Celebrating National Ice Cream Month with Mars Ice Cream #Ad

July 19 is now set aside on the calendar as National Ice Cream Day, but I love it that the entire month of July is set aside to celebrate National Ice Cream Month.

I was given the opportunity to try some fun new ice cream offerings from Mars Ice Cream, who have a line of frozen novelties that pair delicious, real ice cream with the delectable chocolate taste that consumers know and love as well as a cold and refreshing fruit sorbet bar.

There are so many flavor combinations for Dove chocolate fans to choose from and my favorite is the Dove vanilla ice cream bar with a crunchy milk chocolate coating.

 I think the m&m's ice cream cookie takes the traditional ice cream sandwich to a whole new level with creamy vanilla ice cream resting in between two chewy, home-style cookies with lots of m&m's chocolate candies baked in.

Twix candy bar have been a beloved favorite of mine since I was a young child and as a grown-up, I am intrigued by the Twix ice cream bar with creamy vanilla ice cream with caramel, cookie bits and a chocolate caoting.

 I was over the moon with happiness that they not only have a Starburst fruit sorbet bar, but one of the two flavor offerings is my all-time favorite Starburst flavor, the strawberry fruit chew. I love the sweet and tangy flavor to this one.

 The Snickers bar delighted me with a smooth peanut butter ice cream and a caramel filling with roasted peanuts covered in a chocolate coating.

This month began a favorite new summer treat tradition in our home: a family movie night with a Mars Ice Cream bar assortment to choose from. It made for some sweet summer memories that we can't wait to make more of when we have our next summer movie night.  

You can find out more about these products by visiting them on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclaimer: I was compensated by Mars Ice Cream for this blog post. All opinions expressed in this blog post are my own.

Berry Beauty and a Review: AZO Cranberry Gummies

I come from a family history of numerous illnesses on both sides of my family and as an adult who has been given the gift of good health, I am extra diligent about my health and always looking for new products that offer ways to promote a healthy lifestyle in my daily life.

I was given the opportunity to try a new product from AZO, the #1 urinary and vaginal health brand† which joins the range of products they offer

 AZO Cranberry Gummies is a urinary maintenance tool that incorporates the clinically proven benefits of cranberry.*  

It contains Pacran®, a super-concentrated cranberry powder that helps flush the urinary tract to maintain cleanliness.*
One of my favorite things about this product is the fact that two AZO Cranberry Gummies equal one 10 ounce glass of cranberry juice**—without the excess calories.*  

I love that they come in a variety of mixed berry flavors and it gives the power of cranberry juice without the tart taste. 

Berries have been incorporated into my diet since I was a child. My favorite is blueberries, which are packed with antioxidants and always at the top of my ingredient list when using fruit in one of my recipes.  This is a favorite berry beauty tip for all women because berries are not only high in antioxidants that can help to prevent and repair damage to the body's tissue, but they also contain polyphenols, which help fight chronic disease and cancer. 

As a redhead, I discovered as a college student that berry shades of lipstick are a great hue for my shade of red hair and to this day, you will find my trusted berry shades of lipstick in my makeup bag. 

I am also a fan of berry scents and use bath products in a variety of berry scents in my daily routine, especially raspberry.  

AZO Cranberry® Gummies is available at CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreens, Walmart, drug stores, food stores and other major retailers.

Right now there is a fun giveaway going on over on the AZO Facebook page. There is a weekly winner for a $25 Sephora gift card and there will be three winners of a Sephora Berry Beauty basket valued at $200. You can enter the giveaway here.

Disclaimer: **Biological activity of 10oz cranberry juice cocktail
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This products is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. AZO Cranberry® used under license by i-Health, Inc. Pacran® is a trademark of Naturex. † Based on Nielsen data as of 2/21/15 and the 2014 Pharmacy Times OTC Survey

Porter Peach Memories: Gluten Free Peach Pie

Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way by the Pillsbury company for my endorsement of their product in this blog post. All opinions expressed in this blog post are my own.

My recent trip home to Oklahoma brought another special kind of pilgrimage for me with a trip to Livesay's Orchard in Porter as another Porter peach season arrived on the calendar. I enjoyed picking out my peaches and then shipped them to my doorstep here in NY, where they arrived safely. So many special memories of making the road trip to Tahlequah to Porter every July first with Mom and Grandma Cleva, then it was me and Grandma Cleva and finally, it was, and is, me making the trip, sometimes with others, but always me and my precious memories of the beloved car passengers past who made the trip with me.

Some of the peaches pictured above were soon sliced and diced to make my peach pie recipe. This past year, I have received several requests from readers for gluten free recipes and I recently received a request for a gluten free peach pie.

Pillsbury now has several kinds of gluten free dough available in the refrigerated section at many grocery stores and I found it in my local store and decided to try their gluten free "pie and pastry" dough for this recipe. I am constantly in search of gluten free products for my recipes that are tasty and at a good price point.

I was impressed with the taste of this gluten free dough. The dough requires extra kneading in order to get the consistency needed, but once kneaded, it was a good crust dough to work with for this recipe.

"Angela's Gluten Free Peach Pie"
1 tub Pillsbury gluten free pie and pastry dough
8 medium size fresh peaches – sliced, peeled and pit removed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Prepare the peaches. Remove the gluten-free pie dough from the tub and cut dough in half. You’ll use one half of dough for the bottom crust and the other half for the crumb topping.

For the crust: Dump 1/2 of the pie dough into a pie tin. Knead the dough with your hands until it is smooth. Now flatten and push the dough into the pie tin until it evenly covers the entire inside of the tin and becomes the crust.  

For the filling: Place the peach slices across the bottom pie crust. In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cornstarch. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the top of the peaches in the pie tin.

For the top crumble crust: Using the same small bowl, use a fork to mix together the 1/4 Cup sugar and remaining pie crust dough. Just combine until crumbly. Now pour the crumb mixture on top of the pie, carefully covering the entire pie.

Cover sides of pie crust with foil. Place pie in the oven and bake 40-45 or until top crust is browned in color. Place on cooling rack until cooled. Serve and enjoy!

Any of you who try this gluten free recipe, I'd love to know what you think!