Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth Without Overindulging with a Trio of Cakeballz Ready-to-Eat Cake Balls!

Thank you to Cakeballz for providing complimentary cake balls samples for us to base this review upon.  All opinions expressed are my own.

If you have a sweet tooth like I do, then you will love Cakeballz. These bite-sized treats come in three delicious flavors . . . Red Velvet, Chocolate, and Birthday Cake, that are sure to satisfy any sugar craving. These mini cakes are perfectly sized and come in a package of three so you get all the deliciousness of fresh cake without all the guilt. Cakeballz are moist balls of cake covered in hard chocolate and sprinkles; and they are yummy!

I expected the Cakeballz to be good, but I had no idea they would be as tasty as they are! They were really fresh and moist and all three flavors tasted awesome. The chocolate and birthday cake flavors were my personal favorites, but my husband loved the red velvet. I wasn’t disappointed in any of them at all. A package of three is perfect to satisfy my craving without making me feel like I'm overindulging, plus I really am satisfied, so I don’t go out searching for more sweets once I’ve finished. These are also very handy for taking on-the-go or in lunchboxes because they are small and not messy. My kids loved them and have already asked when we can go buy more.

We really enjoyed trying these and I will undoubtedly be buying them in the future to snack on. You can find Cakeballz at many Walgreens stores nationwide. Visit their website at www.cakeballz.com to find a Walgreens that carries them near you.  You can also keep a lookout for Cakeballz coming to your local 7-Eleven stores in May!

Holiday Gift Guides, a Free Printable Organizer, and More Tips for Managing the Holiday Madness! #HappyAllTheWay #shop #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This Walgreens Holiday Gift Guide shop has been compensated as part of a #HappyAllTheWay social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

The Holidays are my favorite time of the year.  I can say that because (if you take blogging out of the equation) I have learned to keep Holiday stress to a minimum when it comes to organizing my Holiday shopping list and coming up with Christmas present ideas.  No, you cannot snap your fingers and suddenly have an unlimited budget for Holiday gifts, but there are some things that are within your control.  You may already do one or more of these things listed below, but, if you do all four, you can be on your way to having a low-stress Holiday where you can actually enjoy the Holiday season.

1.  Start your gift shopping earlier.  Notice, I did not say to start "early" because that s a relevant term.  I usually start my Holiday shopping during the summertime.  If you usually start 2 days before Christmas, try starting 2 weeks before Christmas instead.  You will be amazed at how much it will reduce your stress with every gift you check off your list.  This will eliminate having to run around to find suitable last minute Christmas gifts.  Also, the earlier you start, the more opportunities you will have to come up with more creative gifts.

2.  Keep your gift shopping list(s) organized.  Everyone should make a list of who they need to buy for and possible gift ideas for each person.  This is especially true if you have children.  Not only do gifts for teachers, bus drivers, babysitters, and others come along with having children, you also need to stuff stockings and buy the gifts from Santa in addition to the ones from yourself.  Every year, I make a special list for my children and it is set up exactly like the one below.  Feel free to print it out to use for your own family's shopping.

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

I also make a similar list in my head for my husband because, although Santa does not leave a gift for him under the tree, he does stuff my husband's stocking.  I refuse to write any of it down because I know at least part of him likes to be surprised as much as our children do.

3.  Use Holiday Gift Guides as resources for unique gift ideas.  Starting at the beginning of November, you will be bombarded with gift guides left and right.  If you take the time to stop and actually look at them, you might find some creative gift ideas.  They are all free, so why not take a quick look?  For example, I picked up the Walgreens Holiday gift guide last week and was able to find some great gift ideas for teachers, our neighbors, my husband's co-workers, and for hostess gifts.

The Walgreens Holiday catalog can be found in-stores and online, and is full of unique pairings and other Walgreens Holiday solutions.  Be sure to grab one next time you're in your local Walgreens because there are tons of savings and bonus Balance Rewards Points in there!  That's how I discovered the Good & Delish premium snacks, chocolates, cookies, ice cream, nuts, and gourmet party snack ideas.  I had purchased Good & Delish cookies before, but I had no idea the line spanned multiple aisles across the store.  There are tons of decadent snack ideas that would make wonderful gifts.

4.  Buy one for them, pick up one for yourself.  Another way to keep Holiday stress in check is to reward yourself.  Let's face it, organizing, buying, and wrapping all those Holiday gifts is hard work and you should be rewarded.  I'm not saying this rule should apply to cashmere sweaters and tablet PCs (but if you can afford it, go for it!), however, a few little rewards can go a long way.  For example, I am putting together a gift basket for one of my children's teachers as her gift from the whole class.  I knew I wanted to include a personalized wall calendar with quotes from her students and a gift card.  Everything else was a little fuzzy until I saw the Good & Delish chocolates and other sweet treats in the Walgreens Holiday Guide.  I chose a variety of gourmet treats to include in the gift basket for our child's teacher and picked up an extra box of Raspberry Fruit Creme cookies and a pouch of Brittle Bites for myself.  Thanks to one of the ideas I found in the gift guide, I also picked up a bottle of Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice for her and one for myself.

What tips do you have for reducing stress during the Holidays?  I would love it if you shared your tips with me and other 3G2S readers!

Treat Someone You Love to Something Sweet from Harvard Sweet Boutique

Thank you to Harvard Sweet Boutique for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon. All opinions expressed are my own.

For Father's Day this year, my husband received an especially sweet treat from Harvard Sweet Boutique, a specialty gourmet bakery located right here in Massachusetts that ships freshly baked goodies to anywhere in the U.S.  Their selection consists of a wide variety of gourmet cookies, toffees, truffles, and brownies, including some that are gluten-free and low-carb.  In our small sampler box, we received two Vanilla Sea Salt Caramel Brownie, a piece of Milk Chocolate Almond Toffee, and a few White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies.

I must say that the presentation of this gift was most impressive.  My poor husband had to wait to open the beautifully embellished box until I was satisfied that I took enough photos of it.  The striped necktie was just adorable.  (I kept it aside and am waiting for the perfect opportunity to try it on our cat.  If I manage to snap a photo before he escapes, I'll certainly share it with you.)

Inside the box, we found the individually wrapped treats to be tucked inside another bag for added freshness.  Because the weather was warm and humid when our order was shipped, although the treats were intact, the brownies and the toffee were slightly melted.

The Milk Chocolate Almond Toffee was for me!  I am a huge fan of toffee and found this concoction to be delicious.  It did have quite a lot of almond pieces in it, so I would only recommend this toffee for nut-lovers.

Although my husband was not disappointed by the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, he found them to be average compared to the Vanilla Sea Salt Caramel Brownies.  He found the brownies to be utterly delicious . . . enough so that he might think it would be worth the drive to the bakery located in Hudson, MA.  He could not help but wonder, if the brownie tasted this good shipped to his door, it must taste that much better fresh from the bakery.

Visit HarvardSweetBoutique.com to see their full line of gourmet treats.  You're sure to find something perfect for almost any occasion, including graduations, get well gifts, birthdays, thank you gifts, housewarming gifts, or even party favors.  Be sure to checkout their mouthwatering photos on Facebook.  Also ground shipping at Harvard Sweet Boutique is a flat rate fee of just $5.

Celebrate National Candy Month with New Varieties of Werther's Original Sugar Free Caramel Candy

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

June is National Candy Month and what better way to celebrate than with some guilt-free candy?  My family received a sampling of 4 varieties of Werther's Original Sugar Free Caramels, which only have 3g carbs and 8 calories per piece.  Two were classic flavors . . . the Original Hard Candies and the Caramel Coffee.  The others were two exciting new flavors . . . Caramel Cinnamon and Caramel Apple.  When I saw these two new varieties of Werther's, all I could think about was how perfect they would be for the fall holidays!

I have always loved Werther's Original caramels, but I have to be honest that I was skeptical about how good the sugar-free versions would taste.  I have found in the past that sugar-free candies usual have a strange aftertaste.  That is surprisingly not the case with these Werther's.  I could not tell the difference between the sugar-free Werther's from the original candy.  I was not alone in feeling this way.  My husband whole-heartedly agreed, as did our children, who would never have known these candies were sugar-free if they had not read the text on the wrappers.  780 out of 1,000 diabetics, who took part in a Sugar Free Satisfaction Survey, also found the Werther's Sugar Free Caramels to be enjoyable, after more than 500 respondents said they did not enjoy most sugar-free candies they've tried in the past.

Of the four flavors we tried, everyone's opinions differed about which variety was their favorite.  My husband and I both agree that the Original Sugar Free Caramel was our favorite.  Our 9 year old son seemed to just love the Sugar Free Caramel Coffee, while our 6 year old twins liked the Sugar Free Caramel Apple the most.  I had never tasted the flavor combination of cinnamon and caramel before.  It was surprisingly good and I would say that the Sugar Free Caramel Cinnamon was my second favorite of the bunch.

To learn more about Werther's and Werther's Original Sugar Free caramels, visit Werthers-Original.us and Werther's Original Sugar Free US on Facebook.


Our prize pack for this contest includes the following . . .

• 4 bags of Werther's Original Sugar Free Caramels
• 5 coupons each to save $.75 off Werther's Original Sugar Free candy
• $25 American Express gift card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

3 Easy Marshmallow Pretzel Dip Recipes

Last year when my family celebrated National Pretzel Day, I bought two jars of gourmet dip and some Nutella to use as pretzel dip.  Our children did not really seem too crazy about any of the dips I chose, so I decided to come up with a must-win pretzel dip that was super-kid-friendly.  You know me though . . . whatever I make, it has to be easy with few ingredients and not a lot of prep work.  The 3 varieties of dips I ended up making were simple, but were a huge hit compared to the gourmet dips.

Recipe:  Peanut Butter Marshmallow Pretzel Dip

INGREDIENTS

Marshmallow Fluff

Reese's Peanut Butter Topping

Chocolate Sprinkles or Mini Chocolate Chips

Step 1.  Take approximately 1/2 to 1 cup of Marshmallow Fluff and put it in a small dip bowl.  Allow the marshmallow to settle.  It will smooth out on its own.

Step 2.  Drizzle Reese's Peanut Butter Topping over the top of the marshmallow.

Step 3.  Take a chopstick or a swizzle stick and swirl the peanut butter into the marshmallow without mixing it together too much.

Step 4.  Top the mixture with chocolate sprinkles or mini chocolate chips and serve.

Recipe:  Chocolate Marshmallow Pretzel Dip

INGREDIENTS

Marshmallow Fluff

Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

Colorful Confetti Sprinkles or Rainbow Sprinkles

Step 1.  Take approximately 1/2 to 1 cup of Marshmallow Fluff and put it in a small dip bowl.  Allow the marshmallow to settle.  It will smooth out on its own.

Step 2.  Drizzle Hershey's Chocolate Syrup over the top of the marshmallow.

Step 3.  Take a chopstick or a swizzle stick and swirl the chocolate syrup into the marshmallow without mixing it together too much.

Step 4.  Top the mixture with confetti or rainbow sprinkles and serve.

Recipe:  Toffee Caramel Marshmallow Pretzel Dip

INGREDIENTS

Marshmallow Fluff

Smucker's Caramel Sundae Topping

Heath Bar Toffee Chips

Step 1.  Take approximately 1/2 to 1 cup of Marshmallow Fluff and put it in a small dip bowl.  Allow the marshmallow to settle.  It will smooth out on its own.

Step 2.  Drizzle Smucker's Caramel Sundae Topping over the top of the marshmallow.

Step 3.  Take a chopstick or a swizzle stick and swirl the caramel into the marshmallow without mixing it together too much.

Step 4.  Top the mixture with Heath Bar toffee chips and serve.

Although my children seemed to like them all, it appeared that their favorite was the Chocolate Marshmallow Dip.  I'm not sure if it was the chocolate they liked so much or the colorful star-shaped confetti sprinkles.  It could very well have been both.  I think anyone who likes a salty-sweet taste combination will enjoy this dip.

If you try any of these pretzel dips for your children or grandchildren, I'd love to know how they liked it or which one they ended up enjoying the most.

Easy Recipe: Heath Bar Caramel Malted Milk Chocolate Brownies

 Since my Double Caramel Brownies were such a hit with my family, I had decided to experiment further. The result was a brownie that was gooey, chewy, and crunchy. This would be an easy recipe to make if you would like to surprise your favorite mom with something decadent for Mother's Day this year. You could even make this with your children since there are more things to add than with your average quick batch of brownies.

Recipe: Heath Bar Caramel Malted Milk Chocolate Brownies

INGREDIENTS:
1 box Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownie Mix
2 large eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Approximately 50 Whoppers malted milk balls
Heath toffee chips
1 bottle Smucker's Caramel Sundae Syrup

Step 1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees for metal or glass pans (325 degrees for dark coated pans).

Step 2. Follow the instructions on the brownie mix box for combining the mix, eggs, water, and oil.

Step 3. Grease the bottom of your 9x13 baking pan with cooking or baking spray. Then pour half of the batter into the pan.  Be sure to spread the batter out so that the whole bottom of the pan is covered.

Step 4.  Place approximately 50 malted milk ball candies evenly spaced apart in the baking pan.

Step 5. Pour the remainder of the brownie batter on top. Spread the batter to make sure it completely covers all the malted milk balls.

Step 6.  Sprinkle an even layer of Heath Toffee Chips over the batter.

Step 7.  Lightly drizzle the caramel syrup over the batter.

Step 8. Bake the brownies for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting.

That's it!  You're done.  As always, if you try this easy recipe, be sure to let me know how you liked it.  Also, if you haven't already, checkout my easy recipe for Peanut Butter Oreo Butterfinger Brownies.

6 Sweet Valentine's Day Gift Ideas from Shari's Berries (Promo Codes)

Recently, I shared how we had surprised our 6 year old twins with some goodies from Shari's Berries on their birthday.  We thoroughly enjoyed the Gourmet Dipped Fancy Strawberries along with the fudgy Birthday Cake Pops.  Of course, these sweet treats were perfect for a birthday celebration, but Shari's Berries offers so much more.  Similarly to how they have gourmet items tailored specifically for birthdays, they also have quite a selection of Valentine's Day-themed treats.  Rather than giving the same boring old box of chocolates this year, why not choose something that shows that you put some thought into your gift?


6 alternatives to the boring box of chocolates for Valentine's Day . . .

1.  16 Count Cupcake Sampler - $54.96

2.  Full Dozen Gourmet Dipped Valentine's Day Strawberries - $39.98 (Reg. $54.98)

3.  Romantic Fortune Cookies - $29.99

4.  12 Handmade Valentine's Love Bug Cake Pops - $44.99

5.  6" Three Layer Chocolate Happy Valentine's Day Cake - $39.99

6.  Valentine's Sweets & Savories - $39.99

See something you like?  Well, before you order, be sure to check for available Shari's Berries coupon codes that can be applied to your order.  Our Shari's Berries items were beautifully boxed and came with a note card printed with a personal message to our children from my husband and myself.  Usually you need to place your order more than 2 days before the desired delivery date to pay for standard shipping, so be sure to plan accordingly.

Although I had previously received complimentary product samples from ProFlowers.com, all opinions expressed are my own.

Gourmet Dipped Strawberries & Fudgy Cake Pops . . . Delicious Alternatives to Birthday Cake

For us, the month of January is pretty much a month-long birthday celebration.  Our oldest son's birthday comes at the beginning of the month.  Then our now 6 year old twins' birthdays come 2-1/2 weeks later.  We usually celebrate both birthdays with a special dinner for just our little family on the evening of each birthday.  Then somewhere in between there, we traditionally have a birthday dinner for all 3 children at my sister's house for close relatives.  This year, we even managed to fit in a weekend trip to the Coco Key Water Park, where the children were surprised with a special birthday cake.  As you can imagine, after all these birthday celebrations, we have had our fill of birthday cake by the time the twins' birthdays roll around.

This year, I found some wonderful alternatives to birthday cake with which to surprise the twins on ProFlowers.com.  On the day of their birthdays, UPS delivered a package to the house containing 3 Birthday Cake Pops and a Dozen Gourmet Dipped Fancy Strawberries along with a decorated vanilla birthday sugar cookie and a note printed with a special message from me and my husband.

I have to admit that the Shari's Berries gourmet strawberries were what caught my eye immediately while browsing the ProFlowers website.  They are available in various quantities, with different coatings, and paired with a variety of other treats.  In addition to the cake pops, you can also purchase the strawberries paired with cheesecake, cookies, floral bouquets, and more.  It actually took me forever to decide on what to order.

Ultimately, I was extremely happy with what I had decided upon.  The strawberries were large, juicy, and sweet.  I think both my husband and I would agree that the strawberries dipped in milk chocolate with a coating of almonds were our favorite.

All 3 children, on the other hand, reached right for the birthday cake pops.  They were chocolate coated and extremely fudgy inside.  Our 9 year old kept insisting that it was solid chocolate and fudge with zero cake inside.

During the checkout process on the ProFlowers website, I was given the opportunity to add-on some items. One of the choices was a decorated birthday cookie.  I thought it would make a nice treat for the children.  I would have added one for each child, but the website only allowed me to add one, which I thought was strange.  Regardless, the cookie was large enough for all 3 children to share.

Our children found the colorful sprinkles on the cake pops to be extremely fun, especially when they were scattered like confetti around their plates and the table.  Next time, I might decided to order the colorful Gourmet Birthday Strawberries for them instead.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with my ProFlowers.com experience.  I liked that I could specify a delivery date even though the package came via UPS.  The items were also very carefully packaged along with a non-toxic ice pack to keep the contents chilled in case you are not home to accept the delivery.

To view all the gourmet gift options available, visit ProFlowers.com.  Be sure to also check the ProFlowers coupons page for any discounts you may be able to use prior to placing your order.


Thank you to ProFlowers.com for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Nonni's Salted Caramel Biscotti

If you or someone you know is a fan of salted caramel, then you must consider adding Nonni's Salted Caramel Biscotti to your shopping list.  Each ready-to-wrap box contains a tray of 8 individually wrapped biscotti.  This sweet treat contains chewy caramel pieces inside a crisp cookie topped with drizzled chocolate and salt.  They really look and taste so decadent, that it's difficult to believe that they are only 100 calories each.

I am always stumped for ideas about what small gifts I can give to the neighbors, the mail carrier, the UPS driver, and our school bus driver.  Nonni's Salted Caramel Biscotti would make the perfect alternative to the usual box of chocolates.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

These salted caramel biscotti also look quite elegant served with coffee or tea.  I think a wrapped tower of several varieties of Nonni's Biscotti topped with a large bow would make a beautiful hostess gift!  You can view all the varieties available plus find freebies and special offers on www.Nonnis.com, the Nonni's Biscotti Facebook page, and the Nonni's Biscotti Pinterest boards.

Thank you to Nonni's for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon and for providing additional product for our contest prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!