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Hazelnut Pear Chocolate Chip Waffles PC

I Don’t Cook, Except When I Do

I don’t live in some magical dream world where I think am a world class chef. Actually, I don’t even have the confidence in the kitchen to attempt the most basic of meals outside of scrambled eggs and grilled cheese sandwiches. Now that my kids are getting older and developing their own identities, life has begun to get increasingly busier with school, activities and shuttling them around everywhere. That said, we don’t have as much time as we used to for procrastinating over what to make for breakfast and dinner.

In fact, according to a recent survey from the Loblaws and President’s Choice® teams, 68 per cent of Canadian parents have less than 10 minutes to make their child’s breakfast on a weekday. In an effort to be more useful in the kitchen for my family, I accepted the challenge of teaming up with Loblaws and President’s Choice® to attempt one of their recipes that they say even I can cook in the time I actually have. While I could have gone with the easier choices of Applesauce Greek Yogurt Parfait or Strawberry Cashew Breakfast Shake, I decided to challenge myself by selecting the Hazelnut Pear Chocolate Chip Waffles.

The ingredients included peeled BOSC pears, brown sugar, roasted pecans, PC® Belgian Chocolate Chip Waffles & PC® Chocolate Hazelnut Spread. Not wanting to be one of the thirty per cent of Canadian parents who opt to skip feeding themselves in order to make sure their kids have a proper meal, I made sure to grab enough ingredients for my wife and myself as well. Plus, who could pass up the opportunity to bite into this finished result?!

Hazelnut Pear Chocolate Chip Waffles

Hazelnut Pear Chocolate Chip Waffles

I honestly can’t believe how quick and easy it was to create the above masterpiece and am proud to announce that it tasted as good as it looks! Now that I have the confidence to try new things in the kitchen, the next item on my list is to tackle the dinner rush, which is usually even more crazy than breakfast. I know that I’m not the only one who struggles with this. Just look at these staggering survey results from the Loblaws and President’s Choice® teams:

• Fifty-one per cent of parents wish they had more dinners together as a family
• Forty per cent of Canadians said they ate more dinners as a family when they were growing up than their children eat with them
• Thirty-eight per cent of Canadian parents find it difficult to be creative with dinner meals
• Fifty-one per cent of Canadian children don’t pack their own school lunches, and less than half (41 per cent) of Canadian children help their parents prepare dinner

Let’s take back meal time and get creative while we’re at it! I know my kids were excited to see something other than scrambled eggs and toast on the table. You can visit the President’s Choice® website for more great quick and easy recipes for all meals!

Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in this program, however I made that meal all by myself and am very proud about it! And it really was delicious!

ENR_EcoAdvanced_Logo

What Do You Mean The Batteries Are Dead?!

As parents, we’ve all been there. You’ve thought of everything for your family outing. Everything except batteries, that is, and now you’re dealing with the sinking feeling you get when you see that last bar mocking you as it flashes its final countdown.

We recently had such an experience at my son’s class performance when our camera ran out of batteries just minutes after the show began. I can still remember the sweat pouring down my face as I was faced with having to report my error to my wife as she beamed with excitement at the thought of having these memories forever.

There was a small part of me that wanted to pretend to take the pictures anyway but I knew I would eventually be found out, so I fessed up to my crime. My wife took the news well but I figure it could be years before she gets her revenge, as I would do to her. Maybe the half opened sugar lid or flushing the toilet while she showers. What, that’s totally normal, right?

The point here is that we go through a lot of batteries, as I’m sure most families do, and with March Break on the horizon, we are starting to stock up now so I don’t make the same mistake twice. This year we are trying out the new Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ batteries in hopes of getting a longer life out of our various devices.

FYI – The Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ batteries are the world’s first battery made with 4% recycled batteries and are Energizer’s longest lasting alkaline battery.

Double FYI – When you purchase Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ batteries at *participating stores between February 1st –March 16th, 2015 and go to energizerwinsmart.com to enter your product UPC, you will be entered for your chance to win a smart fortwo ($26,000 value!). There are also 10 secondary prizes of $100 President’s Choice Gift Cards are also available to be won!

Yeah, I know. Makes you want to snag some batteries next time you’re enjoying some quiet grocery time at Loblaws, doesn’t it?

Reader Giveaway!

Oh, that wasn’t enough for you? Okay, how about a giveaway just for you guys? Simply participate in any of the tasks in the Rafflecopter form below and I’ll pick a winner on … who will take home the following:
– Energizer® EcoAdvanced™,
– Energizer® flashlight
– Loblaw’s gift card valued at $25
(Insert Giveaway Form)
* Participating stores: Loblaws, Maxi, Maxi & Cie, Atlantic Superstore, Real Canadian Superstore, Zehrs and Dominion.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in this campaign, however my fear described above was very real…