Disclaimer: I received a bag full of tasty snacks from CVS to facilitate this review and to sponsor a giveaway. All opinions are my own!

We are SIX weeks away from the first day of kindergarten for my twins.  I am filled with mixed emotions.  First of all, how are my babies 5 already?!  Kindergarten is FULL DAY now and this will be so strange for our family.  Gabby is over the moon happy, of course.  She gets Mama to herself for over 6 hours!

I'm trying to make lists and get prepared for the fall, but it's almost impossible with this crazy jam packed summer.  We are becoming road trip pros at this point.  Maddie knows she needs her throw up bag (TMI?), Olivia gets the books and entertainment and Gabby gathers up the stuffed animals (or "loveys" as we call them).  Teamwork!  They are actually really good in the car, which I'm so thankful for!  We are heading to Niagara Falls and New Hampshire in a few weeks and I'm keeping my fingers crossed they will continue to be great road trippers!

When you're on a long trip, the last thing you want is to fill your stomach with crap.  You will get tired and cranky, I promise.  I love healthy snacks that you can eat every few hours to keep you fueled. Apples, bananas, yogurt (in a cooler, of course), almonds and granola bars are always on my list.

Love their mission!

After hearing about the new healthy line of snacks at CVS: Gold Emblem Abound, I was curious!  All of the snacks are free of artifical preservatives and flavors--sounds perfect for our family!   I love the idea of having healthy snacks at a lower price point.  Also, you can find a CVS almost anywhere...perfect for road trips when you need a quick snack.  Luckily for us, they sent us some goodies (and you'll have a chance to win some too!).

The girls are OBSESSED with the fruit and veggie bars, which I also had to try because they smelled AMAZING.  Mango + Strawberry is my favorite fruit combo!  The popcorn was gone in less than an hour during our movie night.  I'm very impressed with the selection!  If you're dying to check out the Abound snacks, here's a link for a coupon.  I have noticed they have been on sale for 25% off the past few weeks too! Score!

I'm thinking these snacks will also be great for packing lunches.  What the heck do you pack everyday? I'm going to need help on that front very soon!

Since I thought you all would love these healthy snacks as much as we do, I've set up a giveaway for you!  I don't endorse anything that I can't stand behind!  Check out the giveaway below!

Abound Giveaway

Spinach Artichoke Dip REMIX + Mitten Love Giveaway!

We're coming up on our 4 year anniversary of being back in Michigan.  I grew up in the Lansing area, but went away to Wisconsin for college.  After having the twins, I kind of wanted to be closer to my family again.  I really, really miss Madison sometimes, but it's also great to start our own traditions here in Grand Rapids!

If you didn't know, Michigan is called "The Mitten" because of it's shape.  If you ask a Michigander where they live, they can show you on their hand!  What other state can you do that with?  I have an awesome giveaway lined up for anyone who loves the great state of Michigan.  Stay tuned for more details!

Last spring, I won a fun giveaway on Instagram which I got a Michigan Pactz box.  Inside was all Michigan made products and we fell in love with everything!  Our favorite new find was Little Diablo Salsa.  You all know I love to make my own salsa, but this is AMAZING.  The garlic is a perfect topper for tacos and the smoky chipolte is our new go-to for fajitas!

I was fortunate enough to have Little Diablo send me 3 different salsas to try and I made a tasty new summertime dip for you using their new Artichoke salsa.  While I love regular spinach + artichoke dip, it's nice to do a REMIX sometimes.  By adding the salsa, this dip gets a little kick to it!

This dip is inspired by two different things.  When I was growing up in Grand Ledge, our local grocery store Felpausch had a dip we loved which was salsa and cream cheese mixed together with some cheese.  It was a poolside favorite.  The second inspiration is the AMAZING artichoke dip from The Great Dane in Madison.  A combo of both of my worlds!  You can serve it hot OR cold, I just throw an oven safe dish on the grill (I love this Rachael Ray one) while cooking up the rest of my meal--no need to heat up the house!

Here's what you need:

• 1.5 bricks of Fat Free or 1/3 Fat Cream Cheese
• 1/2 cup Little Diablo Artichoke Salsa
• 1/2 cup jarred artichoke hearts, drained (LOVE the Aldi ones!)
• 1- 6 oz package of spinach 
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (if baking)
• Like it spicy? Add 1 jalapeno!

Dip, baby Dip!

This is all done in a chopper or blender, only one mess to make!

1. In a large chopper, throw in the entire bag of spinach and pulse for about 1 minute. If you want it spicy, add jalapeno at this point.
2. Next, add cream cheese.  Pulse for 1 minute.
3. Add salsa and 1/4 cup of the artichokes.  Mix for about 5-10 seconds.
4. Add final 1/4 cup of artichokes and pulse quickly (I like some big chunks of artichoke left, so I barely mix it).
5. Done!
• If you want it cold, it's all done!  Serve with tortilla chips, veggies or crackers.  If you want it thicker, add last 1/2 of block of cream cheese.
• If you want it hot, place in an oven safe dish and top with Parmesan cheese.  Add to the hot grill and cook until bubbly.  In oven, bake about 10 minutes at 375.  Serve with pita chips, bread, veggies or chips! 

Next time you're heading to a party, make this your go-to dish to pass!

Now here's the fun part!  I have a Mitten Love giveaway for you!  Enter below to win a Summer Michigan Pactz box AND 3 full sized jars from Little Diablo Salsa!


Mitten Love Prize Pack!

Disclosure: I received products to create the recipe, but all opinions and recipe are my own.  If you would like to use this recipe, please link to the original post and use your own photography. 

Using the Garden Veggies: Green Beans

Time for a new part of the Using the Garden series!  Today's topic: green beans!  There is nothing better than fresh grown green beans.  I can eat them raw!  With all of the troubles I've had with gardening, green beans seem to be the easiest for me to grow.

Happy Deal, Happy Day has shared a fresh green bean side dish:  Green Beans with Nutmeg & Lemon dressing.  YUM!  Sounds like a simple summer side dish!

If you're looking for another way to use green beans, check out my healthified green bean casserole, using fresh beans instead of frozen.

What's growing in your garden?

Healthy Essentials for Summertime! {Exclusive Coupons!}

This post is part of the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® 2014 program by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. and The Motherhood, who sent me a box of products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are all my own, and I hope you enjoy them.

Anyone who has a child knows that Band-Aids are hot commodities in the house.  Anything from bug bites, two week old scars to a non-existent boo boos all call for one.  I have tried to cut back, but if it comes to the girls crying and whining all day, or one super awesome Muppets band-aid, I'll choose the latter. 

HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® Products are essential for summertime – and can help keep your family healthy and happy while you enjoy the season!  Sunscreen, Neosporin, waterproof mascara--you name it, you'll find available from Johnson + Johnson.  

The HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® program is offering amazing printable coupons, tips & tools and so much more for all the products you and your family love. You can save more than $45 by visiting http://www.HealthyEssentials.com in June and July and signing up for HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® program coupons and offers.

I love to scope out the new back-to-school areas for markdowns on summer essentials at this time of year.  Bulk packages of sunscreen have been up to 70% off at Target!  Use a coupon for even more savings!

 Great Deals for June and July

These are just a few of the great coupons you can score on HealthyEssentials.com this summer for more than $45 in savings:

• Save $1.00 on any (1) NEUTROGENA® Sun product (excludes trial size)
• Save $2.00 on any (3) NEOSPORIN®, NEOSPORIN® ESSENTIALS, BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive bandages, BENADRYL® Topical or JOHNSON and JOHNSON RED CROSS® Brand products
• Save $1.00 on any (1) CLEAN & CLEAR® product (excludes trial and travel sizes)
• Save $1.00 on any (1) REACH® Total Care Floss
• Save $1.00 on any (1) VISINE® product, 5 oz. or larger

I like to hit up the Dollar Tree for containers to hold all of our summer must-haves.  I keep a basket for bug spray, sunscreen and after sun lotion, plus another for any first aid needs.  It's also smart to keep plenty of these products in your car!  How many times have you been out and about and needed a band-aid or some extra sunscreen?

How is your summer going?  What do you include on your 'summer essentials' list?

Using The Garden Veggies: Kale

It's time for a new addition to the Using the Garden Veggies series!  Today, it's all about kale recipes!

Five years ago, I didn't even know what kale was!  Green smoothies weren't even on my radar back then!  Now, everyone has gone loco for kale--for a good reason: it's full of nutrients!  My favorite brand is Earthbound Farm baby kale...perfect  in stir fry or smoothies!  I had kale growing in my garden, until some animal ate it.  Again and again.  So sad!

Ashley at Coupons for Wisconsin has a tasty grilled kale recipe to share for the swap.  Bacon + Kale sounds like a perfect combo to me!

Here are some of my favorite kale soup recipes:

• Lentil + Sausage Soup
• Turkey Meatball Minestrone

Another great combo: Italian sausage & kale on PIZZA! It's amazing!

What do you do with kale? Are you growing it?

Grocery Prices Rising: How to Save Your Budget!

Guys, I'm kinda freaking out here.  The price of food is getting ridiculous.  Or maybe it's the lack of sales and good coupons.   I swear there is an extreme couponing shadow at my local Meijer store that clears the shelf minutes before I get there.  Save some for everyone else, shadow!

I know that everyone around the country is feeling their grocery budget stretch a bit.  There have been various reasons: rise in gas prices, bad growing seasons, etc etc.  No matter what it may be, it's time to take action!

Clip more Coupons
This is kind of obvious, but it's worth your time to spend ~20 minutes a week searching for coupons online.  This can be by clipping coupons on websites, reading deal blogs in your area, using digital coupons...whatever you chose.  I also recommend buying Sunday papers!  Depending on the week, we will get 2-5 papers.  It's worth the investment!  With extra coupons, you can stock up on a deal. At Discounted Newspapers, you can get up to 80% off! I love getting the Sunday and Thursday papers delivered--I never miss out on any deals!

Shop early on Fridays.
I'm not a huge fan of shopping on weekends, because it's CRAZY, but early Fridays seem to work well for us.  Why? Usually any weekend sales start on Friday, so you'll get bonus savings.  Plus, the shelves will be stocked up for the weekend shoppers.  I tend to find the most selection and markdown meats, also.  Since you have the whole week to research any deals, you can make sure you have yourself organized to hit up whatever you want to buy.  It's easier to stick to a list if you have your coupons all together!

Farmer's Market Tips
As much as I love to buy local, sometimes farmer's markets can be a strain on the budget.  I have a few tips to help stretch your buck:

• Shop early or at the very end of the day.  
• In the morning, it will be less crowded and the selection will be great.  Since it's less crowded, farmers will be more available to talk to or bargain with. 
• By the end of the market day, farmers will start to load up their trucks.  Ask if there are any gently bruised produce that you can score cheaply.  Last year I got tomatoes for canning super cheap this way! Don't be afraid to ask!
• Browse first, buy last.
• Walk around and take note of prices.  This helps you get the lowest possible prices!

•   Check out the info booth.
• You never know what you might find there!  We have a punch card to get free reusable bags, sometimes they have contests or coupons to use at vendors. It's worth a walk by!

Cut back on meat.
Think about adding different proteins to your diet.  I like to stretch ground turkey by adding other proteins to bulk it up.  Our tacos or enchiladas frequently have black beans added.  Canned or dry beans are MUCH cheaper than meat, you just have to be creative.  That's what Pinterest is for! Lentils are super nutritious fillers too!  If you happen to see a great deal on meat, freeze extras!  This week we have a Buy 1, Get 1 Free deal on pork at Family Fare.  I will get roasts for carnitas or pulled pork and chops for easy grilled meals.


Shop at Aldi first.
I'm pretty Aldi obsessed.  I love how they are growing and changing each year!  Their new organic and natural line is so tasty!  I love Aldi for their prices AND best part: you don't need any pesky coupons!   I do realize you can't get everything there, so I shop Aldi first...then hit up other stores.

New to Aldi? Check out my old post: Aldi for Beginners

What are you doing to help save with the rising prices? Any tips for us?!

Get up to 80% off local newspapers! A great gift idea too!

Using the Garden Veggies: Spinach

I'm so excited to be part of a fun new series: Using the Garden Veggies!  Every week, there will be new recipes featuring a different garden vegetable.  Time to fill up your Pinterest with some tasty new ideas! Here's the group board: Using the Garden Veggies.

This year, my garden is growing SO well.  I'm hoping that it actually produces some veggies!  I cannot wait for some fresh tomatoes, peppers and zucchini.  Tonight for dinner I was able to go out on the patio to grab some thyme for our chowder. 

Today's recipe is from Laura at A Frugal Chick, sharing an amazing spinach salad with bacon and mushrooms.  YUM!  I've never grown my own spinach, but I always grab it at the farmers market. 

I love spinach in my morning smoothie with PB2 and almond milk....even Ricky is loving my green smoothies now!

Here are some more ideas for spinach:

• Lasagna Shells
• Spinach + Feta Dip (My go-to summer BBQ dip!)
• Super Green Smoothie

What's your favorite spinach recipe?  How's your garden growing this year?

Three New Skinny Cocktails for Summer!

I hope you all are enjoying your holiday weekend!  We have been enjoying the cooler temperatures outside.  I don't mind mid-70s at all!

This summer, I have been working hard on a few new Skinny drinks.  The pina colada was my hardest to figure out.  I wanted the creamy thickness of a regular pina colada without the calories.  I finally got the taste and texture I wanted from frozen bananas!

Check out the recipes on my guest post over on the valpak blog Behind the Blue.  There's a Strawberry-Peach Margarita, Blueberry Mojito and Pina Colada for you!


At the end of the month, I'll be heading to Austin, TX for Save Up '14 to hang out with some of the Savings.com Deal Pros and I cannot wait to learn some new tricks to share with you all! 

How is your summer going? Any frosty drinks you'd like to share?

Check out #Ology at Walgreens! {Green + Affordable Cleaning Products!}

By now you should know that I'm not the best at cleaning.  I'll do what needs to be done...but I'm quite messy.  With three little ones running around with toys (if I step on ONE MORE Disney Princess shoe....), our house always has some sort of chaos going on.

When I do clean, I want a product that is as natural as possible.  I use a ton of baking soda + vinegar for drains and sinks.  Since Olivia and Maddie like to help, too, I don't want them spraying harmful chemicals!

Enter Ology from Walgreens.  Mom's Meet sent us some products to try and we are HOOKED.  The prices are amazing BEFORE sales and I love that I can run in and pick up some cleaning products at any of our local stores.

I love the Ology mission too:

We believe in living life well and making positive
choices. That means avoiding toxic ingredients. It means
seeking out sustainable raw materials and including
natural ingredients. It's all about leaving behind a healthier,
happier world for our children and grandchildren.

Now that Gabby is older, we don't use free & clear detergent much, but I LOVED how well the Ology soap cleaned our clothes.  I still added Borax and Purex crystals to the load, but I truly feel the detergent got out various toddler stains better than our normal soap.

Hands down, our favorite product we tried were the paper towels made from sugar cane and bamboo.  Strong, absorbent and the roll lasted almost a week, which never happens! Olivia even commented on our new "bumpier" paper towels when she was wiping the table.

I will definitely be stopping by Walgreens for more than free Almay makeup now!  I really want to try the dish soap and get more of the detergent.  I'll let you know if I see any deals/coupons on my Facebook page!

Have you checked out Ology yet? 

Disclosure: I received product samples from Moms Meet to facilitate my review, but all opinions are my own.

Simple Summer Suppers: Crock Pot Carnitas

I love to find cheap helpers at the grocery store and doctor them up with fresh ingredients.  I've had a ton of luck with the new Campbells Slow Cooker sauces.  Usually, I don't follow the directions and use up whatever markdown meat I have in the freezer.  I buy them for the flavors!

A little note about markdown food: it's SO worth it!  I scan the whole meat section for orange stickers and stock up if the price is right.  Some easy tips:

• Always look at the quality of the meat: brown or grayish meat is a NO NO
• Repackage and freeze, or use that night.  Don't let it sit any longer in the fridge.
• Consider adding a marinade or seasoning before freezing.  Pork chops could be seasoned with jerk spices or a tasty Hawaiian marinade.   When you take them out of the freezer, they are infused with tons of flavor as they defrost. 
• Larger cuts of meat like pork shoulders or pot roasts are GREAT markdowns.  I love pork roasts for pulled pork or carnitas!

For this recipe, I used the Campbells Slow Cooker sauce in Mexican Red Chile Taco.  Another reason these sauces are great is that they have SO much flavor.  If you don't have a ton of spices at home, you can use these without the addition of anything else!  We had a pork roast in the freezer and carnitas sounded perfect for dinner.

When it's hot and humid, the slow cooker is my BFF.  I can start dinner after breakfast and have it ready by dinner time with minimal effort.  Even with the air on, our house gets super warm with the oven on.  I try to avoid it as much as I can....although it's quite hard!

Here's what you need:

• 1 pork roast (this is a Boston shoulder roast) around 3-3.5 pounds
• 1 packet Campbell's Slow Cooker Sauces- Mexican Red Chile
• 1 (4 oz) can of diced green chiles
• 1 cup chopped onion
• Toppings: lime wedges, cilantro, green onions, lettuce, cheese
• Corn or flour torillas
• Slow Cooker

1. Preheat the slow cooker to LOW heat.  
2. Season the roast with salt + pepper.
3. Add onion, chiles and roast to the cooker.  Top with sauce packet and cover.  Try to avoid peeking! 
4. Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours, or until falling apart.  
• Ours did have quite a bit of extra juices, but keep them for after shredding.  You don't want dry carnitas!
• You can try HIGH heat, but I'm not sure you will get the same juicy flavor. Let me know if you try it!
5.  After cooking, remove meat from cooker and pull the meat with two forks.  It should fall right apart! Return to cooking juices and serve with tongs.  They will be juicy!
6. Toast the tortillas over open flame or in a pan before serving.

For sides, we like green quinoa or rice.  Simply make rice/quinoa like you normally do.  On the side, blend a handful of each: cilantro, green onions and spinach/kale with a splash of chicken stock and zest of a lime (save the actual lime for later).  Add to hot rice or quinoa and mix, adding a dash of salt and squeeze of lime.  It adds a great POW of flavor! Mexican rice is tasty too!

Also, you always can use some chips with salsa and guac.

 Have you tried the Slow Cooker Sauces?  What's your favorite?

Like this recipe? Make sure to check out my Facebook page for more recipe updates!