The popular kitchen line of products from Disney, Disney Eats, expands with new products for kids and adults. The line was designed to bring families together. After all, a good part of our lives is spent in the kitchen. With items that encourage kids to help out and enjoy being with mom and/or dad while cooking, the products are colorful and filled with the fun of Disney.

There are new Mickey items, including a spoon rest, spatulas, a fun timer, and more. And there are some princess items just hitting the shelves.

For your princess, the newest Flatware Set includes a fork and spoon. They are made of stainless steel with plastic handles. The fork handle is adorned with a pink heart and the spoon with a purple heart. They come in a see-through case and are dishwasher safe.

Another new princess item is the Food Cutter Set. This set includes a large castle shape cutter to create royal sandwiches. There is also a smaller shell-shaped cutter for Ariel fans, as well as a shoe-shaped cutter to remind everyone of Cinderella. Kids will enjoy cutting out food in these magical shapes, and, well, doesn’t food taste better when it is shaped into something fun? Cut out watermelon, cantaloupe, or anything else you can think of to shape them into fun and delicious food. The blades are made of stainless steel and the tops are colorful plastic.

Another great new princess product is a Silicone Food Storage Container. This fits into a lunchbox for easy toting to school. Yes, school is right around the corner. The container comes with a spork, which has a plastic spoon on one end and a fork on the other. The utensil has it’s own plastic container that snaps into the storage container. The storage container expands to fill and then collapses for easy storage. The lid snaps on and is adorned with the phrase “Listen to your Heart” as well as images of Merida, Snow White, and Rapunzel. This purple and pink container is also a fun, whimsical item for adults to use to take their own lunch or snack to the office, the gym, or the park. It is dishwasher safe.

All of these new items, as well as the popular older items are available at the shopDisney website and in Disney stores.

About the Reviewer

Francine Brokaw writes about products, travel, and entertainment. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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Olen is a company that has several useful products for babies and kids. Believe it or not, they also can be used for adults and there are other products for the whole family.

Sunblocz is 100%natural sunscreen intended for babies and kids. It has UVA and UVB protection and is water resistant for up to 80 minutes. The sunscreen is dermatologist recommended. This is also hypoallergenic. The Sunblocz Baby+Kids is a mineral sunscreen created especially for the sensitive skin of babies and young kids. However, many adults have ultra sensitive skin and even I use baby sunscreen. So, take this tube of Sunblocz with you to protect your little ones and yourself. ($23.99)

They do also make a regular Sunblocz created for the entire family with an SPF of 50. What else is unique about this product (I am always looking for a great sunscreen) is it repels bugs. How often are you out for a family event and are bothered by bugs? While this isn’t a specific product to repel bugs, that is one additional benefit. So, in essence, you get two products for the price of one. ($24.99)

So how does it smell? We have all spent our days smelling the sunscreen we put on. Yuck. That is one of my pet peeves… sunscreen that has a horrible odor. When I opened the tube of Sunblocz baby, all I smelled was a fresh lemony scent. How delightful!

Another product for babies is Baby Butz cream. It was created to heal diaper rash quickly (4-6 hours), for the benefit and comfort of babies. It’s hypoallergenic and all natural. Baby Butz is 30% zinc oxide, which we know is calming to skin. The greatest part about this is it is fragrance free. No more smelly creams.

Diaper rash creams are a must for parents of babies, but did you know they help adults too? If you have ever had a colonoscopy you know the prep can be brutal on your butt. Using a cream with zinc oxide while preparing for your test is definitely a must. And with the fragrance free aspect of Baby Butz, well, you know you’re going to feel a lot more comfortable the day before you go in for your procedure. (2 Oz. jar lists for $7.99 and the 4 Oz jar lists for $12.99)

Check out their website for more products and information.

About the Reviewer

Francine Brokaw writes about products, travel, and entertainment. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

I have seen the commercials on TV and heard a lot about the Jenny Craig Weight Loss Program, so when my cardiologist mentioned that that is the program she recommends to her patients who want/need to lose weight, I decided to test it out. The company offered me several weeks worth of food with my weekly counseling sessions in order to give this a fair trial. Here is what happened.

There are plenty of food choices from which to order. I mainly stayed on the meatless plan but added the 12/12 hours that is part of the new Rapid Results program. This requires you don’t eat anything for 12 hours and during the other 12 hours you consume your daily food menu.

The breakfasts are delicious. My personal favorites are the cinnamon buns, the cinnamon coffee cake, and the cereals. But I also enjoyed the maple French toast and the waffles. Plus the cheese omelet with potatoes was a nice way to start off the day. I think the breakfast choices are my favorites.

The plan calls for a breakfast, “anytime bar,” lunch, snack (fruit is suggested), dinner, and night snack. They also have delicious boxes of vanilla and chocolate shakes. There are suggested fruits and vegetables to add to the meals.

The lunch and dinner entrees are the same, so you don’t have a different set of meals for lunch and one for dinner. You can mix and match, which is a great way to go.

Some of my favorite lunch/dinner entrees are the margarita pizza, the butternut squash ravioli, the mac and cheese with vegetables, the creamy penne with vegetables, and the broccoli cheese baked potato. I also tried several other foods and none of them were terrible. As a matter of fact, they were all delicious and flavorful.

The nighttime snacks are a great way to end the day. They have several salty/spicy snacks and plenty of desserts. The chocolate lava cake and the cupcake are wonderful. When not in the mood for something sweet, the cheese curls and the ranch snaps fit the bill.

The results will vary. Initially I didn’t lose much weight (although I was never hungry and enjoyed the food) and while talking to my counselor Susan, she made adjustments in some of the foods I was adding (coffee creamer, ketchup) so once that happened the pounds began to come off. I had to take a week off during my testing period to cover an event, and yes, I did gain weight when I was off of the program. I knew I would as I drank sugary drinks and ate French fries. But as soon as I went back on the program I lost it all plus more – all within the first week back on the Jenny Craig program. That turned out to be a great experiment for this reviewer!

I think the best way to get the best results out of this program is to follow it EXACTLY. And write down everything you eat. Plus the telephone sessions with the counselor is another benefit of this program.

If I could change something about it, I would like to have them have meal bars that could be taken on the go. Otherwise, I believe this is a great program that delivers results – with delicious food.

Jenny Craig Membership Progrms:

Jenny All Access membership-Initial fee $99 plus a $19 a month recurring billing fee. Access to the membership for a year

Premium membership – Initial fee $299. You will receive half of the initial fee back once you reach your goal weight. You will receive the rest of the initial fee back once you’ve maintained your goal weight for a year within 5lbs. You will receive 10% off and free shipping on planned menus. Access to the membership for 2 years – includes a maintenance program.

About the Reviewer

Francine Brokaw writes about products, travel, and entertainment. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

MiniMD is a personal microdermabrasion system that delivers results. After trying it for a couple weeks, I did notice a difference in my skin.

What is microdermabrasion? Simply put, it gently exfoliates while it smooths the skin. By using the diamond tip, the MiniMD buffs away dead skin cells and gently sucks the top layer of your skin.

Using this unit is easy right from the start, however the more you use it the easier it becomes and the more comfortable you will be with it. The first time I used it my skin was definitely smoother and I noticed some imperfections (blackheads) on my face were gone. As yet, I haven’t seen a reduction in fine lines, however that is possible with continued use, and I intend to keep using this device.

Exfoliation is important to get rid of the damaged top layer of skin. This is the surface layer that is exposed to dirt and pollution every day. By gently buffing it away, the layer underneath is revealed and your skin looks brighter, fresher, and feels smoother. The company says when you use it you will see more radiant and glowing skin, and I have found that to be true.

While I haven’t used it more than a couple weeks, I can definitely see a difference in the texture and color of my skin. Uneven skin tone is now a thing of the past. My skin does look more radiant, and people have noticed!

When you use the MiniMD, you gently rub the unit on clean skin. The diamond tip is gentle and the suction is strong enough to do the job without feeling a harsh tug on your skin.

During winter months the MiniMD will tackle your dry indoor and wind damaged skin, and during summer months it will help clear away the debris from sunscreen and chlorine.

In the past I have had many professional microdermabrasion treatments, each costing at least a hundred dollars. Yes, I did pay that because the treatments always made my skin look fresher and younger, and left it smoother. But you don’t have to pay that any more. You can perform your own microdermabrasion treatment in the privacy of your own house. It only takes about five minutes each time, and you will definitely see and feel the difference after one or two treatments.

I definitely use it and believe in the treatment of microdermabrasion. The company includes additional tips with the unit. That’s a nice touch.

The MiniMD lists for $99. Go to their website for more information and to order.

About the Reviewer

Francine Brokaw writes about products, travel, and entertainment. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter