IZZE Giveaway Winner!

Hello guys. The power was knocked out here for a little bit due to the wind, but nothing like what happened on the East Coast. I hope those of you who live there are doing alright.

The winner for the IZZE prize pack is:

Toystory28 October, 2012 21:15

Sparkling Apple would be a favorite in this house.

Sparkling apple happens to be my favorite, as well. Congratulations! I will be contacting you, so keep an eye out for an email.

Hello Good - IZZE Contest and Giveaway

**Giveaway is closed**

Hello friends, and happy Friday! I was given a head's up from IZZE Sparkling Juice yesterday about their ongoing contest, Hello Good, celebrating the good moments in life.

To enter, simply snap a picture of yourself enjoying your favorite IZZE beverage and submit it to the IZZE Facebook page. Upon submission, you'll receive a $1 off IZZE coupon, and you'll be entered to win free year's supply of IZZE! The contest runs through Sunday, with a winner picked everyday. You can enter everyday if you choose.

I'm also hosting a giveaway right here. One winner will receive a prize pack that includes -

2 10 Year Anniversary IZZE T-shirts
2 Royal Blue IZZE T-Shirts
1 4-Pack of IZZE Sparkling Juice

Pretty nifty! Simply leave a comment and tell me what which IZZE flavor is your favorite. If you've never tried it before, tell me which you'd like to try. Winner will be chosen at noon on Tuesday. Open to U.S. residents only.

Since I was in the mood for IZZE, I went to the store to pick up a pack (using my own money) to guzzle and to bake. That's right, I baked a sparkling cake. Unlike the last cake I made with IZZE, this one is much more simple. This hearty pound cake is perfectly snackable and doesn't have to be saved for dessert. I changed up the original recipe a bit, adjusting the sugar and leavening amounts as well as method of preparation, but it's mostly the same. Honestly, the apple IZZE isn't very pronounce. The cake does taste incredibly good, though. Recipe is after the jump.

(Full disclosure: I received a prize pack from IZZE in exchange for this post, but I was not otherwise compensated. Opinions are my own.)

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Print this recipe

IZZE Sparkling Pound Cake
Recipe adapted from Ostblog's Seltzer Cake

Ingredients -

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup IZZE Apple Sparkling Juice

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan well; set aside. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
2. Add eggs and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Using a mixer, beat on medium-high until mixture is pale and thickened, 2 minutes. Mix in vanilla extract. With mixer running, stream in vegetable oil until blended. Fold in dry ingredients, mixing just until a trace of flour remains. Pour in IZZE and fold into batter just until smooth.
3. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour; cover top of cake with a piece of foil and continue cooking for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edges, then remove from pan. Let cool for another 10 minutes before slicing.

Green Mountain Coffee - Good Coffee, Good Vibes

October is Fair Trade Month and Green Mountain Coffee is spreading the word. Fair Trade coffee helps farmers get paid what they deserve, improves working conditions, assists in protecting the environment, and supports community development. In countries that aren't as developed as ours, this aid goes a long way to improve the lives of the citizens. If you're interested in learning more about Green Mountain's involvement with Fair Trade, peruse their Facebook page to view videos with musicians Grace Potter and Michael Franti, who have teamed
up with Green Mountain on trips to Fair Trade farming communities. You'll be able to see behind-the-scenes videos of the trips and learn about the impact Fair Trade has on the communities. By watching the videos and participating in Fair Trade Month, you'll have the opportunity to unlock Fair Trade Certified Green Mountain samples and coupons and be able to enter to win a trip to a Fair Trade source country.

Green Mountain Coffee boasts one of the largest selections of Fair Trade Certified coffees in the U.S in both k-cups and bagged form, in a variety of roasts, regions, and flavors. I was lucky enough to be able to try their organic house blend for free thanks to the BzzAgent campaign. (Opinions are my own.)

Besides familiarizing myself with the Fair Trade coffee, I learned that 1.75 ounces of ground coffee makes an eight-cup pot. A little extra perk.

I've never tried Green Mountain before, and I always thought that they exclusively sold k-cups. The brewed coffee smelled like stepping in to a coffee shop, though I wasn't able to drink it black. Green Mountain's 'house blend' is a blend of medium and dark roasts, according to their website, and to me had a rather bitter taste. However, it was excellent with cream and sugar. Sometimes coffees become weaker when you add extras, but that wasn't the case here. Since I'm always looking for new coffees to try, I might try out another roast, or maybe their seasonal pumpkin spice flavor!

Green Mountain Coffee is available in most grocery stores, stores like Target and Wal-Mart, and online at GreenMountainCoffees.com and Keurig. If you'd like a coupon for $1 off one 12-count box of Fair Trad Certified Green Mountain Coffee k-cup packs, or any 12 ounce bag of Fair Trade Certified Green Mountain Coffee, send me an email at christinaATrunningfoodieDOTcom, or message me on the Facebook page and I'll mail it out to you.