Herbal Essences Body Wash

My newest crowd tap sampling challenge: Herbal Essences body wash! I've been a Herbal Essence fan since I was 12 and found out it was the rumored brand Hanson used--I begged my mom to buy it for me and was a consistent user for a very long time...I've been consistently ona nd off with them--always a fan, yet my budget (and four busy boys!) causes me to buy strictly whats on sale (and matches my coupons!). I always jump when I can get a great deal, and usually stock up. So when I found out via crowd tap that Herbal Essences was coming out with a body wash, I was excited! I have no real brand preference when it comes to body wash. I've tried many. So when my sample came in the mail, I took a mid-day shower in between a split work shift because I literally couldn't wait to try it. I wasn't disappointing! I love a great scented body wash that lathers nicely--and the hello hydration Herbal Essence body wash does both! I could probably use it as a bubble bath. I've always loved how the shampoos smell--the body wash scent is similar. I can now safely say that I have a favorite brand of body wash--and I can't wait to try the other scents!!

smelling the body wash--yum!

post shower---so relaxed!

showing off my sample

thumbs up for herbal essences :)

Crowd tap sample: Hershey spreads!

I know I say it literally all the time, but I love, love, love crowdtap! My newest sample share just came in this morning...Hershey spread!

As you can see from the photo, I got sent "chocolate with almond." There is also a regular chocolate, and chocolate with hazelnut! When I first opened the package up, one of my sons saw the Hershey's logo right away and asked for some. So I thought breakfast would be the perfect time for our first taste! I popped some toast in the toaster for me and my two middle boys (the youngest is too little for nut products, and my oldest was already at school) and slathered it up with some Hershey's spread:

so yummy!

topher added a marshmallow to his!

finger-licking good!

check out his chocolate 'stache! ;)

The Hershey's spread was so good that I snuck another piece of toast after I sent the boys to play! My boys agreed with my assessment: they kept telling me it was "so good, mommy!" while they ate it and kept asking for more all morning. After lunch, I thought we should try the spread with some fruit. 

bananas and apples!

The results? Just as good as the toast! Topher's favorite was the apples, while Adam just wanted to eat anything and everything! Overall, the spread is delicious! I haven't scoped it out in stores yet, so I'm not sure of the price, but I would def buy more of it!

Hidden Valley Ranchers

I received another awesome sampling opportunity from crowd tap--Hidden Valley "Ranch Feast." Here's the kit I got in the mail:

team ranch shirt & chip clips to give out, hidden valley ranch samples, farm house originals dressing, coupons & recipes for my guests, and some items for me!

We did a small dinner with a few kids who loved to dip their chicken nuggets (and green beans!) into the ranch sauce! Some of the adults enjoyed a few packets of dressing on a salad (it very well may be the best Italian dressing I've ever tasted!). I sent my 14 year old sister home with the ranch shirt--she got bonus points for enthusiasm! My mom got a clip, as well as my boys (mostly because they already had decided to play with it!). The results were clear: hidden valley has the best ranch sauce! (and the popcorn recipe was a huge hit!!!).

Hidden Valley Farm house originals: Italian with herbs is my new favorite dressing!

Adam decided to go for the green bean dip!

One of the kids went for it with a spoon! yum?

Topher testing out his nuggets with ranch

"Check it out!!"

Puma Gear!

One of the coolest sample shares I've gotten to take part of to date is the "Keep Running — PUMA Mobium Athletic Shoes and ACTV Apparel Sampling." Puma sent me a shirt, jacket, running tights, and shoes to try out. I have to say, I'm a tad bit in love!! Here's the specifics:

Shoes: Mobium Elite in fluo peach (I'd call it bright orange, lol). retail $110. These shoes are designed to move how you move. The design of the shoes expands and contracts with your foot as you run. I definitely saw this as I tried them out! They are hands down the most comfortable shoes I've ever tried on! As I walked and ran, I could feel them moving with my feet. I love the color, also! The only down size was that although they fit perfectly, I had to fight a bit to get them on. I had the same issue with the last pair of running shoes I bought, so it's probably just me!!

Tights: Puma Performance Bodywear Tech ACTV Long Tights in blackberry cordial. retail $100. I was skeptical of these at first. As I pulled them on, my husband giggled as I struggled to make them go on. The went on like stubborn dress tights. Of course the tag had instructions on how to easy put them on....I just didn't read them until after--D'OH! These tights include athletic tape on the inside--the tag reads "engineered to micro-massage the skin via strategic compression in the right place at the right time which can help maximize your work out and energy supply." I do have to say that once I got them on, I didn't want to take them off! Despite them showing off my "mommy pouch" until I covered it with my shirt, these are the single most comfortable article of clothing in my dresser.

shirt: V-neck training tee in grape-limeade. retails $25. the shirt is comfy. It's not overly clingy. I can breathe in it. I love the color. And best of all, it's affordable! 

jacket: Pure NightCat Reflective Running Jacket in black. Retails $100. When I opened up the jacket, I was surprised by how thin it was. However, it's performance was not lacking! It was a cool 43 degrees (and dark!) when I headed out to try out my gear, and the jacket held out. I like how it was comfortable (I know, I keep using that word!!) and that the pockets zip (The current running jacket I use does not have zipping pockets!). I love how reflective it is. There is almost no traffic on my street (we are one of maybe 15 houses on a dead-end), but if I took a right and went on the main road, I would have almost no fear of getting hit. I just had to take a photo with the flash on to illustrate!

Over all, after trying on the gear, I would highly recommend Puma gear! It's cute, comfy, and, most importantly, highly functional. Check out my photos below, and let me know what you think!

"flex challenge." :)

flash on! check out the reflective-ness of the jacket and shoes!!

love this shirt!!

my "peach" shoes

showing the flash

bottom of the shoes, showing the mobium band!

Starkist Tuna creations!

October was a good month for me for crowdtap samples! (check out the blog I posted earlier today about truvia sweetener!) The second one to arrive at my door was for Starkist Tuna creations.

I won't lie, I was a tad nervous when I found out I was getting a ranch sample, as I'm the girl whose addicted to the ranch McWraps at mcds....and orders them with out ranch sauce! The thought of ranch and tuna together also made me nervous as I usually take my tuna plain with a pinch of relish on some white bread. However, I love tuna and was more than willing to give it a go--and I was pleasantly surprised!! The ranch flavor was not the over-ly creamy mess that popped into my head when I read the word "ranch." It was a pleasantly seasoned taste, I could have taken a spoon and eaten it straight from the pouch it was so good! However, I was really craving a wrap...

I made a 8-inch tortilla with some shredded lettuce, cheddar jack cheese, and a slice of tomato. The pouch made two of these (and I did spoil myself with a spoonful of relish on the second one!). The taste was amazing and everything went well together. The pouch was the perfect size to make the two snack sized wraps, and the amount left me full and satisfied after I was done. I would absolutely purchase this product in the future (are there coupons for this?? lol), I love tuna and it was a nice change to the plain sandwiches I usually make when the craving hits!

Truvia Sweetener

Last week I received a sample of truvia sweetener. The goal was to use it instead of traditional sugar in Tea/Coffee. So my husband and I sat down to try it!!

I added two packets to my tea, while my husband added it to his coffee from Mcds. He tried his first. He said it was okay, but not sweet enough. I imagine most of that is because he usually has at least 8 sugars in his medium coffee! ;) I tried mine next, as I like to let me drinks cool a bit before I drink them. I enjoyed the taste. It was the right amount of sweetness I'd expect, and I felt good drinking it knowing that I had a natural product made from Stevia leaves! As a side note, my mom has bought this product before when she changed her diet to eliminate unnecessary chemicals. I drink my teas mostly at home, so until now I never did get the chance to try it, but she seemed to enjoy it with her morning coffee! Just recently I saw this on the shelves at our newly expanded walmart, so it is also becoming easier to find and buy! For more info, check out their facebook page!

Green Mountain Naturals and some of the best lemonade I've ever tried...

Who doesn't love samples? I'm on of "those" folks that will hunt down all the samples possible. I refresh links like a champ. And while some samples are lame (after all, what do you really expect for nothing?) I've scored quite a few awesome ones. For instance, last month, Green Mountain gave away 4-packs of k-cups, via the Vitamin burst facebook page, promoting their fruit line up: apple cider, lemonade, strawberry pomegranate vitamin burst, and Acai berry. As a big apple cider fan, I had bought a box of that last season. I had also tried the strawberry pomegranate vitamin bursts through a previous sample. When the box came in, I immediately opened it and brewed the Acai berry vitamin burst. it was every bit as yummy as I thought it would be! I used up the other two over the course of the next few days, but saved the lemonade for last. I'm not a huge fan of lemonade (unless it's the strawberry lemonade from mcds!), but figured I might as well give it a shot. I was excited to find it was delicious! It lacked the strong artificially sweet taste. It was a bit tart, which is what I would expect from real lemonade. It's one of my favorite lemonades I've tasted! I drank every drop. ;)

just brewed :)

sample box--don't them look good?!?

no sample is complete without coupons!

my lemonade cup :) so yummy!!