#RemixYourCoffee With Instant Flavor This Holiday Season- Giveaway 11/10

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Folgers. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Momma Told Me: Like a kick in the mouth.

Coffee is magic this time of year- whether you're chugging pumpkin spice lattes, or gulping back pot after pot of midnight insanity to help you get through all of the party plans and gift shopping- this IS coffee season. Many people in my circles drink coffee for the social experience, and for the 'perky pick me up' the caffeine offers. They're not so much into drinking 'black' or plain coffee as I can be when I get in my moods. Momma was a black coffee drinker- She'd take her morning brew dark and strong for an extra swift kick in the pants. For me, it all depends on the occasion.

If you're a social drinker, or someone who has to drown your java in cream and sugar, then you probably enjoy the addition of flavor to your brew. Heck, I even put some simple syrups in my black coffee from time to time just to add to the aromatic experience. Whatever your preference, NEW Folgers Flavors artificial coffee enhancers will really bring your coffee time back to life with 4 crave-able flavors; hazelnut, mocha, vanilla, and caramel. Just add a squirt to any coffee beverage, hot or cold, dark or smooth and sweet, for an instant kick of flavor that boldly wakes up your taste buds and brings an extra kick to coffee time.

If you'll be entertaining this Fall, you're going to want to have a few of these convenient little bottles on hand for guests to 'flavor up' their coffee- And won't you just be the most thoughtful host, providing a barista experience with absolutely no effort on your part? With Folgers Flavors you don't need fancy sweetened, flavored creamers, these zero calorie artificial coffee enhancers instantly add flavor without extra sweet. It's as simple as building your everyday cup of iced or hot Joe, then adding a squirt. You can even get creative and add more than one Folgers Flavors for a truly custom coffee experience.

We haven't quite reached Fall weather yet, here in Southern California, but I'm still sipping my tumblers of iced coffee. Yes, iced coffee, it has been in the low 90s the past week- and only the relief of the dry Santa Ana winds has been helping. Oh, how I long to curl up with a large mug of hot Mocha Folgers Flavors infused coffee and sip while listening to the rain. Given the drought we've been happening, only El Nino will answer my wishes at this point!

Whatever the weather is in your little corner of the world, Folgers Flavors help kick up your everyday coffee moments. In fact, personality Mike Tompkins has even remixed a classic coffee jingle with some fun and fresh flavor. Check out the video and Mike Tompkins You Tube page for some nostalgia and laughs. Oh yea, and we're also giving away a few bottles of Folgers Flavors below, too! Oh, and, have a wonderful Halloween! Now, tell me, how do you take your coffee?

What Daughter Says:  Whether you like your coffee strong and silent, or sweet and sassy, add a little flavor with zero calorie Folgers Flavors.

Enter to win 2 Folgers Flavors below!

Make Meal Time Personal With Drink In The Box + Bento Ideas

I received compensation for this post through my relationship with the Quality Blue Community. I also received a product for this review. All opinions are my own.

Momma Told Me: I don't care what it looks like, eat it!

I was a little spoiled growing up- Momma would make these extravagant lunches for me long before it was cool for 'modern' mothers to spend an afternoon whittling apples and molding rice. However, she did it out of love, and the need to fuel her creative side, rather than a need to convince me to eat a well rounded meal. I never had the luxury of deciding what I was and wasn't going to eat that is, if Momma put it on the plate (cut into stars, or straight from a can) I was to eat it without complaint. If course today's mothers not only desire to give their children a meal that is full of love, but also one that is more wholesome and nutritious. 'Custom' meals are an integral part of modern parenting, and the accompanying beverage should not be overlooked!

With the growing concern over high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, and general additives in children's beverages, modern Mommas as checking labels and pouring from their own pitchers.As a child Momma never gave me straight fruit juice (even up to age 12, it was always cut with purified water.) But, of course, part of drinking from the 'juice box' (or pouch) is the 'cool' act associated with drinking from the vessel, not so much a concern for the drink inside. What if you could make your child's drinks just as cool, while getting them excited over drinking the beverages you choose? Drink In The Box, featuring Eastman Tritan™ nearly indestructible plastic offers a colorful, reusable, drinking vessel with all the cool angles of a modern drink box, minus the additives and extras. Learn more about Eastman Tritan™ and their products on their Facebook page.

It couldn't be easier to get children excited about drinking healthier, refreshing, beverages. The Drink In A Box comes in 4 bright neon colors (Pink, Orange, Blue, and Green) so you'll never lose them in the car, purse, or travel bag- and they're entirely spill proof when closed, so you can bring your drinks on the go and sip all day long. This revolutionary snacking tool holds 8oz of your child's favorite beverage and can help cut out sugar dramatically when filled with fresh fruit and water, or even freshly squeezed homemade juice. Did you know the average 8oz child's disposable juice box has around 14 grams of sugar? Yuck! Kid's are sweet enough already, no? And, of course it's made with durable BPA free plastics.

It's no secret colorful plates and drinking containers, such as Drink In The Box made with Eastman Tritan™ plastic help get kids excited about eating healthier and eating more. It can be challenging to get children to step outside their comfort zone of 'accepted' foods and eat a more balanced meal so we like to prepare bento meals for the kids. Using smaller portions of 'indulgent' snacks alongside healthier vegetables and fruits in fun cutouts and shapes a bento meal can keep picky eaters munching to the last bite.

Right now we're pretty excited about a certain upcoming space character franchise releasing a 7th installment so we've been coming up with themed named for everyday snacks. I even put together the Bento you see below using rice cakes, a spinach tortilla quesadilla, some fruit punch outs, yogurt dipped pretzels and cinnamon bears. It's always fun to reconnect with a new generation about characters and stories from my own childhood- too bad Momma was never into 'that' series!

Of course planning cute meals and cutting food into fun shapes is fun- but it also gets us thinking more about the food we put on our plates and in our mouths. Every time I reach for the Drink In The Box I remember that I have a choice to serve something loaded with sugar, or genuinely hydrating. We like to compromise and put frozen fruit in the bottom to help keep water chilled longer- and the children love eating the fruit at the bottom when they're done. Of course the Drink In The Box seals pretty darn tight, so they have to practice their 'please' and 'thank you's to achieve that!

Whether you're trying to pack your little superheros in the car on the way to and from big brother's soccer practice, or simply helping to keep them fueled for another round of creative play in the backyard- smart serving choices make all the difference. You have a say what goes onto their plate, why not have a say as to what goes into their drink box? What do you like to fill your child's cup with? 

What Daughter Says: Have a say in what your child eats and drinks with healthier options in a cool disguise.

Hallow-Scream OREO Fanta-Glazed Donut Recipe + Last Minute Ideas

Disclosure: This was a campaign I helped manage with Social Fabric. No compensation was received on my end, I was simply inspired by an awesome pairing featured in the campaign, Fanta and OREO 2 Packs!

Momma Told Me: Sometimes I'm a mad scientist in the kitchen.

We're getting down to the wire on the 2015 Halloween countdown but that doesn't mean you're out of time to plan a spooktacular spread for all the ghouls and goblins stopping by this Saturday. In fact, OREO and Fanta pair perfectly to meet any black and orange scheme you just might be planing. (They also make for a mean float, if I do say so!) When I was young girl one of our neighbors actually used to give out snack packs of OREOS in place of candy on Halloween, and it was always a special treat I'd save for Friday night and floats with my father.

In fact, as part of a national campaign Fanta and OREO have teamed up to inspire moms, and party planners, this Halloween to hit the kitchen and whip up something particularly ghoulish in their very own Spooky Snack Lab! From homemade ice cream and adorable black cat OREOS, some of my fellow bloggers have devised the most devilish, and adorable, creations with 2 Pack OREO cookies and mini Fanta cans. Personally, we're all stocked up and ready to pass out those 2 Pack OREOs come Saturday night. Now it's time for us to be the coolest house on the block!

All this talk of Orange and OREO creations really got me inspired, so I put my mad scientist brain to work and decided to make OREO donuts with an Orange-Scream glaze. These simple donuts have a nice thick brownie like texture that goes great with a cup of coffee or a nice tall glass of milk. And the glaze? It has the best hint of Orange flavor without being too sweet, while offering that beautiful orange color that will make ANY spread pop this Halloween.

If you're nervous about making donuts for the first time, don't be- anyone with a donut pan can make beautiful donuts (the pan IS the secret, I'm telling you.) And the satisfaction of watching that sweet glaze drizzle down the sides of those sweet little circles of heaven- priceless. Just make sure to let your donuts cool before glazing them, and you'll be good to go. Believe me, everyone is amazed by homemade donuts- it'll certainly win you some hostess points for sure!

Of course black and orange isn't enough to really make the Halloween theme pop- we had to add a little tongue in cheek decor to really dress up these puppies for the big day. With a few gummy and fake costume fangs from the dollar store, topped with edible eyes, these donuts instantly came to life. Suddenly they were Hallow-Scream Donuts. See what I did there? And the kiddos will love plopping those fangs in their mouth for pretend play after!

I made 2 dozen Hallow-Scream Donuts for my bowling league a few weeks back, as a test run, and they were the talk of the, erm, alley? I was told the little 'extra' detail of the blood on the fangs was an especially nice touch! I even packaged them up in a nice cake box, from the local craft store, with a decorative ribbon and fun label. That's the true fun in the holiday, isn't it? Dressing up things to make them seem like something creepy or playful, and that's exactly what OREO and Fanta help you do.

Of course I'm going to share the labels with you too- Make sure you grab the free printable for all your Hallow-Scream Donut needs this holiday.We love to add printable and sticker labels to all of our drinks and snacks when hosting Halloween events- make sure to check out the Pinterest board below for some more awesome printables and ideas to dress up your treats and drinks.

Since we had a few OREO 2 Packs left after my donut experiment, I decided to take some leftover ribbon and tie 2 together as a special thank you gift to my league mates. I've found this also helps cut down on cookie theft in the house in the mean time when the 2 packs can't individually go missing one at a time! Of course the extra Fanta 12oz bottles, well, those won't be heading to the alley. I'm too greedy with my orange floats to give them up! How do you like to dress up everyday treats and food for the Halloween holiday?


What Daughter Says: Get inspired by everyday ingredients and have a little Halloween fun when you combine your favorite treats.

Check out these FUN OREO and Fanta Halloween Pairing Ideas!

Follow Momma Told Me's board Fun Halloween OREO and Fanta Ideas on Pinterest.

Hallow-Scream Donuts

***Click here for printable Hallow-Scream Donuts

In Pursuit Of- A Wild Day Out With Nora The Morkie #NaturalBalance

This post is sponsored by #NaturalBalance, and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Natural Balance® Wild Pursuit™, but Momma Told Me only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Natural Balance® is not responsible for the content of this article.

Momma Told Me: It's in their blood.

As far as dog parents go, you know Jay and I are pretty relaxed-

We're 'that' family, with the toddler running around in just a diaper, with marker on their face because 'Hey, kids will be kids.' And Nora, well, she's one big small active kid. We simply cannot take her out in public around humans without people telling us how cute our 'puppy' (she's 3 1/2) is, and that the 'hyper phase' will grow out of her as she 'matures.' Yea, that remains to be seen. And on the topic of obedience training- that's a forbidden phrase in our home.

Whenever we visit 'grandpa's' house I always hear about how Nora is too hyper and how we should 'train her' to be calm around humans. Like any proper parent I defend my child's actions; kisses and backflips are completely normal for 'my child' and if she wants to show enthusiasm for every single person she meets, even 5 minutes after she just met them, I am all for it. It's that kind of spunk that makes our little rocket dog who she is.

Living in Southern California we've shared the nearby local beach as one of our 'local haunts'- Nora simply loves to people watch on the pier. After all, it takes a special kind of resistance to walk by that face! But it's not just the beach that excites her- She knows, from the second her harness is put on that she's in for a wild ride. Oh yes- and then there's the 'riding' part, who doesn't love to stick their head out the window at 60MPH?

As magical as the beach is, sometimes Mom and Dad don't want to deal with the fuss of people, so Nora gets to visit an equally magical place- the local park and creek. It is full of ducks (and a few seagulls too!) At first Nora was terrified of the birds, that were almost the size of her, but she's really warmed up over the years and now considers them part of the scenery. Of course every now and then they come a little too far off the shore and it's time for a dog to put those pesky birds back in their place!

Mostly Nora just likes being Nora, though, and runs back and forth 'arffing' like a maniac to anyone who will listen. I think these birds have seen more than a dog or two, judging by how calm they are at this display. None-the-less, I'm sure they're thankful when I take out the old squeaky tennis ball and toss it back and forth as a distraction for the ravenous playful dog invading their territory. Personally, I'm just thankful Nora doesn't try to go for a swim!

Don't think just because we let our child run around naked in desperate need of a hair cut, licking strangers that we don't have strict rules for topics that matter; such as safety and nutrition. Admittedly I sometimes pay more attention to what we feed out pets, then what I eat myself. Nora has a known 'issue' with over-hydration the vet has deemed 'in her head' so our manic little dog needs to have her food and water highly regulated. If given the chance she'll drink until she's sick! When our vet suggested a high protein, grain free, diet for Nora, I was surprised to learn that such a change could help her maintain energy while actually eating less- therefor, cutting down on her body's natural water consumption.

We've been feeding the cat and dog Natural Balance® treats for several years now for their range of health supportive treats in a variety of game inspired selections. Making the switch to Natural Balance® Wild Pursuit™ Lamb, Chicken Meal, and Guinea Fowl formula dry food was a logical next step in our high protein diet program. Wild Pursuit™ is a brand new Natural Balance® range of grain free, high protein foods and treats specifically designed to engage your cat or dog's ancestral cravings. Nora has been eating a high protein diet for over a year now and the impact has been measurable- but I am especially excited to be upgrading her food with this new Wild Pursuit™ line. Learn more about where to find this range of quality pet food near you!

Each of the Wild Pursuit™ by Natural Balance® cat and dog food ranges contain a balance of 3 protein sources, from tuna and lamb to guinea fowl, and satisfies Nora's natural ancestral diet. It makes perfect sense, since she is such a 'wildling' herself! How do we know that Wild Pursuit™ satisfies so much, while helping to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle? Just look at those kisses Nora slaps on her dad after a wild day out! Silly dog, it's your mother that buys and pours the food! Do you think your cat or dog has major spunk and personality like Nora? Check out the Natural Balance® Natural Characters hub to share you pet, and their super star status, with the rest of the world!  Do you currently feed your dog a high protein, grain free, diet?

What Daughter Says: While every dog is entirely unique in personality and character, canine ancestors naturally enjoyed an ancestral diet high in protein and free of grains.

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding Recipe- Bring Home The Season's Flavors With Yoplait + Walmart

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of General Mills. The opinions and text are all mine. Comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand.

Momma Told Me: Bake the season.

Growing up in Southern California there were no immediate changing of the seasons. By the time it started to get a bit brisk outside 2 of the 3 major holidays had already passed. And, even then, it was hard to take note of these changes when the roads are lined with palm trees (leafing is minimal, to say the least) and a dismal day of weather consists of a few hours rain, on a bad day. Yes, the sun is never far away, and that can make it pretty hard to get in a seasonal mood. If you're suffering from 'seasonal displacement,' as I like to call it, one more Pumpkin Spice coffee beverage might not be enough to really bring the season's joy to your home and heart. And that, my friends, is why I not only stock up on seasonal flavors, I bake with them, often.

Yoplait Greek, and other varieties of, yogurt is a staple in our fridge- Whether I'm reaching for a cup to unwind at the end of a long day, or planning my next culinary creation, it's a must. Not only does the substitution of Greek Yogurt in everyday recipes help me out in a pinch when I've forgotten to re-stock on staple ingredients, but it's often a lower calorie alternative to ingredients such as butter and heavy cream. So, when I spotted the seasonal flavors of Yoplait yogurt on the shelf at my local Walmart, I knew I had to hoard stock up on Yoplait Greek 100 Whips! Pumpkin Cheesecake, Yoplait Light Pumpkin Pie, Yoplait Original Apple Crisp, and Yoplait Greek 100 Caramel Apple.

While we're not quite to November yet the hustle and bustle of shoppers at Walmart easily put in the holiday mood. In fact, I ran into my league-mate while in line at the checkout and they're the one who gave me the idea for today's wonderful recipe- Caramel Apple Bread Pudding! There couldn't be a better comfort food recipe for Greek Yogurt- warm, gooey, and fluffy with it's custard base. This slow cooking treat is perfect for a lazy weekend breakfast with Yoplait Greek 100, or solo as an after dinner treat.

Yoplait Greek 100 Caramel Apple from Walmart has just 100 calorie per cup, and a light natural flavor that is enhanced by real bits of apple. I loved how the somewhat sour taste of greek yogurt played with the light cinnamon sweet of caramel apple. Neither component was too overwhelming and the texture was perfect for my heavy cream substitute in the recipe! 2 (single serve) cups of Yoplait Greek 100 Caramel Apple replaced 1/2 C of heavy cream and 1/2 C of milk, significantly cutting the calories per serving, and offering this bread pudding a lighter, fluffier end product.

Bread pudding is the perfect seasonal recipe because it's a comfort food that can be prepared over time and slow cooked with ingredients most have laying around their kitchen. For this particular recipe, if you don't have caramel on hand, you can also slow simmer a can of condensed milk (in the can) for 2-3 hours. The result is a thick caramel like dulce de leche that requires minimal effort and skill!

Caramel apples actually remind me of my childhood holiday visits to Massachusetts in the Fall, when we would drive out to the apple orchards in Connecticut to drink fresh milled cider and pick our own apples for candying. There was always something so magical about seeing the rows of trees in the orchards, and the fresh pies lined up on the farmhouse bakery case- to me, that is Fall, and these are the memories I bake with when bringing the holidays, and seasons, into my home.

Whether you're an apple fan, or note, this Caramel Apple Bread Pudding won't disappoint- make it for an upcoming family gathering, or prepare some simple to fill your home with welcoming aromas and a touch of the season. I've been having a little slice, topped with Yoplait Greek 100 Caramel Apple yogurt every morning this week (and boy do I feel spoiled!) No number of pumpkin spice lattes could ever replace the sticky, creamy, sweet, and salty pairing! You'll find Yoplait Greek 100 Cramel Apple yogurt, and the other seasonal varieties, on shelves at a Walmart near you now- don't wait to pick them up, they're already going fast here! For more great seasonal serving ideas and recipes be sure to check out Yoplait on Facebook.

What Daughter Says: Sometimes all it takes to bring the season into your home is some classic comfort food inspired by the season's flavors.