The Healthy Shopper | Pamela's, Simply Natural, Oreganol & Olympic Krema

When I go grocery shopping there are a few key criteria, that my food needs to meet, the majority of the time.

In short, I'm looking for food that is:

• Healthy;
• Delicious;
• Allergen-Friendly; and 
• Affordable.

These are obviously subjective terms that mean different things to different people, but I think striving to meet these goals on any given grocery trip is an attainable and reasonable goal. 

If you shop in Health Food Stores across Canada, you've probably seen The Healthy Shopper Coupon Book in your travels. The Healthy Shopper is the ONLY organic and natural coupon book in Canada and was founded by two women, a holistic nutritionist and a life-long health advocate who were eager to spread the word about health and wellness. 

Each season the Healthy Shopper features a number of great products, and I was super excited to try out the Fall 2013 campaign; it was chock full of items that are perfect for my family.

I have had many friends suggest Pamela's Gluten-Free Baking & Pancake Mix to me, however, I admit I had never actually tried them. Although they are peanut free, they do contain almond meal, which is safe for our house, however I have a mild sensitivity to almonds that occasionally rears its ugly little head.

I should have tried Pamela's Pancake Mix ages ago. They are delicious. They are fluffy and light, the texture is divine and they sop up my 100% maple syrup perfectly. Seriously, my cupboard shall not be without this product ever again, and that's saying a lot, because as a rule, I try and make nearly everything from scratch.

At our house, we also have a problem with condiments and by problem, I mean we have an entire shelf where only condiments reside. Unfortunately, although tasty, condiments are not exactly the healthiest addition to your meal. I loved the Simply Natural Organic stone ground mustard. The flavour was deep and authentic and the graininess was amazing on a sandwich. I was pleasantly surprised to discover this mustard was another total win for me.

Just this past week, I popped the last few Oreganol capsules from my Healthy Shopper campaign. These tiny little oregano gelcaps are made using the purest, highest quality ingredients and contain 100% wild oregano which has a number of known health benefits including combating colds. 

My boys have been sick with the flu this past week, and granted I have been at work during the day, but that's not to say I haven't been covered in vomit multiple times and shared beds with those sick little boys. And somehow, I've managed to stay healthy through it all. I think I'll be grabbing a package of Oreganol capsules for my cupboard next time I hit the health food store.And next time they have a cold (rather than the flu we've currently been combatting), I'll be reaching for the Hyland's Cold and Cough 4 Kids that came in our Healthy Shopper campaign.

Another great product, Olympic Dairy Krema Greek Style Yogurt, is delectably creamy and I LOVE that its locally produced in the Fraser Valley. It's just yum and with some fresh berries mixed in, it's desert any day of the week.

As expected, the organic flavour combinations of Kiju juices were a total hit with my kiddos, we were especially fans of the orange mango flavour! Have you tried them out? I personally love that I can grab them for my kids when we hit our local Starbucks.

I try to be a Healthy Shopper every time I hit the grocery store and The Healthy Shopper Coupon Book can help me (and you) reach our health & wellness goals. 

You can find the Healthy Shopper online and on Facebook.

If you haven't read it already, I had the chance to try out another Healthy Shopper Campaign last year and tried a whole other round of deliciousness!

I received product in exchange for sharing my experiences in this post, however all opinions are my own.

Zoku Quick Pop Bundle Sale on Well.ca

You may remember me oogling over the ZOKU Quick POP maker last year. In only seven minutes it creates three custom pops and can make a total of nine pops before the base needs to be refrozen.

That's right, you can make nine healthy and delcious pops in under half an hour and starting today, Well.ca is having a great sale where you can get a FREE Zoku Tool Kit or a FREE Zoku Chocolate Station with the purchase of your Zoku Quick Pop Maker.

I had almost forgotten all about the Zoku, until my friend posted a picture of her kids enjoying homemade quinoa and blueberry pops on Facebook and suddenly I found myself lusting after a Zoku again.

I just got a juicer and I'm imagining all the healthful deliciousness I could feed my kids in the guise of frozen pops if I owned a Zoku. Fortunately, its my birthday next month and I'm asking for the Zoku  Tool Kit bundle, in fact I'm sending the link over to my husband right now.

And because shipping is always a concern; Well.ca offers FREE SHIPPING within Canada on orders over $25.

If you want to see the Zoku Quick Pop Maker in action, check out this utube video demonstration!

I am an a member of the Well.ca Affilliate Program, however all opinions are my own.

Life Brand Bonanza at Shoppers Drug Mart

A few years ago, back when Simba was a newborn and Bolt was an out-of-sorts toddler, Shoppers Drug Mart was my refuge. A place I could go, clad in sweats and dishevelled hair, at 10:30 at night when both my precious boys were finally asleep. I would wander the aisles leisurely, looking for deals and buying any essentials we needed. Now that the boys are older, these little outings continue to give me some much needed alone time, satisfy my need to shop and ensure our medicine cabinet is always fully stocked, but they don't feel quite as essential as they once were.

I'm a little embarrassed to say that although we have medicine cabinets, most of the medicine we use on a regular basis is in a basket in my kitchen.  Although it seems like a sound idea, in reality, it tends to be an extremely frustrating mess. So when I was offered the opportunity to 'clean out my medicine cabinet' and fill it with Life Brand Products, I realized it was the perfect opportunity to actually start using the medicine cabinet is it was intended.

Since I loathe all things cleaning, I made a trip to Shoppers Drug Mart before I actually cleaned out my medicine basket. There are a number of locations close to my home, but I decided to go over to the No. 5 Road and Cambie Shoppers Drug Mart location in Richmond, BC. This store is new, big and spacious and I never feel crowded when I'm shopping. 

Shoppers Drug Mart wholeheartedly embraces the local community; this simple sign in the front window displaying the most prevalent languages in the community really speaks to me and shows me that Shoppers Drug Mart pays attention to the people they serve.

On this particular trip, I was on a Life Brand Bonanza, comparing prices and looking for products my family can always use. My first stop, was of course, the baby aisle where I grabbed some Baby Life bottle liners (saving about $1.50 over the name brand) before heading over to the medicines. 

I also made sure to grab 'essentials' including antihistamines, pain killers (I saved $6 on Life Brand Children's IBuprofun), cold and flu medicine and band aids, which we go through at the speed of light around here.  I regularly purchase Life Brand products since they are consistently cheaper than brand name products and when I compared the ingredient lists there were very few variations, most of which are usually in the non-medicinal ingredients.

In an area where the closest grocery store is a 15 minute drive away, Shoppers Drug Mart has stepped up and has a quite comprehensive grocery section complete with milk, eggs, bread, coffee, hummus, cheese just to name a few of the products. I feel like this simple fact speaks volumes about the investment Shoppers Drug Mart makes in the community.

Armed with a slough of new Life Brand products, I undertook the task of cleaning out my medicine cabinet and filling it up. It looks fantastic, now I can only hope I can maintain the neat, orderly shelves.

Are you a Life Brand Shopper?
Do you have a system for keeping your medicine cabinet tidy? (because I need one)

You can see ALL the photos from my shop on Google+.

“I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® #cbias #SocialFabric”

Saturday Sale at Well.ca

One of my absolute favourite online shopping destinations is Well.ca; their prices are comparable to my local drugstores and they offer free shipping, regardless how much you purchase.  They have tons of gluten-free products and with their Baby Club, you get special sale prices on baby products, including amazing sale prices on disposable diapers.

   

One of the products they carry, that I've been drooling over is the Zoku quick pop maker, which allows you to make fresh, healthy and delicious popscicles in a matter of minutes.  

This Saturday only, you can get a family grab bag that includes the Zoku Quick Pop Maker (Regular $69.99), Summer Infant Car Seat Shade (Currently $15.00), Badger Lightly Scented Sunscreen SPF 30 (Currently $15.99), Badger Balm After Sun Balm: Blue Tansy & Lavender (Regular $7.99), Vital Baby Free Flow Cup (Regular $3.99).

At a price of $69.99 for the entire grab bag, you're essentially buying the Zoku quick pop maker and getting everything else free! There is a limited number of grab bags available, so if you want one, make sure you buy early!

Indigo Kids Blog Tour | Review & Giveaway

As long as I can remember, I've loved to read.  My Mom recently told me that when they tested my reading comprehension in grade 4, my abilities were at least a grade 12 level, as my scores surpassed the limits of the testing.  Given that information, its not surprising that I would rather read a book than watch TV.  I love allowing the words on the page to come alive in my mind and I can't help but hope that my boys will find as much delight in books as I have.

I do my best to foster a positive reading environment, we have books in both our playroom and in the boys' rooms and we read books before each and every sleepytime, naps included.  I love taking the boys to the bookstore and I'm super excited to let you know about Indigo Kids an amazing initiative by the folks at Chapters Indigo Books.

Indigo Kids is available at select book stores and with their wide stroller-friendly aisles, adequate space for kids to play and try a variety of toys including plasma cars and train tables; Indigo Kids stores are specifically designed to make shopping with and for your little ones a breeze.  And for those of you who don't have kids, but need to  buy a present for a special little person in your life, Indigo Kids has book and toy recommendations based on the child's age.  Last but not least, free gift wrapping on children's gifts is available at all Chapters and Indigo locations.

When given the opportunity to check out Indigo Kids for myself, I was more than a little excited to shop at my local Indigo Kids location, however given all the sickness in my home, it didn't end up being feasible so instead I did my shopping online.

In truth, I LOVE online shopping.  It's easy, its convenient and at Chapters Indigo its even easy on the wallet.  As a Plum Rewards member I received 5% off the list price of every book I ordered, I received free shipping (as my order was over $25) and when I ordered the Game of Thrones Box Set for myself, it was significantly cheaper than if I had bought it in store.

I shopped Indigo Kids for presents and ended up finding lots of great products.  Although there are tons of toys to choose from, I opted to stick with books and bought my almost one year old niece the Dr. Suess Beginner Book Collection that I hope she will enjoy for years to come, Tails for the boy and Goodnight Gorilla for the baby.  My boys love their new books and 'Goodnight Gorilla' has already become one of the baby's favourite books, just as it was one of his brother's.

Want to do some Indigo Kids shopping?  We're giving one lucky reader a $35 gift certificate to spend at Chapters Indigo Books, enter using the rafflecopter after the jump.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Indigo Kids program by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation for my participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Last Minute Gift Ideas | Hallmark Press Pause Panel

I'm starting to get excited, Christmas is only a few short sleeps away.  I can't wait to see the boys face when he sees the tree and the presents waiting for him.  I can't wait to see his delight at his new toys and watch as he enjoys them.  Of course its the baby's first Christmas so that's exciting too, though he won't really know what's going on, I'm positive I'll catch him eating paper.

All that being said, I have a lot of wrapping to do.  My shopping is pretty much complete and this year Hallmark helped me out in that department.  Check out some of the great stuff I received as a member of the Hallmark Press Pause Panel.

The Rockin' Talking Santa Hat is super fun, not only does it sing Santa Clause is Coming to Town it dances back and forth all on its own.    The hat has a full frame on the inside so its a little heavy and won't fit a toddlers head, though they might just dance along.

And where there's dancing, there's often singing and the Merry-okee microphone transforms you into an elf with the push of the button.  I love the elf voice, but neither the boy or the hubs seems to get quite as much joy from it as I do.  Merry-okee comes with six pre-recorded holiday songs to sing along with, including 'silly versions'.

This is our first year with a full-size tree, so we can finally really start amassing our own family collection of ornaments.  The Wayne Gretsky Ornament is perfect for Hockey Loving Canadian dads; the hubs is getting one this year.

Have an early reader in the house? Jingle the Husky Pup Interactive Storybook and Story Buddy are super fun, read your child the story and as you read along jingle will jump right in and bark, whimper and sing.  The best part?  I was at Wal-Mart yesterday and saw Jingle in store.

Hallmark has been helping us remember to 'Press Pause' because Life is a Special Occasion all year long, and now they want to help us celebrate Christmas.  What are you doing to 'Press Pause' this holiday season?

I received Hallmark product for the purposes of this post, however all opinions are my own.

Glasses CAN be an accessory

When I was a little girl, I secretly wanted to wear glasses; I was sure they would make me seem more mature and sophisticated.  I was eleven when glasses became my reality, I still remember my first pair of frames, they were black with purple splatter and one of the lenses perpetually fell out.

It was when I was crawling on the floor searching for the tiny screw of those glasses that I realized that although my idealistic self thought that eyeglasses were the ultimate accessory, in actuality they were more of a necessity.  As I've aged, my prescription has continued to increase, in fact just today I was telling the boy 'no touching Mommy's glasses, she needs them to see!'

One of the worst things about my declining eyesight is that the stronger my prescription gets, the more expensive my glasses become to purchase.  As such, my childhood dreams of eye glasses as an accessory seemed fleeting; I have never been able to afford more than one pair of glasses at a time, which means that my glasses simply couldn't be classified as an accessory.

I should have known that the internet would come to the rescue, sites such as GlassesUSA.com make it possible for anyone to purchase fashionable glasses at a great price, which means that having multiple sets of glasses isn't just for the rich and famous anymore.  No longer must we wear the same pair of glasses to a cocktail party as we wear every day at the office.

Next time I need to buy glasses I'll be looking online and you should too.

GlassesUSA.com offers features such as a virtual mirror to ensure you get just the right fit, a 110% lowest price guarantee, a 100% satisfaction guarantee, a generous referral program and worldwide shipping.  Glasses USA is offering all Momma Stuff Blog readers a 10% discount off their next pair of glasses, just enter code 'Mommy10' at checkout OR if you want to try out transition lenses enter code 'Tran25' and get $25 off your order.

This post is sponsored by GlassesUSA.com, however all opinion are my own.

Mama Bargains - One hot deal at a time...

Dear Mama Bargains,

I HATE you.
Ok, that's not entirely true, I LOVE you.
Ok, that's not exactly true either; I HATE that I LOVE you.
Now that's the truth.

hate/love,
Amber :)

With a slogan like "are YOU hooked yet?" I should have known better than to start shopping on Mama Bargains.  The truth is, I'm cheap and I have a hard time passing up a bargain, but not just any bargain (thank goodness) though I do seem particularly vulnerable to bargains as they pertain to the boy.  They barely require any justification in my mind (though perhaps they should), and if they are organic, sustainable or otherwise environmentally friendly I sometimes have to work very hard to refrain from clicking the "Add to Diaper Bag" button.

Mama Bargains is a daily deal website that carries items aimed at children aged zero to ten and also occasionally carries items for the momma-to-be, all at a discount of 40-80% off the retail price.  What's unique about Mama Bargains is that they offer 2-10 bargains a day, whereas most daily deal sites only carry one.  The catch however, is that the deals are not offered on any sort of schedule, you just have to stop by the website and hope you're not too late for the newest deal.

Are you starting to get a feel for my hate/love relationship with Mama Bargains?  Once I have Mama Bargains open in a tab, I have a hard time closing it, (unless the sale JUST started and I totally don't want the item) instead I just click over and hit refresh whenever I have a lull in whatever I'm doing.

Fortunately, you can tell if the sale is relatively new because each item has a status bar that ranges from "Lots Left" to "Almost Gone" with a Pregnant Mama Stick Figure for its icon.  So cute & so clever.

As a Canadian, the shipping fees are sometimes a bit steep and that's often a hindrance to my purchase; this is not Mama Bargains fault, its just a function of the size of the parcel and the logistics of internet shopping.  Warehouse pick-up is an option if you happen to live in the vicinty of Salt Lake City, and during checkout you can get an estimate of shipping before you have to enter ALL your information.  The latter is great if, like me, you bail when shipping is just a little too high.

I am "hooked" on Mama Bargains (and a few other daily deal shopping sites), but I understand the perils of spending beyond your needs particularly when the overspending is the pursuit of material needs, so I buy a lot less than I look.  As I mentioned before, I have a soft spot for those items that are kind to mother earth, my recent purchases include: Pukies Soy & Organic Clothing ($49.93 before tax for 2 t-shirts, 2 pairs of shorts and one pair of pants for the boy) and Baby Star Organic Denim Jeans for $15.

The jeans arrived this week; seriously they are so adorable.  The hubs wasn't all that impressed, but seriously how could I resist?

All in all Mama Bargains is a great site, the checkout process is a breeze, they sell high quality products at a bargain price and they ship your items quickly.  I do wish that when they posted mutiple sizes and colours they could post one picture with multiple sizes/colours in a drop-down menu, it can be a little cumbersome scrolling through all the items looking for the boy items in the right size.

I enjoy Mama Bargains and so long as I keep my spending in check (which seems to be going ok) I think its a great site. I rate it a 4.5/5.

True Cuddles - A Truly Good Deal. Until It's Gone.

I admit it, I think I may be a little bit addicted to Daily Deal baby shopping sites. These sites offer super cute items, that I didn't know I needed, for a vastly discounted price. To add insult to injury, these deals disappear quickly, so you have to make a decision and make your purchases quickly.True Cuddles was the first daily deal website that I discovered, and I have made quite a few great purchases, including Pacimals, Mimitens & Teething Bling to name a few.

True Cuddles is a Canadian website (a plus for a canuck such as myself), based out of Calgary, Alberta however they do ship to the US.

Each Monday at 9am MST a new "cuddle" goes up for grabs and True Cuddles offers email notifications (which arrive consistently on time) to ensure you never miss a cuddle. Their website also features a weekly Mompreneur and offers a weekly giveaway to their readers.

Since True Cuddles was the first deal website I came across, waiting a week for a new sale seemed totally reasonable and beneficial for my wallet. I often wish that "cuddles" came more often, but I can only imagine how much effort goes into running a website of this nature.

True Cuddles provides quality products at a great price, shipping is reasonable and prompt (in accordance with their website FAQ's) and their website provides exposure for Mompreuners and prizes for readers, all in all a great website.

As the Momma of a young boy, I have noticed over the past few months there seems to be a lot of hairclips and girlie items that don't apply to me. This may however just be my own bias, and I know there are many more girl products out there than boy products, so I can't really count this as a complaint.