Shopping Safeway for the Local Food Pantry

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Though I do most of my grocery shopping at Jewel and the local green grocer, when I was offered a $25 gift card from the folks at Safeway (known in California as Von's and as Dominick's here in my Chicago suburb) I decided to pay the store a visit.

I used my windfall for good and dedicated my shopping trip to a local food pantry.

I went slightly over the card amount because my oldest son brought a bit of tzedakkah money along. But as you can see, For about $31.00 we got a good deal of food. There's a mix of name-brand and store-brand items.

We bought two 2-pound bags of spaghetti and two large cans of Hunts sauce, many packs of ramen, a jar of peanut butter, two large containers of chicken broth, canned vegetables and more. We didn't have any coupons with us, but we did take advantage of the in-store discounts and if I was more organized, we could have saved with a trip to the Safeway website.

The Dominick's I visited has a full-service pharmacy that provides things like immunizations at a low-cost, without an appointment. In fact, the last time I'd been in the store was to get my flu shot a few weeks ago.

Given how tight our family budget is right now, I appreciated the opportunity to do good with the Safeway gift card. Please note, I was not sent any other type of compensation beyond the gift card for this post. Also, I was free to use the gift card as I chose.

Mrs. Prindable's Gourmet Jumbo Caramel Apples

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Take a peek at the highlights from a MomImpact (my company) blogger tour at Mrs. Prindable's. The factory is located just outside of Chicago in Niles, in the same facility that produces Affy Tapple taffy apples. However, Mrs. Prindable's features its own production line and a more labor-intensive process. Each hand-dipped is apple is an individual work of edible art. With layers of caramel and chocolate smothering a ginormous, tart apple, Mrs. Prindable's apples are delicious treats that can be shared with up to ten people.
More check-ins at Mrs. Prindable'sPowered by Whrrl

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Drops

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At first glimpse, we thought Hershey's came out with an M&M wannabe snack. In reality, these drops are about twice the size of M&M's without the colorful coatings. According to the packaging, there is no candy shell, but rather a "light shiny finish" that keep them from melting in your hands.The melt occurs much more quickly than with M&Ms resulting in immediately chocolate satisfaction. The sweet taste is similar to a Hershey's Kiss.
My .6 oz sample pack had 5 large drops, but from a psychological standpoint, 10 M&Ms might feel like a more satisfying indulgence.

Breyer's YoCrunch Fruit Parfait

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Knowing how much my preteen son's Starbucks granola yogurt parfait habit cost me over the summer, I happily accepted when the folks at Breyer's offered to send me a sample pack of their granola-topped Yo Crunch Fruit Parfait.

The four-pack they sent me was gobbled up before I could say, "Yo!" Seriously, I did even get to try it.

I like that the product is HFCS-free and lowfat, though I'm not pleased about the artificial dyes. Still, these are a good size for him and easy to tote along. I'm happy that he's eager to bring these as part of his lunch.

Gimbal's Sour Lovers

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Gimbal's comes so close to getting it right for today's discerning parent- they use real sugar and natural fruit juices in their gummies and jelly candies and their sweets are free of 8 major allergens, but I really wish they would lose the artificial food dyes in favor of natural ones.

Image borrowed from the Gimbal's website

I received a sample of Gimbal's new Sour Lovers, which are tasty enough. They offer a tart zap of one of 12 flavors, and hooray for the natural fruit juice flavors, but those too bright colors and the dyes that make them are a turn-off.

This year as I head to the Sweets and Snacks Expo, I'm on the lookout for items that are made with real sugar and use natural food dyes. I'll be sharing my thoughts about the best of them over at Feed Our Families.

Disclosure: Gimbal's sent me three bags of Sour Lovers, but did not ask for or require a product review.

Mrs. Prindable's Gourmet Jumbo Caramel Apples

To contact us Click HERE
Take a peek at the highlights from a MomImpact (my company) blogger tour at Mrs. Prindable's. The factory is located just outside of Chicago in Niles, in the same facility that produces Affy Tapple taffy apples. However, Mrs. Prindable's features its own production line and a more labor-intensive process. Each hand-dipped is apple is an individual work of edible art. With layers of caramel and chocolate smothering a ginormous, tart apple, Mrs. Prindable's apples are delicious treats that can be shared with up to ten people.
More check-ins at Mrs. Prindable'sPowered by Whrrl

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Drops

To contact us Click HERE
At first glimpse, we thought Hershey's came out with an M&M wannabe snack. In reality, these drops are about twice the size of M&M's without the colorful coatings. According to the packaging, there is no candy shell, but rather a "light shiny finish" that keep them from melting in your hands.The melt occurs much more quickly than with M&Ms resulting in immediately chocolate satisfaction. The sweet taste is similar to a Hershey's Kiss.
My .6 oz sample pack had 5 large drops, but from a psychological standpoint, 10 M&Ms might feel like a more satisfying indulgence.