Anali Says ...

This Blog Now Closed

2010-05-10T11:52:00.000-04:00

From now on, all reviews, sponsored posts, and giveaways will be on the main blog, Anali's First Amendment.

Please read the FAQ or here for more information.

Also, the archives are still available for reading the older posts. Thank you!

BJ's Wholesale Club‏ Giveaway!

2010-03-01T17:42:00.006-05:00

*Updated 3/24/10* Anyone landing on this page seeking information about BJ's, you can get a free 60-day trial membership between now and July 5, 2010. Just click here!

*Updated 3/9/10* The contest is closed and the lucky winner is Beth! Congratulations to you Beth and thank you to everyone for participating!

*Updated 3/8/10* Leave a comment to win the $50.00 Gift Card. If you're having trouble leaving a comment, please send me an email: analisfirstamendment@hotmail.com

Not many people enjoy coupons as much as I do. When I find a good coupon, it's a real sweet treat.

So when I was contacted with some information from Tilson Communications about BJ's Wholesale Club unique coupon policy, I was pretty excited to hear about it.

BJ's Wholesale Club accepts both manufacturers’ coupons from the Sunday newspaper, online sites like http://www.eversave.com/ or http://www.coupons.com/ and BJ’s own coupons.

Plus you can use multiple coupons on their more than 7,000 in-stock items. For example, if you buy a three-pack of toothpaste, you can use three coupons. One coupon for each individual tube, which is a great deal and one that I wasn’t aware of before.

BJ's also has some great tips and information on how to shop a wholesale club to maximize savings.

Plan family dinners and party menus before arriving at the club and bring your list with you.

Take advantage of BJ's Wholesale Club‏ Unique Coupon Policy and redeem coupons.

BJ’s offers a variety of name-brand, top-quality products and carries products in many sizes, not just bulk. Potatoes come in 5 lb. and/or 15 lb. bags; broccoli and cabbage are sold as individual heads and organic milk is offered in a half-gallon.

Having to travel to several locations to shop lengthens the time of errands. BJ’s offers everything under one roof, including groceries, apparel, accessories, small appliances, consumer electronics, fine jewelry, and other quality merchandise.

In this economy, many of us dine out less. A convenient alternative is to serve restaurant favorites at home. BJ’s members can choose from many restaurant branded-items like Legal Seafoods Clam Chowder, Panera Bread soups, and Uno specialty pizzas.

Whether its shrimp, fresh-baked cookies, prepared foods, frozen organic fruits and vegetables, to shampoo and vitamins, a wholesale club offers high-quality house-brand items comparable to brand-name items at tremendous savings.

$50.00 GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY

Now for the Giveaway! BJ's Wholesale Club‏ is giving away a $50.00 BJ’s Gift Card. You can use it towards a 12-month membership ($45.00) or just to shop at BJ’s. Find out how to use a one-day pass here.

The contest starts today, Monday, March 1, 2010, and ends next Monday, March 8, 2010, at midnight EST.

Please leave a comment below letting me know that you want to win and what state you live in. Make sure to read all the rules below.

RULES

This giveaway is open to US residents, aged 18 and older.

No duplicate comments.

You may receive an additional entry by tweeting about this contest and linking here. Leave a separate comment with a link to your individual tweet. Please don't make me search for it!

You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and linking here. Leave a separate comment with a link to your blog post.

If I can't find the tweet or blog post, those entries will not count.

Winner will be selected via random draw and will be notified by e-mail.

Please make sure that I have a working email address for you. You have 24 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Best of luck everyone!

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2010. All rights reserved.

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An Eggland's Best Giveaway!

2010-02-06T14:00:00.008-05:00

*Updated 2/16/10* The contest is closed. The winner is JC! Congratulations! And thank you to everyone who participated.

I love to bake. Also, I don't eat meat except for poultry, seafood, and eggs. So I always have eggs in the house.

It was a pleasure to hear about Eggland's Best eggs and to receive a coupon for a free dozen. You can read all about the improved nutrition of Eggland's Best eggs.

According to a recent press release, "All EB egg varieties – large, extra large, jumbo, cage-free and organic – now contain four times more Vitamin D and over three times more Omega-3 compared to ordinary eggs. EB eggs also contain high levels of Vitamin B12 and Vitamin E, and are a good source of Vitamin A and Vitamin B2. Additionally, they contain 25 percent less saturated fat and 19 percent less cholesterol than regular eggs."

I've been eating EB eggs this week and have enjoyed them. I cannot say that I can actually taste the difference between EB eggs and other eggs. Maybe my palate just isn't sensitive enough. However, I must say that psychologically I do feel better about eating EB eggs than I do about eating other eggs.

I used my free coupon to get EB Cage Free large brown eggs. The hens are vegetarian fed, free to roam and enjoy the sunlight and fresh air.

Also, EB eggs look very clean in comparison to other eggs in the store. EB eggs are very uniform in size and color. Plus they each have the cute little EB stamp on them. The packaging is attractive and very sturdy. The plastic and foam egg cartons are recyclable too.

EB has many varieties of eggs that you can choose from and they have a range of prices.

An Eggland's Best Giveaway

And speaking of prices, how would you like to save some money? Eggland's Best and Weber Shandwick would like to give you some free eggs!

So that you can enjoy EB eggs at your leisure, you will receive coupons for 6 dozen EB eggs, plus an egg poacher, and a spatula. Would you like to win?

The contest starts today, Saturday, February 6, 2010, and ends on Valentine's Day, next Sunday, February 14, 2010, at midnight EST.

Please leave a comment telling me your favorite way to eat eggs or cook with them and let me know what state you live in. And make sure you read all the rules below.

RULES

No duplicate comments.

You may receive an additional entry by tweeting about this contest and linking here. Leave a separate comment with a link to your individual tweet. Please don't make me search for it!

You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and linking here. Leave a separate comment with a link to your blog post.

If I can't find the tweet or blog post, those entries will not count.

This giveaway is open to US residents, aged 18 and older.

Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

Please make sure that I have a working email address for you. You have 24 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Best of luck everyone!

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2010. All rights reserved.

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Mennonite In A Little Black Dress: A Memoir Of Going Home

2010-01-01T18:50:00.004-05:00

New year. New decade. I like the idea of starting fresh. Moving on from the past and reinventing oneself.

That's one of the many reasons that I greatly enjoyed Rhoda Janzen's memoir, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. I learned about the book from Henry Holt & Company and was happy to accept a complimentary review copy from them.

One thing that I've learned in my life and that was a big part of the book, was that as much as we may want to let go of the past to go forward, sometimes we have to take a look back first. Two mini steps backward to make a giant leap forward.

Rhoda Janzen is currently an Associate Professor at Hope College. She loves poetry, creative writing, and American literature. She seems to have it all together. But when you read about how her husband left her for a man named Bob that he met on Gay.com, then you see all the complexities that she's had to deal with over the past several years.

As tragic as that sounds, the book is hilariously funny. I laughed out loud for real. Not just a silently smiling lol. You know when you're sitting quietly on the train, and you hear someone start cracking up laughing? You look up and see someone smiling and hunched over a book. You try to see what they're reading, because you don't want to interrupt them by asking. I bet that some of them are reading this book.

The same week that the author's husband left her, she was hit by a car and left with several broken bones. I know. Hilarious! So at age 43, she went back to her parents and the Mennonite community in California, where she had been raised.

Before reading this book, I hadn't heard that much about Mennonite culture. I still know virtually nothing. But I did learn a little something about the food. Zwieback, also spelled zwiebach, is a standby at special events, celebrations, and funerals. The word means "twice baked" in German and it's a crispy sweetened bread. I had grand ambitions to make some for this post, but it didn't happen. Here's a recipe if you'd like to try it.

The author, Rhoda Janzen, enjoys cooking and food is mentioned a great deal in the book. Finding out what people eat and how it impacts their lives always intrigues me. Click here for recipes for Old-fashioned Apple Pie-by-the-Yard, Split-pea Soup, and more information about the book from Henry Holt.

One particulary funny and food-related part of the book is the list of the top five Shame-Based foods for Mennonite youth lunches.

5. Warmer Kartoffelsalat (Hot Potato Salad)

This tangy potato salad, although delicious, had two significant strikes against it. The first strike was that it had cooled and congealed by the time we opened our Shame-Based Margarine Containers to eat it. The second strike, and this was somehow more critical, was that we were unable to consume Warmer Kartoffesalat without thinking of our mother's merry little ditty ...

The reader might well inquire why a pacifist Mennonite family was singing songs about soldiers. Further, and perhaps this is more pressing, the reader might justly inquire why this soldier was making potato salad in his pants.

I'll leave you with that vision in your heads dear readers! To read the rest, you'll have to get the book!

*Updated 4/13/10* Now available in paperback too.

*Updated 5/1/10* Recently, Borders Media did an interview with Rhoda Janzen. Take a look here.

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2010. All rights reserved.

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The Winter's First Snow + Keeping Warm With Uggs

2009-12-06T18:46:00.007-05:00

This is a compensated post sponsored by Whooga Ugg Boots UK.

Yesterday, it snowed here in Massachusetts for the first time this season. I'm not a big snow or cold weather person. But there is something magical about that first snow each year. Especially when it's not too much and just lightly frosts the trees.

Between the real winter weather that's spreading across the country and the holiday season, some of us might be thinking about getting some winter boots. For ourselves or as a gift for someone else.

Over the past few years, ugg boots have been quite the rage. Some people love them, but I have heard the term fugly to describe them too. Well, you can't please everyone. I think they're cute myself.

Recently I was contacted by Whooga Ugg Boot UK about offering a special discount to all my readers --those of us in America and internationally as well. Although, Whooga is an Australian company, they ship everywhere.

I checked out their website and tried to find out a little more about Whooga ugg boots.* Allwords.com defines ugg boots as “A boot made of sheepskin with the wool as the lining and the leather as the outside.”

The Whooga website does a good job explaining the distinctions and has taught me a little Australian history to boot. Here is an edited version.

“UGG Australia and Whooga are both brands of ugg boots. UGG Australia boots are also commonly referred to as UGG’s. … The term 'Ugg Boots' refers to a style of sheepskin leather boot and not a brand or particular manufacturer. Ugg boots have been manufactured in Australia by dozens of diverse brands for well over 100 years and are an Australian icon.”

While I like the the look of uggs, one of the main concerns is how warm are they? And what makes Whooga uggs different from other ugg boots? From their website, I learned that unlike most ugg boot manufacturers, Whooga ugg boots contain merino sheepskin. Merino sheepskin has a finer grade of fibers resulting in a more luxurious feel.

I also learned that while chestnut and chocolate are the most poplular colors, ugg boots come in several different colors. Even pink and violet. Who knew? Also, ugg boots are available for men and children, not just women.

So now that you've learned a bit about ugg boots and may want to learn more about how to buy them and pricing, let me offer you a discount.

From now through Friday, December 11, 2009, 12:00 pm EST, readers of Anali's First Amendment can receive a gift card for $20.00 (US) to use towards a purchase of Whooga ugg boots.

Enter the website through this blog post. Use the discount code: 92anali in the gift card section of the cart upon checkout. Enjoy! And thank you Whooga Ugg Boots UK for this generous offer!

*Disclaimer: Whooga is not affiliated with the American company Deckers Outdoor Corporation and does not sell their products. Please do not confuse Whooga products with Deckers "UGG Australia" brand.

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2009. All rights reserved.

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A Treat To Eat

2009-11-02T13:15:00.003-05:00

The winner of the $150.00 Spa Gift Card is DG! Congratulations and enjoy!

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Pepperidge Farm.

Imagine that you’re having the kind of day where you feel like you’re coming down with a cold. You’re feeling run down. Sitting around in sweats. So far, your excitement for the day has been twitter.

Then unexpectedly, you get a delivery! A whole box filled with wonderful sweet treats! That’s what happened to me. Instantly I felt better!

Giddily, I started trying them. I don’t remember the order. There was such an assortment to taste. The Petite Pirouette® is a delicate, crispy rolled wafer with creamy, chocolaty filling on the inside. Try either the chocolate hazelnut or chocolate crème flavor - or both! I tried them both and cannot even convey to you how much I like them.

You know what? Actually, I can. I had planned to share a lot of these with other people. After all, I had so many. Well, I shared a few, but over several days kept eating them myself and decided not to share most of them. I know. That’s kind of wrong.

My absolute favorite of all of these are the Petite Pirouette chocolate crème. And if not sharing these is wrong, well I don’t want to be right. These are incredible! And three Petite Pirouette rolled wafers add up to only 90 calories!

The Petite Twists® puffed pastries have layers of delicate, crisp pastry swirled with sweet cinnamon or raspberry. Another nice treat with just 90 calories in two of the twists! These are quite good too. Very crispy, so they are good for dunking. If you’re a dunking kind of a person. Not all of us are.

However, all of us do deserve some luxury in our lives. Even if only for a few minutes. Petite Pirouette and Petite Twists are a great way to indulge yourself. Now the ultimate way to lavish ourselves in comfort is to go to a spa. In this economy, not many of us get to go to one. So how would you like the chance to win a $150 Spa Gift Card?

I know that I would! Well, BlogHer and Pepperidge Farm are giving you the opportunity to win. All you have to do is leave a comment stating what you’d like in a fantasy spa getaway. Would you like to go to a tropical seaside resort? Maybe a combination spa and ski resort in the mountains? Even a day at home with no housework and a masseuse comes to you. Just tell me in the comments.

The contest will begin at 9:00 a.m. (PST) November 2, 2009 and will end 5:00 p.m. (PST) November 30, 2009. Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct.

RULES:

No duplicate comments.
You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
This giveaway is open to US-residents, aged 18 and older.
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.
You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
Please see the official rules here: Official rules

And remember to check out all the other reviews too. You have 7 chances to win!

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2009. All rights reserved.

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Buckwheat Banana Bread Recipe

2009-10-07T12:50:00.006-04:00

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by POM Wonderful about trying another new product of theirs. They have a new line of drinks, POMx Iced Coffees.

I was assured that the iced coffees did not taste like pomegranate. Thankfully. Because that would just be weird. Much like the rather odd music and sheep on the website.

Well, I love coffee, so I was happy to receive the free POMx Iced Coffees that they sent me to try out. However, by the time that I received them, it was getting colder here in Massachusetts. For the most part, I only drink iced coffee when it's hot out, so it's taken me a bit of time to try them out. I received two flavors, Chocolate and Café au Lait. The third flavor is Vanilla, but I didn't get to try that one.

All the POMx Iced Coffees contain a blend of antioxidants, caffeine, and rich coffee. I loved the Chocolate! I drank it straight from the bottle and used it in the Buckwheat Banana Bread recipe below.

I didn't like the the Café au Lait too much. The texture was nice, but I found it bitter. I have a super sweet tooth, so I poured it into a glass and added some sugar. I'm sure most people would like the flavor just fine though.

Well here's the recipe below. I used my mother's banana bread recipe as a start and adapted from there. It's really good! The buckwheat adds a fuller flavor to the bananas and the Chocolate POMx Iced Coffee adds a bit more sweetness, texture, and antioxidants. I hope you give it a try. Enjoy!

Buckwheat Banana Bread

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup Smart Balance
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup Chocolate POMx Iced Coffee
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3)
1 tsp. vanilla

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients well. Oil and flour a loaf pan. Bake at 350degrees for about 65 minutes. Let cool before removing from pan.

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2009. All rights reserved.

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N.E.D. = No Evidence of Disease

2009-08-31T14:18:00.009-04:00

The email stated that one of the ways that money was being raised was through the sale of a CD with styles ranging from indie to folk-rock. Below is more from the email.

"The music and lyrics are original, written by members of the band who collaborated primarily through video conferencing. If you listen closely to the lyrics, you will hear a fresh and sympathetic approach to issues women with cancer and their families face. The CD is slated for release on September 8th to coincide with Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. Both the physical and digital EP include an informational booklet about gynecologic cancers entitled, “What Every Woman Should Know.” Net proceeds from the sale of the CD will be donated to the N.E.D. Cancer Foundation in association with the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF) to educate the public about gynecologic cancers and support promising research.

Also worth noting – N.E.D.’s drummer, Dr. Nimesh Nagarsheth, will be releasing a book, Music and Cancer: A Prescription for Healing, in mid-September, 2009. The book opens with a moving foreword by Fran Drescher, President and Visionary of the Cancer Schmancer Movement."

The weekend of November 6-8, 2009 is the inaugural Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Movement Weekend and GCF’s half marathon/5K race.

There is a N.E.D. widget that you can grab here, that you can put on your blog or website. It gives more information and will keep you up to date. I have the widget on the left sidebar of my main blog.

Cancer has impacted my family and friends and I'd like to suppport all the causes that I can to fight this horrible disease. I think the work being done here is amazing and a wonderful step in the right direction.

Hopefully some of you will consider making a donation, purchasing the CD, or book.

And for those of you who would like the CD for free, I have a copy that was given to me at no cost by N.E.D. and Drew who is doing their marketing at Two Sheps That Pass.

Yes, we are giving away a CD! If you'd like to win, please let me know in a comment below. Thank you!

*Updated 9/1/09* - I just realized that I did not give a deadline for the contest. You have until midnight Friday, September 11th to leave a comment. The winner will be chosen at random and notified by email. The contest is open to U.S. Residents only who are 18 years of age and older. Good luck everyone!

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2009. All rights reserved.

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A Very Friendly Giveaway

2009-07-13T17:38:00.018-04:00

*Updated 7/22/09* Congratulations to the winner Stephanie Reed! She said, "My favorite flavor is Cookies 'n' Cream. Fribbles at Friendly's are so good!"

Remember when I wrote about enjoying some free ice cream at Friendly's?

Recently, I heard from one of their representatives offering me a $10.00 gift card to try one of their new $9.99 Meals.

So today G and I went to Friendly's for lunch.

They actually offered more choices than we originally thought. I don't eat beef, so the promotions that I had seen only mentioned the Buffalo Bleu Burger, Cheeseburger Club, and the Apple Walnut Chicken Salad.

It was a pleasant surprise to see on the menu, that the $9.99 Friendly's Meal has several more options, including the Tuna Salad SuperMelt™ Sandwich, Grilled Chicken Wrap , and Crispy Chicken Salad. The $9.99 Meal includes a drink of your choice, plus you can create your own sundae!

Money is tight, so if you're out and about, maybe with some kids (or not) and want to grab a full meal and dessert, Friendly's $9.99 Meal is a good option. So would you like to win a $10.00 Friendly's gift card to try it yourself? I thought you would!

July is National Ice Cream Month, so it's the perfect month to think about ice cream. Below, I read this interesting little bit of ice cream trivia.

Based on ice cream consumption figures, the top five individual flavors in terms of share of segment in the United States are: vanilla (30%), chocolate (10%), butter pecan (4%), strawberry (3.7%) and chocolate chip mint (3.2%).

Quite surprising. Butter pecan? Who would have thought? Today, I had butter crunch ice cream, and G had vanilla and coffee. If you'd like to win the $10.00 Friendly's Gift Card, please leave me a comment below stating your favorite ice cream flavor, real or imagined. There are probably a few fantasy ice cream flavors that haven't made it to the market yet.

The contest runs from Monday, July 13th through Monday, July 20th at 5:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time. The winner will be picked at random.

You can also follow Friendly's on twitter, become a fan on facebook, and check out some cool Friendly's related pictures on flickr. I need to add some of my pictures on there!

If you tweet about this contest, facebook it, blog it, or find a way to flickr it, then come back here and add another comment(s) with the link(s) and you will receive another entry for each of these. Open to US residents only aged 18 years and older.

Best of luck to you all! The winner will be announced here by July 24th.

*Updated 7/23/09* Thank you again Steve at Iced Media and Friendly's for the Gift Cards!

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2009. All rights reserved.

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Fig & Whiskey Whole Wheat Shortbread

2009-06-03T14:41:00.010-04:00

This shortbread recipe was inspired by none other than our own beautiful First Lady Michelle Obama. As a quick aside, if you haven't looked at the fashion and style blog Mrs. O, I highly recommend it.

Back to how I developed this recipe. Marian Burros who writes blog posts for The Caucus, wrote a post about the high cost of hotels during the Inauguration. In the article, she included a wonderful recipe. I halved the recipe. Replaced the egg with Greek yogurt, made a few other changes and voilà! My new shortbread recipe was born.

In case there is any confusion, I do want to make it clear that I received the OIKOS Organic Greek Yogurt found in this recipe free from Stonyfield Farm, which I mentioned in my last related post.

Something new that I noticed since this last post is that their website has a store locator. I found it difficult to find this yogurt, so this should make it easier for people to find stores that sell it.

Fig & Whiskey Whole Wheat Shortbread
(Adapted from Michelle Obama's Shortbread Cookies)
Makes 6 large pieces

1 T OIKOS Vanilla Organic Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup Smart Balance (softened)
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 T honey whiskey
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 diced figs (approximately 2 T)

Combine ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well. This is a very small amount of dough.

Place the dough in an ungreased round cake pan. Bake at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly, then cut into pieces while still warm. Enjoy!

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2009. All rights reserved.

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OIKOS Organic Greek Yogurt Cake

2009-05-25T13:13:00.016-04:00

I hope you're all enjoying your Memorial Day as we remember those who've served our country. I finished baking a cake and it's cooling in the fridge. After I make a pasta salad, I'll be getting ready to pick up my brother, then we'll be headed to my parents' house for a visit and a nice meal.

Even though I moved out of my parents' house decades ago, it's still says "home" to me. And it's nice to be able to go home again. I'm sure that those who are serving in the military abroad are eagerly anticipating their return home too.

The concept of home and what makes someplace home is something that I've pondered often since I was a child. I've always loved The Wizard of Oz and remember Dorothy's magical words "There's no place like home."

The people at Stonyfield Farm understand that there's a powerful tie between food and home. OIKOS is Greek for house, household, or family. And OIKOS is the name of their new Organic Greek Yogurt.

I was contacted by Stonyfield Farms and asked if I'd like to try their new Greek style yogurt. I had never tried this type of yogurt before, so I eagerly awaited the overnight yogurt shipment. They gave me a large variety of their Greek yogurts, which I happily ate straight from the container and used in baking. Greek yogurt is smooth and creamy. Click here for coupons and try it yourself. The only bad thing that I can say about this yogurt was that I had a problem finding it in the grocery store. Hopefully you won't have that problem!

Over the next week or two, I'll be sharing more recipes and information with you. For now here's the cake recipe. I have to head out of the house!

OIKOS Organic Greek Yogurt Cake
(Adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini's Yogurt Cake)

1 cup plain OIKOS Organic Greek Yogurt
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 T honey whiskey
a pinch of salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 2/3 cups flour

Oil and flour a round cake pan. Set oven to 350 degrees.

Combine ingredients in a medium bowl. You may want to use a large whisk to make sure the eggs are well incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes.

The cake will be well browned. Cool and serve. I'm assuming this is really good, but I haven't tasted the cake yet. Only the batter. Which was quite tasty. You may want to top the cake with a bit of whipped cream, some fruit, or a simple vanilla glaze. I think this will taste just fine plain though. Enjoy!

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2009. All rights reserved.

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I Feel Pretty!

2009-05-14T20:12:00.015-04:00

{Updated 6/23/09} Congratulations to the winner of the Max Factor goodie bag - Deanna!

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Max Factor.

Each BlogHer reviewer will be giving away a Max Factor goodie bag, plus BlogHer is giving away 10 more, for a total of 17 chances to win. So please check out all of our reviews!

More information about how you can win a Max Factor goodie bag is at the end of the review.

Free stuff is good. Free make-up is great! Getting paid to try free make-up is awesome!!

Now I was very excited to try the new Max Factor products. I received Pin-Up Pink Vivid Impact Lip Color, which is a very pretty shade. It’s actually more of a sophisticated mauve and not overly pink.

The packaging was easy to open and I like the look of the container. Shiny black and you can see the lipstick color peaking out of the bottom. It’s comfortable to hold and feels nice as you apply it.

When I first tried it on, I had on some clear gloss. When I applied the lipstick over it, the color did not go on very smoothly, so I took the gloss off and started with fresh lips. The color went on smoothly after that and I put the clear gloss over it. I ate something a few hours after applying it and most of the lipstick was gone after the meal. But that is no different than most lipsticks.

The mascara that I tried was the 2000 Calorie Extreme Lash Plumper in Extreme Blackout. It’s just the type of mascara that I buy, so I was happy to use it. Again, I liked the design of the mascara container. Sleek and black with a band of silver. I like the Caution:Causes Extreme Lash Plumping warning on the package. Very cute!

There were a few tiny clumps when I applied it, but I find that happens with many mascaras and I use an eyelash comb to eliminate them. My eyelashes were noticeably longer and thicker after applying the mascara.

I liked the mascara and lipstick and would purchase both of them. Now I’m not a huge make-up person. At home, I don’t wear much. I use powder, a clear gloss, maybe some eyebrow pencil, lipstick and mascara most days. I use eyeliner and a bit of eye shadow a few times a week, but not everyday. It’s extremely rare that I wear foundation. I’m probably in a make-up rut and could stand to learn a few tricks.

On Max Factor’s website, they have a few different places to find some hints. I have a lot to learn!

One parting note, I noticed that Gisele is one of the beautiful faces of Max Factor. Interesting. Now both Gisele and I are wearing Max Factor. If you remember a post from early last year, you can see that now Gisele and I have two things in common!

Now I’m sure you’re wondering about the prize. Yes, the goodie bag! You can win a selection of Max Factor products valued at $50.00.

In order to enter the contest, just leave a comment below. Easy as pie!

The contest begins Friday, May 15, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) and ends Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time). Please make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct. The rules are below.

No duplicate comments.

You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.

You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.

This giveaway is open to US residents, aged 18 and over.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.

You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Please see the Official Rules. Best of luck!

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2009. All rights reserved.

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Creamy Carrot Soup

2009-05-03T16:28:00.005-04:00

As much as I love sweets, sometimes I crave vegetables. Recently, I’ve been craving carrots. Maybe because they remind me of Spring. Carrots are naturally sweet and nutrient rich. What’s not to love?

I decided to create a new soup. It had to be simple, because I didn’t want to spend a lot of time on it. I was really downright lazy with this recipe. I was working fast when I made it and didn’t stop to write down ingredients. This is a very loosely pulled together recipe based on what I remember. The amounts are not exact.

But it’s good at demonstrating that homemade soup can be quick. You can make it spur of the moment with what you have. I used the last of the POM Pomegranate Juice for some added antioxidants and flavor. Use butter or margarine, if you don’t use Smart Balance. Use olive oil if you don’t have grapeseed oil, or just increase the amount of butter, etc. Substitute with similar ingredients.

This carrot soup may be the best soup that I ever made. Both G and I loved it! I kept meaning to photograph it again, but we ate it all before I got the chance. I’ll be making this soup again soon.

Creamy Carrot Soup
(makes about 2 quarts)

8-10 medium carrots (washed + skin peeled off)
sweet white onion (roughly chopped)
4-5 cups chicken broth
1/8 cup ground ginger
1 T lemon pepper
2 T garlic powder
salt to taste
1/8 cup brown sugar
½ cup POM Pomegranate Juice
1/8 cup grapeseed oil
1/8 cup Smart Balance

Use a large pan that has a cover. Add the Smart Balance and oil to the pan and turn up the heat. Cut the carrots into thirds and add with the onions to the pan. Sauté onions until soft and light brown.

Pour POM Juice over carrots and onions and cook until juice is almost fully absorbed. Add ground ginger, garlic powder, lemon pepper, salt, brown sugar and cover with chicken broth. Stir ingredients. Cover and turn down heat a bit. Let simmer until the carrots are soft. Let cool. Use an immersion blender to cream the soup. Enjoy!

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Color + Design by POM

2009-04-19T16:08:00.008-04:00

This Wednesday, April 22nd, is Earth Day. I recycle already, but have been trying to find ways to reuse things too. "These are the perfect shape and size!", were two things that I thought immediately upon opening the package of POM Wonderful bottles. I always need small bottles to root plants. Since they will be out in the open for display for a period of time, I want them to look nice.

In general, I also like to have containers like these to double as portable flower vases. You never know where or when you'll want to bring some flowers. So, if you buy POM's pomegranate juice, after you drink the juice, wash out the bottles and keep them to use for later.

Another way to use Pom Wonderful's juice is to naturally color frosting. I always feel a little odd using food coloring. They contain more chemicals than I even want to think about. With the arrival of Spring, I've been thinking pink. And as always cupcakes.

I could use POM's juice as a natural way to color the frosting pink and get a nice bit of extra flavor too. I used this chocolate cupcake recipe and the frosting recipe below.

POM Pink Cupcake Frosting

1 tsp. POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
1 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt
heaping 1/8 cup Smart Balance (softened)

Combine ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir very well until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Enjoy!

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2009. All rights reserved.

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POM Wonderful Tea + Cookies

2009-04-09T22:19:00.005-04:00

Recently, POM Wonderful contacted me and asked if I’d like to try their 100% percent pomegranate juice and share my thoughts. They sent me several bottles, and I was really excited to try it.

Over the last few years, I’ve read that drinking pomegranate juice is one of the best ways to get anti-oxidants. And I’m always trying to get as many anti-oxidants as I can get. Thank you POM Wonderful!

As I write, I’m sipping some of the juice now mixed with some ginger ale. It’s very good and quite refreshing. Now most of you know that I have a serious sweet tooth. Pomegranate juice is quite tart, so I didn’t like drinking the juice straight. Although, G loves it! I had to ask him not to drink all the juice, because I want to experiment with it.

How many ways can I use pomegranate juice? I’m not sure. We’ll see. I’ll be using POM Wonderful’s juice in all sorts of things and blogging about it over the next couple of weeks.

The other night it was a bit cool out, so I decided to make some hot tea. I often add lemon juice and honey to tea, so this time I decided to add POM Wonderful and honey. It was great! And I was giddy imagining all those tea and pomegranate anti-oxidants going to town!

I may have neutralized the positive effect with the Lemon Butter Cookies, but they sure were good! I took some serious liberties with this recipe to make them quickly, à la World Peace Cookies – Impatient Version. But it worked. I’ll be making these goodies again soon.

Lemon Butter Cookies
{Adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini- makes about one dozen cookies}

Scant ½ cup Smart Balance (softened)
Zest of one lemon
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg yolk
1 cup + 2T all-purpose flour

In a medium bowl combine Smart Balance, sugar, lemon zest. Add salt, egg yolk and combine. Stir in flour. The dough should be easy to handle. Roll into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. Enjoy!

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