Gear Up for Holiday Cooking with the Key Ingredient Touch-Screen Recipe Reader

Thank you to Key Ingredient for providing a complimentary Touch-Screen Recipe Reader sample for us to base this review upon and for providing an additional product for our contest prize.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Key Ingredient is a website I hadn’t heard of before but has quickly become a favorite of mine. With thousands of recipes with just a few clicks of the keyboard (or touches on the touchscreen with their free iOS or Android apps), this site is a treasure chest of good food. And now, Key Ingredient has come out with their Recipe Reader which combines their website with innovative technology that is simple enough for cooks from almost any generation to use.  What a handy tool this would be for cooking meals during the Holidays and all year round.

The Key Ingredient Recipe Reader is similar to a tablet, but larger and able to withstand kitchen abuse without breaking or malfunctioning. After you create your account with KeyIngredient.com, you will set it up to sync with your Recipe Reader and then you can start adding recipes and they will sync via WiFi to your Reader.

The Recipe Reader also has awesome features, such as multiple timers for cooking, measurement converter, and (my favorite) a substitutions list. You can create cookbooks, categorize recipes, and even enter certain recipes as “favorites” so they are easier to locate when you need them.

The Recipe Reader itself is splash-proof, spill-proof, and overall kitchen-proof (not designed to be submersed in water though), so it’s sure to stand up to the toughness of any kitchen. It is not flimsy, in fact I was quite surprised at how robust it is without being too bulky. And, it can stand upright to be looked at straight ahead or can lie at a gentle incline so it’s easier to read if it’s below eye level. It really is a genius setup, great device, and sure to make any cook happy.

Jerinda's Deviled Eggs made with the assistance of the Recipe Reader

Key Ingredient is also offering a unique fundraising opportunity, the “Community Cookbook Contest”, where they want to bridge the gap between older and younger generations via cooking. They are offering to sponsor a cooking-themed event with $400 in gifts, prizes, and other materials for the first 200 communities to sign up to host. Those entered will also have a chance to win $2000 from Key Ingredient. You can learn more here.

The KeyIngredient.com community is also a social networking site where food/cooking enthusiasts can share recipes and chat about all things food related. You can create a free account there and it’s very easy to get started. The Key Ingredient Recipe Reader can be purchased on that same website for $149.95.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

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 number 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 number will be drawn.

Shop 'n' Share: Great Deal on Ematic MID 7 Google Android OS Multimedia Tablet & Kobo eReader on NoMoreRack.com

We love finding deals, and we love electronics and gizmos even more. So when we saw the Enmatic Eglide 2.2 MID 7 Google Android OS Multimedia Tablet & Kobo eReader on NoMoreRack.com for $59 ($130.99 savings!) it was double love at first site. We bought the Eglide right away as it was a no-brainer.

The Eglide has a 7” 800x480 resolution screen and is capable of playing 720p video. Very good for a $59 device of any kind, let alone one designed for reading!

The Eglide runs on the Android 2.1 operating system and as a result has access to hundreds of thousands of apps and books. Apps are as easy to install on the Eglide as they are on any other mobile device via the variety of installed marketplaces. Books are also as easy to download as they are on my Kindle.

The video player is decent and video runs fairly smoothly. I was disappointed, however, to learn that Netflix is not compatible with Android 2.1, but for less than $60 I was not devastated. I would just need to load my videos and store them on an SD card or the Eglide’s built-in 4 gigabytes of memory.

I give the screen a mixed review. The Eglide relies on a capacitive touch screen, meaning that you need to actually press into the screen ever so slightly to trigger a button or swipe. With today's technology that is just archaic! The capacitive screen had more delay than I liked and a few more missed commands than I could tolerate, but the fact that this unit costs a mere $59 creates a huge tolerance for such complaints. The feature (accidental?) of the screen that I liked, however, is its soft backlighting. For a backlit screen it is easy on the eyes for reading, which is of the highest priority for an ereader.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

My overall opinion of my experience with NoMoreRack.com and my new Eglide? . . . Very good. The variety of deals like the ereader and the ease of ordering made the purchase pleasant. The cost of the Enmatic Eglide, plus $2 flat rate shipping per item, makes it a no-brainer for a multimedia device for your kids or a budget ereader for yourself. So long as your expectations are set properly, the Enmatic Eglide is a great device.

There is also a 30 day return policy and 24 hour customer service at NoMoreRack, making me more comfortable buying electronics from this website than from some other opportunity shopping sites. With a whole section dedicated to electronics, it is hard to resist checking to see what new products have been added each day at noon.  This site would be perfect if you like treasure hunting for holiday gifts.


Thank you to NoMoreRack for providing a gift code for us to shop and report back to our readers about our experience.

LIVE V.Reader Giveaway: Family Game Reading Night [CLOSED]

Our Winner is Shasta!

Even though we live in a hectic household, we always have at least one story read before bedtime. Sometimes Dad would read the story, but recently our 6 year old son has been having a go at it quite often. Well, wouldn't it be fun to have one night a week, perhaps on Friday when the kids can stay up a bit later, when all five of us would each choose a book to read to the group? No, our 3 year old twins cannot read yet, but they could choose an animated storybook to read to the group. The new VTech V.Reader would make it possible for our whole family to feel included in our "Friday Family Reading Night". There will be 11 different story game cartridges and over 100 ebooks to download, many of which will be available to be downloaded for free. This will keep our Family Reading Nights going for quite awhile.

The Family Reading Night Challenge Giveaway!

Please read the instructions completely before entering. Everyone MUST complete the mandatory entry to be eligible to win. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and will end when we reach 447 valid comments.

The lucky winner will receive . . .

A VTech V.Reader of their very own plus a bonus V.Reader Story Game Cartridge. The winner may choose between a blue or a pink V.Reader. The bonus cartridge will be a surprise!

How To Play . . .

1) Mandatory Entry ~ For your first comment, briefly tell me about a time when your family sat and read together. You can draw from experiences with your current family or from your own childhood.

2) After you have completed the mandatory entry, you may leave as many comments as you like as long as they have anything to do with reading.

For example:

Where do you like to read with your children?

What are your children's favorite stories?

What were your favorite stories as a child?

What good books have you read?

Get the idea?

3) Your comments must be in complete sentences.

4) You may make consecutive comments.

Commenter #447 Will Be Our Winner!

(Because those digits are my children's ages rounded up)

You might find me commenting too, just to help you along. I will delete any comments that do not meet the above criteria, which will make all the numbers shift, so please play by the rules. I will close the contest and announce the winner as soon as I have verified all the comments are valid.

Have fun! Once the conversations get started, this should go by quickly.

This is a compensated post written as part of a VTech V.Reader campaign for The Motherhood. Thank you to VTech for providing a prize for our contest.

VTech V.Reader LIVE GIVEAWAY: Thursday 7/15 8pm EST

I just wanted to let all my readers know that I have a LIVE GIVEAWAY for a VTech V.Reader coming up on Thursday.

EVENT: 3G2S Live Giveaway

PRIZE: Vtech V.Reader plus Bonus Game Cartridge

DATE: July 15th, 2010

TIME: 8:00pm EST

PLACE: 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

This contest will be open to U.S. residents only. I hope to see you all there!

Giveaway & Review: New VTech Kids V.Reader (Exclusively at Target) [CLOSED]

My 6 year old son is a proficient reader and I hope that his 3 year old siblings will follow in his footsteps. They do not seem to have the thirst for reading as their big brother did when he was their age. That is why I want to take advantage of whatever tools are available to me . . . whether it is classic nursery rhymes or the latest in kid technology.

The new Vtech V.Reader, which is an animated e-Reading System for children ages 3 to 7, would fall into the latter category. It was released on June 21st, 2010 exclusively in Target stores and on Target.com for $59.99. They will not be available at other retailers until August. My oldest was delighted to find out we would be receiving one to test and to report about back to our readers.

The V.Reader Reading System allows your child to listen to a story, while the pictures come to life, or to play reading games. The V.Reader comes with one cartridge to get you started. Additional cartridges retail for $19.99. You will also have the ability to download additional stories to your child's V.Reader. This feature will be coming soon and, from what I understand, some of the stories will be free to download.

What comes in the box?

• The V.Reader (which comes in blue or pink)
• One story game cartridge
• USB cable
• A cleaning cloth for the touch screen

This system requires 4 AA batteries, which are not included in the box. Although I cannot find the information about the V.Reader's storage capacity, I do know that you can expand its memory with an SD card.

The V.Reader is about the size of a standard children's book. The screen is about 3-3/4"x2-1/8" not including the touch pad. This is plenty of room to show the full-color animation as well as an easy-to-read font for each story.

The unit is fairly lightweight, which I am pleased about. It only measures just slightly over an inch thick with the cover shut, so your child can hold it to read without his or her arms getting tired so easily.

The design of the V.Reader is very well thought out. When the cover is closed, only the speaker and the page turning arrows are exposed. This helps to protect the touch screen when it is not in use. I love that the volume button is right on the front right of the unit. It is out of the way for when a child is holding the unit with his or her hands, but is easily accessible. I also love that there is a "bookmark" button to keep your child's place in a story, should he or she need to take a break. Like with many other computer or electronic learning games, you can track your child's progress online and print reward certificates to give them a pat on the back.

Although the stylus is self-storing, I was a little concerned that it was not attached. It is unlikely that my 6 year old would lose it, but the odds are pretty high that it would go missing in the hands of our 3 year old twins.

One thing that would make the V.Reader a better value is if it could hold more than one child's information at a time. Currently, it will remember one child's name and avatar.

Although our son just graduated from kindergarten, he actually reads on a 1st grade level or higher. As a result, he is on the edge of being too advanced for this toy. In the story and game cartridge "Shrek's Vacation" for ages 5 to 7, one of the activities is to learn about adverbs. Now I know my son is not an expert on the parts of speech, but I have introduced them to him in the past. He told me flat out that the games were too easy for him. This particular game did not have different difficulty levels, but the "What's That Noise" cartridge, which came in the box, did have three levels to choose from. I am hoping that most of the future titles will have this feature.

Our 3 year old twins are actually just below the starting level for this toy. They are just trying to master learning the alphabet and have only touched upon any phonics. They enjoy the story portion of the V.Reader, but are not yet able to play the games.

Currently, you can purchase the VTech V.Reader at your local Target store or on Target.com . This item actually qualifies for their free shipping promotion at the moment. In August, you will be able to find the V.Reader at most major retailers of VTech toys. You can also look forward to 11 different titles for game cartridges and over 100 ebooks to download coming soon.

Thank you to VTech for sending us a sample V.Reader free of charge to base this review upon.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a VTech V.Reader (a $59.99 value).

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:

Leave a comment telling me where your child would most likely use this portable animated V.Reader system this summer. 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 VteckKids.com/V.Reader/ . 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 VTechToys on Twitter and/or "Like" VTech Toys 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.

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


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, July 26th, 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!

Giveaway & Review: Leapster Explorer plus Toy Story 3 Game (ARV $95) [CLOSED]

Up until last month, I thought that the Leapster2 from LeapFrog was one of the best inventions of all time. Now, having experienced the capabilities of the new Leapster Explorer, I have to say that there is a new favorite in our household. The Leapster Explorer has a larger higher resolution screen than the Leapster2. It also has over four times the amount of memory and processing power. In the words of my 6yr old son, "This new Leapster is totally cool!!"

Our six year old is going to be accompanying me and my husband to the BlogHer 2010 convention this year. This handheld game is a must to take with us on this trip. My son will be able to play games, read books, draw, use flash cards, and much more without my having to fill half a suitcase with all those things.

The Leapster Explorer plays both cartridge games and apps called Leaplets that you download. There will be a total of 40 cartridge games and Leaplets available by the end of 2010. Speaking of the end of the year, coming this fall will be an attachment that plugs right into the bottom of the unit that will turn your Leapster Explorer into a digital camera and camcorder.

Some other things I love about the Leapster Explorer is that it is rechargeable. I can see what is on the screen while sitting next to my son, rather than having to look at the screen straight-on. The touch screen is very durable. Sometimes my son is playing a game and I see him tap-tap-tapping his little heart out and I worry that he is going to damage the touch screen, but it does not even put a mark on it.

One major issue I have with my son is that, when there is a choice of levels, he always wants to choose the easiest. The Leapster Explorer solves this problem for me. It starts off easy to build his confidence, but it self-adjusts by reacting to how well my son is doing. For example, one day I overheard him playing a game about different types of triangles. He was learning about isosceles and scalene triangles. I thought this was so great! Nobody else would think to teach a kindergartner these things. The Leapster Explorer was doing this all on its own. Although I can connect the unit online to record his progress, I did not need to do this in order for the game to increase in difficulty.

I must mention that this handheld comes with a a preloaded app called the Pet Pad. This is one of my son's favorite activities to do on the Leapster Explorer. It was ingenious of LeapFrog to have a virtual pet included with the unit. My son loves that the pet makes appearances within some of the other games. The Explorer also comes with a code for a free download of one Leaplet.

Leapster Explorer Specs:

• Uses a Linux-based operating system
• 3.2" screen
• 320x240 resolution
• 512MB memory
• 400MHz processor
• 250 to 300 MB download capacity
• Retails for $69.99
• Comes in green or pink
• Recommended for ages 4 to 9

The only improvement I can recommend is that the unit could be slightly lighter in weight. Even though it may not seem heavy at first, after playing for a period of time, your hands and wrists do become quite tired.

If you need any recommendations for games and Leaplets, my son especially loves The Penguins of Madagascar: Operation Plushy Rescue and he found the Leaplet Jewel Train to be very addictive.

The floor date for the Leapster Explorer is July 15th, 2010. You can pre-order your Explorer online now through several major toy and electronics retailers. If you pre-order by July 1st, you can receive Free Shipping and a Free Leaplet Card Pack at select retailers. You can place your order at Toys R Us and Toys R Us Canada, Target, Walmart, Kmart, Best Buy, Sears, Amazon.com, and of course LeapFrog.com .

Thank you to LeapFrog for providing us with a sample unit, games, and apps free of charge to base this review upon and for providing another unit plus one game as our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a Leapster Explorer plus the Disney Pixar Toy Story 3 game cartridge (ARV $95)

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:

Browse the selection of Leapster Explorer Games and Leaplets. Then leave a comment telling me which product you think would be the most fun for a child you know. 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 LeapFrog.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, follow LeapFrog on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter 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 Monday, July 5th, 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!