Product Review: Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural Clumping Litter

It's been a while since I've blogged.  We've been busy with the new-to-us house and overall things have been pretty satisfying and I haven't had anything that compelled me to write.  My experience with Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural Clumping Litter was such that I really had to talk about it.  Short version: I really, really hate this litter.  A lot.

I generally use Safeway's Premier house brand of cat litter.  It works almost as well as Tidy Cat and it's usually a few dollars cheaper. But Safeway had Arm & Hammer at $6 one Friday (down from 9.99) and there was a buy-one-get-one rebate offer so I gave it a shot.

The litter is very lightweight: it's made of corn so it weighs maybe 1/4 of what the same volume of clumping or clay litter does. It's nicely scented:  when you pour it it smells like orange zest.  Since orange oil is one of the things which eliminates urine smell very well, I was optimistic as I filled up the litter box.

The first thing we noticed was tracking.  The the stuff is so lightweight it doesn't drop off the cats' paws well and they were tracking it everywhere.  Not just on the litter mat and bathroom floor, but on the carpet, in the hall, and up on our bed.  It's everywhere. We were having to vacuum daily.

It doesn't seem dusty when you pour it, but we were appalled to see our black cat Sebastian come into the living room one day looking like he was wearing white knee socks.  I know it's natural, but I don't think my cat should need a full bath after peeing.

The cats seemed to have a hard time covering their scat with this litter, possibly because it's so lightweight.  We tried two bags so they certainly had time to adjust. The lovely orange oil scent does you no good when the cat can't cover with it. We'd wake in the middle of the night to feces smell and one of us would have to go bury it. Yuk. It also meant that we had to clean the box a lot more frequently: I was scooping twice a day because things were not buried well, which not only causes odor but can make my cats reject the box and do their business elsewhere, like on Hubby's slippers.

The litter is not hard clumping.  Urine clumps would break apart really easily when you clean the box. Either you're getting a lot of used litter falling back into the box or you're wasting a lot of unused litter as you throw it away with the clumps. This contributes to smell and sanitation issues or ends up being really wasteful.

While I used this litter every time I had to maintain the litter box I thought "I really hate this litter."  I'm right now using up the end of it because I can't stand to waste money, but I cannot wait to go back to my regular cat litter.

Final Review: A great idea but it's not quite there yet.  The light weight corn litter causes problems with tracking and coverage which creates more work for the cat owner and a less sanitary environment in general.  If you're really into all-natural, you might consider just letting your cat out to do her business.  More trouble than it's worth.

PS: I forgot this:  This review was unsolicited, and I have not been compensated for it.

Product Review: Kraft Fresh Take

I've gotten some coupons for Kraft's new product, Fresh Take. Essentially this is a cheesy Shake-and-Bake recipe helper.  Never one to turn down a free sample, I turned to the freezer for something to use it on. There's plenty of ideas on the package - they recommend fish and chicken - but what I had was a Hormel pork tenderloin which sounded like it'd go well with the Rosemary & Roasted Garlic Fresh Take.

The Fresh Take packaging is clever:  the bread crumbs and cheese are segregated in a folded-over zip-type bag.  Open the bag and gently pull the seam at the fold, and you can re-close it and mix the ingredients. Then you have a coating bag all ready to go!

Tenderloins coated with Rosemary & Garlic Fresh Take just going in the oven

I sliced my tenderloin into medallions. They were quite juicy, so I didn't bother dipping them in water as the package suggested.  I put two at a time into the bag, zipped, shook, and then put them on a foil-lined cooking sheet.  I highly recommend covering your cooking sheet as there's cheese in there, and baked-on cheese is never fun to clean up. You might even use a light coat of cooking spray.

Ready to serve. I wish you could smell it!

I arranged the coated pork medallions in a single layer on the baking sheet and baked at 350°F for 30 minutes.  It's incredibly easy and delicious. We have also tried the Cheddar Jack & Bacon variety on a Hormel Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin, which was a very rich combination but not bad at all.

Final Review:  A different and reasonably priced option to add variety to your same-ol' dinners.  Very easy to use, although I'd recommend planning ahead to make clean-up easy. Tasty and easy, I'll be buying it again.

Okay, corn and white rice are boring sides. 

Disclaimer: While I received a coupon for a free package from the Kraft First Taste program, this was an uncompensated and unsolicited review.

Product Review: Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid

Seventh Generation, known for their natural household products, gave away some dish soap samples on their Facebook page not too long ago. While I like the idea of natural products, I often find them too expensive or not up to their non-natural equivalents, so I was curious to try it out. 

*Ahem* I have not been compensated for this review in any way.  I just got some free samples and decided to blog about them.

I received two varieties of Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid, "Free & Clear" and "Lavender Floral Mist."  The samples are 0.40 fl oz, and that seemed like more soap than I'm used to using in a sinkload of dishes (I'm a Palmolive Antibacterial fan).  "Free & Clear" was indeed free of any scent at all; the "Lavender Floral Mist" smelled nice but I'm not sure it resembled lavender.

Both varieties made nice suds, and cleaned well.  I don't quite know how to describe it, but the sudsy water felt different than Palmolive dish water.  More like plain water, I guess.  It got the dishes clean without any more work than I'm used to doing.  I never had a load of really greasy dishes because we just don't do greasy food any more, but I actually took my spray oil and sprayed a layer on top of the bubbles after I did dishes.  The bubbles did not melt away like I expected, which was nice.

Both varieties made nice suds and cleaned well.

The active ingredients, according to the sample packages, are four plant-based or -derived chemicals.  It does include a very small amount of synthetic preservatives: and they invite you to see their website for more details and they have published their MSDS Sheet.  The price point on this is about twice what I pay for my Palmolive, making it a little expensive for my budget, but if you're interested in natural products I think this is worth a try.

Product Review: FUN da-middles

I love trying new stuff. Last year when I first saw FUN da-middles in the store I waited for a coupon and bought a box to try.  And then it sat on the shelf until the kids and I were going to drive each other crazy over Christmas break.

FUN da-middles are filled cupcakes, done without the mess of a piping bag. The box comes with cake mix and a filling packet.  You'll need cupcake paper liners, eggs, and oil.  You make the cake, fill the cupcake cups 1/3 full, add some filling, then cover it up.  Bake according to directions.

And they taste delicious!  The cake is moist and tasty and the chocolate filling is fudgy.  They do not taste like Hostess or Little Debbie Cakes, they're yummier and less sugar-ful.  The only issue I have is that Better Crocker is a little over-excited about them in their press.

The baking process is as easy as they say, but because the batter must be placed with precision and the filling must be covered completely it's not the best project to have a five-year-old help on.  If any of the filling leaks out you're going to have a horrific, burnt on mess.  Also, one of their ads says "Out of the oven and DONE!"

This implies that you can eat them right out of the oven, which is completely untrue.  The instructions warn you that the filling is very hot, and you cannot even remove them from the cupcake pan to cool for 20 minutes.  I suspect to try and eat them hot would invite severe burns.

So my one-line review is:  Great product, with slightly over-enthusiastic press. Pick some up if you're looking for a treat.

He's not bored with it, really, it's the only pic he wasn't giggling and blurry in!

Product Review: Planters Peanut Butter

Kraft First Taste is a wonderful program which gets its members new Kraft products free or very cheap for sampling.  This week they have a coupon for $2 off new Planters peanut butter.  We usually get Safeway's store brand for economy, but Walmart had the Planters at a good price: on Monday the 24 ounce jar was $3.88 a jar, but on Tuesday it was $4.18. (isn't that interesting?).  For comparison here are the prices for other 24oz jars in Safeway: Skippy SuperChunk $5.49; Adam's Natural $5.49; Safeway, $3.99.

What can you say about peanut butter?  It can be too dry, too oily, or have poor taste. There's certainly mediocre peanut butter. I'm a fan of Skippy SuperChunk, and the Safeway brand is fine.  I had high expectations of Planters because as we all know, Planters knows nuts.  I was not disappointed.

Naturally it comes in creamy or crunchy; it's no contest here, my whole family is nuts! The ingredients are straight-forward:  peanuts, sugar, oils, salt.  The crunchy is stuffed with nuts but still very spreadable, and is neither dry nor oily.  It has a wonderful roasted peanut taste that sent me back to the jar for a spoonful!  The kids loved it.  Hubby loved it on his pre-workout morning toast.  It's a hit in our house, and I already spent all the $2 off coupons I printed so we could stock up on it cheap!  While I expect the price point to eventually match other premium peanut butters, the introductory price is quite attractive.  I'm happy to recommend Planters Peanut Butter to peanut butter loving families!

Product Review: Johnsonville Original Bratwurst Patties

So, I got had a buy-one-get-one coupon for Johnsonville Original Bratwurst Patties.  I didn't think I'd get to use it because this is a really new product and the awesome BOGO coupons usually expire before the products get to Fairbanks.  Imagine my surprise when I found them at Walmart!  They were $8.32 a box, which was six patties (two pounds).  A little expensive for our everyday budget but a nice price for a specialty premium meat.

The first thing I notice is they are 350 calories and 28 grams of fat each: this is not diet food.  The second thing I notice is they are almost as thick as a regular bratwurst.  As the grill was low on gas Hubby did them on my griddle.  Following instructions resulted in a perfectly cooked patty.  We served them with sauteed peppers, onions and mushrooms on Orowheat Whole Wheat Sandwhich Thins.  With mustard, of course.  Let's have some pictures.

Brat patties on the griddle.

Dinner is served!

Doesn't that look delicious?

Final Review of Johnsonville Original Bratwurst Patties:  HOLY COW this is some serious cave-dwelling he-man carnivore food! The patties are probably 3/4 of an inch thick and taste, well, just like a Johnsonville Brat.  I'm reminded of Stephen King's story "The Stand" (the novella, not the movie) and the boys making "cowboy drumsticks" by molding burger around sticks.  Absolutely delicious.  Now, if I had my druthers I'd like to see a thinner "petite" version, because it was probably as much meat as three brats. However I'm of the minority opinion on size:  Hubby ate two, Kiddo had one and a half, and picky eater Junior ate all but a bite of his.  If you like brats and grilling I would totally give these a try. 

As I write this on July 31 the BOGO coupon is still available online.  I don't know how long it will be there, but you can try...  click here.

Product Review: Tide Stain Release

UPDATE:  Tide responded to this blog.  See their letter at the end.

Here's another unsolicited review.  I received a free sample of Tide Stain Release and some Tide to go with it.  Tide Stain Release comes in little gel packs, like dishwasher detergent.  I've tossed a couple in with my regular laundry, but I haven't paid much attention to them.  Until Kiddo went to summer camp.

Summer camp this year was a week at Camp Habitat, the camp at Creamer's Field.  There's a lot of water and muck at Creamer's Field, and Kiddo came home every day completely happy and soaked, bug-bitten, and thoroughly filthy.  Wednesday evening as I'm looking at his socks I realize I have the perfect trial for the Stain Release.  This one is going to take a lot of pictures, folks (click the pictures to enlarge them).  Here's the before: 

Now these clothes were certainly not new and I didn't expect them to come out looking new. I was looking at two things: the new grass stains on the knees of the jeans and the socks.  The socks in the center are my control; Kiddo wore them Tuesday and they were almost as bad as the socks on the left before I washed them with my regular load (using Arm and Hammer Free and no special treatment, if you're wondering). I decided that the Tide Stain Release should be able to get those nasty socks at least as clean as that pair.

Reading the instructions I see that really heavily stained stuff might require two Stain Release packets, so I give Tide the full benefit and wash the filthy clothes (along with Junior's Tee Ball uniform) with the Tide sample and two Stain Releasers. I washed them in cold water on the longest cycle.

Okay.  Let's skip through the exciting wash and spin cycle.  I did check the stains before I dried, them, and decided since they were old clothes to start with I'd just dry and let you see for yourself.  If I were more concerned I probably would have washed them again. Here's the after pictures.  The socks are in the same order, so the pair in the middle are the control pair.

As you can see, the grass stains are still there, and even the less-soiled socks didn't get as clean as my control pair.  I was really disappointed.  I probably could have done better with a pre-soak of plain old detergent.

Final review of Tide Stain Release In-Wash Booster: don't bother.  On freshly heavily soiled clothes the addition of two Tide Stain Release packs gave no better results than detergent alone.  I'm glad this was a free sample and I didn't pay for the lack of results.  I'll stick with traditional pre-treating.

Tide's Response: I always contact companies when I blog-review their product.  In this case I got an email from Tide just now.  I'm publishing it un-edited (including the font size jumble) for you:

Hello Amy,

Thank you for contacting Tide and sharing your comments.

I apologize the Tide Stain Release didn’t remove the stain and I’m sharing your comments with the rest of the team.  Please be assured this is unusual.  Tide Stain Release is designed to help remove the most common tough stains.  In addition, the liquid can be used to pretreat tough stains. 

Since your satisfaction means a great deal to us, I'm sending compensation by postal mail.  You should receive my letter and replacement coupon that will be good for any Tide Stain Release within the next 2-3 weeks.

Thanks again for writing.

Kathleen

Tide Team

Product Review: Orville Redenbacker's Pop Up Bowl

When it comes to popcorn on a budget, I feel that if you're buying kernels to pop on the stove one brand is as good as the next, but there's a real difference in microwave corn.  I personally prefer Orville Redenbacker, who seems to have gotten the whole oil/salt/fake butter ratios right, and whose Pop Smart version can really save you a lot of calories.

So when they came out with these Pop Up Bowls at the same price as their usual, I had to try it.  It just looked nifty.  Yeah, that's right, I'm not reviewing the corn, I'm reviewing the bowl!  Short version:  It works precisely as advertised, is very cool, and it's now my preferred corn.   Long version:

It starts out looking like a standard microwave popcorn bag.

 It pops up nice.  Instead of opening an end, you pull the cellophane off.

And POOF!  It's a bowl!  Just watch your fingers when you open it, it's hot!  

I didn't fluff the corn in this picture, that's just how it looked when I got the top off.

Oh, this would be a good place to mention that this review was neither solicited nor was I compensated for it in anyway. Not that I'd mind some more of this popcorn! 

Product Review: Carbon Waffles

So after I blogged waffles last week I started getting mysterious Facebook messages from my Uncle Gil about packages and brown trucks.  On Thursday it arrived:  one canister of Carbon's Golden Malted Waffle & Pancake Flour.  Apparently if you're from our neck of Michigan and Indiana it's darn near part of your heritage.  Uncle Gil says "The elder Carbon came up with this a long time ago, it is mainly a commercial product used in food service. A long and interesting story. Started in Buchanan and now headquartered in South Bend. It is a malted waffle flour and yes it is YUM!"  Their website is over here, if you're interested.  

I've never seen this stuff locally, but the price is quite reasonable over on Amazon (yay SuperSaver shipping).  Uncle Gil ordered it drect from the company.  So we gave it a try.  Despite my admonishment to always separate your eggs and fold the stiffly beaten egg whites into the batter last, I didn't this time.  Nor did I add my touch of vanilla.  For a proper product review we followed their recipe exactly. 

Note:  This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.  Apparently you have to say that now, even if you're just being spontaneous.

Original Golden Malted Waffles 

2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups water
2 cups Golden Malted Flour
4 tbsp. butter, melted

Beat eggs and water together, then add flour and mix well. Stir in melted butter and make sure to mix well again. Ladle onto hot waffle iron and remove when golden brown. Makes 5-6 waffles.  

This made eight four-inch waffles (two batches in my waffle maker) that rose up high and light. They were a beautiful golden color. The malt and cornmeal are subtle, and give the waffles a rich flavor.  Not to mention it's much easier than whipping egg whites pre-coffee!  Thoroughly enjoyable, and I'll be sure to buy this again when we finish the canister Uncle Gil sent me!

Product Review: Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti is a great budget dinner. Not expensive, simple to make and full of vegetables, it fills the bill for tasty, cheap, and nutritious. Somewhere along the way I was trained to think that canned spaghetti sauce is evil: if you don't make your own you are doing your family a grave disservice if you buy anything but jarred sauce. And since great sauce is apparently something only tiny ancient Italian nanas can do well, you'd better buy it in the jar or risk terminal embarrassment. (My husband, by the way, makes phenomenal sauce, but that's another blog.)

Some time last year I was shopping on my usual tight budget and I see Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce (in a can, oh horrors!) on sale for $1.25. Looking closer I see it's the same size as the usual jar of sauce, which is on sale two for $5. I'm willing to give most products a try if it might save me money, so into the cart it went, hidden behind the paper towels to cover my shame at buying canned sauce.

It seems to be the great unsung hero of the Hunt's tomato line - it's not even listed on their website. I never see coupons for it, although you will see it on store specials. It's always on the bottom shelf in the pasta isle, although it comes in a lot of varieties so it takes up a fair share of shelf space.

Opening it, it's a nice thick sauce. It's not chunky, but you can see herbs in it. It doesn't look like plain old tomato sauce. It's not that horrid orange-pink that indicates it's full of sugar and fillers, it's a lovely tomato red. Click on the picture - that is not a high-speed action shot, it's really that thick. I should have done video.


The flavor is quite good, I'd put it up against most of the fancy brands. It's not overly sweet, which is great as I hate super-sugared sauces like Chef Boy-R-Dee. Nor is it so tart that it makes you pucker. Truly a nice balance. I neglected to get a picture of the ingredients and nutrition information, but this is just nice sauce without a lot of junk and with all the nutrition you'd expect from a quality food. It does have corn syrup, but it's usually 3rd or 4th on the list of ingredients instead of right up top. It really doesn't even need "doctoring" unless you're a garlic nut or want to add meat.

The price point is very attractive: About $1.50 normally and $1 on sale for a 26 ounce can. Jarred sauce runs about $2.50 on sale and sometimes over $4 regular price. Catch some pasta on sale and you've got dinner for four for two dollars.

Another budget bonus: it's less expensive than plain tomato sauce. You can use this anywhere you might use tomato sauce: lasagna, baked noodle casseroles, pizza sauce, over a meatloaf. Spaghetti sauce is quite versatile: I've added chicken and broccoli with egg noodles for a pasta bake and the family loves it. Use it on pita bread for kid friendly pizzas.

Final Review: Sheer awesomeness. This is a quality product that is incredibly affordable. I've stopped making my own sauce because this product is not a compromise and it's cheaper than I can make it. This is a permanent addition to my pantry; whenever it's on super sale I get as many as I can afford, and I don't hide it in the cart. When you eat a lot of casserole, this can break up the monotony nicely! Go buy some! I've enjoyed every variety I've tried, but my favorites are: Cheese and Garlic, Classic Italian and Mushroom.

Review Follow-Up: Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner

Last week I blogged my trials and tribulations replacing my beloved Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner. The device gave me fits, but I was beyond pleased with the level of customer service I received from SC Johnson.

It took six days for my replacement coupons to get here (rather than the 10 - 14 they said). The full-cost device coupon was for $17, which concerned me as I paid over $21 for mine, but they sent two free refill coupons when I was only promised one. I also received a coupon book for SC Johnson higher-end cleaning and fragrance products. I was able to get a new device at Walmart for less than the $17.

Opening the box, the first thing I notice is it's not the same as the one that was dead upon opening. The unit is subtly more streamlined, but what jumped out was that the hanger assembly was very different. This leads me to conclude that not only is our local Fred Meyer overcharging, but they have really old stock on their shelves. In my opinion Fred Meyer corporate has some issues that are problematic at the local level, but that's a blog for another day.

Out of the box, put in the batteries that were in the bottom of the box (despite the warnings that batteries were not included), push the button... "Beep, beep, beep." It lives!

So I have a nice new Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner, two bottles of cleaning fluid (one from the original dead box), two coupons for free refills, and a shower that no longer requires scrubbing despite two boys who could make a bathtub ring out of thin air.

Final Review: I don't have enough thumbs! The product works as well as its hype; if you can afford buying the refills regularly, get one! And I cannot say enough good things about SC Johnson's level of customer service. If you ever have a problem with any of their products, do not hesitate to contact them. They are very serious about making sure you are happy with them.

Product Review: Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner

I'm having a really good Customer Service week. We've just had a lot of having to contact this or that company for various reasons, and it feels like the people we've gotten have been highly communicative and responsive. This ties into the blog title because yesterday I got a call from the SC Johnson Company.

I bought the original model Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner a couple of years ago and I just loved it. Push a button, walk away, and no more tub scrubbing. The thing really works as advertised. Unfortunately my original one died, although it took a couple years before it wore out.

I didn't replace it right away because money was extra tight, and honestly it's not the best idea if you're really broke; it's much cheaper to get a bottle of all-purpose cleaner and a spray bottle to dilute it into. By the time I could afford it again they'd upgraded the device, adding a second sprayer for more coverage.

My experience with the new model has been very disappointing. The first one used a ridiculous amount of the cleaning fluid, ate batteries at an astounding rate, and died after about six weeks. I figured I got a bad one and went to replace it because I really wanted that convenience again.

This one didn't work right out of the box. I'd thrown the box away so I went looking for somewhere to complain. Here's where SC Johnson Company starts getting points: it wasn't at all hard to find contact info. It took three clicks and I found it on the Scrubbing Bubbles website. I got an email back saying that their customer service people usually respond within 24 hours.

10:30 the next morning the phone rings: the Caller ID says SC Johnson. So does the person on the phone! No email correspondence, no song-and-dance, a real person (who spoke good English) called me personally and wanted to make me happy. She offered to refund the purchase price or replace the unit. I loved the original, so I opted to replace. She's mailing me a full price coupon for a new Shower Cleaner and an extra coupon for a refill. She also suggested a couple of things to try if this one doesn't want to work right away (apparently if they've been unused for some time it can take up to a half-dozen button-pushing to get the unit going again).

Final Review: Well, it can't really be a final review because I haven't a unit that works yet. But SC Johnson gets full points plus extra credit for customer service! I really hope this unit works, because I sincerely love this product. If you can afford to buy the refills every 20 days or so, I really recommend you give it a try (they publish coupons for them frequently, just keep your eye out for them). And if your unit doesn't work? Don't be afraid to speak up!

Response to Comments: In response to some comments on my Facebook page: My cat, who eschews his water bowl for fresh shower drippings, has never suffered any ill effects from the cleaning fluid. Furthermore, my son has incredibly sensitive skin and eczema. He can't use regular soap or bubble bath, but this fluid on the tub doesn't bother his skin at all. He had an outbreak once and it was the first thing we cut out. It turned out to be new laundry detergent.

Product Review: Wonder Hanger

Here's another "as seen on t.v." item that I ran across at Fred Meyer. I picked up a box to see if they could alleviate our packed closet issues.

The box comes with the parts for eight Wonder Hangers. They are ridiculously easy to assemble as long as you remember to get the hanging hooks going the same direction. The parts are hard plastic, which made me immediately skeptical. My experience with plastic hooks of this type (often used for cheap closet organizers) is that unlike the plastic used for tubular hangers, it doesn't keep its shape and will eventually stop being a hook.

The instructions specify not to load them with more than 20 pounds, which made them useless for our biggest closet issue: tons of jackets and coats for a variety of seasons. They say "great for purses and belts", so I loaded one up with my miscellaneous bags, and another with windbeakers and hoodies. They work just like the video shows:

Okay, so far so good. I used them for some summer blouses and some of hubby's concert t-shirts. So they worked, but I was concerned about the quality of the hooks so I held this blog for a bit.

I took the above pictures on September 9. I went back to look at the two I hung in the coat closet on October 3. This is what I saw:

See the stretched hook on the left? Its barely hanging on the bar. Neither of the Wonder Hangers were loaded with really heavy stuff, although some of it is bulky. I bet if I weighed the contents the one on the left would have just broken 20 pounds.

Final Review: Meh. I suppose if you're a serious clothes horse and really lacking in closet space these would be handy for your lighter stuff. If you're looking for a permanent storage solution for a lot of items this probably isn't for you. I wouldn't spend my money on them; I'll just keep packing up and storing seasonal stuff at the end of summer and winter to make space rather than wonder if all my stuff has slipped off the bar and ended up in a pile on the floor.

Ignore this, I'm trying something... blogsurfer.us

Product Review: Danimals Crush Cups

Since the end of school last spring Kiddo has been begging me for Danimals Crush Cups. These are yogurt cups marketed to kids, whose primary selling point is the squeezable cup which allows you to eschew a spoon and make tremendously rude noises slurping your yogurt.

Naturally I said no.

Now, my no has real reasons behind it. First, I want my kids to understand that they can't have everything they see on television. Second, because of his ADHD Kiddo cannot have any Red Dye 40. That's a whole 'nother blog, but the short version is that there's a ton of anecdotal evidence that in kids with clinical hyperactivity (like Hyperactive-Impulsive ADHD) Red 40 aggravates the symptoms. The FDA isn't buying it, but in the UK and several European countries it's been banned for that reason. I know that when Kiddo was having truely horrible behavior problems in preschool he was having yogurt with Red 40 every day, and that his behavior issues lessened when we got the dye out of his diet.

Anyway, we don't have Red 40 in the house, anywhere. And I've found that it's especially prevalent in yogurt. It was quite challenging to find yogurt (which the kids think is desert, and may actually have two or three servings during the day) that had no artificial dyes and didn't cost a fortune. Trix yogurts are out. "Light"Yoplait is out, but most of the regular variety is okay. Store brands like Lucerne are pretty bad about it. Organic yogurt is always dye-free, but very expensive.

Hence my hesitation on buying a kid-marketed yogurt. One day in the store Kiddo, who has learned to spot Red 40 in the ingredient lists, picked up the Danimals Crush Cup package and said "Mom, I don't see the yukky red here, do you?"

I'll be darned. No artificial dyes or flavors. No corn syrup. Twice the calcium of some brands. 10% RDA of protein. And live cultures called "LLG" that they're particularly proud of. This is the nutrition info from Kiddo's favorite, Blueberry.

The price point isn't bad, about $2.99 a four-pack when it's not on sale, or 75 cents each. At Sam's Club I found a pack that worked out to about 50 cents a piece, which puts it at the same price as generic yogurt on sale.

And best of all, this morning I found a coupon rebate offer! Bulk store purchases like Sam's don't qualify, but since the Sam's pack doesn't have all the flavors the kids like that shouldn't be a problem. You must purchase the qualifying products by October 31, 2009 and mail it immediately (they must have it by November 16). The number of $1 coupons you receive will depend on how many products you purchase to qualify. Get your copy of the rebate form here: Dannonomics Rebate

Final Review: Nice to see a kid-marketed product that appeals to my over-protective mom-sense! Not only has a lot of thought gone into the healthiness of the product but they address hot parent concerns like artificial dyes and flavors. Kiddo thinks he's getting a great treat because he knows I usually say no to stuff on commercials (the commercials are annoying, but the product is so good I won't count it against them). And, as the final bonus... the spoons come home in his lunch box. Dannon's Danimals Crush Cups get my approval.

Product Review: Betty Crocker Bake 'n Fill

My birthday was last week. I decided to make myself a fancy cake, since I make one for everyone else! What I wanted was a filled cake, so I pulled out my trusty Betty Crocker Bake 'n Fill cake pans. I originally saw these on an "As Seen on TV" type ad, and hubby gave them to me one year for Christmas. Like many folks I'm terribly skeptical about things can't at least hold in my hand before I buy, and ZAM co-worker Pikko suggested it'd make a good blog.

What this product claims is you'll be able to make fancy filled cakes quickly and easily. It comes with four pans to make two different shaped cakes (a dome cake and a more traditional layer cake shape) and a booklet of instructions and recipes.

If there's a trick to using this set successfuly, it's in following the instructions exactly. You must use shortening, not cooking spray, to grease the pans and fill them precisely. The only time I've had a bad cake was when I mis-measured making the cake batter and it overflowed the pan. I've made ice cream cakes and cakes filled with puddings or fruit. Ice cream cakes are probably the most time consuming, as you have to soften the ice cream just right and pack it in carefully.

For my birthday cake I used a devils food cake and sugar-free white chocolate Jell-o pudding (sugar free because I couldn't find it sugar-full!). I wanted something like the creme they put in creme-filled doughnuts, and this was awful close. In hindsight I bet my Safeway bakery ladies would have sold me four cups of filling.

I used the round dome cake pans and the pudding-filled cake guidelines in the pamphlet. I should note that the recipe calls for one box of pudding, and this took two. You make the pudding with a half-cup less milk like you do for pie, for a thicker set. I also used one chocolate pudding cup for a dollop of chocolate in the middle. If I had a little more time I would have made a chocolate ganache and poured it over the top of the cake for a chocolate overload!

With the inside so fancy I kept the outside plain. My camera ate most of my in-progress pictures and a lovely pic of the just-cut cake (I finally contacted Kodak to troubleshoot that, shouldn't be happening any more), so you'll have to settle for a "before" and some half-eaten shots.


Final review: It works as advertised and I get very nice results. You'll find your cakes a little more dense than you expect if you're using pudding cake mixes: this is in part because you have to refrigerate or freeze the cake and part because the pans restrict the rise for a firm cake that won't collapse from it's own weight. You will want to give yourself a little extra time to make the cake (maybe start a day ahead), for filling and chilling or freezing it before serving, and don't forget to make room in the fridge or freezer before you start. Overall two thumbs up and a product well worth buying if you like making fun cakes.

PS: Surfing around looking for links for the Bake 'n Fill set, I discovered Betty Crocker also makes a mini-cake version! Based on my experience with the big one, this is going on my list!

Product Review: Dryer Balls

I'm sure you've seen these. Dryer Balls (every time I say that Hubby snickers.) They come in a variety of brands, but are all the same basic idea: a "rubber" ball with nobbly protrusions. Toss them in the dryer with your wet clothes and they claim to cut down on drying time, eliminate static, reduce lint, soften your clothes, and make your towels fluffy.


It all sounds a little too good to be true, but I saw some at Fred Meyer for $5.99 and decided to cave and give them a try. I normally use dryer sheets (I always forget to put in liquid fabric softener). Kiddo has sensitive skin and fights excema, so I have to be cautious with laundry. Anything heavily scented is bad, but not softening the laundry leaves it too rough. I personally hate unsoftened towels and jeans, and it's so dry up here static is a big issue.

I swore I wasn't doing laundry on the weekends, but had enough for two medium sized loads after I sorted. So here we go, based on those two loads with the Dryer Balls and no fabric softener:

Drying Time: I'd have to do a bunch of loads and actually time them, but it does seem the clothes dried faster.

Static: Absolutely no static whatsoever, even on a load of cottons where I'd expect it.

Lint: The quantity of lint looks about the same to me, but again I'd have to try it with some normal-sized loads. The quality of the lint was different: I'd call it flufflier or lighter.

Softening: Yes! I made sure to wash towels and jeans, and neither have that sand-paper like unsoftened feeling. On the other hand, the clothes do not have that "slick" feeling you get from fabric softener. I do miss the little bit of scent you get even from unscented fabric softener. They still need the Kiddo's Sensitive Skin Test, but they feel soft enough to me.

Fluffy towels: Well, they aren't un-fluffy like they'd be if I line-dried them. Seems about as fluffy as with fabric softener. It did fluff up the beaten-down towel we use on the floor by the tub very nicely.

Overall Review: Works As Advertised. I'd like to do further testing to see if it really reduces drying time, because that'd be a huge bonus over never having to pay for fabric softener again. Overall, I'd recommend this product as a money saver that does what it says. Oh, and since they're reusable, they're good for the environment. Wonder how long they'll last?

Follow-Up Question: asked via Twitter, Beckanai wanted to know if the dryer balls get hot. They weren't any hotter than the laundry was. My dryer has a cool-down cycle at the end, though.

More Follow-Up:   Back when I published this in August 2009 someone asked how long the balls last.  They'd heard the balls tend to shatter dramatically.  I'm editing this almost exactly two years later and I'm still using the same dryer balls in the original picture above!