Healthy Lunch Wrap

With step by step images showing you what I used.  This has helped me curb my addiction to wheat/ breads, and has allowed me to go Gluten Free.  My husband still prefers the Spinach wraps over gluten free ones, but since that's the only gluten he gets we figured why not.  This has helped us work on reaching our weight loss goals.  

Spinach wrap

Green Goddess dressing

Yellow Mustard

Spring Greens

Your wrap should be looking like this

I used real chicken.
This was a leftover chicken breast cooked in Sweet Korean BBQ sause

I put this much meat on, but found it to
be too dry for that much meat.

Add shredded carrots

And shredded cucumber.  Can you see how thin my shreds are?  

Wrap and tuck in the ends.
This wrap is slightly stretchy, and moist so it
sticks together well, and keep everything in.

I made two types, so this picture shows tomatoes.
Cut in half.

Eat and enjoy!

Surprise Ride Monthly Box

Details: As seen on Shark Tank Surprise Ride is a monthly subscription service specifically for children aged 6-11.  This monthly box is an educational hand on surprise full of activities that are both creative and imaginative for the children.  This company is partnered with country music star Sara Evans and with Hidden Valley Original Ranch to offer both activities and nutritious recipes that give adults quality time to play with their kids.  You can purchase your subscription via this Link.

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

My Review: I remember seeing this company on Shark Tank, and just fell in love with the idea and products then so to get the opportunity to do a product review.  Despite not getting an investment from any of the sharks, they are growing immensely and enjoying the journey.  My children are home schooled and are ages 5-8.  I was able to let the company rep know, gender and age of my kids, not knowing how this exactly works.  But as it turns out the activities that comes are pretty gender neutral, and easy to do with children.  The box that I got was in the theme: outer space/ stars.  They specifically say "The World in a Box." as its theme.  The activities are things like: building a clock, creating a telescope, "Cosmo" the flying alien, and even some Astronaut Freeze Dried Pineapple.  We were given a National Geographic Kids activity book with all kinds of fun puzzles to fill out.  They include "Surprise facts" that have to do with the box theme.  For example; we learned that there are more stars than the grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth.  We learned about the Latin meanings of A. M. and P. M.    This is perfect for anyone who wants their child to have extra hands on learning and creative time.

My kid's love space, aliens, stars, and using their imagination.  We have Fisher Price Trio Blocks that they are constantly using to make space ships, rockets, comets, etc for their outer space explorations.  So putting this Star themed/ Outer Space themed box into the hands of my Explorers was one of the best things that could happen during the rainy season where we live.  Check out the pictures of their adventures.  As we did worked on the clock and the spy scope, we noticed some negative things.  First of all the stickers for the spy scope aren't very sticky and peeled off really quickly, so after spending 10 minutes decorating the spy scope my son removed everything since they weren't sticking very well.

As we worked on the clock and were doing our best to follow the instructions, we ended up with an extra piece and found out that one of our clock hands flopped around.  The instructions weren't as clear as I thought they were, so we ended up just making the clock something the kids can play pretend with until we can figure out what step we missed.  (the instructions for putting the gears on was just a picture, but not big enough to figure out which tiny gold washer went where).  With this news I feel like this can still be a great opportunity for parents or teachers to give their kids extra hands on learning fun, but take it with a grain of salt if the quality isn't what you would want, or if the instructions aren't as clear as you would like...other companies and products are very similar.  My youngest loved the freeze dried pineapples the best!

What is Included: You are given all the supplies you need like stickers, paint, paint brushes, clock pieces, instructions, even disposable Aprons, and easy to read directions. Granted each box will have different supplies according to it's Theme.

Packages: They have monthly, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months packages for different pricing.  For more information follow this LINK.

Contest: Local Home School contest via email.  You will get an email from me with an invitation to enter.  Ends 10/21/14

 Pros: great product, awesome themes, fun activities, healthy snacks

Cons: not all instructions are clear, quality isn't all high end.




My Rating: Thumbs Up for awesome ideas and theme and activities, Thumbs Down for quality and clear instructions, given that most toys are similar.

Super Colon Cleanse

Details: Will's General Colon Cleanse dietary supplement comes in a 90 capsule bottle.  Extra Strength.  Take 1-2 capsules in the morning and in the evening with water.  Helps promote healthy bowel movements, underactive bowels, and occasional constipation.  Always consult a doctor before taking this.  

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

My Review: I have tried many different types of colon cleanses, when I'm constipated, when I'm sluggish, when I'm sick, when I've eaten junk food, when I've had too much bread.  The colon cleanses that work the best are easy, gentle, "super", because its a higher concentration, herbal, organic, all natural.  Will's General Super Colon Cleanse is all of those.  It works quickly, it is strong enough to clean you out, without causing after affects, or diarrhea.  I say it works quickly, it will work within 24 hours.  My husband takes this only at night and is cleaned out every morning.  I have to take it in the morning and at night to get it to work for me.  Eating enough digestive fiber helps as well.  The first time my husband took this, he was burping up its herbs and getting sick to his stomach, so make sure you drink with enough water, to avoid that discomfort.  I have not had any negative side affects or burping because I do drink 10-14 oz of water or liquid when I take this, especially at night.  Any type of pill/ capsule especially a colon cleanse may or may not work for everyone, it all depends on your body and how often you go in the first place.  I do recommend this product, but if it doesn't work, contact the company, they are great to work with, and get their suggestions.

 
Pros: works fast, works fully, really helps with constipation, promotes healthy bowels

Cons: if you don't drink enough water 8-10oz you may experience burping up the herbs

My Rating: Thumbs Up

Cellulite Defense Gel

Details: Body Merry's Cellulite Defense Gel-Cream can be purchased on Amazon via the Link provided.  This product has caffeine, retinol, seaweed and comes in a 4 fl oz jar.  By using this Cellulite Defense Gel you are actively fighting cellulite with their special formula.  It is fast absorbing gel-cream helps to visibly reduce the appearance of unwanted bumps and lumps and leaves your skin both feeling smoother, but looking tighter and younger.  Directions:  massage the gel-cream in the morning and at night on the areas of the body that you want to look better.  For best results apply on clean dry skin.

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

My Review: This product is the third cellulite fighting product I have tried in my life time.  I have really enjoyed using products like this because I have seen really good positive results.  Body Merry is also a company who knows their body creams because this product works really good!  This is the only product that has a super strong smell.  And this smell lasts a long time.  I first used it right before going to bed, and it finally wore off by morning.  So I want to give you a heads up, if you use this product on body parts that will not be covered by clothing during the day you might not want to smell "earthy" all day.  This product has a very strong "sauna" feel.  When I put it on at night, I literally felt like my body had a fever because it went between the hot and icy feeling all night long.  It wasn't unpleasant, but it was not easy to get used to.  I do think that because of this super strong "sauna" reaction, as well as the quick absorbing qualities and lastly the caffeine, retinol, seaweed mixture, you see results much faster!

With my experience, I like the smell, but its so strong that I can only put it on and have it on for about 10-20 minutes away from my husband who doesn't like it at all.  I like the pudding like consistency of the gel-cream, its easy to put on and rub into your skin.  The "sauna" feel is stronger than any other product I've tried and I'm still not used to it after a month.  But I also don't like icy/hot, or muscle rub products that do the same thing.  I used this product on my stomach where my Mommyhood stretch marks are the worst.  It is working great on the cellulite, and even smoothing my stretch marked skin too.   I recommend this product!

Pros: works stronger, faster, quick to absorb, good smell, strong "sauna" feel

Cons: strong smell that lasts a while even after being absorbed into skin, super strong "sauna" feel might not feel good to all

My Rating: Thumbs Up

Infuser Water Bottle

Details: Infuser Water bottle from Big Easy Brands can be purchased on Amazon via the Link provided.  This is a 26 fl oz water bottle, that allows you to infuse your water with fruit flavors, by its fruit holder and filter that attaches to the lid of the water bottle.  BPA and Lead free, made in the USA, so it is a safe plastic water bottle you can take anywhere and enjoy a nice refreshing drink of flavored water.  No need to buy flavored water, or put artificial sweeteners into your body, no more harmful chemicals.  Refrigerate over night for the best flavors.

Disclaimer:  I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

My Review:  I have wanted an Infusion water bottle for a very long time now, so to say that I was excited to get one is not even close to how happy I was when this shipped to my house. Shipping was great, I was able to use Amazon Prime making it fast and easy.  I was able to use this water bottle as soon as it was washed and dried.  I cut up various fruit and cucumbers and put them in a pattern in the fruit holder and then had to figure out how full to fill the water bottle with water so that when I put the fruit holder and lid on no water spills out.  The first water bottle that I got was a dud, and didn't allow me to drink from it...there was a leak in the lid that let air in, but no water out.  So I was able to test the customer service of this company.  The person I spoke with via email was super fast in responding, gave me a list of things to try to make sure I did everything I could to get the bottle to work, and then over nighted a new water bottle to me, which worked!  The fruit I used are: strawberries, black berries, lemons, cucumbers, and grape fruit.  Let me tell you, the grape fruit over powers every other flavor except the cucumber, so I personally won't be using it ever again in the water bottle.  I was able to have my fruit last 3 days with consistent fresh full flavor before I changed it out.  That is a great thing in my book! Over all I have nothing negative to say about this company, their product and this experience.  I'm in love with this water bottle and am loving it.  Below I have listed my favorite fruit infusion recipe, so enjoy it!

Recipe:  1/4 cucumber peeled, and sliced into quarters, 1 lemon washed and sliced into thin sliced and then cut into quarters, 3 strawberries Julian sliced, 2 black berries.  Now you aren't going to use all this at once so bag individually and store in the fridge until you need the next parts.  So with what you have cut up, here is what you will use, granted it depends on what you like.  I put 2 lemon quarters in first, then about 4 cucumber quarters, then the 2 black berries, then 5-8 strawberry slices, then 2-3 more lemon quarters.  Remember that for the best flavor leave in the water bottle over night.  ~Enjoy! 

Pros: EVERYTHING

Cons: none

My Rating: THUMBS UP

Cell Phone Armband

Details: Limm Sports Armband can be purchased via this Link on Amazon.  The armband is a great solution for carrying your phone while exercising.  It has an elegant design, is comfortable, and easy to use.   This is a fully adjustable armband which allows the user to keep their phone safe but still use its features.  Compatible with the following devices without the cases on: iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and the Samsung S4.  The armband fits arm circumferences of 10-3/4" up to 16/18" snugly.  Below is some key details that I found from Limm on Amazon and their website!

• ✭ EBOOK BONUS ✭ With your purchase you will receive a FREE downloadable eBook titled "100 Exercise Tips". This BONUS, valued at $7.99, which ONLY comes with the Limm armband and is not available ANYWHERE else, contains valuable tips on how to get the most out of your workouts as well as living a healthier and more balanced life.
• ✭ ABSOLUTELY NO RISK INVOLVED ✭ At Limm, we fully stand behind our product and offer you a no-questions-asked, 100% SATISFACTION MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE. If you don't love our Sport Armband or if you don't feel 100% satisfied, we will refund your money. Customer satisfaction is our number one priority. So try it now! TOTALLY RISK FREE!

 Product Features: 
- Access all your device's buttons and features
- Insert/remove device quickly and conveniently
- Elastic Velcro strap stays tightly and securely attached to your arm
- Lycar and Neoprene case is very lightweight and provides comfort
- Protection against heavy sweating as well as light rain
- Front/back screen protectors
- Key holder
- Hand-washable

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

My Review: I was really excited to be chosen for this product review.  My Mother-In-Law had just bought her first ever Smart Phone after having a "dumb" flip phone for the past decade.  Since she has had her new phone she has almost dropped it a dozen times while out biking with her dog.  Or she just doesn't bring her phone and no one can get a hold of her for a few hours.  Which isn't always good because we have family with health issues she helps care for, she babysits my kids and will take them biking too, or we just need to call her and can't.  So by getting this arm band I thought this would be perfect so she can keep her phone on her at all times and not worry about dropping it or breaking it, because her phone is an iPhone 4S.

As this was going to be a surprise for her I wanted my husband to test it out first to see how it works for him, because he loves listening to music while biking or jogging while at the hotel when he's traveling for work.  So we tested his Samsung phone with this product.  It wasn't all that easy to slide into the plastic package at first, but once we took off the case it fit so much better.  But my husband said it was frustrating to take off his phone case just to put it in this exercise arm band to go work out.  He knows his Mother wouldn't want to do this, and that was strike number one against this product for us.  Strike number two was that the metal piece pinched his arm skin no matter how loose or tight he made this armband.  Normally I try to offer suggestions to the issues with products, but I'm not really sure how to fix this issue, which made me decide this isn't worth giving to my Mother-In-Law since my husband doesn't even want to wear it because of the pinching.

Pros: easy to use when the phone case is off

Cons: having to take off the phone case to use, pinching the arm skin to 

My Rating: Thumbs Down

Guess what I get to do?

I'm super excited.  I get to get my husband involved in another one of my product reviews.  I hope this works out because it's going to be a long testing time, and I have a lot of work to do with the testing of this product review.  Want to know what I'm going to do?

I get to test a full hair treatment from Hinoki.  Its their hair thinning program.  Its exclusively for salons, but I was approached by the company rep.  I'm so excited.  This will be my last product review because things are changing for me and things just aren't working out the way I had hoped but its what needs to happen.  So check back with us at the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015.

#hinokioil

Thanks so much!
Elizabeth from Mom's Thumb Reviews