Mom's Best Naturals

Let me go ahead and admit that I am not the perfect Susie Homemaker that some stay at home moms are.  I don't cook breakfast every morning, to be honest it's every once in awhile that the kids get anything other than what is readily available in the pantry.  Whether that is oatmeal, cereal or cinnamon rolls left over from the weekend.  I know, I know: "You're a stay at home mom, isn't that what you are supposed to be doing?"  My reply: "Uh, NO!"  I have the same amount of time as everyone else in the morning to get my kids ready for school.  I also have 2 kiddos who dread waking up which is actually the equivalent of Chinese water torture.  What makes this morning "routine" a tad easier is having food in the pantry that will be eaten and not just sit on the shelf for months and months.  You know who I'm talking to.....Dora cereal that Griff just HAD to have. 
I might not be Donna Reed but I am genuinely concerned about what goes into my kids' tummies.  I might not can go completely organic or all natural ALL the time but the purchases I make are the important ones.  First and foremost, organic milk.  Three years ago, after reading all of the craziness about little girls lactating and starting their periods super early was enough to freak me out to the point of never buying "regular" milk again.  So, if I have the organic milk what comes next?  No, not Oreos.  Cereal.  I have bought and tried just about every organic or natural cereal out there.  Survey saaaays:  not so good.  Once I found Mom's Best Cereals though I totally changed my thinking. 
Our first Mom's Best purchase was Mallow Oats, which is like Lucky Charms but oh-so-much-better.  The kids loved them immediately, which in turn made me love them immediately. The hardest one to please, the three year old food critic, loved them!  One of the most important things about Mom's best is that they are actually affordable and in a human size box.  $3 for a box that will last, and they aren't playing around with those bog box/half full bags either.  I was an instant fan.
Mom's Best sent me 4 family size boxes of their cereal to try and review.  We received:  Honey-Ful Wheat (which is Honey Smacks done right), Honey Grahams (hello, Golden Grahams), Sweetened Wheat-fuls (mini wheats-esque), and Toasted Cinnamon Squares (Cinnamon Toast Crunch but better).  Let me tell you, I looked like a kid in a candy store when I opened that box.  It came the weekend before the 1st week of school so my first thought was "Score!! Mark cereal off the list!"  My second though was " Ooooo, I haven't had Smacks in forever."  I have had more cereal this past week than I have in a long time.  And the kids were not complaining when they got to pick their fave from the 4 in the pantry every morning. 
Time to get serious, right?  Which one was the best?  My favorite was by far the Honey-Ful Wheat, I had built this one up a lot before I tried it and it totally met my high expectations.  Griff, my three year old had a few faves, he loves the Sweetened Wheat-Fuls and the Honey Grahams.  He loves to snack on dry cereal in the afternoons and I felt completely fine letting him munch.  Rhys' fave was the Honey-Ful Wheat and Tyler was digging on the Toasted Cinnamon Squares.  And the 4th kid I forgot to mention.....my husband, Bryan.......he fell in l-o-v-e with the Honey Grahams too.  The taste is awesome in all of these cereals.  Just because it's better for you than other choices does not mean that it lacks in taste.  Each piece of cereal is coated in the flavor that it's supposed to have.  The Grahams were thick and had such bold honey flavor.  The Honey-Ful wheat stayed crunchy for a long time and the flavor reminded me of when I was a kid.  Each Toasted Cinnamon Square is covered, covered, I tell ya' in cinnamon and sugar!  And the Sweetened Wheat-fuls didn't get soggy in the milk.  I actually had a bowl of these last night for a late dinner, and they were sooo good. 
Mom's Best is a wonderful company.  They are family-owned, which is something you don't see often anymore, and they have been for 4 generations!  Mom's Best is one of the easiest decisions you can make about feeding your family the proper things.  Mom's Best is one of the few affordable and actually edible cereals that can boast that they have:

No artificial preservatives
No artificial colors or flavors
No hydrogenated or Palm oil
No high fructose corn syrup
How many cereals can you find on your grocer's shelves that have NO high fructose corn syrup?!! I challenge you to count them.  I can promise you there won't be many, if any at all.  I also noticed that there is a major difference in the whole grain per servings in Mom's Best cereals.  In the Honey Grahams, there is 7g of whole grain per serving along with real honey.  The Toasted Cinnamon Squares have 10 (!) grams of whole grain per serving!Sweetened Wheat-fuls have......44g of whole grain per serving!!!  Mallow Oats have 14g of whole grain per serving.  I am pumped that we can slip in that much whole grain without it being a battle. 
Mom's Best Naturals is a company I highly suggest checking out yourself.  I find my Mom's Best at Kroger, my local HEB does not carry it.  Although, I will be mentioning it to them.  Check out the Mom's Best Facebook page and stay up to date on all the news and activities they have going on there.  I am so glad I tried the other varieties and know how good they are.  Now, I will not be loyal to just Mallow Oats but buy the other ones as well.  My kids did not have one complaint about these cereals, and that's saying something with three kids who are very opinionated.  Please check out their Store Locator and find out if Mom's Best is sold near you, if not......talk to the store. 
Thank you Mom's Best for letting me review the cereals that you did.  You rock!

I received 4 boxes of cereal to review from Mom's Best for this review.

WasteNot Saks Review and Giveaway!

I am so excited about this giveaway! 
Last year, before school started, my daughter proposed a challenge.  She wanted us to go the whole school year without plastic baggies in their lunch.  First thought-Yes! I have done it...the green brainwashing is complete! Second thought-okay, there goes my Back to School budget.   Despite my cheapness, I got online that day and searched for what we would need.  I stumbled upon WasteNot Saks on Etsy, which is such an amazing site.
Having used sandwich wraps for a year from another company I knew I wanted something different and WasteNot Saks was the different we needed.  I loved the Velcro closure and the sack-like design.  The fabrics that are available ranged from grown up to pre-school friendly and they were all very vibrant.  I bought 3 Sandwich Saks and 3 Snack Saks that day, in total kid friendly prints.   They are surprisingly affordable,  only $6.50 for a Snack Sak and $7.50 for a Sandwich Sak. 
When they arrived, Tyler immediately claimed the Guitar print and Rhys loved the owls.  Griffin, of course, liked the aliens.  With our WasteNot Saks arsenal, we were successful in our No Baggie Challenge for the entire school year!  I can't imagine how much money we saved.  Being a self professed Green Geek, I love being able to pack their lunches and not feel guilty about wrapping it  in chemical filled plastic.  Hurting the environment and my kids' health in the long run, I use the least amount of plastic possible.  Especially with all of the BPA warnings.  
My WasteNot Saks are in excellent condition, even after a year of daily use.  I usually wash the sandwich Saks each time they are used because of the mess PB and J can make.  Super simple to wash: flip inside out and get rid of crumbs, throw in with a load of clothes on cold wash, which I use all the time anyway except for towels.  After washing them I try to remember to take them out and let them air dry but sometimes I forget and they are thrown into the dryer as well, still work perfectly!  Using the WasteNot Saks cuts down on waste in so many ways, no more single serve packages of Goldfish, no baggies to stuff the sandwich in, no hard plastic sandwich containers that most likely contain BPA.  If you Google BPA, you will avoid it in every way possible, believe me.   (Here's a link to the FDA's comments about BPA)
The fabric is an added plus, the range of colors and prints are amazing.  These are great for teachers or any working woman trying to avoid the waste while bringing her lunch.  They are perfect for kids of all ages, and easy to open and close, even for the littlest of fingers.  All three of my kids, ages 11,8 and 3 1/2, use the WasteNot Saks for all sorts of things.  This summer, when we didn't have to pack lunches, we used the Alien Sandwich Sak to carry Leapster games when we headed to the allergist for our monthly appointment.  
So, the low down on the WasteNot Saks you need to know:
1. Eco-friendly
2. Made with cotton and lined with water-resistant, FOOD SAFE nylon
3. No PVC, No Phthalates, No BPA, No lead
4. Your food is not coming into contact with polyurethane!
5. Saving you money by not buying single serve packages and plastic baggies

6. Totally fashionable for every member of the family with variety in fabrics from classic solids to playful patterns. 

Merryville

Fleur de Lis

Rock Star

Monkey Ballerina

Zinnias

Pink Wallflower

As a mom, I can honestly tell you this product is one you will want to have for the school year and all year.  I have not had one problem with the 6 Saks that I own.  They have kept their color, without a stain in sight, even after Cheetos were in the Snack Sak.  The Velcro closure is still perfect.  These are so great to have available in your house for daily use.  The Sandwich Sak works perfectly, I wrap their sandwiches in a paper towel and then drop in the Sak, they can use that paper towel as their napkin.  The Snack Saks have been used for everything in my house, from pretzels and Goldfish to grapes and blueberries. 

How cute is this Meyer Lemon print?!

 

WasteNot Saks has been very generous in this giveaway, they are offering a Sandwich AND Snack Sak pack in ONE of the top THREE fabrics you note in your comment!! 
So, I'll make this simple:
1. You MUST be a follower of this blog, publicly. 
2. You need to go to WasteNot Saks on Etsy and pick your top THREE fabric choices.
3. Come back here and comment about which WasteNot Saks (Top Three) you would want along with YOUR E-MAIL address so I can contact you if you win. (Your e-mail will only be used for that reason, please write it this way: lizandbryan [at]yahoo [dot]com, so it can't be spammed.)
4. When the giveaway is over, August 29Th, I will pick a name (literally out of a hat), and that WINNER will be contacted by WasteNot Saks for shipping info. and you will receive your WasteNot bundle in one of the three fabrics you were digging.  
P.S.-only open to US residents....sorry.

With everything from Amphibian Camo to Pink Skulls I know there will be an option for everyone.  Good Luck!  You have until August 29th at midnight to make a comment following all of the "rules".