Quaker Review... it's time to QuakerUp!

As a BzzAgent I recently had the opportunity to try a number of Quaker products for FREE! Please note, as a BzzAgent I am not only encouraged to try these products but also to provide valuable feedback to Quaker and YOU, my friends.

Last week I received an amazing box of treats from BzzAgent and Quaker. My box included a full size Quaker Perfect Portions instant oatmeal sample, a full size box of Quaker Big Chewy granola bars, and a full size box of Quaker Chocolate Chip Cookies. Are you salivating yet? I know I am practically drooling just thinking about it!

The first thing that I noticed when I opened the box was the titillating (yes, I totally just used that word!) smell of maple syrup. This of course was the instant oatmeal. I wanted to open the package right then and there and jump right in; however, dinner was on the stove so I had to control myself. I sat down with my husband and daughter over the weekend to partake and let me tell you… the oatmeal was to die for! My daughter is 3 and I wanted to steal her bowl and lick it clean, does that make me a bad mommy? Anyways, HELLO, this is Quaker and Oatmeal is an art that they have definitely perfected. It is like bread to butter, peanut butter to jelly, and pickles to ice cream (when one is pregnant)! Needless to say, I highly recommend you check out Quaker’s Perfect Portions Oatmeal the next time you visit your local grocery store!

I went completely gaga over the second item that I eyed in the box before I even opened the package and took a bite; the Quaker Big Chewy granola bars. I had gastric bypass a little over a year ago, that is a story for another day, and since have become a sort of connoisseur of granola bars. Now, please let me note, this is not the type of granola bar that I eat every day because it is decadent and I try to stick to granola bars with high levels of protein. With that being said, they were delicious and the amount of sugar was just right for me! Granola bars, as you know, are the perfect snack to throw in your bag when you are out running errands, at work, or try to keep something in your purse in the event that your little one needs a snack. My little one loves chocolate, when we allow her to have it, and I felt a little healthier giving her a granola bar topped with some chocolate rather than giving her a candy bar. If you are looking for a yummy snack for the 3:00 PM Blahs or you want to give your little one some variety in their snack foods, I recommend the Big Chewy granola bars. I also admit that this was a lifesaver for me one morning when I got to work and realized that I had forgotten my breakfast at home. I opened the package that contained my granola bar with a zigzag of chocolate on top and I was sold! Since I became a mommy to a toddler I try to keep snacks with me at all times and this is one that I will continue to keep on my shopping list.

The third item in my box was flavorful but admittedly my least favorite of the three. Let me first preface my comments by stating I am note a huge fan of “hard” cookies, I prefer soft cookies. My husband and daughter on the other hand eat “hard” cookies, such as Chips Ahoy, like they are going out of style. There were 7 packages of cookies in the box that I received and each package contained 4 oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. One evening I did sit down with my cup of coffee and ate an entire package! Again, the flavor is 100% there, an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie is yummy no matter how you look at it; I would just have preferred that the cookie was soft! Then again, I am a complete sucker for fresh, out of the oven cookies that are still warm and gooey…but, that is a completely different story. My one problem with this product was that all of the cookies, in each package, was crumbled. I’m not certain if the box got tossed around or what happened but the cookies were all broken up, which can be a real pain… this could cause me to miss a morsel of cookie goodness!

Let’s look at this a different way, let’s say I am at a party and there is a plate of the Quaker Chocolate Chip “SOFT” cookies and a plate of the Quaker Chocolate Chip “HARD” cookies out. You are going to find me high tailing it over to the soft cookie plate and camping out there for a good five minutes or so (don’t judge me!). Now, if I am at a party where they serve the “HARD” Quaker Chocolate Chip cookies you are still going to find me camped out at the table, albeit for maybe just three minutes, because they are cookies and no woman in her right mind will turn down cookies that taste good. I was just thinking that Oreos are one of my favorite cookies and they are hard and soft… hmm… that creates a conundrum. I WOULD recommend the Quaker Chocolate Chip cookies HARD or SOFT because the taste is what is important. Again, an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, you can’t go wrong!

Overall, this was my first time working as a BzzAgent and the experience with Quaker was amazing. I am so excited for my next campaign and can’t wait to share it with you. The #QuakerUp campaign has renewed my loyalty with Quaker and expanded my horizons to new products that I otherwise may have bypassed in the grocery aisle.

Keep an eye out for sales, coupons, or just some good eats and pick up any of these Quaker items, or your favorites, when you head out to your local grocery store.

-Heather 

Glade Expressions over Scentsy?

 Hello All!! I wanted to have a small debate here- Scentsy or Glade Expressions?

First let me start with saying that I am a buzzAgent and I received the Glade Expressions free of charge in order to review the product. I like free stuff, I like even more when I get to throw in my opinion afterward. I have a big opinion and you will hear it regardless- the fact they encourage that is good for me! (lol)

Let me get right in there, Scentsy is a company that sells wax warmers (kind of like candle warmers) that are decorative and have a wide variety of scents and burners to choose from. 

Typically the warmers range from $20-$35 and the wax is roughly $5 depending on the size you get it can go up quite a bit. When I first found Scentsy I thought "what a find! It's cute! It smells great!" until here recently when my allergies were screaming "OH MY GOD WOMAN! GET IT AWAY!!" The scents were beginning to become over powering and I would sneeze for what felt like days. 

Still on Scentsy- it was nice to have something pretty, but when you turned it on needing a smell good splash it would take up to 20 minutes to get warmed up enough to melt the wax and release a scent. That was torture- it's like "hurry up and wait!"

I'm not a patient person!

Then Buzz Agent contacted me about reviewing Glade Expressions Oil Defuser and the Glade Expressions Fragrance Mist. I was on board, what was one more blow to my allergies anyway, right? I waited patiently for my kit- shocking really- haha that's a lie I checked online every day to see if it had shipped yet. 

When it finally got here I took my "free" coupons and hit up my local grocery store- they carried it and I was delighted! I allowed my husband to pick the smell out since he's more picky than I am. I approved! The scent of the oil defuser is lavender and juniper berry. The scent of the spray is starlet evening. They both smelled great at first- but would it last? 

Once I got it home I stuck the spray in the bathroom- lets be real- me and the Princess live with 3 boys- it HAD to go to the bathroom! I then placed the oil defuser in the living room in hopes that people would smell it and ask about it.

Ask they did! I had the defuser placed way up on top of our entertainment center just as you come through the living room door. It was up above your head so unless you were looking for it at first you wouldn't see it. However, once watching TV it looked like a sweet little art piece that I had placed up there. 

One friend commented that my living room smelled great and asked where my kids were! It didn't smell like diapers or left over french fries- it smelled like a home. I then pointed out my cute new decor and told her all about it- I even gave her a coupon to purchase her own- now her home smells just as lovely as mine does!

Another friend saw the piece before she smelled it (she had some sinus problems going on and couldn't smell much of anything really) and I told her the same thing I told the other friend- but this time she made it a point to come back to smell it before she went out and bought it after she felt better from being sick.

Cute right? The design was too cute for me not to use. I think it's adorable.

Anywho- back on track! The smell took about 30 minutes to get going good before it stuck around- that was over a week ago and you can STILL smell it like it was brand new!

 My favorite part of the spray is that it lasts longer than 5 minutes. With scentsy after you turn off the warmer as soon as the wax hardens back up (usually about 5 minutes) then the smell is gone, you can't smell it unless you put your nose right up to the wax and sniff. Not with Glade! If you spray it in the bathroom then it's guaranteed to be there at least 8-10 minutes later, usually longer. And it will woft out in to the hallway and it smells glorious!

A full week had passed with my new "smelly" good stuff before I realized that I had not sneezed while walking into my house, it didn't bother me to walk into the bathroom after the spray had been sprayed. I could smell it and not break into teary eyes and sniffles. This product worked with me not against me.

No offense to a friend of mine that sells Scnetsy- I apologize girl but I have to pick Glade because I can't handle sneezing my head off.

So for me- the winner is Glade!! I love the product and highly recommend it to anyone else who wants a long lasting, well scented product.

TruMoo is a "Tru" Hit at our House!

A big thank you to BuzzAgent for providing me with a free full size sample of this to try! I love being a buzz agent!

Hello Loves!! 

I want to introduce y'all to my new found obsssion- TruMoo Chocolate Milk! First let me start with, my Princess is really the only of my three kiddos that likes milk and will drink it without having to be forced. The boys, that's an entire battle on its own. I was offered a free coupon for TruMoo chocolate milk and thought "why not, willing to try anything and this is suppose to be healthy!" So we did... 

Out store unfortunately only carried the half gallon, but that was ok, I didn't want it to go bad before it was all drank anyway. So we purchased this milk. It sat in the fridge for about two days before the kids realized it was chocolate milk. Then the Princess "HAD" to have some, nothing else would do until she tried this milk. Roughly 6 ounces of chocolate milk was GONE in less than 5 minutes flat. She chugged it and demanded more. Of course I cut her off, she would ruin her dinner at that point- but she did get more with dinner lol. 

After realizing what a hit this was with the Princess I then tried the boys, it was "awesome" according to my three year old. The two year old just handed me his cup and said "uh more!?" LOL! It was a hit at my house, even my picky hubs said "this ain't too bad, we need to buy more though- it's almost gone." Sure enough within two days the milk was devoured. Completely empty! 

Since having "tried" the milk we have already purchased it two more times! This company will love us spending this much money on chocolate milk. 

Below are the basic Nutrition Facts about TruMoo chocolate milk- decide for yourself!

((This is the Fat Free Chocolate milk- they also have Low Fat))

Total Fat- 0

Saturated Fat- 0

Trans Fat- 0

Cholesterol- 5mg

Sodium- 180mg

Potassium- 420mg

Carbohydrates- 20g

Sugar- 18g

Protein- 8g

Vitamin A- 10%

Vitamin C- 2%

Calcium- 30%

Vitamin D- 25%

Vitamin B12- 20%

Admit it- you're impressed! I know I sure was- and the fact that I didn't have to force my boys to drink it was relieving.

I also have to admit- I was the one who drank the last of it--- sssshhhh!!!!