Suzy Q Homemaker

I never thought I would be here, writing about losing weight and all that jazz.  Isn’t that what people in their 30′s and 40′s do?  Oh….I’m almost 30.  Crap.

All joking aside, I have had a hard time treating my body well since Timothy was born almost fifteen months ago.  I was doing great, but life happens, right?  I had just started going back to yoga and pilates and trying to heal my split abs when I had that pesky appendix removed.  Recovering from that wasn’t all that bad, but winter came along, complete with everyone and their grandma getting stomach flu, colds, etc., etc.  Jamie was in classes in the evenings, I had rehearsals, and we found ourselves eating out A LOT, and I’m not even going to get into the horrible, horrible foods we were eating and eating to excess.  Oh, and going to the gym?  Forget it.  I tried taking Timothy and Simon by myself once, but it was a nightmare.

A couple months ago, I found out that I have high cholesterol.  I knew I was overweight.  Not obese by any means, but I weighed just a couple pounds more than I weighed when I was pregnant with my firstborn.  Yeah.  I have been embarrassed to go out in public because nothing fit but some drawstring pants and some t-shirts.  It was getting ridiculously depressing.

When Mom Central offered me the opportunity to try a new line of nutritional drinks and foods from Smart for Life that are (mostly) organic and contain good stuff like fiber & vitamins, I honestly couldn’t resist.

About the underWAY drinks:

The underWAY supplement drink, infused with a special HeroFiber and heart-healthy vitamins, works naturally to suppress your appetite and quench your thirst. underWAY curbs your hunger two ways. Its special formulation not only takes longer for the stomach to absorb, it also slows the absorption of what’s already there, making you feel fuller, longer. What’s more, its unique ingredients stimulate your stomach, telling your brain you’ve consumed more calories that you really have which, with underWAY, is almost zero! It contains no preservatives, sodium or caffeine, with only 10 calories and 2 grams of carbs per 8 oz. serving. HeroFiber, a soluble dietary fiber, helps maintain normal levels of cholesterol, glucose and insulin that are already in the normal range.

The Açai-Pomegranate drink?  SO GOOD.  I was also sent the Grape flavor, but I’m not a fan of any grape flavoring.   Jamie liked them, though!  I also loved all the different snacks they sent: cookies, cupcakes, etc.  It was all delicious and although I don’t believe I could follow a diet plan as outlined by the Smart for Life website, I already bought a package of the drinks when I ran out of the samples they sent.  I can see myself eating the cookies for breakfast, too.  They’re so yummy!!

Adding underWAY and Smart for Life cookies to my now very active lifestyle seems to be very promising for me.

Want a discount?

The nice people with Smart for Life are happy to offer my readers a special 10% discount code for underWAY and Smart for Life products. Please use MCUS10OFFUW for underWAY products at www.underWAY.com and MCUS10OFFSFL at www.smartforlife.com. These will go live July 2nd and expire August 30th.

I really hope you try these out for yourself.  Guilt-free snacks?  Can’t beat ‘em.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of underWAY and Smart for Life and received samples of the products to review.

How many different laundry detergents have I tried?  A lot.  I’m always on the lookout for the next big thing in laundry.  I think that if our water wasn’t as hard as it is, I would probably stick to one detergent and be done.  Also, I am never completely satisfied with my laundry.  It’s either not all clean, smells funny, or just looks dingy.  I also thought that I was on the losing end of a battle with stains.  I almost gave up!

So, how was I to turn down the opportunity to try Clorox Green Works Laundry detergent and stain remover?

The claims from the Clorox website:

Q. What does natural mean? Are Green Works® products 100% natural?

A. Currently, there is no industry standard definition for natural cleaners. To create Green Works® natural cleaners we set ourselves a very stringent standard. The ingredients must come from renewable resources, be biodegradable and free of petrochemicals. Green Works® cleaners are at least 95% natural. In certain cases we had to use synthetic ingredients, like the preservative and green colorant. But we’re working hard to develop natural alternatives so the entire line can be 100% natural.

My opinion:

I’m happy that the laundry detergent is plant-based and mostly natural, but I don’t believe they should claim a detergent is “natural” if they are still putting in green colorants, synthetic preservatives, and fragrances.  There is a free-and-clear option, but I was sent the scented version.  We don’t use scented laundry products as a rule because they exacerbate Corey’s eczema, so I mostly used the detergent on towels and my clothing.

The scent of the Clorox detergent is VERY strong.  I had only done two loads of laundry when Jamie came home and said,

“You’re doing LAUNDRY.”

Then when Aiden got home from school, he asked,

“What smells like mint?”

It’s not an unpleasant smell by any means, so if fragrances float your boat, good for you!  I just happen to know that the process of creating fragrance oils added to household products is far from “green”.  We prefer not to have them in the house at all.

Cleaning-wise, I think that the Clorox washes as well as any other plant-based detergent I’ve used.  I honestly saw no difference.

The Stain Remover

I am impressed!  I have never been the stain-remover type of person, but since I have it on hand, I had to see what the hype was.

Since Timothy has been sick for the past week, we’ve been having to give him medicine and the stuff is full of dyes!  I didn’t want to admit it.    But hey, we weren’t the ones who bought the stuff, so I’ll save that argument for another post. Anyway, I sprayed all the spots on Timothy’s pajamas that were covered in puke, ibuprofen suspension, and most recently the bright pink antibiotic.  It ALL came out.  All of it–even the spots from four days ago!  I was afraid that all the new pajamas I had just bought him were ruined, but nope!  So now you’ll find me poring over all the boys’ shirts and pants, hunting down stains before I throw them in the wash.

I don’t have any other stain remover to compare the Clorox brand to, but I think I’ll be buying this in the future.  As a mother of four boys, I can’t afford not to.

Boys can wear leg warmers, too, you guys.  I love these puzzle piece Leg Huggers because they make diaper changing a breeze.  I also love them because they’re bamboo!  I don’t have to tell you that bamboo is super eco-friendly.  The fabric gets a little fuzzy and pilled after a while due to much rolling, scooting, and failed attempts to crawl.  I don’t care, though–they’re still cute on his chunky legs.

Leg Huggers provided for review.

I have an entire cabinet full of small kitchen appliances, some of which I rarely reach for (ahem, BREADMAKER?).  But at least three days a week, I take out the Redi-Set-Go Cooker to make my breakfast.  Call me lazy, but I do enjoy the fact that I can make omelettes without the stove, frying pan, butter, etc.  The concept is simple: preheat cooker, mix up eggs w/cheese, pour into cooker.  I walk away for ten minutes and come back to a fluffy, fully-cooked omelette.  Huzzah!

There are plenty of other foods that I can make with the cooker, but I mostly use it for eggs.  After all, it’s often the only way I can enjoy a hot breakfast.  When Timothy is a little older and I have more time to play in the kitchen, I’ll crack open the cookbook I got with it and see what other lovelies I can whip up.

Annoying disclosure statement: I was sent the Redi-Set-Go Cooker for free to review, and I did join up with their affiliate program after I decided that I am madly in love with it.

We have a new love in our house. Read more…