Clean Cuisine Forum is now Open! I would love to have you join me, Kim from What’s That Smell and Maryann of Matthew’s Puzzle, in a trusted place where we can discuss clean eating, healthy living and a green planet. I know I’ve mentioned a few times on my blog that I’m trying to eat healthier and switch to more organic ingredients for things. I don’t think I’ll ever be 100%, but I know that any little change can help. While I make these changes, it helps to have people that I can trust to talk to about them. When Kim approached me about starting a forum for it, I jumped on board! Here’s what Kim has to say:

As I delve deeper into a healthy lifestyle, and fitness and clean eating becoming even more of a focus for me, I find myself trying to juggle information and how to save it in a place that I can refer back to it. Twitter and Facebook are great for immediate discussions but what happens when you want to look something up that someone shared? It’s next to impossible.

Pinterest works well to categories websites and resources to a certain extent but it lacks the conversation aspect.

So I came up with the idea of starting a forum where I could have the best of both worlds. A place to chat with like-minded people. Exchange ideas. Educate others. But also to have a place where it was easy to organize information and search and refer back to it later.

The forum resides at www.simplycleancuisine.

Joining me in this endeavor are Maryann from www.matthewspuzzle.com and Paula from www.frostedfingers.com. Both have passions that are in line with what we hope to achieve with the forum.

Below is an excerpts from my intro in the forum so you can learn a bit more about my passion:

I started this forum as a way to connect with like-minded health advocates. That may be people who strive to change the world, or just people hoping to change their family. We are at a critical time in our society where decisions are being made about our food and people just aren’t educated. My aim is to help educate people, provide a place where they can share like-minded experiences, but also get tips and advice for how to survive in a fast-food society from both a choice and a monetary perspective.

From food to laundry detergent, if you have an interest in improving your health and your life, there is a place for you at Simply Clean Cuisine.

In order to help formally launch our new forum, and, of course, drive membership, we are running a most awesome giveaway valued at over $700! This prize pack will go to one lucky winner who is active on the forum through December 4th. Every time you participate on the forum you get an entry into the giveaway. The winner will be drawn randomly from all active members (myself, Maryann and Paula are not eligible).

Take a look at all the great prizes we are giving away:

We have so many great sponsors, below is more information about each of them.

Neato

http://neatorobotics.com

I have the Neato XV-21 Pet & Allergy Automatic Vacuum (the same one we are giving away) and it is awesome. It runs every day to make sure my carpets are clean of dog hair and allergens. My only complaint is that I don’t have 2, one for upstairs, one for downstairs. You can read more about my experience with the Neato here: Neato XV-21 review. From a healthy lifestyle perspective, the Neato will help you breathe easier.

Prize pack includes a Neato XV-21.

EatSmart

http://www.eatsmartproducts.com/

The EatSmart Precision Elite Digital Kitchen Scale is a must for anyone’s kitchen, especially those interested in a healthy lifestyle. Portion control is a MUST for anyone looking to lose weight. This scale is pretty awesome too. Large platform, easy to use, a number of different measurement types, can hold up to 15 lbs and has the tare feature so you can subtract the weight of a plate or container. You can purchase this scale at Amazon.com.

I’ve been using this scale and it’s great! It is very precise. I was shocked to see the scale register a weight with just a few crumbs of ground beef left on the plate when I was breaking down a large package. It’s a great help when trying to measure food while on a diet.

Prize pack includes an EatSmart Precision Elite Digital Kitchen Scale.

Hallmark

http://www.hallmark.com/

You may be wondering what Hallmark has to do with a healthy eating forum but we believe that part of a healthy lifestyle involves the way you feel, and Hallmark has products that make people feel special and happy.

Prize pack includes the following Hallmark items:

• Jingle the Husky Pup Interactive Storybuddy: http://www.hallmarkholidayguide.com/wp-content/uploads/Jingle-the-Husky-Pup-Interactive-Story-Buddy.jpg
• Goodnight Moon Recordable Storybook: http://www.hallmarkholidayguide.com/wp-content/uploads/GoodnightMoon.jpg
• Mickey Mouse Countdown to Christmas Card: http://www.hallmarkholidayguide.com/wp-content/uploads/Mickey-Mouses-Christmas-Countdown.jpg
• Signature Greeting Card: http://www.hallmarkholidayguide.com/wp-content/uploads/Hallmark-Signature-Collection-Reindeer.jpg

Zoës Kitchen

http://zoeskitchen.com

Zoës Kitchen is a restaurant chain that serves wholesome food made from scratch with a fresh-from-the garden focus. Nothing is fried and they have gluten-free and vegetarian options. If you are a fan of Zoës Kitchen or their food sounds great, they have recipes of some of their popular dishes. One of my most favorite sounding is the Fresh Take Pasta Bake.

Prize pack includes a $25 Zoës Kitchen Gift card (if no Zoës Kitchen is in the winner’s area, winner may select a $25 Whole Foods GC instead).

NuNaturals

https://nunaturals.com/

NuNaturals is all about healthy supplements and products that replace sugar in a safe an nutritional way. They have flavored liquid stevia products, stevia drops that dissolve and powdered tagatose which is a new naturally-occurring sweetener that does not raise blood sugar levels. It is gluten-free and lactose free. All of the NuNaturals products are made without anything artificial.

I made a banana bread with the PreSweet Tagatose and Vanilla flavored Stevia on Sunday. No one could tell the difference! Here’s the banana bread recipe.  These are some great, handy products!

Prize pack includes a sampling of NuNaturals products with a minimum value of $25.

Real Snacks: Make Your Favorite Childhood Treats Without All the Junk

http://www.randomhouse.com/book/219293/real-snacks-by-lara-ferroni

By author Lara Ferroni, the new book, Real Snacks: Make Your Favorite Childhood Treats Without All the Junk (Sasquatch Books; October 30, 2012; $19.95) is a great resource for making fun treats for your kids but using real, more wholesome ingredients. Nothing artificial. I don’t believe in depriving yourself of having yummy treats, but I do believe that you can have your favorite foods without all the junk.

This book is incredible. Recipes for many of our favorites include Doritos, Nilla Wafers, Goldfish Crackers, Twinkies and so many more, and each recipe also includes vegan and gluten-free options. My kids are going to make it a weekly thing to make one of the recipes from this book.I haven’t gotten a chance to try a recipe yet, because they pretty much all call for flours that I don’t have in my house yet, but I can’t wait to get started on some of them with the kids!

Prize pack includes a copy of Real Snacks: Make Your Favorite Childhood Treats Without All the Junk.

Crofter’s Organic Spreads

http://www.croftersorganic.com/

Crofter’s Organic has been making jams and spreads since 1989. They use only the finest organic fruit, Rainforest Alliance certified organic cane sugar and have 1/3 less sugar than standard jam. Jam isn’t just for spreading on bread either, Crofter’s has an amazing sounding recipe for Apricot Glazed Pork Roast. Hello holiday meal!

I haven’t had a chance to try Crofter’s yet but I am definitely picking up the some of the strawberry or blueberry for the kids. They love to try different flavored jellies. (I’m pretty much a grape only gal.)

Prize pack includes $25 worth of Crofter’s Organic free product coupons.

Lunch Skins

http://www.lunchskins.com/

Lunch Skins are environmentally friendly, reusable sandwich and snack bags. No more disposable plastic bags, Lunch Skins are food-safe, dishwasher-friendly and adorable.

Prize pack includes:

• Navy Bike – Sub size bag
• Orange Tangerine – Sandwich size bag
• Aqua Dot – Snack size bag

Blue Diamond Snacks and Genesis Today Juice Boxes

http://www.bluediamond.com/

http://superfoods.genesistoday.com/products/juices/berry-power-blast

Blue Diamond Nut Thins and Nut Chips are gluten-free, contain no MSG, no cholesterol and no trans fats. They are lower in fat and calories than potato chips and are a healthier snack option.

Genesis Today Power Rangers juice boxes are a juice drink with nothing artificial and no high fructose corn syrup. They also have added B Vitamins, Vitamin C, Zinc, Vitamin D, DHA and Omega 3. It has the taste kids want with the nutritional benefits parents demand.

Prize Pack includes one 6 pack of juice boxes, two boxes of Nut Thins (one cheese and one Pepper Jack) and one bag of Nut Chips.

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day

Mrs. Meyer’s lean Day are earth friendly, cruelty-free cleaning products, laundry care and baby products made with essential oils from flowers and herbs. All of their products are at least 97% percent naturally derived. The products are available in garden-fresh scents of Basil, Lavender, Lemon Verbena, Geranium, Baby Blossom, Bluebell and Rosemary.

Prize Pack includes a Mrs. Meyer’s Holiday Collection (winner’s choice of Orange Clove or Iowa Pine) and 2 candle tins (one each of Orange Clove and Iowa Pine).

Through this giveaway and membership drive, we are hoping to grow the forum with great conversation. Whether you are a die-hard green products advocate or simply someone who is interested in learning more about how to be healthy, there is a place for you and everyone in between. The giveaway is not intended to just saturate our membership list with names who aren’t passionate about contributing to the conversation. So we encourage you to register and dig in, you never know what you might learn or contribute. We would love to get to know you!

HOW TO ENTER TO WIN THE PRIZE PACK

1. This contest is for forum members only, but the good news is that it is easy and free to join.
2. Visit http://simplycleancuisine.com and register. If you have any issues with registration, email kim@theysmell.com and I will help you.
3. Post counts will determine contest entries. Every post count you have is equal to an entry into the contest. (forum is new so post counts are all low).
4. You must, however, complete the form below in order to be eligible for the prize. You only need to fill out the form once, either here, at Matthew’s Puzzle OR at Frosted Fingers to let us know you are participating. Then head over to the forum and dig right in!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please note that the winner will be selected at random based upon forum posts. Every comment you make or thread you start on the forum counts as an entry into the contest. The more you participate, the more entries you receive to the contest. We will be moderating – forum participation must be relevant and productive to the forum topics. Posting single word responses just for the sake of increasing your post count will disqualify you. Contest is open to the continental USA only. Contest ends on Dec. 5th at 12:01 pm. One winner will be selected at random.

The prizes have been provided by the respective sponsors.