2011 February | She Scribes

EatSmart Precision Voyager Digital Luggage Scale

February 28, 2011 By Kimberly

I do not travel often by airplane. As many of my frequent readers know I was out in Hollywood, California last month for the Gnomeo and Juliet red carpet premiere and several other exciting events. I realized then that packing is NO FUN!

In the past when we have gone on vacation we have driven to our destination. When you are driving you don’t have to worry about how big a piece of luggage is, or how much it weighs. Your only concern is if it fits in the trunk of the car.

When you are traveling by air and you want to carry luggage on the plane to avoid having to deal with waiting around at the luggage claim there are rules you MUST follow. You are limited to only one carry on and another small personal item like a purse or camera bag. Your carry on luggage must not exceed a specific size or weight. Off hand I don’t remember the specific measurements for the airline I traveled with but I do know that the carry on luggage could not exceed 40 pounds. Forty pounds might seem like a lot but trust me, you can EASILY make your carry on luggage weigh that much – if not more.

Before I left for California I had my husband weigh himself on our bathroom scale. Then I had him weight himself again holding my carry on luggage. That was the only way I could tell how much the bag weighed and if it was under what was allowed by the airline. This wasn’t the greatest method but it worked.

While I was out in California I received a lot of goodies (mugs, books, plush animals) that I stuffed inside my carry on luggage. The carry on was too heavy for me to lift and I was afraid it was going to exceed the weight limit so I had my Disney contact in California ship some of my things back to me in New York. I really didn’t want to have to deal with checking in my carry on then having to wait at the luggage carousel to pick it up when I landed back home. I was on the red eye flight and I wanted to get home as quickly as possible. I didn’t want to have to wait around for checked luggage.

When you are traveling it’s hard to tell how much your carry on weighs unless you are lucky to find a hotel with a bathroom scale. Without knowing how much your carry on weighs you risk it exceeded the limits and you’ll have to check your carry on when you try and board your plane. As you know luggage that has to be checked in could carry an additional fee. I have heard that some airlines charge around $25.00 per bag.

So what is a traveler to do? I have the perfect solution. It’s called the Precision Voyager Digital Luggage Scale. Its made by the company EatSmart. EatSmart also make kitchen scales that help you to weigh your food.

The Precision Voyager Digital Luggage Scale is idea for travellers and those who travel a lot for business. It’s a hand held scale that quickly and easily weighs your carry on luggage so that you know whether or not its within the allowable weigh limit.

WOW! Talk about a handy little gadget. I wish I had this when I was going out to California, especially on my flight home when I didn’t have access to a scale.

Using the Precision Voyager Digital Luggage Scale is super easy. All you need to do is attach the strap to your luggage and hold the scale in your hands then lift up the luggage (using the scale). The digital read out on the scale will tell you how much the luggage weighs.

You cannot get any easier then this. It’s easier and quicker then trying to weigh your luggage on a bathroom scale.

This scale would come in handy too for shipping package. I was thinking of tying a string around a package I want to ship out and use the Luggage Scale the figure out how much it weighs so I can calculate shipping.

If you can find a way to attach something to the Luggage Scale strap you can weigh it.

The scale can weigh something up to 110 pounds.

Here are some features of the EatSmart Precision Voyager Digital Luggage Scale:

- EatSmart’s proprietary two handed SmartGrip designed Handles.

- Compact & Lightweight Design.

- Durable Strap & Easy Clip Buckle.

- 2 Measurement Modes: Pounds / Kilograms .

- Graduation: .1 oz / .1 gram.

- Max Weight: 110 pounds / 50 kilograms.

- 20 second Auto-Turnoff.

- Includes Lithium Battery.

The Luggage Scale is small, compact and light weight so you can easily tuck it inside your luggage or carry on to take it with you when you travel. That way you can easily check the weight of your luggage at any time. You could even carry it in your purse. It’s very lightweight and portable.

The one time cost of the Luggage Scale more then makes up for the money you’ll save not having to check luggage when you travel.

This is a great gift idea for the traveller in your life. I plan on giving one to my father and step-mother as a gift. They travel several times per year (Hawaii, Washington, Florida, Nevada and England). This would make a perfect gift.

To learn more about the EastSmart Precision Voyager Digital Luggage Scale please visit http://www.eatsmartproducts.com/luggage-scale. It should be back in stock on Amazon shortly, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EZG9X4.

For more great products from EatSmart please visit www.EatSmart.com. You can also connect with them on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/EatSmartScales) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001795427401).

Kimberly

*I received a free media product sample in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.

Filed Under: Reviews, Travel Tagged With: Household, Reviews, Technology, Travel, Website

Kraft Fresh Stacks

February 28, 2011 By Kimberly

Has this ever happened to you. You or your child go to grab a few Saltines to add to your soup, or for a snack, and the seem of the bag rips open too far and you have to put the remaining crackers in another bag or storage container? Of have you ever went to grab some Honey Maid Graham Crackers only to find them stale because the package was not sealed up tightly enough? Things like that happen around here a lot. It’s not only frustrating but its also a waste of food and money.

I always have Saltines on hand. They are great on their own, in soups, crushed and sprinkled over salad or as a snack with some peanut butter on them. Unfortunately I have reached for the crackers too many times only to find that they are stale because the kids didn’t seal them up properly enough. It happens. I’m guilty of it too.

Nabisco has introduced an ingenious idea called Fresh Stacks. They are the same Honey Maid Graham Crackers and Saltine crackers that you know and love, but in smaller size packages. I love this idea!

The new Fresh Stacks help to ensure that your Honey Maid Graham Crackers and Saltines are fresh every time you open up a new, smaller size package. I actually find them very convenient too. One Fresh Stack package of Saltines is enough to serve to both of my kids with their soup. There are plenty of crackers in each Fresh Stack for 2-3 people to enjoy. You won’t have to worry about what to do with the left overs because chances are you won’t have any.

Another great thing about the new Fresh Stacks is that they are much more portable then their larger counter parts. You can easily tuck a Fresh Stack package of Honey Maid Graham Crackers into your purse to take with you for a quick and convenient snack. These are great to have on hand if you are out and about and your child starts to get cranky because they are hungry.

My husband even commented on the new Fresh Stacks. He likes that he can fit a Fresh Stack in his lunchbox and take it to work with him. Once he even put a scoop of peanut butter in a storage container and took a Fresh Stack of Saltines and enjoyed it at work late in the afternoon to tide him over until dinner. You could also purchase those small, individual size containers of peanut butter, but for the sake of our environment and your wallet it’s more convenient to use your own peanut butter in a reusable container. Peanut butter goes great on the Honey Maid Graham Crackers too. Nutella goes great on both Honey Maid Graham Crackers and Saltines.

Fresh Stacks are also great to put inside your child’s backpack or gym back to give them something to snack on if they need to stay after school for a sport or activity. There are enough Graham Crackers and Saltines to split between 1-3 people so they could easily share with a friend.

Nabisco’s Fresh Stacks will be available nation wide starting in March. Look for them on a store shelf near you.

To learn more about Nabisco products please visit their official website www.NabiscoWorld.com. You can also visit www.NabiscoWorld.com/Honeymaid too.

Kimberly

*I received a sample of these products for consideration in preparing to write this review. I am not expected to return this item after my review period. As a member of Delicious Byte, I receive exclusive access to story ideas, recipes, products, giveaways and/or samples from Kraft Foods to share with my audience. There was no compensation. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Food & Beverages, Household, Reviews

Raisels – The Candy Alternative

February 28, 2011 By Kimberly

As a mom I am very careful about the things I let my kids eat and drink. I was an overweight child and now an obese adult. I will do whatever it takes to make sure my kids do not have to deal with everything I have had to face being overweight.

I’m not fanatical when it comes to what I allow my kids to have. I know they are kids and kids enjoy candy, cookies, soda and other not-so-good for you foods. I do allow my kids to have these treats, but within reason. For example they can have soda if we are eating out or if they are at a friend’s house. They are allowed to have cookies, but 2-3 cookies, not a half dozen or more. Ice cream is fine as long as it’s around a cup size serving and they shouldn’t have it every day. You CAN eat the things you enjoy, you just have to eat in moderation.

My kids love candy. What child doesn’t? What adult doesn’t for that matter. A popular candy with kids are super sour candies like Sour Patch Kids and sour Gummi Worms. Blah! I’ve tried those before and they are too sour for me. I don’t know how kids like those things.

Candy is OK but I try and limit that as much as I can. I don’t want my kids consuming a lot of empty calories from purely sugar treats.

There is a new candy on the market that is all natural, provides 100% of your daily Vitamin C requirements and contains no fructose or artificial sweetners. It’s made with real fruit and is 100% fat free and cholesterol free. This new “candy” is called Raisels. I use the term candy loosely because it’s not really candy, it’s raisins disguised as candy. Children will never know the difference.

Raisels are goldren raisins that are covered in a sweet and sour coating.

When my family first saw Raisels we didn’t know what to make of them. They look a bit odd. We usually buy the dark raisins so my children were not sure what to make of the golden color.

I was the first one to give them a try. The first flavor I tried was Sour Orange. WOW! I was not expecting what I tasted. The Raisels tasted EXACTLY like sour candy (just like Sour Patch Kids) and they really tasted just like orange too, even though they are golden raisins.

Raisels is available in several flavors.

- Sour Orange

- Sour Apple

- Sour Peach

- Sour Lemon

What impressed me the most is that the flavors tasted exactly like they should, even though they are made with raisins. If you closed your eyes and someone popped a sour peach or sour apple in your mouth the first thing you would notice (aside from the fact they are sour) is that they taste just like a peach or an apple (or whatever the flavor might be).

My kid’s favorite flavor is lemon followed closely by orange. They were not overly keen on the peach flavor. It might be because they are not big fans of peaches to begin with unless they are in canned fruit salad.

My kids would like to see Sour Grape, Sour Watermelon and Sour Pink Lemonade added to the Raisels flavor selections.

The Raisels come in small boxes, simliar to the snack size raisin boxes you tuck inside a lunchbox. This makes them portable and easy to tuck in a lunchbox, coat pocket or purse.

My kids love them and their friends went nuts for them. I had my kids bring in extra boxes to shar with their friends and both of my children reported back to me that their friends and classmates eagerly ate them up.

The only down side I can see with Raisels, aside from their limited availability. I’m sure they will be more readily available in the coming months. For now you can only purchase Raisels on Amazon, Price Chopper, Shop Rite and a few other retail stores. You can find where to purchase Raisels on their website.

Raisels are not to replace eating actual fresh fruits. Whenever possible you should always encourage your children to eat fresh fruits and veggies. If your child really wants to indulge in candy Raisels are a better alternative compared to other sour candies on the market.

To learn more about Raisels you can visit their official website at http://www.raisels.com/index. You can also follow them on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/Raisels) and on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/Raisels). You can find some activities on the Raisels website too.