Ripple Pea Milk - product review

Here I go trying another Ripple product. Based on my last encounter with the Ripple Greek Yogurt Alternative, I was not hopeful. That yogurt was gross! I guess I was feeling adventurous or something and thought, why not. I am happy to report the the Ripple Nutritious Pea Milk was better. It still wasn't absolutely delicious, but much better. I tried the chocolate flavor milk. I can't speak for how the regular milk would taste.

So, here are my pros and cons of the product. Pro: It smells good when you open it, just like chocolate milk should. It doesn't have a strange color cause it is brown from the cocoa. I think the regular milk is a strange light brown color. It has a really smooth and silky texture. Basically the same texture as regular chocolate milk that you would buy premixed at the store. For the most part it tastes good. It has great nutrition. And now the Cons: There is still a bit of pea aftertaste. That is just really hard to get past for me. It isn't cheap. Overall, for someone who follows a vegan diet or someone who is lactose intolerant, this could be a good alternative for them if they like chocolate milk.

#RippleMilk #MtMAgazineSharing #FreeSamp

Baby my Baby - product review

*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliated links. I received free samples of products and coupons for products in exchange for my review. All statements and opinions are my own.

Through Kroger' program MyMagazineSharingNetwork I received a group of products and coupons for products all baby related. These products are perfect for my house considering I have a toddler and we are still in the diaper, wipes, and baby food phase. The main question they are wanting answered is this: How do you baby your baby? I've com up with some of the go to item that we use and love. I'm also including some non product related ways that I baby my baby.

We are now at a stage that we generally use the same kind of diapers on Kizzy consistently. When she was younger it didn't seem to matter as much and I went with what was on sale and what I have good coupons for. I still try to catch sales and use coupons, but we use mainly these diapers.

• Huggies Little Movers Slip on Diapers. Kizzy doesn't like to hold still for diaper changes and these make it so much easier. 
• Pampers Baby Dry diapers. These are great for night time. Kizzy can go all night without being changed and not have a leaky diaper. 
• Huggies OverNights diapers. These also work well for night time diapers. 

Food is another area where we have some favorite items.

• Similac formula. When Kizzy was on formula as her only food source we gave her Similac Advance and it worked great for her. 
• Yogurt Dots or Yogurt Bites. My child loves these! We don't have a specific brand that we get. Gerber and Beechnut make some good ones though. They also have some that are fruit and veggie dots. We like those too. 
• Spaghetti-Os. Maybe not the healthiest thing, but Kizzy will actually eat them. Kizzy has been very slow to eat solid foods, so any food that she will eat well is a winner for us. 
• Food Pouches. Again, there are a lot of great choices. When Kizzy first started eating baby food I thought I would make her food myself. Well that didn't last long. Making your own is great cause you know exactly what goes into it, but sometimes convenience wins. Now days there are so many great options in the world of baby food and it is pretty affordable as well. One in particular that Kizzy seems to enjoy a lot is Kroger's Comforts for Baby Banana Blueberry and Oat food pouch. 

Other products that we love and use.

• Johnson's Baby Shampoo with Lavender. Not only is this relaxing for evening baths, but it leaves Kizzy's hair smelling so good. 
• Baby Trend Expedition Jogging Stroller. Easily the most used item we bought for Kizzy. I use this stroller daily. It has held up great and it is super easy to maneuver. It is also quite affordable compared to other jogging strollers. 

Others ways that I baby my baby.

• Plenty of play time. I believe that this is important for Kizzy's development. 
• Daily walks. We all need the fresh air. 
• Reading to her. I want her to have a good vocabulary and to be a reader herself. 
• Learning and play time outside of the home. I have recently started taking Kizzy to a weekly Preschool Play time at our local library. Look into your local libraries to see what activities they offer. 
• Plenty of snuggle time. Kizzy is a snuggle baby and she gets plenty of snuggles every day.

So, there are just a few of the ways that I Baby my Baby.

#BabyMyBaby #MyMagazineSharing

Private Selection -- Product Review

*This post contains affiliated links. I received these products for free in exchange for my honest review.

Summer is upon us, and with that comes summer food. Cookouts, salads, watermelon, ice cream, and the list goes on. Kroger has a line of products under the label Private Selection. I have tried many of the Private Selection items before as I am a regular Kroger shopper. With their #MyMagazineSharing program I was able to try two more products. I received full sized samples of their Green Chile Ranch Seasoning Rub and their Texas Inspired BBQ Kettle Potato Chips.

First, lets talk about he potato chips for a quick minute. I generally do not pick BBQ flavored chips if I am buying chips. I do really like kettle style potato chips though. These Texas Inspired BBQ Kettle Potato Chips were very tasty. There was a bit of tang to them. I don't know if that is generally true of Texan BBQ as I am not a Texan, not even close. I did eat my share of these chips, but my husband was the one who was really into them. He finished off the bag. (Please see the above picture of the crumpled bag that I dug out of the trash in order to get a picture of it.) So, these chips passed the taste test at our house and I would purchase them again.

Second, the Green Chile Ranch Seasoning Rub. Ok, I do not usually cook with a lot of spice mixes. I just use my general spices most of the time. Their is some convenience to spice mixes or rubs though. I actually tried this out two different ways. I first tried the rub on some chicken breasted that I just roasted in the oven. That turned out just ok. The second time that I tried the spice rub it 1 used it in my Southwest Chicken Salad. The flavor went great with the salad and was really good. Here is what I put into my salad, which is a quick summer favorite around this house.

Southwest Chicken Salad

• chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 can of drained and rinsed black beans
• 1 can of drained corn, can also use fresh of thawed frozen
• 1 tomato sliced
• 1 diced avocado
•  2 chicken breasts grilled and sliced. Use whatever seasoning you would like. 
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Southwest ranch dressing
• Optional things that you can add to the salad are croutons, green pepper, onion, tortilla strips, cilantro, salsa, sour cream

Blueberry Almond Oatmeal Bake

There is a snow storm coming, which means I want warm, yummy food. I also have some milk that needs used up before it goes bad. So, with those two motivators combined, I came up with this recipe. It doesn't take a lot to get me thinking about food or what I could cook. Since it is also the weekend, this is great cause we can just warm it up the next day for breakfast. It is quick and easy to throw together, and makes a good nutritious breakfast, or lunch, or dinner if you want.

Step by step instructions with pictures.

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 2.5 quart baking dish. 
2. Whisk 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and 1/2 tsp. almond flavoring together.
    
   Then whisk in 4 cups milk (I used skim) until all is combined.
   It should look nice and frothy.
3. Add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 2 Tbs. honey. Whisk together with milk mixture. 
   
4. Add 2 cups of old fashioned oats.
   
   Give it a quick stir. Pour all of the mixture into the greased baking dish. All the oats will sort of pile up where you pour it in, just make sure they get spread out and evenly distributed.
5. Sprinkle 1 cup of blueberries and 1/4 cup slivered almonds over the top of the oatmeal mixture. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries. I used frozen cause that is what I had on hand.
   
   
6. This step is completely optional, but I also sprinkled 3 Tbs. of honey crunch wheat germ on top of everything. Just to give it a touch more of goodness. 
   
7. Pop it in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or so. When it is done most of the liquid should be absorbed and the oats should be cooked completely. if there is still a little liquid that is ok, it will absorb while it cools.
   
   Let it cool for a few minutes and enjoy. Store any leftovers in the fridge to eat later.
   
   
   Here is the recipe all nice and neat. 

The Kitchn Cookbook -- book review

My latest cookbook to take a look through, and actually read thoroughly is The Kitchen Cookbook. This cookbook is by Sara KateGillingham and Faith Durand. These ladies run a popular website with the same name, The Kitchn. The Kitchn website is a sister site to the popular all things home site Apartment Therapy. You may be familiar with both of these sites from their ever popular pins on Pinterest.

The Kitchn Cookbook isn’t just a cookbook though. Actually only a little less than half of the book is comprised of recipes. The rest of the book is comprised of all things kitchen relates; how to organize, helpful food prep tips, guide on basic cooking terms and how to do them, tours of several real kitchens, and much more. So, if you are looking for a good, lot of recipes cookbook this may not be quite what you are looking for. Now, if you love cooking, the kitchen is a central part of your home, or you love all things kitchen related, then this book you would probably enjoy. This would also may a good gift book for someone just starting out on their own in their own place, just getting married, graduating college, or buying their first home.

For me personally, this isn’t a cookbook that I think I would turn to often to find a recipe or get some food inspiration. I might also mention that many of the recipes in the book can also be found on Pinterest. With that said though, The Kitchn is an interesting read with a lot of good information in it. Also a plus is that all the kitchen tours featured in the book are of real kitchens that people really use, not just staged kitchens that aren’t even used. Thus said, the pictures in the book look real, not staged. This is a nice touch that makes this book a little different from a lot of other cookbooks. One of the things that I also liked about the book was these little sections called Dana’s Meditation. Dana’s Meditations are little beautifully written bits about the kitchen or cooking. One last note, the recipes are simple and truly easy to follow. In fact all of the book is simply written and quiet readable.   

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.