Grocery Advice: Hot and Not

Maybe it’s because I’m getting better at spotting the good buys and bad buys. Or maybe it’s a streak of good shopping luck. Either way, I don’t have any NOTs for you this week! Just HOTs. And this time, hold onto your grocery carts, I’m not limiting the advice to food products — I’ve added a fabulous new toiletry to the mix! Prepare your shopping lists, here we go...

HOT
Birdseye Steamfresh Southwestern Corn. Not only are we in coupon-clipping mode, but we’re also in calorie conservation mode in preparation for the upcoming holiday season. So, chicken is a daily staple for us. And because that can get quite boring, it forces you to be creative with the side dishes. The Birdseye Steamfresh veggies are awesome. Not only do they taste fabulous and fresh, but they’re super quick, cheap ($1) and easy. Just take straight from your freezer and zap the bag in the microwave for about 5 minutes. We all know that I don’t like to cook, nor do I have time to cook. So, I’m a big fan of Birdseye. I like the Broccoli Florets, the Super Sweet Corn and the Cut Green Beans. My new favorite, however, is the Southwestern Corn. Pair with grilled chicken and a savory low-fat Cream of Chicken gravy or a sassy sweet Honey Barbeque sauce, and you’ll be enjoying a healthy, scrumptious, simple meal in no time at all.

HOT
Annie's Homegrown Organic Bernie O's. My child loves noodles. And she hates veggies. So spaghetti sounds like the perfect solution to sneak in her daily veggie while also giving her something she loves. Boiling noodles takes far too long though, requiring way too much patience from Taylor. I needed a fast track to spaghetti city. So, I found myself at the Spaghetti-O aisle (I LIVED on those things when I was in college). And, low and behold, what did I see but a glorious green can of Annie's Homegrown Organic Bernie O's — organic Spaghetti-Os! Now I could feed my child something that she loves, sneakily provide her daily veggie requirements, and feel good about the natural ingredients. Not to mention the adorable bunny-shaped noodles. A classic kid treat, no scary preservatives, healthy ingredients, super fast preparation, and cute bunny shapes. I don’t care if you feed these to your toddler or eat them yourself with a sleeve of Ritz crackers, Bernie O’s are brilliant!

HOT
Crest Pro-Health Whitening Rinse. I have become a huge fan of Crest Pro-Health products since a visit to my dentist almost a year ago. I’ve been told, and I feel, that they’re the best for strong, healthy teeth. (The $1 off coupons online help a bit too.) Now, if you’ve known me for more than 5 years, you know that I was obsessed with Crest Whitestrips. I used and, in fact, abused the product. I probably went through 10 packs, mostly back to back even though you’re instructed to take several weeks off in between treatments. Well, during my visit to the dentist, they asked me what was up with my teeth. Why were they nearly transparent? Well, it’s because I’d overdosed on teeth bleach and my poor poor enamel had been eaten alive. They promptly instructed me to never use Whitestrips again if I wanted to save what was left of little guys. Jimmy always laughs because he says he can see my tongue through my teeth. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. Anyway, so I had turned to Crest Pro-Health to help pump some life back into my enamel. I’d get the withdrawal-induced shakes when walking by the teeth whitening aisle, but I pass the strips by anyway. So, you can imagine my excitement when Pro-Health released its Whitening Mouthwash! WHOOHOO! I have been using it for about two weeks now and I love it. It’s good for your teeth AND it helps with those annoying surface stains, prevents new stains and kills germs too. The Whitestrips, on the other hand, just remove stains by removing enamel, making your teeth super sensitive and giving people a peep show of your tongue when you smile. But this stuff protects your teeth while whitening too. Love it!


So, get corny this weekend with Bridseye, flash back to childhood with a can of Bernie O’s, and swish away those soda stains with Pro-Health Rinse! I look forward to seeing your satisfied, shiny smiles.