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Valentine’s Date (Breakfast-Style) with SPLENDA and Healthy Essentials!

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This post is part of the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® 2014 program by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. and The Motherhood, who sent me a box of products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are all my own, and I hope you enjoy them.

As you know, Tim and I accidentally started dating on Valentine’s Day 15 years ago this year (!). We planned to celebrate in style, and head to the beach for a fun, relaxing weekend with our family. Various circumstances caused us to put our trip on pause for a few weeks, and as it turns out, I’ll be spending Valentine’s Day in Atlanta with some very good friends having a huge fun playdate. And we are bringing our kids, too! 😉

Having to postpone a milestone like 15 years together is something I could never have even fathomed when I was younger (read: when I didn’t have kids). Why on earth would you allow your schedule to determine such things???!!!! Well, that’s just life, folks. And you know what? IT’S FINE!

We will take the time we do have together that day with joy and laughter, and marvel and the little rugrats under our feet. I won’t head out until just before Tim goes to work, so I’ve got plans for a very sweet start to our breakfast. It’s also very practical (I’m not making a gourmet feast right before a road trip!) and is loaded with healthy essentials.

#Moms4JNJConsumer splenda sweet berry smoothie

Looks good, doesn’t it? Well you will not believe how indulgent it tastes! Very sweet, very smooth, and very VERY yummy! I went to the SPLENDA website, where they have lots of great recipes on hand, in order to find something easy and delicious. If you want to recreate this at your home, here’s where you can find the sweet berry smoothie recipe.

I’ve been enjoying SPLENDA products for a few years now, as they sweeten up my iced coffees in a flash. But I hadn’t yet ventured into using SPLENDA as a sugar replacement in recipes. It was easy, because it measures the same, cup for cup, and now that I’ve tried it, I’m definitely ready to give it a go in baked goods. In fact, maybe I’ll surprise Tim with some SPLENDA-fied chocolate chip cookies to take to work this Friday. This no-calorie sweetener is a great way to add a little sweetness to your day and leave the guilt behind!

HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® Savings for Valentine’s Day and Beyond!

Have you checked out the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS website? Here you can find some SPLENDA coupons ($1 off!) and other great tips and tools. For example, If you purchase $10 of SPLENDA® products between now and 2/17/2014, you can receive a free 30 minute nutrition consulation with a Registered Dietitian. You can find all the details at HealthyEssentials.com.

#Moms4JNJConsumer date night provisions

But SPLENDA isn’t the only brand you’ll find on the site! You will also discover savings and other helpful information for brands like REMBRANDT and NEUTROGENA, which can help you get ready for a smokin’ hot date night! By the way, the color stick you see above, from NEUTROGENA, is nothing short of amazing. You are definitely going to need to add it to your collection. It is so smooth and moisturizing!

I’d love to hear how you will be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year. Have you booked a sitter? Are you going to celebrate on a different day (much cheaper that way!)? And are you a fan of SPLENDA, like me?

My New Calorie-Free Sweetener: Nectresse

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This post brought to you by NECTRESSE™Sweetener. All opinions are 100% mine.

When my BFF visited me last month, she told me that she had successfully made the switch from sugar in her coffee to something more natural. I was really intrigued, because I knew at that time that my coffee addiction was a significant barrier to my weight-loss, and all because I like my coffee to be sweet. 

There are LOTS AND LOTS of sugar alternatives on the market, and my head started to spin as I researched them to determine what I wanted to try. 

But one caught my eye in particular, because it was the only 100% natural sweetener made from fruit. To be more specific, it is made from monk fruit! (I've never heard of it, either, but it is a real fruit, I promise!). 

Check out NECTRESSE™Sweetener, which is made from the makers of Splenda. This product is 150 times sweeter than sugar(!) and has zero calories. Now that's refreshing! 

It comes in canisters as well as single serving packs. I make a pot of 6 cups of coffee each day (I know…but I do make my coffee weak, at least), and I like to pre-sweeten my coffee while it is still hot (remember, I'm an iced coffee freak, so my coffee needs to be cold before I drink it!). I decided to use a crazy small amount of this product to see how it tasted, fully assuming that I'd be adding more. I added just two individual packets to my 6 cup carafe. And guess what? I was pleased with the taste! Yeah, I didn't even need to add any more! But if you were to try it out and determined that you wanted another packet or two, go for it since that will add zero calories to your drink! 🙂 

Photobucket I like that my iced coffee has a naturally sweet flavor. If someone had served it to me like this I would not have guessed that it didn't contain sugar. Way to go, Nectresse!

For those of you who grew up with Channel One in your middle school and high school classrooms, you may well-remember the celebrated journalist and tv personality Lisa Ling. She is also a huge fan of Nectresse. Check out what she has to say about it!

I think you will really like Nectresse if you give it a try. But why not start out with a FREE sample of NECTRESSE™Sweetener? I think you'll be pleased! 

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