KOO diced beetroot with new flavours - Taste review

 

 KOO Diced Beetroot: 
Mrs H. S Balls Chutney Sauce and Spicy Chutney Flavoured Sauce

                    Flavour has arrived!

KOO beetroot is a firm staple in most South African households. Ours as well, of course! 😜We know we can trust it for adding that extra bit of deliciousness to any plate. It is easy to dish up, tasty and always welcome. We have it on hand during the week when we are rushed, but also over the weekend for the braai or get-togethers. The new KOO Diced Beetroot with new flavours, Mrs H. S Balls Chutney Sauce and Spicy Chutney Flavoured Sauce are just what this festive season needs! We received a blog drop with these two new flavours, and we gave it top marks for the new taste sensations. 

See our taste review below.

Gift: KOO Diced Beetroot in Le Creuset bowl with spatula

“

We are incredibly excited to be adding the new KOO Diced Beetroot in Mrs H.S Balls Chutney and Spicy Chutney flavours. Innovation is one of the key attributes of the KOO brand and over the years, we have been able to deliver on the needs of our loyal customers, by switching things up and adding some excitement and flavour infusions to the plate and this latest product is on different,” said KOO Marketing Manager, Neo Dikamotse.

New Food Lover's Market at Morning Glen Mall

Food Lover's Market at Morning Glen Mall

Food lovers in the heart of Morningside, Morning Glen Mall, are in for a greater variety of food as Food Lovers Market opens.

Food Lovers's Market "Farmer's Crop"

I was most impressed last week with the offerings at Food Lover's Market at the revamped Morning Glen Mall. As a vegetarian I spend most of my food budget on vegetables, fruit, nuts and beans. The Morning Glen Mall has recognised the need to support the growing healthy living habits of the community. My list grew larger and larger while I was walking through the displays and shelves. The variety, freshness and healthy choices makes it easy for a one-stop shopping experience. Which I always try to do!

KOO Mixed Bean and Salsa Salad - recipe

KOO recipe and image

Last year I was so lucky to be invited to a KOO media event, where we were introduced to all the new KOO options available on the shelf. I now never walk past the vegetable can section in a supermarket. My favourite is the KOO Black Beans in Mexican Style Sauce. It is such a versatile can to have in the cupboard. Great as is, or in bowls and wraps. As a vegetarian, it is great to bring along when friends or family forget about your food preferences.

Please let me know where you see it on the shelve? (It is not always available)

DataBlock - the latest gadget to get

DataBlock gift

As if we don't have enough to worry about... Our data can be stolen at USB charging stations. This is a great gadget to keep your data safe. I got DataBlock as blog drop, but this is a great stocking filler for adults and children this Christmas. It retails between R100 - R150, and is available for a limited time for R99.

Did you know that South Africa has the third highest number of cyber crime victims worldwide, resulting in a loss of about R2.2 billion each year to cyber attacks? (SABRIC) That's scary!

Coined back in 2011, Juice Jacking is a cyber attack that commonly involves the installation of malware on to smartphones when inserting them into a USB charging terminal. This malware subsequently copies all the data stored on that device. The tech used to compromise a public USB charging point is easily available and therefore puts many of its users at risk. The data transferred includes images, phone numbers, passwords, which if in the wrong hands, can be very dangerous. 

DataBlock is a USB connection that, when added to your charger, will prevent your private information and data being stolen by a third party.

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As if we don’t have enough to worry about? 🤪Now it’s also “juice jacking”! USB charging ports can steal your data. Luckily there’s DataBlock #gift @datablockafrica Also great gift idea for children and adults. They have a R 99 special running now #DataBlock #DeskDrop #BlogDrop #GadgetIdeas #coolGadgets #CoolGadgetsForAll #DataSecurity #PreventHacking

A post shared by Karen Du Toit (@karentoittoit) on Nov 27, 2019 at 3:40am PST

We love that the gadget accommodates most phones, even my iPhone! This will be added to my handbag arsenal. Thank you, DataBlock!

Check their website for the special!

L.O.L. Surprise Sparkle Doll - Review

Boss Queen - L.O.L. Surprise Sparkle Series 3

This is the season of festivities, and of a much anticipated birthday in our house. The L.O.L. Surprises are perfect for this time of the year. Not only is the excitement high when unwrapping them, but it can also be hanged as part of the festive decorations. How awesome!

The L.O.L. Surprise Sparkle Series doll comes with unwrapping 7 surprises.  Series 3 dolls are dressed with sparkle glitter finishes from head to toe! Each ball can be used as a character stand or as a ball hanging on the tree or in a room.

Feed or bathe your L.O.L. Surprise Series doll to discover if she cries, spits, tinkles, or changes colour! There are 12 dolls to collect. Retail selling price: R430.00

L.O.L. Surprise Boys - add the brother! Review

L.O.L. Surprise Boy

The L.O.L. Surprise range continues to "surprise"! (Sorry! ;-)) They have brothers as well. L.O.L. Surprise Boys is a range of boy dolls which also needs unwrapping. Now the boys can also unwrap their own surprise boy doll! It adds that extra special element to your L.O.L. Surprise Doll collection.
Each Surprise Boy character has a similar fierce style to his sister character, but with his own unique
twist. With eight characters to collect, the surprise unboxing fun continues.

The festive season is around the corner, and this is a great toy for the girls and boys who love collectables.

Journey Beyond Symphonic Circus - WIN tickets

Journey Beyond Symphonic Circus

A magical production! The Zip Zap Circus is joining forces with the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company, and the rousing voices of  Zolani Mahola, Zita Pretorius and Timothy Moloi to bring you Journey Beyond – Symphonic Circus. It will be on stage in Heritage Month, only for 3 days from 20-22 September at Joburg Theatre. Zip Zap’s founder, Brent van Rensburg, choreographer Adele Blank and conductor, Maestro Eddie Clayton, are excited to share this production.

2 sets of tickets (4 each) has been made available for a give-away. See below on how you can win. The previous time we heard about Zip-Zap Circus was at The Greatest Christmas at Menlyn last year. It was awesome!

ZIP ZAP Circus (photographer Joan Ward)

Letibalm - still a firm favourite in our house

Letibalm Nose and Lip repair (Tegan Smith Photography)

Letibalm is the only balm that cares for the lips, nose and skin in-between. It's a firm favourite in our house. This past winter (yes, the winter is already forgotten here) we battled some colds and flu, and now it is hay fever season again. We can not survive runny noses without Letibalm.

I have found a new use for Letibalm as well. I wish I had known about it sooner, because I could have saved myself a lot of inflamed outbreaks on my face. Letibalm also has a new addition as well, a Letibalm Junior Nose and Lips repair fluid with a soothing strawberry flavour.

Absolute best winter essentials!Everybody is sick and sniffling which makes Letibalm a firm favourite in our house#Gift @ivohealtsa 🙏#Letibalm#LetibalmNoseAndLipRepair#WintersEssentials#WinterMustHaves#BlogDrop#HandBagEssentials#SABlogger #SA… https://t.co/Tg0ZsjZsPs pic.twitter.com/vRb40P5h6I

— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) June 27, 2019

We keep our Letibalm repair creams in different places to always have it on hand.

Little Live Wrapples - the cutest pets from Prima Toys

Wrapples

The cutest furry best friend, a Little Live Wrapples, made it's way to us via a blog drop from Prima Toys. We love them, as they are interactive and great for fun. We think it is a magical toy for special people on their birthdays or the upcoming festive season. Yes, it's that time of the year again! Yay!

We are listing a few reasons why we think Wrapples are such a great toy.

All life is precious, even those of critters

#LostKitties #MiceMania

                  * In loving memory of Bubbles, the hamster*

A very important part of parenting is learning kids about the preciousness of life. That all life is sacred, and that every living being is needed and worthy. Even critters have a place and are needed in the eco-system of life. The older I get, the more I think we have to place even more emphasis on preserving and cultivating a mindset of value placed on every living breathing being.

We love collecting Transformers BotBots - up for grabs

We are busy with the MomAgain@40 Shweshwe goody bag give-away. There are two Transformers BotBots up for grabs. It's a great gift and stocking filler for any "child" from 5 to 100. My hoarding nature just love this collectable craze! The Transformers BotBots Challenge is great fun!

I saw them on Takealot, and could not resist. Takealot can now be collected at a number of collection points for only R25. It was available for collection in two days.

Vampirina Party recipe - Chef Remy's bread bones and Pea dip

Vampirina Party

We got a Disney Vampirina party bag as a reminder of the new episodes of Vampirina on Disney Junior. Have you seen them yet? It's all about friendship, respect, tolerance and finding your place in the world.

The Vampirina Party bag came with a few party suggestions, and we decided to make Chef Remy's Bread Bones and Pea Dip as a party snack for guests on Saturday. It was also a great way to take a breather from the mid-year exams.

It's an easy recipe, and the kids will love helping make the bread bones. We did our own take on it, but we are posting the original recipe at the bottom.

Transformers BotBots - The challenge is on!

Customised Transformers BotBots comic #TransformersBotBots

Energon, Transformers' energy, has hit more objects, coming alive as Transformer Robots, called BotBots. It's not as easy to spot these tiny robots, as they are disguised as everyday items. They can be anything, from shoes, cupcakes and baseball bats. They come in Tribes, called the Sugar Shocks, the Jock Squad and the Toilet Troop, to name 3 of them. There are 8 tribes of 190 BotBots to collect in 2019.

New Rage of Mattel's Polly Pocket

The 90's phenomenon Polly Pocket is making a big comeback with Mattel’s Fashion Polly Pocket which is now available in South Africa. The BFF's - Polly Pocket, Lila and Shani - are even cuter than we remember. The eldest has a whole collection of Polly Pockets that she still keeps and cherishes until today. The Polly Pocket line of dolls and accessories was named "Pocket" because of the fact that many of the original Polly Pocket dolls came in pocket-size cases. Mattel has also brought out a Big Polly range, with the same characters and adventure sets in bigger sizes.

Wordless Wednesday #75 - Mother's Day gift from day care

Mother's Day 2011
Photo of Toddler framed in picture made at day care

Related post:
Wordless Wednesday #23 - Little hand - the previous year's Mother's Day card from day care