Posts tagged ‘giveaway’
End of Year Dinner Slump & Giveaway Winner
Happy Post-Father’s Day! As soon as this posts I’ll be swapping over to read all about everyone’s weekends. I spent mine baking cupcakes, relaxing, and spending some time with family and these cutie patooties:
Anyone who works in a school knows that the last 1-2 weeks are pretty sloppy. I have a stack as high as my waist of paperwork that “needs to get done” in addition to picking up my kids throughout the day. As a result the quality of cooking and dinners has diminished severely and we’ve been living off of frozen goods and leftovers for as far as the eyes can stretch. Fear not! This weekend was met with many cupcake creations, which are for another time and place (maybe in a few hours).
For instance tonight’s dinner. When Whole Foods re-organizes or expands my local store, I have no choice but to spend a few extra minutes perusing the aisles and calculating all the ways to spend my money on edibles. When I lived in New York and San Diego, Whole Foods pre-cooked tofu and salads were my lifeline and now that I am paying off my loans and no longer living off them I had to back off a lot. In any case, tonight was a summer splurge that reminds me of meals a la Cynthia, except seitan panini-less.
On the Menu: Sesame Glazed Tofu, Grilled Vegetables, and Pearl Couscous salad. This meal probably cost me $6.00 which isn’t terrible considering where it came from. Of course it was delicious as almost anything that resides inside Whole Foods most definitely is. And for another $6.00 expect to see some leftovers as my snack of choice tomorrow.
Tomorrow I am going to be attending Y@GL – Yoga at the Great Lawn (in Central Park). Essentially, it’s a class for 10,000 yogis in the middle of Central Park. Or in their words: On June 22, 2010, Flavorpill and JetBlue’s TrueBlue will host the world’s largest yoga event ever as 10,000 people of all backgrounds, sizes, and skill levels will simultaneously practice on the Great Lawn in Central Park, NYC.
After work a coworker and I are booking it to the bus station and high-tailing it uptown. I’ll be sure to report on the grooviness that ensues – I’m pretty excited!
Remember my Soy Candles by Phebes Reivew & Giveaway? I know I’m about 3 days late in revealing the winner, but better late than never!
The winner: Danielle, who said: “I’m curious about the “butt naked” scent – sounds fun! 
“.
Danielle please e-mail me your information so I can get you in touch with Phebes for your free scent (you didn’t leave your e-mail on your comment)!
Everyone else: Even though you didn’t win one free scent today – Mike at Soy Candles by Phebes has generously extended this offer that I encourage you to check out: “
Come to www.soycandlesbyphebes.com and buy three candles and get a fourth free! Simply mention that you found us on Amanda’s Domestic Adventures and indicate what scent you’d like for the free candle and you’re in!”
Soy Candles by Phebes – Review & Giveaway!
When Mike from Soy Candles by Phebes contacted me and offered to send me some candles to review – there was no doubt in my mind that the answer was yes! I had visited their website a few days prior to when they contacted me, and at that point I had already had it in my mind that “Sweet Cotton” was a candle I needed in my life. So this was quite a fortuitous offer!
According to their website, Soy Candles by Phebes are handmade in America (Georgia) and are hand poured at the time of each order – talk about made to order! The candles use only essential oils and plant derived fragrance oils, and are blended with 100% American grown soy beans! To boot, they are vegan owned and operated!
And if the fact that they are vegan made and eco-friendly doesn’t win you over, you need to check out their list of available fragrances. I have to say the variety of scents they offer on their website truly are both unique and modern. I was lucky enough to receive the scent that I had been coveting, “Sweet Cotton” and a surprise scent “Osmanthus Fragrant Tea Olive”. Check out the sleek and simple glasses the candles are sent in, which are unadorned with stickers and are all neutral in color.
“Sweet Cotton” was everything it is described as “Fresh Green Apple with hints of Orange & Pineapple on a Downy Base”. This candle is out of this world delightful! I love a crisp fruity candle, and I am not exaggerating when I say that this is my officially my favorite summer smell. Even unlit this candle’s fragrance fills our office – which also houses the cat’s litter box, so that says a lot. The strength of this candle is quite unreal, and upon entering the room my nostril’s are instantly greeted with a light fruity fragrance. I LOVE IT!
The “Osmanthus Frangrant Tea Olive” was my surprise scent. Traditionally, I enjoy two types of candles: fruity and desserty, florals rarely make their way into my home. However this scent manages to pull off floral with a hint of fruity – and that’s how it won me over. Again, the strength of these candles is astounding. I’ve found the perfect home for this calming scent – in my bathtub for a spa shower/bath. It’s soothing and quickly fills the bathroom with it’s aroma.
By now you should be practically drooling at the endless possibilities that Phebes can offer your home – and you may be lucky enough to receive one free candle of your choice!
The kind folks at Phebes have offered to give one lucky reader a candle of their choice! How do you enter?
- First and foremost, visit Soy Candles by Phebes website and comment on this page to tell me which scent you secretly are coveting!
- For an “extra” entry and to spread some Domestic lovin’, link back to this post and let me know you did in the comments!
The contest runs until Friday at midnight – and I’ll randomly choose a winner on Saturday morning! Good luck!
*SPECIAL OFFER: Visit www.soycandlesbyphebes.com and buy three candles and get a fourth free! Simply mention that you found us on Amanda’ss Domestic Adventures and indicate what scent you’d like for the free candle and you’re in!”
And the winner is…
So I know that I am new to blogging (very new) and giving away something was really just a pay it forward for the books that I was able to receive. That being said, your chances at winning this book were very high! So I know all 10 of you are just antsy and waiting… and for that I now present the winner of my Vegan Bites giveaway.
The 3rd person to post was: Jessi! Congrats, hope you enjoy the book and share any goodies you come across!
I am exhausted and have a report to write that was pretty much due today. After work and treating a private client, I drove to Hoboken to meet my college roommate for dinner. We went to a Mediterranean restaurant and I got a delicious vegetarian spread (hummus, babaganoush and tabouli galore!) and am stuffed to the gills. D is still working and it’s 10:00 so I think I’m going to get to work, and get to bed. Hope you all had a happy delicious Monday!
Reviews: Pure NRG Bar & Gardein Chik’n
Today I was so grateful for having the day off. Our power went on & off three times in the course of the night, and the bang of the electricity powering on and off kept me up all night. I got to sleep in while poor D had to go off to work. I considered all the things I could use my time for, but decided to stay home and pick up and clean all the messes I didn’t get to yesterday.
While I was keeping busy the doorbell rang – I had received a package from Keri at IEatTrees.com. I won her giveaway and received a box of 12 Pure NRG bars! Thank you so much Keri! Pure NRG bars are vegan and gluten free, and have laudable nutritionals. They keep for 21 days on the counter, 90 days in the refrigerator, and 6 months in the freezer.
I received Blueberry, Carob Peanut Butter, Cherry Almond, and Carob Coconut.
I stuck 4 bars in the refrigerator, and the rest in the freezer. However I really couldn’t wait to try them and ripped open the carob coconut, as it was just eyeing me down. Check out the nutrition facts:
Calories: 240, Fat: 9g, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 6g, Dietary Fiber: 9g.
Ingredients: coconut flour, rice flour, tapioca flour, hemp protein, unsweetened applesauce, agave nectar, xylitol, olive oil, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, rice milk, vanilla extract, xantham gum, cinnamon, coconut, carob.
Review? I love all of those ingredients listed above! So natural and healthy, and no soy! They are a bit high in calories and fat, however given what the bar is comprised of I think it’s well worth a healthy treat. This bar was delicious! It was sweet with a mild hint of coconut, moist and chewy, and the carob chips balanced out the flavors perfectly. I only allowed myself half, but I can easily see the other half being my “treat” after dinner. I can’t wait to try the rest of the flavors!
Lunch rolled around before I realized what time it was, and I was anxious to dig into a Gardein product, as they generously sent me three coupons to try out their products! Gardein proteins are all vegan, and made up of soy, grain, and vegetable bases. I picked up two products yesterday and whipped out the Tuscan breasts today.
Check out those nutritionals! The ingredients are pretty well based as well: water, soy protein, vital wheat gluten, ancient grains (quinoa, amaranth, millet and kamut®), natural flavors (from plant sources), potato starch, expeller pressed canola oil and/or safflower oil, pea protein, modified vegetable gum, carrot fiber, organic beet root fiber, organic evaporated cane juice, yeast extract, sea salt. marinade: water, tomato paste, spices, herbs (rosemary, oregano, basil), red bell pepper flakes, vinegar, citric acid, xanthan gum
I heated the chik’n for 2-minutes in the microwave before cutting it in half and piling onto a sandwich. The chik’n was moist and cooked in a tomato sauce. I toasted two pieces of Ezekial 7-grain bread, spread one side with the best hummus in the world (Sabra roasted red pepper), stacked some spinach and canned artichokes, and then the gardein chik’n.
The first bite of the sandwich made me drool for me, everything was so moist and flavorful! The chik’n didn’t have a chewy texture (think: morningstar or quorn), and was much more moist. I would say from what I remember it wasn’t as chicken-like in flavor or texture, but was close. I enjoyed the first half of the sandwich immensely; however by the time I got to the second half the overwhelming presence of the chicken-like protein began to nag at me, and iIfound myself picking some chunks of it out.
Results? I found the chik’n to be quite delicious, and I would and will go to it as a chicken replacement again. I can see this being quite delicious shredded up in mexican dishes (think: quesadillas and enchiladas), where there are many other big flavor and texture components at play. I probably will not make a whole piece the center of a sandwich again, and I think I may cut a piece in half and have better results. Overall, I absolutely recommend this product to someone looking to add some vegan protein to their diet in a quick fashion.
I can’t wait to try to the chik’n tenders next! What’s your favorite meat replacer? Before I switched to a vegan diet I loved morning star crumbles, and wish they figure out a way to remove the egg whites!
Stay tuned for tonight’s dinner, and if you haven’t please check out and enter my Vegan Bites giveaway that runs the rest of this week! All you have to do is comment on what you’d like to try!
