SweetLeaf Sweet Drops Cola - Review

I have never been a big soda drinker. Yes, I do enjoy the occasional chilled Pepsi or a Coke with a piping hot pizza or a spicy dish. The tart, almost bitter taste of the cola somehow complements a hot, spicy meal and I might indulge myself with one. The key word being indulge, because in my humble opinion, a soda - it doesn't matter what brand is it, doesn't qualify as an everyday consumable item. Other than the fact that soda has absolutely no nutritional value, some brands have about 40 grams of sugar in each serving, that's almost 8 teaspoons of sugar !! Add in the caffeine content and you have an addictive drink that replaces real nutrition with empty calories. Even if you go in for the diet varieties, they almost always use sugar substitutes which are no nutrition powerhouses themselves!

That is just for adults, I shudder every time I see kids guzzling these sodas down. Just think about childhood obesity, nutrition deficiency, dental decay and you will understand why! That's why, when I got the opportunity to review SweetLeaf Cola flavored sweet drops through Moms Meet, I was a little intrigued and a little curious as well. I had of course heard of stevia sugar substitute, I knew that it was plant based and was considered safer amongst all the sugar substitutes on the market, but I had never tried it myself. I always get a bitter aftertaste in my mouth, no matter the brand of the sugar substitute and I just end up using real sugar in lesser amounts.

A few facts about the SweetLeaf cola drops that I came across are:

• SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia Sweet Drops Cola is a healthy alternative to traditional sodas.
• All you need to do to enjoy a refreshing beverage is to add 2 - 3 drops of the Cola sweet drops to every ounce of sparkling water.
• These drops are portable and very convenient.
• SweetLeaf Sweet Drops contain no carbohydrates, sugar alcohols, calories, methanol, aspartame or sucralose. They are all-natural and gluten-free.
• They are made with USDA certified organic stevia.

I bought a bottle of sparkling water from my local grocery store and immediately refrigerated it so that I could have a cool base for my cola drops. You could also use ice cubes, if you preferred that.
I then added about 8 - 10 drops of the liquid cola drops, stirred it well. I was pleasantly surprised when I could not detect the metallic aftertaste that I usually experience with all sugar substitutes. The taste was refreshing and the drink was fizzy due to the sparkling water. I could see how it could be used as a substitute for traditional sodas, especially by those who consume caffeinated beverages throughout the day, instead of water. I wouldnt say that using these cola drops would give you a beverage that would taste exactly like traditional soda. It doesnt. But, given that it contains 0 calories, no chemicals and is all natural, it would be worth it to just try and see for yourself.

The retail price is $4.39 for 37 servings and $14.99 for 100 servings. You could also visit SweetLeaf online and use the coupon code ColaMD at checkout to take 30% off your online order. You would also get free shipping with this deal.

Please visit the following links for more information about SweetLeaf.
www.SweetLeaf.com
www.ShopSweetLeaf.com
www.facebook.com/sweetleafstevia
www.twitter.com/SweetLeafStevia
www.pinterest.com/sweetleafstevia

Disclaimer: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetsSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

Review : good2grow juices and veggie blends !

The days when juices were an occasional treat are long gone. Nowadays, parents all over have an inordinate number of choices when it comes to these ubiquitous treats. Picnics, birthday parties, casual gatherings, school lunches, summer camps...there is just no end to where juice boxes will make an appearance. For all their omnipresence and choice, the challenge lies in choosing a product that is not laden with artificial flavors, colors and added sweeteners. When you eliminate these culprits from the ingredient list, then there isn't too much of a choice.
When I got the opportunity to try fruit juices from the good2grow line of healthy beverages, I was curious. Since I am always on the lookout for food and drink items that I can serve my kids without any qualms, I was intrigued by the information that I had about good2grow.



The packaging was pretty unique in that a single serve bottle came with a character top which utilizes a patented spill proof design. These tops could then be reused if you purchased a refill pack of juice bottles. The 'SippaTops' come in dozens of character options such as Disney, Pixar, Nickelodeon, Marvel, etc.
I purchased a single serve bottle with a character from 'Cars' and also a refill pack. My kids were as intrigued and thrilled as I was to see this product and couldn't wait to try it out ! They loved the flavor and I loved that it was spill proof ! This way, as long as the top was tightened properly, I didnt have to worry about my kids taking their juice bottles into the living areas and inadvertently spilling the juice all over the carpet !



The good points of this juice are :

• These juices are made from 100% fruit juice, as well as fruit and veggie blends. They do not contain added sugar, HFCS or any artificial additives or preservatives.
• The juices come in 6 delicious varieties to suit all palettes.
• They are sold in 3 different sizes ( 4 oz., 6 oz., and 8 oz.). Choosing the right size for your child becomes much easier.
• As I mentioned above, the various 'SippaTop' character tops give a uniqueness to the juice bottles. The caps are also reusable and dishwasher safe.
• All the bottles are BPA-free, non-GMO and recyclable.
• The veggie blends contain less sugar than traditional juices and also contain one combined serving of fruits and vegetables.
• These products are easily available at grocery stores, mass retailers and drug stores including Kroger, Safeway, H-E-B, Walmart, Kmart, Walgreens, CVS, Toys"R"Us, etc.
• It would be convenient to send these single serve bottles as part of a school lunch, occasionally.

The aspects of this product that I didn't like so much:

• Although I get that the character tops are attractive to kids, I think its a lot of unnecessary packaging. I have never had to bribe my kids to drink juice and in an age where people are trying to be more conscious about their carbon footprint, single serve juice bottles create a lot of landfill.
• As a parent of two school going boys, I have come to realize that even the best fruit juices, without any additional sugars and artificial additives, are not the best drinks to offer to our kids on a daily basis. Juices have almost no fiber, a lot of sugar(even if its natural) and just add calories without providing the best nutrients. 

But I believe that all treats are permissible in moderation and I make no exception when it comes to juices. So in that regard, I would feel pretty good about offering the good2grow line of juices to my kids when it is accompanied by healthy food choices which include protein and healthy fats.

Other notes:

• The retail price for a single serve is $2.49 to $2.99. Refill packs range from $2.99 to $3.49. As a conscientious food shopper, I would not pay for single serve juice boxes on a regular basis because buying a big bottle of natural fruit juice is much more economical and "green" ! 
• Refrigeration of the products is not required but is recommended for better taste.

For more information, please visit the following resources: 

good2grow.com

twitter.com/good2growdrinks

facebook.com/good2growdrinks

instagram.com/good2growdrinks

If you would like to receive a free refill pack with the purchase of a single serve beverage, visit win.good2grow.com/mmblogger and enter to win a themed birthday party for your children.
Also be sure to check out the social media experience StoryStictcher at good2grow.com/storystitcher and enter to win a $5000 scholarship and free coupons.

Disclaimer : I received free vouchers for this product from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to review this product and post my opinions on my blog. My opinions are completely my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

Annie's Homegrown Rising Crust Pizza - Review and Giveaway (3 winners!)

                                                This giveaway is now closed !
As a family, we are not big pizza enthusiasts. In a country, where the pizza industry is worth a whopping $30 billion and people eat around 350 slices of pizza every second, that might come as a big shock :-)
The biggest reason is because when I was growing up in India in the 80's and 90's, my parents were blissfully unaware of this pie. It was only after I started working in a software company that I got introduced to this Italian specialty.
After I came to the US, it was as if there was a pizza explosion ! There were pizzerias at every corner, lots of advertisements for various stores, pizza brought in for sustaining the software development teams during long hours at the office and even served at birthday parties ! Although I do enjoy an occasional slice of vegetarian pizza, I am not a very big fan. My son seems to enjoy pizza, however, so we either order in pizza or bake it at home so that we can control the ingredients that go on it.
The main reason that I am apprehensive about ordering in pizza is because I am not always certain about the cheese that is used. Specifically, the enzymes used to make the cheese - I am trying to avoid products containing rennet and its difficult to verify if a company uses cheese made using animal enzymes.
So when I got the opportunity to try out Annie's Homegrown Rising Crust pizza through Moms Meet, I decided to give it a try because I like most of Annie's Products. They are all natural, do not have any artificial flavors, colors or additives and the products specify that they use cheese made using vegetable rennet.
I picked up the 4 - cheese pizza from Whole Foods (The only other vegetarian option available was Spinach Mushroom and we are not that fond of mushrooms!)



I baked the pizza according to the instructions to get a crisper crust and 20 minutes later, my family and I
enjoyed piping hot pizza. My 5 year old really enjoyed his pizza dinner! We liked it as well. The crust was pretty crisp (I could have probably left it in the oven for a couple of minutes longer to get it even crisper !).
There was a sufficiently thick layer of cheese and the pizza was big enough for our family of 2 adults and a 5 year old. The one year old was sneaking in little bites of the crust after his own dinner ;-)

The overall taste was pretty comparable to pizzeria pizza, although I would have loved to have had more vegetarian options. I would definitely buy this when I wanted to appease my son's craving for pizza.
I liked that fact that all ingredients used were organic with 8gms of whole grain per serving and with 100% real cheese made from milk not treated with rBST. There are 4 different varieties available and these can be purchased in the freezer section of Whole Foods at a retain price of $9.99

For more information about Annie's and their products visit the following sites :
Annie's Homegrown website 
Annie's Facebook page

And now for the giveaway ! Three readers will get the opportunity to try out any one of Annie's Homegrown Rising Crust pizza for free. They will each win one voucher for a free pizza which they can redeem at Whole Foods ! This giveaway will run till Apr 19th, 2012. The giveaway is open to US residents only. Please leave a comment telling me what your favorite pizza topping is and dont forget to include your email id ! 



Disclaimer: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.