Uncle Ben's Whole Grain White Rice Event

Last month I attended an event through Mom Central for the Uncle Ben's Whole Grain White Rice launch. We eat a lot of rice in our home so I thought that this would be right up my alley - not to mention that I have been trying to incorporate more whole grains into our diets as well.

"Made with natural ingredients and low in fat, Whole Grain White Rice combines the familiar taste, texture and cooking time of white rice with the goodness of whole grains. Just one serving of UNCLE BEN’S® Whole Grain White Rice is a good source of fiber and nearly delivers the recommended daily amount of whole grains."

The event started with a mix and mingle and I was able to meet some great moms from the Los Angeles area. The location was LA Foodworks which is a private home owned and run by the beautiful and talented Rose LeBoeuf. We got to taste a couple of the dishes that we would soon be making & I was pretty excited. After reading the recipes, I was most excited about the Sneaky Vanilla Rice Pudding which not only contained Uncle Ben's Whole Grain White Rice - Long Grain, but also a can of white beans (even more fiber and also a great source of protein).

We then donned our Uncle Ben's apron and got cooking. We learned that the whole grain white rice came in 6 plain and flavored varieties: Long Grain, Broccoli Cheddar, Chicken, Taco Style, Sweet Tomato and Garden Vegetable. We used rice as a pizza crust (BBQ Chicken Pizza), as a filling for burritos, for dessert (in the rice pudding) and as a filling for pizza balls. I had a lot of fun cooking in Rose's fabulous kitchen and talking to all the moms and the great gals (Nayna and Megan) from Mom Central. The event was entertaining and I left with boxes of Uncle Ben's rice as well as lots and lots of leftovers!

My husband's favorite dish by far was the BBQ Chicken Pizza  (pictured above) which I mentioned had a crust made from rice. It also contains pureed chickpeas (garbanzo beans). I know most children don't eat a lot of so this would be a great (and sneaky) way to get this ingredient into your family's diet. I have since made this meal at home for my family and while I wasn't a successful at home as I was at LA Foodworks, they still liked it and I will fix my mistakes (my crust was too thick) and try again because it is just a great way to get whole grains into our meals. I am also planning on putting some tweaks on the recipe for Vanilla Rice Pudding which was good, but can be great with some brown sugar and maybe a little more cooking time.

All of us in the LA Foodworks Kitchen

Many thanks to Uncle Ben's, Mom Central and LA Foodworks for a wonderful Mom's Night Out.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Uncle Bens and received the product necessary to facilitate my candid review. In addition, I received a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate."

Project Laundry Line Challenge- Seventh Generation || Part I

I am participating in the Project Laundry Line Challenge with Seventh Generation Natural 2x Concentrated Laundry Liquid (good for 66 loads of laundry), portable laundry line and clothes pins. Yes, this city girl has been washing all her clothing in cold water and hanging them out to dry in the fresh mountain air using a laundry line and clothes pins. For those of you who know me well, stop laughing and read on.

I started this project with every intention of starting and completing it straight through for the 30 days. However, when I realized I hadn't done laundry in a few days and needed a pair of pants that was dirty that day, I had cheated. Then, Luke was out of undershirts and I had to do that load right away and on both occasions used the dryer. That led to another load and then that led to another and before I knew it, the laundry line was empty but my dryer was not.

So - I began anew and will soon be posting my 15-day update. Basically, this has been a bit harder than I had anticipated but I know that it is much better for the environment and our bank account. "If the average family washed their laundry in cold water and dried it on a clothesline, they could save almost $200 a year. If every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of traditional 100 oz. concentrate laundry liquid with a 100 oz. concentrate plant-derived product, like Seventh Generation, we could save 466,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 26,800 U.S. homes for a year."

Stay tuned for my next update and for the upcoming giveaway as well!!

Seventh Generation provided me with the free product, gift pack, Flip camera, and a giveaway through MyBlogSpark.

Our Best Bet Pet - African Dwarf Frogs

When my husband and I got married I convinced him we had to have a dog and then when we decided not to have anymore children, I convinced him again that we had to get a little girl dog too. We ended up having more children after-all and then realized that it was just too much work to have 2 dogs and 2 little boys so they (the dogs, not the boys) ended up making new homes at my aunts. However, there is still a desire to have a pet and these African Dwarf Frogs from Wild Creations are perfect for a busy home like ours.

"The frogs come in an EcoAquarium that's a self-contained aquatic ecosystem, so all kids have to do is feed them twice a week and change the water 4 times a year! These easy-to-maintain pets are a lot of fun to watch in their habitats, and they teach kids valuable lessons about responsibility, science, nature and life. They're not just for kids though, adults love them too! They're about an inch or less long, and have a lid (with a small hole for dropping food through) so you don't have to worry about them escaping."

The set up was very easy and the EcoAquarium is very small so we are able to have it on our kitchen table where we can watch them all day long. Wild Creations guarantees 100% healthy shipment of the frogs and if something were to happen, they offer a 30 day warranty and will replace the frogs 100% free of charge. Unfortunately, we did have a little frog die and not only did Wild Creations replace the frog, but they also called me (as they would any customer) to find out what happened. They want  to make sure that hey can learn anything about what might have happened and also make any suggestions that might come up. Things happen and I was extremely happy with the way Wild Creations handled the entire situation.

The frog that died appears to have not arrived well, he/she was probably over-stressed from the shipment. However, the other frog was always very active and now the replacement frog is doing great. He certainly has some serious personality. He is hysterical, getting up on his hind legs to greet me each morning and every time I sit down at the table. Jake loves to watch them interact and swim around. I am so impressed with the frogs and Wild Creations - for those of you who don't have a lot of time to take care of pets but still want to have a pet, these are perfect.

WIN IT!: One of my readers will win the the Classic EcoAquarium Starter Kit (4”x 4” aquarium Each starter kit comes with two African Dwarf frogs, plastic base and frog food) ARV: $30

TO ENTER: Go to Wild Creations and either tell me something interesting about their company OR find out the name of one of the more than 40 (!!!) new products that Wild Creations is introducing later in 2010 noted in their online PDF catalog.

For extra entry opportunities, please click "Extra Entries" in menu bar above
INCLUDING:

Become a fan of Wild Creations on Facebook & leave your username in your comment

Enter any other active giveaway here at A Giveaway Addicted Mommy

Contest ends June 25th at 11:59 PST and a winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email. I will contact the winner on or around June 26th and they will have 48 hours to respond. Open to US ONLY.

**Entries are Per Person, Per Email Address, Per Household, Per IP Address and/or Per Blog. Failure to follow these rules will lead to disqualification in this contest and all future contests on this blog. In other words, no cheating please.
The only compensation" given for writing this review was a complementary Classic EcoAquarium. All views and opinions are mine alone

Win a Tuxedo from Friar Tux Shop - Just in time for Father's Day!

I just helped my son navigate through his first formal wear rental experience. The last time I was in a formal wear rental shop was when I got married and it wasn't a fun, nor pleasant, experience. This time, it was not only easy but enjoyable. I credit this to where I decided to take him for his suit, Friar Tux Shop. Cute name, right?

The salespeople were just as would expect them to be, knowledgeable and pleasant. They had the whole process down to a science and they were able to guide my son and me in the right direction. I had no idea what the newest trends and styles were. While I was pretty sure that the boys were not wearing cumber-buns and bowties anymore, but I was unsure if the style was to match tie/vest color with their dates dresses (it is). Our salesperson allowed us the time we needed to find just the right color and style of suit and never made us feel rushed. We were in and out in about 15 minutes. We expected that the pick-up process would be a bit longer but it was just about the same amount of time. Once again, Friar Tux has everything organized so that you aren't wasting your time standing around.

While prom season has pretty much come and gone, wedding season is just beginning. As I said earlier, I can still remember going to the formal wear rental shop and it being such a horrible and long process. It was also so incredibly expensive and the "extra" costs added up very quickly. At Friar Tux there are not hidden costs and their prices are extremely competitive. Where other formal wear retailers charge a wedding registration fee, sales tax on each rental, and/or an accidental damage waiver, Friar Tux does not. They also offer a price match guarantee. If you find the exact garments available elsewhere for less, Friar Tux Shop will match that price!

While Friar Tux is a Southern California operation - they are a member of Savvi Formalwear with locations coast-to-coast. Therefore if you have members of your wedding party that are not in the Southern California area, they can go to any Savvi Formalwear location and get their fittings done there. Makes life (and organizing a wedding) a whole lot easier!

Friar Tux is offering a retail tuxedo for one of my readers to OWN! That's right - no more rentals - you will be able to offer that special man in your life their very own tuxedo.

WIN IT!: One of my readers will win a Pronto Moda retail tuxedo package, which includes the tuxedo and trousers, shirt, tie, and cummerbund, plus basic studs and cufflinks. (The winner would need to live in the Friar Tux service area as this is not a rental but tuxedo that your will own) ARV: $350

TO ENTER: Who would you be want to win this tuxedo for? Would it be for Father's Day?

For extra entry opportunities, please click "Extra Entries" in menu bar above
INCLUDING:

"Like" Friar Tux Shop  on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall

AND

Follow me and Friar Tux Shop on Twitter and tweet the contest using the following: 
"A Giveaway Addicted Mommy @kariellen & @friartuxshop are giving away a TUXEDO for Father's Day ($200+ value) http://tinyurl.com/264p4mp"

Contest ends June 25th at 11:59 PST and a winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email. I will contact the winner on or around June 26th and they will have 48 hours to respond. Open to Southern California Residents ONLY.

**Entries are Per Person, Per Email Address, Per Household, Per IP Address and/or Per Blog. Failure to follow these rules will lead to disqualification in this contest and all future contests on this blog. In other words, no cheating please.
The only compensation" given for writing this review was a complementary tuxedo rental. All views and opinions are mine alone.