Healthy Snacking With Del Monte's Delicious New Fruit Cup Flavors #SmartSnack #CBias

By Patricia

My family has always been big snack lovers. When I was raising my five children, snacks played a very important role in their daily diets. I was always on the hunt for healthy snacks, but they were always something that I had to put together myself, and that was always very time consuming. Times have certainly changed and I love how easy and convenient snacks have become.

I now have small grandchildren that I am lucky enough to spend a lot of time with. As with all children, snacks and treats are a fun and important part of our time together. I love being the Nana that provides treats, but I also want them to eat healthy foods. I felt like I was giving them too many treats, so I decided that I would find snacks that are both healthy and that they would still enjoy.

My family has loved Del Monte fruit for many years, and more recently, the Del Monte fruit cups. I went to Walmart the other day to pick some up, and was happy to discover two new flavors.

I knew Diced Apples & Pears with Caramel flavor would appeal to my grandsons. I like that these fruit cups are one whole serving of fruit per cup, are loaded with Vitamin C, and contain no High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Diced Pears with Vanilla & Spice are the other new flavor of fruit cups I found. These new flavors remind me of fall, so it's the perfect time for them to be coming out.

Del Monte fruit cups are so easy and convenient to eat. They really make a great at home or on the go snack. They are also only 60 calories per serving, and gluten free. #SnackSmart

My five year old grandson has become a snack "expert". After a couple of years in preschool and now being in kindergarten, he knows what snacks he likes and what he doesn't.

He has eaten Del Monte fruit cups before and he has a favorite kind that I try to keep on hand. When I told him this new flavor had caramel in it, he was very happy, so this is the flavor he chose to try.

 

My two year old grandson wanted to try out the Diced Pears with Vanilla & Spice. He's too little to tell me exactly how he feels about them, but he does know what he likes.

After eating one fruit cup he took it upon himself to try and open another one to eat. I'd say he definitely likes these new flavors of Del Monte fruit cups.

I'll be picking up more of these new Diced Pears with Vanilla & Spice, and the Diced Apples & Pears with Caramel flavors.

I tried both kinds myself and I really like them too. I could taste a nice hint of the caramel, and the vanilla and spice were not overpowering, but just right. I do advise shaking them up a little so that all the flavoring is not on the bottom of the cup. Pears are actually one of my favorite fruits and it was nice to enjoy them with these new flavors. I'm very happy to be giving my grandsons snacks that are delicious and healthy for them.

Although I did buy the new Del Monte fruit cups for my grandsons, I like them too, so I tucked a couple in my purse to eat when I am busy and on the go. I love how they are only 60 calories each and just sweet enough so that I will be satisfied eating one instead of grabbing a snack that is loaded with sugar and calories.

If you'd like to know more about these Del Monte fruit cups and other Del Monte products, go to their website. You can also visit them on Facebook and Twitter. If you'd like to see my shopping experience at Walmart, check out my Google+ photo album.

If you would like to try the delicious New Flavors of Del Monte with your family there is a coupon for $0.50 off the product when you buy it at Walmart. Click here to redeem your free coupon.

* I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Del Monte #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Preschool trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Liam pumpkin picking and pointing.

Who needs a pumpkin when they have this great ROCK collection!

I told him he could take a pumpkin home, but for the life of me I could not get him to let go of the rocks! BOYS!!

Super Dad! The hubby with Ashley in the pack while pushing Liam on the bike.

I was there too!

eShakti Houndstooth Jacket Review

 ~By Laura

With the winter almost here I know I will need to be buying a few coats. For me as a plus size Mom I have less choices of what I can buy in the store than other moms. I do however find great things online or in department stores that tend to last a few seasons because of the quality of items. Since I have been working more I find I have even less time to go out shopping. Being able to shop online for nice clothing makes shopping much easier for me. My sister recommended eShakti to me since she has a few products from them and mentioned they also carry a variety of sizes.

I have been loving the trend of Houndstooth and found the perfect coat with big buttons that look great! I am in love with this coat, it fits true to size, is very warm and super cute.

Color: Black/off-white

Go bold in our dynamic black and white houndstooth jacket featuring a double-breasted button style on a classic silhouette.

• Notch collar, long sleeves.
• Princess seamed to shape.
• Front welt pockets.
• Hip length.
• Lined in polynylon taffeta.
• Polyester/acrylic, woven, no stretch, heavier weight.
• Dry clean.

I have found many other super cute items I would love for my wardrobe from eShakti

You can learn more about eShakti on their Facebook and Twitter pages.

*I was not paid for this post. I was sent a eShakti item for my review. All opinions in the this post are my own.

Baseball: Go Giants!

My son insists that baseball is Ball Ball, no matter how many times I correct him he tells me " No Mom its Ball Ball". I have stopped correcting him and for now we will enjoy watching Ball Ball together.

On Monday we had a super fun time watching the Giants play in game 7 for the chance to make it to the world series to play the Detroit Tigers. The game was exciting but the 9th inning was crazy. It started to pour down rain! Watching it on tv was great, we stayed dry and could still cheer our favorite baseball team on.

My son had his hat on and was practicing he best swings. My older brother played baseball, my little brother t-ball and Sam and I played softball for many years, we are a baseball family. I LOVE that my son enjoys watching and playing too. I look forward to a few years when he can join a t-ball team.

Who are you rooting for, San Francisco Giants or Detroit Tigers?

Selecting a Wine for Food

The more I learn to cook better food the more I realize that I can make my food amplified if I serve the right drink with it. I dont drink very often but when I do its wine. Each year when the state fair is running we stop in the Wine Gardens to try new wines. The cheese and fruit plates they serve with the wine are delicious. I find it enjoyable to try wines from different regions too. I had not thought about Australian wines until a friend of ours married an Australian woman and they told me about the sun and soil there makes for some great wines.

Cooking with wine can be a tasty way to add flavor to a dish. Wine Selectors has a variety of white wines that pair well with seafood and reds that go with beef. I found one that sounded very interesting, Angullong Savagnin. The Angullong promise is to deliver wines of great regional character thanks to their cool climate vineyards planted on ancient volcanic soils with flavors if passionfruit and honeydew melon aromas and tangy tropical fruit with a herbaceous twist on the palate, thats sounds wonderful!

Classic red Christmas gift pack

They even have a section that list wines that are perfect for a BBQ, how great is that. The drop down list for the types of meat you are eating make it simple to know what wines to pair with your food. Everything from lamb, seafood, pork, beef, chicken and dessert. If you cannot decide what wine to buy for your recipes you can buy a mixed shipment of a variety of wines in a range of budgets. I think it would be fun to serve my guest this holiday season wines from Australia.

You can also enter the current contest running on the Wine Selector website to win a case of premium wine.

I have not served wine with dessert. It sounds like an elegant touch to a dinner party. I found a 3 pack that sounded great. The wines have hints of lemon rind over rich butterscotch with toffee and rich butterscotch and apricot nectar, just the wines sound like a great dessert! I look forward to trying new wine pairings with food.


*This post is brought to you by Wine Selectors. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.