Introducing Lucy’s – Safe, Tasty Cookies and Treats [Giveaway]

April 1, 2013 by 19 Comments

Lucys Blogger Tea Event
Last month I attended a lovely little event at the amazing Whole Foods store in Pasadena hosted by Savvy Sassy Moms. I must confess I haven’t yet been to the location in Thousand Oaks, but if it’s half as large and full of amenities as its Pasadena counterpart, well, I’m going to have to make a little field trip out there.

There’s another reason to splurge on a Whole Foods shopping trip, too. Lucy’s brand cookies and treats which are made without wheat, gluten, dairy milks, butter, eggs, casein, peanuts, or tree nuts. I know you are wondering “but how do they taste?” because I wondered that, too. Many boxes of Lucy’s cookies later, I can tell you that they all taste delicious, but I have my favorite!

Once upon a time, Dr. Lucy Gibney was a practicing emergency room physician. When she was returning to work after maternity leave following the birth of her son, she and her husband gave him his first bottle of formula. He was only 3 months old. That very first bottle induced an anaphylactic reaction, and the baby was rushed to the hospital – thankfully he got through it and was just fine. Subsequently, he was diagnosed with severe food allergies to everything under the sun. Over the next few years, Dr. Gibney devoted herself to developing recipes for cookies that her son would be able to eat safely and also enjoy. And that’s how Lucy’s brand was born.

Now Lucy’s brand snacks are sold in 7,000 stores nationwide and also online. Cookies come in Chocolate Chip,Sugar Cookie, Cinnamon Thin, Oatmeal Cookie, Ginger Snap, Maple Bliss, and Chocolate flavors. And they make chocolate Brownie Cakes, too.

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Dr. Lucy Gibney shows us a photo of her son, 21st century style

At the event in Pasadena, Dr. Gibney told the gathered crowd of local bloggers her story and answered numerous questions, even after a breathtaking few days at the huge Natural Products Expo West. We were all given samples of the cookies and brownies to eat at the event and to take home. I snuck the Snack ‘n Go packs into my kids’ and husband’s lunches the following week, and basically gave the cookies to whomever I saw. Plus, I tried all the flavors myself.

maplebliss

You probably assumed I would have chosen the chocolate cookies or Brownie Cakes. Surprise! I can tell you without a doubt that the Maple Bliss cookies are my absolute favorite. As thankful as I am that neither my children, nor I, are allergic any foods (that I know of), we all enjoyed these cookies, and were grateful to eat them with glasses of cold dairy milk.

At $4.99 – $5.99 per 5.5 ounce box, these cookies are definitely a splurge, but they’re especially great for younger kids who are satisfied with just a couple of cookies at a time. Me? I could eat a whole box at once!

An added bonus of the gathering that day was the presence of Ambiance Salon, a shop that recently opened nearby on Lake Ave. It’s a little known fact that when I first moved to California from Connecticut in 1995, I lived in an apartment building right in that neighborhood with my best college pal, Lisa. I have a special place in my heart for that town, so I am happy to tell you that the staff from Ambiance feels that way too. They did a lovely job dolling up some of the attendees at this event, and they even had a very talented braid artist present!

Lucys Tea Braid Bar

That’s the back of my head, upper left!

Lucy’s is giving away a box of their cookies or brownie cakes to a lucky reader of this site. Leave a comment here by 11:59 PM on April 8 and indicate which flavor you’d like to try (check them all out here before you pick). I will pick a random winner from qualified entries and that person will receive a box of treats in the mail! US Only.

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Get Fresh Meals on the Table With The Fresh 20

March 21, 2013 by 3 Comments

Fresh 20logo
My friend Melissa Lanz is just like you. Yes, in the same way that “celebrities are just like you” when caught on film being regular people coming out of Starbucks with their kids. She is a woman, a wife, a mom, and a go-getter. But here is where she is different. Because she recognized the problem of feeding her family healthy meals with limited time in a busy schedule, she came up with a solution that helped not only herself, but anyone else who has the same problem.

And that’s how The Fresh 20 was born.

“OUR STORY BEGINS WITH TAKEOUT…

Or rather the high cost of not being prepared in the kitchen. It was tax time. I added up receipts. I was ashamed. Our busy, unorganized lifestyle had driven us to spend the cost of a brand new car on takeout food. It wasn’t my fault really. There are so many alternatives to cooking at home. If I could microwave it in 5 minutes, we ate it. If someone delivered it, we ate it. And yet, at the end of the year, my energy was low and my healthy living defenses were down. I did what all modern moms do. I went to the Internet well. There are millions of recipes available. There are dozens of meal planning services. I still could not find what I needed. Everyone wants a quick solution, but I just was not willing to serve mushroom soup casseroles or refrigerator dough to my growing family.”

Melissa developed a meal plan that relies on 20 fresh ingredients per week. Supported by the Pantry 20 – or 20 staple ingredients you should always have on hand, and the Kitchen 20 – or 20 kitchen tools that are used all the time, The Fresh 20 assists you in getting a fresh, wholesome meal on the table (or in my case, sometimes standing up at the kitchen counter) for your family, no matter how much or how little time you have to make it.

You can join The Fresh 20 by subscribing to their weekly meal plans that are emailed to you. You can choose Classic, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, or even a lunch plan. It only costs $5 per month. You may scoff at paying for a meal plan but I swear to you it makes a huge difference, especially if you spend a lot of time going through cookbooks and a crazy box of recipes to figure out what to make for dinner this week, or if you are getting bored making the same old things for your family. I sit down once a week and look at our family’s schedule, look at the meal plan I was sent for the week, and pick the meals that are appropriate for the amount of time I will have on any given day. Every day I look at my printout on the fridge and it tells me what to do. “Defrost meat.” “Start crock pot meal in the morning.” Etc. It has relieved me of a burden that I didn’t realize was taking up so much of my headspace.

Book Cover End of Vi#2E49CB

And the even better news is that The Fresh 20 Cookbook is coming out next month! You can pre-order it here. In celebration of the cookbook release, The Fresh 20 is giving away The Pantry 20 – all of the staples that Melissa uses and recommends you keep on hand. If you enter and win this giveaway, BAM. Pantry – handled. All the ways you can enter the contest are mentioned in this video (where you can meet the wonderful Melissa herself):

The Fresh 20 Pantry Giveaway from TheFresh20 on Vimeo.

I am happy about The Fresh 20 for so many reasons. One, because I like Melissa. Two, because her motto is “Shop Once, Eat All Week,” which is basically my motto, only nicer. (Mine is “I’m not going back to the @*&$-ing grocery store until next Sunday.”) Three, because I totally want one of you to win The Great Pantry Giveaway! So go enter!

I was treated to a complimentary meal plan subscription and a sneak peek of the cookbook to facilitate this feature.

Filed Under: Books, Food Tagged With: , , , ,

Nurturing the Soul of Your Family [Review and Giveaway]

March 15, 2013 by 27 Comments

I’m always interested in improving my family’s life, and so both the title and the subtitle of this book, Nurturing the Soul of Your Family: 10 Ways To Reconnect and Find Peace in Everyday Life spoke to me. I almost felt like challenging the author, Renée Peterson Trudeau, by saying “Bring it on. Impress me. Let me see if your tips really work.”

But after reading the book I must say I can’t recall off the top of my head what the ten ways are, because I got lost in the message. From the very first paragraph, I felt like Trudeau was writing the things I have been thinking over the last year or so.

You crave a slower, simpler, more spacious life. You long to feel more connected to your family and to experience more peace and harmony in the everyday. But it feels like too much work, too impossible. You’re not even sure where to begin.

I begin all the time. Just this week alone I started a daily meditation practice and a 2-week workout challenge. I grasp at the shiny things that float before me, promising to calm and center me, make me a better, more effective parent and spouse. I try on a new role, “Calm Mom,” for example, and wear it until the shell cracks and the pieces fall all around me. I know that fad ways of being are not sustainable for me or my family.

Nurturing the Soul of Your Family is a guidebook, not a fad. It’s an invitation to start from within. For me, the book is filled with messages that address where I am – doing things about it, not just stuck. In fact, when I read the chapter about spending more time in nature, I was planning a hike on the Wistful Vista trail in Oak Park. Trudeau’s words were in my head every time my son and I reached the top of another hill and looked around at our breathtaking surroundings. We both felt lucky, and I took a mental snapshot of each moment to save as long as possible.

I am practicing slowing down. I am learning to say “no” more often – that is hard, because I’m a very busy person, and I feel uncomfortable when I am not being productive. Trudeau’s reminders to live with those moments are meaningful to me, and they allow me to even try meditation. It’s only been four days, but I look forward to those early morning sessions…as long as my coffee is by my side.

Renée Trudeau is a life coach from Austin who used to be a corporate ladder climber, but changed directions when she realized she wanted more out of life. This latest book engages the reader with personal stories from Trudeau’s own upbringing and personal journey, and anecdotes from friends and her personal coaching clients about their struggles with family and personal peace. Each section starts with a centering exercise and ends with journaling prompts, and is filled with usable tips and suggestions about how to implement these nurturing ideas into your life.

My biggest takeaway from the book at this moment is that I should cherish my family. It’s obvious right? Of course we cherish our families. But Trudeau suggests that the souls that make up your family came together for a reason, and your little collection of souls is the most important connection in your life. When I choose to think of my children that way, I am less impatient with them. That line of thinking helped me not lose my temper completely when my boys were driving me crazy yesterday. Hey, whatever works.

I’m giving away a copy of the book so you can have a chance to see for yourself this if you win. Just leave a comment here by 11:59 PM PDT on Thursday, March 21, and I will choose a winner at random and contact you directly. Open to US residents for the hard copy of the book, or a PDF for an international winner.

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