Tastier, Healthier, Faster Breakfast with Silk Fruit&Protein

 

I love to drink smoothies. Its an easy way to get vitamins and minerals I need on a daily basis. I like to add different fruits, juices and milks to make them vary. It is also a great way to my son to eat fruits and veggies he would not eat by itself. He can be picky but if I blend it up for him he thinks it a fun drink. 

Each day I make myself a smoothie for breakfast or lunch. My son has waffles and juice with a bowl of fruit. I have found that combination to be something he will consistently eat. I have been wanting him to get more protein by serving him yogurt with breakfast. Some days he will eat it other days he refuses. But each time I put it in a smoothie he will eat it. 

 I went shopping at our local Walmart for the new Silk Fruit&Protein and calculated the price of all the individual ingredients for a smoothie vs the price of the Silk and it turns out I save time and money with Silk!

Some days I am so busy I do not even have time to cut up the fruit and mix all the ingredients and just have a glass a juice. Those days I feel bad knowing we need more than just juice for breakfast. After trying the Silk Fruit&Protein I now have a quick and tasty alternative for busy mornings. Instead of having to prepare a smoothie with juice, fruit, milk and yogurt all I have to do is grab a glass and pour. How much easier could it be!

Today for breakfast I decided to not make a smoothie and just have Silk Fruit&Protein. My son still had his waffles but had Silk instead of his juice and fruit. I conducted a taste test with him to find his and my own favorite flavors.

The Strawberry Banana was my son's favorite. He had me fill up his cup with this one.

We both really liked Mixed Berry. It made him say Yummy!

He made a face with the Peach Mango but I knew he would not like it as much hes not a peach fan. But I LOVED it!

My son's favorite was just as I thought it would be, the Silk Fruit&Protein Strawberry Banana. I was surprised at my favorite, the Mango Peach. I have tried to make Peach smoothies in the past and it never turned out right. The Silk Fruit&Protein one was perfect. I will be enjoying this one more often!

All the items I buy to make home made smoothies

With Silk Fruit&Protein all I need is a glass! #SilkFruit

I was able to save time by replacing a bunch of items that I needed to put into a blender with buying Silk Fruit&Protein. Plus now when my son asks for juice I can give him Silk Fruit&Protein Strawberry Banana in place of a plain juice. This way he gets the fruit and protein he needs. Sounds awesome to me!


You can read my Google+ Story about my shopping trip to Walmart looking for the new Silk Fruit&Protein and see how my son loves to get a free cookie from the super nice bakery workers.

 

*This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.

All opinions expressed in this shop are my own and your experience may vary. #Cbias#SilkFruit

No, I'm not getting a Tattoo!

I was walking around Seattle last week with two of my daughters when we came across this sign. I thought the colors were beautiful and it certainly stood out in the very gray day we were having. We joked about getting mother/daughter tattoos, or maybe even Frugal Family Tree ones.

But I am far too conservative to ever get a tattoo. And if I didn't do it when I was young , I'm sure not going to do it now. But lots of peoples are getting tattoos later in life. Really late in life! People are doing it for all sorts of reasons, too.

I have heard of getting a tattoo of your loved one's face after they have passed on. Or best girlfriends all getting one when they turn fifty. Or of a beloved pet, be a it a cat, a dog, or a parrot. What ever makes you happy I guess! Contrary to what the sign says, it would definitely not be a "super genius" idea for me!

A Horse Says What?

My son has been making animals sounds for months now. He randomly meows at people and barks too. He always gets a giggle and a smile from people. Sometimes even a meow back. He even now tells me a snake says "hisssss". But no matter how many times I make the sound or tell him what a Horse says he tells me "Moo".

He can says cow and horse and knows the difference in the animals he just insists a Horse says "Moo"

Maybe its because one of the first "horses" he saw in person looked like this:

The Peloton Film Patrick Dempsey Challenge Raising Support for Cancer Care

Here at Frugal Family Tree we do our best use our voice to support great causes. We have supported charities like Champions for Kids and the Win and Give campaign. Now we would like the chance to share with you about a cause shared with us from a great company we have worked with, Rinck Advertising.

Patrick Dempsey aka McDreamy  has teamed up with four time cancer survivor Laura Davis (president of Rinck Advertising) and Ramsey Tripp who lost his mother to cancer to make a documentary called The Peloton Project.

The Peloton Project will follow nearly 40 cyclists  on a 2,500 mile ride from Alberta, Calgary, Canada to Lewiston, Maine where they will participate in the Dempsey Challenge. Cyclists will complete the ride in just 10 days, cycling relay-style day and night.  But, this documentary is much more than just a cycling event.

Woven throughout the team's journey across North America will be stories of cancer survivors, caregivers, and of a patient just diagnosed. Cyclists will be paired up with these "cancer warriors" and will be riding in their honor. Along the route, the cyclists and survivors will have the chance to correspond via video chats, which will be broadcast on the film's website: thepelotonfilm.com. The finish line to the film is the starting line for the Dempsey Challenge where the cyclists and warriors will meet in person for the first time. It's sure to be an amazing journey and could be just the inspiration a cancer patient needs to give them the strength to get through their battle. Director Ramsey Tripp may have said it best when he said this documentary will share the stories of "real people with incredible stories told about their humble lives, challenges, and a commitment to move forward-sometimes charging, sometimes crawling, but finding the strength to advance."

Patrick Dempsey and Laura the president of Rinck Advertising

Here is where you can help:

To get this film started they need to raise $20,000 by April 6th 2012 to get the starting funds. So far $14,655 has been raised with 4 days to go. Even if its a $1 every dollar adds up and they appreciate your support. You can donate at the KickStarter page for The Peloton Film. 

 Other ways you can help are: 
 -Sharing the Kickstarter page on Facebook, Twitter, their blog if they have one, etc. 
-Liking The Peloton Film on Facebook 
-Following @thepelotonfilm on Twitter

Thanks for taking the time to read this post, we wanted to help with this project in any way we can.

Easter Basket Shopping on a Budget at Kmart

I love holidays. They are a great way to come together with family and friends to have a great time. I also love how holidays like Easter are filled with tradition. Easter Baskets are a big part of Easter in my family. I can recall many wonderful Easter baskets I received as a child from the Easter Bunny. Each year there were elements of the basket that I knew would be in there. I am creating the same traditions with my son each Easter.

My parents with the help of the Easter Bunny of course would put together each Easter basket for the 5 of us kids. My mom enjoyed the process of selecting and organizing our basket and now so do I.

As the money saving Mom that I am I shopped at Kmart to find great deals on all the Easter treats I would be buying for my son's basket. For us there has to be a traditional basket, grass, plastic eggs, Peeps and a chocolate bunny. Those are the foundation of the basket and then you add the other stuff. Depending on the age and interests of each of us kids my Mom would add toys and activities for each of us.

For my son I wanted to get him a plush animal, an art activity and a toy. I found all three of those items and so much awesome candy for under $30 at my local Kmart. I used the store ad, my Shop Your Way Rewards card and some coupons to get a great deal.

For Easter candy Kmart had it all. There were tons of brands and varieties at low prices. They had many candy items for only $1. I found chocolate Easter bunnies for $1 and even a cute white chocolate duck for $1.

Its not a Holiday without M&M's

Normally I have to use many coupons to get low prices on candy but this year Kmart had great prices. The weekly Kmart ad helped me to plan my trip and budget before I left the house. This made it easy to know what I needed and be able to select extra items to stick to my budget. I found Cars 2 die cast cars on sale for $0.99 normally priced $3.99. Reading the Kmart ad helped me to find them, a perfect item to put in my son's basket. Clearance toys are on sale with an additional 50% off marked prices so be sure to check your store to see what deals you will find.

Using my Shop Your Way Rewards card I accumulated points with my purchase and even had a coupon for 15% off Easter Plush toys printed. I think I will use it to go back and get a large Easter bunny my son was hugging in the store. I used 1 candy coupon with the sales and rewards card my receipt said I save $10.98!

My total for everything I purchased was $29.89. It was a lot of great Easter Basket items for that price.

My son loved his Easter basket with all the wonderful items inside. I got such a great deal we were able to fill another basket for my son's friend. My son enjoyed the candy and toys in his basket and this weekend we will deliver the other basket.

If your looking for a place to find everything you need in a one stop at a great price Kmart is the place to go. Grab a Kmart ad and your Shop Your Way Rewards card and your set!

I had fun shopping at Kmart for Easter Basket items and even spotted a few cute items that I wanted. You can read my Google+ story about my shopping trip.

*This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.

All opinions expressed in this shop are my own and your experience may vary. #Cbias #KmartEaster