Category Archives: Giveaway

All aboard with Big Train! GIVEAWAY!

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Since I started writing in this lovely and motivational  blog, my sister Alyssa has been awesome enough to let me do some product reviews.  I first got to try out a bra from fullbeauty.com as you may remember from this funny story…  More recently however I have been fortunate enough to try out a protein shake from the company Big Train!

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I started drinking my yummy drink last Wednesday after I had two hours of tennis and before I went on to another two hours of Pilates and yoga.  Since I started this crazy routine of mass amounts of exercise, my body has been craving some sort of pick-me-up that could actually keep me full through my mornings when I wasn’t able to snack.

The chocolate frappe protein shake has provided me with just the boost I’ve needed!  After my first shake last week I made it through the next classes with no problem of  my grumbling tummy disturbing my neighbors during quiet pranayama breathing routine.  Over the past five days I have been rotating between having the shake for either breakfast or lunch.  With the addition of the calories from my milk and the calorie count of only 130 kcal per 1/2 cup of mix, the shakes turn out to be a nice little meal substitute.

I had some issues in  the beginning with being able to thoroughly blend the powder into my milk, but that was before I asked you, the readers, what you did about that issue.  So many of you suggested  the blender ball so I promptly went out an bought a bottle of my own.   Over the weekend I actually had time to make a blended frozen shake with half a banana and it was so good I’m suddenly inspired to go make another one… Even though I already had my shake after tennis today!

April’s frozen shake with banana

The thing I like best about these Big Train shakes is that they don’t taste grainy or chalky like so many I have had before.  Plus I *really* like how it lasts me a good three hours or so before I start to get hungry again.  I’ve tried probably about six or seven different protein shakes and I have yet to find one that I would continue to use.  I might actually consider maintaining my use of the chocolate frappe once my bottle runs out.  I tend to be somewhat of a cheap ass so the $45 price tag will be what I would call an “investment” but when I think about it, the whole jug is enough to last me for about a month and comes out to to be about $1.50 a meal.  That’s pretty cheap when I think of it that way.

April and her first Big Train shake!

April and her first Big Train shake before she invested in a blender ball.

One of the cool things about this company is that they don’t just do protein shakes either.  In fact, they have a whole array of a bunch of different kinds of tasty convenient beverages for people.  They’ve got gluten free products, kids products, low carb, low sugar, no caffeine, seasonal products… all sorts of stuff!  They even have baked goods!

The folks over at Big Train were awesome enough to send me some goodies along with my shake mix to give away for our readers to try.

So tell me readers… Why should you be the winner of the Big Trail shake giveaway?
It’s super easy to enter… Pick one or all of the things below for your chance to win! Leave a comment for each thing you do, or if you only do one, that’s fine too – just make sure you leave a comment on this post that you did it! We will pick one random winner on Wednesday, April 10th at 11:59 PM PST. US and ages 18+ only, please. If you win, we’ll verify that you did certain things, so please be honest :)

GOOD LUCK!

In the meantime, I’ll continue drinking my shake every day and will report back in a few weeks with whether or not I feel it had an impact on my weight loss!

Enjoy your week!

AprilSignatur

 

Diet to Go Week of Meals GIVEAWAY!

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It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for… when Diet to Go gives away one whole week of meals to one lucky Double Chin Diary reader! For a recap, this plan is a pre-prepared meal plan that’s shipped to your house once a week with reheatable meals. I have lost eight pounds in the past month and have been pleasantly surprised at how yummy and simple to prepare everything is! Don’t forget – if you’re a vegetarian or even on a low-carb diet, you can still use Diet to Go! (I myself am a fan of the “low-fat traditional” menu.)

enter to win diet to go meals weight loss giveaway contest sweepstakes blog giveaway

To enter this giveaway, all you have to do is visit the Diet to Go website and tell me in a blog comment which meal you would most like to try. Please hit the “I Did It” button after you write a blog comment on the rafflecopter widget below. If you have problems with it just let me know in another comment and I’ll make sure your entry is tallied.

This giveaway will end February 28 at 12 AM and is open to players 18 and up in the United States. There’s lots of other ways to score additional entries – like “liking” Diet to Go on Facebook, tweeting about the giveaway and pinning an image from this post on Pinterest. Let me know if you have any questions and GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Diet to Go BBQ Chicken Meal - SUPER yummy!

Diet to Go BBQ Chicken Meal – SUPER yummy!

Diet To Go Turkey Penne Pasta

Diet to Go Turkey Penne Pasta

Delicious Diet to Go Omelet Pomodoro

Delicious Diet to Go Omelet Pomodoro

Diet To Go Tomato Basil Soup

Diet to Go Tomato Basil Soup

Diet to go egg quesadilla

Diet To Go Egg Quesadilla

 

 

Puzzled and Polished Earrings Giveaway

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Hello, Double Chinners! I’m going to start off with a fact that may surprise some of you (it will at least surprise the people who don’t follow me on instagram). Here it comes…

I am slightly obsessed with nail polish.

The obsession started in junior high, when I wasn’t quite bold enough to put colorful streaks in my hair, but felt that blood red nail polish was edgy enough to freak out my mom. When that didn’t work, I moved onto sparkly greens and teals, chunky glitters shaped like hearts and stars. My nails became a 10-fingered salute to my growing creativity and self expression, often chipped and showing the hard life of a suburban teenaged girl. (Catch that sarcasm?).

I gave up on nails in college, because the maintenance got to be too much and I preferred my nails short and unpolished, maybe sometimes with a clear coat for shine. Somehow, over the past two years, my love for nail polish has been reignited. There are several people to blame, the first being KJ Pugs, a dear friend and lover of all things glossy. The second is my friend Jenny, who brought me to my first pedicure, where I fell in love with the 5 minute foot massage and delicate, white flowers painted on my big toes.

earringtowin

Today, for the love of nail polish, I’m offering you this beautiful, hand-made pair of earrings from Puzzled and Polished, an awesome new business venture from my blogger friend Manda. I believe these earrings were made with Zoya Zuza, a lovely mermaid-esque teal. Manda’s son has autism, and she decided to combine her love of nail polish with her mission to raise awareness and funds for Cristian’s Cruisers, a Walk Now for Autism team. Here I am, wearing my pair. Mandy hand paints each piece with her choice of a special nail polish, and then fastens them to durable and high-quality jewelry findings. Combining nail polish with a super awesome mission? My cup of tea!

Don't let the giant wreath distract you (I know, I need to take it down!) from the beautiful Puzzled and Polished earrings I'm wearing!

Don’t let the giant wreath distract you (I know, I need to take it down!) from the beautiful Puzzled and Polished earrings I’m wearing!

If you’d like to enter to win this pair of earrings, all you have to do is “like” the Puzzled & Polished Facebook page and leave me a comment on this blog entry. I’ll pick a winner on Friday, so get likin’, before my nails dry! ;)

KalorieBox Review and Giveaway!

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I love getting mail. Especially now that I work from home, I wait in anticipation for the 4:30 shuffle of steps up my front stoop – knowing then that hopefully, the postman will deliver a bevy of boxes, a parcel of padded envelopes, or at the very least, a stack of letters and not just bills. Usually my mail days are a bust, filled with the mundane reminders of adult life – political flyers, cell phone bills and grocery store circulars. But on Saturday, I scored with the mail – because I received a Kalorie Box!

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KalorieBox is right on par with the new monthly subscription type boxes sweeping the nation – As a current BirchBox member (if you sign up use this link and we both get credit!), a monthly premium beauty sample box for $10, I was eager to check out a box filled with low fat and nutritional goodies. The first thing that struck me about KalorieBox is that it has a charitable angle to it. For each box they sell, they donate meals to hungry children. Pretty cool – I like the idea of losing my weight caused from TOO MUCH FOOD to help out people who don’t have enough (which is why my DietBet winnings this month will go to No Kid Hungry!)

Upon opening the box, I was impressed with the amount of stuff they pack in it. I scored a full sized box of Cheese Thinables, a Zevia lime cola soda, a bag of pirates booty, a fiber one cookie brownie, Peeled dried mango, a Pacific Grove Almond milk drink and a $1 off coupon for Zevia. This was a pretty hefty score, and one I’m still exploring. (Love the Zevia!!!) I have definitely been curious about almond milk but didn’t want to commit to a whole gallon, so I’m jazzed to try this out in a sample size. Also, the Cheese Thinables are pretty darn decent for a large 60-calorie serving (you get a huge handful! They taste just like Cheez-Its!)

KalorieBox

My KalorieBox loot – look at all those goodies!

KalorieBox has a few different options for subscribing – if you order one month at a time, it’s $25. If you order three months at a time, it’s $21 a month, or if you order 6 months at a time, it’s $17 a month. I definitely might check this out for a few months, because I love trying new foods and don’t always have the time to hunt them down at the store. Because seeing is believing, KalorieBox has generously offered one of my readers a sample box! There’s a ton of different ways to enter this giveaway, but I ask that you leave one comment letting me know why you want to win, and “like” KalorieBox on Facebook. This is a RaffleCopter giveaway, so for each action you complete, just hit the “I Did It!” button to the right for your action to be accepted. This giveaway will end next Wednesday at 12 AM PST and is US Only, 18+. (Don’t worry international – I have a giveaway coming up for you soon, too!)

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Why do you like Chike? Giveaway!

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Hellloooo Double Chinners! I’ve missed you! I’m back from my trip to Thailand and while I have TONS to tell you about, I wanted to kick off the new year with a great giveaway! Chike, tasty high protein shakes, is offering one of my readers a BPA Free Shaker and Ball and a set of their best flavors. Read my review and then enter by following the instructions at the bottom of this post.

20130106-183108.jpgI had initially heard of Chike through some of my favorite bloggers who focus on bariatric surgery. When you have weight loss surgery, you can’t eat as much, so quality high protein drinks like Chike are desirable to fill you up but also give you vitamins, protein and calcium. Since I’m a fan of anything quick and tasty, I definitely wanted to try these out as they’re not just for people who’ve had bariatric surgery.

The first one I was going to try was the protein packed iced coffee…but my husband got to it first. This is a big deal, Chike, because most of the “blog stuff” that comes to our house he won’t touch as it’s more often than not something weird like mushroom noodles. Matt’s review? “Very good! I was skeptical of a high protein coffee but with ice and water this had the caffeine I wanted and it filled me up.” Matt didn’t realize it was a meal replacement until I told him later that day when he didn’t want dinner! Haha!

photo 1I decided to try the chocolate flavor, and went all fancy by using cold milk in the shaker instead of water. I added some calories and fat this way but I prefer a creamier tasting drink and love that cold milk foam you get on top! After a couple hearty shakes, my drink was ready to go. I was also very pleasantly surprised, because most weight loss powdered drinks taste like chocolate flavored chalk. Not this one. It also didn’t have little bubbles of powder in it still, which is a plus if you’re a huge freak about texture like I am. Nice!

I haven’t tried them all, but my next favorite is strawberry. It doesn’t taste exactly like a sun ripened strawberry, maybe more like strawberry ice cream. I’d love to maybe one day see this shake from Chike with some small dried strawberry pieces. Then it would totally be like a milkshake! Chike also sent me vanilla, creamsicle and banana, but those are chillin in my pantry waiting to be eaten for breakfast! :)

I think you’ll really like these if you give them a try, so please enter the giveaway. Once again, just like Chike’s Facebook page here and write on their wall why you would like to try Chike. You can just copy and paste something like this – “I’m Jane and was sent over by the Double Chin Diary. I would like to try Chike because I want one of those snazzy shaker ball cups!”

photo 2Then just come back here, tell me you commented, and you’re good to go! If you want an extra entry, send a tweet about the giveaway and tag @lyssacurran or @doublechindiary and @chikenutrition with this link: http://wp.me/p2kXVY-ym .

Once again, leave a comment letting me know you did. You guys rock!This contest will end on Monday, January 14th at 12:01 AM PST. I will randomly pick a winner. GOOD LUCK!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to read about how one of my new year’s resolutions is already off to a strong, itchy and quite-a-story type of start! (It involves: severe weather, mosquitoes, jungle treks and getting lost. Whee!)

Homemade Harvey Review and Giveaway!

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Homemade Harvey Crushed Fruit

Hi Bloggies,
You can tell we’re getting close to the Holidays because it’s giveaway central over here lately! Today, the folks at Homemade Harvey are offering you a chance to win a $50 whole foods giftcard, and a bunch of their super yummy crushed fruit. Read on for why you’re going to want to get your hands on this sweet fruity snack!

Happy Girl likes Homemade Harvey’s

When I saw Homemade Harvey in my Facebook news feed, I was intrigued. I always like trying healthy, low cal snacks and sharing them with you. The company sent me some free samples – and holy moly, I was blown away! Here’s the beauty of Homemade Harvey – it’s nothing fancy. It’s simple. It reminds me of a yummy smoothie or some fresh apple sauce – because all it really is is crushed fruit. There’s no chemicals, no preservatives and no weird added flavors – just fruit all crushed up and smashed in a handy little pouch for you to slurp up.

When I first got them I had a fear of the texture. I like smooth things, but would sucking something from a pouch make me feel like a toothless toddler? Thankfully, the answer is no, and I kept thinking what a great snack this would be for kids or for anyone on the run in need of something fast. My only complaint is I ate the packet too fast and would find myself squeezing for one more last drop. But uh, that’s a problem with my appetite – not the product.

Homemade Harvey comes in four different flavors -
Mango Pineapple Passionfruit
Blueberry Strawberry Apple (My favorite)
Apple Pear Oats Ginger
Banana Strawberry Kiwi (My second favorite)

Check out the ingredients list on my fav flavor – Organic strawberry, banana, apple, kiwi and lemon peel. That’s it. Love that.

The texture of Homemade Harvey’s is smooth and soft – no yucky gunk here!

Because I’m a weirdo, I was curious what the paste looked like. I expected brown gunk like day old guacamole, but instead this delightful and cheery smooth orange puree came out of the package. Looks like baby food. Totally edible, and not yucky looking like I was fearing. Even better, calorie-wise, each one comes in under 100 calories – the lowest is the blueberry with 80 calories. Considering this is at least two servings of fruit crammed into each pouch, this is a snack I feel good about slurping up. You can find it at Whole Foods and at some Ralph’s stores – you can check the website for a store locator.

So – now you definitely want to win some Harveys and a $50 Whole Foods gift card, right?! It’s easy to enter – first thing you have to do is leave a blog comment saying which flavor you’d like to try most – and second thing is just mark “I did it” on rafflecopter. You can score extra entries by tweeting, “liking” on FB, etc. Just make sure you check the box “I did it!” each time on Rafflecopter. This giveaway will last for one week, which means it will end at 11:59 PM on Wednesday, November 14th. US only, please. GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway