New 100% Natural Lipton Iced Tea is available in four flavors: long-time fan favorites, Green Tea with Citrus and Iced Tea with Lemon, as well as two new flavors: Iced Tea with Blueberry Pomegranate and Green Tea with Passionfruit Mango. New Diet Green Tea with Watermelon joins the beloved Diet Green Tea with Citrus flavor.

To celebrate the new line and National Iced Tea Day, Lipton is also treating tea drinkers to unplugged music programming. Check out “The Natural Side of Music” online videos featuring cuts and conversations with music artists.

My sister in law made her own dried tomatoes using a dehydrator this summer and stores bags of them in the freezer.  Our tomatoes didn’t do as well,  so no dehydrating for us (we also don’t own a dehydrator – on the list).  I was sent some Bella Sun Luci sundried tomatoes and I love them.  There are both the reclosable zip packs and the jars with olive oil coated sundried tomatoes.  In my eggs I usually use the sundried tomatoes with the tomatoes and basil, or the julienned cut.  I made some delicious eggs that had peppers, onions, sundried tomatoes, and at the end I threw in some avocado.  That was really scrumptious.

I recently brought meatballs in a crockpot to a gathering and along I threw in some julienned tomatoes in italian herbs (in olive oil).  These tomatoes didn’t break down after simmering, so there were nice extra flavorful bursts of tomato in the sauce.  These tomatoes didn’t lose any flavor or add extra water to the sauce.  They had a nice chewy texture and were delicious.

When there’s only two of you, it’s nice to have those sundried tomatoes around to throw into your dish without having to open a can, or the keep flavorless (you know they are when they travel so far) bland tomatoes in your drawer that you know you don’t want to use.  If I have enough tomatoes this summer, it might be worth it to invest in a dehydrator, but for this winter, Bella Sun Luci will do very well for me.

Disclosure:  I was given sundried tomatoes to review.  This was not a paid review. The opinion expressed is my own.

Years ago, I tried to make my own wrapping bags.  I’m not an artist with the sewing machine, though I’m not great I have repaired a seam or two.  Well, I sewed a couple of big material envelopes with buttons to seal it closed.  They were functional, not gorgeous or pretty, or even on the sides, but they were functional.  I never saw them again, and I’m pretty sure they were never used more than that one time.  Since then I’ve used paper sacks, thinking they were reusable, but knowing people probably just threw them away rather than keep them a  year.  Lately I’ve been buying reusable bags and giving them away (though don’t tell my sister Dawn – somehow I end up asking her for my bags back because I run out – she’s been a trooper about that).  I do have special bags that I keep for my family and yes, Chico Bags are among them.

There was an uproar earlier this year because some of the grocery bags sold in the stores contained lead.  Chico bags rest assured contain no lead at all.  Concerns about ecoli or other bacteria can be washed down the drain, literally.  Throw these bags in the washing machine after putting meat or other foods that may have leaked.

I received a Holiday Christmas Bag to try out.  The Holiday Bag is much bigger than the normal sized bag, and would hold most gifts, unless they were unusually large.  Chico Bags is giving us all a discount to help us out. Go to www.chicobags.com and pick out your bags for purchase.  At checkout, enter the code CBM20 in the coupon section of your shopping cart. This will apply 20% off all ChicoBag brand products now through December 31, 2010.

A Chico Holiday Gift Bag was sent to me for a review.  My personal opinion is that I love Chico Bags and think they are quality made and would make a great wrap for a present.

I want you to notice the coverage. I wash dishes in my apron all of the time, and the only thing that gets wet is my feet.  I’m a sloppy washer and I end up with a wet stomach and pants, but not if I wear my apron.  It’s waterproof, stain proof, washable and comfortable. My daughter leaves my kitchen a disaster, but she shucks my apron off and walks away clean as a whistle.  My mom, will be jealous because she wants one, she told me so.  She has an apron that was given to her, but when she saw my waterproof one, she recently put in a request for one of her own, and so did my daughter.   Now, if you came up with one in black, or other manly color (not light red) with a zombie or barbecue logo my husband and son might wear it too.

• My husband likes to take it to work and eat handfuls all day.  He also likes to top his yogurt with it.
• We grab a pack when we go hiking to munch on while walking.
• My son packed it for his track meets and band trips in high school.
• I just sent my college daughter some trail mix as a treat when I sent a package to her school.  (They will love you for this one.)
• The whole family munches on it at home as a treat when we have a few hunger pangs.

Some fun trail mix trivia:

• Trail mix has been eaten by Native Americans for thousands of years, and originally included buffalo meat.
• Trail mix is featured in Jack Kerouac’s iconic 1958 novel The Dharma Bums.
• Trail mix is the favorite healthy snack of celebrities such as Jessica Biel and Blake Lively.
• Captain Robert Falcon Scott munched trail mix to maintain his energy while trekking through the snow in 1901 during his attempt to conquer the Antarctic.
• Trail mix is known as Scroggin in Australia, Studentenfutter in Denmark and Pink Buggie in Canada. Each version contains ingredients as unique as their names suggest.

When we were in scouts as kids we were always making gorp to take on our hikes.  Gorp stood for Granola, Oatmeal, Raisins, Peanuts.  That isn’t really how we made ours.  We used M&Ms, peanuts, granola & raisins, but not oatmeal.  There are so many things you can throw into your trailmix, like sunflower seeds and other seeds, any kind of nuts, craisins, and other dried fruit, chocolate chips.  It can be gourmet, or on the cheap to fit your budget.

Sunridge Farms sent us some trail mix to help us celebrate Trail Mix Day and to help spread the word that they have 20 varieties available in more than 5,500 stores across the country and online.

We tried three different Sunridge Farms Trail mixes:

The Organic Cranberry Harvest Mix – My first pick.  I love cranberries and it is packed with seeds and nuts with just a sprinkling of chocolate chips.

The Hit The Trail Mix is the one my husband grabbed to take to work to munch on.  He said he just kept eating it all day long.  Lots of big almonds and cashews, plus some big dried fruit.  He loves to drop it in yogurt and eat it for a snack that way too.   It is delicious, but very filling.

The third mix The  Berries and Chocolate Anti-Oxidant Mix – well darn it I don’t know how it tastes.  I sent one to my daughter in college as a surprise and so I could get her opinion.  As a poor college student she’s been complaining about the food she can afford, and how she’s missing out on tasteful foods.  I kept one to try out, but darn my husband.  He snarfed it up.  He ate the whole bag and I didn’t get a bit of it.  I’m so disappointed because I  didn’t get to even try it and it had chocolate in it.  I mean really!!

My son says that you should take it as a testament to how good it really is, and while it is just that, I apologize to Sunridge Farms that I didn’t do a better job of hiding the trailmix.  My husband is a trailmix fiend, he loves nuts, seed and dried fruit.

Here’s what Sunridge has to say about it:

SunRidge Farms is proud to introduce its newest natural product, Berries and Chocolate Antioxidant Mix.  This delicious non-GMO mix of sweet and savory is packed with protein, fiber and a hearty helping of the antioxidants that our bodies need to stay healthy. Encouraging families across the country to snack for a cause, 1 percent of the sales from the product will be donated to Defenders of Wildlife, an organization dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants.

Sunridge is a green – very green, dark green.  They have a bike-to-work program, which pays employees $5 a day to bike to and from work. For some workers, this adds up to as much as $100 per month. Additionally, the Pajaro, California-based company powers its manufacturing plant on 70 percent solar energy from its solar panel roof- reducing CO2 emissions by 100-tons per year- and uses hybrid sales cars and biodiesel delivery trucks.

Sunridge Farms has also joined the Bulk Is Green generation.  You can now buy their trail mix in stores by bulk.

Clemmy’s Ice Cream is 99.7 lactose free, sugar free, and kosher certified.  I had a chance to ask a few questions from Jon Gordon about his product and get a little more information.

1.     I’ve known that xylitol is used in gum and candies for years and it’s much better for your teeth than sugar and hfcs. What made you think of xylitol as the sweetener to go in your ice cream?

In the beginning Jon did not know he was going to use Xylitol.  However after extensive research,  hours of testing different sweeteners, and consulting with Doctors and Dentists, xylitol seemed to be a perfect fit, and it had no aftertaste like many of the other ingredients tested. Plus- it has a low Glycemic index and helps prevent gum disease.

2.      My kids love the Ice Cream-O’s.  They’re great to pull out of the freezer and eat without having to search for a bowl.  Do you have any other fun ideas like this?

This is a totally innovative product- there is nothing else like it in the world. Clemmy’s is proud to have devised the machinery to manufacture the Ice Cream- O’s. For now, Clemmy’s will be sticking with more traditional novelty items.

3.      I love the ice cream.  Your toasted almond is my favorite and I do love the cream taste of all the ice creams and it is great that xylitol has a better glycemic index than sugar.  My mom however, would like a less fat version.  Have you considered trying to figure out a lower calorie and fat version?

Not only have we thought of creating a lower calorie, lower fat version of Clemmy’s- we are actually working on it as you write the article!

4.      Your ice cream’s main ingredient is Cream – how does this make it 99.7 percent lactose free?  Isn’t there lactose in Cream?

Lactose is the sugar found in milk, Cream has no lactose.

5.      Can you give us an idea of what is involved in a Kosher Dairy certification, and what made you go that extra yard for it?

At Clemmy’s our highest priority is the consumer getting the highest quality of ingredients in the product. Being Kosher Certified means that we must meet higher standards for ingredients, and manufacturing facilities, particularly because we are an all natural brand.

Use Clemmy’s mapfinder to find out if you can get Clemmy’s near you, or you can buy it online.

Talenti Gelato e Sorbetto is the good stuff, prime pickings, cream of the crop – too delicious to share with my kids on a regular basis.  They sent it to me to review and I’ve got to tell you that you need to get some and try it out.  My mom was visiting and hitting up the freezer every night, along with my mother in law who was also visiting for my son’s graduation.  Okay, well I did share some for that occasion, it was a little on the special side.  While we preferred the Gelato, the Sorbetto was also divine.  Serving size is a 1/2 cup or 1/4 of the pint, but these desserts are dense, not fluffy.  If you are like me it lasts a lot longer than 4 servings because you just can’t finish a 1/2 cup in one sitting.

Here are my reviews for the individual flavors.

Sonoma Strawberry – Tastes just like fresh frozen strawberries, only mashed and with a really nice texture. That doesn’t sound like a nice description but it really is so delicious.  June is Strawberry time in Ohio, the perfect time to enjoy this treat.  Layering the Sonoma Strawberry Sorbetto with strawberries and whipped cream is a heavenly strawberry dessert.  The Sorbetto is so fresh tasting, and only 90 calories per serving.  Tonight my husband grabbed the Strawberry Sorbetto asked me if I wanted to share and spoon fed me some Strawberry.  What a treat.

The Roman Raspberry is another Sorbetto.  It tasted just like fresh raspberries in a sorbet form.  Delicious.  I enjoyed this probably more than anyone else since I ate most of it.

Double Dark Chocolate – First I will confess that I don’t normally eat chocolate ice cream.  I don’t, it’s not my favorite, and I think it’s because chocolate ice cream some how covers up the real flavor of chocolate.  I did tentatively taste this and realized that it was better than any chocolate ice cream I’ve had.

Semi Sweet Belgian Chocolate Morsels are united with dark chocolate gelato and a splash of vermouth.

I not only had that first bite, but I went back for more later on.  I think it wasn’t as sweet, plus it contained bits of really fantastic chocolate, plus a little vermouth, wow!.  Even better, I combined the Double Dark Chocolate along with the Roman Raspberry for a flavor combination that couldn’t be beat.

Tahitian Vanilla Bean – A really delicious vanilla bean, though my mom ate most of it.  She did, every night, grab herself a little more out of the container.  My mom is an ice cream fiend, I’ve mentioned it before.  She really loved this one the best.

My grade is an A+.

Talenti Gelato e Sorbetto provided me with 4 flavors to review.  The review is my fair and honest opinion.

Covermates Food Covers - Shower caps for your food- really, that’s what my husband calls them.  When I saw these, I thought that they were for lazy people – the people who didn’t like to search for the proper lid.  It turns out that I live with those people, the ones who are always tearing off aluminum foil and plastic wrap for bowls.  I am the only person in my home that can find the proper lid for my bowls, and will put in the effort.  That being said, I would rather the food be covered, than not.  Covermates solves the problem of covering the food, while also not adding to the garbage fill problem my family creates because they are too darn lazy to find the right cover…. Okay, maybe I should get over it now that we have covermates.  They are reusable, and cleanable.  The suggestion is to clean the cover in the dishwasher by putting it over a clean plate.  I just handwash and hang over a wine or juice bottle to dry, because it’s easier.

I still use my lids, however, I brought a giant green salad in a big ceramic bowl, plus my Quinoa Berry Salad in another Ceramic bowl to a family cookout and I used Covermates to keep them clean.  Plus, for an outdoor picnic, they are so easy to lift off and recover, unlike the other covers.  As we were cleaning up, my sister in law remarked on them, and my mother in law agreed, saying that she thought they were nice.

There you have it. I recommend both of these products for your parties and picnics.

Chocolate-Banana Protein Shake

• 1 banana
• 1 scoop powdered protein
• 1/2 – 1 tsp flax sprinkles
• 1 1/2 cups milk or 1/2 cup water + 1 cup yogurt
• ice cubes if you like it cold

Use a blender, drink mixer, or magic bullet and blend the whole thing.  That’s it.  If you use skim milk, then go with 1 1/2 cups skim milk, and no water if you like.  We use almond milk, so you can substitute that or soy if you like too. You want it thin enough to drink, not too thin, but you also don’t want it to sit in your stomach.

I’ve been using Stober Farms Golden Flax Seed Flax Sprinkles.  I use in on cereal and in yogurt straight up too.  It’s very fine, and adds a little extra fiber (which I need most days). They also have a very pleasant taste, and aren’t grainy at all.   They’re ground with a cold mill process that helps preserve the nutrients in it.

Disclosure:  I was sent the Stober Farms Golden Flax Seed Sprinkles to try out.  The review is my honest opinion.