The Green Refrigerator Machine Review

I'll start with a little confession...I have been known to throw away fruits and veggies on occasion because I didn't get to them fast enough and they ended up going bad on me before we could get them eaten. And once in a great while I have found things hidden in the back of the refrigerator that look like a science experiment. And it makes me mad that I have to throw stuff away that I spent good money on!

I tried those funny green bags that were advertised on TV, but it was a pain to bag everything up and then make sure no moisture got in to the bags...too labor intensive. I am a woman who needs things to be convenient. So I was thrilled to find the Green Refrigerator Machine by Ozonator. It is a handy little device that goes right in your refrigerator and uses ozone to neutralize the chemicals inside there that make your fruits and vegetables to decay quicker. Ozone increases the storage life of foods by oxidizing some chemicals and by neutralizing ammonia and ethylene. Ozone is a safe and natural alternative for protecting perishable foods so using the Ozonator keeps perishable foods fresher by bestowing a clean environment inside your refrigerator. It eliminates waste and saves me money and I am definitely for that! 

The true test was to see how it did in my fridge. The first thing I noticed was that there was a funny little odor that appeared when I first turned it on, but that odor dissipated pretty quickly. What I did NOT notice after just a little while was the onion smell that had been hitting me in the face every time I opened the refrigerator door. It was completely gone.  Awesome. Okay...so that was one good thing I noticed.  I had to wait a week or so to find out whether or not it helped my food stay fresh longer and I am happy to say that my lettuce and celery hasn't wilted like it usually does.  So I'm putting that in the "win" column. 

  Not my fruit pic, but I have had many berries end up looking like this! This is from the Ozonator website! 

So for about $50 plus the cost of 4 D batteries, I would say that the Green Refrigerator Machine is definitely worth the investment if you find yourself throwing out food on a consistent basis, which I was.  And I found it does a much better job than baking soda at keeping the odors at bay.  

I was just sitting here thinking about all the people in my life who might love this little GRM by Ozonator!  The Green Refrigerator Machine might be the perfect holiday gift for your vegan friends, your clean freak mother-in-law or the the neighbor who loves to grow her own produce!  There ya go...just knocked at least three people off of your gift list!  You're welcome! Aaaaaaand...there's a linky over to the right of this post, that will give you a $10 discount off of the regular retail price so you only pay $39.95!  So now I just helped you save money AND time!  Again - you're welcome!

Don't forget to check out the Ozonator Facebook Page for great tips and more information on food safety and freshness!


**Disclosure:  I was not compensated for this post.  I did receive a Green Refrigerator Machine courtesy of MomSelect and Ozonator to help facilitate this review.  As always, the opinions stated here are my own and are always honest.**

Silk for Milk 10-Day Challenge and Giveaway

I have a family that loves them some ice cold milk.  Add some chocolate and they are ecstatic!  So when I was asked to participate in the Silk for Milk 10-Day Challenge I jumped at the chance to try to bring some healthier options to the table for me and the men folk.  So for the last 10 days I have been substituting Silk Milks for regular milk in various meals and recipes at my house.  Here's how it all went down...

I started the challenge on April 11th.  The first milk I got was Silk Soymilk in the Vanilla flavor.  I decided that when the kids or hubby asked for ice cream, I would make smoothies instead.  The Vanilla Silk Soymilk was perfect for the mixture.  It added some great flavor to the berries and orange juice and gave the smoothies a creamy texture.  They were such a big hit that we had them almost every afternoon!

Using some of the suggestions from the Silk website, I also used the Vanilla flavored Silk in place of regular milk to make chocolate pudding and I added it to the custard mixture when I made french toast!  I like the fact that Silk has no cholesterol and no saturated fats, which makes me feel like the french toast and pudding were just a little more healthy than they would have been otherwise! 

This is actually the 12th day of my challenge.  I finished it today by having what was left of my 2nd carton of Silk Soymilk on my oatmeal.  It was just the regular flavor and it was just as tasty as regular milk.  Throughout the week we used the plain Silk Soymilk to make fluffier scrambled eggs, in our cereal and in mashed potatoes.  Me and the boys agree that we couldn't drink a glass of the Silk plain like we do with real milk, but it was really easy to substitute it into various recipes and snacks!

To help one of my readers take the Silk to Milk 10-day Challenge, I'm giving away a Free Silk coupon along with a cute little Chico bag (courtesy of Silk)!  To win, leave me a comment telling us how you would substitue Silk for regular milk in your daily routine.  Contest ends on May 7th at 12 midnight, MST.  US Residents Only.  

*Disclosure* - I was not compensated monetarily for this post.  SILK provided me with a product sample in order to facilitate this review.  My product reviews are always honest and my opinions are my own. 

Horizon Organic Lowfat Chocolate Milk Giveaway and Review

Here's something you may not know about me:

I loves me an ice cold glass of milk.  But it can't be just any milk.  I am kind of a milk snob.  I can't stand warm milk or room temperature milk and I will only buy certain brands.  And truthfully?  I only drink whole milk.  I know, I KNOW!  I see you all rolling your eyes.  Whole milk is so fattening and 2% or lowfat is just as good and much better for me, right?  I watch TV and I hear all those nutrition people, so I KNOW!  But I don't agree that 2 % or lowfat or skim milk tastes just as good as whole milk.  It doesn't.  It tastes like someone just drank a glass of milk, then instead of getting a clean cup? They filled the milk cup with water and the result is milky water. Which is what lowfat milk tastes like to me. Milky water. I know, I know...you "learn to like it."  Well, the thing is, I don't want to learn to like my food just because it's supposed to be good for me, I would like to just like it because it naturally tastes good. 

So when I was asked to try Horizon Organic Low Fat Milk with DHA-Omega 3, my initial response was enthusiastic because my entire family loves chocolate milk.  I love the fact that Horizon products are organic, and I was overjoyed to find that this Horizon product contains DHA-Omega 3, an important nutrient that helps support heart, brain and eye health. Good for all of us, right?  But I kind of don't do lowfat milk.  Until now.  'Cause I gotta tell ya, this was some kick-butt good chocolate milk! My whole family got in on the gig and 2 half gallons I bought on Monday?  Were gone by Wednesday.  Every time I turned around they had a new cupful!

I feel like I really accomplished something this week by adding Horizon Organic Lowfat Chocolate Milk to our diet, even though the kids totally overdid it and drank it in 2 days.  For one thing, I overcame my issues with lowfat milk.  Yes, I realize the addition of chocolate made the lowfat milk more palatable, but the point is, I drank it.  And I liked it and now I will drink it again and probably even try plain lowfat milk again.  Soon.  Maybe.  Okay, probably, but let me ease into it, will ya?

The other thing I feel like I accomplished was giving my family a product that is good and healthy.  We are trying so hard to overcome our poor eating habits and get healthy this year and Horizon Organic Lowfat Chocolate Milk with DHA-Omega 3 helped us do that this week.  While I drank it, I sat down and perused Horizon's website.  Here is what I learned:

• DHA provides a nutritional boost for children's growing minds and bodies. Children's brains grow incredibly fast. In fact, the brain nearly quadruples in the first five years of life.
  
• DHA is a key structural component of the brain, yet many young children don't get their recommended daily amount of DHA as it is found in a limited number of food sources.
• Horizon Organic Milk Plus DHA Omega-3 is fortified with a natural, 100 percent vegetarian and sustainable source of DHA - a safe, wholesome, delicious way to bring more of this important nutrient into your family's diet.

I also learned alot of facts about milk in general.  Did you know that a 2006 study showed that low fat milk was as effective at post-exercise rehydration as sports drinks?  Who would have thought!? Apparently, because of the natural carb:pro ratio in flavored milks, low fat chocolate milk is an effective post-exercise recovery beverage.  So now you can feel the burn, then squelch it with some lowfat choco milk, which is good news for me, cause I really don't like sports drinks.  At all.  Not even a little bit.   Consuming carbohydrate and protein post workout has been shown to:

• Enhance muscle glycogen formation
• Promote a hormonal environment that encourages muscle growth
• Promote muscle protein production
• May lessen immune-suppressive effects due of intense exercise

All of this is great news for me as I struggle to gain control of my body this year.  And believe me when I say, it's a HUGE struggle! 

I want to thank Horizon for letting me have this opportunity to try their Organic Lowfat Chocolate Milk with DHA-Omega 3.  I am more knowledgeable now about the benefits of Omega 3 and I am feeling like I have options when it comes to the healthy products I can incorporate into our menus.  Knowing that I do not have to feel deprived and eat things I don't find tasty is half the battle, right?  And knowing that my kids are getting soemthing healthy in their bodies makes me feel less guilty, which means I personally won't use food to ease my guilt as often.  Horizon Organic® products are produced without antibiotics, pesticides or cloning, from cows not given added growth hormones. So in addition to the good stuff in the milk, I can feel good about the stuff NOT going into the milk. Win-Win, yes!?

There's lots of interesting facts on the Horizon website. You should check it out. I love the little kids laughing and running around on the home page, they make me giggle!

While you are there, find and interesting fact about one of their products then come back and leave a comment for your chance to WIN FREE Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk! 2 winners (yep!  Two of you!)  will recieve 4 coupons each (2 coupons for a free half gallon of the chocolate milk and 2 coupons for $1 off a half gallon of the chocolate milk). That's a lot of milk, people!

 

Want extra entries?

• Tweet this giveaway
• Blog about it on your blog
• Post it on Facebook
• Become a Facebook Fan of Horizon Organic Products
• Add the giveaway to a Mr. Linky somewhere and leave me the link in your comments. 

Contest is open to US residents only and will end on February 27th at 12 midnight PST. I will choose the winner using random.org and notify the winners by email.
**I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.  I did receive 2 coupons for free Horizon Organic Chocolate milk in order to facilitate this review.