Tag Archives: Giveaway

CocoZia review and giveaway!

You all know I have love for coconut water, so this was definitely a product I agreed to review. Cocozia provided me with Organic Coconut Water for my opinion.

I don’t like sports gels or drinks. I don’t drink sweet anything. My coffee and lattes are unsweetened, my seltzer water is unsweetened and I don’t do diet drinks, and I rarely drink juice, so I am not used to having beverages be sweet. I think that is part of the reason why I have trouble with sports drinks for rehydration. Coconut water fits that bill perfectly instead. It has only the barest hint of sweet and a very mild flavor.

From the CocoZia website:

COCOZIA 100% Organic Coconut Water is fat-free and contains no processed ingredients of any kind. It’s 100% organic and it’s so good for you! COCOZIA contains fresh, pure water from inside a young green coconut. It’s a clear, naturally sweet liquid that has just 70 calories Make COCOZIA your go-to answer when you want easy-to-drink hydration, coupled with a natural abundance of potassium and magnesium, as well as other electrolytes.

This is the nutrition label:

They point out on the website there are 70 calories in the coconut water and it looks (by my math) that is are 80 for the whole 16.9 ounce container. Coconut water also has lots of potassium. The only thing missing is salt when replacing a lot of sweat. So, having a few pretzels or crackers with the coconut water is a good solution. This is organic coconut water, and truth be told it tastes the same as regular coconut water :D.

Cocozia offers 5 flavors: Original, Chocolate, Coffee (WHAT???? Gimmee), Pineapple and Mango. If you want something a little sweeter, the flavored coconut waters do seem to offer that, but still not super sweet.

Coconut water is best served icy cold, in my opinion. I like to pop a bottle in the freezer the night before a ride and that way you can have a slushy cold drink later in the ride when you need it. Some people find coconut water to be an acquired taste, and I understand that – especially if you are used to sports drinks, but it can grow on you – sort of like when you switch from sweetened yogurt to plain.

Anyhoo – now for the good stuff. This came as a case of 12 to me, so I thought I would share the bounty with 2 people. I will randomly choose 2 people to receive two 16 oz bottles of Cocozia to try!

Anyone can enter this – you don’t have to be in the US, since I will be sending them out! Yay for all inclusive!! 😀

All you have to do is comment below telling me if you have tried cocout water to be entered. I will chose 2 winners on Thursday evening, so this will be a quick one.

**I was provided a case of CocoZia for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I’m With Fatty book review and giveaway

I recently was forwarded a copy of “I’m With Fatty” by Edward Ugel to review.

From the copy:

The book is an honest and wickedly funny chronicle of a father, husband, and all-around-food-obsessed man as he attempts to lose 50 pounds in 50 weeks – a foodie who can’t remember the last time he exercised but can describe every bite of his last Chinese takeout meal.

The book is really just a snippet of his life, 1 year to be exact. He hits rock bottom when he needs a CPAP machine for sleep apnea and takes on a challenge to lose 50 pounds in 50 weeks.

I found this book to be a very, very fast read. He uses a lot of humor, but you can feel underneath the humor the embarrassment and humiliation of some of the things he goes through. It’s actually quite interesting to read from a man’s point of view about self-image and weight loss. Turns out they think a lot like women do (only a little grosser at times).

You can actually read chapter 1 online here

There were times in the book where he really goes further than I want to hear about, like the colonic and the cleanse. I did find his anatomy of a week long binge to be pretty accurate to what I have felt in the past.

There is a lot of self-dialogue which is quite funny, including the rationale of buying Halloween candy at the grocery store 😀 This is not a book about an eating plan per se, although he does sometimes talk about what exactly he eats. It is more a book about the emotional/mental process of the 50 weeks.

I am not going to tell you if he makes his goal or not in the 50 weeks. He did learn some surprising things about himself during that time, both good and bad.

All and all a good quick read.

I am going to send this copy on to one of my readers. Any country, too!

All you have to do is leave a comment telling me the name of the last book you read.

I will pick a recipient on Tuesday morning August 31.

For more about Edward Ugel, you can visit his website.

Lanacane Anti-Chafing Gel Review and Giveaway!

I think this is a most appropriate review and giveaway for this time of year, don’t you? Nobody likes to talk about chafing, but it is a fact of life for all of us. The nice folks at Lanacane must have seen how sweaty I get during my workouts and sent me some of their Anti-Chafing gel to try.

Of course, chafing doesn’t just happen with exercise. Wish this stuff was around when I had chub-rub on my inner thighs growing up (okay, I had it as an adult, too). Ugh!

Here is how Lanacane’s product works:

Lanacane™ Anti-Chafing Gel works by forming a silky “surface” on your skin that prevents repeated rubbing of skin on skin or on clothing from irritating skin. It dries to a non-greasy finish on the skin, is non-staining and is gentle enough to use anywhere on the body, everyday.

Here is what the product looks like out of the tube and the recommended pea-size application:

This little bit covered an area about the size of the back of my hand.

It rubs in with a slippery, powdery-type feel and is clear. It almost feels greasy, but it isn’t. It’s also odor free. I was expecting it to smell like menthol, isn’t that weird? It doesn’t stain clothing, which is nice, especially when you need to apply it in areas like waistbands and under bras (where heat rash sucks!). Thoughts to try this on my feet before running has crossed my mind. Wonder if it would prevent blisters?

Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch.

Note that this product is gluten free! You can now find it in the USat any major drug store. Apparently this product has been available in Europe for a while now. It is waterproof, but with a lot of sweating, you will want to reapply after a couple hours.

The generous folks at Lanacane have also offered a sample of this product to one of my readers! This giveaway is open to everyone (Yay!!).

Here is how you enter:

* Just leave a comment on your favorite summer activity.

For bonus entries, you may do either (or both) of the following:

* Post a link on your blog about this and add a new comment that you have done so.

* Post a link on your facebook page to this giveaway and leave a comment on this post with the link. You can use the little facebook icon at the bottom of this post if you wish!

Entries will be taken until Tuesday June 29, 2010 at 10:00 am EST. I will announce the winner that day.

Good luck!

FTC disclaimer: I was provided a free sample of this gel to review. All opinions are my own and I was not paid for this review.

Slice of Life Vitamins review and Giveaway!

So you all saw my sneak tease picture yesterday:

I was sent some Slice of Life adult gummy vitamins to try! I received a bottle of Vitamin D3 and Omega 3.6.9s.

These gummies are gluten free and made with natural colors and flavors: Ingredients are: glucose syrup, natural cane juice, gelatin, citric acid, lactic acid, tumeric and annato seed (colorant), natural flavor, fractionated coconut oil and caranuba wax (to prevent sticking).

Pros: If you like the swedish fish candies, you will really like these vitamins. The nice thing is that the Omegas are plant based and not fish based! I cannot stomach the fish oil capsules, and the flax oil pills I take are pretty large, so it is kind of fun to chew my Omegas 😀 A serving of 2 Slice of Life gummies gives you 90 mg of Omega 6, 60 mg of Omega 9, and 80 mg of Omega 3. This one tastes kind of like cranberry.

The Vitamin D3 gummy has a citrus flavor to it and each serving gives you 1000 IU of D3!

Cons: These vitamins are not vegetarian. They do use pork as the base for the gelatin. There are the children’s gummy vitamins that are available as vegetarian with a pectin base.

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The parent company of Slice of Life, Hero Nutritionals, is going to give one lucky reader of my blog 3 bottles of vitamin supplements!

Contest is open to all readers at this time.

Here is how you can enter to win:

1. Visit the Slice of Life website and use the “Help Me Choose” button (bottom of page) to see which combo of vitamins fits you, and leave a comment here of what that is.

For additional entries, you can do the following:

2. Follow the Finding Radiance blog (however you choose to do so) and let me know in a comment that you are.

3. Post a link on your blog and let me know in a separate comment!

So that is 3 chances to win. The winner will be chosen on Friday May 21, 2010 at noon by random number generator!

Good luck 😀

Maple Syrup giveaway!

Okay – here it is, I am parting with some precious stash 😀

This syrup was bought at the sugar bush we visited on Saturday. Fresh stuff!

The person picked will receive a 1/2 pint of real, delicious maple syrup.

Rules: The contest is open to anyone no matter where you live!

You have 3 ways to earn an entry. Please leave a separate comment for each.

1. Post a comment about how you will use the maple syrup.

2. Follow me on Facebook! Or post that you already are a friend 😀

3. Post on your blog about this contest and leave the link below.

That’s it! I will choose the winner with random.org on Friday April 2, 2010 at noon EST. Happy mapling!

Oatmeal on the Run Giveaway!

I received some coupons from Country Choice Organics, so I thought I would share one of the items with one of my readers! I have reviewed Country Organics Quick Cook Steel Cut oats in the past, but they also have other products, like organic cookies and these breakfast bars:

Ingredients: Organic whole grain rolled oats, organic brown rice syrup, Organic whole grain oat flour, organic dates, organic plum puree, organic raisins, organic cane syrup, vegetable glycerine, organic oat syrup solids, organic brown rice flour, organic milled flax, organic maple syrup, natural flavors, organic vanilla extract, carrageenan, calcium carbonate, organic sunflower oil, organic malted barley extract, baking soda, sea salt, soy lecithin. CONTAINS SOY INGREDIENTS.

Rules: This giveaway is for one box of 5 Maple Oatmeal on the Run bars. Giveaway is open to anyone and everyone no matter where you live! The price for entry? Just one comment on this post! How easy is that?

If you want bonus entries, you can earn 1 extra entry for the following:

1. Tweet about this giveaway and make sure you put @javaqueen01 so that I see it.

2. Post a link on your blog and put a separate comment here telling me about it.

Giveaway closes at noon EST on Thursday 3/25!

Happy posting 😀

Attune chocolate bars giveaway!

I am kicking of National Nutrition Month with a giveaway! You all know how much I love Attune bars and talk about them a *lot* like a lovelorn teenager. Well, the nice folks at Attune noticed my bloggy love and sent me some bars and the opportunity for one of my readers to win some! Was I going to turn that down?? Thank you Attune!

What are Attune bars? They are probiotic chocolate bars. From their website: Each bar contains –

Only 3-8 grams of sugar
Excellent source of calcium
Only 80-90 calories
3 grams of fiber

Attune probiotics are proven to survive in the digestive tract, where they can provide optimal health benefits.
The probiotics in Attune have been clinically tested to support a healthy digestive system and a strong immune system.
Attune wellness bars also include prebiotics (inulin), which support healthy digestive function and work in harmony with probiotics.

Attunes are found in the yogurt section of the refrigerated case. Or, in the natural foods refrigerated case (where they are in my store). There are several different flavors to choose from. The milk chocolate flavors (plain and almond) and the white chocolate blueberry are good, but my favorites are the dark chocolate ones. The straight up dark chocolate bar is great for that portioned chocolate fix in the mid afternoon 🙂

The coffee bar has bits of crunchy coffee beans in them and a nice coffee flavor. The raspberry (which you all know I love) has chewy bits of real raspberry in there, giving the bars a tart and sweet taste.

Then I think the mint chocolate is #2 for me, as it has a cool minty flavor along with some rice crisp crunch. Guess I like the textural thing….

Now, I will be honest here, I don’t buy these so much for the probiotic part. What I like is that they are the perfect portion size, which is probably one my favorite things about them. Dark chocolate belongs in everybody’s healthy diet, and this is a great way to get it in there.

Now for your favorite part! Attune is offering a week pack (7 bars) of dark chocolate Attune bars to one of my readers:

Da rules:

As these have to be shipped cold pack from Attune, the drawing is for US residents only.

You have 3 chances to win.

1. Visit the Attune website and leave a comment on this post of what product you would most like to try.

2. Become a fan of Attune on Facebook and post a separate comment here that you have done so.

3. Post a link to this contest on your blog and let me know in a separate comment that you have done so.

Entries will be accepted until Thursday 3/4/2010 at 11 a.m. EST. I will then use random.org to draw a number to choose the winner.

Note to self – unwrap before eating….

Giveaway – Lose the Diet book!

I think this is an appropriate book for this time of year as so many, many people jump on the diet bandwagon in January to lose weight, and yet so many of these people have made resolutions before and not kept them.

Lose the Diet is a book that will help you explore the mind-body-soul connection to learning how to eat, move, breathe, and feel to get to a happy weight.

Kathy Balland explores several different techniques in the book to help you become a mindful eater and exerciser using things like: the EFT tapping technique, meditation, breathing, and journaling. Also, she talks a little bit about the proper way to nourish your body.

I think people who like the Beck book will like this one as well. It goes into a more spiritual and emotional level and how to work on the whole package to be happy.

To be entered, just leave a comment below with the craziest diet you have ever tried.

*For an extra entry, link on your blog and post a comment saying that you did so.*

* For a 3rd entry – twitter about this giveaway and make sure you @javaqueen01 *

Entries will be accepted until Sunday 1/17/2010 at noon EST. I will then use random.org to pick a winner 😀

Commence to posting!

Dollars to Donuts Cookbook and giveaway!

I received a copy of Dollars to Donuts by Dawn Welch last week to review.

dtod

The premise of this cookbook is making the most of your pantry and cooking on a budget with appropriate meal planning and taking advantage of bargains. The recipes run the gamut from roasts to breakfasts to desserts. All of the recipes use ingredients you are likely to have on hand as well. What I really liked was that the recipes are not made up of processed foods to save time, but good real food and pretty healthy for the most part! The book looks lovely as well, with lots of pictures (I loves my pictures!) and a sprinkling of humor.

I tested out the Chicken and Dumplings (which you saw the other night), since we did indeed have everything on hand! My only substitution was using 1/2 whole wheat flour in the dumplings:

dum1212_edited

Dinner was on the table in 30 minutes and oh so yummy!

You can visit Dawn’s website here and see some of her recipes, as well as her pantry staple list, menu planner, and tips.

Next stop for me is probably the couscous with butternut squash and dried fruit.

YC Media has generously offered a copy of Dollars to Donuts to one of my readers!

Here are the rules:

1. This is open to US residents only as it is being shipped by YC Media.

2. To enter, leave a comment with one of your money/time saving tips for meals.

3. For a 2nd entry, link back to this post on your blog and let me know in a separate comment that you have done so.

4. For a 3rd entry, add me to your reader using the RSS feed and let me know in another comment!

That is 3 chances to win!

This giveaway is open to US residents until 10:00 am EST on Friday December 18, 2009. I will choose a random entry using random.org. I will pass on the winner’s address to YC Media for them to ship the cookbook!

Full Bites Giveaway!

Hi everyone! I don’t have to serve on the jury, but it was close – only by luck of the draw (literally) did I not get picked to sit on the jury. It took all day to seat a jury, so I was there from 8:45 to a little after 5 pm!

Anyway, on to the good stuff!

The FullBar people have added a new product that is just out on the market and sent me a couple samples:

fullbites2

Fullbites work with the same principles as FullBars: Eat the snacks 30 minutes before your two largest meals with a glass of water. The idea is that they will fill you up so that you eat less at your meals. They come in Savory BBQ, Bold Cheddar and Sour Cream & Onion.

Stats:

ing1

Ingredients are actually pretty good – and gluten free.

ing2

I have to say that I much preferred the Fullbites over the bars. They are crisp and crunchy. Almost the texture of Cheetos, but lighter. The portion size is a good snack size (bulk eaters will probably enjoy these).

fullbites

Overall – I do really like these. They were crunchy and fun. I definitely felt full after about 15 minutes of eating with a glass of water!

The people at FullBar are generously giving a winner a week’s supply of of Fullbites to a randomly chosen winner.

Da Rules: To enter to win, please reply to this post with how you think Fullbites could help you with your eating plan, and which of the 3 flavors interests you the most.

For a bonus entry, mention this contest on your blog and post another comment with the link to that post.

The winner will be chosen at 12pm on Thursday, Aug 20 (EST) by a random number generator. Open to all!