Summer. No, it isn’t summer yet, but I know I wouldn’t mind some summer weather here in Ohio. This snow is for the birds!

When I was a child my family would take a week-long vacation every summer. My sister and I would pile into the back seat of our family car (I believe it was a brown Buick Skylark at the time). We would fight about who was crossing the “line” and not staying on her side. The fighting quickly ended once we reached our destination, though. Of the many different places we went over the years, our first trip to Kennebunkport, Maine is the one that sticks out most in my mind. Looking back on that trip, it may have been “the perfect summer vacation”, though we may not have realized it at the time. My parents rented this small cabin right across the street from the beach. This was in the early part of the 80s, so the area wasn’t overly populated and the cabin sat back off of the road. I remember my sister and I slept on the second floor (or it may have been the attic) and the only way up was a narrow, twisted staircase. There was no television in the cabin, so we were “forced” to entertain ourselves. Imagine that!? Our days were spent on the private beach, which we pretty much had to ourselves. My sister and I found a part of a small, yellow/orange buoy or nautical float that we named “Mr. Tidy Bowl”. We played with it all day long and somehow it was there every day when we came out to play. I remember we would toss it out into the waves and watch it return to us, hour after hour, day after day. Our nights were spent reading books late into the night in the attic, long after our parents had fallen asleep. I will never forget that summer. Things seemed so much simpler then, though maybe it only seems that way because I was a child.

Rudi’s Gluten-Free has just launched a Gluten-Free Camp Scholarship Contest. More about the contest:

From February 18 – March 18, Rudi’s Gluten-Free fans are encouraged to submit a 100-word essay from their child explaining, “what makes them special” for a chance to win a one-week scholarship to attend a gluten-free overnight camp. Based on the essays, Rudi’s will select 10 winners, ages 8-17, to have a camp experience they’ll always remember.

Rudi’s Gluten-Free has generously offered to give one lucky reader one of the following prizes worth $100 and 5 free product coupons.

All you have to do to enter to win is leave a comment below telling me  about your favorite summer memory. I will randomly select a winner on the morning of March 1, 2014.

*The prizes mentioned in this post are being provided courtesy of Rudi’s Gluten-Free at no cost to me. The thoughts and opinions shared here are mine and have not been influenced by anyone or anything.

Valetine’s Day is tomorrow. Are you prepared? There are a great deal of gluten-free candies on the market, like some of the following:

• Hershey’s 
• Endangered Species Chocolate
• Gimbal’s Fine Candies

If candy isn’t your thing, consider Glutino’s Fudge Covered Pretzels.

These gems are a favorite in our house. I don’t often get many out of a bag, as Jon inhales them. They are the perfect combination of sweet & salty. Glutino Fudge Pretzels can be found in grocery and health food stores across the US and online. They also offer Yogurt Covered Pretzels, but we are in love with the fudge. 

*The Glutino product mentioned in this post was sent to me free of charge for review/blog purposes. The thoughts and opinions shared here are mine and have not been influenced by anyone or anything. 

The other day I received a super-cool package from Larabar that made my day! It was a box full of Larabar goodness.  

In the box were some of my all-time favorites like the Lemon Poundcake ALT bar and Blueberry Muffin Larabar along with a couple of new Uber bars. 

I have been carrying Larabars in my purse, car or gym bag for years, so I love the new campaign “#glutenfreakout”.  

“Don’t gluten-freak out! Carry a Larabar!” Brilliant!  

What is your favorite Larabar variety? There is truly one for everyone. If you haven’t tried Larabars, you are really missing out. 

*The products mentioned in this post were sent to me free of charge for review purposes. The thoughts an opinions shared here are mine and have not been influenced by anyone or anything.

I have been watching The Biggest Loser for years. I love watching the transformations that happen on the show. People who thought that they were hopeless, stuck and destined to be miserable get to the root of their issues and come out on the other side armed with tools to live a healthy life. 

As I was watching the finale last night, I saw something that made my heart drop. As the final member of the final three stepped out on stage, it was immediately clear that she had crossed over the line. Rachel didn’t look healthy and trim, she looked aged and dangerously thin. I say “dangerously thin” because while she may only be a few pounds underweight now, it is what is going on in her head that is the real danger. From what I can find online, Rachel is 5’4” and 105 pounds. The minimum someone her height should weigh is 108 pounds. The nature of the show, the winner having the largest percentage of weight loss, is such that the only way Rachel could win against the two other finalists, and the weight they lost, is to lose the amount of weight she lost and left her weighing only 105 pounds.  

If you watched, and saw the look on all three trainers faces, you know they were shocked at how Rachel looked, too. Where does the line get drawn? How much is too much? Should the winner be ineligible if they are underweight at the finale? 

I am not judging Rachel, I am genuinely concerned. Having struggled with anorexia for as long as I have, I understand how easy it is to fall into the patterns that can quickly turn dangerous. Just one more pound and I’ll stop. Just another mile and it’ll be enough. Just one more. 

It was just a couple of weeks ago when I shared my thoughts on the new gluten-free Honey Mustard Pretzels from Glutino. I am thrilled to announce that Glutino has graciously offered to give 5 lucky readers each a bag of the new pretzels!  How cool is that?

All you have to do to enter to win is leave a comment below telling me what your favorite way to eat gluten-free pretzels is.  Do you like them alone, with a sandwich, dipped in something, in a mix with other crunchy snacks?  Please only leave 1 comment.  

I will choose a winner on Wednesday, February 5, 2014.  Good luck!