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  • Review & Giveaway: Silly Strawberry Tom’s of Maine Toothpaste (CLOSED)

    Review & Giveaway: Silly Strawberry Tom’s of Maine Toothpaste (CLOSED)

    toms of main kid toothpaste

    Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face
    conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.
    ― Greta Garbo

    (Today’s quote isn’t relevant to today’s topic, strictly speaking, but dang, it’s TRUE.)

    Over the summer we went to the beach house and I forgot to pack toothpaste, so I had to use Cass’s. It was one of those kid toothpastes; not a character one like Dora or SpongeBob, but maybe like Colgate Kids.

    It was flavored Watermelon something (they always have ridic names; it was probably Wacky Wild Watermelon or similar), which sounds like it wouldn’t be too bad, right?

    OH. EMM. GEE. It was freaking disgusting. It was this crazy gel consistency, like what comes in those little tubes for cake decorating. And it was soooo sweet that it was icky.

    And I was BRUSHING MY TEETH WITH IT.

    Turns out, kid toothpaste is SWEETENED so kids will love it and ask for it by name. Not with sugar, of course, even the most laidback parent is gonna sound the alarm when the ingredient list for toothpaste, that stuff you use to prevent tooth decay, has sugar in it. Nope, it has SACCHARINE. You know, that stuff that has been linked to cancer.

    And our kids are using this stuff two, three times a day, and if your kid is like mine, probably swallowing some each time.

    There are other questionable ingredients too, of varying levels of potential toxicity, and I’m just gonna point you over to the Good Guide to check out your current brand (but I do want to note that several that bring up the bottom of the list are allegedly “natural” formulas, so check those ingredients!).

    Cass was sent Tom’s of Maine’s Silly Strawberry to try out, swapping sparkles for strawberries (dude, I don’t even want to know how they achieve sparkles in toothpaste).

    Reasons to love Tom’s of Maine Silly Strawberry:

    • First and only natural kid’s toothpaste to receive the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance for its proven effectiveness.
    • No artificial dyes or sweeteners. Tom’s of Maine Silly Strawberry toothpaste gets its naturally sweet flavor from real strawberries.
    • Available with and without fluoride: this is especially important for kids who are not adept at the whole spitting/rinsing thing yet.
    • Rates an 8.0 on the Good Guide for health.
    • Discloses all ingredients right there on the product page.
    • No animal testing or animal ingredients.
    • 10% of profits from all sales are donated to help people and the planet.

    Now, I have been using the Silly Strawberry too, and I think it’s fine. I prefer the mint, but I have no problem with using this.

    But the big question, of course, is: will my kid love it? Well, it’s sort of like food. If your kid is used to candy, soda, and potato chips, they are not going to be thrilled about sweet potato pie and kale chips with a nice tall glass of milk. Your best option is to start with this when those teeth first erupt and never introduce the sweet stuff.

    Barring that, going cold turkey will probably meet with some resistance at first, but if this is the only option available, then they will get used to it.

    Or, do as we do, and offer the mint version for the adults as an alternative. Cass HATES mint toothpaste so she doesn’t argue. This is important: Cass has tight teeth in the back and has to brush often to fight decay. It’s enough of a pain just getting her to brush for two minutes twice a day. Arguing every time over the toothpaste? I’d go Captain Insano.

    I’ll be honest: she doesn’t love it. She tolerates it. And that is totally OK, she is not supposed to love the taste of her toothpaste. That’s what encourages kids to eat it. We don’t want them to eat it; we want them to brush their teeth with it and then spit it out.

    See what I’m saying?

     

    GIVEAWAY!

    One reader doesn’t have to take my word for it, they will get a free tube of Tom’s of Maine Silly Strawberry toothpaste for their very own, to have and to hold and to clean their teeth with.

    Just leave me a comment letting me know how good a tooth brusher your kid is for your chance to win.

    And if you follow me on the Twitter @robinelton, leave me a 2nd comment telling me so for an extra chance to win.

    I’ll pull a winner at random from all comments on Tuesday, December 27th.

    Good luck!

    _________________________________________

     

    This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.

  • Review: Zaggora Weight-Loss HotPants

    Review: Zaggora Weight-Loss HotPants

    If you would be so kind,
    Put on those red hot pants and take a stroll through my mind
    -The B-52s,
    “Hot Pants Explosion”

    Sadly, these pants do not magically make me look hot.

    Imma gonna say that again. These are not magic pants.

    What they are:

    HOTPANTS™ are specially designed sports shorts that contain bio-ceramic technology, which emits far infrared rays and reflects back the heat naturally generated by the body to deliver warming up of tissue deep below the skin’s surface.

    In layman’s terms, Zaggora HotPants are pants that retain and reflect back your own body heat.

    They are not magic pants.

    I’ve seen them blasted here and there by people who scoff that “pants aren’t gonna make you lose weight.” Well, duh. Neither are yoga mats. Neither are new running shoes or a fancy stationary bike. YOU make you lose weight, with exercise and dietary common sense.

    The company says that you should wear the pants 30 minutes a day while you exercise. That, right there, is a recipe for weight loss. But they also say:

    HOTPANTS™ delivers best results when used in conjunction with exercise and worn consistently. The effectiveness of the product depends on the quality of your exercise routine and the consistency of use. The harder you work at it, the harder HOTPANTS™ will work at it.

    They are not magic pants and make no claim to be.

    What Zaggora HotPants are, are a TOOL to help you trim your waist, muffin top, butt and thighs. They make you sweat more (holy cow, do they ever. They feel like they weigh 10 pounds when I take them off). Seeing how they made me sweat more, made me do ever more intensive cardio as I developed a sick fascination with just how sweaty I could get them.

    I wore them every day for two weeks as I worked out with Jillian Michaels and her 30 Day Shred, cursing colorfully at the screen the whole way. I had a shake for breakfast, fruit and kefir for lunch, a snack with the kids when they got home from school, and a sensible dinner.

    And then I measured myself again. I’ve lost an impressive 1.5 inches on my waist, people. My bum and thighs don’t measure any differently, which surprised me actually; they look leaner. Maybe it’s just more muscley under the skin or something (I didn’t need to lose a whole lot to begin, I was just looking to firm up). My muffin top looks less muffiny. I’m thinking that 1.5 inches is probably pretty unusual, and has something to do with the fact that I’ve been working for a while and my efforts are starting to really pay off. Whatever. I’m pretty stoked.

    Is it the magic of the pants? No, it’s the magic of exercise and Jillian Michaels and strategic eating and HotPants. Because it was peeling the dang things off everyday that gave me extra motivation to do those daily workout and really push— no resting, no half-assing the movements.

    I don’t know. I think that’s a sort of magic. Sure, you can say that you don’t NEED the pants to lose inches. It’s true. But if buying them provides the motivation to work daily, work hard? There ain’t nothing wrong with that, friends. In fact I thought about buying a second pair when I saw them on sale as a Groupon, because they do need to be handwashed and it just seemed easier that way.

    Jeff points out that they are essentially the same concept as the plastic bags he would wear under his clothes before wrestling matches to cut weight. This is true; the number on the scale is revealing a weight loss that is mostly water. (My number on the scale has dropped 5 pounds since the beginning of this experiment as well, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot to me. Again, I was looking to tone up, not drop weight.)

    However, HotPants are a lot more stylish than wearing plastic bags. Just sayin’. They are high-waisted, which makes you look slimmer under your gym top but does not accommodate your pedometer very well. They feel like what I imagine light scuba gear must feel like, if such a thing exists. They’re not heavy or uncomfortable, just a bit of a pain to pull on and peel off.

    My skin looks and feels smoother in the covered areas. I’m going to assume that’s because I’m essentially soaking them in salt water everyday for an hour at a time.

    DO ZAGGORA HOTPANTS MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT?

    Maybe, but just short-term water weight. So if you need to weigh in for a wrestling match, great. If you need to get into a bridesmaids dress in two weeks that doesn’t fit quite right, maybe. Long term? NO. You need to make lifestyle choices for that. These pants are a great motivator and feedback generator to start you on that journey, and perhaps to maintain your enthusiasm, but they’re just pants. They don’t perform miracles.

    IF I START WEARING THEM TODAY, WILL I FIT IN A NEW YEAR’S EVE DRESS TWO SIZES SMALLER?

    I don’t know, maybe if you ate only broccoli, exercised 5 hours a day and wore them around the clock. Why the hell would you want to do that? It’s Christmastime, not the time to be denying yourself. Buy a dress that flatters the figure you have now, and can be taken in later.

    DO YOU RECOMMEND THEM?

    I like ’em. I do. I wear them all the time. They make a swishy sound when I walk, like track pants, but Jake pointed out that at the gym it’s loud enough that the only person who notices is me. And even then, they’re probably distracted by the giant DJ headphones I’m wearing, so who cares?

    I’m thinking they’d be a nice motivator for those pesky new year’s resolutions.

    They’re not cheap, about 70 bucks, but the Groupon was $26, I think. If I see it at that price again I probably will buy another pair.

    Any other questions? Line ’em up, I’m ready.

    Disclosure: I received a pair of HotPants as part of the #HotinHotPants Mom Bloggers Club campaign. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

    More info: check out Zaggora’s website, follow Zaggora on Twitter and/or ‘like’ on the Facebook. Oh hey, they’re 25% off for Christmas.

     

     

  • One in Three Kids is Overweight. Why? (Infographic)

    One in Three Kids is Overweight. Why? (Infographic)

    Not shockingly, a combination of too much (crappy) food and not enough exercise.

    Soooo… what are we gonna do about it?

    [Via Food Wise & Southeast Psych childrens health in america]