Nasoya Tofu U Giveaway

Good morning guys!

Today I come to you with a giveaway that I’m really excited about. Why? Because it’s for one of my favorite food staples- tofu!

I’ve come a long way since I first tried tofu. I remember back in 8^th grade I told my mom I was going to become a vegetarian. My first plan of action was to add tofu to the grocery list. I bought soft tofu and tried to scramble it in a pan with some vegetables and call it dinner. I remember thinking…wow, this stuff is AWFUL.

Years later, I’m not a vegetarian but I have learned lots of creative ways to prepare tofu to highlight its wonderful taste and texture (no more jiggly, flavorless scrambles).

I think a lot of people still may think of tofu the way I did when I was younger, but that’s a misconception. If you don’t believe me, check out some of my favorite tofu recipes on my recipe page and tell me you don’t think they look good!

Nasoya is also on a mission to help people get to know Tofu a little better. They’ve set up a new website called Tofu U where you can easily check out Tofu How-To’s (from buying, to prepping, to cooking), as well as delicious recipes. One of my favorite features on the site is the Dish Whiz where you can select the ingredients you already have in the house, and the whiz will come up with a dish you can make using them.

Nasoya is also encouraging everyone to take the Tofu U pledge to cook tofu once a week for a month. They will help by sending you coupons and if you cook four meals at home you can win Nasoya gym shorts or a t-shirt.

Nasoya is also willing to give one of my readers an extra bonus with 5 coupons for FREE tofu products and a t-shirt! This is a great way to get started!

Lucky for you there are 3 ways to enter this giveaway!

1. Go to Tofu U and take the pledge- leave a comment letting me know you did
2. Like Nasoya on Facebook (you can also enter their open enrollment contest and win $1000) leave a comment letting me know you did
3. Share with me your favorite way to cook tofu- links to recipes are appreciated!

 That’s it! I’ll pick a winner on Friday! (open to US residents only).

This giveaway is sponsored by Nasoya. I was provided free tofu coupons and a t-shirt from the company.

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Interview Apolo Ohno! (and free food too)

Have you guys seen those Subway commercials lately with Apolo Ohno? If not, then you may not know that he’s been training for the ING New York City Marathon, and using Subway as a part of his refueling process. Last year Subway showed Jared training for the marathon which I thought was pretty cool. I can’t believe how far that guy has come. This year, Jared challenged Apolo.

As a professional athlete, Apolo obviously has a good foundation for training for an endurance event. He completed the Chicago Half marathon and his time was 1:40:59! I still think it’s interesting though- because running races has its own set of challenges and running is different from many other sports. I think it goes without saying that just being athletic doesn’t mean you can just run a marathon (and it also doesn’t mean that you’d WANT to!)

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 Just recently I read an article on ESPN where Michael Phelps explained why he would not want to take on the Subway NYCM challenge:

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I’m not a runner,” said Phelps, who has won 16 Olympic medals — 14 of them gold. “My sisters have done marathons, and I see how much pain they are in. I’m just not too good on land. I’m just clumsy out of the water.”

Interesting, right?

So here’s why I’m talking about this….

As a part of this Subway promotion, I was invited to interview Apolo before the ING NYC Marathon to get the scoop on his training routine, his inspiration, and how he feels about the big day (and whatever else I wanted to know!). However, I’m not able to make the call due to work obligations.

So I asked my contact if it would be possible to still submit questions for the call even though I would not be on it. Not only am I able to submit my questions, but I’m also able to submit yours! And the extra bonus? I’m going to giveaway a $25 Subway gift card to a reader whose question I think is really great!

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To enter, just leave me a question that you would like to ask Apolo in the comments section. I’ll choose a winner tomorrow evening. Your question will be submitted for the call, and you’ll also get a gift card!

Disclosure: For my participation in this promotion I too am receiving a Subway giftcard. And I plan to use it up rather quickly on veggie and cheese subs that I will eat to my pregnant heart’s delight.

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Sentry Safe Giveaway WINNER!

I’m currently in the kitchen whipping up something yummy for dinner that I can’t wait to share with you!

But in the meantime, a big congrats to Kristen! 

You’re the winner of my giveaway! Woohoo! I’ll send you an email to confirm your information.

 

Thanks to everyone that entered!

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SentrySafe Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaway

As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Around this time of year, it’s common to see many companies promoting their products with new pink versions and making donations to various organizations that support breast cancer research.

 

A few years ago, (actually it was 2005) when I worked for a cosmetics company as a marketing project manager. Basically, I worked on direct mail catalogs and would help to design and create a few monthly mailers. At one point the October catalog became my responsibility and I thought it would be a great idea to create a breast cancer awareness version of our very popular hand cream.

 

It was an awesome process that I was so glad to be a part of. I helped the designers approve a new logo; I researched charitable organizations, and worked with the product team to have the packaging made. I believe that the company is still creating a breast cancer awareness product and I’m proud that I played a role in that.

 

Product marketing is such a fascinating industry- and I love when it’s power is used for something good. I think we can all agree a pink version of some of our favorite products can be an attractive motivator to buy. I also think it’s impressive how simply the color pink has now associated itself with breast cancer awareness, which can help to remind us everyday how important it is to keep up with monthly self-exams, mammograms after 40 (or sooner, in my opinion), and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to help prevent cancer.

 

Needless to say, I was very excited when SentrySafe contacted me about their specially-designed Pink 1100 Fire Safe. As a part of their promotion, SentrySafe is donating a portion of their sales on the Pink 1100 Fire Safe to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

The following link will explain more about SentrySafe’s Breast Cancer initiative as well as the product info.

SentrySafe has also given me the opportunity to do a giveaway for one of these safes. I can tell you that this is a great win. It’s a wonderful way to protect documents, photos, money, and other important items from getting destroyed in a fire. It’s a great thing to have because you can never be too careful with your precious belongings.

There are two ways to enter this giveaway:

1. Like SentrySafe on Facebook by clicking here and leave me a comment telling me that you did
2. Follow SentrySafe on Twitter by clicking here and leave me a comment telling me that you did.

I recommend checking out both entry options because the company is doing a lot of their own giveaways as well!

 

The giveaway will close on Tuesday evening, so get your entries in!

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Kellogg’s Fiber Plus Review and BIG GIVEAWAY!

The other day I was contacted by Kellogg’s to sample their FiberPlus line of cereals and bars. After seeing their most recent commercial, where they had a showdown between their cereal and a chocolate lava cupcake, there was no doubt I wanted to try this stuff!

Although cereals and bars can sometimes be “trigger” foods for me to overeat, I haven’t had that same issue during my pregnancy. I’ve actually been pretty reliant on various bars as a way to keep snacks on hand at all times.

At the end of last week my package finally arrived and I was so excited to see two boxes of cereal and 4 different flavors of bars to sample.

Over the course of the weekend I pretty much tried it all! My first sample was of both cereals. I loved the Caramel Pecan Crunch but enjoyed the Berry Yogurt Crunch even more. It has these little yogurt clusters that have a cinnamon flavor that is to die for.

Both cereals are sweet and almost more dessert/snack like than breakfast like. I have been enjoying them as pre-workout fuel and a before bed snack. The nice thing is that they have a boatload of fiber. (The berry has 10 grams per serving and the caramel has 9 grams per serving)

The bars are also yummy- but there is one flavor in particular that I must highlight.

Caramel Coconut Fudge…..

I kid you not when I say that it tastes like a Girl Scout Samoa cookie. Just divine. That box is almost gone as of today and will be repurchased.

So now for the fun part..the giveaway!! Kellogg’s has been so generous to allow me to giveaway 25 coupons for full value items! (You know how much I love coupons)

I’m planning on picking 5 winners (US residents only, sorry!) who will each get 5 coupons each. I will pick the winners on Friday.

There are 3 ways to enter!

1. Leave me a comment telling me the cereal or bar flavor you’d like to try the most
2. Become a follower of mine on twitter and leave a comment letting me know that you did
3. Tweet the following message and leave a comment that you did: I just entered @FoodinRL’s giveaway to win 5 free Kellogg’s #fiberpluscoupons. You should enter too! http://tinyurl.com/4x925cn

Please note: I was given these products for free by Kellogg’s to review. I am not being compensated for my review. Please review the Kellogg’s site regarding full coupon giveaway rules.

Good luck!

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Multigrain Cheerios Giveaway Winner!

 

Congrats Christina!

 

 

Please email your full name and mailing address to me at FoodIRL@gmail.com and I’ll get it shipped out to you!

Have a great night everyone

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Yippee!

What an exciting night!!

 

First things first, WE HAVE A GIVEAWAY WINNER!

 

Congratulations, Jessy!

 

 

In other exciting news, my favorite, FAVORITE show of all times is back tonight! And this isn’t just any season of Top Chef. It’s the All-Stars from previous seasons! Basically, some of the best competitors that didn’t actually win their season.

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I think that the top three will be:

Richard Blais (Season 4)

Jennifer Connell (Season 6)

Tiffany Faison (Season 1)

 

What are your predictions???

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Happy Monday Giveaway!

Hi everyone!

Did you have a good few days off? I had a great time visiting with family and friends. It is nice to get home though and back into a regular routine, isn’t it?

 

As a fun way to kick off this week, I’m having a giveaway!

 

A few weeks ago, I was contacted about checking out a new cookbook called The Real Food Diet by Dr. Axe. Dr Axe is a wellness doctor and a radio show host and his cookbook is all about simple recipes that will help you to feel your best.

Most of the recipes in the cookbook are only a few ingredients, so once you have the basics down pat, you should be able to make a lot of the things in it!

I’m planning on trying some of the soup recipes as well as the homemade snack bars.

While I don’t really stick to a “clean eating” diet, or follow very many diet rules, Dr. Axe does provide some easy to read information on why he follows certain food rules.

He believes in eating all real foods, focusing on nutrients and not calories, avoiding refined sugars, and looking at the glycemic load of the foods you eat.

 

Even if I’m not 100% on board with all of the suggestions, I think that understanding his point of view and looking at the kinds of recipes he DOES like, helps to improve my well rounded view of different diets and foods. I’m all about learning more and then deciding what I think is important.

 

Dr. Axe’s people have also offered to give away a cookbook a Food in Real Life reader!

 

Just leave a comment to enter the giveaway!

How do you feel about clean eating?
What food rules do you follow?

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