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Froose
I made a decision that was going to effect the entire family a few months ago. There would be no more high fructose corn syrup in this house. None. Zero. Zilch.
Easier said than done.
High fructose corn syrup, recently linked to the development of type 1 diabetes (which is why I made my decision), is in just about everything. It’s inexpensive, and works as a sweetener in everything from juices to soda to bread. Yes bread, even the whole grain variety we had been eating in my house for years.
There are simply not very many good options when it comes to providing nutritious things for your children, especially when it comes to beverages. Now that has changed, and I couldn’t be more excited to tell you about it.
Froose is a new beverage for kids that is just about as fantastic as you can get. It comes in three flavors that my kids adore. They tried Cheerful Cherry and thought it tasted just like a "slushie." They tried "Perfect Pear" and from that point on, Lil C has been begging for a "green one." They also tried "Playful Peach" and thought that flavor was pretty fabulous too.
Because you can’t completely believe a 6-year old and a 2-year old without trying it yourself, I did. I have to agree with the girls. The cherry does taste like a slushie and the pear is just plain awesome. Personally, I wasn’t that fond of peach, but I’m not much of a peach fan to begin with. The girls liked it just fine.
So here’s the cool part about these little fabulous drinks. They are made with all natural whole food ingredients. They are naturally low in sugar because they are sweetened with organic brown rice syrup which happens to be a complex carbohydrate. For those lacking carb knowledge, this basically means that your kid isn’t going to get the sugar rush spazz out that often follows other sugary snacks and drinks. See for yourself:
There’s more good news too. Froose contains 3 grams of fiber, lots of vitamins and minerals, and it’s even supposed to aid in digestion. They’re also gluten-free and kosher certified.
The only difference that I could really tell, is that Froose is slightly thicker than your average juice box beverage. I’m assuming this is from the brown rice syrup used to sweeten it. It’s not super thick nor unpleasant, and it’s not noticeable to children. We only have a couple left in the refrigerator and we got them on Friday!
My only criticism of the product is that they come in a rather small size (4.23 ounces per box). Their website states that this is the appropriate serving size for kids and prevents waste. I can see that. I just have little slurpers here, so we’ll go through quite a few after a strenuous play date.
The only other issue is that Froose is not yet available in stores. To purchase, you must go to their website. A variety pack containing 12 boxes costs $9.00. A case of 40 juice boxes costs $30.00. If you order two or more cases, shipping is free. If you want to order a sample pack or only one case, you’ll pay just $4.95 for shipping. Not bad.
There is finally a healthy alternative to the juice box. For that reason, BBM gives Froose:
My Fruit Roll-Ups
***Contest give-away!!! Keep READING for one of three chances to win!"
February 14, 2008.
Mark that date on your calendar, because that is the date that I officially become a "cool mom." Every single holiday, my daughter brings home these special treats from kids in her class. For Christmas, we do nothing; they send home bags and bags of candies and treats. For Valentine’s Day, we did simple Valentine cards; they send home ornate Valentine’s complete with bags and bags of treats. This year, I’ve got the answer, and it’s not even time-consuming or bank-breaking. It’s just plain awesome.
What kid doesn’t love a fruit roll-up right? I mean, they are the freak of nature fruit snack that every kid loves (as do parents because they’re not messy). Now you can customize fruit roll-ups to make them say anything you want them to say. Wait, I know what you’re thinking and yes, they do have Valentine’s themed fruit roll-ups.
Here’s how you get them. Go here and start having some fun. You can design your very own fruit roll-ups. You can use pictures, choose your font and even choose the color of the writing and pictures on the roll-up. My daughter’s design features little cupids, hearts that say "be mine" and "Love, Big I." She is thrilled that she’s giving these out and together we just saved a ton of time writing out Valentine’s and putting together gift bags.
The customized fruit roll-ups come in packages of 30 and cost $29.99 (plus tax, where applicable). There’s also a nominal shipping fee. BUT WAIT!
Three lucky readers will be able to get a box of 30 customizable roll-ups for FREE! Here’s what you need to do. Simply post in the comments below the sweetest Valentine’s message you’ve either sent or received (or, you know, just send me a super sweet Valentine’s message). Three of the sweetest entries will be chosen and you’ll be given a promotional code to get your own box of customizable fruit roll-ups (complete with free shipping)!
You have exactly one week to post your sweet message. Winner will be notified by Friday, February 1st so that you can get your code and place your order in time for Valentine’s Day.
For making the life of a busy Mom a whole lot easier, and for finally getting me a coveted spot amongst the "cool moms," BBM gives "My Fruit Roll-Ups":
Room-a-Day Giveaway
It is with great hesitation that I bring you this post. I’ll tell you why. If I tell you about how to register for the "Room-a-Day Giveaway," then my chances of winning go down. My chances going down is a very bad thing.
My kitchen has bright pink counter-tops. No, I don’t kid. My cabinets have pink knobs to match. There’s also the pink pinstriped wallpaper and oh yes, the floor. My tile floor is as old as my house and has faded to a nice off-white to put it nicely.
Did I mention my bedroom has sponge painting and raspberry colored carpet? Yes it does; and yes, the previous owner loved her pink. It’s not my mistake! I just inherited it (Ok, well actually bought and swore I’d change later, but four years later. . .you get the idea).
These are just two of the reasons that I have been feverishly entering the contest day after day after day. I’ll tell you how to as well. Just know that if you win, you owe me or something.
Kimberly-Clark sponsors this "Room-a-Day Giveaway" each year to reward deserving Moms and to give them a chance to "relax, restore and renew." (I can’t even begin to tell you how much those three R’s would be present in this house if I could only eliminate some pink. . . but enough about me).
Sixteen very lucky winners will be awarded between the dates of January 28th-February 15th. The winners will be announced on The View. Winners receive $25,000 to renovate any room in their house. The final contestant will be announced on March 21st on the "Room-a-Day Giveaway" website. You can enter daily and increase your odds of winning here. Don’t forget to check out the dancing diapers and paper towels while you’re there.
Kimberly-Clark has brands such as Kleenex®, Scott®, Huggies®, Pull-ups®, Depend® and Kotex®.
Kimberly-Clark’s trusted brands offer solutions to clean, organize and beautify every room of your home, making life happier, healthier and more fulfilling.
They also help to eliminate excess "pink" from homes, at least that’s what I’m hoping for anyway.
If I win this contest, I’m totally giving it a black belt. That’s right, a black belt.
Matt Hughes Ultimate Fitness System
Those of you who follow the MMA showcase that is the UFC will be well aware of the name Matt Hughes. For those not in the know, he’s a 9-time Welterweight World Champion in the aforementioned organisation. He didn’t get there through luck, and it’s obvious to anyone who’s seen him that he’s a strong, fit and very motivated individual. It’s for these very reasons that I was very pleased to be given the opportunity to review his new Plyomix Ultimate Fitness System.
The Ultimate Fitness System is available as a five-part video download from iAmplify.com, with each video focusing on a different aspect of the training. These break down as being Core, Impact, Intensity, Power and an extra fifth video, Mental Edge which features an interview with Matt and an insight into his own training, background and mental preparation. As the names of the sections suggest, each video puts specific focus on an workout area, which is really useful as it means you can create your own routine and schedule and work it in around whatever other training you might already do. For me, this happens to be my own Martial Arts training, and training in a kick/punch system I was pleased to see some good speed and endurance drills based around sparring movements.
Each training video lasts for around an hour, and is well produced and presented. There are three people demonstrating at any one time, with input from Matt waiting in the wings as and when required. Each member of the team does essentially the same exercises, but at a varying level of intensity or difficulty. It’s a really nice touch and means that you don’t have to attempt to keep up with someone seemingly super-human, and at the opposite end of the scale there’s no need to limit your workout by matching what someone of a lower level of strength or fitness is doing. They also act as good goals for anyone wanting to push themselves, as you can start off following the lowest intensity, and as you get fitter and stronger move up to the next level.
It’s advertised as a complete fitness system, and for once it’s actually true. Everything you’d expect to be there is present such as cardio work, strength and endurance work, fast-twitch muscle building and flexibility, but it’s good to see the other important facets of a good training session, namely warm-ups and stretching. Both are sometimes breezed over with little attention in other video instructionals, but these videos provide a good realistic amount of both. Anyone who’s ever had a muscle pull or tear can probably vouch for the importance of stretching and getting warm. Whenever ‘props’ are required – such as a jump rope or hand weights – it’s clearly stated on the screen, and a nice touch is the inclusion of alternatives should they not be available (no hand weights? how about cans of soup?).
Despite all the good things I’ve already said, there’s still one thing which separates the Matt Hughes Ultimate Fitness System from its competition, and that’s the format in which it’s presented. Instead of DVDs, the videos are downloaded directly from the iAmplify site. Each is around 100MB in size, and they’re in MPEG-4 (.mp4) format. What that means to you and me is that they can easily be downloaded to a personal media player (iPod Video for example) and taken with you. Do you ever find that at home it’s really tricky to find the time to claim the living room for yourself for an hour to work out? Or maybe you have kids and find it literally impossible to clear enough toys from the room to get the space for it? Pop the videos onto your media player (or laptop) and head out somewhere else. It might only be as far as the garden, or maybe a gym or local hall, but you can take your workout with you.
I consider myself moderately fit for my age and weight, training 3 or 4 times a week in martial arts will do that for you, and I have to say that having tried these out I can vouch for just how much of a workout you get. They certainly aren’t "walk in the park" easy, and could take someone with a low level of fitness a few weeks to build up to get through the full hour without stopping, but if you’re already reasonably active or have good perseverance this can really add to your fitness and strength. It’s professionally presented, well organised and enjoyable.
You can purchase and download the Matt Hughes Ultimate Fitness System directly from the site, and by way of a special offer we’ve teamed up with iAmplify to get a special discount for BBM Review readers! Simply click the following link.
Learn More about PlyoMix Ultimate Fitness System by Matt Hughes
As far as workout video systems go, this has to rank among the best. The very unfit may struggle at first, but as a supplement to existing training or incorporating all of the parts as a standalone routine it’s very good at what it does. Just be prepared to work hard! TSDAdam awards the Matt Hughes Ultimate Fitness System…
Ikigai108’s Review
While watching the UFC, have you ever had that brief moment where you contemplate how you would stack up against a fighter like Matt Hughes? I think it’s pretty common. Next time that little voice pops into your head, remind yourself of this – Matt Hughes is one of the most physically fit athletes in the world and is, essentially, a destroyer of men.
I realized that pretty quickly while watching the Plyomix Ultimate Fitness System, presented by iAmplify. This system is designed to be a full body workout, ideal for anyone wanting to get in shape (but especially for those training in the martial arts). This series is presented as downloadable videos from iAmplify and comes in five main categories: power, core, intensity, impact, and mental edge. I’d like to break down my impression of each section, then give an overall review of the system.
POWER
The Power video is very similar to some existing workout tapes you might have seen. It involves a stepbox, jumprope, and a few other trademark devices of the workout industry. The Matt Hughes team takes you through a good warmup routine and then runs through a series of cardio intensive drills. However, unlike normal step programs, activities like pushups are thrown in from time to time to work on strength as well as endurance. Matt Hughes acts as the coach, helping keep each team member motivated.
CORE
The Core video is pretty darn wicked. This focuses on core strength around the abdomen/pelvic area (or hara, as the japanese martial arts like to call it). There are a wide variety of crunches and leg lifting exercises that make you feel the burn very quickly. One exercise called alternate straight leg pedaling kills me. The Hughes team faired much better than I did. If you need an ab work – this is the place to be.
INTENSITY
Intensity has a definite fighter’s slant. This workout uses resistance training and heavy bag striking (on the ground). I personally enjoyed this one due to it’s easy translation into fighting but also because the workouts were not dull in any way. One sign of a good system is keeping participants interested, and I think Intensity is a success in that realm.
IMPACT
Impact is where weight lifting and bench work comes into play. It’s not heavy weight lifting; instead, they use light-moderate weight and incorporate it into their workout. The Hughes team uses free hand weights, 5-15 pounds or so, and lead you through a series of squats and bench exercises. Impact offers a balanced combination of weight training and cardio, so people not looking to do 200 pound bench presses can still enjoy and participate.
MENTAL EDGE
This is a nice addition in the form of an interview with Matt Hughes. Anyone purchasing the videos will enjoy it, but MMA fans will especially appreciate it. The interview takes place in front of a pond on the farm where Matt grew up. He talks about his childhood and how his rural lifestyle instilled in him an excellent work ethic that has really helped bring success in professional fighting. He also talks about how he implements his workout program and some other useful pointers for preparing for a fight.
OVERALL
The exercises presented on this video are very good. This is a workout program designed to fit beginner, intermediate, and advanced users. That being said, there are a few things I’d like to comment on. First and foremost, the Matt Hughes team does 95% of the working out, with only small demonstrations by Matt himself. I would have enjoyed seeing Matt demonstrate what a real UFC fighter looks like going through the workout. I think most martial artists would agree that watching an expert can be as helpful as listening to their advice. Matt’s tips as the "coach" were indeed helpful, but not critical. There could have been someone else acting as motivator, or perhaps Matt doing a voice-over with advice as everyone worked out. I felt the biggest thing lacking in Matt Hughes’ system was Matt Hughes.
One other little pet peeve – The main aerobic instructor, Jennifer, made some excessive SSHH-ing noises. SHH, SHH, SHH. I found it a bit distracting. Also, this is not a good breathing habit to get into for martial artists because it indicates breathing from high in the lungs instead of low out of the diaphragm. I know it can’t all be diaphragm breathing when working out, but excessive SHH breathing should be avoided.
On the positive side, excellent tips and suggestions were flashed on the screen throughout the videos. Each video lets you know what to expect and what you will need in a clear and organized fashion.
I enjoyed the Plyomix Ultimate Fitness System by Matt Hughes. I think it has some really useful qualities. However, it wasn’t a homerun for me. Therefore, the result for Ikigai108 is…
Learn More about PlyoMix Ultimate Fitness System by Matt Hughes
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