B.R.A.T: It Is Not What You Think

Several weeks ago, I was giddy with excitement after having just received a goody box full of B.R.A.T. Organic Feel Better Drinks for my kids to take for a test drive. When I spoke with the owner of the company, who also happens to be a Facebook friend of mine, we agreed upon a review on my part in exchange for a free sample on her part. I had no idea her version of a "sample" would include all four flavors of the B.R.A.T. product.

Seriously, during my blogging days, I have agreed to plug for quite a number of companies whose interpretation of the words "sample our products" ended up being a single-sized serving or less of only one variety of their product amongst a line filled with many varieties. I am not one to complain when something is given to me for free, but when I agree to a review, I am not really getting the product for free, now am I? So when I agree to take the time to try a company's product and write about it, I expect a bit more than what the lady at the grocery store hands out on Sunday afternoons. How many companies are generous enough to send their entire product line?

If you are not familiar with the B.R.A.T. drinks or the more commonly known "BRAT diet" prescribed by doctors far and wide for upset stomach, then you may be wondering why anyone would give their child a product called B.R.A.T. or subscribe to the philosophy of a diet that seemingly might turn a little tyke into an obnoxious, out-of-control, spoiled...brat. Furthermore, if you are not familiar with the BRAT diet, it is likely you have never been sick since this go-to remedy is the catch-all advice from doctor to patient. For the rest of us, we know when our doctors prescribe such a diet that he or she is recommending bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast.

But let's say you or your little one is not feeling 100% and eating is out of the question for whatever reason. I had not planned on being graphic, but let's just say all the plumbing is getting a fierce workout, where do you turn for nutritional replenishment? The human body still needs incoming nutrients and electrolytes and unless your definition of good nutrition includes consuming artificial flavors, dyes, sweeteners, and preservatives, it is best to skip the Pedialyte.

Enter B.R.A.T. drinks - the Bananas, Rice, and Applesauce Tummy Soother

Nope, no toast in these drinks!

B.R.A.T. drinks:

• Come in four flavors: Original (kinda fruity), Vanilla, Cinnamon Toast, and Chocolate Honey.
  
• Are USDA Organic! Who doesn't love that??
• Have vitamins and calcium.
• Are free of the eight most common allergens, which is especially important to many people in the autism community and those people, in general, who have severe allergies.
• Taste great! And after all, a product can have all the nutrients in the world but if a parent cannot get it into their child's body, it is worthless - Right??

My family loved the B.R.A.T. drinks. My kids' favorite flavors were the Cinnamon Toast and Chocolate Honey. It is, however, difficult to say which they liked more, as their only responses during our taste tests were "Yummy!" and "More, please!" The Vanilla and Original flavors were well-liked too, but kids just go for chocolate. Or, at least, mine do.

B.R.A.T. drinks can be found at several supermarket chains nationwide. If you cannot find this product locally, I recommend speaking to the manager of your favorite health food store or wherever you shop frequently. If they are not willing to stock B.R.A.T. for you (find somewhere else to shop!), B.R.A.T. drinks can also be purchased on Amazon.

To your health! And that of your brat child - stay healthy with B.R.A.T.!

Be Part Of The Revolution!

Okay, probably not a revolution and in the big picture, it is actually so trivial I cannot believe I am blogging about it but what the heck else am I supposed to do at eleven o'clock at night when I can't sleep and I have already raided the refrigerator? I mean, there is no hurry getting to those dishes on the counter. Or that puddle of spilled whatever that is on the floor. It will be easier to clean up when it's dry, anyway.

I will explain the "revolution" part in a moment but here is a shameless plug for a product I love and for a company who is not paying me a dime to brag on them.

Sunshine Burger "burgers" are one of my favorite convenience products for those nights when I either do not feel much like cooking or on Meatless Mondays in our house when we are....well, meatless in regards to our dinner. All varieties of Sunshine Burger are gluten-free and vegan and with their main ingredient being sunflower seeds, they pack a hefty punch of protein. If you happen to be one of the many in the low-carb crowd, the Original and Garden Herb varieties also offer a relatively low carbohydrate count with only 11 carbs per patty when you subtract the dietary fiber content.

Oh, wait....you say you are stuck on the part about sunflower seeds being in a "burger?" Do not be scared - these are not like so many other meat replacement products. Unlike some sham-burgers out there, these have flavor. And we, my family and I, actually eat them - so they are definitely not cardboard hippie food.

So what about the revolution? No, I am not planning a coup attempt. A few days ago, I posted to Sunshine Burger's Facebook Wall (because that sinkful of dishes and pile of clutter on the counter and the dirty bathrooms and the piles of unfolded laundry are all just illusions and I really am the most organized, best housekeeper in the world who most certainly does NOT have time to sit around and post random, meaningless things on Facebook....seriously) inquiring as to why their product is packaged three patties to a package. And now today, (because I am surely the only person who has ever asked about the 3-count package) Sunshine Burger posed a question to the fans of their Facebook page: "Who likes the Sunshine Burger 3 pack?"

AND that is not all. I, personally, received a message from someone at Sunshine Burger informing me of their quest to find out the preferred number of patties per package.

I told my husband I am taking credit for this revolution (please, PLEASE, note the sarcasm!). We are going to change the world.....or maybe just get Sunshine Burger to put an extra patty in those little packages and call it an even day.

If you want to be part of the revolution I started have your voice heard, please visit Sunshine Burger's Facebook Wall and state your preference.

And if you are still reading this and you think I have a superiority complex, please don't waste your time on my revolution. Stop what you are doing and work on obtaining some inkling of a sense of humor.

This AIN'T Nutella!

Because it is way better than Nutella!


A few days ago, during one of those rare moments when I get to sit down and not only watch television, but hear it as well, a commercial for Nutella came on. In a previous life, I loved Nutella so much that I could have eaten the better part of an entire jar of the stuff in one sitting. Okay, who are we kidding...I could have eaten a whole jar, depending on the level of comfort I was seeking at the time. But those days of eating Nutella by the jar, or at all - for that matter - since we no longer eat dairy, are gone and how I miss them so.

So when this commercial came on for that oh-so-yummy chocolate hazelnut spread I got to thinking to myself, how hard could it be to make a gluten-free (Just so that I do not mislead - real Nutella does claim to be gluten-free but because it contains dairy, it does not meet our specific dietary needs.), dairy-free Nutella copycat from scratch?

I made plans to purchase some hazelnuts on my next trip to the health food store and I would "wing it" with my attempts to create a homemade "Nutella." A good dose of hazelnuts (Nutella only claims to contain approximately fifty hazelnuts per 13-ounce jar), some cocoa powder, agave nectar or perhaps some coconut palm sugar, coconut milk (the real stuff, not coconut milk beverage), and some vanilla and I was certain I would have exactly what I was looking for and would have made it with less sugar and with real ingredients, unlike like some people whose product contains so much sugar, it qualifies for the lead ingredient on the ingredients list.

Right about now, I feel like I should be doing the nah-nah-nah-nah-boo-boo thing here.......in their defense though, at least they are using sugar and have not jumped on the high fructose corn syrup bandwagon.

Okay, so fast forward to yesterday when I got done at the Y a little earlier than expected and decided to swing by the health food store on my way home. I was in the refrigerator aisle looking at all the different bags of nuts, looking for hazelnuts, when a little voice inside my head told me to check out the regular store shelves in that same aisle - which happen to contain nut butters, jams, preserves, conserves, and other goodies I should not eat - just to see if there were any sales.

(And, gee, I wonder where my son gets his inability to stay on task and focus for any given ten seconds.)

Right there smack in front of me was a "NEW!" product and if you have not guessed what it was, I will give you a hint: I believe predestined drive exists, in this case, my drive to purchase hazelnuts led me to find a product exactly like the one I was there buying ingredients for to make from scratch.

Justin's all-natural Chocolate Hazelnut Butter contains no artificial ingredients and the first ingredient on the list is - who'da thunk?!? - hazelnuts! It tastes like a grainier version of Nutella and is not quite as sweet, which is fine by me, considering we have cut out many sugars from our diet in our house and our palates have, as a result, become quite sensitive to "sweet." The maker does not claim the product to be casein-free but the label states that it is gluten-free and dairy-free and there are no obvious casein-containing ingredients listed. With that, I consider it to be "safe" to give to the kids and gave them small spoonfuls to try, just in case they might have some reaction or intolerance to the hazelnuts (Reiss blows serious chunks whenever he is given cashews). They loved it!

They loved it so much so that half the jar is gone only one day later! We sat around and ate it by spoonfuls (or is it spoonsful? Like mothers-in-law instead of mother-in-laws), pulling a new spoon out of the drawer with each bite....no second-hand spit-containing double-dipping allowed here!

At $7.89 per jar on sale, perhaps I should go back and stock up.....????

And no, Justin is not paying me to say any of this. Just as I was not aware of the existence of his product until yesterday, most likely he has not found me yet either.

EDIT 7/7/2010: I do indeed plan to call the company to be sure they are using gluten-free vanilla and to make certain their cocoa butter is truly dairy/casein-free. Unfortunately, as I learned yesterday from a visit to a local farmers market, sometimes when people say their product is free of gluten or casein, what they don't realize is that - while their own finished product may not include gluten or casein-containing ingredients - the ingredients themselves may have gluten or casein in them. i.e. Not all brands of vanilla are gluten-free.

Someone PLEASE Take This For Me!!!

Back in November, I held my second Betty Crocker giveaway sponsored by MyBlogSpark. I'm not going to go into major detail of why I am revisiting something two months back in history, but suffice it to say that I still need someone to claim this prize.

If you are willing to review these products on your blog and have the ability to send an email message to me at pnewlin@prodigy.net, please be the first person to send an email message to me containing your snail mail address. A mailing address will look something like this:

Piper Pickles
246 Peanut Butter Boulevard
Jamtown PA 87399

Really, people, I feel bad having to explain what this means, however, apparently I do because we are in January now and I still don't have anyone who was willing to comply with these simple guidelines.

Okay, rant over! Let the flood of emails begin....first person gets the prize.

(BTW, please put "Blog Giveaway" in the subject line of your email message.)

Give Thanks for Another Betty Crocker Review & Giveaway!

Recently, I participated in another Betty Crocker giveaway through MyBlogSpark. Just like the first one, this giveaway consisted of Betty giving me some products to review, I review them here, and then hold a contest (keep reading for details!) for some lucky winner to receive a package of the same products I received.

Here is a photo of my goody box contents:

In the box were the following: Betty Crocker Create-a-Bug 10-count package, 10-count variety pack of Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, and Fruit Roll-Ups, a light up yo-yo, a transparent red frisbee, and a slide-open box of pick up sticks. All products are gluten free, although they do contain artificial dyes (not something I prefer to ingest, but I'm willing to make exceptions now and then). Well, I don't know if the toys are gluten-free, but who cares, we weren't planning on eating those, anyway.

My monkeys eating a package each of the Create-a-Bug.
I don't know, what do you think...
You think they like the bugs?

If you ask my kids what they thought of the products, they would most likely say they liked them all. Being here and seeing for myself how quickly the products disappeared into their little mouths, I would say they liked the Create-a-Bug product best.

The Create-a-Bug portion sizes are ten pieces per individual package. Both children loved them and asked for seconds. Reiss asked for thirds. Oops...I let the cat out of the bag. Yes, I gave them seconds. No thirds though.

Although the first ingredient listed is fruit juice, I'm sure this product contains way more than enough sugar for little bodies but it hardly seems like a snack and since this product is little more than candy, I would recommend using it as a treat for special occasions or as an accompaniment to something more sustaining rather than alone to tide over a little belly until the next meal. Personally, we have chosen to use the Create-a-Bug product as a reward for pooping on the potty. Reiss really wants to "eat bugs" but also prefers pooping in his pants, as opposed to in the potty. So we compromise: He poops in the potty. We let him eat bugs.

The next product with the highest likeness rating would probably be the Fruit Roll-Ups. Only Reiss asked for seconds and when he got the second roll-up, he also got a broken tooth. But don't let this discourage you from buying this product. In Betty's defense, Reiss has horrible teeth. Without going into great detail, you can read about that HERE.

Reiss and Milla both liked the Fruit by the Foot and it was eaten well enough. However, they both complained of "stickies" afterwards and were hesitant to eat them when given them the next time. Reiss even asked for a fork....but then, he does that. He hates getting anything on his hands.

The Fruit Gushers did not get finished and I have a feeling I know why. They are kind of a strange texture. They're like a chewy gummy bear with gushy liquid inside. Hey, if that's your thing.....For us, it's not.

Now, for the contest! If you want to receive this same type of goody box offered by MyBlogSpark and Betty Crocker, leave me a comment. This coming Sunday, November 29th, at noon Eastern time, I will draw a winner. At some time that day, I will post the name of the winner as a new blog entry on 1-2-3 Autism Free.

Good luck to all!!!

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Giveaway!!!!

Okay, folks, this is my first giveaway and I am quite behind in doing it. A deal was made between BlogSpark and myself and while they held up their end of the bargain, I am embarassed to admit that - due to an inkling of ignorance on my part about which I won't go into detail - I have not kept up my end of the deal.....until tonight. Thank you to BlogSpark and Betty Crocker for providing me with this opportunity. At the same time, I offer my apologies to BlogSpark and to Betty Crocker....but enough of the formalities, let's get on with it.

BlogSpark provided me with a wonderful Betty Crocker gluten-free "Sweet Treats" prize pack and in exchange for it, I agreed to give reviews of the products and - the best part - hold a contest where the winner will receive one of the same prize packs I received. It's a win-win! My contest winner will get to read reviews of the products and then have the chance to try them for free. The rest of you, well, you just get to read the reviews - you will have to go buy the products if you want to try them. More details on the contest later though, so keep reading!

The prize pack I received and the contest winner will receive consists of the following:
Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix
Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil’s Food Cake Mix
Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix
Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
Betty Crocker grocery tote
magnetic grocery list and pen to make shopping easier!
(For more details on the mixes, check them out Betty Crocker)

To date, we have tried all but the Devil's Food Cake Mix. With any luck, I will be making that one this weekend.

When we made the yellow cake mix, it mixed up, baked up, and looked just like a regular yellow cake mix from a box. Knowing what I know of some gluten-free products on the market though, I was skeptical as to how this cake would taste. Looks can be very deceiving....and sometimes in a very bad way.

Luckily, the Betty Crocker Yellow Cake Mix was awesome. If I didn't know it was gluten-free, I would not have guessed. It had a little different taste and texture than a regular mix but not different in a bad way - just that, different. It was probably one of the moistest (is that really a word?) cakes I've had from a box mix. Of the three mixes we have tested so far, this was our favorite one.

About a week or so after making the yellow cake mix, we tried the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix. The mix yielded a small pan of brownies - I wanna say 9x9 is what we made ours in. The brownies themselves took longer to bake than the box directions indicated. However, to Betty's credit, my oven has been acting a bit nutty so I'm not certain whether the problem was with the time indicated on the box or if it was just my oven rebelling against me.

We baked (and baked and baked) the brownies and the results were a gooey-chewy center and crunchy-chewy edges. If you have people in your family, like we do, who have different texture preferences, this is a very good thing. Overall, I give this product a thumbs up. But having said that, at the price the grocery stores are charging for these gluten free mixes, I would really like to see the mix make a larger pan of brownies. Without a coupon or sale, you can expect to pay about twice the price of a regular mix and only get about 2/3 the amount of baked product.

Finally, I will forewarn anyone reading that I am not typically one who sugar-coats things and although I greatly appreciate BlogSpark and Betty Crocker providing these products to me at absolutely no charge, I do feel it would be a disservice to my readers and Betty Crocker if I talk up the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix with a glowing review. Simply put, it would not be how we truly felt about this product.

The chocolate chip cookie mix was, for us, a flop. The mix yielded very thin, flat, flimsy cookies that practically fell apart with a touch of the hand. Now if that's something you prefer in a cookie and you are eating a gluten free diet, I wholeheartedly recommend this mix. Was it so bad that we threw the cookies out to the birds? Of course not! That would be wasteful and we were able to resolve the problem by stacking and squishing two cookies together and eating them in such a way that did not allow them to fall apart.....very much. The cookies themselves tasted pretty good but baking isn't just about taste. It's about eye appeal, texture, anticipation and so on.

Will I buy any of these mixes again?

I can certainly visualize buying the yellow cake mix (actually, I have already done so probably four times!) and the brownie mix again but I'll stick to my favorite "from scratch" recipe when it comes to gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.

Now, for the giveaway.....

Simply comment on this post and tell everyone why you would like to try these products....and preferably not just because they are free. No need to give your full medical history or any private details you prefer not to share but you get the point. If you'd like to share a favorite gluten-free recipe, even better.

Sunday, October 11th at 12PM (that's noon - NOT night-time!) Eastern Time will be the cutoff for comments to be considered as "entries" for this giveaway. All comments after that time will be just that, comments (but appreciated just as much!). At some point after that time on Sunday, I will draw and announce a winner. The winner will be required to provide his or her email address to me (if you don't already have it on your profile) so that I may provide it to BlogSpark. The winner will then be contacted by a representative at BlogSpark requesting a mailing address.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask by commenting to this post or by emailing me at the address listed on the bottom left of your screen when you float your mouse over "Email" on my profile page.

The contest begins now...............Good luck to all!!!!

Easy Readin'

You know how you get those flyers in the mail asking you to join this book club or that?

No? Well, I do, and they seem to come almost weekly. Back in the day - that is, before I became so frugal that I rarely purchase books - I used to take these companies up on their offers.

Not anymore. No, I got smart and now whenever I receive one of those flyers I mark the pages with all the books I'd like to read. I then set it aside and place it on my to-do list for me to log on to my library account and put holds on the books that sound interesting to me.

On Thursday, my number came up for two of the books I had placed holds:
The Duggars: 20 and Counting! by Michelle & Jim Bob Duggar
Hungry Girl by Lisa Lillien

After taking lunch to Daddy's work on Friday, the kids and I headed to the library to pick up the books. Anything Duggar-related always gets me a little excited so I was eager to get my hands on this book.

Did I mention we have a Duggar dance in our house? Yes....It's a bit hard to visualize but it basically consists of waving both arms above our heads in a strange fashion while half-yelling "Duggar! Duggar! Duggar......" over and over. We do this on Tuesday evenings just before 18 Kids and Counting airs on TLC. Call us weird. I know and I don't mind.

I finished reading the Duggars' book yesterday. This is unheard of for me A.C. (after children). During my B.C. years, depending on the book, I could breeze through most books in less than 24 hours. A.C. I am lucky if I finish most books in 24 weeks. Sad. I miss reading but what can ya' do?

The Duggar book is a very easy read and flows nicely in an almost-conversational tone. Here are some of the things I liked, disliked, and couldn't get enough of...

While I have been a Duggar fan for quite some time and knew a lot of the information surrounding how the Duggars became self-sufficient and debt-free, it did not make me enjoy it any less reading the minute details of each investment and sale the couple went through to get to where they are now. I really wish more of the public would pay attention to this amazing story not only because so many people seem to think this family must be destitute with that many children, but also because I think a good percentage of Americans could learn a lot from people who truly live debt-free lives such as the Duggars do.

In the book, Michelle not only provides organizational tips for how she keeps it all in order but the names of the resources from which she borrowed the ideas and customized to fit her family's needs. There is an awesome resource list in the back of the book that I actually plan on having James make a copy of at work (he owns the business - we're not stealing office supplies from someone else).

The book answers many of the most frequently asked questions the Duggars receive via email. And although many of the questions were very good ones, I was still left wondering some things.

For instance, Michelle discusses "correction" which is Duggar-ese for disciplining bad behavior. She also described "blanket time" (which I may even begin training Milla on) for infants and toddlers in order to keep them occupied. But many times when Reiss is misbehaving I ask myself how Michelle Duggar would handle such a situation when timeouts and taking toys from Reiss is not effective. Michelle doesn't have any autistic children (that I'm aware of!) and has probably not been in a situation where she's had to handle a child who is wired so differently than typical children but I can't help but think whatever she would do would be done in a very peaceful manner.....which can prove very difficult for me when Reiss continues to say, scream at the top of his lungs in the car even after having a timeout, after having whatever toy he has with him taken away, and still even after we have given up and decided to go home from wherever we were going.

Sometimes nothing seems to work. It's hard to stay ahead of the game when even the professionals working in the field of autism and teachers of special needs children tell me they have to switch things up often because many times disciplinary methods become ineffective after a period of time with autistic children. Just the other day, Reiss' teacher was telling me how they sometimes have to switch their disciplinary method two, three, or four times throughout the school year. Right now they use a stick system (where the child starts the day with three popsicle sticks in their wall pocket) but she said she is usually surprised if they make it to Christmas without the children making every day a challenge against the system.

Getting off-track here, as usual. Seriously....sometimes I don't see how you guys can even stick with me through to the end the way I so often get off-topic.

Long story short, regarding discipline, I was left wondering if there are never any serious disciplinary issues in the Duggar household or if they were simply not discussed.

I wish Jim Bob and Michelle would have gone further in-depth on things like how they handle going places with all the kids. Do they try to stick to naptimes? Or do they just go and if the kids take a nap, great, if not, whatever? How often do they leave the house? With that many children, even with older ones to help out, it seems like leaving very often would sometimes be more pain than it's worth. What about family planning? Do they really try or not? I was aware prior to reading the book that they do not use birth control because of the miscarriage years ago that their doctor felt happened because they conceived while Michelle was on the pill. Michelle briefly discussed their views on birth control and some things mentioned in the Bible but she never came out and said one way or another if they actively try to conceive or if babies just seem to happen easily for them.

Moving on to the topic of the Duggar mansion....I don't know that I would call this house a mansion like many people do. There is a floor plan of it in the book and yes, it's a large house but when I hear the word "mansion" I tend to think of a grand estate with lavish furnishings - something the Duggar house is anything but. Their house is very child-friendly, as anyone would imagine it to be.

Would I love to have their house? Honestly, I don't know. It has many features I would love such as the industrial size and equipped kitchen, the huge laundry room and amenities, and the indoor playground that is comparable to some businesses where outlandish admission fees are charged for children to spend an afternoon, but beyond that, it is missing some other things I would love to have if I had a house that large. I mean, if I'm going to have a 7000 square-foot house, it had better at least have a larger master bedroom than the Duggars made theirs. And I would want a library. And a media room. Yes, I know the Duggars don't watch a lot of television (and neither do we, for that matter) but now we're talking about MY 7000 square-foot house now, not theirs. Or, at least, the one it would be if I had one.

And oh yeah, I forgot, I'd want it to be somewhere other than Arkansas. Hey, I'm just sayin'......

Review: Smuckers Low Sugar Concord Grape Jelly

(No corporate compensation was made for purchase of this product or review of it. This review has been written solely for the purpose of giving a "shout out" to Smuckers for a great product!)

In an effort to find a reasonably priced grape jelly void of artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), I came across Smuckers Low Sugar Concord Grape Jelly. While it does contain regular sugar that I'm assuming is yucky refined white sugar, I'll take that over HFCS or artificial sweeteners any day.

Prior to finding this product in the grocery store, I looked for sugar-free versions of grape jelly or jam only to find organic products that cost a fortune at the health-food store or products in the regular grocery that contained Splenda, which we no longer allow in our house. Although most of what we eat is organic, there are some items where I make exceptions for this reason or that - expense or whatever.

The organic grape jellies I was finding were very small jars and cost more than $5 per jar in the health food store. The regular grocery store options included products that fit one of the three categories: a)contained Splenda b)were sugar-free and sweetened only with fruit juice but were not offered in grape (DS wants grape!!!) OR c)contained HFCS.

Given the above options, I grabbed a jar of the "low sugar" product for inspection of its ingredients and found it met my criteria.

I purchased the jar of Smuckers and found - much to our surprise at one recent breakfast - that it is one of the best grape jellies I've ever tasted. It has such a "grape-y" flavor to it with much of the crap missing from it that it makes one wonder why manufacturers feel a need to add so much HFCS to begin with.

Conclusion: A definite keeper and a double thumbs-up. We enjoyed this as well as our son who was the real judge. And at a little over a dollar (sale and a coupon combined!) this was a major bargain find.....especially when one compares it to its $5 organic counterpart!

A Review: Tide Stain Release In-Wash Booster

Although Gymboree provided this sample to me free with my Gymboree purchases, I am not being compensated in any other way for this review.

Pretty, isn't it?

When I saw the in-store display of Tide samples all stacked and ready to go home with their perspective recipients, I have to admit my heart did a little flutter. Call me crazy but I'll take just about anything when it's free - even when it's a product I know I will never purchase after the free sample is used. Sorry, Tide, but we go au naturale with our laundry in this house.

Aside from the sign stating "Free with any purchase" posted beside the neatly displayed stack of Tide samples, I suppose another reason for my excitement was the fact that, upon first glance, the sample I would be getting seemed like something so big. Who knew with all that packaging that all I would actually be taking home was a one-time dose of laundry booster the size of a single-use dishwasher detergent blister pack? But who am I to complain? Generally, I do not complain when someone gives me something free.....generally.

Unfortunately, I do indeed have a gripe with this sample. Actually, a few of them.

First, again, look at all that packaging! How much of one tree do you think died in order for me to receive that sample? Seriously. Couldn't they have put the coupon that came with the sample inside the plastic tear pouch the sample was packaged in and call it a day? No, that would be much too simple and so less attractive. They had to make a fancy schmancy box with an inlay just the right size for the pouch and a little flap with a photo of the Gymboree models in their Gymboree fashions.

Second, for the makers of Tide to tout this as a stain booster seems a bit ironic to me considering the stuff actually turned my son's formerly white underwear a yellowish orange color. And yes, I didn't think there was a way to misuse the product but I did make certain to read and follow the directions.

This product's one redeeming quality? It smelled nice and we are not used to our laundry coming out scented around here. When I make my homemade laundry detergent it consists of washing soda, borax, and natural soap. Because there is so little actual fragrance from the soap going into each load of laundry, basically our clothes come out smelling like......well, nothing.

I haven't decided yet what to do with the $1.50 off coupon. I could always place it in the recycle bin along with the rest of the packaging in an attempt to "give back" to nature in exchange for all that was taken by the manufacturing process in the making of the aforementioned package. Or I could also take it to the store and leave it next to the product for some "lucky" coupon scavenger. However, considering it stained our clothes, is that really doing someone else a favor? Or a disservice?

Milkshakes and Product Reviews

Last night after dinner we took a short drive out to go scavenge some bikes out of someone's trash pile that James had noticed on his way home from work yesterday. I'm always a sucker for anything free that is in any condition to be recycled or reused. There were three bikes there but we only took two....no need to be greedy - I just hope someone else did get the third one before it met a trashy destiny.

And yes, you can rest assured knowing that they were indeed someone's trash and not just some bikes the children living in that house had parked by the trash, as James had to remove some mangled tomato cages and rotted lumber to get to them. I feel I have to mention this because it never crossed my mind that someone might actually think we would just take some children's bikes from a stranger's curb. However, it must have crossed at least one person's mind because when I posted on my Facebook page about our trash-picked treasure and how I absolutely love heavy trash day, a friend posted "I hope those were really set out for trash! lol" Yes, Jen, they were in a pile. And we rescued them.

So what in the world does this have to do with milkshakes?

After completing our task of being the neighborhood nuisances by picking through others' trash pile, we were driving home when out of the blue I asked, "Who wants milkshakes? Raise your hand!" This was totally spur of the moment and I wasn't even certain if we had the right ingredients on hand to make them. To be accurate, I knew we had milk replacer (since we do not do dairy) and GFCF chocolate syrup but I wasn't terribly sure we had any ice cream - just the main ingredient - no big deal, right? Way to dangle a carrot in front of a four-year-old, hunh?

It ends up we did have ice cream, thank goodness. Since making such drastic restrictions to our diet around eight months ago, I've not made milkshakes. Smoothies, yes. Milkshakes, no. So where the thought to make milkshakes came from is beyond me.

Here are the ingredients I used, their specific brand names, and a brief review of each. They are in no specific order and please don't ask me the measurements. When making something simple like this, I just wing it going solely by the look of things! By the way, I am not being paid or compensated in any way to tout the benefits of the products.

AH!LASKA Organic Chocolate Syrup - This isn't Hershey's but it's pretty darn good. Considering it's organic, gluten-free, dairy free, and "free" of a few other undesirable ingredients, it's actually better than Hershey's in some ways. I do feel I use more of this than regular Hershey's or store brand syrups though and at more than $5 per bottle, that is somewhat of a drawback. Overall, it gets a thumbs up and hey, I'm getting pretty used to spending a lot of money in order to stick with our dietary restrictions. What's another five bucks for a bottle of chocolate syrup? It still beats the price of getting an ice cream treat out and about somewhere.

Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream - Technically, this product is not called ice cream. It's a "non-dairy frozen dessert." But how appealing does that sound? It is made with coconut milk rather than full fat dairy cream. In my opinion, this stuff is better than real dairy ice cream. It is so incredibly rich and yummy.

This makers of this product claim it is "dramatically lower in fat, calories and sugar than most premium ice creams" but honestly, I wouldn't know because I don't know about you, but I've never actually looked at the fat count, calorie count, or sugar grams on any regular premium ice cream packages. Most times when I have eaten "premium ice cream" it has been to satisfy a craving, not to see how much of it I could eat without expanding my waistline. That said, this ice cream is awesome and it contains a healthy dose of fiber! How cool is that? Fiber in ice cream! Does it get any better than this?

Depending on where I purchase this product, I pay $4.99-$5.79 per pint. Not cheap, but not really any more expensive than other "premium ice cream" pints in the grocery store. My gripe? There aren't very many flavors. The vanilla bean flavor is spectacular though, and even better than the chocolate flavor. That's a lot coming from someone who would choose chocolate anything over vanilla any day.

DariFree Non-Dairy Milk Alternative - This milk replacement product is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, as well as "free" of many other commonly avoided allergens. It tastes great on its own and in most recipes. I have found it works great for baking but does not taste so great in some savory dishes. I can use a little of it in mashed potatoes without tasting strangely, however, the results were not quite as stellar once when I used a tiny bit in some eggs for scrambling. Let's just say I'm sure the raccoons living in the woods behind our house thought they'd died and gone to heaven when they awoke that evening and went scavenging for some midnite munchies.

DariFree isn't just an ordinary milk replacement product either - it packs a hefty punch in the way of vitamins and minerals. Although its main ingredient is maltodextrin derived from potatoes, it is surprisingly low in sugar grams at only two grams per serving.

If you purchase this product in 25-pound bulk containers from the manufacturer (in the link above), the savings are more than worth having to pay for shipping over buying it by the canister from a local retailer.

Last ingredient for the milkshakes? Ice! No link needed - just look in your freezer!