Reviews

Papa Murphy’s BBQ Chicken Pizza: My Review

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Disclosure: The following story has been sponsored by Papa Murphy’s. While I’ve been compensated for my review, please understand that all opinions expressed are 100% my own. For more information, I encourage you to read my Disclosure Policy.

I was really excited when the team at Papa Murphy’s reached out to me to review a special pizza they’d be offering for a limited-time only this summer. It’s a BBQ Chicken Pizza featuring KC Masterpiece®!

Now, I’ve had a number of BBQ-type pizzas in my day, so I was genuinely curious how this one would stack up. When I went to my local Papa Murphy’s store, I did not disclose that I was a blogger doing a review. I wanted to receive the kind of pizza that any customer would receive walking in.

The photo above is the pizza I received. As you can see, it’s chock full of ingredients! I was pleasantly surprised! Even better, I felt that the price of $11 for a large was an incredibly good value for what you’re receiving.

What’s on it? I noted chicken, tomatoes, three kinds of onions (red, green & white), bacon and the delicious KC Masterpiece® BBQ sauce! It’s important to note that you can customize this pizza!

Got a vegetarian in the family? You could order half without meat. Not a fan of onions? Just ask to have them omitted. Papa Murphy’s has always been happy to accommodate my family’s requests. (Which is awesome, because I’ve got some picky eaters.)

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Goodwill Halloween Store: Your Budget-Friendly Source for all-things Halloween

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If you are looking for a great Halloween costume for your kids (or maybe yourself), but are on a budget, I have a really exciting option to share with you: Goodwill’s Halloween Store in Spanaway, Washington! This store is actually the country’s largest Goodwill space solely devoted to all-things Halloween, and you’ll find it right next door to the Spanaway Goodwill. Until a few days ago, I had no idea this place even existed! I was invited to participate in a special Halloween event hosted at this Goodwill location this week and I wanted to share some of what I learned.

The space is dedicated to just Halloween and contains thousands of costume pieces, accessories, shoes, décor and more that have been saved from donations received throughout the year. I was very impressed not only with the selection, but the organization of the store. Costumes are arranged by category, which will help you easily find what you’re looking for. But in case you need more help…

Goodwill’s got you covered with trained costume helpers! This is Marilyn, from the Goodwill Aberdeen store, and she was on hand to be my personal costumer for the day! Helpers like Marilyn are available at all Goodwill locations, not just the Halloween Store in Spanaway. Marilyn helped me put together the perfect pirate ensemble with a number of pieces throughout the store – and a few items I wouldn’t have considered otherwise. (You can see my completed look at the photo at the top of this post – I’m front and center!)

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Are Home Meal Delivery Services Really Worth it? I decided to find out.

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Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve likely noticed a bunch of ads for home meal delivery services cropping up. These companies offer you everything you need to assemble several meals, along with recipe cards, conveniently delivered to your door in insulated packages.

As someone who is very much invested in helping readers find smart ways to save time and money, particularly when it comes to food, I was curious. Is using a service like this a time saver? Does it manage to help save the average family in any way? Are the ingredients good quality, and importantly, will my family enjoy the meals?

What bothered me is that most of the reviews had titles like “honest review” but felt slanted and read like ads. Why? Because the bloggers and companies posting about them are 1) receiving free meals in exchange for reviews and 2) using their sign-up links in hopes of earning credit and/or cash. While these aren’t necessarily bad methods in and of themselves (I’ve used them before), I really questioned if these services were worth it and if those reviewing were giving the honest, full picture. Because of this, I’ve decided to post a review of two notable companies in the home meal delivery space – Hello Fresh and Blue Apron without alerting the companies that I was a blogger doing a review and if necessary, pay out of pocket to do so. I’ve got no dog in the fight, so to speak, and I’m hoping to present everything as objectively as possible – something I feel has been woefully lacking with the “honest” reviews I’ve stumbled across, particularly give some of the other opinions from everyday customers I’ve seen expressed on social media.

I had initially thought about reviewing 3 or more companies, but I’m confident after trying out these 2 that I’ve seen enough to provide some thoughts and opinions.

I’ve decided to talk about different parts of the process as opposed to reviewing the companies separately. I’m hoping this will arm you with the best information to make a decision if one (or more!) of these companies is something you’d like to try.

Ease of Ordering

The most important thing you should note about these companies is that they are a subscription service. In most cases, you’re agreeing to receive meals each week. I was able to locate a coupon code for Hello Fresh (they are abundant), and I used it on a Family Plan of 2 meals per week. Ordinarily, this would cost you $69.92 (or $104.88 for 3 meals per week). I believe with my coupon code, the price was right around $44 with free shipping, so roughly $22 per meal with the discount. Blue Apron’s pricing is slightly spendier, at $71.92 for 2 meals for a family of 4. They also offer 4 meals at $143.84.

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Introducing: Simple Truth Organic Granola Bites

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Granola Bites Simple Truth Organic

My friends at Main & Vine recently sent me samples of a new product you might have seen on store shelves: Simple Truth Organic Granola Bites. I wanted to take the time to let you know a little bit about them, and share my tips for how to enjoy them!

These treats are all-organic and contain ingredients like dried fruit, nuts, and honey. There are three different flavors, and I had the chance to sample all of them.

Coconut Blueberry Lime. Hands down, this was my favorite flavor. It was also the favorite of my friends who I shared samples with! The coconut makes the texture a bit crumbly, and it reminded us a bit of cookie dough. (I won’t admit how many of these I’ve eaten in the course of putting this blog post together!)

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Tacoma Fresh: Tacoma’s Health Food Convenience Store

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Tacoma Fresh Store Review: Tacoma's First Health Food Convenience Store!

I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about a new grocery store in Tacoma, called Tacoma Fresh. Maybe you’ve heard it too? Seeing how it was local and they sold food, I figured it was right up my alley! So I recently decided to contact the store owner, William Manzanares, to see if I could learn more about Tacoma Fresh. William, Owner of Tacoma Fresh

It was clear in the first few minutes of my interview that William is not only passionate about his new store, he’s passionate about making healthy food more accessible in general. His own journey began when he was overweight, and looking to make some changes. Through diet alone, he lost the weight and found a desire to help and educate others on their journey to good health too.

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*REMINDER* GoDirect Foods Review: Save on Quality Food + Enter to Win Free Chicken…for a YEAR!

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GO Direct Foods - Enter to Win Free Chicken, for a Year! (WA, OR, ID families)

 

Heads up: I wanted to remind you that tomorrow (April 24th) is the LAST CHANCE you have to enter this contest! Read on for the full scoop….

In the past, I’ve shared my love of buying food in bulk. I think it’s a great way for families to save money – especially on items that can be harder to save on, like meat.

Well I’m excited to share about a company that’s going to be launching in June 2015 – it’s called GoDirect Foods! Today I’d like to share a little more how GoDirect Foods will benefit you and my experience sampling some of their offerings. To top off this post, I have one killer giveaway I’ve been on pins and needles to share with you…

So you’re definitely going to want to take a few minutes out and read this post and learn how to enter!

What is GoDirect Foods?

GoDirect Foods has two main goals: 1) to offer you the best quality products and 2) at the lowest possible price. You’ll be able to get these low prices because they will be selling the food directly to you, versus through a store. You drive to the designated pick-up location on the designated date and save a ton of money in the process.

GoDirect Foods will offer a number of products in bulk – such as chicken, ground beef, pork, and fish. As the company grows and expands, expect to find an even larger suite of products. At launch, you will find GoDirect foods at 16 locations in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. (It’s quite possible additional locations will be added).

meat

If this concept sounds familiar to Zaycon Foods, you’re not off your rocker. GoDirect Foods is the unique idea of JC Conrad, who had previously founded Zaycon Foods. JC saw the success Zaycon was able to achieve, but also recognized ways the model could be improved. GoDirect Foods addresses those areas.

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