Update: Costco.com 4X Pro-B Probiotic

I can't believe it's been over a month since I started taking the 4X Pro-B Probiotic from Costco.com. Would you believe that I actually have noticed some differences, even from the last review of 4X Pro-B? I'm continuing to do what I can for myself and my digestive health, and it's paying off.

I've been having fun with this Collective Bias shoppertunity for Costco.com. Combining this with the warmer weather and sun we've been seeing in Chicago (trust me, sun and warm weather are not common in March), and it isn't just my digestive health I can sense changing.

I purchased the 4X Pro-B probiotic from Costco.com, where I had a super easy shopping experience, as I always do with Costco.com. The hardest thing for me with this experience is just remembering to take the probiotic for my digestive care. Fortunately, the wee ones take probiotics, too, so I just got onto a schedule of popping my own probiotic when I placed theirs on the kitchen table in the morning. (Again, kudos to the manufacturer for putting days of the week on the back of the blister pack so I can truly tell and remember if I took one or not!)

And since then? I'm moving. Yes, I'll leave it at that. And no, I wasn't always. And I'll leave that at that, too. Interestingly, even though I haven't gone to the "real" gym much in the past month plus, which means I'm no longer doing the exercises focused on my abs, I've noticed that I'm not bloating, which is great - especially since I'm no longer weighed down under three layers of sweaters and coats in the Chicago winter.

And I'm moving with my friends, too. Now that the trails have dried up just a little bit, we're walking as often as we can. My regular walking group gets together once a week, but I've been inspired to call other friends and convince them to walk with me, too.

And I know maybe it's a little bit silly, but I have an app on my phone for exercise that just makes me happy. Why? Because it tells me how awesome I am when I work out. Cardio Trainer is unfortunately not available on the iPh*ne, but it's great for Andro!d phones. At the end of each workout, it tells me not only how many calories I've burned, but it also shares the equivalent in fruit. Personally, I sometimes would rather see the equivalent in chocolate, but this is probably safer - don't you think?

Once I've saved my workout, it also tells me lots of great stats (and I can access them during my workout, if I choose, too). I have a map showing exactly where I walked - and yes, I spray painted out the names of the streets and roads; call me paranoid - along with details of my average speed and number of steps. This morning's walk was over the recommended 10,000 steps a day. Tell me that doesn't motivate you or make you feel good. It's a handy tool to track what you've done, and yes, you can absolutely input other workouts from hiking to dancing to yard work to track all your exercise. Then you have a little icon at the top of your phone telling you to the nearest 100 calories how many you've burnt in the past 7 days. Right now mine is well over the 2,000 mark, and that makes me happy, too.

I've also noticed a change in what I'm grabbing for a snack. I'll be honest that when I hit a lull in the day where I lose my energy or I'm just hungry and want something now, I tend to grab something ... not so healthy. I may make myself a s'more in the oven (shhh) or grab some pretzels to dip in Nutella. Not the smartest choices, I recognize that. Now that I'm thinking more, I'm grabbing fruit instead. Last night I was hungry at 9pm and got four ginormous organic strawberries I'd picked up at Costco earlier in the day, and that's all I needed. I was happy when they were gone. I forget sometimes how much I love fruit, and how satisfying it is. Now that I remember, my fruit container is stocked and ready for me.

(Yes, that is a papaya. And a pineapple. And some bananas. Apparently the tropical weather in Chicago is influencing me a little more than I'd thought.)

I'm also making more of a concerted effort to eat breakfast. Instead of getting everything done for the wee ones in the morning and then grabbing a rice cake smeared with Nutella (do you sense a Nutella theme yet?) or, worse yet, nothing, I'm scooping myself some Greek yogurt with preserves when I scoop some for Mister Man's breakfast. It's easy to do a second bowl... duh, me. Or I can grab any other yogurt I have hanging out in my fridge to get some protein and calcium and other good stuff.

Did I mention that I'm feeling good? And motivated? While I always get more motivated in the spring, this year feels a little different, and I'm happy for it. I'll gladly give some of the credit to Costco.com and the 4 X Probiotic I've been taking.

Now it's your turn. Have you liked Costco on Facebook yet? With the warmer weather, are you inspired to make some changes?

In the interest of full disclosure, this shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias As always, all opinions are my own.

Giveaway: Yoplait Lactose Free Yogurt Prize Pack

We all know people with dietary restrictions these days. While I knew no one who had any allergies or other issues when I was growing up, it's everywhere now. In fact, I went walking with a friend today who is expecting her doctor's call at any moment with the results of testing telling her that she is gluten intolerant.

The good news for people with allergies and food intolerances is that there are so many more food options for people now - something for which I'm constantly grateful given Little Miss's dairy allergy. Yoplait now has a line of lactose free yogurt for those who are lactose intolerant (though with her dairy allergy, Little Miss can't have them).

I had the opportunity to try the Yoplait lactose free yogurt, and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Or I was once I managed to find the yogurt. They aren't carried everywhere, but I discovered a great General Mills product locator that told me what stores near me had carried the yogurt within the past 90 days, and voila!

I chose the peach yogurt because peach is one of my favorites, but there are also strawberry, cherry (not at my store), and vanilla varieties available. I was interested to see on the packaging that the lactose free yogurt contains twice the calcium of the leading yogurt (50% of your RDV) and of course contains the probiotics everyone's talking about as so important for digestive health.

In looking at the ingredients, I was pleasantly surprised to see that not only was there no high fructose corn syrup (something we avoid in our house), but the sweetener wasn't an artificial sweetener. I have a very sensitive palate when it comes to artificial sweeteners, and they leave a bitter aftertaste for me. This was sweetened only with actual sugar and fruit. I usually have to purchase plain yogurts and add my own preserves, so this was a treat for me.

And the peach yogurt tasted good. Had I not known from the packaging that it was lactose free, I would never have guessed. It was just as creamy and rich and satisfying as regular yogurt is. The texture was the same, too - something I can't always say about the soy and coconut based "yogurts" Little Miss can eat. I love that those who have a lactose intolerance have yet another food they can add back onto their lists!

Just like other yogurts, this is not shelf stable and has to be kept in the fridge - or at least at fridge like temperatures. The rest of the Yoplait prize pack would help me do this... had I not eaten the yogurt the second I walked in the door. And yes, I have a prize pack to give away, too. It includes the little insultated lunch tote, 2 gel freezer packs, a bowl, a spoon, and a coupon for a free Yoplait Lactose Free Yogurt. (Note, my prize pack did not include the spoon or the second gel pack.) Definitely worth a try, don't you think?

So what do you have to do to win? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count! That means that please please please leave your contact information. If I cannot get ahold of you, you cannot win!

This giveaway is open until Sunday March 18 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 24 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me: What flavor of the lactose free Yoplait yogurt sounds most appealing to you?

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):

1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter, then tweeting this contest with the following tweet: "Dairy give you tummy trouble? Try Yoplait's Lactose free yogurt via a #giveaway from @honestandtruly http://bit.ly/xi5HaU #myblogspark" (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.
4) Earn one additional entry by liking Honest & Truly! on Facebook. (Yay, it's legal again, so long as you know you have to leave a comment here to enter and that simply liking me isn't the entry, along with acknowledging the fact that Facebook has nothing to do with this giveaway whatsoever.
5) Earn an additional entry by putting me in your Google Plus circle. Am I already in your G+ circle? No problem - just leave a comment letting me know that you've added me or already have me there.

Good luck!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a prize pack as described above from Yoplait via MyBlogSpark. I received no compensation, and all opinions remain my own.

Giveaway: Retro Big G Cereal and Target Gift Card

I am a child a of the 80s. I will fully admit to that. I had the Cabbage Patch Kids and played with Rainbow Brite and wore leg warmers and more. My first video game was my Atari system, and I played Asteroids and tennis for hours on end. It was a little different from the video games the wee ones have today, but I loved them anyway.

I'll always have a soft spot for the 80s, and I strongly suspect - no, I know I'm not the only one. General Mills is getting in on the trend and now has retro Big G cereals at Target through mid-March. Participating cereals include Cinnamon Toast Crunch® (17 oz.), Lucky Charms® (16 oz.), Honey Nut Cheerios® (17 oz.), Cheerios® (18 oz.) and Cocoa Puffs® (16.5 oz.). Those cereals have special packaging that includes classic 80s Atari games on the back of the boxes. How fun!

(Ok, seriously no idea why my photos keep going sideways here - they are right side up on my computer and when I edit them!)

And yes, Mister Man picked up the box right away and started tracing the maze in Asteroids on the back of the Honey Nut Cheerios® box. He was entranced.

(Don't ask my why this is sideways. It's correct on my computer, and I can't for the life of me get it to go the right way on the blog - sorry!)

Mister Man's first question was if he could play the games I used to play. While I no longer have our Atari system - or the joysticks with just the one red button - part of the package I received included a code to download "Atari 80 Classic Games in 1." So yes, Mister Man was able to explore some of the games I grew up playing. This is a download for my PC only and includes games from Centipede (he loved it) to Haunted House (which I don't remember ever playing). The game is available on the Atari website for $9.99. Looking through their site, it's amazing how much Atari has changed and grown from that game of Asteroids I first played!

Check out all the different activities on the backs of the General Mills cereals. There are five different activities you can find on retro boxes. Tell me you aren't singing the theme to Karate Kid right now. Are you still with me, or have you already headed out the door to Target to pick up a box or two?

Don't head out just yet. I have a package exactly like what I received to give away. So what do you have to do to win the two boxes of cereal, $10 Target gift card, and code to download the Atari games? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count! That means that please please please leave your contact information. If I cannot get ahold of you, you cannot win!

This giveaway is open until Friday March 9 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 24 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me: What was your favorite thing about the 80s?

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):

1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter, then tweeting this contest with the following tweet: "Are you a child of the 80s? Enter the retro Big G cereal and $10 Target GC #giveaway from @honestandtruly http://bit.ly/zk3qNZ #myblogspark" (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.
4) Earn one additional entry by liking Honest & Truly! on Facebook. (Yay, it's legal again, so long as you know you have to leave a comment here to enter and that simply liking me isn't the entry, along with acknowledging the fact that Facebook has nothing to do with this giveaway whatsoever.
5) Earn an additional entry by putting me in your Google Plus circle. Am I already in your G+ circle? No problem - just leave a comment letting me know that you've added me or already have me there.

Good luck!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a box of the two retro Big G cereals and a $25 Target gift card courtesy of Target, Atari, and General Mills via MyBlogSpark. I received no compensation, and all opinions remain my own.

Giveaway: General Mills Whole Grain Cereals

I try to eat somewhat healthfully. We'll ignore the s'mores Mister Man, my husband, and I made for dessert out of Trefoil Girl Scout cookies. It's a one time thing. Generally, we try to focus on what we're eating - which is why I make a lot of foods from scratch. I can't always do that for breakfast - much as I'd love to, I love my sleep more.

In the mornings, I want to make sure that we're starting our day off right, and part of that means getting in whole grains. That's is some of why cereal has typically been more of a treat than an everyday item in my house. But did you know that five General Mills cereals have whole grains as the first ingredient?

Why yes... yes, they do. Seven General Mills cereals, including Cheerios®, Lucky Charms®, Cinnamon Toast Crunch®, Honey Nut Cheerios®, and Total® all have whole wheat or whole oats listed as the first ingredient. (Ingredients on packaging are listed in order of prevalence. The first item is the most common and the last has the least of it in the item.) Even better for my family, three of these five cereals use real sugar as the sweetener, too, something that makes Mister Man very happy.

While General Mills has also introduced the white check that shows the amount of whole grain in a serving of the cereal. The General Mills cereals with the white check let you know that there is more whole grain in there than any other ingredient. That said, claims on labels are not regulated, so always read the ingredient list first to see what's really in there.

Personally, I love seeing that more and more food manufacturers are responding to consumers' demands for foods that contain more whole grains and other recommended dietary changes. I've taught the wee ones to read labels, and you should see Mister Man's face light up when he sees a cereal like this that he's able to eat and feel good about.

And the nice thing about these cereals? To me - and to the wee ones - they still taste good. Adding whole grains doesn't mean that they taste like cardboard. Far from it, in fact. I had zero complaints from the wee ones, and to me they tasted exactly the same as they always have. And that's a good thing.

Learn more about whole grains and why they matter at the Whole Grain Nation site. While there, you can also play a Fast Lane for Whole Grain game to win all 50 plus Big G cereals.

Ready to try out the five General Mills cereals made with more whole grain than any other ingredient? You can... I have a prize pack of these cereals to give away. So what do you have to do to win the prize pack? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count! That means that please please please leave your contact information. If I cannot get ahold of you, you cannot win!

This giveaway is open until Thursday March 8 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 24 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me: Which of the five General Mills cereals featuring whole grain as the first ingredient would you choose first?

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):

1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter, then tweeting this contest with the following tweet: "I entered to win a General Mills prize pack #giveaway from @honestandtruly. Have you? http://bit.ly/xpy3cP" (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.
4) Earn one additional entry by liking Honest & Truly! on Facebook. (Yay, it's legal again, so long as you know you have to leave a comment here to enter and that simply liking me isn't the entry, along with acknowledging the fact that Facebook has nothing to do with this giveaway whatsoever.
5) Earn an additional entry by putting me in your Google Plus circle. Am I already in your G+ circle? No problem - just leave a comment letting me know that you've added me or already have me there.

Good luck!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a box of each of the five cereals as described above courtesy of General Mills via MyBlogSpark. I received no compensation, and all opinions remain my own.

Winners!

First of all, shame on me. I've been delinquent in posting my winners. My apologies. They have all been contacted and received their prizes - or at least they should be on their way.

Now that I'm recovered from Blissdom and hopefully over the deadly malaise I've had for the past week, I am posting some more giveaways quickly.

First, however, winners....

The Dulce de Leche gift pack courtesy General Mills and MyBlogSpark was soccermom1.

The $25 American Express gift card from NutritionPossible.com and Centrum via One2One Network went to Cheryl from the Lucky Ladybug.

And the tickets to the Chicago Girls Night Out benefiting Go Red for Women went to Maria from A Savings Wow!

Congrats again to all the winners!

Review: Costco.com 4X Pro-B Probiotic

Did you know my sister's getting married in May? She is, and I'm in the wedding. Yay me. Why am I mentioning this? Trust me, it has something to do with a short, strapless, yellow satin bridesmaid dress I will be wearing (yes, there's a post coming on that, too). Satin is not my friend, so I'm doing my best to ensure that I look as little like Tweety Bird as possible that night.

I'm doing what I can now to take care of myself, and that includes my inside as well as my outside. When there was a shoppertunity as part of Collective Bias for Costco.com (one of my favorite places ever) to try out a probiotic, I jumped on it. The wee ones take probiotics daily, but - as usual - I'd neglected myself. And yes, my digestive health will absolutely make a different in how I look in that satin yellow dress come May 19.

I talked a bit about my shopping experience for the 4X Pro-B probiotic on Google+ earlier, but let me reiterate that shopping on Costco.com is easy - and fun. I always find something new, and when I'm searching for something in particular, it's easy as pie - especially knowing that shipping is included in the price of the vast majority of items.

The Costco.com site includes all the information about 4X Pro-B that I wanted to know, from what strains are included to what allergens it might contain to why I should take a probiotic. Did you know why you should take a probiotic?

As part of my effort to work on my digestive care, there are some things that I'm doing differently - or at least focusing on more than I was previously. I love projects like this that remind me of the things I should be doing already.

First, I'm taking the 4X Pro-B probiotic daily. It hasn't been that long since I started taking it, so I can't comment on its longer term benefits, but already I'm feeling a little more energized, possibly because there has been some more movement if you know what I mean (and for your sake and mine, I'm saying no more on that topic for the moment). I'm looking forward to the differences I see in my digestive health in the coming weeks.

Part of my changes are the things that I'm not doing. For example, I have a standing weekly meeting for the gala at my son's school (ironically, also on May 19 but we won't discuss that conflict now either). It's right after dropoff, so I usually stop and pick myself up a cup of coffee. Except that I happen to not like the taste of coffee, so I get something that has lots of other ingredients in it making it taste yummy, but unfortunately also adding a ton of empty calories that do nothing good for me. And that's breakfast. This is one of those things that I'm not doing now. Instead, I'm filling up my 40 ounce water bottle and bringing along a bowl of homemade granola or some Greek yogurt with fruit preserves. My barista misses me, I'm sure.

Other things I'm cutting out? Well, I have to admit that I spent last week at Blissdom. Everything I ate wasn't the most healthy. I was pretty good at breakfast eating granola and fruit, and I filled up on veggies when they were offered (loved the Lorax party where all the offerings were either fruit or veggies). But it wasn't all good. We'll pretend like the potato bar incident didn't happen. And every night and party had drinks - but I didn't use all my drink tickets, so that's good. Gorgeous vodka drink? I won't be seeing you very often anymore!

Then there's the plus side. The Costco probiotic isn't - and can't be - the only addition to what I'm putting in my body. Rather than adding supplement after supplement, I'm trying to actually get my daily dose of veggies and fiber via my food. Fruit has never been a problem for me, but much as I love veggies, I don't tend to be good about preparing them. Now? This is a focus. The other night I had a tiny cheeseburger and a massive plate of homemade sweet potato fries that was probably twice as big as the cheeseburger. And the other night? I made roasted brussel sprouts. They're one of my favorite vegetables, but I rarely make them because I can't convince the wee ones that they're yummy. New attitude? That's more for me. The day I got home from Blissdom, I ate an entire bowl of brussel sprouts all by myself. And I was happy.

I'm also focused on getting my exercise. While I'm pretty good about going to the gym two to three times a week, it's what I don't do regularly the other four to five times a week that I'm working on. I have a Kinect and several games that make me sweat. And I'm using them - even if it's only for ten or fifteen minutes. I also have a group of friends who go walking with me. Though it's winter in Chicago and we can't go on our trail right now, we've decided to find an alternative rather than meeting for breakfast instead of our weekly walks. So my new Dr. Scholl's shoes? They're getting use. Can you see that the label inside is already being worn away because I've been putting the miles on them?

I'm also making sure that I'm not being lazy about my cooking. I'm not using the excuse that I'm running here, there, and everywhere with the wee ones to "cheat" with dinner. While we don't eat out or order out often, I will do a quick chicken salad with canned chicken or PB&J sandwiches for dinner. Instead, I'm using my crockpot for the nights when I know I won't be home until the tiny tummies are screaming for food. And I'm making a lot more soups where my base is grated onion, carrots and celery - even when it isn't necessarily called for, knowing that as my soup starts cooking, I can and will puree the veggies, getting all of us lots more fiber and taste.

What kinds of changes are you inspired to make when you start taking your first baby steps?

In the interest of full disclosure, this shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias As always, all opinions are my own.