Brookside Crunchy Clusters!

What is not to love??? Chocolate + Crunchy + Berry = AWESOME snack!! This is why I jumped at the chance to participate in the sample and share of Brookside Dark Chocolate Crunchy Clusters and #discoverBrookside

I received a sample of the Berry Medley Flavors and immediately opened the bag to give them a try....YUMMY!!



What a perfect blend of sweet and crunchy and the size is just right to pop a couple in your mouth. The fact that they are small means you can have 1 or 2 when you just need a little something sweet or grab a whole handful when you want more of a substantial snack. It is nice to have the option because I find often that I will open up a snack and eat the whole thing when all I really wanted/needed was just a couple bites to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Another thing that is great about Brookside is that the product has some nutritional value! Check out the nutrition facts

There is a decent amount fiber and protein which you don't see is most snack foods....especially ones that taste like candy! There is a lot of sugar so that is something to keep in mind but a little sweet every now and then never killed anyone. I think sweets like Brookside have a place in a balances diet and if they have a little fiber and protein that is a bonus in my book!

I shared my sample with my husband and he could not get enough!! He probably would have ate the whole bag by himself if I did not stop him. I told him I needed these to fuel my Crowtapping, so I packed them in my laptop bag and headed off to library for some quiet time to tap away. I love how easily I can transport them around in the resealable bag and they look great on my desk at the library.




I am so glad that I got the chance to #DiscoverBrookside! I can see this being a regular item in my pantry and a go to snack when I'm on the go!

Neutrogena® Rapid Dark Circle Repair

Day 1:
I come home from work and check the mail and guess what has arrived??? Another awesome sample courtesy of Crowdtap! Woot!!

I was even more excited than normal for this sample and share because I have had dark circles under my eyes for years and nothing has really done much to help. I was eager to give the Neutrogena Rapid Dark Circle Repair product a try!

I open the package and the instructions seem easy enough.....twist several times until the product is on the applicator brush. The box said 10-20 clicks but I ended up doing more like 50 clicks and then a big glob comes onto the brush.

This seemed like a lot at first but when I applied the product under my eyes and felt how light it was and how easily it was absorbed into my skin I knew I was good to go.

 

 It did not seem like there was much of a difference in the darkness of the skin under my eyes but they definitely seemed brighter. I think this was because of the cool shimmer effect of the product. Also, now that I look closer at the pictures I notice a different in the color and that it is lighter than when I use no product at all. I'll keep using and compare in another couple days.

Day 3:
I'm still using the product and definitely like the brightening effect thanks to the shimmer. The product feels great and I continue to see some dark spot reduction under my eyes.



 Day 7:
So far I am happy with the product and like the way it feels when I apply it. I am not seeing as drastic of a dark spot removal as I had hoped but will definitely continue to use. 



Final Verdict - I like the ease of use and the brightening that Neutrogena Rapid Dark Circle Repair provides. I was hoping for a more drastic reduction in the dark circles under my eyes but I definitely saw some improvement. I will continue to use and hope to see continued improvement in the future.

Simply Scott Squad - Toss the Tube Sampling!

I was shocked to learn via Crowdtap that over 17 billion toilet paper tubes are thrown away each year. With such huge waste I was very excited to learn about tubeless toilet paper!! Kudos to Scott for being the first to take on this challenge and to #tossthetube for good!

Challenge Begins

The package arrives and I immediate open and run to my bathroom!


 First things first.....let's see how it fits!


Perfect fit!! It fits in my toilet roll holder perfect as well. So far we are off to a great start!

Next is to use the product. I don't have pictures of that here for obvious reasons ;-)

I was able to pull from the roll easily and the product work just as good as normal Scott TP with a tube. It cleans up well and doesn't leave anything behind. Overall I am happy with the tube free TP!

The only minor comment I have is that the product is not a thick and plush as other brands. I currently use Cottonelle Clean Care (thanks to Crowdtap!) and find that Cottonelle is slightly thicker and more plush and feels a bit better to the touch. The debate for me now is comfort versus my goal of being more green and reducing waste. Can I sacrifice some comfort to #tossthetube for good ??

Other Uses

I don't typically us TP for other things but occasionally use it to clean up small bathroom spills. I spilled a bit of water on the sink and gave the Scott Tubeless TP a try at cleaning it up.




The TP worked great for the small water spill. However, I found that I had to use more of the Scott TP to clean the spill versus other products I have used. Is this a deal breaker? Not really. I don't mind using a bit more TP to reduce waste and #tossthetube for good.

Final Verdict

My husband feels the Scott tubeless TP is too thin and would prefer we stick with our current brand which is thicker and more plush. I am fine with the Scott tubeless brand and am very eager to reduce waste and #tossthetube for good. Good thing we have 2 bathrooms and came up with a compromise! I will use Scott tubeless TP in my bathroom and he will use Cottonelle in his bathroom. It's not an idea solution but marriage is all about compromising!!

Litter Genie Sample and Share

 

I have been eager to try the new Litter Genie ever since I saw this product on Crowdtap and I was very excited to be selected for the sample and share opportunity. I have two cats and while I love them dearly, I do not love their litter and the smell it leaves after they do their duty (doodie is more like it). I was excited to try anything that would make the task easier and help keep the smells in check. 

Before I get started sharing about the Litter Genie itself, I want to introduce the two bundles of joy that make all the stink my house.

Smokey

This is my first cat Smokey. She is enjoying a nice morning nap on a freshly cleaned blanket. Her pastimes are sleeping on our blankets and clothes, eating and smelling grass, and ensnaring my hands into her bear trap of claws and agony. I'm not kidding, she goes into the position showing me her belly to invite me in for a belly rub and then BAM....my hand is under attack! Look at those eyes and you know she has MURDER on her mind.

Bandit

My boy cat Bandit spends most of his hours in his special place.....the dirty clothes hamper. The hamper is in a dark closet and he was pretty upset that I had to turn the light on an interrupt his many hours of napping. When he is not napping he watches out the window patiently waiting for a bird or lizard to come by for him to attack. He forgets the window is there and comedy ensues. Watching that cat jump into the window just never gets old.

Litter Genie

So I was pretty happy when the package arrived so I immediately started work to get the genie setup.

I got a bit tripped up by the bag at first but with a little effort I got it setup and began scooping some of the fresh turds and pee into the genie....and there are always fresh turds and pee in our litter box!!! I get to scooping and then pulled on the trap door thingy and WHOOSH....the pee and turds were gone!!


I have two cats so there is no shortage of dirty litter to scoop, but I was kind of sad when a days worth of pee and poo filled up the bottom storage area. I was really hoping the genie would be a bit larger and store more than 1 days were of litter from my cats.

Despite this setback, I go on with my day running errands and 8 hours later I come home and notice NO pee or poo smell!!! This thing really works well to lock in the odors! We have purchases several of the larger dome litter pans to try to help with the smell issue and nothing has worked as well as the litter genie.....kudos for coming up with a way to truly lock in the odors. Call my impressed!

One last test.....does my cat approve of the litter genie. Smokey was curious but as you can see I think she approves of the genie. I may have cheated a bit by spraying cat nip nearby but we do what we have to do to please our kitties!!!
 

Final Thoughts
I was a little disappointed in the size and find that I would go through bags quickly with 2 cats. However, the genie truly does lock in the odors in a way that no litter box ever has so I am inclined to deal with changing bags often to improve the odor issue in our home.

To welcome the litter genie into the house we tagged with our kitties names so everyone knows that Smokey and Bandit's poo goes here!

Spread the Possibilities: A Hershey's Sampling

What is not to love about this sample and share. We are talking about CHOCOLATE and not just any chocolate, we are talking about a classic....Hershey's!! I was already a fan of chocolate and hazlenut spreads so I knew this would be a fun sample and share.

When my sample arrived a week ago the word share completely slipped my mind and I started digging into the pantry for some bread and other things to dip in this chocolate wonderfulness. I found some whole grain bread and stale tortilla chips and went to town. I waited patiently for my bread to toast and then spread the chocolate all over it and took my first bite. Oh yeah....that was YUMMY!!

The chips were not quite as good since they were a bit stale but that really did not stop me from eatin them and enjoying more of that chocolately, creamy goodness.

It would be a couple days before I would be ready to share my new favorite food with anyone else but in the meantime I came up with another fun way to use the spread. I added a spoonful to my oatmeal.....AMAZING!!

Now it is time to share!!


What better way to share the Hershey's Spread the Pairing Possibilities than a sweet party platter!! Check mine out....

I picked out my favorite items to dip in chocolate (bananas, strawberries, and apples), picked up some salty pretzels for something fun, and got a bit daring with the broccoli. I bet Hershey's spread will make even broccoli delicious! I put the platter out for my husband and brother to enjoy but unfortunately they are a bit camera shy. I, on the other hand, have no trouble taking lots of pictures of myself. Here are some pictures of me enjoying my awesome spread.....even the broccoli!!




The top row is the strawberry and that was really good. I decided to go for it and try the broccoli next. My face pretty much says it all.....not too bad! I would not eat it all the time or maybe not ever again but it was not as horrible as you might think. I tasted chocolate more than anything but the texture of the raw broccoli made it a bit tough to swallow. My favorite was the banana slices which you see on the bottom row. This was a unanimous winner for all 3 of us (my husband is taking pictures and my brother is hiding).

Favorite Spread Pairings

1. Spread on Toast – This was honestly the first thing I tried when my box arrived! Why wait for friends or family! I toasted a slice of whole grain bread, spread that wonderful chocolate with almond spread, and I was in heaven. This is definitely the #1 pairing and the way I will use the spread the most in the future

2. Spread with bananas - I don't know why this combination is so wonderful but it is YUMMY! The bananas were the first thing to go on my sample platter so I am obviously not alone in loving this combo!

3. Spread with strawberries - another winner! Sweet plus sweet! The creaminess of the spread is a great combo for the sweetness of the fruit.

4. Spread with apples - you can probably see a trend that I like my sweets!! Apples were another great pairing idea and the spread just added to the great sweet flavor of the fruit.

5. Spread with pretzels - This is one I was most excited about mixing salty and sweet and it was definitely a yummy treat!! I don't think it beats the sweet combinations with banana and strawberry but will definitely be a regular dipping/spreading pairing in my house.

A Daring Pairing

Broccoli - I got inspired by the insert in the sample and share to go for broke and spread onto a vegetable. I figured broccoli might be fun so I included it on my sharing platter. I was the only one to try it (of course) but it was not as horrible as I thought. I don't think this will go onto my favorites list but glad I tried it.

Oatmeal – I was preparing my morning oatmeal the day after I received my sample and figured why not add some delicious spread! I don’t know if this is as daring as pickles or other vegetables suggested in the challenge pamphlet but it was not something I have seen done before and it turned out GREAT! That spread melted quickly into my oatmeal and gave a great creamy chocolate flavor. It complimented the pecans and cranberries perfectly!! This is definitely a pairing and will be having again….and again!

Greek Yogurt - For some of of us that are a bit more health conscious, dipping into hershey's is a bit more calories and fat that we want on a regular basis. I honestly consider these type of spreads a rare treat for that reason. However, I came up with the bright idea to mix some of the spread with greek yogurt for a creamy low cal chocolately treat.....SUCCESS!!

I mixed approximately 1 cup of 0% fat vanilla greek yogurt with 1 Tablespoon of the spread which equals approximately 300 calories for the entire thing. Compare this to 200 calories for only 2 Tablespoons of the spread by itself (which I could eat 2-3 servings of very easily). I enjoyed the chocolate yogurt dip over the next several days with my cut up fruit so I probably averaged only 100-150 calories per snack. I think it is a great way to fulfill the chocolate craving without completely blowing your calories for the day.

 With all said and done I am really glad I was chosen to be part of this sample and share and look forward to seeing Hershey's chocolate spreads in stores soon!!