Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Review, Offer & Giveaway Ends 6/24

I love finding companies that offer a wide selection of quality organic products!  I'm talking about Tropical Traditions where you can find great organic foods grown on family farms, non-toxic household products, and organic skin care products too. I've heard of the Tropical Traditions company a lot in the past year, so I was very excited to recently have the opportunity to actually review their Certified Organic Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

There are several different coconut oils offered by Tropical Traditions based upon how the product was processed. The Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil in particular is handmade from fresh coconuts in small batches by family producers in the Philippines, and has the highest level of antioxidants available in Virgin Coconut Oil. It's also USDA Organic, Non-GMO, and has a wonderful, rich coconut scent and flavor.

Virgin Coconut Oil can be added to your diet pretty easily. Did you know that any recipe that calls for butter, margarine, or any other oil can be substituted for coconut oil? That's pretty cool! I also found out that many people will add coconut oil to their smoothies. Since we like to make fruit smoothies pretty frequently, I thought I should try adding some coconut oil to test it out.

Tropical Traditions offers a bunch of kitchen-tested, FREE coconut recipes to make with your coconut oil, cream concentrate, flour and other organic coconut products all available at their online store. I searched through their beverage/smoothie recipes and found a few recipes that called for coconut oil but I ended up mixing together a few recipes and making my own! Here's what I did...

Handful of organic grapes

4 organic kiwis (leave the skin, but take off the ends)

Organic plain yogurt

One banana

One pound sliced organic frozen strawberries (buy them when they're cheap and freeze them!)

1/4 cup of frozen pineapple chunks

A tiny bit of coconut milk 

2 tablespoons Virgin Coconut Oil

Add ingredients in the order listed. You won't need to add any juices or water because you get plenty of fluid from the grapes, kiwi and yogurt so it's easy to blend. 

When you get to the coconut oil, make sure it is melted and add VERY slowly. Start with a couple drops at a time while the blender is on. This will help you avoid clumps of oil in your smoothie. The result is a frothy, tropical smoothie that almost tastes like a strawberry daiquiri with coconut! Definitely the BEST smoothie I've made to date, and apparently I make pretty good ones (or so my Hubby says!). 

If you need some inspiration for your next smoothie, take a look at the 3 recipes that I liked and pulled ideas out of for my smoothie!

Fresh Fruity Smoothie with Coconut Oil

Strawberry Vanilla Coconut Smoothie

Coconut Fruit Smoothie

I must say a lot of the combinations sound a bit bizarre or odd. Adding ground nuts? You probably can't even really taste it, and you're getting a nutrient rich beverage that is a really great way to get more fruit and fill any gaps in your diet!

Check out this interview with Tropical Traditions CEO, Brian Shilhavy about how they discovered Virgin Coconut Oil!! 

***Take advantage of this offer today!!***

Use code 7479110 on your first order at Tropical Traditions in the “Referred by a Friend” drop down box and receive a FREE complimentary copy of their Virgin Coconut Oil book!

Price: The Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil, Certified Organic, retails for $40 for a 32 oz (1 Quart) jar.

The Verdict: I really wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised with the Coconut Oil! This jar will last a while for us since a little goes a long way, especially in smoothies! Really happy with this product and I'm looking forward to checking out more products from Tropical Traditions in the future. Considering the delicious flavor of the coconut and the high antioxidants and medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) it contains, I have NO problem eating this by the spoonful. I can't say the same for some other natural foods or fish oil for example!

 

Buy It!

Check out TropicalTraditions.com for all their wonderful products!

Win It!

One winner will received a 32 oz. jar of Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil! (ARV $40)

Rules:

-Leave 1 comment per entry

-Include your email address in each entry

-For complete giveaway rules and help entering, please click HERE

To Enter:

Mandatory Entry: (must be done first)

-Sign up for the Tropical Traditions Newsletter!  (1 entry)

Extra Entries:

-Check out Tropical Traditions and tell me another product you would love to try! (1 entry)

-Follow The Reynolds Mom on Google Friend Connect (1 entry)

-"Like" me on Facebook (1 entry)

-"Like" Tropical Traditions on Facebook (1 entry)

-Follow me on Twitter (1 entry)

-Follow Tropical Traditions on Twitter (1 entry)

-Tweet the following up to 2 times/day, at least one hour apart please. Please leave the URL of your tweets in separate entries.

#Win #free Coconut Oil from @Troptraditions and @TheReynoldsMom! #Natural #Organic #Giveaway Ends 6/24 http://tinyurl.com/3fr6bma (1 entry/tweet)

-Subscribe to my blog by email (3 entries) or RSS feed (1 entry)

Thanks for entering and good luck!

Open to US & Canada. This giveaway will end on June 24, 2011 at 10pm PST. Winner will be chosen by Random.org, emailed, and announced on my blog shortly after giveaway ends. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email or I reserve the right to declare a new winner.

Disclosure: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. No other compensation was received. This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

1,500 Fans Celebration WINNERS!

Thank you to my wonderful sponsors and fantastic fans for making this celebration a big success! The following winners have been notified via email and are responsible for getting in touch with the sponsor (unless specified) via Facebook wall, Facebook Contact tab, or by email etc. Please refer to the original post for sponsor links. If a sponsor is unable to verify you were a fan prior to this winner's announcement, it is at the sponsor's sole discretion to award you your prize or not. If you do not receive your prize within 6 weeks, please get in touch with me. Please note that I am ultimately not responsible for prizes not received.

1 ~ Reynolds Mom ~ gDiapers 2-pack~ Nicole Zellner Mutter (contact me for prize!)
2 ~ Ecomom.com ~ $20 Ecomom.com GC ~ Alison Westhouse (contact me for prize!)

3 ~ Scentsuality by Suz ~ Scentsy Room Spray ~ Heather Stevens
4 ~ J.L.'s Bowtique ~ Big Sister/Little Sister Bows ~ Amber Keller-Beer

5 ~ JOEY Dresses by Amy Rey ~ Ruffle Bloomer ~ Kayla Reeves Pirkle
6 ~ Tanya Pledger, Passion Party ~ Shave cream ~ Erin Brady
7 ~ The Decal Gal ~ Autism Puzzle pieces ~ Sadie Lankford
8 ~ Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique ~ Kawaii Cloth Diaper ~ Jennifer Smith
9 ~ Plum Crazy Gourmet ~ Southern Pecan Dessert & Dip Mix ~ Lena Specker Bergman

10 ~ Jennifer's Handmade Soap ~ Bar Soap ~ Susan D'Alesandro Wilder

11 ~ Craft Junkie by Brittney ~ Altered Clipboard ~ Ashley Bruce
12 ~ Food is Love ~ 5 Ingredient Solutions Ebook ~ Sadie Lankford
13 ~ Hipkiddo Cloth Diapers ~ 2 Cloth Diapers/Wet bag ~ Sabrina Dahl Radke
14 ~ For Your Bug-a-Boo ~ $25 GC ~ Jennifer Nicole Laur
15 ~ NanaHood and theNanaBlogs ~ Book ~ Rachel Earle Edwards Martorano
16 ~ Crow Mountain Crafts ~ Bar soap ~ Tenille Gaudi Bankson

17 ~ BosoBuddies  ~ Set of BosoBuddies ~ Darlene Arnold

18 ~ Popped (Jessies custom tutus and cake pops) ~ Dozen cake pops ~ Sheri Yeager (sponsor is out of town, please email me)
19 ~ Simplicity Cosmetics ~ Eyeliner/Eyeshadow Trio ~ Heather Stevens
20 ~ Seventeen Sirens ~ Stuffed cows ~ Beverly Davis & Ashley Nance
21 ~ RachelNichole ~ Apron ~ Dani Lee
22 ~ kael&kaed ~ Toy leash ~ Alena Svetelska
23 ~ So much. So fast. So cute ~ 3 Months ad space ~ Janice Dru

24 ~ Money $aving Michelle ~ $50 in coupons ~ Brenda K Wood

25 ~ Marshmallow Legs ~ Cuddle Blanket Livvy ~ Morgan Catrett Nelson

26 ~ Paws for Safety Pet Tags ~ 2 pet id tags ~ Charlene Sheppard & Tammy Cao

27 ~ Cupcakes and Kitties ~ Hair Clip ~ Latanya Thornhill
28 ~ Nifty Thrifty Savings ~ $5 Starbucks GC ~ Cassie Dow & Jessica Oates Sapp
29 ~ Saving With Sybil ~ 3 Months Ad space ~ Karen Hargis Foster
30 ~ Great Cakes Soapworks ~ 2 bar soaps ~ Rachel Dawson
31 ~ Momma Thrift ~ 50+ cut coupons ~ Jennifer Smith

32 ~ Skye Lynn Boutique ~ Blue Net Bow ~ Billie Graley
33 ~ Work At Home Balance ~ Kitchen Harmony ~ Becky Hardie-Oaks, Katrina Kirby Welch, Alana Conn, Sandy Holladay, & Francine Egner

34 ~ Nekoknits ~ Boho Chic Necklace ~ Melissa Marty
35 ~ PortalElements ~ head wrap ~ Robin Michelle Hamilton Blankenship

36 ~ Sandbox Lane ~ 2 $10 GC's ~ Lindsey Oele & April Gilbertson

37 ~ Sweet Pea Central ~ Baby Bracelet ~ Brittney Cross

38 ~ Fluttering Creations ~ Bottlecap necklace/key ring ~ Stephanie Fisher Enright

39 ~ Purity 365 ~ Brown Sugar Scrub ~ Jeannette M Fender

40 ~ Kaela's Kreations ~ Korker Bow ~ Beth Botwin

41 ~ Kaela's Kreations ~ 50% coupon ~ Jamey Ellis

42 ~ How Fast Time Flies Resale ~ $5 Gift Certificate ~ Meghan Ohman

43 ~ LovesPaperArt@ETSY ~ Japanese Origami Doll ~ Stacy Mcnabb Bailey

44 ~ Zookies ~ Custom Diaper Cover ~ liz mccarthy

45 ~ Simply Scentsy- Sara Smith ~ Scent Circle/Fragrance Foam ~ Dora Vazquez

46 ~ Bow Allure ~ Pink/Brown Sheer Dots bow ~ Leanna Salazar-Butler

47 ~ Rearz ~ Couture Cover ~ Emily Hill Smith

48 ~ Fancy Girl Creations ~ Pink Flower Headband ~ Jillian Borth

49 ~ Amici Boutique ~ $10 Gift Certificate ~ Trisha Foerster

50 ~ Avon - Jennifer Knapp ~ Hand Cream ~ Crystal Thalmann Hardinger
51 ~ Head2Toes Lace&Bows ~ Flower Clip ~ Kelly Delrosso
52 ~ Simply Blessed Models ~ 3 Month Listing ~ Jamie Bishop Kelsey

53 ~ Sparkle Fabulous Bows ~ 4th of July Bow ~ Ladette Collins Kerr

54 ~ Tiny Tots Tickle Trunk ~ $5.00 off $15.00 ~ Christina M Bollinger
55 ~ Lily Pad Couture ~ Teething Necklace ~ Nicole Weiss

56 ~ VValk In Closet ~ Old Navy AC/DC onesie ~ Shanna N Terry
57 ~ N The Stitch ~ Hairbow ~ Rebecca Hunt

58 ~ Dealirious Diva ~ $10 Paypal credit ~ Pamela Womack Sims

59 ~ Comfybuns Customs ~ Set of 2 "P.I.X.I.E.S." ~ Jessie Jones Mayer

60 ~ Comfybuns Customs ~ Free Shipping ~ Sarah C.

61 ~ Miranda Jae Designs ~ Flower blossom magnets ~ Emily Hill Smith

62 ~ baby Jack blankets ~ Mini Ribbon Tab Square ~ Blayr Christopher Peer

"Made With Love" Event ~ July 18-24 & Extra Entries Opportunity

<a href="http://thereynoldsmom.blogspot.com/p/made-with-love-event-325-43.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo196/lindoussa/Bog%20Stuff/MadewithLoveeventbutton.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" ></a>

The Made With Love Event with The Reynolds Mom, Lindsay's Family Reviews and Giveaways, Becoming Brea and The Not-So-Secret Confessions is coming soon from July 18-24!!! This event will feature fantastic handmade products from all kinds of talented designers. All reviews and giveaways will be posted on July 18th, and continue for a week through the 24th! Check out the amazing sponsors participating on just my blog. Be sure to check out the other 3 blogs to preview their sponsors too!

RachelNichole
Cow Patties Cloth Diapers
Our Baby Creations

Two Sweet Potatoes

 Olsen Trademark Crafts

jjh creations

Simplicity Cosmetics

LubethDesigns

Calabasas Candy Co
DesiderioChocolates

YellowPlumBlossoms

One Orange Giraffe

Great Cakes Soapworks

The Ruffled Cupcake

Peachtree Lane

Ladesigns2
The Crafty Chic

CK Bakery Shop

Urban Walls

 Heather's Hobbies

The Orange Owl
Kaleidoscope Art&Gifts

JessyCatsMom

Queen of Paper Cards

A.W.E. Handcrafted Jewelry
Neko Knits
Earthly Remedies by Erin

NotyBaby

Fluttering Creations

 

Want Extra Entries??

Do you want extra entries to the event?  All you have to do is grab our event button before the event starts on July 18th and put it up on your blog.  By doing so you get 5 extra entries into any ONE giveaway of your choice on each blog! Just come back here and comment on this post that you grabbed the button! 

A Few Winners!!

The winner of the CafePress giveaway is...

#128 esluka!

The winner of the Planet FLOPS giveaway is...

#155 clenna!  

The winner of the LoveMode giveaway is...

#48 heartnsoulcooking!

Congratulations to you all! You have 48 hours to respond to my email and claim your prize.

(Closed) Eco Home Store and On The Go Tableware Review & Giveaway Ends 6/18

It's hard to find a one-stop shopping venue for all your practical eco-friendly needs these days, but Eco Home Store has you covered! With everything from composting buckets to baby bottles, or even herbal soaps, there really is something for everyone and every need you have.

At Eco Home Store, living an eco-friendly lifestyle is easy, affordable, and stylish! Their concept is to "provide affordable eco-friendly products which look and feel high-end, without the high-end cost." Their products are from ethical and environmentally responsible suppliers and companies too.

Eco Home Store strives to bring you products that:

* use natural and/or organic materials
* promote energy conservation
* are rapidly renewable and/or sustainable
* use recycled and/or reclaimed content
* do not emit toxins or other unhealthy by-products
* reduce pollution and landfill use, and
* will overall, reduce our collective carbon footprint on the environment

I was sent the On The Go Tableware Starter Pack by Preserve to review for you all today!

The On The Go Tableware Starter Pack includes:

• Ten (10) 7” small plates
• Eight (8) 10” large plates
• 8 knives, 8 forks and 8 spoons
• Eight (8) 16 oz. cups/tumblers

This starter pack is an excellent choice for summer parties, get-togethers, picnics, camping and so much more! The 4th of July is coming up too, and this would be GREAT in the Midnight Blue color with other red and white table accessories! Keep in mind that these are not your average flimsy plastic dishware! They are made using 100% recycled #5 plastic (which is also 100% recyclable), and do not contain BPA or Melamine. Not only that, but once your party is over, you can throw it all in the dishwasher again and again without causing the plastic to crack, warp or break! That's right. They're REUSABLE! Now THAT is pretty cool. 

Yep! It even tells you on the bottom of the plate...Reusable!

I found each product to be very lightweight and also very sturdy. The smooth finish and modern style create a very appealing set of tableware. For comparison, a reusable plastic cup or plate you'd get from a big box store would get you a thick, hard plastic. These flex ever so slightly. I really enjoyed the bright Apple Green color, and it's certainly a fun option for my family meals. I have yet to actually entertain with these, but hope to in the near future. With all the new space we have in our new place, we're hoping to have get-togethers more often! I really like that I can reuse the tableware, but also not feel totally wasteful if I throw it away since it is completely recyclable. I usually don't eat off of plastic too much, but since these specifically say they are BPA free, I'm totally okay with it! I also LOVE that Preserve products are made right here in the USA. Even better!

Price: The On The Go Tableware Starter Pack is $25.99.

The Verdict: Eco Home Store has a great selection of products and covers pretty much everything you can think of. I'd love to see them continue to expand their selection of products, but overall their online store is great and I've learned about a lot of cool new products through them. The Preserve On The Go Tableware Starter Pack is super fun! I love how festive you can make a table with such colorful tableware. Considering the quality of the products and that they are reusable, the price is for the starter pack is pretty fair. Great for special occasions and everyday use too! 

Buy It!

Check out Eco-HomeStore.com to get your On The Go Tableware Starter Pack and other great eco-friendly products today!

Win It!

With a huge thanks to Eco Home Store, one winner will receive the On The Go Tableware Starter Pack in Midnight Blue!

Rules:
-Leave 1 comment per entry
-Include your email address in each entry
-For complete giveaway rules and help entering, please click HERE

To Enter:

Mandatory Entry: (must be done first)

-Visit Eco Home Store and leave a comment telling me something you learned about the site or a product you love! (1 entry)

Extra Entries:

-Follow The Reynolds Mom on Google Friend Connect (1 entry)

-“Like” Eco Home Store on Facebook (2 entries)

-"Like" The Reynolds Mom on Facebook (1 entry)

-Find Eco Home Store’s post on Facebook entitled “Eco Home Store partners with The Reynolds Mom to Giveaway a set of On The Go Tableware” and add the following comment “I just entered The Reynolds Mom Giveaway to win a free set of On The Go Tableware from Eco Home Store” (2 entries)

-Follow @EcoHomeStore on Twitter (2 entries)

-Follow @TheReynoldsMom on Twitter and tweet the following up to once per day. Please leave the URL of your tweet in your entries.

Enter to #win a #free set of On The Go Tableware from @EcoHomeStore and @TheReynoldsMom! #Ecofriendly #Giveaway http://tinyurl.com/3e7kczk (2 entries/tweet)

-Subscribe to Eco Home Store Newsletter (5 entries)

-Visit Eco Home Store’s Blog – “Living Green” – and find the blog post entitled “Eco Home Store Partners with The Reynolds Mom Blog for a Product Review and Giveaway” and post a Comment naming at least two ways in which you have entered the giveaway contest (5 entries)

-Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post and Eco Home Store website (10 entries!)

-Make a purchase from Eco Home Store during the giveaway period (10 entries!)


Thanks for entering and good luck!

Open to US residents only. This giveaway will end on June 18, 2011 at 10pm PST. Winner will be chosen by Random.org, emailed, and announced on my blog shortly after giveaway ends. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email or I reserve the right to declare a new winner.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product(s) to facilitate this review. No other compensation was received. This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

Coming Soon: Blog Bash 2011!!!

I am excited to announce that The Reynolds Mom is a participating blog in Blog Bash 2011! This event will have 150 participating blogs, each hosting at least one giveaway prize pack valued at $100 or more and all giveaways will stay open from June 22-26. You can hop around to each of the participating blogs (see list below) and enter to win the prize pack(s) they are offering! It's going to SO much fun!

I will featuring my sponsors from my 3 (yes, three!) prize packs on my blog the week prior to the start of Blog Bash so you can check out all the awesome sponsors and prizes I have gathered for you all. Make sure you follow my blog so you don't miss out!

I am still accepting sponsors in all 3 prize packs on my blog during the event! This will mean HUGE exposure for your company/products! Here are my 3 prize pack categories:

Natural & Delicious

Little Ones & Kiddos

For the Grown-ups

Each prize pack will be valued at $100 or more! If you would like to sponsor a product or gift certificate in any of my prize packs, please email me at thereynoldsmom @ gmail.com

Also, it's not too late to sign up your blog to participate! There are a few spots left so get signed up! Email contact@familyapprove.com for more information.

(Closed) GoPicnic Care Packages Review and Giveaway ~ Discount Code Too! Ends 6/16

I love pre-packaged foods that are easy to grab and go, but I don't like that those same foods are usually heavily processed and include a huge list of ingredients that you can't pronounce. So, I was really intrigued when I came across GoPicnic and their line of ready-to-eat meals and Care Packages. Talk about a fun review! This certainly was!

I received the "Kids Lunchtime Favorites" Care Package (which is not on the site at this time). It included the following goodies:

• GoPicnic ready-to-eat Salami + Cheese meal
• Revolution Foods Organic Jammy Sammy ~ Strawberry & Peanut Butter
• PopChips ~ Barbecue Potato
• Annie's Cheddar Bunnies crackers~ 3 single-serving size
• Surf Sweets Sour Berry Bears
• Late July Organic Mini White Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (SO delicious!)

Everything came in a sturdy flip-top box and was packaged securely inside. I really liked that all the products (besides the Annie's Cheddar Bunnies) were full-size! This was such a fun package to receive in the mail, and I can tell you that your kids away at college, or that live far from you would LOVE to open this up! It was such a treat! Actually, I had never tried most of these products or flavors before, so it was also very fun to sample each one. I liked each product, and even found a few new favorites in there too! I like GoPicnic's focus on more natural snacks and foods, and I found most of these were full of pretty natural ingredients.

Here is what was included in the GoPicnic ready-to-eat Salami + Cheese meal box. Since this meal does not require refrigeration, it would be a great choice for road trips, picnics, airplane trips and layovers, and emergency preparedness. This was a Classic Deli meal, and there is also a selection of All-Natural meals I probably would have enjoyed better. However, all GoPicnic meals are made with no trans fats, no high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), no added MSG, and no artificial flavors or colors.

~Discount Code~

Enter code RMOM10 for 10% off at GoPicnic.com!

Price: Care Packages are $29.99 each, but on sale for $14.99 at the time of this posting!

The Verdict: For a fun lunch or meal on-the-go, I would highly recommend checking out GoPicnic.com! There really is a package for every person's taste and I enjoyed eating the more natural snacks without the major quilt of most snacks!

Buy It!
Check out GoPicnic.com!

Win It!
One winner will receive a Care Package from GoPicnic!

Rules:
-Leave 1 comment per entry
-Include your email address in each entry
-For complete giveaway rules and help entering, please click HERE

To Enter:

Mandatory Entry: (must be done first)

-Tell me what Care Package you would choose at GoPicnic.com! (1 entry)

Extra Entries:

-Follow The Reynolds Mom on Google Friend Connect (1 entry)

-"Like" The Reynolds Mom or GoPicnic on Facebook (1 entry each)

-Visit GoPicnic's Facebook page and tell GoPicnic what is your favorite product (or the one you would like to try) and why (1 entry)

-Follow GoPicnic on Twitter (1 entry)

-Follow me on Twitter AND tweet the following up to 2 times/day, at least one hour apart please. Please leave the URL of your tweets in separate entries.

#Win a #free @GoPicnic Care Package at @TheReynoldsMom! #Natural Snacks #Giveaway Ends 6/16 http://tinyurl.com/44krzjz (1 entry/tweet)

- Sign up for the GoPicnic newsletter on GoPicnic.com (2 entries)

-Subscribe to my blog by email (2 entries) or RSS feed (1 entry)


Thanks for entering and good luck!

Open to US residents only. This giveaway will end on June 16, 2011 at 10pm PST. Winner will be chosen by Random.org, emailed, and announced on my blog shortly after giveaway ends. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email or I reserve the right to declare a new winner.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product(s) to facilitate this review. No other compensation was received. This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.