Angie – Page 1002 – Luv Saving Money

Review of Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil Gold Label

I received a generous sample of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. I had heard of it and wondered what it was really like to cook with. I wanted to try it because it was organic (according to the jar all aspects of the production of Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil is certified organic including the packaging), I wondered if it left a little coconut flavor in your food, and small family businesses produce the coconut oil.

Tropical Traditions is full of interesting and informative information on benefits and processes of their company. For instance, here is a quote from the website: ” Laboratory tests show that this Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is a very high quality coconut oil, with very high antioxidant levels.”

Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil is FREE OF trans fats. Trans fats also called unsaturated fats pose health risks such as coronary artery disease (CAD) and raise “bad” cholesterol levels (LDL’s)
The fact that Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil is Free of trans fats makes it a healthier cooking oil choice.

When I got my jar of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil I couldn’t wait to open it. I was interested to see a solidified oil with a some what pulpy looking texture.

My concern, and this is me, I love the flavor of coconut but not the texture. I was a little concerned at first but my concern quickly went away as I saw the coconut oil melt like butter in the frying pan.

So excited to try the oil. My initial trial was simply, scrambled eggs for the kids. The oil worked just as well as any oil I’ve used. One note however was the pleasant, faint coconut aroma as the oil heated. The scrambled eggs had only a kiss of coconut flavor. My kids didn’t seem to notice but I did. I asked my husband if he tasted anything different. He said “there’s something but I can’t put my finger on it”

Happy with my initial trial I started thinking what I wanted to use the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil for next. I thought the coconut hint would be lovely in a chicken stir fry. I fried up my chicken and added my veggies and such to the pan:

There are many recipes for Tropical Traditions product on their website. And I mean many. Here is a direct link to the recipes: http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/index.htm

My simple chicken stir fry was delicious. I added pineapple also to my stir fry and it was a nice contrast with the hint of coconut oil flavor:

Tropical Traditions doesn’t just have coconut oil though. There are many interesting products like: Organic Coconut Peanut Butter (which sounds heavenly to me), Coconut Oil Bar Soap, All-Purpose non-toxic household cleaner, organic raw pet food and many more products.

If you would like to order the Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil that I received you can find it here:
To Order Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil

If you do order I would appreciate it if you would use my user id when you purchase. When you go to purchase a product it will as if you were referred by anyone. My user is: 6162177
You can also use the referral program after you make your first purchase to earn free products.

What would you use the coconut oil for?

****Disclaimer**** I received a sample of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut oil at no cost. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review. All information in this post is my opinion. *****

How to make a rolling widget for your buttons

Ok I’m def not a web designer. I see everyone else with these beautiful elaborate blogs and thing….man i wish i could begin to know how to do that. I’m learning, slower than I’d like. One thing I really liked was those cool rolling widgets to put blog buttons on. My page was starting to look cluttered and I was hesitant to add more buttons.

So I searched the internet. I found several how to’s. Some just didn’t make any sense to me at all, some I thought I understood but when I tried it, it didn’t work. That is until I fell on Parajunkee Designs blog. Her directions were step by step, simple, and even provided the codes and where to put them. She also described what all of the directions meant and why they had to be there. That’s what I need to learn! Now I even know how to customize it for the future.

So if you are like me, (you don’t have to admit it) stop on over to Parajunkee Designs
She can also create things like blog buttons, custom template and more for a fee if you want to just let someone else do the work. According to her profile she has 10 years experience as a graphic designer and web designer, with a degree in computer graphic design.

Check out her Free section for a couple of free twitter buttons, and templates. There are also a few more tutorials.I def took advantage of the twitter button too rather than the boring blogger twitter gadget i had. Thanks so much http://www.parajunkeedesign.com/

L’oreal USA Consumer Testing Panel (got a great free product)

I like to sign up for company panels. One reason is because I like to feel like I can put my opinion on new product, I like to keep up to date on the up and coming, and of course the chance to try free products.
One panel that I’ve been a member of is the L’Oreal USA Consumer Testing Panel. I don’t get many surveys from them. I do complete the ones I get. I think I’ve received 1 or 2 products to try but nothing major.

Today though, I got home from work and found a small package in the mail for me. I opened it up and found a jar of facial cream and a letter explaining that for every 5 informational surveys you complete with them they send you 1 free luxury brand product for free as a thank you. I was not aware of this and the product was a generous size. It was “Kiehl’s Cryste Marine Firming Cream” I was not familiar with the brand so I did a little research. I found out after searching a few sites that the size jar I received (50 mL or 1.7 oz) sells for $48 and is found at places like Nordstrom: Kiehl’s Cryste Marine Firming Cream at Nordstrom
Amazon also has it: Kiehl’s Cryste Marine Firming Cream 50 mL at Amazon

So wow, It’s worth being a part of the panel

https://consumertesting.lorealusa.com/survey88.asp

What are some of the Sweetest Things your spouse/SO has said to you lately?

This is a little off topic but I was thinking about this today. Or, I guess thinking about what my husband said to me. I needed to borrow his SUV yesterday to pick up a bike for one of my kids. My car doesn’t have much room. He reluctantly let me borrow it and he took my car to work. He came home from work last night. He said “it was kind of refreshing driving your car to work today, would you mind if I took it tomorrow?” I was a little shocked by the request since he was reluctant to trade for the day in the first place. (Also he has a fairly new suv with all the bells and whistles and my car is old and has no bells and whistles). I said “Why?” He didnt’ want to answer me at first so I just told him “I don’t care go ahead”. He sat there for a minute and said “I liked taking your car it smells like you. I like that especially when I’m driving to work”

I was not expecting that answer but it made me happy. So now your turn, What is the last sweet thing your spouse/significant other said to you? This is meant to be fun and maybe even get us thinking about our partners. And please nothing to graphic lol. 🙂

Free Books for Bloggers

I became a member of booksneeze.com. I had received my first book and reviewed it. If you read my blog you know that I’m always looking for a way to get something for free or at a bargain price. I don’t mind if I have to work for it a little bit. I started wondering, are there any other programs like booksneeze.com out there? Completing some searches I found a few. I’ll share them with you, because, well, that’s what my blog is about. Letting you know about Good Freebies, Fun sites to visit, Sweepstakes I find, review of products that fit a budget and whatever else might save you money.

www.booksneeze.com
Christian books

Litfuse Group

Waterbrook Multnomah
Christian books

Navpress
Christian books

Harper Collins First Look Program (temporarily not available)
You don’t have to be a blogger to be involved in this one. I did this one for a while and received many very good mainstream books from them. You can choose your genres that you’re interested in. I reviewed books like: Football Hero by Tom Green (very good even if you’re not into football, i think I cried once or twice), Ever by Gail Carson Levine, Seeker #1: The Quest Begins by Erin Hunter and many others. The message on the First look page says they are on Hiatus while they “create and even better book program”

As I find more I’ll list them. I’m also looking for main stream publishing companies that have blogger book review programs that aren’t necessarily christian books.