CSN Stores Cuisinart Crockpot

I was recently given the opportunity to do a review for CSN Stores.  I used a $45 gift card they provided towards the purchase of a Cuisinart 3.5 Qt. Slow Cooker.  I really can't say enough about the great selection of products available at CSN Stores.  I love the site's organization, customer reviews, and free shipping on certain items.  Below is my lovely new slow cooker, or crockpot as I like to call it :-).

I was hoping to provide you with a picture of it in use, but it totally slipped my mind when I was cooking.  I used it to make a fairly large deer roast, and it turned out perfectly.  I love how this crockpot automatically switches to 'warm' after it's done cooking for the time you program it for.  I have one other crockpot, but it is smaller and doesn't have any bells and whistles like this one.  One of the reasons I chose this particular crockpot is that it is a Cuisinart.  I'm a big fan of Cuisinart because I also have a Cuisinart food processor, and it works like a dream :-).

Do any of you use a crockpot or slowcooker on a regular basis?  What do you cook with it?

I usually use mine for cooking roasts or soups, but I've also made Irish Oatmeal too :-).

Have a great weekend... and don't forget to enter my Mediterranean Snacks giveaway here! 

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Yoplait Light Gift Pack Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered my Yoplait Light Yogurt Gift Pack giveaway!  According to random.org, the winner is #6 or Karin!  I'll be e-mailing you soon!

I don't know about everyone else, but Illinois enjoyed some beautiful weather this past week!  I was even able to go outside without a coat.  I know the cold weather will be returning next week, but I now have hope that winter will not last forever.  And that means biking will soon become one of my main methods of transportation again :-).


Note that the coupon, prize pack, information and giveaway were all provided by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark.
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Mediterranean Snacks Review and Giveaway!

The Mediterranean Snack Food Company recently sent me 3 bags of their Baked Lentil Chips to review.  I was thrilled to have a chance to try these unique chips and spread the word about a great company.  Here's some background on The Mediterranean Snack Food Company:

They are "a privately held company created in 2005 to promote unique, innovative, healthy and natural snack products that we are proud to serve our family and friends in the old world tradition.

We use a European snack process which allows us to develop innovative shapes and use ingredients like potato, corn, wheat, rice, oat, multi-grain,lentil and soy to make low fat, flash fried or baked snack products. We use only the highest quality, all natural ingredients with no preservatives, trans fats or cholesterol . We do not use any artificial or genetically modified ingredients in our products. All our products are 100% OU kosher certified."

Here are the three flavors of Baked Lentil Chips I was sent:



Cucumber Dill: 9 of 10.  These chips were very light and crisp with a great crunch.  It was hard to believe they were made from lentils!  I loved the dill taste, and I could pick up a hint of cucumber.  The chips were certainly salty, but a tasty salty if that makes sense.

Sea Salt: 8.5 of 10.  Again, the chips were crispy and crunchy.  They were the perfect level of saltiness - a little less so than the Cucumber Dill chips.  These were rather plain though (unlike the other 2 flavored varieties) and were best with salsa.

Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper: 10 of 10!  These were my favorite.  They were very flavorful and had a nice kick.  They were even kind of hot.

The Mediterranean Snack Food Company is kind enough to allow me to host a giveaway on their behalf.  One winner will receive two bags of each of the three flavors - Sea Salt, Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper, and Cucumber Dill!

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents and will end on March 2, 2011. The winner will be picked via random.org. and will have 48 hours to respond to the winning e-mail to claim their prize or another winner will be drawn. Make sure you leave a valid e-mail address in your posts!


Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment below and tell me your favorite type of chips and what flavor of baked lentil chips you'd most like to try.  Pleae include your e-mail address in your comment.

Extra Entries (leave one comment for each):  "Like" The Mediterranean Snack Food Company on facebook here and write a comment on their page that includes a link to this giveaway.

Become a new follower of my blog.

Add my blog to your blogroll.

Link to my giveaway on one of your blog posts and include a link to that blog post in your comment.


Thank you for entering and best of luck!!


*The Mediterranean Snack Food Company provided me free chip samples for review.  The opinions above are my own.
 
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Diet Soda in the News

Hi everyone!  I've been pretty busy with classes lately, but I wanted to write a quick post regarding the recent news about diet soda.  Personally, I cut pop/soda out of my diet in high school due to the recommendations of my track coach.  I know a number of people who do drink soda though, and of these people, many choose to drink diet soda because it has fewer (well, zero to be precise) calories and sugar.  Seems like a smart choice, right?  Well, not really. 

"Researchers at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2011 conducted an experiment on this topic, and found that people who drink diet soda may have a much higher risk of vascular events compared to those who don't drink soda."  This information came from this article.  The Today Show also mentioned this study here. 

They do mention that diet soda, like anything, is fine in moderation.  I totally agree.  Feel free to share any thoughts you have regarding diet soda in the comments below.

*image from: http://personaltrainerz.com/diet-soda/8

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Yoplait Light Giveaway!

Hello everyone!  I was recently sent a Yoplait Light yogurt gift pack from Yoplait through MyBlogSpark.  The pack came with some coupons to try Yoplait Light yogurt, and I must say it's quite tasty!  This yogurt is a very nice low calorie treat, and two of my favorite flavors are the Very Vanilla and Boston Cream Pie :-).  Yoplait Light is also advertising their Two Week Tune Up that can help you lose five pounds in two weeks by:

• Replacing your breakfast and lunch with a Yoplait Light yogurt, a whole grain, and a fruit.
• Eating a diet rich in lean protein and non-fat dairy, including a sensible dinner, beverages, and snacks.
• Walking 30-40 minutes daily.

You can visit Yoplait.com for their study and full diet details.  Yoplait.com also has tips and advice along with valuable online weight loss tools such as a meal planner, healthy recipes and a daily food and exercise tracker.  Yoplait has a facebook page too!

One of you now has a chance to win a Yoplait Light yogurt gift pack (pictured above) with one VIP coupon for a free cup of Yoplait Light yogurt, a gym bag, a reflective wrist wallet and a pedometer to keep you moving and motivated!

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents and will end on February 18, 2011. The winner will be picked via random.org. and will have 48 hours to respond to the winning e-mail to claim their prize or another winner will be drawn. Make sure you leave a valid e-mail address in your posts!

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment with which Yoplait Light flavors you would like to incorporate into a Two Week Tune Up program.

Extra Entries (leave one comment for each): Post a link to this giveaway on your blog.

Become a new follower of my blog.

Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway: Win a Yoplait Light Yogurt gift pack: http://foodfotosandfun.blogspot.com/2011/02/yoplait-light-giveaway.html @YoplaitYogurt #myblogspark.



Good luck!


* Note that the coupon, prize pack, information and giveaway were all provided by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark.
 
 
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University of Illinois Snow Day

Snowpocalypse 2011 hit Illinois!  While Champaign-Urbana wasn't hit as hard as Chicago and other cities, the University of Illinois cancelled classes today.  Yep, we had a snow day - quite rare indeed!  I decided to brave the weather, take the bus to campus, and shoot some pics of the snow covered campus :-).  Enjoy!

Did any of you experience Snowpocalypse 2011 or bad winter weather of any sort over the past couple of days?

Also, if you're interested in a 4 minute introduction to the revolution in Egypt, I recommend this video.  It explains some of the history behind the current events in Egypt. 

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