Shrinking Sisters Reviews

A Publix perimeter treasure hunt (and gift card giveaway!)

Another chance to be a fangirl over Publix -- gotta love a grocery special that encourages shoppers to focus on the perimeter of the store. That's where all the healthiest items hang out.

Starting April 24, shop the perimeter of Publix to and load up your cart with fresh produce and proteins. I always start in the produce section, then make my way up and down the aisles for the extras while finishing up in the meat and dairy sections and finally frozen. (I am an organized FIEND when grocery shopping.)

When you purchase participating products, you can save on store-brand items such as bagged salad, chicken breasts, eggs and fruit. And before you head out, visit  www.freshsavingsevent.com to download and print.

Savings on fresh foods are only available through May 8.

And if you haven't tried Publix's digital coupons and you have a smartphone, you're missing out on a really simple and cool way to get extra deals. You don't even have to bring your phone with you -- all you do is punch in your phone number when you check out and it'll automatically deduct the coupons you "clip." (Find out more about that HERE.)

And here's the best part -- I'm giving away a $25 Publix giftcard (go spend it on something healthy and tasty). 

My favorite thing in the produce section right now are those little mangos, which are usually a buck apiece. They're great because the pit inside is really small and they're pretty easy to peel. A bowl of mango mixed with Greek yogurt is a lovely thing.

What's your favorite perimeter item? Let me know in the comments below by 5 p.m. SATURDAY, APRIL 20 and I'll choose a winner.

Disclosure: The information and prize were provided by General Mills and Publix through MyBlogSpark. I was also given a giftcard and I bought kale -- lots and lots of kale.

Running Out? Run In (and win a Publix gift card)

Publix Fan Girl here again with another chance to win a $25 Publix gift card. And even if you don't win, you can easily earn a $5 Publix gift card with the store's Running Out? Run In event, which features brands from General Mills and Procter & Gamble.

It's all meant to get us to think differently about running in for a few quick things at the grocery store. Convenience stores are anything but convenient. They're cramped, overpriced and have a really limited selection of items. So why not stop in where you usually shop, especially now that some Publix stores have added self-checkout stations. You can grab a tube of Crest or a box of Cheerios, check yourself out and be back in your car in 5 minutes -- that's convenient.

More deets on the deal:

• Now through May 23, look for the “Running Out? Run In” event at Publix to take advantage of savings on brands from General Mills and Procter & Gamble.
• Also, look in stores for more than $15 in coupon savings – coupons are valid through June 2.
• Receive a $5 Publix gift card to use on your next shopping trip when you purchase $30 or more in participating items during the event (now through May 23); simply mail in the rebate form found in-store or online at runningoutrunin.com along with your original receipt(s).
• For more details on this rebate, visit RunningOutRunIn.com.

So, that Publix $25 gift card -- how to win? Just let me know in the comments below what you're always running out of. For me, it's snack foods, since we house the Teen-age Eating Machine. Deadline for the giveaway is Friday, June 1 at 8 p.m. ET.

Disclosure:  The Publix gift card, information and additional gift card have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Publix Italian Days is back -- want to win a gift card?

 

Break out the pasta strainers, Southern babies, it's time for Publix Italian Days. I'm a big fan of making sausage and peppers with Publix Greenwise hot Italian chicken sausage. I saute a bunch of red and green bell peppers, red onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Then slice the sausage into rounds, toss it into the pan with the vegetables and saute until done.

 

It can go over anything from pasta to rice to a baked potato to slice 'n' bake polenta (really good).

During Italian Days,which starts today and runs through Feb. 29, you can find special prices and coupons on brands including Progresso, Green Giant and Muir Glen.

You can also enter the Taste the Tradition Italian Days Sweepstakes for a chance to be one of 500 shoppers who will win a $100 Publix gift card, sponsored by General Mills.

To enter to win the Taste the Tradition Italian Days Sweepstakes and download  coupons and recipes, look in-store or follow the instructions below:

1. Click - Stay up to date with the latest General Mills promotions happening at Publix, by visiting ClickCallMail.com. Once you´re registered and logged in, you can participate in any of the current promotions.
2. Call - If you´d prefer to enter the sweepstakes and participate in other promotions via telephone, feel free to call the General Mills hotline, at 800-627-6059, and be sure to say that you want to enter the 2012 Italian Days Sweepstakes. Please be sure to provide your complete contact information (Full name/address/ZIP code/phone number).
3. Mail - If you prefer to participate via mail-in entry, print and mail your complete contact information (Full Name/address/ZIP code/phone number) to 2012 Italian Days Sweepstakes, P.O. Box 44257, Atlanta, GA 30336.

And, to sweeten the deal, I'm giving away a $25 Publix gift card!

To enter

Leave a comment below, telling me your favorite healthy Italian dish. (Mine is a pumpkin risotto I found in the cookbook Weight Watchers: Simply the Best Italian.) Contest deadline is noon ET on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. (Giveaway over.) We'll choose one winner at random by pointing blindfolded at the computer screen after being spun around 50 times on the office chair.

Extra entries

• Subscribe to Shrinking Sisters.
• Follow me on Twitter.
• Become a fan of Shrinking Sisters on Facebook.

Disclosure: The Publix Club gift card, information and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 notebook: Week 4

Thank you to Ubisoft for providing me with a copy of Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 and sponsoring this fitness diary series. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own.

("Is it heavy?" I asked him. "Mom, it's virtual!")

Unlike many fitness games for Xbox, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 can really involve the family with fitness activities that don't feel like exercise at all.

So this week I roped the kid into demonstrating a couple. (It's much easier to take pictures when someone else is doing the working out.)

First up was Stack 'Em Up, which was a favorite of ours in the first version of the game. The 2012 version ups the fitness by making the balance board larger and able to hold more bricks, but you have to balance on one leg, which is great for core strengthening and improving balance.

Wall Breaker is another kid fave -- you punch big bricks that shatter into pieces. You punch left and right across your body to smash 'em. Later on, you can kick them and knee them, too. He mastered Wall Breaker, as you can see by his glowing gold visage at left.

Both activities are great upper-body workouts and help work on core strength and balance. And the kids will never know it was exercise.

Mom and Dad will also find it cathartic to punch away the stress of holiday traffic and last-minute shopping (just sayin'...)

Exergames like this will be increasingly important to get young gamers off the couch and help stem the tide of childhood obesity.

Success!

Want to win your own copy?

At the end of my five-week series, I'll choose a random comment from the five weeks of posts, and that person will win a copy of Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012, so comment away!

Great Deals on Great Meals: A Publix giftcard giveaway

Can you believe summer's almost over? (It's a little hard to believe for those of us who live in the Sunbelt since there won't be a chill in the air until, oh, December.)

Anyway!

Publix is getting families ready for school and all that entails (like those family dinners where you ask the kids what happened at school and try to drag out details from the teenagers) with its Great Deals on Great Meals promo, with deals on food and ideas for home-cooked meal.

From Aug. 18-23, look for the Publix Great Deals on Great Meals event at stores and online to take advantage of savings on popular brands.

Visit GreatDealsOnGreatMeals.com to find recipes for family favorites like Blueberry-Oat Pancakes, Hearty Chicken Tortilla Soup, and Orange Picante Chicken (and yes, those recipes have reasonable nutrition stats, I checked).

You can also download $12 in coupons for breakfast, lunch and dinner products. The coupons are valid through Sept. 4, 2011.

But suppose you need a little more incentive to check out the Publix deals -- how about a $25 Publix giftcard?

All you need to do is let me know, in a comment below, your family's favorite healthy meal. I'll randomly choose a comment and e-mail the winner of the Publix giftcard.

Extra entries (not required but extra fun!):

• Tweet this message: Win a Publix giftcard from #myblogspark and @its_gail of Shrinking Sisters http://goo.gl/NS265 (1 entry)
• Like Shrinking Sisters on Facebook (1 entry)
• Give @its_gail some +K on Klout (1 entry per +K)

Get those comments in by Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. ET.

Disclosure: The Publix gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Talking sweat and science with Gatorade

(I didn't even have to set up this photo. This is what the little league dugout looks like all the time.)

What did you do Friday? I spent the afternoon perusing slides of urine colors and sweat stains. And it was fascinating -- really!

I took part in a blogger conference call with Gatorade Sports Science Institute scientist Lisa Esposito who discussed the science of sports nutrition for young athletes.

I've got one of those -- my 12-year-old son plays baseball and golf, sweats buckets and goes through a lot of Gatorade year round.

We usually stick with the lower-calorie G2 line (that way, diet-obsessed Mom can grab a bottle for the gym). But I also learned of Gatorade's new G Series FIT line, which only has 20 calories per bottle. All the Gatorade beverages (the during-workout drinks in the G Series) have electrolytes to replenish the nutrients lost during a sweaty workout.

This is where I learned about those sweat stains. People who leave sweat stains on their clothes (or baseball caps), lose more electrolytes than regular "sweaters." Those electrolytes are crucial for performance and to prevent muscle cramping.

Now, about those "pee charts." It's all about proper hydration and making sure your urine is light colored -- that way you know you're drinking enough fluids. We learned that many kids actually start out their game or practice slightly dehydrated and if they don't properly hydrate, will finish the game really dehydrated. So make your kids start loading up on fluids in the car on the way to the field. They'll perform better if they're well hydrated.

If you want to learn more about the science behind Gatorade, check out the Gatorade Moms site. You can learn about the entire product line, pick up tips and advice, meet the experts and the Gatorade Moms, the nurturing women behind the sports stars.

We got to speak with one of those moms, Stephanie Hamm, mom of soccer superstar and Olympian Mia Hamm. Stephanie raised six kids and did her share of Sports Mom duties. We talked about motivation, support, nutrition and how to juggle it all. Hey, if she could do it with six kids, I can certainly do it with one!

You can learn about the Hamm family's sports history by checking out this video.

Now for a fabulous prize

I'm giving away a $100 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods. That'll buy a lot of athletic supporters. (Does your kid leave them all over the house like mine does?) All you need to do is tell me:

What kind of Sports Mom are you? Baseball? Soccer? Cheerleading? All of the above? And how do you and your kids juggle it all?

The rules

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:

• a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
• b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
• c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
• d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

Official sweepstakes dates: 6/1/11 to -6/30/11.

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by email.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

There are other chances to win -- check out the Prizes & Promotions section.

Visit the Official Rules.

And visit the official site.

Unleash your inner Biggest Loser fangirl (giveaway!)

As you may know (if you're a fan of The Biggest Loser), the show has launched a clothing line -- the BL Body activewear collection, available on HSN. I've written about the line before, but recently I got to check out a couple items.

The weather down here has been unseasonably sweltery but last week the temperature dipped low enough for me to try out the BL Body Color Blocked Hoodie in black with pink accents. The line runs very true to size and you also can feel the shaping technology -- very supportive and flattering. The jacket was long enough to cover the hips and the sleeves have thumb holes in the cuffs to keep your hands warm but able to use a smartphone. (You can fold over the cuff if you don't want to rock that look.) There also are zippered pockets, which are great for stashing your keys when you hit the track for a power walk.

But here's the super cool part -- I'm giving away a jacket (retail value $72.50).

To enter

Leave a comment below, telling me your favorite Biggest Loser contestant of all time. It can be this season or someone from seasons past. Contest deadline is Feb. 28.

When you comment, please make sure there's a way for me to contact you should you be the winner. (The comment system can be a little slow to load, so make sure you're commenting to the IntenseDebate System.) We'll choose one winner at random by pointing blindfolded at the computer screen after being spun around 50 times on the office chair. Don't worry about jacket size -- we'll deal with that after you win.

Extra entries

• Subscribe to Shrinking Sisters.
• Follow Shrinking Sister Gail on Twitter.
• Become a fan of Shrinking Sisters on Facebook.
• Tweet about this giveaway using the phrase Enter to win a Biggest Loser BL Body jacket by Feb. 28 http://goo.gl/UndON 

Disclosure: BL Body provided a sample jacket and will send an additional one for the giveaway. No other compensation was received.

Don't forget to enter our other giveaways this month

You can enter to win a Kobo ereader or a Green Giant gift pack.

A little light reading for the treadmill? (Kobo giveaway!)

We're giving away one doozy of a gift to Shrinking Sisters readers this week -- a Kobo wireless ereader, which retails for $139. Very sleek with a chic quilted back in gray.

The Kobo can fit into nearly any briefcase, handbag or gym bag. And you don't have to be at the mercy of the wrinkled, sweaty pile of old magazines at the gym. It'll also fit into that little spot on the treadmill, elliptical or exercise bike. It comes prefilled with a bunch of classic books -- everything from Jane Austen to Moby Dick.

After you purchase eBooks, Kobo lets you read them on multiple devices (Kobo, desktop apps, iOS, Blackberry and Android). It also has built-in wi-fi, 1GB memory and a slot for an additional SD memory card for even more books. And you can even borrow ebooks from your local library.

I've tried it out and it makes for easy workout reading. There are no virtual pages to "flip" -- all you do is click the button on the lower right of the reader. And it'll keep your place on the reader, even when it's powered off. I just downloaded Janet Jackson's new book, to see how she slimmed down and keeps healthy.

So, how to win this hot little number?

To enter

Leave a comment below, telling me your favorite thing to read while exercising. Contest deadline is Feb. 28. When you comment, please make sure there's a way for me to contact you should you be the winner. (The comment system can be a little slow to load, so make sure you're commenting to the IntenseDebate System.) We'll choose one winner at random by pointing blindfolded at the computer screen after being spun around 50 times on the office chair.

Extra entries

• Subscribe to Shrinking Sisters.
• Follow Shrinking Sister Gail on Twitter.
• Become a fan of Shrinking Sisters on Facebook.
• Tweet about this giveaway using the phrase Enter to win a Kobo ereader by Feb. 28 http://goo.gl/I0VGL 
  

Disclosure: Kobo provided a sample ereader and additional one for the giveaway.

 

Shrinking Sisters checks out Green Giant boxed veggies (giveaway!)

So you're trying to lose weight and you're assuming that plain, flavorless vegetables will be your lot in life for the time being.

Not necessarily. Green Giant has more than two dozen varieties of its boxed frozen vegetables, and its Broccoli & Cheese Sauce is only 60 calories (2PointsPlus) per serving. A serving of it over a baked potato would make a great quick lunch.

Or you can do what Hungry Girl Lisa Lillien does and make a great broccoli-cheese soup with it. Her original recipe uses the Just for One! size veggies, but I doubled the recipe with the regular box of vegetables.

All it uses is a package of Green Giant Broccoli & Cheese Sauce, 1 cup light (plain) soymilk, 2 wedges Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese, chopped into pieces, and salt and pepper, to taste. All you do is cook the vegetables and put them into a blender with the other ingredients -- voila!

"Like" Green Giant on Facebook or follow the Jolly Green Giant on Twitter for more information and recipe ideas, or visit greengiant.com.

And now, the giveaway

Shrinking Sisters is dishing up a Green Giant prize pack that includes a coupon for one box of Green Giant vegetables, an insulated tote bag, groovy green silicone spoon, serving bowl and a pedometer.

To enter

Leave a comment below, telling me how you're fitting more vegetables into your diet. Contest deadline is Feb. 28March 8. When you comment, please make sure there's a way for me to contact you should you be the winner. (The comment system can be a little slow to load, so make sure you're commenting to the IntenseDebate System.) We'll choose one winner at random by pointing blindfolded at the computer screen after being spun around 50 times on the office chair.

Extra entries

• Subscribe to Shrinking Sisters.
• Follow Shrinking Sister Gail on Twitter.
• Become a fan of Shrinking Sisters on Facebook.
• Tweet about this giveaway using the phrase Enter to win a Green Giant Prize Pack Giveaway by Feb. 28 http://goo.gl/xraGx #myblogspark

Disclosure: Green Giant provided a sample prize pack and information through MyBlogSpark. No other compensation was received.

It's time for the Publix Italian Days Sweepstakes

Publix is my go-to grocery store, and it's not just because it's the closest to my home. Its longtime slogan has been "Where shopping is a pleasure" and I agree.

When I lived in California, I missed Publix. When I lived in Delaware I missed it, too. They bag your groceries for you and then help you load them into your car. Who else does that anymore?

It's time for Italian Days at Publix. From Feb. 17  through March 2, visit your local Publix to take advantage of savings on General Mills brands such as Progresso, Green Giant, Pillsbury, Muir Glen and Totino’s, and save $5 when you purchase 20 participating products.

You can also enter the Publix Italian Days Sweepstakes, sponsored by General Mills, for a chance to win one of four grand prizes of $10,000 worth of free groceries or one of 200 $100 Publix gift cards.

There are three ways to enter for a chance to win the sweepstakes:

1. Click: Stay up to date with the latest General Mills promotions happening at Publix by visiting ClickCallMail.com. Once you’re registered and logged in, you can participate in any current promotions. You also can download coupons from General Mills brands.


2. Call: If you’d prefer to enter the sweepstakes and participate in other promotions via telephone, feel free to call the General Mills/Publix hotline, at 1.800.627.6059, and be sure to say that you want to enter the Publix Italian Days Sweepstakes. Please be sure to provide your complete contact information (Full name/address/zip code/phone #).


3. Mail: If you prefer to participate via mail-in entry, print and mail your complete contact information (Full Name/address/zip code/phone #) to P.O. Box 43425 Atlanta, GA 30336 and be sure to write “Publix Italian Days Sweepstakes” on the outside of the envelope.

Disclosure: General Mills gave me a Publix gift card as part of the MyBlogSpark program.