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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Week 24 Pregnancy Update

Hi everyone! I’m 6 months pregnant!

Aaand I’m going to keep this short and sweet.

 

This week has been a mix of ups and downs. It started off great, I had major energy. Monday night I worked out hard and it felt great. Then Tuesday morning I woke up super early to get in another workout before work. I was so proud of myself!

After work on Tuesday I had a bunch of errands to run and by the time I got home I felt terrible. My feet throbbed and ached and I was just wiped.

The fact is that I just did too much. Sometimes I forget that I’m pregnant and I think I just overdid it.

 

The good news is that I’m feeling better and have made sure to get lots of rest this week.

 

Sorry for the graininess but I took this week’s pictures with my iPhone for the convenience factor.

Hair Up

Hair Down

And what I usually wear around the house

(and no, that sweatshirt doesn’t zip up anymore)

 

Other Info

Length of Baby: 12.5 inches (ear of corn)

Weight of Baby: 1.25 pounds

Outfits I have to wear to work: Maybe 7? My maternity work pants are in heavy rotation but I don’t want to buy anymore until the third trimester.

Recent Cravings: Cheese (all varieties), Gummy bears, cereal, and seriously anything. I’m hungry all the time lately.

Annoying Pregnancy Side Effect: My shoes are feeling small! Time for some new ones in a bigger size.

 

Previous Updates:

Week 23

Week 22

Week 21

Week 20

Week 19

Week 18

Week 17

Week 16

Week 15

Week 14

 

Have you entered my GIVEAWAY? I’m picking a winner tomorrow around 3pm. 

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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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Rush

This afternoon was crazy. The time just kept slipping through my fingers. 

I blame the weather for taking me so long to get everywhere. I’m such a slow driver when there is precipitation on the road.

 

After a few errands I flew in the door, and then back out the door to the gym.

 

I started with speed intervals on the treadmill. I would run 0.25 miles at 6.0 (10 /mi)and then 0.25 at 7.0 (8:35 /mi). I continued this for 3 miles with a short walking break for about 2 minutes.

 

It wasn’t really that fun.

After that I did some ellipticalling while reading magazines and watching TV for about 15 minutes. Now that was fun.

 

I came home and realized I had about 40 minutes or less to shower, eat, and get out the door for student teaching orientation.

 

Food was prepared on the fly and scarfed in a hurry.

I nuked a tortilla with apple and cheddar and on the side had a pomegranate chobani.

The wrap was okay, but the yogurt stole the show. This is my fav flavor.

It’s official.

 

Student teaching orientation was okay, I got to meet my supervisor and it was nice to mingle with other people who are just as nervous as I am!

 

What’s your favorite yogurt flavor?

Don’t forget to enter my Multigrain Cheerios giveaway! I’ll be picking a winner later tonight.

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The Bloomingdales Gift Card

I’m not going to lie, wedding gifts rule. And even when they don’t rule, you can still exchange them for gift cards.

 

It will be 2 years in June that Joe and I have been married. And yet we still have a big Bloomingdales gift card from a few returns we made.

This gift card has come in handy for many subsequent gift exchanges since we’ve been trying to save money, and it is also getting harder to be creative after almost 9 years as a couple.

 

Occasion #1 – What should we get each other for our anniversary? Let’s just go to Bloomingdales and spend that gift card together. We can each pick something out.

 

Items Purchased on Gift Card: 0

Year Old Wedding Cake Pieces Consumed: 1

Occasion #2- What should we get each other for Christmas? Let’s just go to Bloomingdales and spend that gift card together. We can each pick something out.

Items Almost Purchased on Gift Card: 1

Today we went shopping at Bloomingdales (finally) and I actually found something I wanted. A cute pair of short Ugg boots.

 

 

I figured this is a good purchase since my current pair is worn out, and they are something that lasts a long time.

 

Unfortunately they didn’t have my size and they couldn’t order them from another store unless I wanted to pay with a credit card.

 

No worries though,  I’m currently hunting them down at Bloomingdales.com. Maybe I’ll even score a coupon code.

 

Have you ever had a gift card you just can’t seem to use?

Have you entered my Cheerios Gift Pack GIVEAWAY?

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PB&J Oats and a Giveaway!

It’s never easy to get out of bed in the winter, but today felt especially hard.

 

That is until I brainstormed the idea of making peanut butter and jelly oats for breakfast.

 

Although I’m not a huge oatmeal fanatic, I do think they make a nice base for some delicious toppings, and they are pretty filling too.

 

This morning I heated up 1/2 cup of old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk, and 1/2 cup of water in the microwave.

 

When it was done I topped it with peanut flour spread and sf raspberry jelly.

I also wanted to let you guys know how I make my peanut flour spread since I realized it’s not on the recipe tab of the blog.

 

Peanut Flour Spread

30 g/ or 1/4 cup peanut flour

1/4-1/3 cup of milk (regular, soy, almond, or you can use water)

1-2 splendas

dash or two of salt

splash of vanilla extract (optional)

 

Now, on to an exciting giveaway!

 

Through My Blog Spark I was invited to participate in a giveaway from  Multigrain Cheerios. I’m a big fan of cheerios and love to eat them dry as a snack or on top of yogurt.

Multigrain Cheerios is partnering with The Biggest Loser and doing a Biggest Loser at Home program on their website. Once you buy a box of the cereal, you get an access code that you can use to access some tools such as a 7 day plan, motivation, and BMI calculator.

 

One lucky winner will receive a box of Multigrain Cheerios, a water bottle, cereal holder, and gym bag.

To enter just leave a response in the comments section telling me:

 

What tools would you be interested in using on the Multigran Cheerios Biggest Loser website?

A winner will be picked tomorrow night. Good luck!

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