Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies Giveaway

As a sucker for any baked good, especially those with chocolate, the Fiber One Chocolate Chip Cookies caught my eye as soon as they came out. My friend Rachel and I immediately tried them. They’re convenient, perfectly portioned, and packed with 5 grams of fiber.

The 90 calorie brownies come in three different flavors:

• Chocolate Chip Cookie
• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Chocolate Fudge

Fiber One’s marketing team recently contacted me to host a giveaway for boxes of the Chocolate Chip cookie flavor. Of course I agreed!

5 of you will win a box of the 90 Calorie Chocolate Chip Cookie bars.

To Enter

• Mandatory: Please leave a comment telling me how you get your required fiber.
• Optional: Tweet about this giveaway (tag @christinaorso)
• Optional: Blog about this giveaway and leave me a link
• Leave a separate comment for each!

Giveaway ends Sunday, December 9, 2012.

The Friday Five 11.9.12

1. What I’m Reading: The Runner's Rule Book by by Mark Remy.

2. What I’m Eating: Holy crud, listen to me right now. Go to Whole Foods immediately and pick up a jar of this Earth Balance Coconut & Peanut Spread. Whether you decide on crunchy or creamy is up to you, as I can only attest that the former is quite delectable. It’s a jar of natural peanut butter with the addition of coconut oil. The coconut flavor is definitely there, but isn’t overpowering. I’ve been eating this by the spoonful every day. I’m going to pick up the jar of creamy next so I can use it for baking. Seriously, go buy this! 

3. Recipes I’m Bookmarking: Barley and Kale Salad with Golden Beets and Feta.

4. What I’m Listening to: Stardust by Lena. Sorry, the official video isn’t out yet, but it’s worth a listen.

5. GIFs I’m Loving:

WHEN MY FRIEND STARTS TELLING ME HOW FAST YOU CAN MEET SOMEONE, FALL IN LOVE, AND GET MARRIED

WHEN I GET A FREE BABY MAGAZINE IN THE MAIL

. . .  

Happy Friday! Have a wonderful weekend!

CLIF Mojo Bar Giveaway For National Trail Mix Day!

Last week I posted a list of my favorite healthy snacks. Luna bars, in particular, are made by CLIF, the maker of Mojo bars. CLIF Mojo bars are sweet and salty trail mix bars that come in six different flavors:

• Chocolate Almond Coconut
• Honey Roasted Peanut
• Mixed Nuts
• Mountain Mix
• Peanut Butter Pretzel
• White Chocolate Macadamia

Mojo bars are 70% organic and contain 8g of protein with no trans fats or processed sugars. They’re a great on the go snack, and are sweet enough to satisfy your dessert craving!

In celebration of National Trail Mix Day, August 31st, I’m hosting a giveaway! Five of you will each win FIVE Mojo bars!

• Honey roasted Peanut
• Mixed Nut
• Mountain Mix
• Peanut Butter Pretzel
• Chocolate Almond Coconut

To enter, all you have to do is…

Tell me something nice.

Yep, that’s it. Giveaway ends Friday, September 7th, when I’ll randomly pick a winner. Good luck!

What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. On my desk Tuesday morning, my coworker  left me this pin:

It’s perfect for me. Thanks Elizabeth!

2. These sandals I bought from Lulu’s.

3. You can now buy ketchup in a pouch. This seems like a great way to always have a massive amount of ketchup stashed in my purse. Or have a disaster in my purse.

4. There are Uncrustables imposters at Wal-Mart! What! I wonder how they compare to the real deal. But who cares? My Cut ‘N Seal pocket sandwich maker arrived today, so I’ll be making plenty of my own Uncrustables imposters.

5. As of Monday, I have a new car: a 2010 Honda Accord. My first car was a stick shift, and I’ve missed it ever since. I discovered today that it is impossible to drive a manual in wedges, so I found my shoes a seat.

6. My birthday is in 10 days. This picture is from 22 years ago. Holy crud.

7. My friend Kinsey, is the pastry chef for The Indigo Road restaurant group (Oak, O-Ku, The Cocktail Club, and The Macintosh). For my birthday, she’s making me a Carrot Cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and toasted pecans. I CANNOT wait.

Did you just drool too?

The Friday Five 5.24.12

1. What I’m Reading: I finished half of our Book Club book the night we chose it. Whoops. At that rate I’ll have finished and forgotten it by the time we meet again, so I decided to start something else. One of my very sweet readers sent me an advance copy of a book from one of my favorite authors, Alyson Richman, who wrote The Lost Wife.

Thank you, Avery! That was so thoughtful of you.

2. What I’m Listening to: Doesn’t everyone love this song?

3. What I’m Eating: NOT CANDY. At work yesterday, Hannah came up with the marvelous idea that she, Rachel, and I should give up sweets for a week. Um, what?

I realize it’s only a week, but I eat at least one small treat a day – usually a Dove promise, Hershey’s miniature, or um, a Chick-fil-A IceDream. The rule is no candy, desserts, ice cream, or anything of that nature.  Can we survive the 7 days? That sounds semi pathetic, but I’m actually petrified. ;)

4. Recipe I’m Bookmarking: Peanut Buttery Hummus. You read that right.

I bet you just drooled on your computer/phone/tablet.

5. Words I’m Living By:

I can’t wait to work on “DANCE MORE” this weekend. Shouldn’t be too hard.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!

Giveaway!! *New* LUNA Fiber Bars

I am so excited you guys. LUNA has come out with a new line of fiber bars! Each bar is a delicious, nutritious, and convenient high fiber snack that is sure to satiate you.

Nutritional benefits:

• 7g of fiber
• 110-120 calories each
• contains the Core 4 vitamins and minerals -- calcium, iron, folic acid and vitamin D
• 70% organic

The new bars come in 3 flavors: Peanut Butter Strawberry, Chocolate Raspberry, and Vanilla Blueberry. LUNA Fiber will be available in stores nationwide in May, or you can purchase them online here.

Don’t even tell me you’re not drooling.

I’m equally excited to be able to share these bars with YOU! I have three boxes to give away to three winners (one box/person).

For a chance to win:

• leave me a comment telling me which flavor you’re most excited to try (mandatory)
• follow me on twitter - @christinaorso (optional)
• tweet about this giveaway and tag me (optional)
• become a fan of my facebook page (optional)

*Leave a separate comment for each entry!*

Giveaway ends Monday, April 30th, at noon EST.

GOOD LUCK!

What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. The other day I told my coworker/cube mate Rachel that I thought peanut butter & jelly sandwiches were so much better when someone else made them for you. A couple days later, she brought some in for us!

This made my entire day. Love her!!

2. Greeting cards:

I’m not sure that they’re appropriate, but I love them anyway.

3. The bakers at the Daniel Island Publix are either blind or crazy. I know St. Patrick’s Day is coming, but really? Shouldn’t they have renamed this?

4. Tweet tweet.

5. On the row machine at my gym, there is a fishing game. The fish swims up when you pull, and sinks when you stop. You have to eat the baby fish while avoiding sharks. I was immediately obsessed and couldn’t stop playing. I’ll be so sore in the morning.

Also at the gym, I noticed that I wear entirely too much green and purple. My Longchamp tote, Camelbak bottle, socks, sneakers, and headphones are all in those two colors. Are there any sports teams who wear green and purple? If so, I love them.

6. Spring nail colors. My favorite hues:

Essie’s Lilacism.

O.P.I.’s Bubble Bath. (Giada wears this on her show!)

China Glaze’s For Audrey (Tiffany & Co. Blue)

China Glaze is definitely my favorite nail polish. Some bottles of O.P.I . are too thick, and some bottles of Essie peel too easily. DO NOT waste your time with Essie’s top coat. The best top coat is Seche Vite!

7. New apps. Words With Friends is out. Draw Something is in. I just started playing last night. Here are two drawings that made me happy:

#1 - I have no idea who you are, but thanks!

#2 – The answer is ketchup. Hi Courtney! :)

If you want to play, my username is Christaleena.

Tasty Tuesday

It has been a while since I made a list of new products I’ve discovered, so here goes! Enjoy! 

1. Fage’s Greek yogurt is my absolute favorite. Nothing compares to their rich, creamy texture. They have so many different flavors and I can honestly say I like every single one. Recently, they came out with a raspberry flavor. It’s divine!

2. After seeing Trader Joe’s Hot & Sweet Mustard on Katie’s blog several times,  I finally decided to give it a try. Wow. Just wow. Now I see why she goes through a jar a week. If you’re a fan of mustard, go pick this up immediately. I love topping my Morningstar veggie burgers with it.

It sort of reminds me of Chick-fil-A’s mustard. No wonder why my taste buds are loving it!

3. Thanks to my dear Sara, I finally tried the Cinnamon Coffee Cake Kashi bar. She was so kind to send me not one, but four bars, and I devoured them immediately. They remind me of my favorite Luna Bar, Iced Oatmeal Raisin. I hope to one day find them in my area.

4. We all know how much love I have in my heart for Popchips. I am most fond of the Barbecue, Sweet Potato, and Salt & Pepper flavors. After trying the Jalapeno flavor recently, I have added it to my list of faves. It’s a spicy one!

5. Since becoming a Vegetarian, I’ve been trying different veggie burgers. So far I’ve gagged at the Trader Joe’s veggie burgers (random green bean hanging in the patty was CREEPY!), but really loved the Morningstar Spicy Black Bean burger. I’ve also enjoyed the Morningstar Asian Veggie Patties.

6. Peanut Butter & Company’s Dark Chocolate Dreams is a chocolate lover’s dream peanut butter. It’s creamy and smooth, with a rich chocolate flavor. You can put it on top of, well, anything. Even a spoon will do – just don’t eat the spoon!

7. Lastly, I’d like to share a wine with you: Marchigue Cabernet Sauvignon from El Huique.  First introduced to me by Trish of Vidalco Wine, this fabulous bottle is an excellent and affordable choice. It’s sweet, soft, and velvety with flavors of cassis, blackberries, and currants. I could drink this all night long. Oh, wait. I have.

What new products have you recently found and loved?

Please recommend any vegetarian products that you like. Or dislike – a girl needs your help!

Three Ingredient Dessert: Baked Bananas with Honey & Cinnamon

We all know and love whipped banana “ice cream”, but how about a warm banana dessert? My friends, using just 3 ingredients, you can have another delicious dessert without the guilt!

First, let’s take a look at one of my favorite fruits: the banana.

What’s to love about bananas?

• very good source of potassium (helps with muscle cramps!)
• good source of Vitamins B6, C, and manganese
• help maintain normal blood pressure
• low in sodium

So what are the three ingredients necessary to make this easy dessert? Banana, cinnamon, and honey.

1. Peel the banana, slice it in half, and place in an oven-safe dish.

2. Drizzle with honey.

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

A lot of cinnamon.

4. Cover and place in oven that has been preheated to 400*. Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on desired softness. 

Of course you’re totally welcome to stop here and enjoy your warm, caramelized banana. But should you? I say add more toppings! For me? Peanut butter morsels and coconut! Yum!!

Have you ever had baked bananas?

What would you top your baked banana with?

Baked bananas or banana soft serve?

HAPPY FRIDAY!