Hosted party: Weight watchers and the super bowl

Last night, as much of America knows, was Super Bowl Sunday. While I normally watch, I was extra excited because the Patriots played (and won!) this year. It was an exciting, suspenseful, and emotional (if you were in my house, anyway!) game. One thing about super bowl parties: they are all about the food! For people struggling with weight issues, it can be a stressful time. One company seems to truly get that--Weight watchers. While there are many groups around, this one holds more of a place in my heart, since both my mother and sister are members--and a few friends of mine as well. It has especially helped my mom lose weight in a healthy way and feel better about herself. She attends weekly meetings in Massachusetts and is constantly sharing her goals, successes, opportunities, and healthy choices with me. When crowdtap first partnered with Weight Watchers, I joined the brand right away. I'm not a member nor do I go to meetings, but I appreciate them as a brand and get some great advice and hints from them. And their commercials are pretty neat (see below for the one aired during the superbowl!).

So the party details: crowdtap sent me a big box full of weight watcher and football swag, as well as some awesome recipe books to share with my super bowl party guests.

doesn't get much neater than this!

We held the party at my mom's house, since they have cable. I didn't think a party while streaming the game of the year over my laptop screen would be as fun! I showed up a little before the game with swag and crockpots in hand. My mom and I finished the food, which we spread out instead of one big spread to keep from gorging!, and put up our decorations. The kids loved the necklaces and stickers, and the adults loved playing along (and getting some cool recipes to try!). I'm a little bummed that I didn't have too much time to really explore the recipe book--because there are some amazing things in that book that I can't wait to make (mini peanut butter ice cream sandwiches anyone?). I left my mom with a few foam fingers and recipe books to bring to her Weight Watcher meeting on Wed (sharing is caring, folks!) to spread the WW love a little more. We had a pretty epic night rooting for our Pats and are grateful to crowd tap and weight watchers for supplying this kit and making it a bit more fun (seriously, check out the photos below!). Please take a few moments to check out the weight Watcher super bowl commercial-it's really neat and shows what it's like to try and eat healthy in this country!

 

Misty digging the little game toy

WW is #1!

our spread-round one :)

those stickers were fun!

spread round two (sweet n sour meat balls and sausage with onions and peppers? YES PLEASE)

snap chatting during the game!

concerned about pointage--learned they are two points each! I only ate one!

Logan's touch down pose!

Sample share: Vick's Cool mist humidifier

It's a snow day here in New England. I thought I would take this time to share my thoughts on Vick's cool mist humidifier! I scored this for testing purposes from Influenster.

All set up :)

Let's talk about the things I loved: it hold a gallon of water, so it's easy for me to handle. It's pretty small so you don't have to worry so much about where you put it. It looks nice. This seems silly,  but when I was a kid, we had a plastic brown circle shaped one that was not pretty. It works well-I just plugged it in and turned the dial and it started working right away. It's so easy to use! The opening for the cool mist is a good size. The box came with a sample vick's vapor pad, which I have not used yet (waiting for a congested kid or parent!), but I can't wait to try out. The box also included coupons, which is the way to my heart. The fact that this is filter free means no changing out anything (and less stuff to buy!).

A few things I didn't totally love: the dial to turn it on has a little green light (lit up in the photo above). This works well so that you know it's on, but it's a pain when you need total darkness to sleep! The fact that this humidifier is filter free is great, but I am anticipating it will be a bit more difficult when it comes to cleaning. I haven't gotten to that step yet, so it could be easy-peasy.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with my humidifier!

view of my running humidifier-mist coming out (and those are the Vick's coupons in the back!)

close up of the working lit-up dial, and the little pocket for the vapor pads

"I received this product complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

sample share: discover brookside: dark chocolate crunchy clusters.

It's no secret. I LOVE chocolate. I stock up on clearance finds after holidays. I save up coupons and combine with deals. There is never a lack of chocolate in my house! It's my most common impulse buy, particularly when I see something new. When I got selected for this sample share from crowd tap, I was so stoked! I've been eying the Brookside brand for a while, but at just over $3 for a 5 oz package, I was waiting for a great deal since I still have a huge stock pile from the recent holidays. My package came in the mail, and I could not resist ripping it open right away, even before I took a photo for this blog! oops... The flavor I received was dark chocolate crunchy clusters. The packaging describes: " clusters of crispy multigrains and soft fruit flavored centers, all covered in smooth dark chocolate." Let me tell you, these babies are worth that over $3 price tag! The dark chocolate is perfect, and the clusters have a good blend of soft fruit and crispy grains. I was expecting a bit more fruit in the center at first bite, but am not disappointed by the balance. I forced myself to make these last, only eating a few at a time (and although I shared, I admit I was a tad stingy with the amounts!). Towards the end of the bag, I tossed some on top of some cherry ice cream with honey. So amazing! I wish I had saved more for that treat! Crossing my fingers for some Brookside coupons to come out so I can indulge some more! I definitely recommend these clusters! Some photos to share my experience:

brookside selfie!

the bag ;)

view of the clusters

inside of the clusters-you can see the grain and a bit of the fruit

my sister showing off the bag

she's excited I shared ;)

what a face ;)

my ice cream treat!!! highly recommended!

Sample share: #DiscoverCampbells New Products

To date, this was one of my favorite crowdtap sample shares. I had so much fun creating dishes I normally wouldn't think of, and Campbell's made it so easy! We were given quite a while to complete this sample share. Halfway through, my laptop crashed. I lost most of my images from this sample share, which really bummed me out since I had worked hard on a handful of creative images before losing everything. The kit included:

• campbell's cutting board
• campbell's shaker
• campbell's wooden mixing spoon
• coupon book (including a free v8 coupon and recipe book)
• creamy poblano & queso condensed soup this is the only item I haven't gotten around to trying yet!
• sweet onion soups for easy cooking I made amazing mini-meatloafs with this soup! My kids loved them, and I will definitely be buying this product again!
• swanson traditional cream starter I made loaded potato soup with this. Way easier than I thought it would be, and so, so good! This was my most-bragged about dish!
• prego alfredo sauce I made ranch with bacon mac & cheese with this. I used provolone instead of monterey jack, since I had forgotten to grab some at the store. This was a pretty big hit!
• campbell's skillet sauces: creamy parmesan chicken I made the creamy Parmesan chicken with this. Super easy, the only ingredients were the sauce, chicken, and a tablespoon of vegetable oil! I used bowtie pasta and scored the chicken on sale. The kids ate every bite!
• campbell's chunky beer-n-cheese soup I wasn't expecting to like this soup as much as I did. It was tasty and filling.
• spaghetti O's micros taste like spaghetti O's. I prefer them in a can, but these were easy to heat for a quick lunch or snack. 
• campbell's slow kettle soup: roasted chicken noodle This soup is so good! I wish it was just a tad cheaper in stores, because I would buy it all the time if it were! Very tasty. 

Overall, a great, positive experience. I grew up a campbell's fan (my mom still collect the mugs!) and it was fun to try their other products besides the regular soups. It was great to be able to share the experience with my children (two of which are young foodies!) and learn about quick, easy, tasty meals for a family who is always on the go! Right below, I have shared the photos taken after the great laptop crash of 2014. They are from the loaded potato soup and creamy chicken Parmesan dinners.

ingredients for creamy chicken parmesan

big fans!

digging in!

YUM

using my Campbell's cutting board to cut potatos for soup!

some ingredients

so good!!

clearly I needed to wash some dishes that night ;)

we love campbells!!!