Goya, Oh Boya!

As a full-time working mother and wife, I love anything that will simplify my life and help me manage what little time I have left at the end of the day, which is usually just 3-4 hours. In that 3-4 hours time I need to spend quality time with my family, prepare a healthy (and also tasty  meal, and then straighten up the mess I've made while preparing this seemingly healthy and tasty mean (ha!). I am not lying when I tell you that I use every dish, pot, pan and utensil in the kitchen when I cook, so the cleanup can be quite time consuming. 

I'll start this review with a little background data, as I always do..I feel like it helps piece everything together. 

My husband is of Latin decent, and he LOVES Latin food. Having been together for close to 15 years, I too have grown to love Latin food, however, it has taken me close to 15 years to learn to make even the most basic Latin meal. I've managed pretty well, but there are a few dishes that I just can't seem to get right.

Goya is our go-to Latin brand; I've tried others but Goya just seems to have the upper hand in taste and quality. Needless to say, when I got notification that I was chosen to participate in the Goya BzzAgent Campaign, I quickly accepted it! 

Above is a picture of the contents in my Bzzkit -- a can of Low-sodium Black Beans (yum), a bottle of Adobo All-purpose Seasoning and a box of Yellow Rice (Arroz Amarillo), which admittedly, I've never tried. Oh and of course, TONS of coupons to share with my friends and family. The nifty little card included in the background also has a few recipes, which I will definitely be trying! The best part is, ALL OF THIS WAS FREE! 

So last night, I looked at the side of the box of rice and there was a recipe for Arroz con Pollo, one of my favorite dishes; so I decided to give it a try. I already had some chicken tenderloins defrosted and everything else was in the box...no excuses not to use it.

I did add a little spin of my own to the recipe, while browning the chicken, I diced up a few slices of onion and tossed it into the pan and let it all brown for about 7-8 minutes. Once the chicken was browned I added the water, adding a little extra to compensate for the frozen mixed veggies I would later add in. After bringing the water to a quick boil, I added the packet of rice and seasoning, frozen mixed veggies, gave it a whirl and covered it up to simmer and set my timer for 25 minutes. THAT'S IT! 

I'll admit, I was a little nervous about leaving the rice to simmer without stirring so I stood close by and watched the pan to make sure it didn't burn or boil over. By the time my rice was done, my kitchen was filled with the delicious smell of Latin food and my husband was "Bzzing" around the kitchen wondering what was cooking on the stove. I caved and gave him a little sampling of what I had in there, and he was DELIGHTED! Said it was so good, he'd take some for lunch the next day as well! 

I love that I prepared this complete meal in just 1 pot; this meant minimal cleanup but with MAXIMUM FLAVOR. 

Goya Arroz Amarillo makes Arroz con Pollo as easy as UNO, DOS, TRES! :)

Here is a picture of the completed meal...so so yummy.

(Reviews on the Low-Sodium Beans and Adobo All-purpose Seasoning coming soon.)

DISCLAIMER: I RECEIVED THESE PRODUCTS FOR FREE FROM BZZAGENT AND THE REVIEW AND OPINIONS ARE MY OWN. 

MorningStar Farms Breakfast Biscuits make hectic mornings a little easier!

School days equal hectic mornings in our house. Who's waking up late, who can't find their shoes, whats for breakfast?! I don't have a lot of time in the morning to prepare breakfast for my 10 year old daughter. She usually ends up eating a bowl of cereal; which she loves so its not a problem. However, on cold mornings, she likes something warm to eat. Our "go to" warm breakfast is usually oatmeal or Farina, however, this too can get redundant. 

When I joined the MorningStar Farms campaign with BzzAgent, I had already tried a few of their items, however I hadn't realized they'd expanded their product line so much. When I looked up the different kinds of products available I immediately was intrigued by the Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit. After all, who wouldn't be! Breakfast sausage, eggs, cheese, biscuits, 4 of our favorite foods wrapped up into one HEALTHY breakfast, that's just 270 calories and includes 10 grams of protein! We're a health conscious family, so these factors are important.

Now I have to mention this one important fact - Morningstar Farms products are MEATLESS, meaning they use vegetable and soy based meat replacements - my child is all about meat; bacon, steak, chicken, she loves it all...however, she has always liked the MorningStar Farms products in the past, so I figured this was worth a shot. 

At first site, my daughter wasn't too sure about it, she just kinda poked at the crust. I convinced her to at least try the biscuit and if she didn't like it she didn't have to eat it. I put the customary ketchup on her plate (ketchup is a necessity for any meal with her!) and carried on to my morning routine. 

A few mins later, I hear her call from the kitchen... "Mmmmm, Momma this is REALLY GOOD!" I go into the kitchen to find her gobbling up her breakfast, KETCHUP UNTOUCHED! She ate her entire breakfast and came back to tell me how full she was and that she really liked it. 

Later that evening, as I was preparing dinner, my daughter asked me if we could have "Breakfast for Dinner", because she really wanted another one of those breakfast biscuits! (LOL) I just told her that I'd already started dinner (which coincidentally included another MorningStar Farms product, which I will be reviewing later) and that she could have another one in the morning; so that is what she had this morning for breakfast and again told me how delicious it was!

Thank you MorningStar Farms for making my morning routine just a little bit easier. :)

Just a little company overview, which I quoted from their Facebook page: 

If there's one thing you need to know about us, it's that we love a good meatless meal. That's why, for more than 25 years, the MorningStar Farms® brand has been offering creative meatless solutions that inspire people to eat well. We want to make meatless eating a part of everyone's life. From breakfast to burgers, we offer a variety of delicious products and recipes. And we won't sacrifice flavor or fun. Because when it comes to going meatless, we want the world to know that there are lots of great-tasting ways to create dishes you can feel good about eating and serving.

MorningStar Farms has a large line of products, check the freezer section at your local supermarket for other great meatless meal options.

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula® Hand Cream

 

It was the afternoon of Christmas Eve; I had just returned home from some last minute shopping to find a box sitting in my doorway! Receiving packages always get me excited, because they usually contain a long awaited purchase or gift. This package was a little different though...

I had recently signed up to be a BzzAgent product tester and was excepted into the recent Neutrogena Campaign to test the Norwegian Formula® Hand Cream. By the markings on the box (bee printed tape -- so cute!), I knew this was the tester kit!

I immediately tore open the box and rummaged through to see what was in there. To my surprise, the kit included a full size (2 oz) tube of the unscented hand cream, as well as 6 sample size (0.5 oz) of the scented hand cream.

So let me give you a little background information on Neutrogena Norwegian Formula® Hand Cream. Neutrogena has long been well known for its incredible facial products, cleansers, creams, etc. And this hand cream is no different.

The description the company gives reads as follows:

Developed by Norwegian fishermen to protect skin from the harshest weather on the planet, Neutrogena’s Norwegian Formula® Hand Cream has, for decades, saved hands from all the chapping and cracking that life has to offer. That same trusted glycerin-rich formula has now become an essential tool for nail care, too. In small doses, Neutrogena’s hyper-concentrated Norwegian Formula® Hand Cream penetrates skin to heal damaged cuticles and restore a healthy shine to cracked nails. And with regular use, Norwegian Formula® Hand Cream can lengthen the life of your manicure.

 Why was I so excited to test this product you may ask? Well lets face it, Winter really stinks when you live up North, and even though it hasn't been bitterly cold this year (yet!) the change in the air and constant washing of hands (avoid the plague!) leaves my hands, well lets just say, JACKED UP! They're dry, and red and get chapped and cracked around the cuticles, just plain nasty!

So of course, having just walked in from the cold weather, I had to try this hand cream, because, well my hands were DRY! So I opened up one of the sample bottles and put a little dab on my hand. 

My first impression of this cream was that it wasn't a cream at all. The formula is much more like an ointment, that it is not white and watery, but opaque and thick. Interesting...so I begin to rub it in to my hands, knuckles, palms...right down to my finger tips. I will say this, a little goes a long way with this hand cream. I was able to completely moisturize one hand with a teeny tiny dab, like less than a pea size. 

Most "ointments" leave a greasy sticky feeling after applying...but after all, this isn't an "ointment" even though it looks like one. The Neutrogena Norwegian Formula® Hand Cream feels silky smooth, after you rub it in completely. Again, like I said above, a little goes a long way. If your hands feel greasy, you know you applied too much, but fear not, just keep rubbing it in and eventually your hands will just absorb all of the moisturizing goodness this cream has to offer.

Now, Neutrogena says that this cream can be used on hands, cuticles and even lips. I don't recommend using the "Scented" variety on your lips. I tried it and it didn't taste so great. However, I have no doubt that the unscented variety would work well on chapped lips. Just out of curiousity, while giving myself a pedicure the other night, I wondered if this "hand cream" would also have the same effects on my dry, cracked feet. Lets face it, our feet take a beating everyday, not just in the Winter. My piggies needed a little TLC, so I gave it to them! I used just a little more than normal and rubbed it in till it was all gone. If my feet could talk, they would have been thanking the heavens for that cream, let me tell you! And the results stayed all through the night, when I woke up, my feet were soft as a baby's....hmmm, well you know. ;)

Anywhooooo, my opinion on this Norwegian Formula® Hand Cream is that it's pretty incredible. I think the Norse knew what they were doing when they developed this cream and I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a little more moisture in their hands/feet. Because of the potential greasiness, please use sparingly to find the perfect amount needed on your skin.

This concludes my review of the Neutrogena Norwegian Formula® Hand Cream. 

Thanks for reading. Until next time...

Feel free to visit www.bzzagent.com for more information on becoming a product tester.