This Mama Cooks! Reviews

Thanks to Quaker Oats This Mama Cooks! returns to Chicago

What’s up at the Quaker Oats Living Proof Event?

Quaker and Ogilvy PR (can you say, “Mad Men?”) are going to wine and dine us Friday night. We’re staying at the Hard Rock Hotel, too, but aren’t going to have much time to enjoy it since they’ll be keeping us bloggers busy all day Saturday:

• Eating at the Oatmealpalooza Breakfast Bar, an impressive spread of oatmeal and other Quaker breakfast products in the Quaker cafeteria. I love oatmeal. It’s the British in me.
• Meeting the Quaker Man. Did you know that there are only three cast-iron Quaker Man statues nationwide, and that they are almost never seen outside of official ad work? We’ll be the first bloggers to meet, photograph and shoot video with the Quaker Man. Don’t laugh. I remember how crazy everyone went over the Michelin Man at BlogHer 2008.
• Checking out the PepsiCo Chicago Sustainability Center. The PepsiCo Chicago Sustainability Center is next to Quaker Oats’ headquarters. (PepsiCo is its parent company – bet you didn’t know that.) It illustrates the company’s commitment to human, environmental and talent sustainability. We’ll be the first bloggers in the door.
• Hanging out with a celebrity attendee. A surprise guest expected to attend and will be sharing healthy cooking tips with the group. Who could this be?
• Attending roundtable discussions. I’ve given Quaker feedback on topics I’m interested in talking about such as organic products, the use of high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils, and reducing waste in their packaging. I also want to discuss better nutrition and healthy eating ideas for kids.
• Doing interviews. We’ll have the opportunity to interview leading cardiologist Dr. Annabelle Volgman, nutritionist Dave Grotto and other Quaker notables. I’ll be sharing my interviews on my blogs.
• Dinner at a Chicago-area restaurant with members of the Quaker team. I hope they take us someplace extraordinary. Then again, I’d settle for really good Polish food, deep dish pizza, or a trip to the Billy Goat Tavern – you know, Cheezborger! Cheezborger! No fries, cheeps! No Pepsi, Coke!

• And they’re going to make us cook! We’re having a blogger food competition and the rumor is that the celebrity attendee may be the judge.

  Finally, we have a free day on Sunday. I’m tempted to see friends, but the Field Museum is calling my name, especially the Aztec World exhibit. Hmmmm, oatmeal and anthropology all in one weekend. Can’t wait!

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Pzizz helps busy people recharge their batteries

Pzizz is a Mac and Windows software application that generates random soundtracks which help you regain your energy or sleep better at night.

Great for the home worker

During the day the pzizz energizer module will clear your mind, deeply relaxes you, and leave you feeling rested and energized. The sleep mode helps you relax you and clear your mind so you can ease into deep, calm sleep.

I’ve only tried the energizer mode so far. I’m a WAHM (work at home mom) and have used pzizz during that mid-afternoon lull – around 2 p.m. – when I’m fried from working on the computer all morning.

What’s very cool about the product is that I can customize it for my needs. I can change the voice/music balance, eliminate the voice over, or only have it during the beginning and end. Also, I can change the length of my nap or the alarm delay.

Best of all pzizz works with iTunes. Once I’ve made my custom sleep, energizer or meditation soundtrack, I can export it into iTunes and download it to my iPod. Love that! Downloading the software and exporting to iTunes was very easy. However, it does take awhile to export a pzizz track to iTunes, sort of like when you download a one hour TV program. The pzizz website also provides great support and screencasts on how to use it. Try a free download.

Use pzizz at home or while traveling

You can use pzizz for a power nap at the office. Or try it on your commute home in the van pool, bus or train. (Warning: do not listen to pzizz while driving!)

pzizz is also terrific for traveling. I’ve listened to meditation podcasts on flights before to help me sleep, but they were never long enough. With pzizz that’s not a problem. Just download a few sleep soundtracks on your iPod of varying lengths depending on your flight. The maximum length is one hour, so do a series of sleep tracks if you're flight is longer. Also, you may want to download some energizer soundtracks as well to pep you up just before landing as well as to use during your trip. Try a free download.

pzizz is great for parents, too

Here are pzizz’s top five tips on how to squeeze in a power nap while your children take their naps:

1. Make sure you understand how much you deserve this “time out.”
2. Use pzizz as often as possible so that your subconscious becomes accustomed to it and you are able to nap quickly and effectively.
3. Make yourself nice and comfortable so that relaxation is easy
4. Enjoy your “time out.” Make the most of your own time and let go of all the stresses of the day
5. Make sure others understand what you are doing and how important it is for you ESPECIALLY your children!

Remember a relaxed, happy parent is a good parent.

pzizz makes a great gift

This is a great gift for a new mom, a work at home freelancer, an office worker, a college student or anyone who is stressed out and needs to sleep better.

(Bosses: this would make a great holiday gift for everyone in your office as well as your clients. We all want happy employees and customers, don’t we?)

The pzizz bundle (both the sleep and energizer modules) is $39.95. You can order online and they email you the instructions on how to download it. If you’re giving it as a gift, you could copy and past it into an ecard or email.

If you prefer, pzizz also comes as a box set for $49.95. Each additional box set is 30% off, but remember there are shipping/handling services, too.

A review of the Slendertone Enervive muscle conditioner

The Slendertone Enervive is a hands free, easy to use, professional muscle conditioner that applies EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) technology to gently and safely stimulate and relax your muscles. This same technology is used by physical therapists in hospitals and clinics to rehabilitate and strengthen muscles.

The Slendertone Enervive has six muscle conditioning programs that can soothe tired muscles in seven different body parts including upper back, lower back, legs and shoulders.

The FDA have cleared all Slendertone EMS products for sale in the US as Class II medical devices – and they are safe and effective for their intended purpose (muscle conditioning or strengthening and toning). For more information go to the Slendertone FAQs page.

Benefits:

• Helps soothe tired muscles with a relaxing massage-like experience.
• Helps improve muscle recovery and rehabilitation after over exertion.

Features:

• Portable battery pack that runs on a 9-volt battery. (Instruction Manual Download PDF)
• Easy to use. (Quick Setup Guide Download PDF)
• Cost is $179.99. Order on the Slendertone website.
• Replacement pads are $49.99 for three sets.
• All Slendetone products are supplied with two-year manufacturer’s warranty.
• All SLENDERTONE® products, distributed by Slendertone Distribution Inc., (SDI) and purchased directly from SDI, come with a full 60 day money-back guarantee period, which begins on the day you receive your product.

My review

When the product arrived, my husband was said, "Oh you'll really enjoy this! It'll be great for your knee." I wasn't thinking about my knee so much as my neck. I'm on the computer a lot and my shoulders are sore.

The Enervive is very easy to set up and use. You just put in the battery to the controller. Then you apply the sticky pads to your problem area (the user manual tells you where you can and can't use the pads). Then you attach the electrodes to the pads and plug them into the battery pack. Then you pick a program - again explained very well in the instruction manual - push a few buttons and relax.

If you want to put the pads to your shoulders or back, you'll need to get help from someone to apply and plug them in correctly. Also, beware that the pads are super sticky. You may want to put up your hair in a pony tail or wrap in a towel. If you're a hairy man, it may be uncomfortable removing the pads.

I tried Envervive a few times on my neck/shoulder area. What I found was that the stimulation isn't as powerful as the machines at my physical therapist's office. Still, maybe it isn't necessary to feel the stimulation as much as I think so. During PT I was told that they should turn up the machine until it's just becoming a little bit uncomfortable.

Update: Operator error here, folks. I didn't realize the Envervive went higher than 10. Doh! I was able to turn it up in the mid-20 range for my neck/shoulders before it got uncomfortable. My husband turned it up to the 70s for his lower back!

I'm impressed. The Envervive is as powerful as the machines at PT and you may want to purchase one - with your therapist's or doctor's permission - to use. If you don't have to go to your PT appointments to get EMS, you may save money on medical insurance deductibles.

Did it work? Well, at first I didn't think so. Then I realized, hmmm, my neck does feel better. It's less tight and sore. Maybe it is helping. I'll have to try Envervive more to be positive. I'd like to try it more on my bad knee, too.

Should you buy Slendertone Envervive? After all, it's a pricey product at $179.99. Keep in mind that all SLENDERTONE® products, distributed by Slendertone Distribution Inc., (SDI) and purchased directly from SDI, come with a full 60 day money-back guarantee period, which begins on the day you receive your product. This gives you plenty of time to decide if the product will help you with your muscle problems.

Also, with the holidays coming up, this is a great present to give someone. And if you get an extra set of pads, you and your significant other can share a power unit.