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My Very Favorite Products of 2012

December 31, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

I have had so much fun over the past few months highlighting my favorite products of 2010 and 2011. And now I come to my favorite products of 2012! This list was the most difficult of them all to create. After initially going through all my posts I had 42 products that made me squeal with delight. Sheesh! I painstakingly narrowed it down to 16 products that I want to give one more shout out to as we close our 2012 year.

Do keep in mind that any positive review on my site is completely honest. What you see below is the cream of the crop for my family. These are the products that have surprised us the most, given the most delight, and enjoy the most use. They are in no particular order.

1. Everyday Minerals. This mineral makeup company has generous sizes of product, outstanding prices, beautiful colors, and coverage to match premium brands.

2.  Rubbermaid Hidden Recycler. While it is petite, it is the perfect fit for our small kitchen. Keeps our recyclables out of sight. Lots of love for this product!

3. Jahgoo Infant Bath. Another great space saver for those of you with babies 0-6 months. Layah recently outgrew it. We all were quite sad about that!

4. Attribute Apples. I continue to be amazed at how frequently Darah requests to play with this game. She loves sorting them by size, color and other attributes.

5. LifeLock. This service has helped keep identity theft at bay and also kept me alert to other potential threats, such as registered sex offenders in my neighborhood. I’ve been so pleased with the service provided and absolutely believe that it is worth the cost and then some.

6. Vanessa Gade Jewelry. This designer has a true gift. My necklace from her collection is one of my most beloved material possessions.

7. Pork. Yes, as in the other white meat. I had the opportunity to try out several different cuts of pork this year. We weren’t pork eaters before that time, but now we are. It’s delicious and surprisingly versatile!

8. Bobble Water Pitcher. I have purchased replacement filters for my Bobble since reviewing it because we use it multiple times, every single day. It has a permanent home in our fridge!

9. Ruggable Rug. I can’t say enough what a genius idea a washable rug is. The white shag run we own has been washed several times and still looks absolutely fantastic.

10. Beaba Babypote. This nifty container gives me the opportunity make squeeze pouches for my girls. It saves me a ton of money!

11. Shower Hug. This is the item that pregnant women and brand new moms have no idea they need until they try it. It is bliss!

12. First Years Feeding Chair. We ditched our old high chair that was twice as expensive and took up twice as much room. This chair rocks!

13. Dexas Ice Cube Trays. These bad boys make the biggest ice cubes ever, and they are super space efficient in the freezer. I use them daily!

14. Swaddlebees Simplex One Size Diaper. I’ve seen some amazing diapers, but this one takes the cake. It’s the whole package, folks.

15. Hot Dots. These flash cards are fantastic for learning and independent play. They travel well, too! I’ve bought several more packs and even bought some as gifts.

16. Olay Products. I have been extremely impressed with how well everything I’ve tried from this company works. My skin looks great!

There’s my list! Did you have any standout favorite products you used for the first time in 2012? I’d love to hear about them!

Filed Under: My Favorite Finds · Tagged: attribute apples, beaba babypote, best product reviews, best products of 2012, Bobble Water Pitcher, Dexas Ice Cube Trays, everyday minerals, First Years Feeding Chair, hot dots, jahgoo infant bath, life lock, olay products, pork, rubbermaid hidden recycler, ruggable rug, shower hug, Swaddlebees Simplex One Size Diaper, Vanessa Gade Jewelry

Join Me for a Twitter Party with the National Pork Board! Great Prizes!

March 10, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Remember last month when I featured all those delicious and healthy recipes using different cuts of pork? I had so much fun with that campaign, and I’m excited to tell you that the fun is continuing this month with a Twitter party! Your truly will be one of the co-hosts along with the National Pork Board and The Motherhood. We are celebrating March, which is Nutrition Month! What better way to do so than by talking about all the lean cuts of meat that come from pork!

Join me on March 13th from 7-8pm EST as we discuss how we develop and maintain healthy habit and ensure that our meat choices are lean and full of flavor! We’ll get to dish on recipes that we have enjoyed (like the ones featured last month!). And don’t forget the prizes! 5 prize packs will be given away throughout the hour based on responses to trivia questions. Prize packs will include GENEROUS coupons for pork, as well as other items to help you live a healthy lifestyle (such as a meat thermometer, a reusable grocery tote and a water bottle).

Please join me at the #PorkPledge Good and Good for You Twitter Party on 3/13! You can RSVP now to make sure you are eligible for the prizes! I recommend signing into Tweet Grid to follow the party (makes Twitter parties SO much easier to follow!). Just follow @AllAboutPork and @theMotherhood and use the #PorkPledge hashtag during the party. Can’t wait to see you all there!

Want to invite your friends? Simply post this on your Twitter or Facebook feed to encourage more folks to attend. Twitter parties are even more fun when your friends are there with you! 🙂

“Join me 3/13 at 7p ET for a #PorkPledge Twitter party! Win prizes and swap recipes and healthy eating tips! RSVP:http://twtvite.com/gku88u“

Filed Under: Featured, General · Tagged: #PorkPledge, different pork cuts, good and good for you, national pork board, nutrition month, pork, pork be inspired, pork board recipes, pork the other white meat, twitter party

Challenging My Family to Try Pork! This Week: Pork Tenderloin

January 28, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · 5 Comments

I’m participating in a really interesting challenge that has been launched by the National Pork Board. It’s called the “Good and Good for You Challenge.” The goal is to inspire us all to make healthy lifestyle choices in 2012. Pork is an excellent lean meat option that our family rarely chooses, which is why I wanted to take part in this challenge. I thought it would be fun to expand my culinary horizons. We’ve already drastically reduced our intake of less lean meats over the past few years, but honestly, all that’s really meant is that we mostly eat ground turkey! It’s time to think outside of the gobble and see what pork has to offer!

Publix is the retail partner for the Good and Good for You Challenge, and as such, they are offering a special sale on a different cut of pork each week from now through February 22nd. This week you can score pork tenderloin for just $4.99/pound, which is a most excellent buy! Here’s the cut I purchased, which actually includes 2 one pound tenderloins in the package. I used for one dinner and stuck one in the freezer to use later in the week.

The only thing I’ve ever made with pork tenderloin is carnitas in the slow cooker, so I needed some new ideas. Fortunately, there’s a website just for such a purpose! It’s called porkbeinspired.com and it is full of great recipes that your family and your waistline will love! Since I’ve been craving guacamole like nobody’s business lately, this recipe for pork tenderloin sliders with three sauces really caught my attention. I also liked just how fast it came together. Did you know that thinly sliced pork tenderloin can cook up in as little as 3 minutes? SWEET!!!! The recipe is found below. You can make all three sauces to give your family plenty of options, or you can just opt for one, like we did (guacamole, of course!). 

Pork Tenderloin Sliders with Three Sauces

(note: I’m only including the sauce we used, but you can see all 3 options on the original recipe)

Recipe courtesy of the National Pork Board

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 3 minutes

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin (1 pound), trimmed

1 teaspoon salt-free seasoning

2 teaspoons olive oil

12 mini (1 1/2-x-2-inches) rolls, split and toasted

6 romaine lettuce leaves, torn

2 plum tomatoes, each cut into 6 slices*

Directions:

Cut pork about 1/2-inch thick. Sprinkle pork on all sides with the seasoning. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, turning once, until the pork is browned, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side.

Place the tenderloin in the rolls, top with lettuce, tomatoes, and sauce of your choice.

*Tomatoes can be served raw or broiled for more intense flavor

SAUCE

Spicy Avocado Sauce:

1 small ripe avocado, halved, pitted, and peeled

1 tablespoon minced jalapeno, including seeds

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro

Place the avocado in a small bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher; add remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed.

Serving Suggestion:

You can substitute the romaine lettuce with arugula, baby greens, baby spinach, or cabbage instead.  Make all three sauces so everyone has a choice, or choose your favorite bottled sauce, such as barbecue or honey mustard sauce. Serve the sliders with baked sweet potato fries.

Here’s a pic of how our version turned out. It isn’t as pretty as the picture above, but I still thought it was a rather attractive sandwich!

Wanna hear my verdict? This was absolutely DELICIOUS! AND…I love how quickly it came together. It is perfect for a weeknight. Also, this is very kid-friendly. The size is not overwhelming for little hands. There’s no doubt that this is going into my recipe rotation, pork tenderloin and all!

If you live in an area with a Publix, get yourself to the store and pick up some pork tenderloin! The price is right, and the recipe possibilities are enormous! I feel so inspired to try out this particular cut with several different recipes I found on porkbeinspired.com. The next recipe I’m going to try in a few days with my remaining tenderloin is the pork tenderloin cancun with chorizo potatoes. Doesn’t that look incredible??? I’m also going to spend some time on this website learning about the different cuts of pork and different cooking methods. Since I’m new to using pork, I’ve got a lot to learn, and its great to have all the resources I need in just one spot.

If you’d like to learn more about making healthy eating choices by using pork, be sure to follow Pork Be Inspired on Facebook as well as Twitter for great tips, as well as contest info!

Disclosure: I am participation in this campaign in conjunction with The Motherhood, and am being compensated for my time. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.


Filed Under: Featured, Parenting Tips · Tagged: @allaboutpork, cooking pork pork loin recipes, cuts of pork, good for you foods, healthy pork, is pork healthy, pork, pork good for you, pork recipe, pork recipes, pork tenderloin, recipes pork

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Welcome!


Grab your beverage of choice (mine is iced coffee) and let's hang out for a spell! I'm Tiffany, and I've rambunctious little girls and a fierce desire to share any tip and trick I can find to make lives with little ones a bit less hectic and a lot more fun. [Read more...]

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