There are over a year’s worth of recipes, along with fun stories of how she came up with them or where she found them, how it turned out and how it was received. The best part is that no indeed they are NOT all masterpieces but she shares them with us with a lot of humility - and even gives ideas on what would’ve improved the flavor etc.

She now also has a book which you can pick up on Amazon but I highly recommend checking out this ingenious and fun blog for new dinner ideas.

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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Jumbo sunflower seeds are roasted in small batches and then flavored with spices. They come in several flavors - Honey BBQ, Salt and Pepper & Dill Pickle to name a few. 

Each batch is enriched with the same sort of energy boosting compounds you find in energy drinks but with the added health benefits found in sunflower seeds. Plus - no sugar!

It’s an unusual product but for a pick me up of the snacky-variety - this one is fun! I give Sumseeds a prop for innovation and fun.

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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As a busy mom always looking for the latest deals, I thought you might like to know about a special discounted coupon available at Near East. You can save $1.00 on any two Neat East offerings, including the new Pearled Couscous flavors that run at about $2.70 per box. Near East products are available at Whole Foods and other grocery stores nationwide.

New Near East Pearled Couscous brings the elegance of Mediterranean cuisine straight to the kitchen. Made with all-natural ingredients, it’s a quick, healthy side dish that kids love – perfect for the beginning of the school year as schedules become full of new activities.

In addition, Near East offers 30 different flavors and varieties of rice pilaf, couscous and other grain dishes that consumers love.  Couscous is traditionally served under a meat dish or as an accompaniment to a vegetable stew but it can also be eaten alone, flavored or plain, warm or cold, as a dessert or a side dish. A must have in every kitchen pantry.

by Emily

How many times have you had trouble opening a can? It seems like I can never find a simple and easy to use can opener that actually works! That was true until I found the One Touch Can Opener. This opener not only does the work for you but it also is safer because it doesn’t leave jagged edges.

The only effort required from you is to place it on top of a can and press a button. It almost sounds too good to be true, but it is! Priced at around $18 you can find this handy gadget at Wal-Mart.

The One Touch is definitely a must have in your kitchen if you want to save time.

by Lisa

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One of my favorite areas are the desserts where you can find smores topped with Trix or Wasabi - depending on your sense of adventure. It’s a highly interactive site with readers being encouraged to participate in making the recipes and reporting on the success. There are also multiple challenges with fun themes such as the $12 Challenge and the No Cook Hook challenge both of which look enormously fun.

I’m addicted to surfing through the site now to find unusual flavor combinations to try out. Check out Food2.com and maybe you too will discover new and unusual ways to eat Twinkies!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 5 year old boy and 3 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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By chance are you looking for a new sweetener? One you can cook with, use in your tea and something that doesn’t leave a weird bitter after-taste? Then you must try PureVia(also known as Reb-A) from PureCircle. Reb-A is all natural and zero calories! Better yet it is wonderful for people with Diabetes due to its low glycemic index and it won’t affect blood sugar levels. Since it is heat-stable it can be used to cook with too!

Reb-A is derived from Stevia Rebaudiana which was first discovered by a botanist in Paraguay. It is highly concentrated (up to 300 times sweeter than regular sugar), so you must be careful with how much you use. I first came across this in a restaurant and thought I had accidentally put regular sugar in my tea.

by Emily

I hate drinking plain water so I look for flavored water that still has zero calories and sugar. It’s hard to find something that tastes good too! Recently I tried Sobe Lifewater and was hooked! These fun bottles with the lizard tail and unique curves quickly became a must-have in our household.

Right now Sobe offers three zero-calorie flavors:  Fuji Apple Pear, Black & Blue Berry and Yumberry Pomegranate. I’ve had each one and can testify that they are beyond delicious, but Apple was my favorite. Each provides a full day’s worth of Vitamin C and that never hurts.

It is a little expensive considering it is after all water. At nearly $1.30 a bottle I have hard time picking up more than one here and there for a treat. Every once in a while I’ll see them on sale as buy-one-get-one free.

by Melissa

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I love to break them in half and give part of it to my daughter and part of it to my son. This is the only bar that has 9% protein for an adult on a 2000 calorie diet. So my guess is that I’m giving my children 9% of their recommended protein when I give them half. When my daughter gets to have the whole thing she gets 18% right?

I want to try the peanut chocolate chip but I have yet to find it. I think when the word free goes out they just disappear. There are five other flavors and my daughter seems to like the Mango Coconut the best. They have more calories than I like but they are so healthy.

• 4g of protein

• 3g of fiber

• 140 calories

• No trans fats or hydrogenated oils

• No Artificial Colors, Flavors, Hydrogenated Oils or Gluten.

I have never been a fan of soy, but I tried them and they are pretty good. I give these bars props for nutrition and taste! You can print a $1 off coupon on their website.

Written by Louise, who is a mother of two children - one boy and one girl who are 14 months apart. When she isn’t playing with her children, Louise like to take photos and scrapbook. Then, if she has any time left, she likes to blog. Check out her advice for saving money.

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I was delighted in the lunch room the other day, as I added the spice pack to my peanut chicken, that people came up sniffing “Wow, what is that? It smells fantastic!” And a couple asked me where I had gotten Thai food delivered.

The best part was that about half way through the meal, I was fantastically full. The serving of rice noodles is more than ample and unlike your usual heat and serve lunch fare, this time I wasn’t starving again two hours later.

For busy people who would like something better than fast food and more interesting than a frozen cuisine - check out the many flavors offered by A Taste of Thai. It’s excellent!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 5 year old boy and 3 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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Travel Essentials to Keep Kids Entertained and Well Fed
Whether your travel plans include planes, trains or automobiles this summer, I’m sure you are busy assembling things to keep your children entertained. In our house we’re preparing for a cross country flight with a toddler and preschooler. Here are some of the essentials that I’m bringing along to keep my 2 children entertained and well-fed during our travels.

I always bring along some favorite paperback picture books, mini Magna Doodles, crayons, new stickers, blank paper and an iPod loaded with audio books from AudibleKids. Oh, and stacks of DVDs. We aren’t a huge TV watching family so watching favorite movies and shows on the plane is always a treat. These days the whole family loves Elmo! The new Elmo’s World: Summer Vacation is currently our favorite since we are right smack in the middle of summer. Our 2 year old son and 4 ½ year old daughter can actually agree on watching Elmo explore beaches, skin and cameras in his newest DVD. This means that while they are entertained my husband and I can actually kick back, relax and read something other than children’s books during at least 51 minutes of our upcoming cross country flight. Thanks Elmo! Elmo’s World: Summer Vacation is currently selling for $11.99 from Amazon.

Since airplane food is non-existent and was never good in the first place, I continue to pack food as if I were going to end up on an episode of Lost. Even when driving, you never know when the kids are going to get hungry and it could be miles until the next rest stop. Along with the requisite Goldfish, Chex, M&M’s and lollipops for popping little ear drums, this year I’m adding Brothers All Natural Fruit Crisps to our snack collection. Since trying them a couple months ago, they have since become one of my favorite healthy snacks. The single serving packs contain 100% freeze dried fruit. The fruit is crisp, delicious and a super healthy way to provide a 1/3 serving of fruit on the go without it getting squished en route. I’m partial to the Fuji Apple and White & Yellow Peach fruit crisps, but there are 5 other delicious flavors to choose from including: Asian Pear, Banana, Pineapple, Strawberry and Strawberry-Banana. Brother’s also makes an all natural line Potato Crisps, but I think the Fruit Crisps are a far healthier option for my kids. Brother’s All Natural produrcts are currently available at Costco and from the Brother’s All Natural website.

While it isn’t quite portable enough to take on the plane, Tutor Rummy is a great game that allows children 8 and older to practice United States geography before taking a cross country road trip. Played Rummy style, Tutor Rummy allows children to learn state capitals, rivers, lakes, mountains, oceans, neighboring countries, national parks, Indian tribes and natural resources using 2 decks of poker-like cards. The directions that come with Tutor Rummy are easy enough for even a non-Rummy player like myself to understand and there are instructions for a more cooperative game and more challenging play. Even if you aren’t taking a cross-country road trip, Tutor Rummy is a good game to help your child keep up with geography skills this summer. Tutor Rummy retails for $19.99 and is available on the company’s website.

Written by Leticia, a part time working multitasking mama who loves spending time with her husband and two children, exotic vacations, and cooking great meals. Leticia writes about technology products and technology issues affecting children through her blog, Tech Savvy Mama.

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To enter go to the World of Grains website and take the “Are You A Grainiac?” Quiz. Then, leave a comment here telling us the ranking you got from the quiz. You can do the same thing on their Facebook page. Entries will be accepted through December 19, 2008 at midnight (C.S.T.).

You can receive a second entry by blogging about the contest (linking to it) or adding us to your blogroll. Just e-mail us with a live link or let us know you have it posted on your site. You do not need a blog to enter, just leave us your e-mail address so that we may contact you. As always, it is Props & Pans policy NOT to distribute any information you give us (including your e-mail). Thanks for entering!

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The box says they contain flaxseed, and I don’t do flaxseed. Good news, I couldn’t taste it. These cookies are a great source of fiber and they don’t have any artificial sweeteners or coloring. I also found them to be conveniently packaged in serving size bags. When I open a box of cookies I just can’t stop.

The first flavor I tried was the apple cinnamon. I liked the flavor but the apples were very chewy. I’m also not a big fan of crunchy cookies so that was two strikes against the apple cinnamon. Then, I tried the blueberry and I loved it. I was thinking to myself this one is going to be my favorite. The next cookie flavor I tried was the oatmeal raisin, it was really yummy too replacing my favorite. I also liked the cranberry and thought it can only go downhill from here, but finally decided that the multigrain was my favorite.

These cookies are very crunchy and they all have a hint of cinnamon which I greatly enjoyed. I think they would be great for breakfast as a cereal. They won’t get soggy. Yum!

by Louise

We received samples of all-natural, whole grain cookies from World of Grains. I know, I know…”whole grain” and “cookies” don’t usually go together. Honestly, the Multigrain (just a plain cookie) was my favorite, but my sons (4 years old and 2 years old) plowed through the Oatmeal Raisin, Apple Cinnamon, Cranberry and Blueberry like there was no tomorrow. To me, the flavored ones were trying too hard, but there was nary a crumb left so my sons had no such qualms.

These cute little cookies have super-good-for-you things like quinoa, flaxseed and millet, and they are sweetened with evaporated cane juice (not a bit of high-fructose corn syrup to be found). With only 130 calories, 15 grams of whole grain and 3 grams each of fiber and protein per pack, this is a snack that I would feel good about buying.

by Christine

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