test drive mom Archives

Committing To Eating Fresh

June 14, 2011 by Momstart Leave a Comment

Being busy busy busy all the time, I will and often admit here on MomStart that I will cut corners and buy processed foods. I use yogurt dip, spreadable cheese, and packaged cookies. I can’t do it all you know. That being said, my family goals this last year have required me to eat more fresh foods. I cook more home made meals, and buy fresh organic fruits and veggies at Costco. Costco has the largest best priced selection for our family when it comes to year round fresh organic food. However, now that it’s summer time the farmer’s markets will be open and I can’t wait to take the kids and let them pick out their own fruits and veggies. Zoe has even asked me if we could go to a farm and pick our own berries. It’s quite common in Washington to fill a bucket with your own freshly picked fruit.

You may not know this, but a year ago I was chosen to be on the Frigidaire Test Drive program, and because of my affiliation with that program, Frigidaire keeps me informed on their activities and charity projects. Frigidaire has been working with Jennifer Garner (my favorite actress who I have not had the pleasure of meeting, but look forward to that opportunity one day in my dreams) on their Frigidaire Kids Cooking Academy Summer Session. On June 9th they headed out to Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, NY to encourage families to eat more fresh foods.

Because many children in the world do not have access to fresh food, Frigidaire is continuing their support with Save the Children’s U.S. Programs. To help give more children access to fresh foods, Frigidaire is unveiling a partnership with the location-based “chec in” app, Gowalla. Anytime someone checks in at their local Farmer’s Market via the app, Frigidaire will make a $1 donation to Save the Children, as part of their $500,000 commitment to the cause.

And anytime you make a commitment to eat fresh at MakeTimeForChange.com you will trigger another donation AND this is a big and, be entered to win a new Frigidaire Gallery French Door Refrigerator.

Disclosure: I received compensation from Frigidaire with no expectations for me to post about it, I chose to post about it because I strongly believe families should try harder to “Freshen” up their diets.

Thanks for Saving me Time Frigidaire

April 30, 2010 by Momstart 3 Comments

After three months of using my new refrigerator I am finally a believer. Tonight it dawned on me that because of the wonderful ease in organization this fridge did save me time. I do not have to re-organize the freezer every time I come home from Costco.

As a mom, I’m sure you need no help picturing the following story, but here is ours.

My children are in the best mood in the morning after they have breakfast, after we have played and had snacks. Of course mom has been in the background doing the dishes the laundry and taking care of everything waiting for Costco to open so we can get the groceries.

Finally, the time has come and we are off to the store of bulk, we just had a snack, but still, all the food looks good and mom forgot to eat breakfast in all the hustle of the morning chores. We come home with much more than we intended on purchasing. I’m actually worried it won’t all fit. In my old refrigerator, we had to use a second freezer for Costco visits, and the deep freezer did not move into the new house with us.

Arriving at home, I realize that it’s lunch time. The kids are grumpy and ready to eat, they directly go to the table and sit in their seats. I have to throw lunch, together feed them, and put all the groceries away. Putting groceries away, keeping the fridge organized, and finding the groceries is a breeze. With shelves and drawers that are easy to raise, lower and see through, I’m saving all kinds of time and the kids have time sneak in an make sure their toys are cold too.

Some of my favorite features:

· PureAir Ultra™ Filters: eliminate odors better than baking soda and keep your refrigerator interior cleaner and fresher. An indicator light signals when the charcoal filter can be easily replaced.
· Automatic Alerts: Refrigerator alerts you if the door is left open or if temperature rises.
· Thanks to the Energy Saver Plus Technology, if my refrigerator door is not opened for 24 hours and the refrigerator system is set to the 12-hour defrost cycle, then the system automatically goes to a 96-hour compressor run time defrost cycle to conserve electricity.
· Most usable shelf space as compared to other counter depth side by side models and ability to store full week’s-worth of groceries for a family of 5 inside.
· Comfortably store cold weather comfort foods and with PowerPlus™ Freeze: Quickly freeze whatever you store to keep foods at their freshest.
· SpaceWise Organization system, which includes extra bins, food-storage containers, rack extenders, etc., makes it easy to keep food organized and easy to find when you need it.
· Real stainless steel with a protective coating that reduces fingerprints and smudges so it’s easy to clean.
· SpillSafe Shelves: Designed to keep spills contained, making clean up a breeze.

Some of our favorite moments:

“I wrote this review while participating in a Test Drive Campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Frigidaire and received a Frigidaire Refrigerator to facilitate my review.”

On a video date with Frigidaire Professional

April 13, 2010 by Momstart 5 Comments

As one of the Frigidaire Test Drive Moms for this year, we have to put together a video of our appliance. I received the Refrigerator and we love it. It’s pretty, it’s my kids newest toy, I have room to stock up a freezer and I don’t have to bend over to reach into it. I’ll post another post closer to the end of the month making sure you know all of the technical features, but for now, here is a “mom’s” review. You know, what makes a busy mom with two kids happy.

I accidentally hit the picture taking mode and the video stopped, so here is the rest of the video diary.

“I wrote this review while participating in a Test Drive Campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Frigidaire and received a Frigidaire Refrigerator to facilitate my review.”

The Installation of our Frigidaire Refrigerator

February 17, 2010 by Momstart 5 Comments

Right before I left to go to Blissdom our new Frigidaire Refrigerator arrived. I wasn’t expecting it until the end of the month but it came quickly and very painlessly. A local company moved our old refrigerator to the garage and installed the new one in the house. They hooked up the water that the home builders had already set up for us and we had running filtered water. The water is supposed to come out at a half gallon per minute but our water pressure in our house is very sad. So my husband said that our conversion is more like three minutes. So thanks to our refrigerator we will be calling our water company and finding out if there is a way to get our water pressure increased.

The first thing that really impressed my husband and I is the fact that our old freezer was so jam packed. We had the drawer and I thought I loved it. It’s just that after time I really got tired of bending over and searching for things. I mean for a month I wasn’t even able to bend over and look for things, my husband had to do it. It also was difficult to pack things in and I like to keep my freezer stocked up with lots of goodies for me to cook with. I wish I would have taken the pictures I told myself I was going to take but I was taken off guard with how fast it arrived.

Anyways, try to picture this. A drawer filled with frozen veggies in one side and meat, ice cream, and frozen meals in the other side, some tortillas frozen at the bottom of the drawer and not sure what else was hidden, other than some fruit that I forgot about because of the sheer amount of stuff in my freezer. So I ended up filling up three huge reusable bags with stuff from my freezer and when the new fridge was there I placed everything in my new freezer. The left side is the freezer and after everything was transferred we still had room. Yes the refrigerator is a little bit bigger in dimension but the space is used so much more efficiently. With the double doors instead of a drawer I am able to find more places to put things and still have room for an ice maker and filtered water.

I’m very excited to be a part of Team Refrigerator and having a new fridge. I’m not even that upset about my water pressure and I’m ecstatic that it arrived early. I hope that my tone is not too negative because it is a pleasure for me to be able to write about a new appliance. Thank you Team Mom and Frigidaire.

“I wrote this review while participating in a Test Drive Campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Frigidaire and received a Frigidaire Refrigerator to facilitate my review.”