Hooray! It's June (aka National Iced Tea Month)

Get ready, kids: the month you’ve been waiting for is about to arrive. I can’t wait for June. It’s the official start of summer, yes, but it’s also National iced Tea Month. I’ve never heard a better reason to use Arizona Iced Tea coupons, and I suspect they’ll be very popular this month and all summer long.

Next to water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. In 2010, Americans drank well over 65 billion servings of tea, which adds up to more than 3 billion gallons!

If that, about 85% of all tea consumed stateside is iced, though hot teas are more popular in other nations. Iced tea is a refreshing alternative to sugary soft drinks or lemonade, and it may even have positive healthy benefits.

According to new findings published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there is evidence that those who consume an average of two cups of green tea every day have a lower body fat percentage and weigh less than those who do not drink tea.

Iced tea contains a nominal number of calories, but it has been shown to help maintain proper fluid balance in the body, and flavonoids – a compound found in tea – have been shown to protect the skin and keep blood vessels healthy. I’ll take some Arizona Iced Tea coupons and drink to that!

!0 Ways To Make Your Life A Little Bit Awesomer

There are some things that you can only learn by doing – riding a bike, tying your shoes, kissing, driving a car, etc. But there are some things that you could learn just as well by taking a bit of advice from people who have messed up before you – why spend too much on the essentials when deodorant coupons are so easy to come by, for example? Here are 10 ways to make your life a little bit more awesome.
1) Never show up at a party empty-handed. Always bring something (other than yourself, cheapskate) – even if it’s just a bag of ice.
2) If you find yourself a little bit less fragrant than you has hoped, baby wipes are a great temporary fix to clean up quick.
3) Coronas don’t float. Cans of beer, though – they totally do.
4) IF your brown sugar has become the world’s largest sugar cube, put a piece of bread in the bag an leave it overnight or throw it in the microwave for 15 seconds. Magic!
5) Get a big, weird (bonus points for ugly) keychain for your house keys. It’ll help you keep track of them and locate them in your purse.
6) If you get toothpaste on your shirt, change it. No matter how much water you use, toothpaste is one of the hardest things to wash out – and today’s whitening toothpastes may even bleach your clothes permanently.
7) Put deodorant on your feet in the spots where your shoes rub about ten minutes before you put on your shoes. No Blisters! Deodorant coupons can also be handy for combating chub rub between your upper thighs in mini-skirt season.
8) Never leave your phone in your back pocket when using the restroom (unless you’re an man. Then, by all means, leave it there).
9) Before you commit to a big decision, sleep on it. At least nap on it.
10) Skip movie popcorn and expensive concessions. Buy an Olsen-twins worthy big purse and sneak your own treats in instead.

Cereal Cocktails: 3 Ways To Make Breakfast Yummier

         Does your morning routine ever seem a bit … boring? Eating the same cereal all the time can be a bummer. Sure, you can use cereal coupons to try new flavors and mix up the routine, but you’d just be swapping one plain old cereal for another. Instead, try these cereal cocktails, which are more nutritionally complete (and more delicious) than cereal alone. Diversity is a beautiful thing.

           For those with a sweet tooth: Mix ½ cup cheerios with ½ cup special K. Top with t tablespoons of walnuts, ½ cup sliced peaches, and drizzle with one teaspoon of honey. Add milk as desired.
           Warm things up with this treat: Stir 1/3 cup canned pumpkin pie filling with 1 crushed graham cracker into one cup of cooked plain oatmeal. Sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon and voila – guilt-free pumpkin pie for breakfast.
           Pack a crunch: Mix ½ a cup of Wheaties with ¼ cup lowfat granola, ¼ cup trail mix, and a sliced banana. Add milk as desired.
         After trying these yummy recipes, you’ll probably come up with loads of inventive ways of your own to mix and match with cereal coupons, yogurt, fruit, nuts … the possibilities are endless. You’ll be a cereal mixologist in no time!

Before The Old Spice Guy -- Old Spice XBox Games (an advertising flop)

     Before there was the Old Spice guy, the execs at Old Spice decided that they needed to spice up their usual Old Spice coupons and in-store-display advertising routine by entering a growing sector of the entertainment market – video games.

Advergames have gotten a lot of criticism from the gaming community, because they weasel their way onto Indie gaming channels, but they’re promoting corporations and they aren’t offered for free.

     Old Spice’s games included “Old Spice Racers,” “Newton vs. The Horde,” and “The Fresh Card Game.” As if you could play away your sweaty odor on a videogame console.

       In “Newton” you use an arsenal of weapons, including deodorant, to keep stinky zombies from destroying the world. In “Card Games,” you play a poker-like game, and “Racers” is 45 levels of old-fashioned arcade racing.

        The games didn’t get any kind of rave reviews, but what can you expect from brand-based games?  I can’t imagine paying to play a virtual commercial, and I probably would’nt play a sub-par game even for free. Now that the studly Old Spice guy has revitalized the brand’s image and made Old Spice coupons cool to use, Old Spice doesn’t have to rely on half-hearted efforts at interactive media – and they’ve got the accolades to prove it. 

Rice Peepsie Treats

I recently did a bit of long-overdue spring cleaning and found some reasonably embarrassing things in my pantry – among them, some Peeps which should have met their delicious demise last month, along with their pastel-colored marshmallow brethren. Being a budget-conscious gal, I never let anything go to waste when I can help it, so I went online and found the most brilliant (and really common-sense, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it) way to turn your past-due peeps into a tasty twist on a favorite dessert. Round up your Rice Krispies coupons, your old Easter candies, and a bit of butter – that’s all you’ll need to make “Rice Peepsie Treats!”
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3-4 dozen peeps, or a mix of peeps and plain marshmallows equal to ten ounces
6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

In a large saucepan, melt the butter at low heat. Add Peeps (and marshmallows, if you’re using them) and stir continuously over low heat until melted. Remove from heat and mix in Rice Krispies until well-coated. Spread into a 13x9x2” pan with a buttered spoon or spatula and let cool, then cut into two inch squares.

I like these treats because they give the traditional Rice Krispies a colorful twist, and they’re just about the easiest recipe in the world (besides peanut butter and jelly, I suppose). And don’t miss out on these Rice Krispies coupons when you make your Peepsie Treats – a coupon or two will make this recipe cheap-cheap-cheap to make (haha …peeps are chicks, chicks go ‘cheep’ … ok, I’m stretching the joke a bit….just go eat your dang dessert).

Cheerios Apple Cinnamon Crisp

My parents have a couple of apple trees in their backyard, and when the apples are ripe, we eat apple EVERYTHING. I love it at first – fresh apples, apple pie, apple cobbler, baked apples, apple chips …. after a few days, I’m appled out. This year, we’ll be using the apples from our backyard and Cheerios coupons to make this Apple Oat Crumble, courtesy of the recipe people at General Mills. Having one more recipe might stretch my apple-consumption capacity a bit.

INGREDIENTS

         4 cups sliced, unpeeled apples (3-4 medium apples)

         2 cups Cheerios cereal

         ½ cup quick cook oats

         ½ cup brown sugar, packed

         ¾ teaspoon cinnamon

         1/3 cup butter, firm and unmelted

HOW-TO:

         Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

         Arrange the apple slices evenly on the bottom of an ungreased 8 or 9 inch square pan. In a medium bowl, crush the cereal and then mix in oats, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter – small slivers work best. Sprinkle this mixture over the apples.

         Bake 30-35 minutes. Cover with foil and bake another 10 minutes.

        

         I like this recipe because it takes about ten minutes to throw together, and with ice cream, it takes about as long to disappear. With a few Cheerios coupons and the apples from my parent’s yard, this recipe is almost free to make – and it’s yummy enough that I’m actually excited for those apples to get ripe.

         

Dr Pepper Cupcakes are Delicious, Duh!

Cupcakes are all the rage right now. Dr. Pepper is delicious. Soda coupons rock. Tell me something I don’t know, right? Well, here’s a recipe that combines all three of those excellent things to create a treat greater than the sum of its parts: Dr. Pepper Cupcakes!!!!! There are more ingredients in this recipe than in the usual cupcake recipe – perhaps because there are 23 flavors in Dr Pepper? Don’t be intimidated, though – the cupcakes are yummy enough to be worth the work!

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to get cooking:
FOR THE CUPCAKES
1 cup of butter or margarine
1 cup Dr Pepper soda
½ cup buttermilk (or, ½ cup milk and 1 tablespoon orange juice)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups flour
2 cups white sugar
FOR THE ICING
¼ cup butter
3 tablespoon cocoa
¼ cup Dr Pepper soda
1 bag powdered sugar (you won’t need it all, but enough to make the frosting thick)
Here’s how ot make the cupcakes:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Heat 1 Cup of butter and Dr Pepper in medium saucepan. When butter is melted, pout into a bowl and add cocoa, cinnamon, flour and sugar.
Mix eggs, buttermilk, soda and vanilla in a bowl. Add this mixture to the butter mixture, then pout into paper-lined cupcake tins.
Bake for 30 minutes. remove cupcakes from pan, and cool while you prepare the icing.
To make the icing, heat remaining Dr. Pepper, butter, and cocoa in a saucepan and stir until well blended. Stir in the remaining ingredients, adding sugar as needed until the icing reaches a thick consistency. Ice cupcakes and serve.
These are a fun twist on traditional cupcakes, and the finished product definitely carries the flavor of the soda it’s named for. It may seem weird to eat Dr Pepper at first, but I can promise you’ve never had anything like it! If you’ll be making these cupcakes, don’t miss out on these soda coupons – just because you’re going all-out in the kitchen doesn’t mean you have to go for broke at the grocery store!

What do chicken sandwiches and moving trucks have to do with military wives?

Every May, the Friday before Mother’s Day is dedicated to a lesser-known celebration: Military Spouse Day. You probably didn’t even know the holiday existed, so I’m sure you don’t know how Penske coupons and chicken sandwiches play into it – but if you read on, you will!

The day was established to celebrate the hard work of husbands and wives who are charged with maintaining their homes, caring for wounded soldiers and carrying on the memory of the soldiers who fight for our freedom. The holiday was established in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan.

This year, Chick-Fil-A and Penske Truck Rental did their part to make this year’s celebration special by collecting and delivering donated gifts to military spouses who are waiting for their loved ones to return from overseas.

Chick-Fil-A hosted a gift drive, encouraging local families to donate small gifts which would serve as tokens of appreciation to military spouses. After collecting thousands of gifts, those presents had to be delivered – so Penske donated trucks to pick up and distribute the gift boxes.

I was unaware of this holiday until I saw information about the gift drive online while hunting for Penske coupons, but I definitely want to do my part to celebrate unsung home-front heroes when Military Spouse Day 2012 rolls around. If you want to do your part to help military spouses before then, you can get involved with Mission Heart Hug (a project that recognizes the dedication of military wives and husbands) at http://supportmilitaryspouses.com/

An anti-chemical activist's drugstore sting

If you used Mitchum coupons in the Manhattan area last month, you might have seen the handiwork of an inventive and opinionated young activist who is determined to warn consumers that, when they buy deodorants, chemicals, or cleaning supplies, they may be getting more than they bargained for.

The activist’s name is Jessica Assaf, and she’s a New York University student who believes that consumers are uninformed about the potentially harmful chemicals that are present in many common household products.

Yassaf printed and placed toxicity warning labels on hundreds of sticks of Secret deodorant at NY drugstores to draw attention to the presence of chemicals like butane (linked to allergies) and aluminum chlorohydrate (linked to reproductive toxicity) in this and other brands.

Yassaf said she targeted Secret because it is one of the best-selling deodorant brands among young women, and because, according to Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep, Secret ranks relatively high for chemical content among other deodorant brands.

"I believe that consumers should know the truth about the ingredients in their everyday products. This is a completely unregulated industry, and most people do not know that cosmetic companies can put any chemical in their products and with no labeling requirements or safety testing, sell these toxic products to the public. I'm not going to wait for legislation to protect our health because we don't have any time to wait. These chemicals are accumulating in our bodies and no one is stepping up to stop it," says Assaf.

Despite being caught and incurring the anger of the retailers she targeted, Assaf says she will continue this project until the FDA steps up to regulate the personal care products industry. I have to admit that I’ve never thought twice when using Mitchum coupons, but this news item sparked my interest enough that I’ve begun paying attention to the products I buy. Her methods may not be legal, but I think Jessica is effectively getting her message across! 

An Ode To Magnificent Marbits

The problem with Lucky Charms is the same problem that every cereal has -- there just aren't enough marshmallows in it. Lucky Charms has an undeniable advantage over almost every cereal on the market in that is does have some marshmallows in it -- I just wish there were more. I think Lucky Charms also has an advantage over its marshmallow-containing competitors in that it bears the distinction of being the original marshmallow breakfast cereal -- sorry, Count Chocula and Marshamllow Mateys, but you're kind of encroaching on Lucky's turf. Plus, I always seem to find the best Lucky Charms coupons, so I'm biased towards it in that regard. Anyway....

I knew I was not the only person to have thought that cereal marshmallows are quite possibly the world's most perfect food, so I did a bit of research online and found all sorts of marshmallow madness is just waiting for those who choose to pursue it. There are sites where you can buy giant bags of nothing but cereal marshmallows -- see those bags in the picture above? Nothing but mallows!! These bags look like the result of the kind of cereal-factory production accident that children dream of, and they only cost eight dollars a pop. And if you think these little babies are only good for cereal enhancement, you're thinking too much inside the box.

The marshmallow's manufacturers suggest dozens of delicious things one could do with an endless supply of marshmallows. Just imagine: with all the time you'll save ordering marshmallows direct instead of using Lucky Charms coupons to buy multiple boxes of cereal just to get enough marshmallows, you'll be able to whip up such exotic creations as cereal marshmallow mac n' cheese (i'm not kidding -- they list it on the site) and cereal marshmallow pancakes. Or, you could put them in your hot cocoa, mix them into a batch of brownies, or make a bowl of Wheaties edible -- whatever suits your fancy. How? Get your cereal marshmallow fix at www.cerealmarshmallows.com.

Who Would Want To Play With Diapers?!

When I think about all of the things that are fun about having a baby, diaper changing is not one of them. Actually, diaper changing might be at the top of my “Things That Aren’t Fun About Having A Baby,” list. Yes, I get excited about Luvs coupons – but that’s because I like to save money, not because a stinky diaper is my idea of a good time.

But for whatever reason, toy manufacturers seem to think that there’s something really enjoyable about changing a diaper – which is obvious when you look at how many diaper-changing toys are out there.

A search for “Diaper” in the Amazon.com toy store turns up a staggering 1500 results, including Zhu Zhu pets in diapers, Barbies that change diapers, dolls that wet themselves, prank dirty diapers, and mini toy babies that come in their very own diaper bag carrying case.

I don’t know who is coming up with this stuff, but I guess there are a lot of kids out there who want to play grown-up – even if that means changing diapers. I guess it’s no crazier than the toy washing machine I had as a kid – I loved washing my sleeping beauty dress in the Fisher Price washer/dryer due two decades ago, and I really hate doing laundry now. It’s funny, really – the things that are so boring to kids, like Luvs coupons and shopping, are fun for adults. And the things adults dread most seem really fun to kids. Can you think of other things like this – that you loved to lay when you were little, but hate now? 

The Amazing Three-Tiered Trix Cake

Inspired by an episode of Extreme Couponing, I went a little grocery-crazy. I bought enough cereal, canned soup, and deodorant to keep and army well-fed and smelling fresh for a fortnight. Unable to resist awesome Trix coupons, I created a bit of a problem for myself: I over-stocked my pantry to the point that I had to start keeping groceries on my bookshelf, in my dresser, and even under the couch. I really cant resist a deal! I understand that true extreme couponers create store-rooms to remedy this problem, but my apartment is too small for me to dedicate extra space to my excess cereal. When faced with a glut of boxed breakfast, I decided to look up alternative ways to eat cereal. This recipe is my favorite of all the ones I found, because it’s a piece of cake (literally and figuratively, of course!).

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter or margarine
14 cups marshmallows (yep—fourteen! You’ll see why)
20 cups of Trix Cereal
2 boxes Fruit Roll-Ups, for decorating
Directions:
Line three round cake pans with foil, leaving foil hanging over the edge of each pan for easy cake removal. You’ll need a 6x2” round pan, a 8x2” round pan, and a 10x2” round pan to make the cake tiers.
Melt 1/3 cup butter in a 4 quart microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for about one minute, add 7 cups of marshmallows ad mix. Microwave another 2 minutes, or until marshmallows are metled. Add 10 cups of cereal and mix to coat.
Press into the biggest cake pan. Repeat the above melt-and-mix procedure using the remaining cereal, butter, and marshmallows and spread remaining mixture between the two smaller pans. Allow to cool for at least one hour.
To assemble, remove the layers and stack on a large cake plate. You can use fruit snacks and extra cereal to create the frosting-like decorations – get creative!
To serve the cake, you’ll need a serrated knife to cut the pieces – serve by layer and enjoy!

I know you want to get your hands on some Trix coupons after seeing this recipe, right?! It’s so simple, but the combination of colors in the cereal and the fancy presentation really packs a punch. I think this cake would be perfect for a kid’s birthday party – what do you think? Would you make this cake?