My New Favorite Cooking Oil: Malaysian Palm Oil!

Screen Shot 2018-12-15 at 10.41.45 PM.pngAt The Moms Meet Wow Summit last month, I was introduced to Malaysian Palm Oil. As someone who cooks daily, I’m always looking for new, healthy ingredients to incorporate into the family diet.

I’d never tried palm oil before, nor had I heard of it, so here are some cool things I learned:

  • Palm oil comes from the fruit of a special species of palm tree grown near the equator. Oil palm plantations are incredibly high yielding and also provide an environment where native animals can thrive. You can learn more here.
  • Palm oil comes from the palm oil fruit, not the tree itself, so there is no deforestation. Also each tree produces fruit all year long for up to 25 years! In Malaysia, palm oil is only produced on legal agricultural land in compliance with Good Agricultural Processes. Fifty percent of Malaysia’s land area is mandated forest cover.
  • It’s better for cooking as it is stable at higher cooking temperatures, is free of trans-fatty acids, rich in vitamin E tocotrienols, and red palm oil is also an abundant source of pro-vitamin A carotenoids.  Red Palm oil has more carotene than carrots and tomatoes.
  • I recently used the Malaysian Palm oil in place of Olive Oil when making Pizza Crust last weekend. It didn’t change the crust at all texture-wise, but it did give it more or a golden appearance and a more buttery flavor.
  • Overall, Malaysian Palm oil have a very velvety, butter mouth feel and taste.
  • I like that Malaysian Palm oil is a Non-GMO. More than 90% of other cooking oils (soy, corn, rapeseed/canola) is made from crops grown with genetically modified seeds,
  • Malaysian Palm oil is a natural substitute for partially hydrogenated oils (the trans fats). That’s great news for me, since I cook a lot of scratch!

Screen Shot 2018-12-15 at 9.30.53 PM.pngI wanted to showcase the oils natural buttery taste and feel, so I whipped up some popcorn on the stove top, the old-fashioned way.

Screen Shot 2018-12-15 at 9.31.27 PM.pngAll you need is:

  • 3 T. Malaysian Palm Oil
  • 1/2 C. popcorn kernels
  • Whatever seasoning you like (I like salt and pepper)

Directions:

  1. In a large pot (6+ quarts, I have this one), heat the oil and add 3 kernels. Cover with the lid,
  2. Cook on medium-high heat until kernels pop. Remove the pot from the heat, scoop out popped kernels, and add in the rest of the unpopped popcorn kernels.
  3. Cover with the lid, and give the pot a good shake (use potholders!). Let sit off heat for 30 seconds to 3 minutes.
  4. Put pot back on the heat (medium-high), set the lid slightly askew, so the steam may escape. Shake the pot a few more times. Once the popping starts, it pops quickly.
  5. Once the popping has slowed, remove from the heat and pour the popcorn into a bowl and top with desired seasonings, butter, etc.

A big thanks to the Malaysian Palm Oil Council for the bottle of Palm Oil and Popcorn to try out this recipe. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated.

I can’t wait to substitute Palm Oil into my favorite recipes!

 

Giveaway: Gift Pack of Natural Goodies from Wow Summit!

Ok, so if you follow me in Instagram, you saw all my pictures over the weekend of the fun and excitement that was Moms Meet 6th Annual Wow Summit.

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Looking refreshed after a mid-afternoon nap!

One of the perks of the summit, besides learning how to be a better blogger, and listening to great speakers like Dr. William Sears, was to meet with new brands and sample products. The brands loaded us down with tons of awesome goodies to bring home to sample in our families- and of course to share!

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So many goodies!

I filled one of the reusable shopping bags they gave us with all kinds of stuff: candy, food, samples, beauty products, healthcare samples, personal care, and more!

There are samples, full size products, and/or coupons from the following brands:

Solgar, Table5 Pizza, National Peanut Board, NestfreshPlusCBD Oil™ by CV SciencesSambucolVitamin Friends, Wild Planet, Boiron, Bundle Organics, Child Life, Flora, Herb Pharm, Hippo Sak, Lindsay, Malaysian Palm Oil, Mum-Mum, Natracare, Organic OCHO Candy, Regular Girl, Don’t Go Nuts, Earth Science, Little Duck Organics, Mabel’s Labels, MacroLife Naturals, Scholarshare529, Sola, TruthBar, Motherlove, The Honest Kitchen, NOW, Stork Bites, & Juicy Jems.

Entering is easy: Leave a comment on this post. I’d love to know what Natural Product from the list above you are most excited to try. This contest is open to the US only. I’ll chose a winner on 11/12/18!

This is NOT a sponsored post, I am paying to ship this package to the winner. I just want to share the goodies with you guys!

 

Checking in from #Wowsummit2018!

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Pre-coffee selfie!

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen my pictures this morning of the Moms Meet Wow Summit!

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I’m meeting with tons of moms and brands today and tomorrow, and I’ll be bringing home tons of goodies- Expect an amazing giveaway next week.

Never heard of Moms Meet? Here is my post all about it!

Talk Back: What kind of goodies would you like to see in my prize pack next week?

#wowsummit

Moms Meet Wow Summit 2018 60% off All Tickets This Weekend Only!

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Uh, yeah… This is INCREDIBLE NEWS! I love Moms Meet, and the Wow Summit was a blast when I went 3 years ago- which is the last time it was in San Diego.

It’s coming back to So Cal, in Anaheim, November 2-3, 2018. I couldn’t be more excited, and now tickets are 60% off this weekend only!

Friday is bloggers only- There are networking opportunities, workshops, meeting with brands, plus lunch from Table5 Pizza, and an evening cocktail party.

Saturday is for everyone! Get ready for a full day of learning and connecting! Moms in attendance will hear from guest speakers, attend educational workshops, and sample tons of free products in the exhibitor room. At the end of the day, you’ll walk away with an amazing goody bag!

 

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There are some amazing sponsors that I can’t wait to meet and learn more about: Table5, Solgar, CV Science, Lindsay, Don’t go Nuts, and True Made Foods, just to name a few.

If you want to buy tickets, here is the link. at 60% off with code: LABORDAY. Honestly if you live in OC/LA, it is worth the goody bag to go. Tickets for Saturday only are $39 before the 60% off!

And if you aren’t able to come, don’t worry, you can live vicariously through me, as I’ll be posting a ton of photos on Instagram!

Score Free Stuff and Share Opinions!

 

UPDATED 2021 to remove programs that are no longer in business.

I’ve been getting a lot of really great freebies recently in my mailbox, and I mean full-sized items, not simple sample sized sachets of lotions or laundry soap.

But how, do you ask? Word of Mouth Marketing or (WOM).  It’s not new.  Remember the “I told two friends, and they told two friends” commercial from the 1980′s? That’s word of mouth marketing.  Since the invention of the internet, WOM marketing has been amplified, lucky for us consumers!

Here are just a few of my favorites and some of the cool things I’ve gotten lately:

Screen Shot 2018-04-29 at 10.31.11 PM.pngBzzagent A WOM (word of mouth) website that helps spread the word on tons of great products. Sign up for campaigns when there are products that interest you, use them, and share your opinions (as well as coupons and samples!) with others in person or via the Internet. This sharing is called “buzz”, and the more you buzz and report your buzz, you earn Mypoints points, and chances for early invitations for more campaigns. I’ve been a Bzzagent for eight years, and I receive 2-4 campaigns per year. In the last year, I’ve gotten campaigns for: Glade Atmosphere Collection Purell Hand Sanitizer, Edwards Frozen Pie, Alexia Frozen Potato products, and Spin Master Toys.

Smiley360  is much like BzzAgent, in that it is also a WOM (Word of Mouth) website. Sign up for campaigns and you will receive samples to use, and coupons to share with friends. Report your sharing and earn points! I’ve received Laundry detergent (full sized bottles), vitamins, supplements, tampons, and razors all in the last year.

In the same vein as the two above, Generation Good by Seventh Generation uses the same type of interface as Smiley360. I’ve gotten Full size laundry and menstruation hygiene products from Generation Good.

Moms Meet I love Moms meet, but I haven’t been getting a lot of stuff from them as of late. Read my post here telling you all about Moms Meet and their awesome sampling programs.

Screen Shot 2018-04-29 at 10.58.50 PM.pngSocial Nature is different. Sign up for food or beauty products that you’d like to try (they are in both the US and Canada), and if you are selected, they’ll mail you a full sized product (or a coupon to get the item for free in a local store). Then after you try it, complete a survey and do a few social media shares ( FB, IG, Twitter, etc.). This year I’ve sampled: Vegan Miso Soup, Ocean’s Halo Ramen Broth (it was crazy good), Little Northern Bakehouse bread, Emerald Valley Kitchen Salsa, A. Vogel Herbed Sea Salt, and the biggest family fav: Hip Chick Farms chicken tenders!

Home Tester Club is pretty cool. They are one of my new favorites. You sign up to review items and they send you something. A lot of the time they don’t notify you prior to shipping, you’ll get a package in the mail and a few days later, you’ll get an email notifying you that you were selected and a link to the survey to complete once you have sampled the product. I’ve gotten a Changing Pad Cover, Flushable Wipes, Makeup Remover, and a moisturizer.

And that’s my most up-to-date list of the WOM marketing companies that I use and get free stuff from.  I recommend any and all of these companies!

If you’ve got another WOM Marketing company that you’d like to share, leave a comment!

 

 

 

Review: #KABRITA Toddler Formula (Thanks #MomsMeet!)

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Recently I received a neat little box on my porch from Kabrita and Moms Meet.

It contained a canister of KABRITA Goat Milk Toddler Formula and fruit & yogurt pouches.

Immediately, Lil’ Man snagged one of the three pouches (well, not until I got this photo), and he retreated to the table to enjoy it. I gave the mixed berry to Itty Bittums, and she gobbled it up!

In the afternoon, I gave her a bottle of the Goat Milk Toddler Formula after she had some puffs and banana slices. She loved it, and I loved that it didn’t give her a rumbly tummy or gas. She’s got a sensitive tummy, and we had tried countless formulas to find one that made her tummy happy. Now that she’s getting older and is branching out to table foods, we are finding that some cow’s milk based products don’t agree with her.

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Someone did not want their photo taken today while enjoying her “milkies” as we call them

That is not the case with the KABRITA Goat Milk Toddler Formula! She is a happy little girl, and I’m a happy mommy! It’s super easy to mix up- Just one scoop per ounce of water. There is a handy little scoop in the canister.

What I love about the fruit & yogurt pouches is that they are great cold, frozen or at room temp. They come in three yummy flavors:Banana and Natural Vanilla Bean, Mixed Berry, and Mango Peach. I toss them in the freezer and slip one into Lil’ Man’s lunch bag, by lunch time, it’s nice and slushy! A perfect, healthy way to finish up lunch.

Did you know that Kabrita has a trial offer? You can learn more about it here.

Disclosure: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of this product.

Review and Giveaway- ASPCA kids: Rescue Readers Books

Screen Shot 2015-11-27 at 9.25.29 PMRecently, rad folks at Moms Meet and Studio Fun sent us a box that Lil’ Man could hardly wait to get into.

Studio Fun International, a Reader’s Digest company, has teamed up with the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®), the first animal welfare organization in North America and the nation’s leading voice for animals. More than two million supporters strong, the ASPCA’s mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, the ASPCA is a national leader in the areas of anti-cruelty, community outreach and animal health services.

Screen Shot 2015-11-27 at 9.25.02 PMThese books are ADORABLE!  Lil’ Man is getting to the age where he wants a pet, and these books are a great learning tool for him.
Each story is inspired by a real-life animal rescue story from the pet’s point of
view and includes facts and photographs of the actual pet that inspired the story. Each book creates a fun and educational hands-on experience written at a Level 2 reading level for early readers. While he can’t read yet, he recognized most of the letters and I can see that these books will definitely get a lot of use as he starts reading.
I really like that the importance of care, protection, and love of animals is incorporated into each
tale with a focus on the joyous outcome. Lil’ Man wanted a dog, but when he saw how much work came with it, he quickly asked for a fish (Because, he told me, “Mommy, you don’t have to walk a fish!!)
For those of us who like our purchases to help others, fell good knowing that four to five percent of the purchase price of every book goes directly to the ASPCA to help continue its mission.

These incredible stories are available in paperback, library binding hardcovers, and e-books. The paperback books are priced at $3.99 (each) or $15.96 (for all four) everywhere books are sold, Including Amazon!

IMG_2249We sat down to snuggle on the couch with some soft blankets, cocoa, and read our new books tonight! Lil’ Man said, “NO pictures, please mommy. I has the no-feel-goods!” But I did snap a photo of our soft blankies and books!

Now it’s your turn to share these fun, heartwarming books with your special littles. Thanks to #momsmeet and #Studiofun I am able to give away a set of the four ASPCAKids books pictured above: I am Daisy, I am Picasso, I am Nibbles, and I am McKinely. Entering is Easy: Leave a comment with what your first pet was! When I was a kid we had a Keeshond named Arthur.

I’ll choose a winner on December 7th. This prize would make a great gift for any young reader on your list!

I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of this product.

 

Rocking out with #MusicTogether & #MomsMeet! (Review and Giveaway)

Recently Moms Meet (the awesome sampling company I’ve mentioned here) gave me the opportunity to take the kids to a free Music Together class. Lil’ Man loves music. He loves to dance and sing and play instruments (We have a box of small instruments like a xylophone, maracas,  and other percussion instruments), so I was excited to take the kids to experience all that Music Together has to offer.

IMG_2174We visited Music Together in North Park (but there are other classes in San Diego, including some in Eastern San Diego County) with Miss Gina. Kids and parents participate together, so everyone signs, plays instruments, and dances. It’s so awesome to see everyone playing and learning together.

Everyone sits in a big circle, and follows the class leader. There was a mix of sing-along, dance (with scarves, a family favorite), and towards the end of the class, there was a jam session where everyone got to pick an instrument from a large box and play and dance to their hearts content.

IMG_2108If your little has the wiggles or is too small to sit still for 45 minutes, don’t fret! Kids are encouraged to get up and dance around while they sing! IMG_2115 Music Together classes are aimed at those aged 0-5 years, but don’t worry, Moms and dads will have fun too!

Lil’ Man and Bitty Bird both had an  incredible time! They enjoyed the music, instruments, even the scarves (Birdie just crinkled hers up and rubbed it on her face- it was very soft). We’ll definitely being going back soon!

Each semester of Music Together tuition comes access to your classes, along with a CD and a songbook! Some Music Together locations offer additional perks.

ThHelloEverybodyAppPromo-forTeachersey both really enjoyed the song Hello Everybody. Your kids can enjoy it too. Download the  “Hello Everybody” app (free) to get eight Music Together songs that you can listen and sing along to, whether you’re at home or on the go. Our sing-along feature lets you show or hide on-screen lyrics, plus you can control the volume of the vocals—or turn them off to hear an instrumental-only track and make up your own words. Use your device’s camera to make your own family music videos and share them with your friends. The app also includes a digital version of one of our award-winning Singalong Storybooks, Hello, Everybody, based on the beloved “Hello Song.”

I’m so excited that Music Together has offered a free class for newcomers to their program. To sign up for your free class, click here.

Singalong Storybooks - Hey Diddle Diddle - GiftSetAnd I’ve got an awesome giveaway too! Enter to win a Hey, Diddle, Diddle Singalong Storybook Gift Set!

This adorable gift set includes: the Hey, Diddle, Diddle Singalong Storybook in your choice hardcover or board book, an ultra-soft 9” black-and-white Mary Meyer cow named Sweet Constance (age-rating: 0+), two egg shakers, and a digital download of the song “Hey, Diddle, Diddle.”

To enter to win, just leave a comment with your kids favorite song to sing! I’ll choose a winner on November 30th. This gift set would make a great holiday gift!

Thanks to Moms Meet and Music Together for giving us the opportunity to attend a class to facilitate this review. I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of this product.

Giveaway: Sharing the Bounty of the Wow Summit!

Over the weekend I took part in the Moms Meet Wow Summit here in San Diego. I got to meet and network with tons of awesome moms and brands. I got to learn about how we can live more naturally with just a few small (and easy) tweaks! I met Lisa Bronner of Dr. Bronner’s Soap fame and learned a lot of how to start my own journey to green (which I’ll be sharing with you later in the week).

If you missed out on the Wow Summit, you can still enjoy all of the awesomeness of Moms Meet by signing up to be an Ambassador. You’ll have access to great new green and natural products, sampling opportunities, and high value printable coupons. I’ve been a Moms Meet Ambassador for a few years now, and I love it!

Part of the event was meeting brand ambassadors and sampling their products. That means tons of swag. IMG_1667I came home with an assortment of goodies, and I am sharing my bounty with you! I pulled together a box of goodies! In addition to all of these awesome goodies, I’ll also include a few coupons for free products.

A few highlights of this goodie box include:

Entering is easy… To get started leave a comment with your easy go green tip! It could be something like turning off the water when you brush your teeth or carrying reusable shopping bags in your car at all times! There are additional entries too. Just check out the Raffle copter widget here or on the giveaway tab of our FB page (it’s NOT mobile friendly- FYI).

I’ll choose a winner on November 4th!

 

WOW Summit in San Diego, CA 10/23 &10/24!

Ya’ll know I love Mom’s Meet (I’ve written about them before here), well they have an AWESOME event coming up next month, the WOW Summit!

summit2015_badge_attending_250x250_2I’ve got my tickets and I can’t wait to go! This year’s WOW Summit is sponsored by Solgar, Veri, SmartFlour, and Dr Bronner’s (check out the full list of sponsors here). There will be  plenty to do and learn about!

The Moms Meet WOW Summit will take place in San Diego, CA on 10/23 and 10/24. This annual conference brings healthy-minded moms and bloggers together to attend expert-led seminars and workshops, sample amazing products, build lifelong connections, and have fun!

Friday’s events will be all about bloggers! The day kick off with several workshop sessions, where you’ll learn from successful bloggers about building your brand, boosting your social media presence, and more. Then, there will be a special networking event (think speed dating!) where bloggers and brands can connect one-on-one. The day concludes with an awesome cocktail party where you can unwind and have a fun night!

summit2015_social_sponsors (1)On Saturday, get ready for a full day of learning and connecting! Moms in attendance will hear from guest speakers, attend educational workshops, and sample tons of free products in our exhibitor room. At the end of the day, you’ll walk away with an amazing goody bag!

Learn more here http://greenmosmeet.com/summit2015

 

If you are going to, don’t forget to RSVP on their FB page and leave a comment on this post. I’d love to connect with my readers at the event!

If you can’t make it, don’t worry, I’ll be reporting back with TONS of photos, and hopefully a giveaway or two!!