Halloween Fun with Choc-O-Lantern Pop-Tarts

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Pop-Tarts.

When Pop-Tarts and BlogHer asked me to create a recipe using Limited Edition Choc-o-Lantern Pop-Tarts, they had no idea what kind of monster they were unleashing. Halloween happens to be my thing, and every year I enjoy cooking up a fun Halloween showpiece for our annual Halloween party. To get started, I thought about which Halloween icon Pop-Tarts most resembled, and the answer was easy: a tombstone! However, Pop-Tarts is one step ahead of me; when my sample Choc-o-Lantern Pop-Tarts arrived, they already had a recipe for a Pop-Tarts Graveyard on the back of the box. Back to square one. What else comes to mind when I munch on Pop-Tarts and think of Halloween? How about pirate's treasure chest? Or a coffin? Eureka! I had the most spine-tingling, bone-chilling, spectacular Halloween recipe ever! MWAHAHAHAHA! Behold, my Halloween Surprise Box. 

Okay, it's not a coffin; I didn't want to deal with cutting up the Pop-Tarts into coffin shapes. It's not even a treasure chest, because Jammy insisted treasure chests have curved lids, and wouldn't let me call it a treasure chest. So it's a Surprise Box -- but whatever it's called, it's fun, spooky, and 100% Halloween. Here's how to make it: Ingredients 6 Kellogg's Choc-o-Lantern Pop-Tarts 1/4 cup orange or brown colored candy melts (We used light brown, peanut-butter flavored candy melts. You can also use royal icing; here's a good recipe) 1 box brownie mix 1 box instant chocolate pudding 2 gummy fingers 2 bamboo skewers assorted Halloween-themed candies to decorate

 

	Step 1: Place the candy melts in a ziploc bag and microwave on 50% power for 45 seconds, or until melted. Snip a corner of the ziploc bag. Stand one of the Pop-Tarts on one edge, then carefully pipe some candy melt icing on the edge of the Pop-Tarts. "Glue" it onto a second of the Pop-Tarts to make a corner.
	Step 2: Repeat for the other corner. I used the Pop-Tarts box to prop both corners up until the candy melts dried.
	Step 3: Pulse one of the Pop-Tarts in a food processor until crumbly, then set aside
	Step 4: Prepare the brownies according to package directions and cool completely. When cool, cut into chunks and fill the box about 2/3 full (you'll have plenty of leftover brownies to nibble on!)
	Step 5: Carefully thread the gummy fingers onto the bamboo skewers.
	Step 6: Prepare the chocolate pudding according to package directions. When the pudding is set, spoon about half of the pudding on top of the brownies, or until the box is full. (Sorry, I don't have a photo of the pudding, but you get the idea)
	Step 7: Stick the skewered gummy fingers into the front corner of the box, then carefully prop the last of the Pop-Tarts on top of the fingers. Let the other end of the Pop-Tarts rest on one of the box edges, like a lid. Pipe more candy melt or royal icing on the edge of the box and on top of the gummy fingers to "glue" the lid in place.
	Step 8: This is the fun part: decorate the box with Halloween-themed candies. Get some gummy worms oozing out of the pudding or drape them over the lid. Stick some gummy eyeballs or bones or skulls in there. Sprinkle the crumbled Pop-Tarts over the pudding and around the to resemble dirt. Go wild!

To serve, pick out all the candies and lift off the lid. Then scoop up the brownies and pudding into individual dishes. Then divide up the Pop-Tarts and candies (there should be extra brownies and pudding) and enjoy. I know, it looks too pretty, I mean spooky, to eat, but it's gotta be done. This recipe is so much fun to make, and so much fun to eat, it's positively scary!

  Win a $100 Visa Gift Card One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a $100 Visa Gift card courtesy of BlogHer. To enter, just leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite Halloween treat. You can get extra entries by tweeting and blogging about this giveaway, making sure to include a link to this giveaway in your tweet or blog post. Just leave a comment on this post and share the link to your tweet or blog post. Entries will be accepted until October 31, 2010. For full giveaway rules, click here. You can also gain 9 other chances to win $100 by visiting the BlogHer.com Halloween Pop-Tarts exclusive offers page. Good luck!

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Summer Fun

This is sponsored content by BlogHer and Kelloggs.

Oh where, oh where has the summertime gone? We've got two weeks until school starts, which is just enough time for one last hurrah. Or two. Or three. Or fourteen. Hey, we've gotta make the most of each lazy, carefree summer day before we get back to the daily schooltime grind! Here's a list of fourteen things I want to do before the summer ends: 1) Visit a theme park What's summer without the thrills and chills of an amusement park? We purchased a season pass to Gilroy Gardens, a small, local (i.e. not crowded!) theme park, so the kids could get their fill of roller coasters, twirling teacups, giant swing rides and giant rocking viking boats. If they had their way, we'd be there every day, but fortunately for my poor, nauseated stomach we've got other activities on our agenda. 2) See the animals at the zoo This spring we bought an annual membership to the Oakland Zoo this summer, and so far we've only visited once. We're definitely visiting the zoo at least once more before school starts because I hate the thought of wasting the membership. Oh, and because the kids like seeing those tiny Day-Glo colored frogs. 3) Camp out We need another week to recover from our European travels, but next week I want to throw our tents and sleeping bags into the car and head to a nearby camping ground for some outdoor fun. 4) Visit a museum There's no shortage of family-friendly museums in the Bay Area, and each one is guaranteed to give us a fun, educational day. 5) Have some fish and chips
Like we didn't have fish and chips once or twice a week while we were in the UK. But we love fish and chips and can't get enough of the stuff. Besides, while we're munching on our food we can reminisce about our fish and chips in Volendam, or in Portsmouth, or in Devizes, or in any of the other places we ate fish and chips in this summer. 6) Read The kids have just a week to go before the summer reading program at our local library ends. They've actually reached their reading goals -- they just need to write out their reading logs -- but they love reading so much that adding a couple of books to their total isn't a big deal. 7) Go to the beach It seems crazy to think that we live in California and haven't been to the beach even once this summer! 8) Go to a water park The kids have never been to Water World, and it looks like it's going to be a hot weekend. Guess where we're going? 9) Skate The Pea is just at the cusp of moving up a grade in her figure skating lessons so she wants to spend as much time in the ice rink as she can. As for 3Po and Jammy, they want to skate too -- skateboard, that is. They each received a skateboard from their grandparents as a belated birthday present, and they're eager to carve up those concrete halfpipes at the skate park. 10) Eat some summertime fruit Our local farmer's market has the best organic peaches and nectarines in the world, but their season is coming to an end. The market will stay open till December, but the organic peach stall will close in a couple of weeks, so we're making the most of it and stuffing ourselves with the sweet, juicy fruit. 11) Learn something new The Pea wanted to learn how to knit this summer, and with just two weeks left I doubt if she'll be starting schoolyear knitting scarves. But there's no time like the present to start, and if I buy a how-to book and some yarn and spend some time with her, she might at least get to know the difference between a knit and a purl. 12) Plan a sleepover The great thing about a summertime sleepover is that you can have it on any day of the week -- there's no school to wake up early for -- and save the weekends for family, when everyone is home. 13) Chill It's summertime. I've got to leave some time to do absolutely nothing. 14) Prepare for school. Truth be told, I think the kids are ready to go back to school. They miss their friends, and they want to get back to their various lessons and organized activities. And I'm looking forward to getting the house back to myself after they're all in class. So we're celebrating by shopping for some spiffy new lunchboxes and back-to-school outfits. I think it's going to be a great schoolyear, and -- dare I say it?? -- I can't wait to get started! Whatever you plan to do for the rest of the summer, don't forget to fuel up with a good breakfast -- and have some Bonggamom Finds on the side! I'm partnering with BlogHer and Kellogg's to bring you some fun breakfast topics, from morning routines to cereal to family breakfast traditions and more. Join me every week through October 2010 for a new discussion -- and a new giveaway for a $100 Visa Gift Card! Win a $100 Visa Gift Card One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a $100 Visa Gift card courtesy of Kellogg's and BlogHer. To enter, just leave a comment on this post and tell me what your family likes to eat for breakfast. You can get extra entries by tweeting and blogging about this giveaway, making sure to include a link to this giveaway in your tweet or blog post. Just leave a comment on this post and share the link to your tweet or blog post. Entries will be accepted until August 23, 2010. For full giveaway rules, click here. You can also gain 24 extra chances to win $100 by visiting the BlogHer.com Kellogg exclusive offers page. Good luck! The Mom's Breakfast Club was started to help educate moms and families about kids' cereal and share the scoop on their nutritional benefits and ingredients. Kellogg's helps moms keep their morning simple with cereal varieties for everyone in the family. For more information, visit www.loveyourcereal.com. This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and Kellogg's. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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The Breakfast Routine

This is sponsored content by BlogHer and Kelloggs.

Growing up, I never ate breakfast. You'd think that the daughter of a doctor would have known better than to skip the most important meal of the day, but my dad always got up later than we did, and I don't think he ever knew that his kids were sleeping in until the last minute and rushing into the car to get to school. Or maybe my parents just figured that if I ate a snack during our school's 10AM recess break, we'd be okay.

Now I'm a parent of three school-aged children, and our morning routine couldn't be more different. Okay, maybe it's not that different. My kids also sleep in until the last minute and rush to get ready. But we do sit at our kitchen table to have breakfast every single day. The benefits to mind and body of eating a good breakfast each morning can't be ignored! I had to make a real effort to cultivate the breakfast habit in myself, but now I'm just like Alfie and the kids -- I need that morning fuel to jump start my day.

It's usually cereal and milk for the kids, but on those rare occasions that pancakes appear on 3Po's breakfast plate, he sure cleans it up!

Exactly what that fuel is varies from day to day -- for me, at least. The kids and Alfie start each day like clockwork; almost every single day they have a bowl of cereal and milk, some fruit and a glass of juice or water. I, on the other hand, crave more variety. Sometimes I have fruit and yogurt. Sometimes I crave a bowl of oatmeal. Sometimes I'll munch on toast with scrambled eggs. Sometimes I'll treat myself to a croissant, or a waffle smeared with cream cheese and honey. There are even times when I have last night's leftovers! On those days Alfie can barely look at my breakfast plate, but as I keep reminding him, different cultures have different morning eating habits:

* Filipinos like chorizo and rice
* The Japanese like miso soup and fish
* Cubans like beans and rice
* Bavarian cultures like sausage, pretzels..... and beer!

It's not much different from a traditional English breakfast of bacon, eggs and tomato, is it? I figure, as long as it's healthy, it doesn't really matter what you eat for breakfast, as long as you do eat breakfast.

Does anyone want to join me this morning for some leftover pea soup?



Whatever your morning fuel is, don't forget to have some Bonggamom Finds with your breakfast! I'm partnering with BlogHer and Kellogg's to bring you some fun breakfast topics, from morning routines to cereal to family breakfast traditions and more. Join me every week through October 2010 for a new discussion -- and a new giveaway for a $100 Visa Gift Card!


Win a $100 Visa Gift Card
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a $100 Visa Gift card courtesy of Kellogg's and BlogHer. To enter, just leave a comment on this post and tell me what your family likes to eat for breakfast.

You can get extra entries by tweeting and blogging about this giveaway, making sure to include a link to this giveaway in your tweet or blog post. Just leave a comment on this post and share the link to your tweet or blog post. Entries will be accepted until August 16, 2010. For full giveaway rules, click here. You can also gain 24 extra chances to win $100 by visiting the BlogHer.com Kellogg exclusive offers page. Good luck!



The Mom's Breakfast Club was started to help educate moms and families about kids' cereal and share the scoop on their nutritional benefits and ingredients. To learn more about the program, visit www.betterbythebowl.com.

Kellogg's helps moms keep their morning simple with cereal varieties for everyone in the family. For more information, visit www.loveyourcereal.com.

This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and Kellogg's. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Tom's of Maine Silly Strawberry Toothpaste review and giveaway - win a $100 Visa giftcard!

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Tom's of Maine.

When I was a kid, getting ready for bed was boring. We used whatever the grownups used to wash our hair, scrub our bodies and brush our teeth. No fun flavors or yummy scents, no cartoon characters on the bottles. No wonder I hated going to bed. Things are so much better in today's world of personal care products for kids! I know, I know, it's the usual You've-got-it-easy-in-my-day-I-had-to-walk-five-miles-to-milk-the-cow story, but as a parent I'm nothing but happy at the way kid-friendly products turn bathing and brushing teeth into a fun, pleasant activity. It goes without saying that the ingredients in a kids' product should be gentle, not harmful. BlogHer Reviews recently sent us a tube of Tom's of Maine Silly Strawberry toothpaste for kids, which I was more than happy to try because I know Tom's of Maine has a reputation for safe, natural and effective. But is Tom's kid-friendly? The Basics Tom's of Maine Natural Anticavity Fluoride Toothpaste for kids is flavored with real fruit flavor oils, not artificial sweeteners. It uses naturally-sourced fluoride to help prevent cavities, and uses calcium and silica to clean. The toothpaste comes in two flavors, Silly Strawberry and Outrageous Orange-Mango. Here's what Tom's has to say about this product: Only one natural oral care company carries the ADA Seal of Acceptance for a children’s toothpaste, Tom’s of Maine Anticavity Children’s Silly Strawberry with Fluoride. And because we care as much as you do, we’ve never tested it on animals or added artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. It’s flavored with natural oils for a great strawberry taste they’ll love. (Check out the Tom's official site) The Bongga The verdict is in: Tom's is definitely kid-friendly. Even the name, Silly Strawberry, and the friendly little parrot on the toothpaste tube got my kids smiling. I asked 3Po if he felt like doing a silly dance while brushing his teeth with the Silly Stawberry toothpaste, and since my kids have been shoved in front of cameras since birth, 3Po was more than happy to comply. So without further ado, here's a video of 3Po brushing himself silly: The Pea got into the act as well: Best of all, this toothpaste is as natural as my kids' smiles! I love the fact that there are no artifical ingredients. No saccharin, or sparkles, just calcium and silica and fluoride. And at about $3 per 4-oz tube, it's reasonably priced! The Blah The Pea gave this toothpaste a very balanced review; she liked the flavor but thought it was too mild: I myself have no problem with the flavor; I quite like the subtle strawberry taste, and I think it smells divine. My problem with the toothpaste is the vintage-y metal tube it comes in. I just find it hard to squeeze and unsightly. Why bother with this kind of 70's era packaging anyway? Can it be recycled? Update 12/18/09: Tom's of Maine has contacted me with an answer to my question above: yes, they do use environmentally sustainable packaging! Two thumbs up to Tom's for their eco-awareness and quick customer response :) The Bottom Line Tomt's of Maine Silly Strawberry toothpaste gets your kids' teeth clean and healthy without artificial ingredients. And it still manages to look, smell and taste like a kids' toothpaste, which means kids are happy to brush with it. Win It! One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a $100 Visa giftcard, courtesy of BlogHer reviews and Tom's of Maine. Required entry: Leave a comment on this post and tell me what you do to get your kids to brush their teeth. Extra entries: You can do any or all of the following, (you can only do each entra entry once; please leave a separate comment for each extra entry): 1) Become a fan of Bonggamom Finds on Facebook (leave a comment with your FB id). 2) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger(leave a comment with your Blogger profile name). 3) Blog about this giveaway, making sure you have a link to the giveaway in your blog post (leave a comment with a link to your blog post). 4) Tweet this giveaway (leave a comment with a link to your tweet). Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste: Win a $100 Visa giftcard from @bonggafinds and Tom's of Maine http://tinyurl.com/yc3gqm2 Maximum of 5 entries per person. This giveaway begins at 9:00AM on December 15, 2009, and ends at midnight PST on January 15, 2010; I will draw a winner at random on January 16 and post the winner's name as soon as the winner confirms acceptance. Winner has 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. For official BlogHer giveaway rules, click here. And don't forget to check out more reviews of Tom's Silly Strawberry toothpaste; each reviewer is giving away a $100 giftcard so you'll have a total of 8 chances to win. Good luck! Disclaimer: this is a compensated review. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Ragu Pasta Sauce -- It's RaGooood! (Review and Giveaway)

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Ragu. Keep reading to find out how to win a $100 Visa Card!

My family loves tomatoes, and there's nothing like a simple, fresh red sauce on pasta al dente. But I don't always have the time or energy to make it all from scratch. So one pantry staple I cannot live without is jarred pasta sauce. I recently participated in a BlogHer review of Ragu pasta sauces, and I have to say it's great to know that I don't have to sacrifice convenience to feed my family well. According to their website, half a cup of Ragu's red sauces contain a full serving of vegetables. And unlike many jarred foods, these sauces have no additives or preservatives. All those delicious, healthy tomatoes already peeled, seeded, sauteed and simmered for you -- what's not to love? The Basics We were sent several varieties of Ragu pasta sauce -- Ragu Old World Style Sweet Tomato Basil, Ragu Old World Style Margherita, Ragu Alfredo, and Ragu Pizza Sauce-- and invited to try some of the recipes on Ragu.com. The Bongga The combination of nutrition, taste, cost and convenience makes Ragu sauces hard to beat. When I'm out of time/inspiration/money, I just pour them on hot pasta, and they taste great all by themselves. They also make a great base sauce for more labor-intensive recipes! And speaking of recipes, I definitely recommend the ones we tried from Ragu.com. Here are three recipes that we really enjoyed:
Upside Down Deep Dish Pizza When I opened the oven and the kids saw this dish, they howled in disappointment. This is NOT pizza, it's a yucky casserole! But I'm not called Mom for nothing -- our rule is that everyone has to try everything once. I know what they like, and I was right. I am not gracious in victory: I thoroughly enjoy telling my kids, "I told you so". Even if I hadn't forced them to admit how yummy it was, I could tell they loved it by the way they were wolfing it down. When I confessed that there was spinach mixed in with the beef, they merely shrugged and kept on eating. The spinach really does go well with the ground beef and Ragu sauce (I did add a bit more cheese than the recipe called for, but the taste of beef and spinach still came out loud and clear). And the next day, we all fought over the leftovers. This is definitely a keeper!
Pasta Margherita This must be one of the highest ROI -- return on investment -- recipes ever. In plain English, I get a delicious pasta dish that my kids will devour for practically zero effort! This is pretty much our We-just-got-home-from-soccer-practice-and-Good-Grief-is-that-the-time-I-need-to-make-dinner! staple. It is beyond easy to prepare . No penne pasta in the cupboard? No problem. We substituted cheese tortellini. Kids hate pepperoni? Use sausages instead! The one must-have, in my opinion, is the basil. Forget the "optional" note in the recipe -- this is what really makes the dish. You only need a few leaves to enhance the basil that's already in the Ragu Margherita sauce. And if you use fresh basil leaves, fresh mozarella and high-quality pepperoni, I swear the result is as good as any you get from your local pasta joint. Double opped Mushroom Pizza This is another high-ROI recipe, especially since you don't make the pizza dough yourself (Although you could if you really wanted to. As for me, I consider yeast a live animal and don't particularly want to work with it, so I was happy to use a prebaked crust). This is another time-crunch standby in our household. Olives are Jammy's favorite vegetable, and we all love mushrooms, so this recipe is right up our alley . But I've never used green onions to top a homemade pizza before, and I have to say they were a surprisingly delicious touch! And I'm proud to say that none of my kids felt it necessary to pick out ANY of the toppings before they shoved the pizza into their mouths. You can find all three recipes online at Ragu.com. And be sure to visit Ragu.com for even more kid-friendly recipes, healthy tips and more. The Blah This is one of those rare reviews where I have nothing to write in the Blah section. Unless.... hmmmm..... it sucks that I ate way more than I should have? The Bottom Line Ragu pasta sauce -- delicious, nutritious, budget-friendly and oh-so-easy! Like I need any more reasons to make it a pantry staple in our household? Win it! One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will be selected to win a $100 Visa gift card! To enter, head on over to the Ragu recipe page and select the recipe that you'd most love to try. Leave me a comment below and tell me which recipe you chose. Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct. For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry): 1) Grab my button -- it's on the left hand sidebar, or click here to get it -- and post it on your blog! (leave a comment here with a link to your site). 2) Blog about this giveaway and link to this giveaway on your blog post (leave a comment with a link to your blog post). 3) Tweet this giveaway (leave a comment with a link to your tweet). Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste: Win a $100 Visa giftcard from @bonggafinds and Ragu http://tinyurl.com/yc7xp3x The Rules: * The contest will begin at 10/1/2009 and will end 11/11/2009. * No duplicate comments. Maximum of 4 entries per person. * This giveaway is open to US-residents, aged 18 and over. * Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail. * You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. Don't forget to check out the rest of the BlogHer Reviewers' Ragu meals - you have 10 chance to win a $100 Visa gift card. Good luck!  I received a product sample and monetary compensation for this post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Back to School with Lance Crackers

 This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Lance Snacks.

It's almost time for school to start once again, and this year I've got three kids in elementary school now! I'm going to have to figure out a way to pack 3 mid-morning snacks and 4 lunches (yes, I pack lunch for my husband as well!) and get 3 kids ready for school in the morning. And I'm going to have to rely on healthy, easy-to-prepare snack foods more than ever -- which is why I was happy to join BlogHer's Lance Snacks review, and try out some of their new healthier snack products. The Basics We tried several Lance Varities: Their new Whole Grain Sandwich Crackers line, with three varieties -- Real Peanut Butter on Whole Grain, Real Cheddar Cheese on Whole Grain, and Real Sharp Cheddar Cheese on Whole Grain, all with 3 grams of fiber per serving, and their new 100 Calorie line, also with three varieties -- Toast Chee (peanut butter on cheese crackers), Toasty (peanut butter on butter crackers) and NipChee (cheddar cheese on cheese crackers), all in serving sizes of 100 calories each. As with all Lance Snacks, these new varieties use real peanut butter and real cheese, and contain zero trans fat and zero high-fructose corn syrup. The Bongga The Lance Whole Grain Sandwich Crackers rock! I already buy sandwich snack crackers to tuck into the kids' lunch boxes now and then, but they're always made with white flour, so I wondered how they would like the taste of the Lance Whole Grain Sandwich Crackers. I needn't have worried; they didn't even notice the difference! The nutty taste of the whole grain crackers pairs perfectly with the Real Sharp Cheddar Cheese spread; in fact, it was my kids' hands-down favorite. When the sandwich crackers first arrived, I let my kids each have a pack of 6 sandwich crackers for their mid-morning snack, which they quickly wolfed down. Since whole grains are more filling, those 6 crackers would be more than adequate for a kids' snack, but it was getting close to noontime, and they were still hungry, so opened up a couple more packs, brought out a bowl of sweet, organic cherry tomatoes, poured them each a glass of milk, and we turned it into an early lunch. Yum! I got to thinking of some other ways I'd serve these sandwich crackers: * Real Peanut Butter on Whole Grain with apple slices on the side and honey for dipping (dipping apples, crackers or both, that is) * Real Peanut Button on Whole Grain with Nutella spread on top * Chicken salad spread on Real Sharp Cheddar Cheese on Whole Grain, topped with a grape and a walnut. * Tomato soup with Real Sharp Cheddar Cheese on Whole Grain on the side (or dunked into the soup!) The best thing about the ideas above (well, the second-best thing, actually; the best thing about them is how yummy they are) is that they're all totally portable, so I can easily pack these into my kids' school lunchboxes once school starts. It's a delicious, easy way for them to increase their consumption of whole grains! The Blah Having been raised on genuine sharp English cheddar and the stinkiest cheeses available, I'm not surprised that my kids didn't care much for the Real Cheddar Cheese on Whole Grain or the 100 Calorie Nip Chee sandwich crackers (they found both varieties tasteless), but I can see how many kids might like the mild cheesy taste. And because my kids are always on the go, the 100 Calorie snack packs didn't really fill them up; they ended up eating two packets anyway. For 190 calories, I think 1 pack of the Whole Grain variety, with 3 grams of fiber, is more filling and nutritious than 2 of the 100 Calorie packs. The Bottom Line We're big fans of Lance's new Whole Grain line of sandwich crackers! They've got the nutrition of whole grain, taste great and fill you up, which makes them a great option to pack into my kids' lunchboxes. And the 100 Calorie packs are a great way for calorie counters to control their portion size -- but not their appetites. Here's what Lance Crackers has to say about their new snack lines: Snack to School with Lance… The end of summer is a busy time for moms getting kids excited and ready to go back to school. There’s shopping for clothes, shoes and school supplies plus the challenge of finding sensible snack and lunch options that moms can feel good about packing…and the entire family will actually eat! With no preservatives, no trans fat and no high fructose corn syrup, Lance Sandwich Crackers can be part of your back to school plan. Every Lance sandwich cracker is baked fresh with real peanut butter or real cheese filling. New this school year are three whole grain varieties and three 100 calorie options. Based on growing consumer interest in whole grain products, Lance replaced its wheat crackers with the launch of whole grain in the following varieties: • Real peanut butter on whole grain crackers • Real sharp cheddar cheese on whole grain crackers • Real cheddar cheese on whole grain crackers For consumers looking for a portion-controlled snacking alternative that still fills them up, Lance unveiled 100 calorie sizes of its three most popular varieties. • ToastChee® Peanut Butter 100% Lance-made creamy peanut butter layered on mini-baked cheese crackers • Toasty™ Peanut Butter 100% Lance-made creamy peanut butter layered on mini-baked, butter-flavored crackers • NipChee™ Cheddar Cheese Real cheddar cheese layered on mini-baked, cheese-flavored crackers Best of all is the fact that kids like the way it tastes! With more than 16 varieties, Lance Sandwich Crackers can help keep snack time fresh and satisfy even the loudest of growling tummies. Learn more about the new 100-calorie snacks and whole grain snacks at Lance's official site. And don't forget to check out what the rest of the BlogHer Reviewers have to say about Lance snacks! I was compensated for this BlogHer Review by Lance Snacks. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Here Comes the Sun

This is a compensated review courtesy of BlogHer and Capri-Sun Sunrise

Capri-Sun Sunrise is Making Every Day Better for moms and kids -- and they're going to make one lucky reader's day even better with a $250 VISA gift card! Read on to find out how to enter.

Is it morning already? Mornings are not my strong suit. My kids are up with the sun, but I stay in bed until I absolutely have to get up. I jump out of bed between 7:15 and 7:20, get dressed, get The Pea up and dressed, get breakfast, pack everyone's lunch, and walk The Pea to school. We have to be out the door by 8:00AM, so it's all a rush rush rush! My morning routine is like a finely-tuned precision instrument: throw a cog in it (like discovering we've run out of juice or realizing that The Pea didn't do her homework the night before), and everything falls apart. So I gladly agreed to try and review Capri-Sun's great new option for streamlining my kids' breakfast: Sunrise, a new breakfast juice drink . We buy Capri-Sun's 100% Juice and Roaring Waters drinks all the time, so my kids didn't need to be asked twice to serve as volunteer taste-testers. They quickly slurped down one of each of the 3 flavors -- Orange Wake Up, Tropical Morning, and Berry Tangerine Morning -- gave me the thumbs up, and proceeded to benchpress their own weight in barbells made out of Knex. Okay, I'm kidding, but with all-natural ingredients, added calcium and 100% daily Vitamin C in each serving, Sunrise will send them off to a good start and a great day. I'm not kidding about the thumbs-up part, though. My kids loved all 3 flavors (my personal favorite is the Orange Wake Up). And since Sunrise comes in prepacked fun pouches, The Pea can get her own drink in the mornings instead of wasting precious time waiting for me to finish unloading the dishwasher before I can pour her some juice. When my morning routine gets messed up, less fuss means less stress! Speaking of that pouch, yes, the eco-friendliness of disposable drink pouches is an issue, but I have no problem with enjoying the convenience of pre-packed individual servings during the most hectic mornings. They're also perfect for field trips or outdoor summer daycamps or other occasions when my kids leave their lunchboxes behind and we can't ever get them back. Losing and replacing a $17 reusable aluminum bottle four or five times a year isn't going to do the earth or my pocketbook any good! Besides, now that Capri-Sun has partnered with Terracycle.net, you can actually recycle all your Capri-Sun pouches, and earn some cash for your kids' school in the process. How great is that for minimizing your family's eco-footprint and teaching your kids some valuable lessons at the same time? Yes, Capri-Sun Sunrise is Making Every Day Better for moms and kids, and guess what? The good folks at BlogHer and Capri-Sun Sunrise are going to make someone's day even better, because they have given me a $250 Visa giftcard to give away to one lucky Bonggamom Finds reader! Here's how to enter: Leave me a comment below and share YOUR morning routine tips -- I need all the advice I can get on how to speed up (or calm down) the mornings in our household! Don't forget to leave a valid email address so I can contact you. This must be completed to enter the giveaway, and done before any additional entries become valid.

I made this yummy breakfast drink using some yogurt, 3 pouches of Orange Wake Up, bananas and strawberries. It's a weekend-only treat! If you can figure out a way I can find the time to have this for breakfast on schooldays, leave your comment here. You'll earn my undying love and a chance to earn a $250 Visa giftcard.

You can also receive additional entries (maximum of 3 extra entries) by doing any of the following: 1) Follow Bonggamom on Blogger and leave a comment with your Blogger profile name. 2) Blog about this giveaway and leaving a comment here with a link to your blog post. 3) Follow me on twitter AND spread the word with this tweet: $250 Visa gift card giveaway from @bonggafinds @BlogHer and CapriSun http://tw5.us/Uq please RT! and leave a comment here with a link to your tweet (make sure it's a link to the actual tweet, not a link to your twitter homepage!). Some rules: * The contest will begin on April 29th and will end July 8th. * No duplicate comments. * This giveaway is open to US residents, over the age of 18. * Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail after July 8, 2009. * You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. * Read the Official Rules for the full details. By the way, you can increase your chances of winning by visiting BlogHer's contest roundup page -- there are seven other BlogHer reviewers who are also giving away a $250 Visa giftcard! Good luck! 

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