December 3, 2013
Oink: Teaching Financial Literacy and Independence #review #giveaway
Teaching our children financial literacy skills is incredibly important. It gives them the strength, knowledge and independence to help them grow as stronger young adults. But how do we teach our children these skills? Money can be such a sensitive topic for people and others may not feel comfortable discussing bills, savings, etc. The tricky part can be in how to get these conversations rolling.
Image from VirtualPiggy.com
Oink (previously Virtual Piggy) is an online piggy bank where children and teens can safely (and securely!) spend, save their allowances, create wishlists, donate and more. Most importantly, Oink opens up the door of communication so we can have these important financial chats with our children (that do not always happen when we give them their allowance in cash and they disappear quickly and I speak from experience there – never seen a nine year old run to his room so quickly before!).
Oink has set up quite a few safeguards for children when it comes to spending. A parent must first set up their own account linking it to their child’s account. Parents can then set a number of parameters depending on the age of their child, the amount of independence they feel is right, etc. Parent’s can set up funding goals, choose how much a child can spend in a single transaction, how they are alerted for these transactions and if approval needs to be given before these transactions can go through. Oink works with kid friendly retailers online and when your child goes to make a purchase they simply click on the “Virtual Piggy” at checkout. This video by Oink really helped walk me through the whole concept and understand our accounts better.
I love how Oink not only allows my son and I to have important financial conversations but also how it empowers him to make good financial decisions on his own. I was quite proud to hear him say that he did not want to spend all of his money on one toy because then he would have nothing left! He wanted to save a portion of his allowance and the other part he would save until there was something he really wanted. Oink gives him the tools to independently save his allowance, create a wishlist that we can go through together (you know all those “wants”) while still allowing me to monitor from a distance to make sure he is safe. It allowed me to feel confident in his choices and help us to speak more freely about money and budgeting for our wants and needs.
The best part of Oink? It is 100% free to use! Yes you heard that right! Both the child and parent account are completely free to use, save and spend online!
Oink is also a Parent Tested Parent Approved Winner. They have met the high standards of other parents just like you in order to earn that designation which is well deserved!
You can also check out their website which has a wealth of financial knowledge and tips. They have great tips on starting money conversations when paying bills or shopping along with helpful resources for families. You can also keep up to date with them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
Oink is giving one reader a chance to win a $100 in gift card credit at shop.virtualpiggy.com!
This giveaway is open to residents of the US, 18 years of age and older. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.
GOOD LUCK!
Disclosure: I received no monetary compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own. The only compensation from this post is the giveaway for you my readers.
December 3, 2013
Delicious Guilt Free Goodness with CheeCha Puffs! #Review #Giveaway
Eating snacks between meals is important – it keeps our energy up, prevents us from over eating at meal times, allows us to remain feeling full and satisfied and has been shown over time to help with weight loss. What we eat at these snack times is very important. I find that too often it is so much easier to reach for the junk snack foods that are so readily available and full of calories, sugars and ingredients you can’t even read! Which defeats the whole purpose of healthy eating at snack times!
But what if there was a snack out there that was made with wholesome ingredients, low calories and tastes delicious?
CheeCha Puffs covers all those points and more! I was introduced to the brand when I started my gluten free diet two years ago. I wanted something healthy, gluten free, low in calories but would still satisfy those snack cravings I seem to always get in the early afternoon!
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The gluten free CheeCha Puff line is made up of five flavours. Each flavour is not only gluten free but also nut free, cholesterol free, non GMO, trans fat free, MSG free and dairy free. Now that is a list!
The gluten free flavours are:
The gluten free flavours are:
salt and vinegar (my personal fave!)
The low calorie line (and by low calories I mean roughly 75 calories for two cups! Yup two cups! That is a lot of snacking) is compromised of seven flavours:
triple cheese (my boys fave flavour!)
Each wheel like piece of potato puffed CheeCha Puffs are lightly seasoned and popped to make that healthy and delicious treat. I find these make the perfect snacks for school lunches and I regularly bring them to soccer games and the team cheerleaders “aka the little brothers and sisters” love to snack on them throughout the games!
CheeCha Puffs are sold at many locations across Canada and the United States. I personally purchase my own at Sobeys and Walmart.
What I love the most about CheeCha Puffs is their story. They are a Canadian owned business that started in Elaine Cadrin’s Calgary kitchen. She took a traditional family snack that was deep fried and popped it to create what would become CheeCha Puffs. She started selling them at a local farmer market where they soon became a huge hit. Now alongside her daughter, Tracey, they manage the CheeCha factory in Calgary bringing families all across Canada healthy goodness!
CheeCha Puffs have generously sponsored a great giveaway for you! They would like to give one Canadian reader a case of CheeCha Puffs so you can taste for yourself how fantastic they truly are!
Enter the Rafflecopter form below. The giveaway is open to Canadians, 18 years of age and older.
GOOD LUCK!
Disclosure: I received no monetary compensation for this post. All thoughts expressed are my own. The only compensation is the giveaway for you my readers!
December 2, 2013
Making Meatloaf Fun with #WhollyGuacamole
Meatloaf
by Wholly Guacamole® brand
Looking for a new take on an old classic? Wholly Guacamole® brand has a great recipe for meatloaf that will really turn up the flavor. Everyone loves getting an individual portion all to them selves, plus, this allows for some to be spicier than others.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Ground Beef (chuck or sirloin)
- 1 Cup Roasted Tomato Wholly Salsa dip
- 1 Tbl Onion Powder
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce, Less Sodium
- 2 Tbl Honey
- 2 t prepared Yellow Mustard
- 2 Large Eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Place salsa into Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave 1 minute
- Stir salsa for 20 seconds to release steam. Microwave another 45 seconds. Stir for 20 seconds. Repeat at 30 seconds until roughly 1/2 cup salsa is remaining
- Mix all ingredients gently until incorporated
- Portion into muffin tin. Cook 10 minutes
- Carefully remove from oven and spoon topping over each loaf.
- Place back into oven and cook an additional 10 minutes.
- Let stand 2-3 minutes. Remove from muffin tin and serve.
Meatloaf Topping
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Wholly Salsa Roasted Tomato dip
- 2 Tbl Soy Sauce less Sodum
- 2 Tbl Honey
- 2 Tbl Ketchup
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together until incorporated. Let mixture sit at room temperature
Traditional meatloaf flavors are mixed with spicy salsa for an unexpected twist. Serve with mashed potatoes and a veggie for a well rounded meal that will make them beg for seconds. Try it today!
November 29, 2013
#CutcoCooks Twitter Party!
The holiday season is here!
Time to start all the lovely holiday baking and cooking up family favourites. To get us in the celebrating mood, Journeys of the Zoo and Mommy Outside the Box along with Cutco Cutlery are partying in true style!
Join us on December 11th for an hour full of great conversation and fabulous prizes.
To find all the full details and RSVP (make sure to RSVP in order to be eligible to win prizes!) head over to Mommy Outside the Box. Prizing is open to Canadian residents, 18 years of age and older (excluding Quebec).
Looking forward to partying with you on December 11th, 2013!
November 27, 2013
Holiday Travel Tips – Packing While Keeping Your Sanity!
It is that time of year again, when many of us travel long (or short!) distances to be with our loved ones. Although these moments are special the preparation for these trips can be very overwhelming – what to pack, how much to pack and how to pack it.
I recently came across a great post by Paul Fredrick focused on the top ten ways to keep your clothes looking fresh while travelling. You can check out their full list here (if you are not familiar with the Paul Fredrick brand check out their site – they have a great selection of men’s clothes!). The list is geared to men but I found that a lot of them relate to families perfectly. My favourite tips from Paul Fredrick have to be the ones related to toiletries, shoes and non iron fabrics.
I am nowhere near a pro yet to packing for trips but I have learned some countless lessons while travelling with my children.
My number one lesson has to be the toiletries and medications. Both of my children have asthma, eczema and allergies that require us to bring them everywhere we go. It is always important to have any bottled liquids in a Ziploc baggie by itself and then it can be safely stored with other toiletries in a large Ziploc bag (I know bubble gum Benadryl smells nice but it is a pain to clean up!). Remember all those fantastic samples you get in the mail? They are PERFECT for travelling. I keep mine in bins in the bathroom cupboard and use them up on our travels. Perfect size for any trip. Just make sure to keep them all in Ziploc baggies and separated from your clothes.
Remember those non iron fabrics that Paul Fredrick told us about in their post? I agree 100%! Keep your sanity and pack as many non iron fabrics as possible.
When it comes to packing clothes I start with a list (can you tell I am a list nut?!). I make a separate list for each member in the family and start writing down how many items we will need (t-shirts, socks, underwear), will you need a bathing suit, shorts, pants, a sweater. I do not like over packing so I make sure we will have what each one of us needs. I also like to let our kids help choose which items they are going to bring. They get excited to help out and then no one can complain that I did not pack them what they wanted (how many parents have heard that before?!).
My biggest pet peeve – finding one of my family members stuffing shoes or sandals in with our clothes. Always keep them separate from your clothes. I usually pack them in a completely separate bag all together.
Above all else, have fun and enjoy packing!