Making and Keeping Our New Year’s Resolution: Clean by Alejandro Junger, M.D.

No Comments » Written on January 21st, 2012 by
Categories: Books, Drinks, Food, Health and Fitness
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Clean Program Book by Alejandro Junger, MDIt’s a new year and we are ready to recommit to our health and fitness goals. Tom starting researching detox programs and came across the book CLEAN – Remove Restore Rejuvenate by Alejandro Junger, MD.

After reading the testimonials and reviews on Amazon.com , we decided to jump in with both feet and go for it! The actual detox portion of the program is a 21 day commitment (although Junger stresses that any length of time you use the program will provide health benefits). During the 21 days, you have a liquid breakfast and liquid dinner, consisting of smoothies, juices and soups, and snacks and lunch made up of foods from the list of acceptable foods. The acceptable foods are organic, whole foods.

The first thing we did was order a heavy-duty juicer, the Breville Multi-Speed Ikon Juice Fountain. Next we went grocery shopping. I have to say, we are buying and eating (or drinking) foods we’ve never had before! We also picked up some supplements that Dr. Junger recommends while on the program.

We are currently on day 13 of the program. I am feeling really good. I have lost 8 pounds, and I am not having any major cravings. I have followed the plan faithfully, with the exception of having two solid food meals a couple of days while out of town.

The plan requires a lot of planning and organization. We cook our lunch the night before and serve it to our kids for their dinner. A definite bonus is that our kids are loving the meals! We then prepare juice or smoothies for ourselves. The meals consist of lots of veggies and chicken or fish with quinoa or brown rice. We cut our veggies and fruits and prepare our snacks the night before also.

We were starting to get a little bored with the recipes in the book, so we went to the Clean Program website to get some recipe ideas. They have a great forum with lots of ideas and support.

There are only a couple of negatives I can come up with. The first is that this a very expensive program. The juicer was about $200 and our first grocery shopping bill was close to $150. This did include some big bags of wild caught salmon, cod and tuna steaks. Another negative is that some of the ingredients are difficult to find, but so far, we have found what we need at the organic food sections of a local grocery.

I’ll update you again when we finish the program in 8 more days!

MiO Liquid Water Enhancer Review

No Comments » Written on December 19th, 2011 by
Categories: Drinks
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I am affiliated with BzzAgent where I am fortunate enough to get to try a variety of products and provide my review.  One of my recent opportunities was to try a three-pack of Fruit Punch MiO Liquid Water Enhancer (from Kraft Foods.  Prior to being in this campaign, I must admit that I was confused by the product.  I thought this was a small plastic container from which I would take occasional sips from.  But this product should probably be thought of as a liquid-based substitute for Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, and other powder based drink mixes.

MiO is packaged in small, plastic containers that are easy to hold and easy to stash for on-the-go.  To me, they seem super convenient for work or anywhere you have access to water but want to jazz it up a bit.  The containers hold 1.62 fluid ounces, which makes 24 servings.   On the side of the container are the words “FLIP IT, TIP IT, SIP IT”, and it really is quite that simple.  For a single glass of water, I would just tip the container upside down and give it a solid squeeze in the middle.  And another perk re: convenience – this requires no spoon to mix it up.

MiO-water-liquid-enhancer-review

MiO varieties on the shelf at the store

You may have seen MiO in the stores along with other drink mix products.  As you can see from this photo taken at our local grocery store, MiO is located with the Hi-C, CapriSun, and Kool-Aid drink boxes.  Also note that the Hi-C was priced nicely at only $2.49 while the MiO was priced at $3.99 each.   Flavors available at our store were Strawberry Watermelon, Peach Tea, Sweet Tea, Berry Pomegranate, and Mango Peach.

Again, I was sent the Fruit Punch flavor from BzzAgent, so that’s the one I will primarily focus on for this review.

I have been trying to drink more water and I know for a fact that I drank a lot of water at work while trying MiO for two reasons: (1) MiO requires water, and (2) to me, I found the fruit punch to be very tasty so I drank a lot of it.  I’d fill a glass of water from the office water fountain so it’s nice and cold, then head back to my desk.  It only requires a very simple flip of the top cap on the container, then tip it over the glass, give it a squeeze and the water would quickly take on the deep, rich, red color from the fruit punch mix.  I really, really like the Fruit Punch from MiO because it has a great flavor.  For home, we purchased a few other flavors, including Sweet Tea and Peach Tea.  As a regular Teavana customer and a guy who drinks hot tea from tea bags at least 4x per week, I found MiO’s Sweet Tea to be less that desirable.  I guess it just doesn’t seem natural to me.

As a general rule, I don’t drink many fruity drinks, even with two young children in the house.  Part of the reason I avoid it is the sugar often found in most of these products. MiO is sugar-free, caffeine-free, zero carbohydrates, free of artificial flavors, and gluten free.  So, we can drink water using MiO feeling good about the ingredients, and we feel the same way about MiO for our kids. Which, by the way, they love several of the flavors.  That being said, a word of warning to parents about MiO – this stuff has food coloring in it, so if you’ve been buying the color-free drinks for the kids in case of spills, MiO is going to be a mess on the carpet.  Keep that in mind.

I recommend MiO Fruit Punch for your water – give it a try!  Our entire family likes the MiO and we have since purchased at least six more mix bottles for use at home and work.  And don’t be afraid to try the teas as you may like them.

“Excuse me, are those boxed wines you are drinking?” – Black Box Wine Review

1 Comment » Written on November 12th, 2011 by
Categories: Drinks, Wine
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As a matter of fact, these ARE boxed wines we are drinking.

black box wine review

As part of the BzzAgent program I am a part of, I have had the opportunity to host a wine tasting party.  At this party, the goal is to let my guests taste wines, get their reactions to them and inform them that they are actually boxed wines from Black Box.  As often goes when you intend to host a big party like this and to have other parents of children over, schedules often get in the way. So, our party was not as big as we intended, but our guests were close friends and I was certain this would be an enjoyable event.

The food theme for the evening was italian.  We prepared stuff shells and two different kinds of lasagna.  Salad, meatballs, cheese balls and crackers, and garlic bread were all on the menu.  We truly had enough food (and wine) for about 4-5 times as many people as we had in attendance.

I should point out that other BzzAgent participants were involved in this event, so we joined forces and purchased four boxes of Black Box wine prior to this event.  I purchased Merlot and Pinot Gritio, while the others purchased Malbec and Shiraz. Line up four boxes of wine and it doesn’t seem like maybe THAT much wine.  When you realize there are four bottles of wine in each box and you picture 12 bottles of wine sitting out, that’s a pretty good amount of wine for a party.

Black Box Wine Buffet

Shiraz, Merlot and Malbec from Black Box Wines

We chilled the Pinot Gritio and it was in the refrigerator for the duration of the event. We had the other three boxes of wine out of sight at first as we served the first round of drinks for everyone.  Regardless of the person, the opinions of the wine were favorable.   Granted, my guests are not true wine professionals who are able to spend big dollars on wine.  The bottom line is that my guests do drink wine and do purchase wine, and they did like the wine they were drinking.  We then let everyone in on the news that this was boxed wine from Black Box.  I would not say that the response was shock, but the guests seemed pleased to know that they got a good tasting wine from a box.  We then showed them the inventory we had and told them to get drinking.  The reviews were mostly positive from all.

wine tasting party

Sampling the Black Box Wine

I later realized I had not captured the moment we made the big reveal and that was important to me for BzzAgent, Black Box and for this blog.  My mistake.  So I recorded some video of telling a few of them that this was boxed wine from Black Box.  The funny part is, by that time of the evening, I had tried so much wine that I instead informed them, “And guess, what?  This is boxed wine!   Red Box!”.  By that time, of course, everyone knew we were drinking Black Box, which made this even funnier.  We then dove into making silly endorsement commercials recorded on my phone.  It was a great night and my guests left knowing where to purchase Black Box and being fans.

In all seriousness, I’m a big proponent of conservation, living “green”, and recycling.  I have a hard time when I purchase bottled beer or big bottles of wine.  They may look nice, but I know they are sitting in landfills all over. These lightweight boxes are easy to open and much better for the environment.   In fact, one of my co-workers with a similar stance made the comment “Black is the new green”, meaning that Black Box may be his green solution to making wine purchases.

The other issue I’ve always had with bottled wine is freshness.  I may be in the mood for a glass of wine at night, but that may be the only night that week.  Bottled wine can go bad quickly if you don’t drink it up.  This boxed wine stays fresh for FOUR WEEKS after being opened.  That is a huge bonus for me.  That being said, I do think that the quantity of wine in these boxes and the convenience for easy drinking they provide may make someone (like me) drink more often than I might normally. I’m sure that’s good news for Black Box.

For more information, check out the Black Box Wine website.

You can also find out more about them on their Facebook Page.

Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Variety Goes Quickly

No Comments » Written on November 3rd, 2011 by
Categories: Drinks
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I have the benefit of being a BzzAgent and that means we are lucky enough to try various products, share some of them with friends, and provide our reviews.  I am a BIG coffee fan, a Starbucks gold card guy and I probably drink close to a pot of coffee on my own per day. However, I’m also a decaf-only guy.  That usually means that single pot in my office is all mine because everyone else is diving head first into the caffeine fix/motor oil variety prepared by my co-workers.

Most recently, BzzAgent provided me with a sample of Green Mountain Coffee, but specifically their Fair Trade coffee.  What this means is basically the farmers for this specific coffee are given a truly fair wage for their crops, which they then can re-invest back into their farms and it also provides them with a better life. Lots of coffee comes from farms where this is not necessarily the case, so this is becoming an important factor for many when buying their coffee, along with the obvious: taste.

Let me re-iterate that I’m a decaf-only guy, so I was disappointed to find that none of the samples were decaf.  However, I did sample one cup and found this coffee to be quite flavorful.

And before I get too far along, let me also say that the coffee was sent to me as K-Cups for the Keurig coffee maker.  I have one of these at home and we also purchased a business model for our break room at work.  The K-Cups are a big hit for our staff and our customers.  We love the convenience of making a single cup at any time and not needing to worry if a 4-scoop pot is going to win the favor of the 5-cup 30W-15 guys who like their coffee STRONG.

green-mountain-coffee-fair-tradeI decided to open up this campaign to my co-workers since we were encouraged to share with others.  This was particularly good since so many of our staff (26 employees in my department) do drink coffee regularly.  I made a point of sending out an email to our team to explain what was in the break room and for them to provide me with their feedback.  So far, here’s what I’ve gotten:

From my co-worker who is brief and to the point:

“I had the Columbian. It was very organicy.”

From the micro-brew, coffee and wine guru:

“I brewed a single “K Cup” capsule of the Columbian Fair Trade Select by Green Mountain Coffee using the Keurig B150 single-serve unit at my office. I selected a 6 oz serving, and was ready to fulfill my caffeine fix within seconds. I immediately noticed that the blend is light. Much lighter than I prefer my java.

The blend immediately reminded me of the Starbucks Kenya blend. I know, one is from Africa and one is a Columbian blend; however, the acidic, fruity notes are very similar. I know from past experience that those attributes bode well when paired with breakfast, as the coffee acts as a palette cleanser and doesn’t overpower any accompanying food, but this particular day I skipped breakfast and was solely concentrating on the coffee’s flavor.

The blend was balanced and also had a clean, tart finish. There were offsetting flavors to the citrus that I couldn’t quite place (maybe cocoa?), but I they weren’t overwhelming and were just enough to give the brew some substance. I would describe this as a traditional breakfast blend with fruit notes. Not a brew I typically look for first, but a quality beverage nonetheless. I would recommend this and give it 3 ½ of 5 stars.”

And finally (for  now), another review from a K-Cup regular:

“I tried the Columbian Fair Trade Select. I thought it was a well-balanced Columbian blend that wasn’t too dark, smokey or harsh. It’s perfect for a morning cup at my desk. When I think of coffee, this is what comes to mind. I’ve been looking for a Keurig compatible Columbian roast and I think this might be a winner. Plus, I’m all about supporting fair-trade products too. This sure beats the heck out of the Folgers ‘Columbian roast’ we get from the Bunn machine.

I guess my only complaint about this is that it’s not organic, but I don’t want to come across as a snob, so it’s really no big deal.  Thanks for sharing this!”

I conveniently placed the coupons by the boxes of K-Cups so co-workers could go make a purchase if they liked what they tried.  It seemed to be a good experiment all the way around.

Scrubbing Bubbles One Step Toilet Bowl Cleaner-Stepping Your Way to Clean

No Comments » Written on September 29th, 2011 by
Categories: Cleaning Products
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I’m very excited to be in a new BzzCampaign for Scrubbing Bubbles new One Step Toilet Bowl Cleaner. When the box arrived, I opened it to discover an easy to install and easy to use toilet bowl cleaner.

To assemble, you set the main unit base on the floor and hook the cleaning unit over the toilet bowl rim. It stays in place with the help of a small suction cup. The sprayer fits into the toilet, and then you step on the small foot pedal for 1 second. The cleaner shoots out in a 360 degree pattern.

Our daughters helped me set up the unit, and I think they were more excited than I was. We decided to put it in their bathroom. We cleaned the toilet with the Clorox Toilet Wand (another review for another time), because the directions for the One Step said to start with a clean toilet. Once we attached the sprayer over the rim of the toilet, we slid the cleaner can onto the base of the unit. We then slid a removable plastic cover over the can. We now have a neat unit beside the toilet. To activate the cleaner, my oldest daughter stepped on the foot pedal for one second. The sprayer sprayed cleaner all around the toilet bowl.

The Scrubbing Bubbles One Step toilet cleaner has kept the toilet clean for an entire week. The girls take turns spraying the cleaner, which Scrubbing Bubbles recommends spraying twice a day.

Black Box Wines – We’re gonna party soon!

No Comments » Written on September 27th, 2011 by
Categories: Drinks, Food
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Okay, so both me and Julie are in the latest BzzAgent campaign with Black Box Wines, so we’ll be hosting a big wine tasting party soon at our place. Stay tuned for our review and for highlights and reviews from the party as well! Meanwhile, be sure to check out Black Box Wines online.

McDonald’s Frustrations Overcome By Customer Service

No Comments » Written on September 9th, 2011 by
Categories: Food

The last THREE times we have gone through the drive-thru at local McDonald’s restaurants, we have had items missing from our meals.  The location closest to our house is responsible for the first two. Beyond that, their counter help staff is usually in a trance and doesn’t seem to listen carefully to what should be a simple order. Those frustrations caused us last night to go through the drive-thru of a location further from us as we were on our way home.

I ordered one kids meal and that turned out fine.  I also ordered three grilled chicken southwest salads as well.  Here’s how the process went after payment…

I get to the pickup window and was handed one bag and the person said “there you go” and turned around and walked off. I quickly realized there were 3 salad bowls in the bag, but I knew we were missing food and one drink.  No big deal, but from a customer service perspective, why not say “here are your salads, please wait and I’ll be right back with the rest” – any indication that there is more coming would be nice.

The person came back to the window with the happy meal, asked what drink I had and gave me the Coke, and we were on our way.  We then drove the 15 minutes home, carried everything to the table so we could eat quickly (it was a rush night with school activities about to start) and we pulled out the salads to find no chicken and no tortilla strips.

Frustrated, my wife called the restaurant and explained the issue.  The woman who answered said she took the order herself and that I didn’t order chicken salads. It was a male who took my order.  The other problem with this is how the woman treated my wife on the phone. No apology. It was apparently my fault that the guy taking my order didn’t hear me say GRILLED CHICKEN twice when ordering the southwest salads.

As a consumer, I guess I could have checked the bag to make sure my order was right before I left. But why should we have to do that? But getting the wrong food for 3 straight trips to McDonald’s??

We followed up by calling McDonald’s corporate and the customer support rep was very kind and professional.  They are sending us a coupon for one free salad.  And get this! The following day, my wife received a call from the manager of the McDonald’s that messed up last night.  She apologized repeatedly, understood our frustration and invited us to try them again by giving us THREE salads and another value meal coupon as well.

Hats off to McDonald’s management (local and corporate) for responding to our call and for showing that, at least from the top, customer service is their top priority.

MiO, my, oh my!

1 Comment » Written on September 8th, 2011 by
Categories: Coming Soon, Food
Tags: , , ,

BzzAgent is about to start a trial campaign for MiO, a product the claims to be the first-ever liquid water enhancer. MiO comes in six flavors and has zero calories. Plus, it’s free of caffeine, sugar, and artificial flavors.  Since I can’t have caffeine and I try to avoid sugar (well, sometimes), I hope to get a trial of this product as well. Stay tuned!

Update: Just got confirmation that I’m in!  So, be watching for a review of MiO soon!

Ginger Asian Bistro – Atlantic Salmon Brings A Smile

No Comments » Written on September 8th, 2011 by
Categories: Food
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This is not a review of Ginger Asian Bistro on West Wabash in Springfield, Illinois overall (because overall, it’s good stuff and we go there a couple times a month).  This is specifically about their Atlantic Salmon.  I’m a huge fan of salmon, not just for the taste but because I can order it at restaurants and know that I’m eating something on the healthier side.

Atlantic Salmon at Ginger Asian Bistro

Atlantic Salmon at Ginger Asian Bistro

The menu at Ginger refers to the Atlantic Salmon as “Pan seared and finished in the oven. Served and on top of an egg and rice souffle with sauteed vegetables.”  This is true, but what they don’t tell you is that the salmon fillet is a very nice portion size and the egg and rice souffle is spicy.  Don’t let that scare you if you don’t like hot and spicy…this one isn’t going to burn a hole in your mouth.  But it does have a kick to it and I think it’s just enough to be “just right”.

Our most recent trip to Ginger for dinner was fantastic.  We started off with a California Roll, egg drop soup and hot green tea to get started. Then they bring out the entrees and wow…the salmon looked great.  It was cooked just right so the fish was hot, moist and broke apart easily.  As much as I love salmon, some restaurants seem to think it needs to be cooked until it’s stiff.

I shared the orange slices with the kids at the end.  The sweetness from the orange really capped off the dinner.   Job well done by the Ginger Asian Bistro crew on the Atlantic Salmon.  I’ll be back for more.

(Side note: I have ordered this dish many times there and have had it taste overly salty, so I have ordered it with “low salt” in the past. On this particular night, I did not make that specification this time and it was delicious straight out of the kitchen.)

Dr. Scholl’s Massaging Gel Inserts Add Life to Feet (and Shoes)

No Comments » Written on September 8th, 2011 by
Categories: Health and Fitness

As part of a BzzAgent campaign (where I am provided products to try out at little or no cost), I was sent a pair of Dr. Scholl’s Massaging Gel Insoles.  I have a little experience with inserts and insoles after being a volleyball coach at the high school and college level. But I had not really given many insoles a true test up until this point.

Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel Insoles Bottom

Bottom view of Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel Insoles

The package indicates that these are made for casual shoes, dress shoes or “sneakers” (who still calls athletic shoes “sneakers”?) and it comes with two insoles (one for each foot, obviously).  The insoles are provided to you not necessarily at your size. Instead, each insole has guides on the bottom for you to trim your own set based on your size.  Trimming them is an easy process with any sharp pair of scissors. Getting them to be the right fit is another fairly easy process.  If I have any advice at all, it would be to make sure you test your insoles at a larger size than you think you need. Remember, you can always trim more off if you need to. But, you can’t add it back.  Also, each shoe is unique, so you may want to not necessarily trim right away for your normal shoe size until you trim a little and see how they fit inside your own shoes.

Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel Inserts in Asics Running Shoes

Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel Inserts in Asics Running Shoes

I have a newer pair of Asics Gel running shoes that I tried mine in.  To be honest, I didn’t really notice much difference.  I walked around the house and outside, then decided to go for a run.  I found the same to be true.  Now, maybe my feet just aren’t super sensitive.  And, for that matter, I don’t really have too many aches in my feet to begin with.

I later tried the same inserts in an older pair of Asics running shoes that serve as my backup shoes if it’s raining or if I’m going to be in dirt.  This time I was able notice improvement in the cushion that my feet were feeling.  But these are older shoes, so the insoles were probably shot by now.  Even the Dr. Scholl’s package indicates you should replace your insoles every six (6) months.  So, I used the insoles in the older pair for about a week before placing them back in my newer pair of Asics (pictured).  I plan to use them for a six-month period before going back to the original insoles to see if I notice a big step backwards. If so, I will buy another set of these insoles.  And I now know that by trying these in the older Asics that I can probably add more life to those shoes simply by replacing the insoles.

So, if you are having pain from standing, walking or running, you might give these a try.  They are confident enough in their product that they indicate in more than one location on their package that you can get your money back if you are not satisfied.

 

 

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