Review: Perdue Frozen Fully Cooked Chicken

We are a protein family around here. I can see easily the mood changes in Mister Man especially when he does and doesn't get protein. His focus and concentration and general ability to deal with life improve vastly when he eats protein. Breakfast must include protein, snacks always include protein, and I try to ensure dinner does, as well.

There are frequently nights where I've been running around all day and the wee ones have an activity where I don't have time to do more than make a quick peanut butter and jelly or chicken salad sandwich for them if I haven't been proactive and used the crock pot or lucky enough to have leftovers. While the wee ones would be fine eating peanut butter and jelly for dinner every night, I'm not so cool with that, especially if I happened to send that for lunch earlier in the day.

My other challenge is that I don't particularly want to feed the wee ones foods full of all sorts of additives and ingredients I can't pronounce. I don't generally do chicken nuggets and the like for that reason. So many of them have fillers and the meat ... doesn't really look like real chicken meat.

SheSpeaks sent me a coupon to try out Perdue's Fully Cooked Chicken, and I was happy to see that their chicken tenders (I tried the whole grain chicken tenders) are made with 100% white meat and use 100% all natural ingredients. There are 0 grams of transfats, which is also something that we avoid in our house. Oh, and did I mention that there are no preservatives and no fillers? This one meets (get the pun?) with my approval. I love that the whole grain tenders also have 4 grams of fiber, which we can always use.

My only concern was that the wee ones would not like the chicken tenders.

Fears are gone. The chicken breast tenders are pretty good, and the wee ones simply scarfed them down. In fact, they probably would have eaten more than the three tenders each I served them had I let them. I cooked the tenders in a mini silicone baking dish that SheSpeaks sent me to use, which really meant that I simply heated them, as they're already fully cooked. It took almost no time, which meant that I could have a meal I felt good about on the table and still get the wee ones to bed at a reasonable hour. Phew!

Since we did eat only a few of the chicken tenders, I was happy that the bag they came in was resealable - pretty much a stable now for most frozen foods, I think. In fact, given how easy it is to open and close, I won't be surprised if one day soon Mister Man decides to make his own snack of the Perdue Frozen Chicken without my help.

The biggest challenge I had, in fact, was purchasing the chicken. While my local Dominick's carries two flavors of the chicken (there are twenty-three altogether), their price on the page of fully cooked chicken was $9.99. The coupon is good for a maximum of $7.99. Once again, I was reminded why I don't often shop at Dominick's. I found an alternative store that carried the chicken for a more reasonable cost, and I purchased it there - interestingly, they also had more varieties available. There are definitely some other varieties that I'm interested in trying out - the Bourbon Chicken, for one!

In the interest of full disclosure, Perdue sent me a coupon for a free package of the Perdue frozen chicken and a mini silicone baking dish. I received no compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Winner!

Congrats goes to mandala from Adventures in Winterland for winning my Old El Paso taco night family prize pack giveaway. She has 48 hours to contact me.

Congrats again - and good luck to all of you. There is lots more coming shortly!

Event Recap: Naked Fitness

I first met Andrea Metcalf over a year ago at BlogHer when it was held in Chicago. She was a part of one of the booths in the Expo area, and she was memorable. Why? She got me to touch my toes.

No big deal, right? Ummmm, remember that Presidential Physical Fitness Challenge from grade school? I always did great until we got to the how far past your toes can you stretch part. As a child, I could never touch my toes. After four years of yoga, I still couldn't touch my toes. Per her request, I bent over and waved at the ten inches between my fingertips and the floor. She had me push each of my legs against her arm in three different directions, then try again. To my surprise - and shock - I hit the floor with my fingers. Easily. With no pain. Go fig.

Her explanation is that if your body doesn't have the confidence in the strength of the muscles surrounding the ones you're using, it won't let those muscles push to their max as a way of protecting the weaker ones. By convincing my low back and hamstrings that my legs were strong enough, they finally let me touch the ground.

Andrea now has a new book coming out in January called Naked Fitness that is fortunately not about any new type of classes that might face restrictions in general public. Instead it focuses on how you strip away all the problems and preconceived ideas you have and fears that keep you from getting and staying on track. She shares a twenty-eight day plan of how to get a slimmer, fitter, pain-free body.

In support of the launch of this book, Andrea has been hosting free events the past week throughout the Chicago area that are open to the public. With Little Miss's pneumonia and other factors, I wasn't able to make many of the events, but I was lucky enough to be able to attend a few of the ones she hosted in Naperville on Thursday. (Thank you, Mom, for watching the wee ones!)

I walked away from her sessions feeling motivated about not just exercising but eating better again and focusing on doing the right things for myself, and I'm pretty sure that was the point. While I wasn't able to be there for the first session, I did attend the Cherry Breakfast.

There, Andrea explained the benefits of eating cherries - reducing inflamation is huge - and talked about our body alignment. We partnered up and looked at our head, shoulder, hip, and toe alignment. No one was perfect - or probably even close. We do so many things to mess with our bodies from sitting at the computer like I'm doing now that hunches us forward to carrying children on one hip to having one foot or leg stronger than the other. We did some simple stretches, and it was interesting to see that there definitely was some visible difference in how well we stood and walked.

I had no idea that my right toe turns outward when I stand and walk. I am doing my best to focus on keeping it more straight, but because my right hip flexor is weaker and tighter than my left, it pulls my toe out. I need to do some strengthening and stretching there on a regular basis.

The next session was Tribe Hummus where Amanda Skrip showed us alternative uses for hummus. I love hummus and always have a container of it in my fridge. Little Miss goes to school daily with hummus in her lunch. But it's generally either a dip for carrots or a sandwich topping (Little Miss loves hummus sandwiches). It was eye opening to see the hummus mixed with water (or lemon juice) to make a delicious, creamy salad dressing. Ditto for the hummus wraps that riffed off California rolls. I actually made them last night for a potluck I attended and received rave reviews.

From there, we got to try out EA Sports Active 2 briefly. This is a video game that doesn't use a controller but instead straps you to an arm and a leg monitor that doesn't just show your movements but also tracks your heartrate and more. I did just a couple warmup exercises, but they were effective. Watching some of the other participants try out other activities from running up a hill to heading a soccer ball at targets to skateboarding and doing tricks. They were really fun activities, and they really did get people moving and sweating and burning calories. This is definitely one I'm going to keep an eye out for when it's released next week!

Our next session was a Hoopnautica class. I was leery, but since I was already in Naperville, I figured I'd try it. I have never been a successful hula hooper and didn't even try after awhile as a child. The Hoopnautica class is a hula hoop class. We all got hula hoops that are larger than the ones sold in toy stores and a little heavier. Our instructor showed us the "power points" on our hips and back where we want the hula hoops to hit, and somehow we all managed to actually hula hoop. After practice, several of us were able to walk back and forth a bit and even turn in a little bit of a circle. Spinning in a circle like the instructor wasn't happening, but that takes more than ten minutes of practice, I'm guessing. She also showed us how to do the hula hoop in our hands above our heads, which provides a great arm workout, too. I will admit that I have a visible bruise on my right hip from the hula hooping, but I don't care. I am so going to try to get my gym to add a hula hoop class. It was a blast! It was very reminscent of belly dancing in a way, and I enjoyed it.

We headed to the Sears in Aurora for our next session, which was held in the fitness department at Sears. We each tried out a different piece of cardio with Andrea and Scott Herman (a personal trainer at the events, too) providing tips and pointers on what we were doing. I was on the treadmill, and rather than my usual run, Andrea had me doing some new and fun things. I was skipping sideways and grapevining sideways, which was a surprisingly challenging workout even at a speed of 3.1mph (I generally walk between 3.4 and 3.7 and run near 6mph). Yesterday, my inner thighs were mildly sore, and I'm guessing this is the exercise that did it. Needless to say, I'm sold. Andrea also had me walking backwards on the treadmill, which will help build muscles on other parts and sides of my body that I'm pretty sure I can use. I loved that so many of these used different muscles and muscle groups than my normal workout. Andrea and Scott also demonstrated some strength exercises on other equipment, but I know I'll need to have some chats with my gym's trainers to make sure my form is adequate.

The last session was the Shapeups Walk. Unfortunately it had started to rain and hail and was getting cold, so we stayed inside the Hotel Arista (an absolutely gorgeous hotel and venue, btw - and wonderfully green). We toured the fitness center and learned about Power Plates. Unfortunately the machines are $15-16,000 apiece, but they were so cool. There is actual research that using these in the right way actually helps to build bone mass in patients with osteoperosis. The vertical vibrations make your muscles work thirty percent harder, meaning you can either work out thirty percent faster or build muscle thirty percent faster. We practiced doing squats on the machine, and it was interesting how much more intense they were!

We also found out how great a massage the machines give. We each had a chance to lay with our quads and calves on the machine while it vibrated, as well as sitting in front of it with the pad that sits on it wrapped around us vibrating our gluts and lower back. It. Felt. Good. Andrea mentioned that this is also great for working out your IT bands. Mine are chronically tight, and I spend painful (but effective) sessions with a foam roller on a regular basis. I'm thinking this would be much nicer. Then again, I can only imagine the lines for them at my gym.

I had so much fun at these events, as did - I believe - everyone who chose to attend them. The sessions were motivating and included such a neat variety of people from super fit people to those who read about the events in the newspaper. I walked away from these events feeling much better about myself and realizing how many small things I can - and need to - do that will make a difference. And I just might have to buy a copy of that book when it comes out later this winter.

In the interest of full disclosure, all attendees of these open to the public events received samples of various fitness equipment. I was not asked to write about my experience at these sessions, nor was I compensated in any way for attending them. All opinions expressed are my own.

Giveaway: Activeion ionator HOM

I am hypersensitive to smells and chemicals. I don't wear perfumes (with the exception of some very light citrus fragrances), and I have had to stop using fabric softener because the scents give me headaches. I'm the one who calls magazines to request the non-scented versions (yes, they do that) and the one who removes the nice smelling things from my newly cleaned car.

Cleaning? Ugh. The chemicals get me from three fronts. I hate cleaning in winter because I can't open the windows to let the chemical smells escape, which gives me the headache mentioned above. The chemicals worry me from a safety perspective, too, especially when you read about the health hazards of so many of them. And have you priced them at the store lately? All the different cleaners and products you need? Ouch. My wallet hurts just thinking about it.

Needless to say, when I heard about the Activeion ionator HOM at BlogHer and saw it demonstrated, I was in love. I was tempted to create a distraction in the room and sneak the ionator into my purse, but I had enough self restraint to not do so. They recently sent me my very own ionator HOM to try out, and I had a blast - no pun intended - with it.

The ionator HOM is a spray bottle that you fill with tap water, charge, and then spray. There is a slight electrical charge that ionize the water before it is sprayed onto a surface. The ionized water both cleans the surface of dirt and kills germs at the same time. Seriously.

Ionized water is like a magnet, which lifts dirt from surfaces so that you can very easily wipe them clean. Trust me, it works. I've got pictures. And video. And when you spray it on a nonporous surface, it kills 99.9% of germs (including 100% of H1N1 flu virus) with a continuous six second spray. The low level electric field disrupts membranes and walls of bacteria and germs and kills them. Awesome, no?

The ionator has a permanent home on my kitchen island right now. I use it so often that it isn't even worth it to me to put it away. I love that I can use it on all sorts of surfaces from wood tables (I love washing and polishing them with the cleaners they came with because it makes them so beautiful and shiny but the smell gives me a headache for the next two days) to glass (I finally cleaned windows - this is a milestone) to my waffle iron to my dishwasher to the island and more.

I love that it's so simple and harmless that the wee ones can uses it, too. There's really nothing bad that can happen to it or them with it. So they miss spraying the table a little - so what, it's just water. So they spray themselves by accident; it's not poisonous. And with the super simple button on the nozzle to depress, they have no issues using it at all.

When I first got it, the instructions were ... mostly helpful. I read through what there was and figured out how to charge the unit and how to release the reservoir to fill it with water. I love that the bottle has a green glow when you are spraying that shows that it is ionizing properly. I'd hate to think that I was cleaning and de-germifying only to find out the hard way that it wasn't working.

My only real complaint about the unit is that I cannot for the life of me get the cover for the charger to go back into place on the bottle. No matter how many times I try or what direction I push in first, the little rubbery piece pops back out again. This in no way affects the performance of the ionator at all, but I like things neat and clean and organized.

I am impressed at how long the battery lasts, too. With all that I've used it, I would think that I'd be running back to the charger on a regular basis. Not so much. I make it through quite a few reservoirs of water - which last a pretty long time themselves - before needing to recharge the unit.

Have you ever tried to clean a griddle after cooking turkey bacon and pancakes on it? This is usually my husband's job, and it generally involves a whole lot of scrubbing and soap and stuff and not everything being fully removed. In fact, here's what our griddle looks like before cleaning.

Ewww, right? (Although if I had a better camera, I could better show you how nasty it was.)

So what did I do? I simply sprayed the surface with the ionizer to give it a light misting, then wiped it away. The majority of the grit and gross came up with the first pass. I then sprayed it a second time with slightly heavier coverage on a couple of stuck on areas then wiped those up with no scrubbing or effort. Check out the after:

Next up was my "clean" crock pot that I had to take out in public. It was "fine" for home use, but it was still a little dirty both on the outside and white scale from cleaning and cooking on the inside.

Same deal. I simply misted both the inside and outside and wiped away. I was amazed at the difference. The only part that didn't come clean on the outside was what appeared to be small rust-like spots. The inside immediately wiped up the majority of the white stuff (that I couldn't actually feel when I ran my hand inside the crock pot, interestingly - it wasn't dirt), which makes me feel better about using it.

I've also used it in my dishwasher. Your dishwasher is pretty clean, right? I mean, it washes other things on a regular basis. And it looks pretty clean.

Or at least it does until you remove the silverware holder. I. Was. SO. Grossed. Out.

When the silverware holder was dislodged from its holder, I saw what had built up behind it. I couldn't believe that was in there, and the thought of eating off dishes that had been "cleaned" in an environment that hosted this turned my stomach.

This was one of the rare situations where I used paper towels to clean up instead of a reusable rag. There was no way I was washing that scum and ick and getting it into my washing machine. Again, it was super easy to simply spray the dishwasher and wipe away. I am happy to report that I now have a newly cleaned and sanitized dishwasher.

Ahhh.

I seriously use this everywhere and all the time. It is awesome. I've requested that my cleaning ladies use it instead of the litany of other cleaning products they otherwise use, and my house smells so much better now. That isn't to say that the ionized water has no smell. I can smell the slightly electric smell of the ionization of the water as it's sprayed. It's not an unpleasant or chemical smell, and it's faint enough that I'd wager most people can't smell it (remember that comment about being hypersensitive to smells?). It doesn't stick around, however. Once the surface dries, I can't detect it.

Are you jealous of me yet? I almost am, and I own it. The ionator HOM retails for $180, and it's well worth it in my opinion. You can purchase it through Activion or at Amazon, Green Irene, or a few other retailers. I am also giving away one Activeion ionator HOM to a lucky reader. I am that awesome (and lucky)!

So what do you have to do?

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!

This contest is open until Sunday November 21 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 48 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me something you learned about Activeion by visiting their site that I didn't mention in my review.

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 Activeion on Twitter and me on Twitter and tweeting this contest with the following tweet: "Clean #chemicalfree with the ionator HOM from @activeion. Win one from @honestandtruly (RV $180) http://tinyurl.com/2e8sp44 #green #giveaway" (leave a link to your tweet as your comment). (Make sure you're doing all steps required by Activeion for a single entry!)
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 telling Activeion what clean means to you by posting your answer on their Facebook page and leave a link to your response here. (e.g., An ionator HOM would help me ____________. I just entered to win one at Honest and Truly Reviews! You can, too: http://honestandtrulyreviews.blogspot.com)

Good luck!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received an Activeion ionator HOM for review purposes. I did not receive any compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Winners!

I have two giveaway winners to announce:

Congratulations first go to Eve from Love Clothes, Makeup And Contests who won the Wendy's gift card giveaway. Enjoy that Wendy's Pick 2 menu!

AND...

Congratulations goes to Tiaras & Tantrums for winning the family four pack of tickets to the Ringling Bros circus opening night downtown on November 17! She has 24 hours to respond before I choose a new winner.

For those of you who didn't win, you can still head to the circus. It is in Rosemont now (and from friends who saw it yesterday on the off day from school, it was a great show!) until the 14th before moving to the United Center on November 17. My friends all used the discount code MOM to purchase cheaper tickets, and you can, too!

By using the code MOM, you can get 4 tickets for $44 for weekday performances (except Friday night and holidays) and $4 off tickets the rest of the weekend. Simply put MOM into the “MC Promotions Ticket” selection on Ticketmaster's website, or use when purchasing at the UC or Allstate box office or when calling 1-800-745-3000. This discount is not valid on Cicrus Celebrity, Front Row or VIP tickets. No double discounts. Service charges and handling fees may apply.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received tickets to see the show. I did not receive any compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Giveaway: Family Pass for CHITAG

You know how there are these great conferences and exhibitions for candy and toys and games that you see on the news or hear about? And you know how you are always jealous because you can't go yourself?

Well, now you can. The Chicago Toy and Game Fair (CHITAG)is the only toy and game fair open to the public, and it's coming to Navy Pier November 20 and 21. You'll be able to check out some of the newest toys and games for yourself, in addition to seminars and live entertainment. Plus, the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile will be there. What else could you want?

Have you ever wanted to be part of a giant game? The new game Wobble has a gigantic board where players use their own body weight to control where the ball rolls. There are fantastic events happening all weekend long sure to have something that appeals to everyone.

Interested in going? It runs 10am-6pm on Saturday November 20 at Navy Pier and 10am-5pm on Sunday November 21. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Parking is available at Navy Pier, or you can get there easily via Chicago's public transportation.

Or I have a family pass for CHITAG to give away - valid for either day of the exhibition for your whole family. What a great way to get a head start on those holiday wish lists!

So what do you have to do?

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!

This contest is open until Thursday November 11 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 48 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: What is your favorite game or toy from your childhood?

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 and tweeting this contest (leave a link to your tweet as your comment).
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.

Good luck!

In the interest of full disclosure, I am invited to a blogger brunch at CHITAG. I did not receive any compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Review: Disney Live! Presents Mickey's Magic Show

On Saturday, we went to go see Disney Live! - our first live show like this that we've seen. Unfortunately, Little Miss was home with pneumonia, but Mister Man insisted on calling her as soon as the show was over to fill her in on what she missed and tell her all about the great show.

And to be honest, it was a pretty great show. It wasn't David Blaine disappearing elephants from the stage type magic, but it was really cute and aimed at kids. Plus, it focused on the moral that persistence pays off, and in the end - of course - it does. After all, this is Disney!

The characters I remember had unmoving eyes and mouths. I noticed right away that these characters had eyes that blinked and mouths that moved. Oddly, I found that I had to take some time to get used to this, but it was really neat to make the characters even more real.

The tricks were entertaining from making Jasmine rise up into the air to squishing Benny flat so he could be rolled up to shoot from a cannon. Mister Man sat enthralled throughout the show.

It was really cute how they interspersed the stories from Disney into the magic - like with Jasmine (though in the movie she flew on the magic carpet, to be technical).

For part of it, Mickey made Disney princesses appear with the use of the magic word (and the audience's help!) and then Goofy would try and ... mess up the magic word so the nemesis would appear or something would come out a little wrong. Thus, Cinderella's fairy godmother appeared and magically changed her raggedy dress into the gorgeous ballgown.

I love that they did the less common Disney bits, as well, like Mickey and the Sorceror's Apprentice. A lot of the magic included comedy, which was a great touch with kids. In this bit, Mickey never realized that the brooms behind him were doing what he commanded the immobile broom in front of him.

All in all, it was a cute show. I will say that the volume was way too loud for my tastes, but volume tends to be an issue everywhere. The Rosemont Theater holds sound well, and we saw a child next to us holding his ears throughout the performance. Fortunately, it didn't affect us to that degree.

Interestingly, Mister Man loved the whole show with one exception. The finale was a double sawing of a woman in half. Two women were halved then spun around in their containers only to be put back together backwards such that each woman had the other woman's bottom. Mister Man was freaked out by this. When talking about the show afterwards, he refused to discuss this act, simply saying that it creeped him out and he didn't want to talk about it. I thought it was kind of cool though.

If you haven't seen Disney Live! yet, check to see if it's coming to a city near you. We had a blast, and we can't wait for the next Disney show!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received tickets to see the show. I did not receive any compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.