Bzz: Dr. Oetker Pizza Ristorante Review

Recently, Bzz Agent gave me the opportunity to try Dr. Oetker Ristorante Pizza.  This was the first time hearing of the brand so I was curious to see if the pizza would be available at my local grocery store, which is notorious for not carrying a lot of variety.  To my surprise when I checked there were 4 of the 6 varieties.  Apparently Dr. Oetker is the most popular frozen pizza in Italy and they produce more than just pizza, including baking mixes.  

Dr. Oetker Pizza is thin crust, gourmet-style pizza that is available in the following varieties: Pizza Spinaci (Spinach), Pizza Mozzarella, Pizza Funghi (mushroom), Pizza Vegetale (tomatoes, peppers, onions and chilies), Pizza Quattro Formaggi (four cheese: mozzarella, Edam, Emmental and blue cheese) and Pizza Speciale (Pepperoni and Ham).  Each pizza contains 3 servings and costs about $6.  You can get complete ingredient lists and nutritional information for all of the pizzas by clicking the above external link. You can also find stores near you that sell their pizza.

Using the coupons provided by BzzAgent I purchased the Pizza Vegetale for the adults and the Pizza Speciale for the kids.  I really, really wanted to try the vegetable and mozzarella pizzas but I knew my kids would hate me forever if one of the pizzas didn't have pepperoni.

I got a picture of the Pizza Vegetale box before throwing it away.  I don't have any photos of the Pizza Speciale.

You might notice that my pizza is on foil.  That is not how these pizzas are supposed to be cooked- they should be placed directly on the oven rack, but I HATE doing that, so I didn't.

The directions were as simple as any other frozen pizza and it only took about 10 minutes to cook in the oven.    

Ta-da!  Looks pretty close to what's on the box.

  
It is what it promises- a thin crust, crispy pizza.  The veggies were really good and they were large pieces, not tiny chunks of barely-recognizable vegetables.  On the Pizza Speciale, the pepperonis were the same as any and the ham pieces were large.  I don't like ham on pizza but I ate one for the sake of reviewing and it was good.  Again, it was much better than the pizzas that use tiny chunks of meat.

A few years ago I gave up on all but the Giant brand frozen pizzas because they were too much money and not good.  Giant's was the only one I actually liked and it cost less than Domino's or Little Caesars (until recently, anyway).  Dr. Oetker Pizzas were good, but kind of expensive.  On their website it says the suggested retail price is $4.99-6.99.  $4.99 I would pay for one for myself if I felt like eating something a little better than big-name pizza place would provide but I would make the trip to Little Caesars for the kids, for a much larger pizza for the same price.  Unfortunately the stores where I live charge a higher price of about $6 for Dr. Oetker pizza.  More than likely I would wait for a coupon or skip them and buy a cheaper pizza and fresh veggies to put on top while cooking it.  It doesn't make much sense to me to spend $5 or $6 for a pizza that I have to go to the store to get then cook too, when I can get one hot and ready for the same price.  Either way I have to drive!  But if delivery or driving to a cheap, local pizza shop isn't an option and your typical frozen pizza is getting boring I suggest trying one of these gourmet pizzas. 



    

Cover Girl's 50th Anniversary

Cover Girl is celebrating their 50th anniversary and they are doing it in style!  You can join in on the celebration by participating in a few fun activities.  Visit Cover Girl's Facebook page to get started. 
Once you're there you can send friends a Valentine's Day heart "candy" with personalized messages and be entered to win FREE makeup, upload a photo of yourself (or one of your kids, family or friends with permission) and be "featured" in an interactive Cover Girl magazine and you even have a chance to win VIP tickets to see the Ellen DeGeneres Show!!  Upcoming giveaways include monthly makeup giveaways and the chance to meet Taylor Swift and see her in concert. 

Come back all year long as the celebration is ongoing.  The party is just getting started!

A big thanks to Bzz Agent for inviting me to the party- and now I'm inviting YOU!

Bzz: Thomas Bagel Thins a Breakfast Saver

I love to experiment with breakfast.  One of my many favorites is a fried or scrambled egg with cheddar cheese on top, placed on top of half a bagel with cream cheese (shut up- it's not THAT fattening!! ;P).  Sometimes I also like to add veggies to my egg sandwiches.  This gets to be seriously huge- huge in size AND calories.  I can't open my mouth wide enough to bite it and I can feel myself gain weight when I eat one.  But they are SOOO good!

Enter Thomas Bagel Thins.  I was buying these before the Bzz campaign and jumped at the chance to share this awesomeness with anyone that would listen  my friends and online readers.  With Thomas Bagel Thins I can eat my yummy egg sandwich without giving myself a jawache, there is not nearly as big a mess AND I can add my veggies!  There is no collapsing issue with a thinner bagel and I'm still full when I finish half of a Bagel Thin.  Plus I'm getting way less calories in a 110 calorie Bagel Thin.  So far I've only had the whole wheat Bagel Thins and I think they are great.  I can't wait to try the Plain and Everything Bagel Thins!  I'll skip the Cinnamon Raisin- not a fan of raisins here. 

The biggest test was my kids.  They are oh-so picky about everything.  But they loved these!  They (the older three- ages 9, 5 and 3) dove in and devoured them.  Past experience with regular bagels was never so positive!  One had regular cream cheese, one had their bagel with strawberry cream cheese and the other ate his plain (toasted).  They all asked when I was buying more!! 

I'll still buy regular bagels but Thomas Bagel Thins will become a regular on my shopping list for sure. 

I'm a Bzz Agent and I received a free product in exchange for my opinion (Word of Mouth).  Receiving a free product doesn't affect my opinion in any way- my opinion is my own.

Bzz: A Review of Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean (A Bzz Agent Flashback Review)

 

I recently received 2 bottles of Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean from Bzz Agent.  Extend-A-Clean features a continuous sprayer so you don't have to keep pressing on the trigger, making for an easier-to-use and better coverage cleaner.  Another feature is that they claim you can go up to 4 days longer without having to clean by providing an invisible barrier on the surfaces that are being cleaned.  

The first thing I did was explore the Scrubbing Bubbles website to learn more.  
 Useful information from the website (http://www.scrubbingbubbles.com): 
         "Works on most bathroom surfaces, including tubs, showers, glazed ceramic tile, stainless steel, chrome fixtures, fiberglass, vinyl and glazed porcelain. Avoid prolonged contact with wood, aluminum and painted, lacquered or soft surfaces. DO NOT USE on gold plated fittings, semi-glazed and resurfaced enamel baths, natural marble, travertine or brass."

1. Squeeze and hold trigger for continuous spray. Spray 8-12 inches from surface to clean. Cover surface evenly. Allow foam to penetrate dirt and soap scum (for tough jobs, let stand several minutes).
2. Wipe clean with a damp cloth or sponge, then rinse.
3. Good ventilation during use is recommended. 

 Where to use it?  Everywhere in the bathtub (except the inside of the toilet)- shower, tub, tile, shower doors, sinks, faucets and fixtures.
 What's the difference between this and other cleaners?  The invisible barrier cleans every time the surface gets wet, up to 4 days. 
Anything else?  No visible residue is left behind, according to the site.  The triggers are designed to last 2 years and the batteries are expected to last through approximately 8 refills (that relieves my "OMG- more batteries?" feeling).  The product is citrus-scented.



My initial thoughts on this product:  
*Easy to set up and use.  I like the safety lock feature.
*What does an invisible barrier mean when it's time to bathe the kids?  With four kids I'm giving baths usually at least once a day.  And what about if their toothbrushes or toys that they might put in their mouth or in the tub touch a wet surface that was sprayed?  Will they be "cleaned"?  A little concerning!  The site says that, if used properly, the product can be used around kids.  It doesn't say "safely used".
*I was curious about how the continuous sprayer would compare to a regular spray bottle- is it really necessary to have ANOTHER product that requires batteries to function?  
*Would having a different type of sprayer ensure that the entire product would be used (or would some be wasted)?  
*$10 for a cleaner??  Yikes!  $7 for a refill?  Double yikes!          
*"use with good ventilation" is never a good phrase to use with a cleaner, especially with kids and the lack of a bathroom ventilation fan.


So...I gave it a try.  I opened a window and turned on the bathroom's ceiling fan (we only have 1 bathroom).  I set it up (easy to do) and started spraying.  Then I immediately dropped the bottle and ran from the room!  The smell!!  It would be a good smell if there wasn't so much of it.  I don't have asthma but thought this might trigger an attack anyway.  It was very overwhelming.  

The sprayer was kind of fun to use- you squeeze the trigger and it makes a whirring sound as it sprays the desired surface.  It comes out sort of foamy, so you know where it's going.  I sprayed the whole bathtub and let it sit for a few minutes (you sort of have to wait- away from the bathroom- because of the smell).  After a few minutes I took a washcloth and started wiping.  I was impressed with how well it cleaned.  It got off some of the stains that I thought were permanent in the tub.  Nothing else has ever gotten them off (though I haven't tried baking soda yet).  I was a little afraid to let the kids take a bath after using it though, so after I was done cleaning I ran the shower and then wiped the tub down again with a new wet washcloth because the barrier made me uncomfortable.  

The verdict: I give this product a 10 for cleaning power, a 10 for ease of use, a 1 for "green" power, a 1 for price and a 2 for safety around kids after cleaning, during regular bathroom use (I wouldn't consider allowing my children in the area during or for 5-10 minutes after spraying).  

I would not buy this product to regularly clean my bathroom, especially at the retail price.  I'm just not comfortable enough using it around my kids and it's one of the most costly bathroom cleaners I've ever seen.  The scent is good but far too strong and I do not have any respiratory issues.  While it was fun to use, I think having a battery-operated sprayer is totally unnecessary and wasteful.  If I wasn't as environmentally aware of what I use in my house, and if I didn't have kids I would consider it as my regular bathroom cleaner. 

I have to add that I did a comparison against another product and Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean totally beat the other product (A natural product) in the cleaning competition.  It really does work well, but for our family it is not a good fit.