5 Ways Del Monte Fruit Burst Squeezers & Mango Fruit Cups Make Healthy Snacking Easy

The Del Monte products, information, gift pack, and gift card have been provided by Del Monte for the purpose of a product review and for a reader giveaway. All opinions expressed are my own.

Del Monte is a trusted company because they produce quality products that families have loved for over a century. Their newest products, Del Monte Fruit Burst Squeezers and Del Monte Mango and Mango Pineapple Fruit Cups, are delicious, nutritious, and make my life much easier for many reasons . . .

1. They are a healthy, natural snack that I am happy to see my kids eating. With high-fructose corn syrup being a prominent substance in most packaged foods, it makes me happy that these Del Monte foods are free of that.

2. They are tasty and therefore, we like to eat them. It’s rare for my kids to like anything that is healthy, so I love that they not only eat these, but also ask for them and actually crave them. This is a craving I am happy to indulge.

3. They are not messy. The Fruit Burst Squeezers come in a handy pouch so there is absolutely no mess to eating them and the Fruit Cups just require removing the plastic covering and then they are ready to eat. I like to drain some of the juice from them before giving to the kids so we don’t end up with the occasional spilled fruit juice.

4. They are convenient! Even if we are rushing out of the house, I can tell my boys to grab a Fruit Squeezer pouch to eat in the car. I know they won’t end up sticky and they will get a precise 1-1/2 servings of pureed fruit filled with Vitamins A and C. The Fruit Cups are slightly less convenient for eating on the go, but it’s still easier for them to pack the snack cup and a spoon to enjoy a snack away from home (at the park, on a field trip, etc . . . ) than it is to cut and store fresh fruit and to keep it chilled. And the convenience of the pre-portioned sizes cannot be overlooked either.

5. Some varieties of Fruit Squeezers have vegetables in them too. You can’t taste the veggies at all, but it’s great that my children are getting those vital nutrients without all the complaining about not liking vegetables.

We are really happy with these yummy Del Monte products. You can purchase Del Monte Fruit Burst Squeezers and Del Monte Mango Fruit Cups at Walmart. To learn more about these and other Del Monte products, visit www.delmonte.com.

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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. A random drawing will be held shortly after the contest closing. The winner will be announced here and will be contacted via email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.

Help Mom Steal Some Relaxing Moments with the DOLE Fruit Crisp Cozy Kit

Thank you to DOLE for providing a complimentary Cozy Kit for us to base this review upon and for providing a second Cozy Kit for our contest prize.  All opinions expressed are my own.

DOLE is a long time leader in producing commercial, canned fruits and I think most people are familiar with the company. They use only the best fruits in their products so you can be assured they will taste great and be healthy too. Their new Fruit Crisp line adds more to their great products to give you even more ways to eat healthy. DOLE sent me a “Cozy Kit”, which included an infinity scarf, a pair of comfy socks, an apple-scented candle, and, of course, three packages of DOLE Fruit Crisp to try out in honor of Mother's Day.

DOLE Fruit Crisp are delicious and highly satisfying pre-packaged bowls of fruit in natural fruit sauce that come with a topping of oats and brown sugar to give it some crunch, fiber, and extra flavor. They come in three varieties: apple cinnamon, apple pear, and peach. All three are made with all-natural fruit, whole grain oats, and are rich in vitamin C which is a natural immune system booster. They can be eaten straight out of the cabinet or fridge, or heated up in the microwave for a warm and tasty treat.

Recently we have overhauled our eating habits and DOLE Fruit Crisp have become a staple in my house to satisfy my sweet tooth. I like eating them warm and it truly makes me feel like I’ve had dessert, but only for 160 calories. They truly are delicious, the fruit tastes fresh and ripe, and the crunchy oats definitely give it the extra flavor to make them feel like more than another bowl of fruit. My personal favorite is the apple cinnamon, but I like the other two flavors a lot as well.

If you're putting together a care package for your favorite mom this Mother's Day, consider including Dole Fruit Crisp cups in her favorite flavor in place of less healthy treats.  DOLE Fruit Crisp can be purchased at most grocery stores nationwide. To learn more about them, visit www.dole.com.

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Easy Recipe: Cherry or Peach Cobbler

I had pinned a cherry cobbler recipe on my To-Do List board on Pinterest from the Mom Spark blog earlier this year.  Since then, I had been able to try the recipe a few times and ended up making a couple of minor changes according to my family's preferences.

I also was able to try the recipe using canned peaches.  Although my family liked both, I think the cherry version is their favorite.  What other types of fruit should I try with this recipe?

Recipe:  Easy Cherry or Peach Cobbler

INGREDIENTS:

1 can (approx. 21oz or larger) cherry pie filling or cling peach slices

1 box yellow cake mix

3/4 cup or 1-1/2 sticks butter or margarine (melted)

Step 1.  Preheat oven at 400 degrees.

Step 2.  Pour the entire contents of the canned fruit into a 9"x13" rectangular pan, making sure to spread out the fruit evenly.

Step 3.  Cover the layer of fruit with a layer of dry cake mix.  Be sure to use all the cake mix.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

Step 4.  In a microwave-save bowl, heat the butter 10 seconds at a time until completely melted.

Step 5.  Pour the butter over the entire layer of dry cake mix, making sure not to forget the edges and corners.

Step 6.  Bake in oven for approximately 25 minutes or until the cobbler has set and turned a golden brown.

Although I love to serve this dessert warm from the oven, it is actually easier to serve after you refrigerate it.  That allows you to serve the portions in neat squares rather than a pile of soft fruit and crumble.  I usually put the chilled servings on individual plates and then microwave each serving for 20 seconds or so.

This is how the peach cobbler looks served hot from the oven . . . 

If you try this super-easy recipe, be sure to come back and let me know how you like it!

Libby's Single Serve Fruit Cups

 When I pack my children's lunches for school, I always try to include a healthy snack for them to enjoy after they have finished their main meal.  Sometimes I give them something crunchy like pretzels, but I know they often crave something on the sweet side.  Rather than include sugary snacks like pudding or gelatin, I like to give them something better for them, such as these 6oz Libby's Single Serve Fruit Cups.  Our children do not see these snack cups any differently than they do pudding or gelatin.  They just know that it is sweet and they love the taste.  They do not really care that the fruit is good for them and only has 120 calories per cup.  It's tough to get children to eat the recommended four servings of fruits and vegetables every day.  These fruit cups help to sneak in an extra serving during lunchtime, even when your children are away from you.

More about Libby's Single Serve Fruit Cups . . .

• Four varieties are available . . . diced peaches, diced pears, mixed fruit and cherry mixed fruit
• The fruit is California-grown
• There are no unhealthy additives
• Each individual 6oz fruit cup retails for $.99 to $1.39
• Can be purchased at most major supermarkets

To learn more about Libby's products, visit www.GetBackToTheTable.com and Libby's Table on Facebook.

Thank you to Libby's Fruits & Vegetables for providing a prize pack for our contest prize and for sending my family a prize pack as a thank you for taking the time to participate in this campaign.


The Libby's Single Serve Fruit Cups School Lunch Prize Pack contains the following:

• Bee Zoo Lunchies Lunchbox
• Red Snack Taxi Reusable Snack/Sandwich Bag
• Silver Lunchbots Duo Stainless Steel Food Container
• Libby's Single Serve Fruit Cups

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Play To Learn Diner: Counting with Fruit Salad Activity (Free Printable)

This is our first Play To Learn Diner activity designed for preschoolers.  I was a little worried about how it would be received, since one of our twins loves learning activities, but the other is resistant to them because he does not master them as easily.  I am very pleased to be able to report that both twins enjoyed this activity very much.  In fact, our son even came to me two hours later to tell me how much he liked the activity, so I hope other children out there will enjoy it just as much.

For this activity, we used Soft Fruit Counters, one plastic bowl for each child, and one of the counting worksheets (found below) for each child.  The Soft Fruit Counters set from Discount School Supply contains 108 pieces of fruit between 1" and 2" each.  You are welcome to use other types of pretend fruit, but you will need to have more than 20 pieces of fruit per child.  I liked using these because the size made them easy to manage for little hands and they fit inside the bowls perfectly.

TO PRINT:  Click on the image below to enlarge.  Then right-click on the image and select print.  Use your browser's back button to return to this page.

This activity is split into two parts.  The first part asks your child to choose any 10 pieces of fruit to put in his or her bowl in order to create a fruit salad recipe.  Then your child should count how many of each type of fruit is in the bowl and write the correct number in the box next to the appropriate fruit pictured on the worksheet.

The second part of the activity asks your child to repeat the same steps, but to choose 20 pieces of fruit, instead of 10.

(Click any image to enlarge)

This activity helps your child to practice counting from 1 to 10 and from 1 to 20.  Then there is more practice counting when he or she needs to figure out how many of each type of fruit they have in the bowl  Your child also will be introduced to writing numbers.  I had to make dotted lines for some of the numbers for both twins to trace.  Our daughter picked up writing her numbers quickly.  After the first time she traced a number, she did not need me to make dotted lines for her again for the same number.  Our son needed to trace most of his numbers, except for 0 and 1.

Thank you to Discount School Supply for sending us a complimentary product sample to use for this activity.

For Better or For Worse: Where Do Monkeys Come From?

This summer, our children have been on a bit of a banana binge.  For some reason, they cannot seem to get enough bananas, whether they eat them plain, cut up in yogurt, or in an ice cream sundae.  They would barely be finished with one banana before they would ask for another.

In an attempt to teach our children moderation, my husband decided to let our children in on a little secret.  As our children listened intently, he told them where monkeys come from.  He did so by explaining to them that monkeys were really once little children who made the mistake of eating two bananas in one sitting.

I'm not sure our children believed my husband's story, but to this day, they have yet to ask for a second banana again.  Perhaps they think it's better to play it safe just in case?

Ruby Tuesday: Dessert Platter

This was one of the dessert platters served at the Bumble Bee Foods Reception during the BlogHer 2010 convention. Even with all the different types of cookies and chocolaty fudge offered on this platter, I found the strawberries to be most irresistible out of everything.

Which item would you have wanted to try first?

If you'd like to see more Ruby Tuesday photos, go visit Mary at Work of the Poet!

My Photos (W/E 5-29-10)

A few days ago, we had extremely hot weather that was unusual for springtime in New England. The temperature was well into the 90s. It was the perfect excuse to break out the water table and the Super Soakers . . . the absolute perfect excuse to take some outdoor photos.

"Something's Fishy"

"Kiwi For Me"

"Are You Thirsty?"

"All Wet"

"Make My Day!"

Thank you for taking the time to view my photos this week! If you'd like to play along or see more great photos, stop by to see Lotus a.k.a. Sarcastic Mom.

Easy Mango Paradise Ice Cream Cake Recipe

My children do not care for vegetables, but they cannot get enough of fresh fruit. So we were happy to put this frozen fruit offered by Nature's Peak to the test. Every member of our household is happy to eat fruit plain or with just a little bit whipped cream, but we decided it would be fun to make a dessert.

The concept of the dessert seemed so simple, but it turned out to be more delicate than we expected. Still, if you time everything correctly and serve the dessert immediately after it is prepared, then you should have a delicious masterpiece to serve your family or special guests.

Recipe: Mango Paradise Ice Cream Cake

INGREDIENTS:

Nature's Peak Frozen Fruit Paradise Fruit Medley

Nature's Peak Frozen Fruit Sunburst Mango

1 Sara Lee Frozen Pound Cake

Vanilla Ice Cream

Whipped Cream Topping

Step 1. Defrost fruit as directed. (It is best to only defrost the estimated quantity you need. We used 4 pieces of Paradise Fruit Medley and 2-3 Tbsp of Sunburst Mango per serving.)

Step 2. Take the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer so it will soften a bit.

Step 3. Slice the pound cake into 1" slabs. You will need two slabs of pound cake per serving.

Step 4. Lay one slab of pound cake on a dessert plate for each person you will be serving.

Step 5. If the vanilla ice cream is soft enough for you to scoop easily, use an ice cream spade to scoop a slab of ice cream onto the bottom layer of pound cake.

Step 6. Spoon on the defrosted mango pieces over the ice cream.

Step 7. Top the mango layer with the second slab of pound cake.

Step 8. Top the entire second layer of pound cake with whipped cream.

Step 9. Gently top the whipped cream with 3 or 4 pieces of the fruit medley. (For a nice colorful presentation, use one of each type of fruit.)

Serve immediately. You can put this dessert in the refrigerator for a few minutes if needed, but the longer you wait to serve it, the more you are at risk of having fallen whipped cream, melted ice cream, and soggy cake.

Enjoy!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Nature’s Peak and received a sample to facilitate my candid review as well as two coupons to giveaway. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive 2 coupons for free Nature's Peak Frozen Fruit products.


Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses 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.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PRODUCT IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS:

Florida (All Regions)
New England (All Regions)
New Jersey (All Regions)
Maryland (All Regions)
Virginia (All Regions)
Washington (Seattle Area)
Oregon (Portland Area)
California (Los Angeles, San Jose Areas)
Arizona (Phoenix Area)
North Carolina (South West Area)
South Carolina (North West Area)
Georgia (South East and North East Areas)
Missouri (Northern Area)
Louisiana (New Orleans Area)
Arkansas (Little Rock Area)


How to Gain Entries:
Look through the fruit blends and single fruit varieties of frozen fruit offered by Nature's Peak. Then leave a comment telling me which variety you would like to try if you won this contest. 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 NaturesPeakFrozenFoods.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 2 extra entries, share the link to this contest post on Facebook. Then leave TWO separate comments with the link to your 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) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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


Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Thursday, January 21st, 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!

You Could Win Some Cash Prizes in the DOLE Bowl-A-Day Challenge

A fun new contest hosted by DOLE launched on August 10th, 2009. It is right in time for thinking about healthy snacks to pack for your children when they go back to school. My son will be attending half-day kindergarten, so he will need a healthy snack packed for him everyday instead of a lunch. DOLE Fruit Bowls would be a healthy snack that he will surely not turn down.



Here are some cool facts about DOLE Fruit Bowls . . .

• DOLE Fruit Bowls are 80 calories or fewer
• DOLE Fruit Bowls are rich in Vitamin C
• DOLE Fruit Bowls are naturally Fat Free
• DOLE Fruit Bowls are low in Sodium
• DOLE Fruit Bowls have been honored as the ChefsBest® Award-Winner since 2004
  

How to play along . . .

1) Register on DoleChallenge.com .

2) Submit a tip about how you enjoy your Dole Fruit Bowls. If your tip is chosen as the best one submitted for that week, you win $300 and the charity or local school of your choice will win 1000 DOLE fruit bowls.

3) Recruit the most people to join in on the DOLE Challenge and you will win $1000 plus another $1000 for the charity or local school of your choice.

4) Check the DOLE refrigerator for printable coupons to save on DOLE fruit.

This contest ends on October 2nd, 2009. Please read the official contest rules.