wellness Archives - Starfocal

Newman’s Own Organics Review and Giveaway!

September 18, 2013 By Amberlee 15 Comments

Last year we did a review for some wonderful snacks from Newman’s Own Organics and we are back to show you some more great products from them!

As you can see they made one very happy baby! She refused to let me take the picture without her! I got to try out a lot of different things and my family was able to help out, which was great!

About Newman’s Own Organics:

Newman’s Own Organics was established as a division of Newman’s Own in 1993, and became a separate company in late 2001. The sale of Newman’s Own Organics products generates money for the Newman’s Own Foundation to give away. Since 1982 Paul Newman and the Newman’s Own Foundation have donated more than $350 million dollars to educational and charitable organizations worldwide.

What I thought:

Signature Series Chocolate

First up is their great Organic Chocolates! I received their Mocha Milk Chocolate and their Milk Chocolate. While I like chocolate I am not super obsessed with it as some people are. Sure, I love to have a good piece of chocolate every once in a while but I mainly will only eat the great chocolate and won’t settle for a really cheap kind. This chocolate is incredibly smooth and always leaves me wanting another package. I have been in love with the Mocha Milk Chocolate since my last review and was very excited to try it again. I love that it does not have a weird taste like some Organic products and I love that it is healthier!

Next is their Family Recipe Cookies. These cookies are great! They really taste like they were made from a family recipe! I ended up “sharing” these with my Dad and he ended up eating most of them. I received Double Chocolate Chip and Ginger Snap, which were both amazing!

The last time I tried these Chocolate cups they were amazing! This time I received Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Caramel. I do not really like dark chocolate so I gave these to my mom ( LOVES dark chocolate) and she loved them! I do love that they not only have peanut butter but the caramel as well. I am a huge fan of chocolate and caramel and these cups always seem to have the right flavor balance.

Newman O's

Who doesn’t love these types of cookies? I received Original, and Vanilla Newman-O’s. The Original had a strange after taste but the Vanilla cookies were AMAZING! They are my new favorite cookies! They are more of a vanilla bean flavor, but they are absolutely amazing and I think everyone should try them!

My husband and Brother-in-law are huge fans of popcorn and eat it multiple times a week. While they did not love Pop’s Corn they said it was okay, however I did enjoy them but that could just be because I knew that they were more healthy for me than regular pop corn. So if you are looking for the healthy alternative this is a great pick!

Dried Fruit Packages

We also received their Dried Apples. I was a little worried about these not being eaten (I am not a fan of the texture), but my daughter picked these right off the bat and they were gone by the next day. They are not brown like some other dried apples and actually tasted great! I was very impressed and so were my girls!

Hermits sounded absolutely amazing! When I opened the package I was a little disappointed. They almost looked like brownies with sugar on top. Of course I knew that they weren’t but I don’t really care for brownies so I was turned off. My youngest however was in love with these and had one every night until they were gone. They tasted great, I just couldn’t couldn’t get over the texture.

My favorite of the snacks is and always will be the Sour Licorice! I swear I could eat these all day and not care about the world! They remind me of old fashioned licorice, but with a twist! They are not super sour which is great, but they have just the right amount of tang. I think that everyone should try these as I have not found anyone who doesn’t like them!

Oil & Vinegar

I was also able to snag their Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar! I am a huge fan of Olive Oil and use is as often as I can as a substitute for Vegetable Oil because it is so much healthier! Before this, I have only used the two as a dip for french bread but now I know that it does so much more! I have added it to so many recipes and it has made them all so much better. This particular Balsamic Vinegar has more of a sweet smell than others I have used and the quality is just far more superior! If you use either of these products I suggest getting them from Newman’s Own Organics as they are the best I have ever used and they have so many uses!

Overall I highly suggest these products to anyone that is looking for great organic products, or really anyone looking for great products in general! You can find Newman’s Own Organics on their website here or find a store near you here.

Giveaway!

Enter to win Newman’s Own Organics Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Strawberry Sour Licorice, and a Mocha Milk Chocolate bar.

Entry -Form

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here.

Filed Under: Current Giveaway, Giveaway, wellness

Ellie Workout Clothing

June 29, 2013 By Amberlee Leave a Comment

I know I am not generally the one that you will find exercising every day, but this is something I have been trying to change. I have decided that I have been lazy for far too long when it comes to my health. Now that my girls are a little older it is a little easier to get away for a minute to get some much needed exercise time in.

Before finding out about Ellie I would have a hard time working out in public, or even in my own home! Not only because I felt weak compared to the others around me but also because of what I was wearing. Sure for some I’m sure this could be a form of motivation, but for me it’s just another way to tear me down. How am I supposed to lose weight if I don’t even feel comfortable in the outfit I am wearing?

This is the exact reason why I am so in love with Ellie! They strive to make us look great so that we feel the motivation to look even better! I promise I am not completely naive, I do realize that working out is not the most glamorous process. Of course you are still going to sweat and look exhausted (because generally you will be) but that’s no reason to look worse with an ugly, uncomfortable outfit that you don’t want to be seen in even if you are not working out. I received the Double Threat Tank and the Double Decker Capri to review and I can honestly say that this is by far the best workout outfit that I have ever owned!

The Double threat tank has a built-in-bra that I was very surprised to learn that it actually fit me! I am a 36DDD and it is very hard to find anything that will not only fit my midsection, but will also fit my chest. While it may not be as supportive as a regular bra it is still great compared to similar shelf bras. I love the way this top is designed! It looks like two pieces but is really one. I also love the grey and coral color combo.

The Double Decker Capris are also wonderful! They have a wide waist band that can be worn two different ways. You can wear it up so that it is just the coral color at the waist, or you pull it down so that it is grey at the top and coral at the bottom. They are super soft and stretch pretty far, I was worried that they would feel too tight but they not feel like they felt amazing once they were on.

Waist Band Folded Down

Waist Band Pulled Up

Both pieces are made with flat seems that prevent chafing, and has a four-way stretch that moves with you. I find this part super important because otherwise you will be tugging and pulling on your outfit during your workout which can be completely annoying. Once I had this outfit on I didn’t have to adjust anything throughout my workout which was very important to me! They also have moisture wicking to help keep your clothes dry when you work up a sweat. I love that I don’t have to worry about nasty sweat stains showing anymore!

I love all the tops that Ellie has to offer! It was EXTREMELY hard to pick just one top. I have never seen another company with designs like Ellie’s and I am so glad that they design the tops so that everyone can look great in them! Another great thing about Ellie is that they are always coming up with new designs, and they even offer a subscription program! Yes, that’s right! You can always have the latest and greatest workout gear delivered to you for a great price! You can get two pieces from their collection for $49.95 a month! Of course you can buy each piece separately as well.

As I’m sure you have heard from previous posts, you can get 20% off your purchase from Ellie just by clicking this link. So what are you waiting for?

Want to look good and feel great? Save 20% on Ellie.com.

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here .

Filed Under: beauty, cute, favorite, health, wellness, women

Diet To Go Review

June 1, 2013 By Amberlee Leave a Comment

This week we were lucky enough to try out an awesome program from Diet To Go! We are trying out 5 days of their menu plan, and sharing our results and findings with you guys!

So as I go through this next 5 days I will be coming back to let you know about the meals I received and giving you some pictures of the meals so that you can decide for yourself if it’s something that you would like to do to improve your lifestyle, which so far I think it is definitely something worth looking into!

Here is what I ate on day one:

For Breakfast: Omelet with veggies, and a Sausage Patty

For Lunch: Chicken Strips and Guacamole, with Broccoli and Brussel Sprouts

For Dinner: Beef Rib Roast in a Red Wine Sauce, with Broccoli

I was truly scared to try out any type of frozen diet food, to me any diet food or frozen food seems to lack something. Whether it be freshness of flavor I just am never satisfied with the product. So far these meals have been wonderful. Sure with every program there will be something that you don’t like but this one is my favorite so far! For day 1 my favorite meal was a toss up between the Omelet and the Chicken Strips. I loved the variety of the veggies on both, and I loved the flavors! The sausage patty with the omelet was a little salty but nothing I couldn’t handle, but the omelet was one of the best I have had! I was a little worried about the guacamole that came with the chicken strips but it was perfect as well! The Beef Rib Roast would have been on top of the list if it didn’t have so much fat in the meat, but still tasted amazing! Overall day 1 made me really exited for the next 4 days of meals!

Here are some pictures of what I was lucky enough to try from Diet To Go:

Overall I really enjoyed the meals from Diet To Go. There were a couple things that got me to stray away from the diet (like spinach being included with almost every meal) but the meals had great flavor and always kept me coming back. I think my favorites were the breakfast meals, and the Chicken Strips and Guacamole meal.

On the Diet To Go website they say that with the Low Carb Diet (what I received) you could lose 2-5 lbs a week. During the week that I started Diet To Go I lost 3 lbs. Which I’m sure to some of you does not seem like a lot, you can loose this weight continuously with this program and at the rate I lost weight after a month I would have lost at least 12 lbs. And It’s not just about the weight, it’s about feeling health. Eating healthy meals will help you lose weight, but they will also help you feel great. Which promotes other healthy choices!

For more information about Diet To Go, or to place an order and get your diet started, visit their website here. Make sure to let them know that Star Focal sent you!

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here .

Filed Under: diet, food, health, wellness

Get Fit and Get 20% off!!

May 23, 2013 By Amberlee Leave a Comment

Star Focal has recently partnered with Ellie, a company that sells some really cute workout gear, to get you 20% off any order on their site.

So how do you get 20% off? Just click the picture about or click here, and start shopping!

Comment below and tell us your favorite outfit! Also, be on the lookout for a review of their wonderful workout gear! If their clothing is even close to the wonderful things we keep hearing I’m sure it will be great!

Happy Shopping!

Filed Under: cute, health, wellness, women

Instead Soft Cup Review

May 10, 2013 By Amberlee 1 Comment

Why hello there!

I know that I have been MIA lately, and I apologize. Between school, my little princesses (when they want to be), and everything else life has been throwing at me I took out the one thing I had control over. Well school is coming to an end, and with the current weather I have been going stir crazy and need to give myself something to do again. This time I plan on taking things a little slower and making sure that I get you the best reviews possible and have enough time to complete each one. With that being said I will start off with a review of a product that I bought myself and fell in love with!

Now before you start reading I am going to warn you that this post is mainly for our female viewers, and is not for the faint of heart. This post is about a product that women can use when their Aunt Flow comes to visit, so I’m sure you get the idea.

Since having my babies I have been looking for a better way to take care of my monthly visitor, I have tried different brands of tampons with no luck. My flow is very irregular and I have a major problem finding products that will last longer than an hour during the first few days of my period. A couple months ago while in school I had a HUGE leak, something that has not happened to me since high school. I was mortified and became determined to find something to fix my problems and give me piece of mind when I am out and about.

The product I found will not only save you time, but will save you money as well. This magical product that I keep going on and on about is called a Soft Cup. Soft Cup is a small flexible cup that fits around your cervix. Unlike tampons that absorb and can cause TSS, the Soft Cup collects your menstrual flow. When I first heard of this product my first thoughts were not all that pretty, but after my recent “accident” I decided enough was enough and that I should just give it a shot.

Soft cup is not only more eco-friendly than traditional tampons or pads, but like I mentioned earlier using it does not lead to things like Toxic Shock Syndrome because it does not have the germ harboring fibers that other products contain. Also they are more comfortable than a tampon because they do not make you feel dry on light days, and hold more on your heavy days (up to 12 hours of wear) and they have both disposable and reusable versions. Here’s the kicker, you can also wear Soft Cup during sex! What other product lets you do that?

Okay, so now that you have heard some of the good stuff about what this product is capable of, does it really work? Yes! While mine typically do not last a full 12 hours (my periods are extremely heavy for the first few days), it does last significantly longer than a tampon. The way Soft Cup explains how long it will last for an individual is that it will typically last twice as long as a tampon if not longer. Mine will last about 3-4 hours on a bad day and up to 10 on a good day. Even if I do not get 12 hours out of each one I am still saving money and saving the land fill.

Soft Cup is very easy to use, and can be a little messy the first few times you use it, but once you get the hang of it they truly are little life savers. You can find out more about how to use Soft Cup here. Since using Soft Cup I have noticed significantly less cramps, and an overall feeling of security that I won’t leak everywhere I go, and it doesn’t take up very much room in my purse.

So you want to try before you buy? Well Soft Cup is a wonderful company and knows that you will love their products so they offer a sample pack of two Soft Cups and great information about their product for only $2.50 shipped! You can get this great offer on their website here.

I love this product and if it’s something you are willing to try I’m sure it is something you will love as well! Make sure to stay tuned for plenty more reviews! Thank you for staying with us!

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here .

Filed Under: beauty, health, period, wellness, women