A Great Cup of Coffee and Supporting Fair Trade Too!!

I love Green Mountain Coffee. The flavors are vibrant and the taste is always smooth. So when BzzAgent invited me to a campaign that offered Three Continent Green Mountain coffee, I jumped at the chance!

On top of that, I was excited that the coffee was made thru Fair Trade and supporting a way of life for people in underpriviledged areas who work hard and deserve a chance to be paid well for the efforts they make. The day came when my BzzKit arrived;

I eagerly popped a k-cup into my Keurig to sample this coffee. As I waited my 60 seconds, I pulled out the literature that told the story of Kelly Clarkson and how she has made a trip to Peru to understand Fair Trade. Green Mountain works closely with the farmers in that area to produce the highest quality coffee and put money back into the community. My cup of coffee was done. I smelled the rich brew and took a sip and was instantly in love. To be fair, I have always loved Green Mountain Coffee, but this Three Continent blend was especially yummy. It has a very distinct and bold flavor but it isn't a dark roast and it isn't bitter. It just has body and flavor and it makes you feel warm and alive all over. It was a such a smooth and robust flavor. I really liked it. The only thing that made me sad is this is a limited edition, but the fact that I want to support fair trade is a long term commitment. And Green Mountain's concern and care to support this practice and the fact that they produce quality coffee are the reasons I will keep buying their products. I highly recommend this coffee and I know you will see that it is not only a great cup of coffee, but a great way to contribute a bit and help in a community dedicated to making a better life for the families that are a part of it. I received this coffee from Green Mountain and BzzAgent to try for free but my love of Green Mountain is my own!

Buitoni Pasta is a special treat!

Recently I joined a campaign on BzzAgent to try Buitoni pasta. As you can see by the title of this review, I decided to try the Shrimp Scampi Ravioli. The name itself is impressive, so I had high hopes for this pasta. I am also a huge fan of shrimp scampi, so I was excited to try this pasta. The price was 4.99 for just enough pasta for two people. All in all, that is a great price considering the value of the product. When my husband and I tasted it we were very impressed.

The pasta cooked to a perfect al dente in just 5 minutes and none of the ravioli burst open or leaked into the water. The texture was firm and had that fresh pasta taste. The filling had a light lemon taste with fresh seafood and Italian cheeses. It was delectable and I enjoyed every bite. I prepared the pasta with a light pasta sauce that I made myself from canned tomatoes and a garlic and basil. I think it was the perfect compliment to this dish since it allowed the subtle tasting seafood to shine thru. I would definitely buy this again as a special meal - it beats going out to a restaurant and paying far more for the same product. This product was fresh and homemade tasting and was a very elegant dinner for the two of us.

My delicious BUITONI® Riserva Shrimp Scampi Ravioli! I received the product from BzzAgent to try for free but the excitement is all my own!

Comforts for Baby - wonderful product line of baby items with a Touch of Nature

A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity thru BzzAgent to sample an amazing group of products exclusive to Kroger stores - The Comforts for Baby line. Although there is a plethora of products, I sampled the diapers, wipes, body wash and lotion and bibs for my little Blakey. I was pretty excited about this campaign to start with - baby products are something I go thru in spades and to get a chance to try some new products and have some fun new things made my day. I made the trip to my local Kroger store - King Soopers in this area, and picked up a box of diapers and the other things for my little guy. I had so much fun picking out bibs and the body care.

I must say I was very impressed with the quality and then I came to find out that these products had more in mind than just my baby's happiness. They were also produced using earth friendly methods and health conscious standards. The diapers are chlorine free and manufactured using plant based resources. The wipes are alcohol free and hypo allergenic. The body care products are mild and use only the gentlest ingredients. On top of all that, the other products that Comforts offers are BPA free and produced according to high safety standards.

So I felt confident using these on my baby and I enjoyed all of these products immensely. I loved the way the diapers NEVER leaked - nope, not even once Mommas! You can trust them implicitly! And the wipes were soft, cushioney and never caused a bit of irritation. I loved the sweet scent my little guy had after using the body care - made him extra snuggly and sweet and when you look at the picture of him in that bib, well, your heart just melts. I highly recommend these products and I thank BzzAgent and Kroger and Comforts for the opportunity to try these products free of charge and have a month of amazingness that I intend to continue by buying these products in the future.

Fage yogurt is amazing!

When I was asked by Bzzagent to try these yogurts and give my honest opinion about it, I was really excited. I am a yogurt connoisseur. I LOVE yogurt and especially Greek yogurt. I however had not tried the split cups by Fage (pronounced Fah-yay if you wanted to know). The idea intrigued me as often the fruit on the bottom yogurts are not quite right and I even had a friend say that sometimes they put too much fruit on the bottom of a yogurt or by the time you are done with the yogurt you realize there was alot of fruit that just didn't get mixed in correctly. So off to the store I went to try this yogurt. I chose the honey option for my first foray into Fage and was pleasantly surprised with how this worked. I could pore the entire amount on top, or I could dip my yogurt into the honey. It was easy to see how much of the yogurt and honey/fruit I had left and I wasn't left wishing I had more of one or the other. There was an amazing amount of honey in the split cup which made me very happy! And the taste of the yogurt was delicious. It has a creamy taste without being artificial in any way. Another brand of Greek yogurt almost has an artificial sweetness to it and this didn't. It is creamy and tastes like it is fresh homemade yogurt. I think this yogurt is great for providing the ability to mix the yogurt to personal preference and also being a delicious yogurt. An interesting fact to note is that Fage is the top rated Greek yogurt in Greece itself! If that doesn't tell you this stuff is good, I don't know what will! I am very impressed and will be making a regular habit of Fage in my house. BzzAgent gave me the yogurt to try for free, but the excitement is my own.

Honestly Good from Lean Cuisine

I recently accepted a campaign from BzzAgent to try Lean Cuisine's newest offerings - Honestly Good organic meals! I don't know about you, but so often it is hard to eat on the go and yet still grab healthy for you choices. It is so hard to even find a fast meal that isn't loaded with fat and calories. So many of us grab a quick meal from our grocer's freezer or hit the umpteenth drive thru for another calorie laden quick meal.

But now there is a new choice - these offerings from Lean Cuisine aren't just super tasty, they are low in calories and are actually organic too! So it is a perfect choice. I was so pleasantly surprised with these meals. I have tried the Pomegranate Chicken, Pineapple Black Pepper Beef and the Lemon Grass Salmon and have been very impressed with each one. The sauce is on the side which is a unique change from so many other frozen entrees - you can dip, dot or smother your meal according to how you like it and not have to worry about there being too much sauce on the entree unless that is your desire! The meat is fresh and cooked to perfection - I found they had a nice succulent taste and were high quality. There are adequate vegetables and grains to create a balanced meal that you can feel good about for an incredibly low calorie count.

These are a wonderful new addition to my daily menu and I feel like I am making a balanced and healthy choice. Thank you Kroger and BzzAgent for giving me the chance to sample these for free. The opinions are entirely my own - I highly recommend these healthy and fabulous tasting meals.

Kroger Fried Chicken

I am a fried chicken fan! I love the hot juicy chicken coupled with tasty and perfectly seasoned crispy fried skin. But it is hard to find that perfect combination. I have tried many fast food restaurants and even some sit down restaurants and have never had as delicious a fried chicken as I did at Kroger last week. I was given a coupon for a free 8 piece selection from my local Kroger (King Soopers) and I used it the first night I needed a fast, no fuss dinner. I hate to say I have never even thought of buying chicken at my local Kroger deli.

I buy lunch meat and cheese there atleast once a week, but this showed me a different section of the counter and I was pleasantly surprised. The chicken was piping hot and made my car smell amazing on the ride home. It was tempting to grab a wing or leg and start munching away. But I knew my husband and my guests would be disappointed. I served the chicken with Kroger BBQ kettle chips and diet coke and my guests were very impressed. My mother in law was the most excited thinking I had stopped at a fast food place to pick up the chicken. When I told her it was only $7.99 for the box, she was even more impressed. Of course I told her I had received it for free from BzzAgent so that we could all try it. Everyone found the chicken to be perfectly most and the skin was crispy with an excellent flavor. I have finally found my perfect fried chicken and it exists only about 2 miles from my home! I will be making regular stops at my Kroger for this fast easy meal from now on.

NEW Yogurt Smoothie Bars from Kroger

The New Yogurt Smoothie bars from Kroger are a hit with my family! I love cool treats so I was really excited to receive this campaign from BzzAgent. After I got my coupon, I hurried over to my local store which is only about 2 miles away to pick up a treat. It has been a really hot summer here in CO and I was excited to get something to cool everyone off. I chose the Triple Berry and served them after our spaghetti dinner that night.

My husband really didn't want to try one but after taking a bite, he was really excited and said they had a great flavor. He never likes things that are too sweet and so he was really impressed with these. They have just the right amount of sweet to berry ratio. I thought these tasted very blueberry like which was a huge plus - I anticipated a more strawberry flavor but was pleasantly surprised with the cool refreshing flavor these had.

The fact that they are only 50 calories a bar is fantastic! I love that you can eat two of these and still be in great shape calorie wise. I almost wish they had just made them twice the size and the calories would still be totally acceptable for a snack. My baby even had some bites and was really pleased. It is a great and healthy teething snack! I was really impressed by these - great price which means it's easy on the wallet and a completely acceptable amount of calories which makes it easy to stay on track with my eating and dieting.

I received these bars free of charge from BzzAgent and Kroger but the opinions are my own.