Archive for February, 2010

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Mabel's Labels BlogHer '10 Contest

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Mabel's Labels Logo

The Mabel’s Labels BlogHer ’10 contest asks us:

“Write a post on your blog in response to the following hypothetical situation: Electrical storms are going to wipe out the Internet (perhaps forever). You have one day left to write about your passions: what do you want to say to the blogosphere in 300 words or less?”

Here is my entry:

The sky has started to turn dark and I see large clouds looming in the distance. The news reports that China and Europe have gone internet dark, and all Twitter feeds from those areas have gone silent. This may be my last opportunity to share with an audience that goes beyond the walls of this house.

To many of you, I’m just a stranger behind a keyboard who reviews products and hosts giveaways. However, a few of you know that behind the monitor and behind the streaming bits of data is a woman of faith who has been learning her lessons while striving to walk in Christ. This blog has been a source of many of those lessons – whether it was learning how to not place unrealistic expectations on myself or making sure that the fun of blogging doesn’t overshadow my need for prayer.

With my last keystrokes I want to share some of what I’ve learned, which will hopefully help everyone as we step away from our computers and start interacting with the real world more. First, if you want to stay in Christ, pray. Pray and ask for the Lord’s help to fight the stresses and the negativity that will try to knock you off your path. Flesh cannot conquer flesh, and it is only through the Lord that we can overcome. Second, be honest with everyone, especially yourself. As we strive to be better people, we have to know who we really are so the Lord can help us be who we want to be. Finally, it’s impossible to be prideful if you relish the revealing of flaws. Rejoice in the suffering that comes from growth and take comfort knowing it will bring you closer to Christ.

Peace and blessings to you all!

Posted in Mabel’s Labels BlogHer ‘10 Contest, about us | View Comments

Chili con Cocoa Recipe

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Chili con Cocoa

Chili con Cocoa
Ingredients:
¼ cup canola oil
1 ½ cups onion, yellow, fresh, chopped
2 tttablesppons Hershey’s Cocoa, unsweetened
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
7 cups canned whole tomatoes, un-drained, unsalted
1 cup water
3 ounces Hershey’s Extra Dark Chocolate
1 1/3 cups tomato paste, unsalted
3 cups kidney beans
2 pounds ground turkey

Directions:
1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large saucepan; add onion. Cook, stirring frequently, 3 minutes or until tender. Add meat, cook until brown. Drain
2. Stir in Hershey’s Cocoa, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, allspice, cinnamon, tomatoes with liquid, tomato paste and water; heat to boiling. Reduce heat. Add Hershey’s Extra Dark Chocolate and beans; simmer 30 minutes>
3. Ladle chilie (about 1 cup) into bowl.

Recipe and photo courtesy and copyright of Hershey’s Dark Chocolate.

http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/lib/inc/showImage.asp?id=8140&size=l

Posted in poultry recipe, side dish recipe | View Comments

Extra Dark Chocolate Bliss with Heart Healthy Benefits – Hershey's Dark Chocolate Review & Giveaway

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

As a chocolate lover, I get very excited when reports and studies come out commenting on how chocolate can improve one’s life. Anything to make eating chocolate part of a healthy lifestyle I give two giant thumbs up to. A Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center study published in 2008 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition came to the conclusion that Hershey®’s Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate was linked to heart health benefits. More specifically, they found that “consuming Hershey®’s Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate (75g) as well as Hershey’s Natural Cocoa (22g) lowered blood pressure and improved endothelial function in 45 participants 2 hours after consumption” which suggests that “[d]ark chocolate has a positive impact on blood pressure and blood vessel function.” A more recent study published in the September 2009 issue of Journal of Internal Medicine by the Department of Public Health Sciences and other medical centers in Sweden found that “[c]hocolate consumption had a strong inverse association with cardiac mortality,” meaning that doses of chocolate may actually increase your survival rate after a heart attack.

Hershey's Extra Dark Chocolate Bars

With that study firmly in my mental note arsenal, I brought an array of chocolates to my Sample Sunday party for my fellow testers and I to eat and review Hershey®’s Extra Dark Dark Chocolate and Hershey®’s Special Dark® Dark Chocolate.

Hershey®’s Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate is made of 60% cacao and is the only chocolate to be awarded health and fitness expert Bob Greene’s Best Life Treat Seal of Approval. It is available in several flavors including Pure Dark Chocolate, Pure Dark Chocolate with Cranberries, Blueberries and Almonds, and Pure Dark Chocolate infused with Raspberry flavor.

I love that the Hershey®’s Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate comes in bar or square form. The tasting squares are individually packaged, which makes it easy to eat just one (or three squares since that equals just 140 calories) and to take them on the go. We tried the Pure Dark Chocolate and Pure Dark Chocolate with Pomegranate Flavored Pieces Squares. As with the bars, the Hershey®’s Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate Square taste simply like good, pure chocolate. I was really interested in the squares with pomegranate flavored pieces because I’d never tasted that combination of flavors before. I found that the pomegranate added another layer of sweetness to the chocolate that hinted at berry.

Hershey's Dark Chocolate Squares

Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate with Almonds NuggetsNext up were the Hershey®’s Nuggets Special Dark® with Almonds. My only complaint with the nuggets was that I would’ve loved to have more almonds in the nugget. Although I’m not even sure if that’s logistically possible because each nugget is just wide enough to accommodate the width of an almond. Most of the nuggets had at least two whole almonds inside. One of my fellow testers seemed to develop a strange addiction to the Hershey®’s Nuggets Special Dark® with Almonds since I noticed she kept asking if she could have “one more” and when I told her she could take some chocolate back home with her, half of the bag mysteriously disappeared – poof!

Finally we tested the Hershey®’s Special Dark® Dark Chocolate and the Hershey®’s Special Dark® Mildly Sweet Chocolate Bar with Almonds bars. If you are a milk chocolate lover, this would be a good transition chocolate for you to eat while you learn to appreciate the pure chocolate flavor of dark chocolate. It’s a more powerful chocolate flavor than milk chocolate, but is slightly sweeter than pure dark chocolate. I found myself keeping a bar in my pocket and breaking off pieces through the day for little bursts of energy. As with the nuggets, I wish the Hershey®’s Special Dark® Mildly Sweet Chocolate Bar with Almonds bar had more almonds, but there were still enough almonds in the bar to satisfy me.

Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Bars

Hershey®’s Extra Dark and Hershey®’s Special Dark® chocolates come in many shapes, sizes and flavors and are a great chocolately option to eat to see if you can attain some of the reported benefits from chocolate. I’m certainly not saying that we should be eating Hershey®’s Extra Dark chocolate like popcorn. (No matter how much we might want to.) I think that moderation is the key (as with many other foods) to receiving the benefits that chocolate has to offer. A word of caution, however. Make sure you have a glass of milk on-hand when you eat any of these chocolates. Since dark chocolate has a higher percent of pure cacoa, the chocolate flavor is more intense and lingers in your mouth longer than lower percent chocolates.

If you would like to add Hershey®’s Extra Dark chocolate and Hershey®’s Special Dark® chocolate to your heart healthy diet, you can find them available whever candy is sold. For more information on Hershey’s, you can visit their website at www.hersheys.com. To learn about ways to make hershey’s part of the Best Life Diet, you can visit www.hersheys.com/thebestlife.

In honor of Heart Health Month and National Chocolate Month, we are happy to host the delicious What’s Cooking at DD Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Giveaway!

Hershey's Dark ChocolateThe Prize:

One winner will receive: 2 boxes of Hershey®’s Special Dark® Dark Chocolate Bars (36 bars in each box), 2 bags of Hershey®’s Nuggets Special Dark® with Almonds; 1 bar/pouch combo of Hershey®’s Extra Dark Dark Chocolate in one of the following flavors: Hershey®’s Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate; Hershey®’s Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate with Cranberries, Blueberries and Almonds; Hershey®’s Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate infused with Raspberry Flavor; Hershey®’s Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate with Pomegranate flavor.

To Enter:

Make sure you follow the directions carefully. All giveaway entries should use the ENTRY FORM. You only need to fill out the ENTRY FORM once, unless you decide to additional earn extra entries at a later time. You can earn up to 12 entries into the WCatDD Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Giveaway by doing one, some or all of the following:

Ways to Earn Entries:

Make sure you use this ENTRY FORM for your entries to count!

  1. THIS ENTRY IS REQUIRED FOR ALL OTHER ENTRIES TO BE VALID (+1): Visit www.hersheys.com and tell me which Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate or Hershey’s Extra Dark Dark Chocolate you’d like to eat. (Make sure your product choice is from one of those two product families.)
  2. Post this giveaway on your blog (+3)
  3. Tweet about this giveaway using the “retweet” link at the top of this post or by tweeting “Celebrating Hearth Health Month and National Chocolate Month with the @WCatDD Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Giveaway! http://bit.ly/aOutQ0″ (+1)
  4. Subscribe to WCatDD (+1)
  5. Follow WCatDD on Twitter (+1)
  6. Fan our WCatDD Facebook Page (+1)
  7. Follow us on Google Friend Connect (+1)
  8. Follow us using Network Blogs (+1)
  9. Add the WCatDD button to Your Site (+2)

enter

The Rules:

One winner will be selected at random for this prize.

Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST, March 3, 2010.

Visit our Giveaway Rules page for general giveaway rules that also apply to this giveaway.

Disclaimer: This post consists of my (and/or fellow tester) opinions only. Your experiences may be different. No compensation was given for this review/giveaway. I did receive free Hershey’s chocolate products from the manufacturer or their representing PR agency to use and test for the purposes of this review. This did not affect the outcome of this review. I am not a medical professional and make no guarantee for the nutritional information or health benefits  in this post. Please verify all health claims directly with Hershey’s.

Posted in Food & Drink, closed giveaway, giveaway, review | View Comments

A New Southern Side of Veggies – Allen's Vegetables Review

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

It may surprise you to know that growing up, I wasn’t a very adventurous eater. When it came to eating out, I had my favorites and I stuck to them. And, to be truthful, those habits still linger around today. If I go to my favorite Japanese restaurant, I’m getting Pork Katsu. If it’s Chinese delivery, I’m all about the Cashew Nut Chicken. My tendency to stick to habits is one of the reasons that I appreciate having friends who encourage me to at least TRY new foods, even if I’d never even heard of them before. Fortunately, I had my friends on hand when it came time to test the new Southern Style line of vegetables from Allens Vegetables.

Allens Vegetables Southern Style LineLaunched just last month, Allens new line of “Southern Style” vegetables, introduced 23 new varieties of canned vegetables ranging from Seasoned Collared Green to Succotash. Founded in 1926, Allens is a family-owned business that continues to grow and pack frozen and canned vegetables for sale throughout the US. The new South Southern Style vegetables are pre-seasoned to provide the spicy kick that is commonly associated with Southern cooking.

This weekend, I had the opportunity to try two (kind of three) vegetables that I’d never had before (I was so sheltered): Allens Seasoned Collard Greens, Seasoned Black Eye Peas, and Seasoned Cabbage. Since I was unfamiliar with how to cook any of these unfamiliar veggies, my friend Shao took the cooking reins and taught me about seasoning and how to properly heat the canned vegetables.

To prepare the Allens Seasoned Collard Greens, we added salt, pepper, and seasoning salt. We brought the greens to a boil and then let them simmer covered for about 7 minutes. The end result was two very happy guys who raved about how these were the BEST collard greens they’d ever had. They very quickly devoured the whole can and even had to put some back so I could make sure to get a taste.

We cooked the Allens Seasoned Cabbage with basic salt and pepper, allowing it to heat and simmer to help reduce some of the fluid. To me, the cabbage tasted just like brussel sprouts, which I love, although the softer texture of the cabbage wasn’t something I was used to.

Allens Collard Greens

Next was the Allens Seasoned Blackeye Peas. First of all, I have to say these peas look like beans. Or more precisely, they look like baked beans that forgot to put sunscreen on their backs when they went out to the beach, causing one area of the bean aka pea to be darker than the others. Am I showing off my cooking novice-ness by admitting that I hadn’t ever seen a blackeye pea before? Either way, they looked like beans to me. Maybe that’s why we ended up preparing them like baked beans by adding sugar, honey, and barbeque sauce and then letting the peas simmer for 5 minutes while soaking up the flavor. I’m not sure how blackeye peas are supposed to take, but with all of the mix-ins, these tasted just like baked beans with a slightly milder aftertaste. Even with all of the sugar that was added, I could still taste the heat from the red peppers.

Blackeye Peas

Overall, all three of the Allens Southern Style vegetables we tried really helped to complete our dinner. There was lots of flavor and definitely a few “Mmms.” I’d be curious to hear if these taste like “authentic” Southern style vegetables, since my palette isn’t really familiar with those flavors.

If you’d like to learn more about Allens Southern Style vegetables, you can visit their website at www.allens.com. Allens Southern Style Vegetables are on sale now in stores such as Wal-mart and Publix nation-wide.

Posted in Food & Drink, review | View Comments

Energize Each Step with FUTURO Hosiery – Review & Giveaway

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

As a graphic designer, most of my work days involve me sitting at my desk for hours on end – debugging code, tweaking colors or designing postcards. Towards the end of the day (and sometimes even early in the afternoon) I find myself kicking off my shoes to help my feet and my legs relax a little bit. Scratching my nylon-covered legs (or more accurately – rubbing to prevent any tears) is not uncommon. And while I used to think that wearing nylons was too constricting and just kind of annoying, recent developments in fashion technology have made the FUTURO Hosiery brand of nylons not just something you can wear, but also something that can actually benefit you.

FUTURO Pantyhose3M has recently launched a new brand of hosiery designed specifically for men and women who are on the go, or are stationary for most of the day. The new brand, FUTURO, uses advanced compression technology to help us keep the pep in our step throughout the day, while also helping to address some physical symptoms that may result from different lifestyles. According to Paul Hansen, general manager of 3M Consumer Health Care, the graduated compression therapy technology utilized in the FUTURO hosiery products “help[s] to keep blood moving and restore energy.” The graduated compression means that the compression is strongest at the ankle and then decreases the higher up the leg you go.

FUTURO Hosiery is designed to address four different types of conditions:

Energizing:  Uses mild compression to help improve blood circulation, keeping your legs energized. Ideal for people who are frequently on their feet or are stationary a lot.

Restoring: Designed for active workers, post-surgery patients and pregnant women. Provides an increased compression level to address symptoms of leg fatigue and heaviness, and may relieve symptoms of varicose veins, ankle swelling and edema.

Therapeutic: Helps relieve conditions of varicose veins, ankle swelling and chronic leg fatigue or heaviness. Also available are FUTURO Therapeutic Diabetic Socks which feature Microban Antimicrobial Finish odor-fighting technology.

Anti-Embolism: May help reduce the danger of thromboebolic disorder – a disorder that causes the formation of blood clots inside a blood vessel. People who are most at risk include women who are pregnant and people who stand or sit for prolonged periods of time, such as at work or while traveling.

There are also three different compressions available. Mild and Moderate compressions provides light (or moderate) compression to help relieve symptoms of mild varicose veins, swelling, and tired or aching legs. Firm compressions helps to address chronic aching legs, leg pain, and more severe varicose veins and swelling.

FUTURO Nylons by 3MI had the opportunity to try FUTURO Energizing Ultra Sheer Pantyhose and FUTURO Energizing Ultra Sheer Knee Highs for Women. One of the first things I noticed when I pulled the product out of the box was how much sturdier the fabric felt than other nylons. The FUTURO Nylons that I tried are 85% Nylon and 15% Spandex. Whereas with most nylons, the fabric feels very flimsy and easy to tear with a snag of the cuticle, I felt like the FUTURO nylons were much more durable.

As I put them on, I definitely noticed the change in tightness of the nylon depending on if I was closer to my ankle, knee, or hip. Around the ankle, the nylon feels firmer and tighter, while around the waist and hips, it’s much easier to pull – which is useful for those of us who may have a little extra junk in our trunk. ;) While this gradually change in tightness may make the nylons easier for us ladies to put on, and more comfortable for us to wear, I think what I was noticing was the “gradual compression” technology built into the nylons. While there’s really no way for me to test for improved blood circulation, I can say that after wearing both the FUTURO Knee Highs and the FUTURO pantyhose to work, I did not notice any leg fatigue after sitting at my desk for hours. There was even a point late one Friday afternoon, when I was standing at the printer waiting for a flyer to print, that I actually noticed the firm yet comforting pressure of the nylons around my knees.

FUTURO Reinforced Toe

The pantyhose and knee highs that I received were in the Medium Nude color. You can see from the picture, where my left leg has on the FUTURO Energizing Knee high and my right leg is my normal skin, that the medium nude color gives my legs a nice tan in the middle of winter, but still looks very natural. Another feature that I really liked was that the reinforced toe looked like it was actually reinforced and was thick (but not too much,) unlike some nylons where the toe portion is still relatively thin and one good toe-stub would initiate a tear in the reinforced portion.

If you have to wear nylons, then I highly suggest you try a pair from the FUTURO Hosiery product line. They are a high quality nylon that also can offer health benefits while you wear them. While they may be higher priced than other nylons on the market, the potential benefits far outweigh the costs. Especially if you consider that you usually have to toss out the cheap-o brands after one or two wears because by then they’ve torn. And even more so if wearing FUTURO Hosiery is able to reduce chronic leg conditions. (Trust me…FUTURO Hosiery is still much cheaper than a trip to the doctor’s office.)

FUTURO Hosiery from 3M is currently on sale at drugstores and online retailers nation wide from $10 to $35, depending on the product and style. Available colors include nude, navy, black, brown and white in sizes small to extra large. Both men’s and women’s styles are available. For more information about FUTURO Hosiery from 3M, please visit www.futuro-usa.com.

What’s Cooking at DD FUTURO Hosiery Giveaway!

FUTURO PantyhoseThe Prize:

Three winners will receive THREE FUTURO Hosiery from 3M products!

To Enter:

Make sure you follow the directions carefully. All giveaway entries should use the ENTRY FORM. You only need to fill out the ENTRY FORM once, unless you decide to additional earn extra entries at a later time. You can earn up to 12 entries into the WCatDD FUTURO Hosiery Giveaway by doing one, some or all of the following:

Ways to Earn Entries:

Make sure you use this ENTRY FORM for your entries to count!

  1. THIS ENTRY IS REQUIRED FOR ALL OTHER ENTRIES TO BE VALID (+1): Visit www.futuro-usa.com and tell me one thing you learned about FUTURO Hosiery or one product that you would like to try.
  2. Post this giveaway on your blog (+3)
  3. Tweet about this giveaway using the “retweet” link at the top of this post or by tweeting “Keep your legs energized and healthy whether on the go or staying still by winning the @WCatDD FUTURO Hosiery Giveaway! http://bit.ly/bhjcsp” (+1)
  4. Subscribe to WCatDD (+1)
  5. Follow WCatDD on Twitter (+1)
  6. Fan our WCatDD Facebook Page (+1)
  7. Follow us on Google Friend Connect (+1)
  8. Follow us using Network Blogs (+1)
  9. Add the WCatDD button to Your Site (+2)

enter

The Rules:

Three winners will be selected at random for this prize.

Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST, March 1, 2010.

Visit our Giveaway Rules page for general giveaway rules that also apply to this giveaway.

Disclaimer: This post consists of my (and/or fellow tester) opinions only. Your experiences may be different. No compensation was given for this review/giveaway. I did receive free FUTURO Hosiery from the manufacturer or their representing PR agency to use and test for the purposes of this review. This did not affect the outcome of this review.

Posted in Clothing & Jewelry, closed giveaway, giveaway, review | View Comments

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