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Stefanie Van Aken

Tag Archives: Walmart

International Delight Iced Coffees

14 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by Stefanie Van Aken (RSMLVTravel) in Archive It

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Coffee, Coffee Walmart, Iced Coffee, International Delight, Walmart, WhiteWave

Iced coffee is the perfect summer time drink, especially here in the desert where temperatures can get way out of control.  An iced cold coffee always sounds so tempting to me on those days.  Normally, I would run out to my closest coffee shop or make my own, but the thought of being able to grab-and-go is quite inviting.  When International Delights asked me to participate in their campaign for their new Iced Coffee product, I was happy to try it out.

International delight iced coffee

On my first shopping mission to Wal-Mart, I looked for the International Delights Iced Coffee drinks in the places that seemed obvious to me where I would find a ready made iced coffee beverage.  I went straight to the specialty drinks in the refrigerator section, you know, the place where you would first check for things like coconut water, pomegranate juice, trendy iced teas…why not iced coffee?  Strike 1.  I then ventured over to the soda aisle in search of the canned Starbucks and Seattle’s Best coffee drinks.  Perhaps it’s not a refrigerated item?  Strike 2.  You know I had to grab my milk for the babies, so thought, where else could this product possibly be?  It’s got to be near the creamers at least!  I found the International Delight creamers, but no Iced Coffee product.  In fact, when I asked for help locating it, the employees were not familiar with the product.  Strike 3.  Needless To Say, when I made it home and reviewed my photos, I happened upon the beverage in the section next to the soy and almond milks.  Not where, as a consumer who enjoys specialty beverages, would think to look for an Iced Coffee product, especially since it was near other products that are considered healthier beverages.  None the less, made a second trip and grabbed the much sought after International Delights Iced Coffee drinks.

international delight iced coffee at walmart

Naturally, I couldn’t just taste test on my own!  Coffee is way more fun when done in the presence of others…good conversation makes for good coffee, so I invited a few of my friends over to give it a try.  In that mix was my sister, sister-in-law, some girlfriends and my grandmother.  She is the first person to introduce me to iced coffee, so it only seemed natural to learn her opinion.  I was a bit disappointed that there was not a hazelnut flavor, but offered up the Original, Vanilla and Mocha ones to sip and see.

We also had some tasty treats from a local bakery, and I grabbed a package of chocolate chip scones (ready to bake) and Pilsbury Disney themed Valentine’s cookies for the kids.  It was a Sunday afternoon, and the husband’s were out playing golf, so the moms brought their kiddos over.  While they played outside, enjoying the awesome Vegas weather in January, we sat inside chatting and enjoying our mid-afternoon snacks.

 

The majority ruled that the Original flavor provided the best taste.  It was the right balance of sweet and coffee flavors.  Runner up was the Vanilla, then Mocha.  I had bought a few extra, so was able to send some of my guests home with their favorite flavor.  Some of my girlfriends are “label readers”, so they would most likely not purchase the product due to some of the ingredients listed.  However, the other ladies liked the idea that it was ready-to-go and could easily throw it in a travel cup for their daily routine.  Some of the ladies even put it in their regular coffee for some added flavor.  My grandmother isn’t too big on sweet, so she preferred the Original flavor to the Mocha or Hazelnut.

It was a fun Sunday afternoon, thanks to International Delights Iced Coffee and some great friends and family to spend it with.

Want to learn more about my shopping trip?  Check out my Inside the Mind of a RockStarMom google+ album.

For more information on International Delights Iced Coffees, you can visit them on-line or follow them on Twitter and FaceBook.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All thoughts and opinions are my own.  #CBias #IcedCoffee

Providing Optimum Nutrition for your Baby at Half the Cost

23 Thursday Jun 2011

Posted by Stefanie Van Aken (RSMLVTravel) in Archive It

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

Baby Formula, breast feeding, nutrition, Parent's Choice, product reviews, Walmart

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PBM Products for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

As a mother of twins, as well as two older children, I constantly find myself balancing a tight budget without having to  compromise the quality of nutrition I strive to provide my family.  With my first two children, I never strayed from a particular Name Brand Formula when they were babies.  It worked for them, therefore, I felt the most confident in that particular formula when breast feeding was no longer an option for me.  After discovering we were having twins, my husband and I decided it would be best for me to stay at home for a few years and manage our growing brood.  This also meant tighter purse-strings and learning how to make a dollar stretch.  Everyone knows that “breast is best,” and it truly is heart breaking when the time comes, for whatever reason, when you can no longer nurse, and have to switch your baby from the best nutrition ever to something that is an artificial replacement.  Naturally, you want to provide them with the best products available.  When I could no longer nurse the babies, and was ready to move them over to formula, I searched days on end for a way to make the Name Brand Formula I had become attached to work within our budget.  I tried contacting the company for additional coupons, joined membership clubs, searched high and low for websites that sold my formula in bulk; I even drove across town a few times to get savings (not thinking about the gas money I was blowing!).  One day I came across a website in regards to Store Brand Formula.  It spoke to how all formulas are created equal and how the FDA mandates that all formulas, Store Brand or Name Brand,  maintain specific levels of nutrients for babies health and growth, and how the Name Brand Formulas are “name brand” because they are backed by an insane amount of marketing dollars, which are then passed on to the consumer.  In other words, the cool looking label on the can?  It’s in the price.  The nice little pamphlets they mail you to “help you as your baby grows”, they may appear free, but you paid for that when you bought a can of their formula.  I continued my research on this, because as someone with a marketing background in my work experience, I got that right away.  But, I still wasn’t convinced that Store Brand Formulas could compare to the “Gentle Comfort Proteins”, the “DHA & ARA”, and the “Pro and Pre-biotics” my sweet angels were getting from their Name Brand Formula.  If the Store Brands were putting that into their formula, then they must be compromising the integrity of the ingredients in order to keep the costs affordable for the buyer.  However, it was worth looking into if it meant I could use the savings to spring for a Date Night!

After the twins were born, I was constantly finding myself at Walmart for the most affordable options in baby care: diapers, wipes, onsies, formula water, and even the Name Brand Formula I was buying, so I decided to give their Store Brand Formula, Parent’s Choice, a go.  Parent’s Choice Infant Formula is Walmart’s private brand formula available exclusively at Walmart locations nationwide and online at www.walmart.com.

I went onto their website, I found the formula most comparable to what I was feeding the boys, and requested a sample.  I am a huge label reader.  I read every ingredient, and if I don’t know what it is, I look it up.  As soon as I received the sample, I compared ingredients right away, which were pretty much verbatim, with the order changed up every now and then.  Next, on to the vitamin and mineral content.  Give or take, for either brand, there may be one with a higher Vitamin C content, and the other a higher Vitamin B12 content, but all in all, not enough disparity to really make me say one offered more than the other.  Finally, what I really liked was that the Parent’s Choice Formula had the same exact amount of DHA per 100 calories (17 mg) as the Name Brand Formula I had been using.  With the fat and caloric intake being exactly the same, the next big reason for me to switch?  The price.

Having to buy formula for two babies is not cheap; it’s not cheap to buy formula for one baby.  If you figure a Name Brand Formula costs on an average of $25 a can, and I personally, go through a minimum of 6 cans a month…I know you can do the math…$150 a month just on formula.  Not to mention all the other necessities and the additional costs of two more children.  Geesh!  That adds up!  Buying Parent’s Choice Formula at Wal-Mart cuts that cost literally in half.  Same ingredients, same benefits, half the cost.  It feels great to know I am providing my babies with the same nutrition their older siblings got, but at half the cost!  Wow!  What will I do with all of that savings?  Start their 529 plan?

Speaking of, as if it wasn’t enough for Parent’s Choice to pass on their savings to us, they are also giving our little ones the opportunity to win a $10,000 college scholarship.  You can enter their sweepstakes at  Parent’s Choice Infant Formula Savings Sweepstakes between June 15-August 15, 2011, one entry per family.  Visit their site and fill out the form.  In fact, I encourage you to request a sample that is comparable to what you are feeding your baby (or babies) now, and see for yourself if there is much difference.  I will bet the biggest difference you will find is in the cost.  And that’s a whole lot of Date Nights…or shoes, or facials…or just plain savings!

http://parentschoicesweepstakes.listrak.com/

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