ashleyd /

Swiffer Sweep Vac Review and $40 Walmart Gift Card Giveaway

  

I grew up in a home that was warm, cozy, and filled with carpet. We used vacuums for cleaning every room except the kitchen. The kitchen was often the bane of my existence as our two parakeets shed their feathers daily all over the freshly dust busted floor. One of my daily chores was ALWAYS vacuuming the feathers. Every time I’d try to vacuum the feathers the dust buster’s side vents would blow them all over the place. Flash forward a few years to the life of a New Yorker. Almost every apartment flooring is either parquet or tile. In addition, there is no space for a traditional vacuum cleaner. This makes cleaning floors a challenge as brooms tend to be far less effective.

Imagine my excitement when I received a Swiffer Sweep Vac from Procter & Gamble and My Blog Spark. Since I no longer have a Walmart or Target in my area I don’t always get to see the fun new product innovations on the market especially in the realm of home products. I have always loved the Swiffer but had never tried any of their vacuum or flicker products. The marketing/PR team working on Swiffer did an amazing job presenting this new tool. The kit they sent me included a pack of Swiffer pads, small jars of cereal, dirt, and synthetic hair to dump on the floor for testing purposes. 

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I was apprehensive at first as I wasn’t sure how affective such a small, simple product could be. The product is the same height of the traditional Swiffer but the neck area is about the width of a dust buster. This narrow dimensions mean that it can easily slide under a bed, hide in a closet, or even behind a sofa if needed.

The product came at the perfect time as I was having to clean our old apartment and then spruce up our new hardwood floors in the new apartment in advance of our housewarming party. I chose NOT to use their hair and cereal samples on the floor as I thought Styrofoam pieces, dust bunnies, and random food particles were enough of a test for this mighty little Swiffer SweepVac.

I started by assembling the vac which was very easy even for the most technically challenged person. There were two handle pieces that went together and then an A/C adapter for charging. I charged it overnight and then went to work on our parque floors.

I must say Bo and I were both beyond impressed.  The result was clean floors that were free of dirt, dust, hair, and crumbs. The pad picked up all the residue normally left behind after using a traditional broom or even Dustbuster while the vacuum was able to pick up all the larger pieces.  It also has a filter similar to a dust buster that can be emptied easily and lasts 6 months! P&G made this the most user friendly product possible.

P&G and My Blog Spark is offering one lucky Healthy, Happier Bear reader a $40 Walmart gift card so they can experience the Swiffer Sweeper Vac!

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The giveaway begins today and will end Friday at 5pm.  I will announce a winner either Friday evening or Saturday morning.

How to enter?

1. Comment and tell me what room you would tackle first with a Swiffer Sweeper Vac.

2.  Tweet this contest! Copy and paste the following into Twitter: Want to win a $40 Walmart gift card so you can try a Swiffer Sweep Vac? @healthyhappier is giving one away at http://bit.ly/9z5zWy

3. Receive an extra entry for linking back about this entry on your own blog and comment that you did so.

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ashleyd /

Whole Bag O’ Gluten Free Goodness

On our way to Lauren’s party Sunday, Bo and I had the great opportunity to stop by Union Square. Union Square is one of my favorite places in NYC during the summer months. It is always bustling with excitement and activities including the weekly farmer’s market, musician, and art festivals. It isn’t quite as touristy as other areas of the city north and south of this bohemian hub.

This Sunday was no different than most in that a local festival was taking place. This festival was in honor of NYC Grows. NYC Grows is the New York park restoration campaign.

The event featured many local and eco friendly companies such as Nature’s Path, Stonyfield Farm, Brooklyn co-op, and others. We had the opportunity to try some local sriracha sauce which was AMAZING, sample new smoothies, and try some of the new Nature’s Path products I’ve seen online.

Bo knows he is married to a health and food blogger and therefore grabbed a few extra samples for me to try since I couldn’t reached the table due to congestion. This morning I was able to sample the first of these Nature’s Path treats.

The Organic Whole O’s did not disappoint. Instead, the pleasantly surprised both me and Bo! Neither of us knew what to expect based on the gluten free statements. But, the corn and rice mix was deliciously fresh and crunchy with just a tad of sweetness. There was no cardboard consistency or aftertaste. Instead, these gluten free, wheat free, and trans fat free little o’s were a perfect morning addition to my fruit and yogurt while alsot packing a hearty punch with 3 grams o fiber and only 110 calories. My only complaint is that they are lacking in some of the nutritional content Cheerios provides such as added vitamins and minerals.

However, for someone who has steered away from many of the high sugar cereals of breakfasts past like Honey Nut Cheerios, Puffs, or others this is a perfect substitute. The gluten free characteristic also makes it a great option for those people who have been missing out on the fun and taste of that iconic breakfast cereal in the yellow box! In addition, Whole O’s are sweetened with pomegranate juice! Who knew? The ingredient list is short, sweet, and simple including only FIVE ingredients: organic brown rice flour, organic corn flour, organic evaporated cane juice, organic pomegranate juice concentrate, and sea salt!

I really enjoyed this sample of whole grain goodness and will definitely be buying it again soon as it makes a perfect trail mix ingredient, desk drawer treat, and stand by dinner option! I’m looking forward to trying more Nature’s Path products including a few of their new bars which were sampled at the Union Square festival this past weekend.

Thank you Nature’s Path for a great cereal option for those people who are looking for a gluten free option also made with whole grains or for people like me who are merely looking for good taste uncompromised by artificial ingredients!

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Yoplait Greek Review and Goddess Giveaway

Are you ready to appreciate and nourish your inner goddess? Don’t we all deserve an at home spa treatment after hours of stress, hard work, and exercise? Yoplait agrees!


I discovered this fact when the friendly folks at Yoplait and Myblogspark sent me the Yoplait Greek Goddess pack. This pack is in honor of their new Greek yogurt which encourages women to nourish their inner goddess. The prize pack included 2 coupons towards the yogurt, comfy slippers, a full size white towel wrap, and a home spa kit including a loofah and other goodies.

I was most excited about the yogurt coupons and the wrap. I had a DG wrap all through college that I loved due to it’s convenience. I’ve already taken this wrap to the gym so my hands free blow drying days can return. I’m tired of holding the towel with one hand and the blow dryer with the other!

I’m not going to lie, it took me a while to find the Yoplait Greek Yogurt in NYC which was a bit annoying. As a health and food blogger I didn’t mind but I know the average person wouldn’t go out of their way to find a product when there are multiple similar products available in wider distribution. The new yogurt comes in four flavors: honey, plain, blueberry, and strawberry. I wasn’t able to find the honey in my stores. Once I found the new product, I first checked out the nutritional information which was pretty good but still had more sugar than I normally like in my yogurt. The plain flavor has lower sugar and calories than the flavored ones and all pack a whopping 30% of recommended daily calcium!
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I bought the blueberry and strawberry to sample since these tend to be my favorite Oikos or Chobani flavors. This morning I used this in my “morning mess” in place of my Dannon Light n Fit or Chobani. Unlike Chobani, there weren’t any chunks or separation in this yogurt. It was very thick, creamy, and smooth while also having a tasty not too sweet flavor.
Yoplait has some great resources on their website including recipes, coupons, and more information about their wonderful breast cancer initiative. I was impressed by the number of recipes they already have posted for this new product. My favorite is the lemon blueberry muffins. I have a soft spot in my heart for all things blueberry. These would make a great spring treat especially since the price of blueberries is decreasing daily in NYC!

Lemon-Blueberry MuffinsPrep Time: 15 min
Start to Finish: 30 min

Ingredients

1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 container (6 oz) Yoplait® Greek Fat Free honey vanilla yogurt
1 egg
1 3/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fresh or frozen (do not thaw) blueberries
1. Heat oven to 400ºF. Grease bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffins cups, or line with paper baking cups.
2. In large bowl, beat milk, oil, yogurt and egg using wire whisk or fork. Stir in remaining ingredients except blueberries, until flour is moistened. Gently stir in blueberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
3. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan.

If you click here you can print a $0.30 coupon.

Now, I want to ensure one of you has the opportunity to rest and relax goddess style! Yoplait will send an identical prize pack to one lucky reader. All you have to do is enter! Here’s the how:

1) Which flavor of Yoplait Greek yogurt would you most like to try?

For extra entries feel free to do the following:
-Tweet about the giveaway: “@healthyhappier wants you to win the Yoplait Greek Goddess prize pack and nourish your inner goddess http://alturl.com/u5f4” and let me know via comment

-Blog about this giveaway linking to this post and let me know via comment.



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