Pea of Sweetness

Nature's Flavors – Natural Colors for Baking and Cooking Review

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Natural Food Colors

I received a set of 5 natural food colors to review, and I was very excited to try them. I received: Natural Cherry Red, Natural Blue, Natural Honeydew Green, Natural Yellow and Natural Pumpkin. It arrived packaged in recyclable material, which is always a bonus for me!
How often do you use food colors? For us the answer was never. At least not anymore, and it was making our kitchen rather boring. I knew there were too many risks with commercial food colors, though. We try to avoid foods that contain artificial colors as well because of the risks. Artificial food colors (which can be called food dyes as well) can enhance the behavioral concerns associated with children on the Autism spectrum like our oldest son, and I’ve noticed a big difference in the effects on our younger two children with Sensory Processing Disorder as well. They are more hyper and particularly restless when bed time comes. Our 3 year old could easily stay up until well past midnight on some nights! When we stopped using artificial food colors, we saw a tremendous difference!
Natural food color
So what were we to do when we wanted to make a fun cake or cookies or another fun baking project with colors? What about dying eggs for Easter? I had been on the lookout for natural food colors, so I was ready to put Nature’s Flavors to the test! We made a cake with a nice dark blue icing for an Independence Day cake. The cake itself didn’t look pretty because I am not a very fancy baker, but that dark blue icing looked beautiful! Plus, I felt good knowing it was made with natural ingredients!

Cake

Nature’s Flavors Natural Colors are made using only all natural and organic plant extracts which have been shown to be high in bioflavonoids, polyphenols, and antioxidants all of which are active, beneficial, additives to you and your family. You need to shake the colors well before use and refrigerate after opening because of the natural ingredients. The colors are very rich and beautiful. Each color comes in 2 fluid ounces with a color chart to assist in getting just the right shades of each hue. We did try to use the red in the cake, and it did change with the heat. The color changing with heat may occur, but overall, we were not disappointed! I think the Natural Colors are the exact solution we were looking for to be able to add some flair to our kitchen without the chemicals and health risks!

For More Information:

Visit the Nature’s Flavors Website
Connect with Nature’s Flavors on Facebook
Follow Nature’s Flavors on Twitter
Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. For more information please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Bokos Sandals Review

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women sandals
I received a pair of the Bokos Women’s Melon Sandals to review. I love a good pair of sandals, and when I read the description and history of Bokos I knew I had to try them!
Bokos was created by two brothers from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They spent time overseas and returned to the US with sandals similar to Bokos. They loved them and wore them everywhere. They were durable, easy to clean, and fun to wear. Others noticed and started asking about them and how they could get a pair as well. So, Bokos was born!

Sandals

When I put the Bokos on the first time I loved the fit. They aren’t too loose or too tight on top. They are flexible and comfortable. I am really surprised how comfortable the material is. When they said these are sandals you wear everywhere they were right! I have been wearing them everywhere: around the house, at the store, to the kids’ therapy appointments, outside, etc.
I even put them to the test by wearing them for an entire day when we were out enjoying the attractions in Houston. I was on my feet most of the day and was pleasantly surprised! They didn’t hurt any more than they would if I was wearing my most comfortable tennis shoes! This is a BIG deal because my feet hurt easily! I have never had this experience with sandals before! I was able to stay comfortable, cool, and stylish. Who wants to wear tennis shoes with a skirt? I often have to, though!
I also like that the material can get wet because that means I could also wear them when we go fishing, swimming, or to the beach as well! Plus, they are extremely easy to clean off! Comfortable and convenient!

Sandals

I feel like Bokos sandals are sandals I can rely on and are great for a busy, on-the-go woman like myself. You can wear them with so much. Plus they are comfortable, and easy to clean. They are exactly what I want in a sandal!

For More Information

Visit the Bokos Website
Connect with Bokos on Facebook
Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am not required to write a positive review. For more information please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Fantastique Designs Blog Design Review

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Blog Design
Whether you need a new blog button, logo, or blog design Fantastique Designs can help. She truly aims to please. She works behind the scenes and takes care of all the technical stuff so you don’t have to. No matter your style, she can accommodate your needs. She can design a site on both Blogger blog and Self-hosted WordPress blogs.
I had a love/hate relationship with the look of my blog. You may remember I went back and forth with my theme a while back. Now I understand why! Using a pre-made theme and having Fantastique Designs make a custom blog design has been a totally different experience. I don’t know anything about the details that revolve around coding, and those little details can make a difference in whether you like or don’t like a specific feature. Sure, there are tutorials, but it was still too much for me! I was able to be very specific about all of the details and she handled all of it! She stays in constant contact during the process and checks in step by step to ask what you like and don’t like before moving on. It made everything so easy! I am so grateful she was so patient because there were a couple of times I said one thing and meant another, but she simply made the changes. She really goes above and beyond to make sure you are happy with your design.
This has been such a great experience for me because I finally feel like I was able to choose all those details that I couldn’t before. Another great advantage as a self-hosted WordPress blog working with Fantastique Designs is now I also have the Genesis Framework, which offers me even more options like various hooks, built in SEO, and other great features. I have heard so many other bloggers talking about this before, and I knew I was missing out! So I was able to not only get Monique’s personal attention to my details for my design, but I was also able to get the great advantages of the Genesis framework as well!
I’m sure you’ve noticed, but isn’t the pea for the “o” in “of” so cute?! When I saw that I loved it! That was her creativity! What a cute and clever idea! So even though I explained my preferred colors, layout, etc. she also used her creative talent to really pull it all together! The process was easy, seamless, and fun! I am really glad I have had the chance to have Monique give Pea of Sweetness the makeover I not only needed – but wanted as well!
Special! Fantastique Designs is offering a discount of $20 off custom blog designs good until August 31, 2013 with the code “summersale”
 

For More Information:

Visit Fantastique Designs
Connect with Fantastique Designs on Facebook
Follow her on Twitter
Sign up for her newsletter

*Giveaway!!!* {ended 7/20/13} To enter more great giveaways check out our Current Giveaways

custom blog design giveaway

Fantastique Designs is graciously giving away 2 blog design prize packages! To enter you must already have a blog on either Blogger or self-hosted WordPress. The giveaway will run from 7/6 through 7/20 at 11:00pm (times are Central) and is open to US and Canada ages 18+. Please refer to the full terms and conditions in the Giveaway Tools.
About the prizes packages:
1st prize:

  • Genesis framework + Lifestyle ($80 value) if on self-hosted WordPress
  • Custom header
  • Custom background
  • Menu
  • Coordinating font and colors
  • Up to 6 social media buttons
  • Blog Button
  • Post title picture
  • Post signature
  • Favicon
  • Installation

2nd prize:

  • Genesis framework + Lifestyle ($80 value) if on self-hosted WordPress
  • Custom header
  • Custom background
  • Menu
  • Coordinating font and colors
  • Up to 4 social media buttons
  • Blog Button
  • Installation

Amazing, right? So are you ready to enter? Complete the first two entries and more will open up for a chance to earn additional entries!
 

 
review and giveaway

Premium Pork Chomps Review

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Pork Chomps
I received a box of assorted Pork Chomps and Premium Pork Chomps products for our mastiff, Caprice, to review. Pork Chomps offer a rawhide free solution for your dog to enjoy.
One of the biggest concerns I shared with the pet parents who took my dog training classes was the fact that rawhide is dangerous. It takes a very long time to digest and actually expands in the stomach, so if your pup manages to swallow a big piece it could get stuck and cause a blockage which could result in surgery – or worse. Sadly, I heard stories all the time about this happening and many didn’t have happy endings. Not to mention most rawhide products contain nasty chemicals that can be dangerous to our pups as well since it is not regulated in the USA. Not only did I want to keep them away from my pup, I didn’t want them in our home where our kids could touch them either!
So when we received this big box of Pork Chomps products I was excited to give them to her to try! Having a large breed dog, what we give her is also a concern because it is more likely she could chew off a big piece. I felt comfortable giving her Pork Chomps knowing they are 99.9% digestible. I also love that there are different varieties and styles. For our review we received a variety Stripz, Knots, Twists, and Earz. Some had a bacon flavor, were wrapped in a sweet potato, or just had the natural pork flavor. So not only are there a variety of styles, but there are a variety of styles as well! Read more about the Pork Chomps difference.

Pork Chomps

Caprice seemed to enjoy all of the different flavors and varieties. There wasn’t one she wouldn’t try! She didn’t seem to favor one type or flavor over the others, though she does like to “bury” the 9″ Knot to chew some now and save some for later! She doesn’t gobble them up like some dogs, but she is very bizarre about hiding her things. She usually hides them under the kids’ beds, but my favorite is when she puts it by the front door and puts a toy over it (think small My Little Pony toy). It’s not exactly hidden!
Something else I really enjoy is that I feel safe about using Pork Chomps, and I feel safe letting my kids touch them (with supervision and still washing their hands after handling of course). This isn’t always possible with natural bones (which is what we had gotten prior) because they may have sharp points, splinter, or basting that makes a big mess that is hard to wash off. Pork Chomps doesn’t stain and actually didn’t leave any color on our hands at all. So they’re able to play with her, which is really nice for all of them!
Another disadvantage of the natural bones is once the basting was gone she wouldn’t touch it anymore. Because Pork Chomps has a natural flavor dogs enjoy there is no worry or need for basting!
Pork Chomps is really a great rawhide free treat that is safer for your pup (and your family). With the variety of styles and flavors there is something for every pup!

For More Information

Visit the Scott Pet Website
Connect with Pork Chomps on Facebook
Follow Pork Chomps on Twitter
 
review