the sample I was not compensated for this review.  All opinions and mistakes are mine.*

New Organicgirl Coupon

Over on the Organicgirl facebook page there is a coupon for $1 off any Organicgirl product.  The coupon is good until the end of February.  I know Mariano's carries these salads.  Should make for a good deal.  :)

Mild Escape TESSHI-e

I love games.  We grew up playing all kinds of games in our house.  Only, it's harder to find quality games without spending a pretty penny these days since prices have gone up.  When you really only want a quick break, then online games are the best choice.

My favorite are escape the room games.  They are filled with puzzles that you must solve to escape the room.  It sounds simple enough, but after you've played one you learn to approach problems differently, and that carrying a knife or screw driver might come in handy.  

By far my favorite game designer is TESSHI-e from Mild Escape.  A Japanese designer that comes out with a new game every few weeks.  Only their games are not only delightful with puzzles that force you to solve clues, but also to build or cook things.  

http://www.freegamesnews.com/en/?s=tesshi-e&paged=2

They are the best way I know to pass fifteen to twenty minutes.  They are translated into English from Japanese.  The best part of a Mild Escape game are the graphics.  Each time I find myself wishing that I were really in that room.  I wouldn't mind being trapped in these rooms.  They are point and click games and easily navigated.  There can be math involved but nothing too complicated.  Plus you can save the game and come back later.

The plots may require a bit of suspension of belief.  As the intro tells you that someone you know has locked you into a room, yet again.  But, the fun part is getting out again.

Mild Escape has just come out with their newest game, which is a remake of their very first game.   Each time a new room with new puzzles.  With a total of 70 games and counting, this is one website I keep tabs on.  

http://jayisgames.com/archives/2012/02/mild_escape_1.php 

Mild Escape has one things that other escape the room games do not have.  A secret ending. Almost all of their games have a bonus puzzle.  You figure out the way to escape thus unlocking an extra puzzle which wins you the Happy Coin and an even better reward.  

It may seem a bit cheesy, but I do believe that the Happy Coin will bring happiness to me.  

http://jayisgames.com/archives/2011/11/escape_from_the_brick_room.php

The puzzle formats can be repetitive but the solutions are always different.  The music is usually quite soothing as well.  So, if you're looking for a quick break at work, or something to get your brain cells churning you should try a Mild Escape game.  

Mild Escape is popular among online game players.  Which has sparked other game designers to copy their styles as well as their signature Happy Coin.  They are still entertaining, but they can't quite hold a candle to Mild Escape.  

If you're new to the the escape room games, then you can check out escapegames24.com.  Their community provide walkthroughs and tips for games when you get stuck.  Also you can find many other games there as well.  

Pet Food: Types of Protein

The rule of thumb for what to feed your pet is to ask yourself would I eat this?  Would this be a food that I consider healthy for my own body? If you wouldn't eat it, then chances are that you might want to think twice about feeding it to your pet.

Proteins are by far the most important part of a diet. There must be some form of protein in the food.  As such it is one of the required labels on commercial pet foods.  There has to be a percentage value on the label of the minimum crude protein.     The most common in commercial pet foods is chicken or beef.  The type of pet you have will determine the best ingredients for them.

Personally, I prefer chicken to beef just as I would rather give myself the leaner poultry than red meat.  Also, you want to consider quality.  Think about it, there are different grades of beef and chicken, but it is a lot harder to ruin a chicken than a cow.  There are less inedible parts from a chicken.

I know you've seen it in the grocery case at the store.  You know more about the meat from a chicken because it is a smaller animal and there aren't really any 'bad' parts to it.  However, on a cow there are many more muscles and you can never be sure which ones are used in a pet food.  That is not to suggest that pet food companies are using bad cows, but that the cut of meat in your pet's food is probably of lower quality than you would get from a chicken.  Or that you would choose to eat yourself.

On the topic of beef and chicken, when you take the time to read the labels then you will notice than there are more than one mention of chicken or beef.  Examples are chicken by-products or chicken meal.  There are even such thing as blood, bone and feather meal.  Not something that appeals to your appetite?  Well, it doesn't appeal to your dog or cat either.

Of course unless you buy premium organic you are going to get a few sub-par ingredients.  However, when you analyze the words used meal is just a ground form of chicken which makes sense in the dry kibble.  Yet, by-product could mean almost anything.  I know I wouldn't want to eat that.

There is of course one more type of chicken and that is eggs.  Eggs are utilized as well and follow the same logic.  As long as the description sounds as if the original ingredient has not been drastically altered then it is probably a good choice.

Fish for the most part is equally hard to mess up.  There generally seem to be little problems with fish.  Again, use your judgement.  If you know that salmon is a healthier fish than a sardine, then pick the food with salmon.

There are many other proteins used in dog and cat foods.  The truly exotic are wild game such as pheasant or even kangaroo.  I am not lying.  If a protein can be exported, then you can probably find it in a specialty premium pet food.  Of course, being exotic is not necessarily a good thing.  Pets can have allergies too.  Generally, introducing new and foreign proteins to your pet's diet can lead to a reaction.  If they've grown up eating chicken their whole life and you suddenly switch them to kangaroo, then they are going to have a transitory period when their body adjusts.  These changes are not always beneficial.

The proteins don't get much more complicated than that.  When you have the option, always choose real and natural products for your pet's food.  The best option is not always the most expensive.

I am adding a disclaimer, I am not a veterinarian.  I have taken courses in animal nutrition and specifically companion animal nutrition.  I have formulated a pet food before, so I do know a bit about the types of things you want to feed your pets.  Still, these are only my recommendations.