My Blog Spark - Yoplait Lactose Free Yogurt Review + Giveaway

**Giveaway Is Closed**

February was National Lactose Intolerance Awareness Month (yes, I know it's March), for which Yoplait announced their new lactose free yogurt, available in a variety of tasty flavors. Through MyBlogSpark, Yoplait provided me with a prize pack, including a coupon to try the new yogurt, and an additional prize pack to host a giveaway.

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Although I don't suffer from lactose intolerance, I am familiar with lactose free dairy as I've used it before to make lactose free desserts for family members. In case you can't eat regular dairy products, now you know of another option.

Yoplait's Lactose Free Yogurt comes in 6-ounce containers and tastes just like regular flavored yogurt. Besides being lactose free, it's also fat free, though it contains 170 calories, much of which is from sugar. The packaging mentioned that Yoplait Lactose Free Yogurt offers 50% of the daily value of calcium, compared to 25% from other brands. It had a good peachy flavor and probably would have tasted good frozen, too. If I recall correctly, the yogurt was 79¢, though price may vary based on location.

Instead of simply eating the yogurt, I used it to create peaches 'n cream oatmeal scones. They came out perfectly the first time! They're soft and tender with a subtle peach flavor enhanced by a light lemon glaze. I didn't have any peaches to use, but they would be excellent with a few chopped peaches mixed in. The recipe will be up tomorrow.

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Giveaway Info

Eager to try it out for yourself? Along with a VIP coupon for a free yogurt, the winner will also be getting a lunch tote, two freezable gel packs, a bowl, and a matching spoon.

There are two ways to enter:

• Comment on this post and tell me your favorite way to eat yogurt


• Tweet about this giveaway: Yoplait Lactose Free Giveaway from @RunningFoodie http://bit.ly/yEoCS9 #MyBlogSpark!
  Leave a second comment to let me know

Giveaway is eligible for US readers only and ends on Friday, the 9th, at 12 P.M.. Winner will be announced shortly after (please include your email I can't contact you).

MyBlogSpark: Host A Chex Party Mix-Change - Recipes+Giveaway

**Giveaway is closed**

MyBlogSpark and Chex Cereal want to liven up your holiday cookie exchange by giving you tips on how to host a Chex Party Mix-Change. To help give you some ideas, I was given a variety of Chex Cereal, cute red and green take out boxes, and a $20 Visa gift card to purchase additional ingredients and packaging supplies. The premise was to host a party and show you guys how to create different Chex cereal treats for a holiday exchange, but that didn't quite work out so I made a few recipes myself.

Although cookies are sweet, no one can resist a savory Chex mix. This recipe for Easy Cheddar Chex Mix is simple to make and uses a cheddar cheese packet from a box of macaroni & cheese (the noodles can be added to soup or something). The flavor is boosted with garlic powder, dried mustard, and a pinch of cayenne pepper for heat. It tastes really amazing.

I packaged it in a cute Christmas tin I bought from the craft store, though you can find nice tins at the dollar store, too. For gift giving, the latter would be the economical choice and what I'd do if I packaged cookies in tins. Lining the tins in plastic wrap and wax paper keep the cereal secure and doesn't mess up the tin. Fold the excess paper on top before closing with a lid.

If you're serving the treats at a party, mini cupcake liners are the perfect way to portion out servings that are easy to hold and munch on. That's what I did with the White Chocolate & Peppermint Chex. It's made similarly to the favorite puppy chow, only instead of chocolate and peanut butter I just melted white chocolate chips. It's flavored with peppermint extract and made a little more festive with green and red nonpareil sprinkles. The sprinkles show up underneath the confectioners' sugar coating, looking like Christmas lights covered with snow! It's delicious and addictive.

Finally, we have Chocolate Caramel Cinnamon Chex. It's the most complicated recipe of the three, but it's also one of the best. The crunchy caramel-chocolate coating is made similarly to the coating for caramel corn. I adapted it from a recipe I found over at AllRecipes.com. Instead of using just regular Chex cereal, I used some of the Cinnamon Chex to give it even more flavor.

To giveaway, you can fill holiday baggies with the cooled caramel chex and package it in festive takeout containers.

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Giveaway Details

If you would like to host your own Chex Party Mix-Change (for what will most likely be for New Year's... Yeah, I suck), here's how you can win the neato prize pack consisting of five boxes of Chex cereal, a featured recipe booklet, takeout boxes, and a $20 Visa gift card.

1. Leave a comment on my blog telling me what your favorite Chex cereal creation is.

2. Tweet about this giveaway, including a link to this post and @runningfoodie. Leave a second comment to let me know.

The giveaway ends Monday, the 19th, at 12 noon. U.S. residents only, please. My apologies to my out of country readers, but it's the rules from the company.

Good luck!

Yoplait Smoothie Review + Prize Pack Giveaway

Everyone loves smoothies. Well, almost everyone. I like to drink them after a run, or on any day that's overwhelmingly hot and humid. They are refreshing, and better than eating fruit and yogurt alone. There is also so many ways to make them.

You've probably seen Yoplait yogurts. Unbeknownst to me, Yoplait also offers frozen smoothie packets. Each packet contains enough fruit for 2 servings and delivers 50% of the recommended daily value of calcium. Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Yoplait, I received a coupon to try the smoothies for myself. I was supposed to review the new Chocolate+Banana flavor, but I wasn't able to locate it at the store. Each pack retails for $3.59 and can be found at in the frozen fruit aisle in your grocery store.

Since chocolate+banana wasn't available, I got the Blueberry+Pomegranate. The packet contains mostly blueberries, and pomegranate juice concentrate-flavored yogurt cubes. Each drink totals out to around 150 calories per 8 ounces when made with skim milk, but I used whole because skim milk is disgusting. It came out really thick this way, so I had to add a little more milk.

The smoothie was good, but tasted a little on the sweet side. I was surprised, since the nutrition label stated that each serving has 12 grams of sugar. That's really not bad at all for a commercial smoothie. Perhaps it was the whole milk? Who knows. The texture was good, but separates when left to stand for a little. Flavor-wise, though, it was good and didn't just taste like blueberries.

If you'd like to try Yoplait Smoothies out, you can print a coupon out for $1 off.

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Giveaway Info

Along with a coupon to try out the smoothie, Yoplait has provided a pretty cool prize pack! If you're looking to rest up before the holiday season, this pack will really help you out. Along with a reusable Yoplait Smoothie tumbler, you will get a VIP coupon for a sample of Yoplait Chocolate Banana Smoothie, a neck pillow, and a lavender eye mask.

I think I'm going wear the eye mask (which smells great, and lavender supposedly helps you relax - perfect for dealing with morons this upcoming holiday season!) as a headband, and if I come across someone I want to ignore, I'll pull the mask down over my eyes and tell them that nobody's home. Good idea, right?!

So if you'd like to get your own prize pack, here's how:

• Comment on this post and tell me what your favorite smoothie is, or when you like to drink them


• Tweet: "@yoplaitsmoothie +Prize Pack Giveaway on She Runs, She Eats http://bit.ly/nMQPUt ". Leave a comment here to let me know you Tweeted


• Like Yoplait Smoothie on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall saying you were referred by me (include this link: http://bit.ly/nMQPUt). Comment again to let me know


• Like She Runs, She Eats on Facebook. Comment again to let me know.

Four separate entries to increase your chance to win! Giveaway ends Friday, October 14 at noon, and is open to US residents only.

Good luck!

Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownie Review + Giveaway

If you're looking for a sweet snack that won't break the bank, Fiber One has come out with a new line of 90 calorie snacks, this time in brownie form. The premise of the Fiber One line is in the name. Fiber helps keep you feeling full longer while keeping snack attacks away, and with 5 grams of fiber per bar, you get 20% of your daily fiber in the form of a delicious brownie. Each bar contains 90 calories, 5 grams of fiber, 3 grams of fat, 17 carbohydrates, and just 7 grams of sugar. It's a light snack, for sure, but it is tasty.

I was sent two boxes of Fiber One brownies, along with a fitness pack, from MyBlogSpark to review.

The Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie is my favorite. The peanut butter flavor comes from peanut butter chips and icing, and "partially defatted peanut flour". The peanut butter didn't overpower the chocolate in the brownies, which I liked. At times, the peanut butter tasted almost like caramel. The texture surprised me. I figured, based on how it looked, that the brownie would be more cakey than fudgy, but it landed somewhere in the middle.

The Chocolate Fudge Brownie has a deep cocoa flavor that would be nice when eaten with a cup of coffee. Flavor wise, I like them both and while I typically stay away from reduced-calorie foods, in this case I'm happy because the sugar content has also been lowered.

I wouldn't call this a natural bar. While there aren't many additives, there are a few thickening ingredients and other stuff not normally present in homemade baked goods or brands that use whole ingredients. It does make for a good snack on the run, though, especially if you're a fan of chocolate and peanut butter.

Now, would you be interested in a giveaway? Along with the 90 calorie brownies, you'd also receive a fitness prize pack to aid your fitness goals. The prize pack contains a resuable water bottle, a jump rope, a headband, a fitness bag, a bracelet thing, and a nifty snack bowl with a freezable lid to keep foods chilled.

Isn't that cool? Pop the bowl (or just the lid) in the freezer, then fill the bowl with your snack and screw the lid on when you're ready to leave. The lid contains a freezer-safe gel that turns to ice when frozen. I like it.

Time for some giveaway rules! Here is how to enter the Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownie giveaway:

1. Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite healthy snack food is.


2. For a second entry, Tweet this giveaway and leave another comment with the link to your tweet.


3. For a third entry, like She Runs, She Eats on Facebook if you haven't already done so. Comment again to let me know.


4. And for one more chance to win, blog about this giveaway on your blog, linking to this post. Leave another comment.

This gives you up to four chances to be entered into the giveaway.

To be eligible, you must reside in the United States.

Giveaway ends Wednesday, July 20 at noon. Winner will be posted after noon. Good luck!

Yoplait Greek Yogurt Giveaway

Protein is an important part of your diet. It helps build muscles and keeps you full. If you're looking for a new midday sack that fits the bill, Yoplait has a new line of Greek yogurt in six different flavors to try. What makes Yoplait Greek a bit different is the protein content. Each cup of Yoplait Greek contains 14-17 grams of protein, double that of traditional yogurt and perfect for a midday snack that will keep you satisfied.

I got the honey vanilla flavor. The yogurt had a nice tartness that wasn't overwhelming, but balanced by the sweetness. This cup of yogurt has 18 grams of sugar, 14 grams of protein, and 150 calories. It's also fat free, but I don't normally buy fat free yogurt because it contains thickeners to achieve the proper texture. I could tell the texture of the yogurt was gelatinous, too, though not disgustingly so.

Yoplait, partnering with MyBlogSpark, is offering one of my readers a chance to try Yoplait Greek out for themselves. Not only will the winner receive a coupon for a free yogurt, you'll also get a Yoplait Greek prize pack. The gift pack includes a coupon organizer, a magnetic customized meal planner board, a mini pocket fold-up tote, an electronics case, retractable ear buds, a magnetic shopping cart note holder and a pen. Yoplait is helping you simplify your meal planning and shopping, all while staying plugged in to your favorite tunes.

If you'd like to enter this giveaway, there are a few steps you can take for multiple entries.

1. You must comment on this post to enter. Let me know how you like to eat yogurt!

2. "Like" Yoplait yogurt on Facebook and leave a message on their wall with a link to this post, then comment again to let me know.

3. Follow Yoplait Yogurt on Twitter, then comment and let me know.

Contest is open to US residents and ends on Thursday, the 28th. I'll then submit the winner's info to MyBlogSpark. Good luck!

If you'd like a coupon for Yoplait Greek, click here to print a coupon for 35¢ off.