Necco Wafer goes All Natural {review}

I know that most everyone has tried Necco's Sweetheart Conversation Hearts during Valentines Day - right?

But have you ever had Necco Wafers?

My kids didn't even know what they were.

That's why I was so excited when I had the opportunity to be one of the first people to send an email to Necco Wafers and tell them that I would LOVE review their product (that has gone ALL Natural), in exchange they sent me a bag of Necco Wafers to share with my family and friends.

What are Necco Wafers?

Did you know Necco Wafers have been around since 1847, and very little has changed about them in over a century and a half, other than the price, until now. Necco Wafers are now All Natural, making them the largest mass-produced candy line in the U.S. to shed artificial flavoring and colors.
This means that all NECCO Wafers are fat-free, gluten-free and nut-free and now NO High Fructose Corn Syrup as well as artificial colors and flavors

Each assorted wafer roll contains a combination of the seven flavors and colors: lemon (yellow), orange (orange), clove (purple), cinnamon (white), wintergreen (pink), licorice (black) and chocolate (brown). **Lime(green) was eliminated when they went All Natural -"Green, one of eight original wafer colors, was too hard to duplicate in the all-natural process. It seems the lime flavor could be reproduced naturally, but the color lacked consistency so it was scrapped."

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I have been a fan of Necco Wafers since child hood, they were a favorite candy of my mom's. Now as an adult I have a new reason to love them. I like the fact that besides being All Natural, it's also a fat free candy. The bag that was sent to us contained 23 rolls of nine in original flavors. (The calorie count for each roll is 50 with 0 g total fat) After eating one roll, my sweet tooth was satisfied! I like to suck on them for a bit, so one roll lasted me the better part of the afternoon. I got to enjoy a delicious treat without the guilt. I also love that each wafer is packed full of flavor! The chocolate only packs were Sunshine's favorite!

We passed out some to Trick-or-Treaters! So hopefully we introduced some more kids to this wonderful treat!

~ FUN ~

check out the Necco website here and see how Necco's are made!

Twilight Fans - have you seen Necco's Twilight Sweethearts?! I've picked up a few boxes at Walgreens to snack on when we go to the Midnight premier of New Moon on Nov 20th!

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Got a Necco wafer story? Did you eat them as a kid?

TidyMom radio interview "On The HomeStretch" with Debbie Alan

A little over a week ago I was a guest on Debbie Alan’s morning radio show

“On The HomeStretch“

I was SO nervous (click here to read my post about it) !

But Debbie made me feel like I was talking to an old friend!

If you missed the interview,

and want to know a little more about TidyMom

Click here to listen to my interview!

Thanks again Debbie for visiting with me, and to Julie for setting it all up!

FREE E-Book: Old Schoolhouse Holiday & winners

The Old Schoolhouse has posted a link to their Digital Holiday Supplement for Thanksgiving and Christmas available for everyone HERE!

This 175 page digital magazine is packed full of wonderful ideas to prepare you and your family for the upcoming holidays with holiday recipes, activities for the kids, craft ideas with instructions, articles on staying sane during the holidays and making the most of our Christmas season and much much more!

I also have the four winners of the

Don Aslett Housework Help Books Giveaway!!

Random.org chose the winners for me!

#1 Christina is the winner of How to Make Your House do the Housework

#77 Lindsey is the winner of No Time to Clean

#23 Amanda is the winner of How to Handle 1,000 Things at Once

#47 ConvientlySimplistic is the winner of For Packrats Only

Congratulations ladies!! I'm sure you will love the books!

Remember, if you place an order for any of Don's books and you mention that you are a TidyMom reader, you will receive a FREE Microfiber Dust Cloth with your purchase!! Just click the button below or over on my sidebar.

They sent me the Help! Around the House book, "A Mother's Guide to Getting the Family to Pitch in and Clean Up"......and I have to say I'm REALLY enjoying that book!! I love this quote:

"We've made cleaning part of the responsibility
of being a member of the family.
If you live in the house, you help take care of it.
It belongs to all of us."

"Love the Pie" Party!

I'm having a Party!!

a PIE PARTY that is!!

On Monday November 16th I'm throwing a

"Love the Pie" blog carnival!!


Every great pie starts with a GREAT PIE CRUST!!!
You don't have to be a "domestic goddess" to make a great pie crust!
I have a secret, (remember... I like "easy") I ALWAYS use Pillsbury® Refrigerated Pie Crust!
Just add a pinch of personality and a dash of inspiration and you'll have a pie that would make your Grandmother AND Martha Stewart proud!!



So, just in time for Thanksgiving!
Get your recipes ready and post about your creation
then come back here on November 16 to link up your post!

OH! and what's a party with out prizes?????
Pillsbury® will have some prizes for a few of you who link up to the "Love the Pie Party!"
EDITED to say....I have a few more sponsors who will be participating as well, so there will be lots of fun prizes!! I have room for a few more, so if you would like to sponsor a giveaway for this party, just email me!


Looking for a pie recipe to try? Pillsbury® has some great recipes to try!
www.Pillsbury.com/pie
you can also find a money saving coupon here for your Pillsbury® Pie Crust

You can use the code below if you'd wish to blog about Love the Pie or put the button on your side bar! I'll post this code again on Nov 16th so you can add it to your post too!

I will put the party up starting 9pm CT on Sunday Nov 15


<a href="http://tidymomof2.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k190/tidymom/my%20blog%20stuff/layout%20stuff/Lovethepie.jpg" /></a>

Freezing Cookies for Holiday Baking {Guest Post}

I'm SO excited!! I have a guest poster for you today!!
Bridget of Bake at 350!!
Bridget and I have really connected and I'm a HUGE fan of her blog where she shares all of her fabulous cookies, tips and more! Today's she's sharing how to ease some of the stress of holiday cookie baking.

So, grab a cookie and come along.............

Hi, TidyMom readers! I am so thrilled to be here guest posting today on one of my favorite blogs! Thank you, Cheryl, for the invite!

Well, ladies...the season is upon us. The baking season, that is. I love baking and decorating cookies, but sometimes just the thought of how many I have to bake...for teachers, neighbors, friends, relatives...in December makes me tired.


Guess what? You can FREEZE sugar cookies and save them for later! Yay!


Here's how I do it:

• Bake the cookies and let them cool completely,
• Stack in gallon freezer baggies between layers of wax paper,


• Place the baggies in freezer safe plastic containers (this gives them an extra layer of protection and keeps them from getting crushed).

To thaw, just take them out of the freezer about 3 hours or more before decorating. (Do not refrigerate.)

Cookies already decorated with royal icing can also be frozen! This is great if you're planning a big party, just make your cookies in advance and pop in the freezer. Again, take them out a few hours before you need them, and you are all set. If you've bagged them, leave the cookies in the bags to thaw.

Happy cookie decorating!

Thanks again Bridget!! Your cookies inspire me every day! You make it all look so easy with your "I can do it" attitude and all of the advice you share! I can't wait until we can actually meet in person one day!

Pumpkin Spice Coffee-Mate Works for ME!

Have you tried Coffee-Mate's Pumpkin Spice creamer?

OMG - I no longer need to stop at Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice latte! I'm going to give it a try with our Back to Basics Cocoa-Latte Machine
and make our own latte's - but it's delicious just poured into your cup of morning joe!!♥

It's only available November thru January - so grab some quick before it's gone!

Coffee-Mate's Pumpkin Spice creamer Works for ME!

No one paid me to write this post - I just wanted to share something that I LOVE!

Secret Agent Spy Party!!

You MUST click over to Moore Minutes and see the AMAZING

Secret Agent Spy Party

Lisa pulled off for her 9 year old son!!

It sounds like SO much fun!! Sunshine read the whole post with me and wants to know why I never did something like that for her!LOL