Super Quick Eco-Frugal Tip

Save on money and help the environment. Use cloth napkins at the dinner table instead of paper napkins

Mondays with Monica...the Late Edition

For those of you who do not know I am obsessed with cookbooks, I have a ton! My collection consists of all sorts of ethnic specific, diet related, food type, and even some vintage cookbooks. I have to say some of my favorite are those that offer family friendly recipes or promise quick meal ideas with few ingredients. Even though I love to cook their are some days when I want to make something fast and effortless. When I received an email about reviewing a cookbook titled 5 Ingredient Fix: Easy, Elegant, and Irresistible Recipes, well I just had to check it out.

The author of 5 Ingredient Fix is a Food Network star with a show of the same title, she is also star of  Food Network Challenge. Her book promises to simplify elegant meals and make them more budget friendly by using fewer ingredients. I have to be honest with you I have never seen Claire Robinson's show so her style of cooking was new to me. At first glance this cookbook looked like a book that would sit on my bookcase but would never get much use. I have certain cookbooks that I keep because the photos are beautiful and while the recipes look delicious I would probably never make them. That was my first impression of this book. After giving it a more thorough look I actually did find some recipes in it that I am anxious to try. For instance there is a recipe for Edamame Hummus that I am going to be making really soon. Penelope loves Edamame and Hummus so she is sure to enjoy this combination. Another recipe that I am going to try is Buttermilk Pecan Chicken, it sounds sooo yummy. I had my husband Chris take a look at the book to see what he thought and he is begging me to make him the Pork Roast with Hard Cider Gravy. While not all the recipes in this book are only 5 ingredients they each do have very few ingredients and seem pretty simple to create. They also are not your ordinary recipes and are elegant as promised in the title. In my opinion most of the recipes would be great to make if you were trying to impress some guests without spending a fortune. I don't think I would make them on a regular basis. In any event this book is going to make a great addition to my collection and I would recommend it to anyone that loves to cook or enjoys cookbooks like I do. You can get your copy of 5 Ingredient Fix: Easy, Elegant, and Irresistable Recipes on Amazon.

***Monica***

The featured product{s} in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone.

That Time Already?! Shutterfly Review

Can you believe it's already November? Christmas is just around the corner, time to start thinking about this years Christmas card. We have the perfect setting for our photo this year being that we are living in the same state as Santa now. A white Christmas, Yay! As you can tell I love this time of year and I am so eager to start sending out those cards to all our friends and family that are far away. Like last year we will be using Shutterfly again, they always do such a great job and they have so many nice Christmas cards to choose from. I especially like this Holly Frame design and I can already picture Penelope frolicking in the snow while I snap away trying to get that perfect shot. Are you planning a party this Christmas? How about creating your very own Christmas party invites, Shutterfly has several designs to choose from. I am so bummed that we won't be with family this year but I am excited about our first Christmas in our new home. Since we will be sending gifts in the mail this year I thought these Christmas gift tags would look nice enclosed in each package. My favorites are the Beary Merry and the Goody Garland. All this talk about the holidays has got me feeling all warm and fuzzy now. Time to hit the store for some candy cane ice cream and is it too early to go tree shopping?

***Monica***
Shutterfly will be providing me with a promo code good for 50 free holiday cards for writing this post. All opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not influenced in anyway.

Ecoware Forks Review and Giveaway

 CLOSED

I pack my kids school lunches 4-5 times a week. A cloth napkin serves as a sandwich wrap and something to wipe their hands with. Reusable containers allow me to neatly store their veggies and fruit in their luncbox. I serve their drinks in reusable bottles. More often then not their food is finger friendly, but every now and then I want to serve them some sort of tuna, pasta or fruit salad. That’s when I have to decide if I want to give them plastic utensils or silverware from home. After loosing a lot of my silverware I began a search for eco-frugal utensils. Ecoware agreed to let me review some of their wooden cutlery.


I received a retail pack of 25 biodegradable and certified compostable Ecoware wooden forks. The forks are made from FSC (www.fsc.org - the global standard for sustainably harvested wood products) certified all natural Birchwood and without chemical additives. The forks are produced in China and imported by Ecoware Biodegradables Inc. who provides cutlery wholesale for $39.99 for a 1000pc box (plus shipping) or retail $4.50 a pack.

My review: Right away I noticed how lightweight and thin the forks are. After several uses I also noticed that they are durable and because they are not bulky like some plastic utensils, they travel easily too. I also noticed that the forks have a wide handle. Why is this important to me? 1. It’s easier for my kids to hold, good grip. 2. If I wanted to, and I do and did, instead of trashing these eco-friendly disposable forks after a single use (or more since I hand was mine to use again) I can collect them and then label them and use them as plant label. Prong side down I can easily dig them into the dirt to help me label the plants in my garden.

The forks can also be used on picnics and at camp. I’d love it if my kids’ cafeteria also took to them. According to Amber, Co-Founder, Ecoware Biodegradables Inc., they can also be used at weddings. Look at how elegant they look in the picture above.

Unfortunately, the texture of the fork was a bit course to my children and me. I found that I needed to wet the forks before using them in order to make them smoother to use. Once wet the coarseness was gone and they were great to use. If these forks could be made so that their texture was smoother, maybe coated with an eco-friendly oil, I think they would be a big hit in lunch boxes, at weddings, on picnics, parties, girl scout meetings, at camps and in purses everywhere.

The Giveaway: Want to try Ecoware wooden cutlery for yourself? Wonderful! Ecoware is giving away a 25pc pack of each utensil - fork, spoons and knives to one of my lucky winners. In case you missed it each pack retails for $4.50. They are available online at Green Planet Parties for purchase: http://www.greenplanetparties.com/category_32/2/Tableware.htm

If you would like a chance to win this planet-friendly prize visit Ecoware to see what else they do that’s green and then leave me a comment letting me know how this prize would help you. You can get extra entries for following us through GFC or Subscribing via email. Make sure to let me know in the comments. Deadline: This giveaway will end on Dec 6, 2010. I will choose the winner using Random.org. US entries only. Please make sure your email is on your profile or leave it in your comment. If you win and I cannot contact you then the prize goes to the next person.

Disclosure "I have received these forks free from Ecoware Biodegradables Inc.".

Still Down

I have a chance to get online briefly and wanted to let everyone know that my computer is still not fixed. Time, money and whatever else can get in the way has gotten in the way of getting it fixed. Our van decided to not start a couple of weeks ago and medical bills poured in so we had to take care of those things first. I'm hoping to set up a way I can use my in-laws' computer or just go to work with my husband and use his computer because I have got some awesome giveaways lined up and feel horribly that I haven't been able to get them up for these wonderful companies.

Thanks for the patience! Send some prayers my way that we get the money to fix the computer and I hope to be back really soon!

Joy

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Joy is a stay-at-home-mom to three daughters. She is the wife of a worship leader & youth pastor. She runs her own Etsy shop selling handmade, hand-stamped sterling jewelry. Joy has taken courses in journalism, play writing, poetry, was in Honors English throughout school and has had small publications made of her work (mostly poetry).

Soapnut Review Winner is....

The Winner of the Soapnut Review Giveaway is Kate! Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who left a comment. Keep an eye out for future eco-friendly product reviews and giveaways. Remember to please make sure it is easy for me to contact you or I wont be able to let you know you are the winner and the next person in line will get the prize. Either have an email on your profile or leave it on the comment.