Green Giant Veggie Snack Chips . . . A Whole Grain Snack with #GiantFlavor Made with Real Vegetables

Green Giant Garden Ranch Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips served in place of french fries.

Like many children, our three are anti-vegetable in varying degrees.  They actually love to eat many different fruits, but are the exact opposite when it comes to vegetables.  Our 9 year old son will eat broccoli, baby spinach, and red peppers.  Our 6 year old daughter will eat broccoli and baby spinach.  Our 6 year old son will only eat baby spinach finely chopped and cooked until they've shrunk down to almost nothing.  Now you see why I welcomed the opportunity to try the new Green Giant Veggie Snack Chips.

Of course, I could not replace vegetables with the Veggie Snack Chips, but I did use these whole grain chips to replace some not-so-good-for-you sides, such as french fries and potato chips.  The Green Giant Veggie Snack Chips are available in four varieties, of which we tried the Garden Ranch Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips (pictured above) and the Barbecue Multi Grain Sweet Potato Chips (pictured below).  I served them to our children without telling them that these chips were made with real vegetables and they turned out to be a big hit.  I should have done the same thing with my husband because he refused to try them (now you know where our children get their anti-veggie gene).  In fact, he held out for 4 days before he finally tried them and admitted that this was a snack food that he did enjoy.

Green Giant Barbecue Multi Grain Sweet Potato Chips served in place of regular potato chips.

Everyone in the family agreed that these chips had 'Giant Flavor', but we were divided on which one was our favorite.  Our two sons liked the barbecue flavored sweet potato chips the best, while our daughter, my husband, and myself preferred the ranch flavored tortilla chips.  In fact, our older son said he chose the barbecue chips as his favorite because the ranch flavor in the tortilla chips was too powerful.

To learn more about Green Giant Veggie Snack Chips, visit Green Giant on Facebook, where you can read the nutritional information for each chip variety, including which vegetables are used.  While you're there, be sure to grab the printable coupon for $0.75 off one bag of Veggie Snack Chips.


I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Box Tops For Education University for Local Coordinators

It's that time of year again.  School is coming to a close next month and it  is time to divide my stash of Box Tops between the twins so they can each bring them into school.  I usually do this at the beginning and end of the school year.  The twins will be so proud to present their sandwich bags full of Box Tops to the school director tomorrow.

If you are not familiar with the Box Tops For Education program, by clipping and collecting Box Tops off of products you use everyday and turning them over to your local school, your school receives $0.10 for each Box Top.  The process could not be simpler.  You can view an updated list of participating Box Tops products on the Box Tops website.

A part of the Box Tops program some may not be aware of is the Box Tops Marketplace.  This is for those who like to shop online.  Over 100 participating retailers will give your school a preset percentage of your online purchase.  You only need to visit the Box Tops Marketplace and shop through the link for each particular retailer.  I actually have 3 children.  My oldest goes to elementary school.  Our twins' preschool gets all our Box Tops, but our first grader's school receives all the earnings from my online purchases.

(Photo courtesy of MyBlogSpark)

Everything is truly easy and painless for parents to participate in this program.  The coordinators for each school, however, need to work very hard to encourage more parents to participate.  Not everyone has a system like I do and many often just do not think about taking the time to look for those Box Tops to cut out. To help these coordinators out, the Box Tops University travels around the country to teach coordinators the best ways to raise money for their schools.  Although I was not able to see the events first hand when the Box Tops University came to the Boston-area in March of 2011, I was amazed to hear how much the event inspired coordinators to meet their schools' goals.  I especially loved seeing the photo of all the notes written by coordinators stating what their schools used the money raised from Box Tops For Education towards.  To learn more about becoming a Box Tops Coordinator, visit BoxTops4Education.com.

I received a Box Tops gift pack from MyBlogSpark on behalf of Box Tops For Education as a thank you for participating in this campaign.

Back to School 2010 Giveaway: Target GC & Bonus Box Tops Prize Pack [CLOSED]

Have you been collecting Box Tops for Education all summer long or have you forgotten since school has been out? Well, from August 5th through August 28th, Target stores are offering you a chance to earn double Box Tops when you purchase five or more participating products!

MyBlogSpark sent me the products below as an example of the vast variety of products that qualify for this promotion. I have to say that every single item we received is something my family would use, especially when school starts again. Some of the brands include Cheerios, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Welch's, Hefty, Juicy Juice, and Avery. If you purchase 5 eligible items at Target during this promotion, then you will earn 5 bonus Box Tops. If you buy 12 eligible items, the you will earn 12 bonus Box Tops! Get the idea?

For a complete list of participating items, visit www.BoxTops4Education.com .

Thank you to General Mills for providing us with a gift card, information, sample products, and a giveaway prize through MyBlogSpark.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a "Box Tops for Education at Target Prize Pack" containing the following items:

• an Avery binder
• Betty Crocker Fruit Gushers Variety Pack
• Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni
• Hefty CinchSak Trash Bags
• Honey Nut Cheerios
• Juicy Juice 8pk Juice Boxes (flavors will vary)
• Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars
• Welch's Concord Grape Jelly
• 25 Bonus Box Tops
• $25 Target gift card

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Check out the long list of participating Box Tops for Education products. Then leave a comment telling me what are some of the items you would stock up on at Target to earn bonus Box Tops. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND GrocerySavvy.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4)

For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry each, follow Box Tops for Education on Twitter and/or "Like" Box Tops for Education on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.

6)

Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)

Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)

Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)

Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10)

Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

<br /> <a href="http://www.3garnets2sapphires.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd206/Busymonkeez/Graphics4Me/NEWBlogButton125x125.jpg" /></a><br /><br />

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Shop 'n' Share: Shopping My Favorite Stores Through the Box Tops Marketplace

I have been shopping through the Box Tops Marketplace for almost 3 years. I started when my son began preschool when I learned that my online purchases from participating retailers could financially benefit his school without my spending an extra penny. The only thing I had to do was remember to enter the retailer's website through the portal on the Box Tops website. That's all I have to do to have a predetermined percentage of my purchase be donated to my son's school.

The donation percentage of my purchase made through Barnes & Noble is one of the more generous ones offered at 6%. My purchase came to $30.33 before sales tax (plus shipping was free because my Barnes & Noble purchase came to more than $25), so $1.82 was donated to my son's elementary school. That may not seem like much, but that $1.82 put together with my online purchases throughout the year along with those of other parents will add up quickly.

By the way, did you know that BarnesAndNoble.com carries toys and games and even bargain books? I was very surprised and pleased that I placed my order on December 22nd and received it two days later. I bought the newer version of this Leapfrog Fridge Phonics toy because the twins managed to lose three of the letters from Jake's old set.

I also found this large board book for just $5.38. I'm going to save this for one of the twins' Easter baskets.

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While we are on the subject of Box Tops for Education, I found something very cool that is new to the site. It is something called my class essentials, where school teachers can register for specific things they need for their classrooms above and beyond the disinfecting wipes and the paper towels they normally ask parents to donate. This is more for things like reading books, workbooks, flash cards, and other learning tools. I really think all parents should make sure their children's teachers know that this registry is available. I was surprised to find that only one classroom had registered for items out of all the classes in my son's K-5 elementary school.

Thank you to Box Tops for Education and to Barnes & Noble for providing me with a $25 gift card to shop in order to benefit my son's school through the Box Tops Marketplace.