Monday, July 16, 2012

i play., Inc. green sprouts Garden Collection {Review & Giveaway}

While the month of June seems to have passed by in a blur, I'm determined to grab hold of July and enjoy it with my family as much as we can. Whether that means picnics in the park, barbeques in the yard, relaxing poolside and at the splash park, or just simply having fun with friends, summertime means as much life outdoors as possible.

When it comes to my kids, that also means that food must be packed. Because as much as my girls love climbing on the playground equipment or digging in the sandbox with their friends, inevitably their laughter turns into calls of I'm hungryyyyyy all too quickly.

Although we can always throw a sandwich into a container and stick it in a bag, there's something about having a designated lunch bag that seems to make the food a little more appealing (not to mention safer). And when it's reusable and absolutely adorable? Well then that must mean it is part of the green sprouts Garden Collection from i play., Inc.

green sprouts Garden Collection

Perfect for summer outings as well as for back to school, the Garden Collection is made up of attractive, convenient, reusable products that children as well as parents are sure to love. After all, how can kids pass up the colorful, cute Bugs or Veggies designs, while Mom and Dad can be thrilled that they are waterproof, easy to clean, and PVC free?

When the Reusable Garden Lunch Bag, Reusable Garden Snack Bag 2pk and Garden Lunch Chillers 3pk arrived, I knew that these would indeed be a big hit.

Green Sprouts review

Whether we're headed outdoors in the warm weather or lunch isn't for a few hours, I am always looking for ways to keep our packed food cold. While a bulky ice pack takes up a great deal of space, the Garden Lunch Chillers (retail price $6.00) are a trio of approximately 6.5" x 3.5" refreezable ice pouches that can store just about anywhere.

reusable ice packs

Along with the cute Bug or Veggie design, I love that small size of these pouches ensure that each one can easily be tucked into even the smallest spaces in your lunchbox, bag or container. After use for the day, simply hand wash them and return them to the freezer and they'll be ready again the following day!

As for the food itself, I often try to pack my daughters' food in reusable storage containers but sometimes the bulky rectangle shape and size takes up much more room than I would like when we're on-the-go. Therefore, instead of adding more waste to the landfills with disposable sandwich and snack baggies, the Reusable Garden Snack Bags 2pk (retail price $9.00) is a perfect solution!

Available with a choice of pink, blue or green accents surrounding the combination of both the Bugs and Veggies designs on the flexible, PVC free plastic, these bags are lightweight, durable and extremely cute.


I appreciate that i play. made these bags transparent so that it's easy to see what is inside, while the durable Velcro closure means that foods will stay secured, but that young children will still have no problem pulling it open to retrieve them.

Of course you have to have a way to carry your Garden Lunch Chillers and Reusable Garden Snack Bags, which is where the Reusable Garden Lunch Bag (retail price $9.00) is the perfect choice. Also available with a choice of pink, blue or green accents, this soft, transparent, PVC free bag is the finishing touch to the green sprouts line.

As with the Snack Bags, i play. added a strong Velcro closure that is securely attached to keep the Lunch Bag closed (yet isn't too difficult to open).

Velcro

Although my initial thought was that this bag appeared small, I soon realized just how much could fit right inside. The carrying handle is just the right size for little hands and my girls couldn't be happier to put the whole collection together and grab their lunch for camp or a picnic.

kids lunch bag

We have used our green sprouts Garden Collection for multiple packed lunches and have been impressed each and every time. The girls adore the cute critters and vegetables printed on them and I'm thrilled that each piece is safe as well as so easy to pack, use, clean and reuse.

It seems that no matter how many times we've grabbed, pulled, opened or closed these items, they still appear like new. I have no doubt that after our summer adventures are over, Little Sister B will be more than excited to take her lunch to preschool decked out in the stylishness of i play., Inc!

From swimwear to beach towels to sunglasses, i play. has the high quality items that can keep your family safe and happy all summer long, while their affordable prices will keep you coming back for more.

Available online or in retail stores across the country and worldwide, you can easily find these amazing products throughout the internet or check them out in person at your favorite nearby store.

But, wait! If the green sprouts selections from i play. would fit in your life this month, next month and beyond, be sure to enter the promo code IPL12 at checkout and receive a 30% discount. This coupon code ends July 31st though, so don't delay!

Thanks to the generosity of i play., one person will be prepared to each lunch with their own happy bugs and veggies, because...

One lucky person will win their choice of the green sprouts Reusable Garden Lunch Bag, green sprouts Snack Bag 2pk OR Garden Lunch Chillers 3pk!


(Enter with the Rafflecopter form below. If you have any questions or problems entering, there is a video tutorial found here that can help.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A big thank you to i play., Inc. for providing these three items for me to review as well as the item of choice for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.

139 comments:

Jessica Allen said... 1

My Son Loves Cheese It's Crackers! It's His Favorite Item In His Lunch Box! :)

Megan Grant said... 2

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cucumbers and fishy crackers!

Serendipity Stitcher said... 3

Pretzels and Salami.

jmajor4870 said... 4

pbj sandwich, string cheese and carrot sticks

Sylvia said... 5

Cheese and crackers
sylviawhit@gmail.com

VJ ~ vantalee said... 6

Pizza, banana, strawberry yogurt, apple juice.

jessica said... 7

turkey wrap

jek9880 at gmail dot com

Deborah said... 8

Sandwich and lots of little things - raisins, carrots, apples, cheese, crackers, other munchies. :)

Linda W. said... 9

My son took leftover pasta to camp today and my daughter a tuna sandwich.

Rita M said... 10

Cheese crackers & string cheese.

mommy2luke2008 said... 11

His favorite packed lunch would be peanut butter and jelly sandwich, string cheese, and fruit snacks!

Amy V said... 12

i love apple slices and almond butter!

annae07 at aol dot com

Brandi Elam said... 13

Sandwich, strawberries/blueberries, yogurt, and Pirate's booty.

Brandi Elam said... 14

Sandwich, strawberries/blueberries, yogurt, and Pirate's booty.

Tracie Brown said... 15

ANY fruit, pb & j, or pasta

Jessica said... 16

My daughter loves all the fruits and veggies and PB&J for her lunches. She is not picky at all.

Joel and Azure said... 17

She loves hummus, granola bars, grapes, and peas!

Tamara said... 18

I don't often pack lunches since my daughter is only 3 and we are home during the day. But, when we take a picnic to the park, it's usually pb&j, carrotts and apples.
wazzuroo at gmail dot com

Stefanie Elysse Hurtado said... 19

Diced cherry tomatoes, Pirate's Booty, an Uncrustable, and dried or fresh apple slices.

Anonymous said... 20

String cheese, PB and J, Apple slices, banana! :)

Maureen Modic

mommyfoote said... 21

Usually a healthy sandwich, some apple slices, and chips are packed along with water.

mommyfoote said... 22
This comment has been removed by the author.
Savor The Days said... 23

turkey and cheese roll ups and grapes
kim(at)kimberlychance(dot)com

Christina P said... 24

crackers, fruit and my son loves chicken and turkey sausage. mcparker9@comcast.net

Tanya M said... 25

Cheese & crackers and some sliced vegetables and fruit/berries.

Laura Love said... 26

we frequently do a pb&j on wheat bread, string cheese, and a sliced apple.
lajohnson555 at yahoo dot com

Laura Love said... 27

I subscribe in RSS- Google Reader - laura.a.love07 at gmail dot com
lajohnson555 at yahoo dot com

Jenny Stanek said... 28

My daughter LOVES apple slices with caramel!

orangestar17@hotmail.com

sherylssg said... 29

My son likes sandwich, peanut butter crackers and fruit.

sflickinger at rocketmail dot com

SueZH said... 30

Love my turkey sandwich and chips.

Sandy VanHoey said... 31

lunchables, fruit snacks, juice or milk and crackers or chips

Carrie Phelps said... 32

My grandson loves turkey & mustard sandwiches & I would also include fresh fruit & perhaps a cookie!

JLin said... 33

Fruit snack

keyka27@hotmail.com

Janine said... 34

yogurt, banana, hard-boiled egg

Ledford Land said... 35

Bologna and cheese (with just mustard!) is my daughter's fav :)

cherriesjessilee at gmail dot com

bigdisneyfan said... 36

My kids like apples there are cut up in their lunch boxes. I add some lemon drops so they don't brown so quickly.
kwarnaar2 at gmail dot com

chris z said... 37

brownies!

coleycoupons said... 38

pb & j, cheese, berries and peppers

Peppin said... 39

roasted sweet potato wedges and apple slices

marymichelotti said... 40

Peanutbutter and jelly, fruitsnacks, and fresh fruit

marymichelotti@gmail.com

Wendy Rozema said... 41

peanut butter & jelly & yogurt!

ossobuco11 said... 42

Squeezy Apple Sauce, Blueberries, tomatoes, and grams.

Aly said... 43

Cheese and cut up apples make my little guy happy!

Tia said... 44

Apples, cheese stick and water are among the favorites.

debijackson said... 45

grapes and peanutbutter
debbie jackson,
djackson1958 at hotmail dot com

sarah79harding said... 46

my daughter loves bananas and peanut butter

Lisa said... 47

My daughter's favorite lunch item would definitely be yogurt--I usually pack the squeezable kind

Molly said... 48

PB&J cut with cookie cutters or a sandwich shaper and grapes or apple slices.

Unknown said... 49

Yogurt tubes are my sons fave!

Samantha D
dull2000 at cox dot net

Beth said... 50

some of our standards are a hard boiled egg, yogurt, protein and fruit

ellen_levickis said... 51

ham and cheese sandwich

Brittany said... 52

Cheese + crackers, turkey sandwich, yogurt and sliced fruit!

Serena said... 53

I've always had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my lunch since Kindergarden.

Serena Powell

.ambre. said... 54

They love to drink chocolate milk!

Anonymous said... 55

my kids love corn dogs and apples and cheese sticks and chips
tcogbill at live dot com

Anonymous said... 56

little packs of raisins

MELINA said... 57

my daughter like pbj sandwiches and fruits like grapes and strawberries.

Jessica A. said... 58

Sandwich,a fruit and/or vege and a drink either juice or water.

Melissa said... 59

Gotta have a cookie in the pack!

Carmen said... 60

How adorable!

theconners4 said... 61

Gotta have apple slices with peanut butter!

theconners3@yahoo.com

Jennifer said... 62

turkey sandwich

mverno said... 63

TUNA FISH AND FRUIT SNACKS
mverno@roadrunner.com

Laurel said... 64

Yogurt and crackers.
alwaysneedhim4evr@yahoo.com

Amylynn said... 65

My son loves cheese crackers! He also always wants cucumber slices with his lunch.

enizete said... 66

I love some oranges, bananas and apples

Kelly N. said... 67

Leave a comment on this post telling me what foods are included in your (or your child's) favorite packed lunch.

apples and bananas

MommaM said... 68

Whole grain breast meat chicken nuggets. shreve_mary(at)yahoo(dot)com

Liz said... 69

sandwich, fruit, juice, fig newtons

Anonymous said... 70

Turkey sandwich, apple juice & a banana.

Love3570@aol.com

AnnaZed said... 71

sandwich, fruit, carrots, juice and a cookie

The Rafflecopter calls me 'Margot' since it is accessing my facebook where I am 'Margot Core'; the Rafflecopter connects to this

email: annazed10 (at) yahoo (dot) com

Christine said... 72

Pizza, chicken nuggets, cookies, veggies.
Thanks for the chance!

raceracegirl at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said... 73

Avocado wraps & apple sauce for my little guys lunch today!

Megan Earley said... 74

My favorite lunch is a sandwich, yogurt, and veggies.

Jana said... 75

My daughter loves carrots w/ranch, green beans, fruit snacks and a tuna sandwich!

dropcqueen at yahoo dot com

Unknown said... 76

My son loves fruit so I always pack some type of fresh fruit!

Andrea said... 77

Watermelon is a current lunchbox favorite!

polly said... 78

my 3 year old grandson loves to have any kind of fruit in his lunchbag when he comes to visit

Anna Maloy said... 79

What a great idea and soooooo cute! My kids love sliced apples in their lunches.

chantal cooper said... 80

pb&j and apples

Lo said... 81

My son prefers peanut butter, and cream cheese (not together!)

RJ said... 82

Fruit Smiles


rjwhiggins@aol.com

Lina said... 83

He likes turkey & cheese sandwhiches with apples

lilyk said... 84

My favorite packed lunch has yogurt, soup, string cheese, and hard boiled eggs.

Anonymous said... 85

Tukey w/Gouda and Cranberry spread on crossiant.

Nicole said... 86

peanut butter & honey sandwich, applesauce, water, and a small treat

Brooke T said... 87

bananas

Anonymous said... 88

pbj or ham and cheese, yogurt and baked chips

marstoddard at yahoo dot com

Unknown said... 89

the kids love my flat bread muffulatta with a side of yougert topped with anything chocolate

Colleen Maurina said... 90

Turkey sandwich and blueberries.

colljerr at comcast dot net

Jennifer T. said... 91

My daughter likes roast beef and cheese sandwiches, yogurt, and strawberries.
jtmagmom73(at)gmail(dot)com

Nd said... 92

Grape tomatoes

Charlene S said... 93

Peanut Butter

Heather said... 94

Carrotts!

Terri said... 95

PB&J sandwich, banana and carrot sticks.

Unknown said... 96

My son's favorite packed lunch includes mandarin oranges, pretzels, peanut butter roll up and grapes or strawberries. :)

Unknown said... 97

Carrot sticks and cheese

Unknown said... 98

Laughing Cow cheese always puts a smile on her face :)

Victoria said... 99

turkey sandwich and white cheddar cheez-its! YUM!
Victoria S

nica said... 100

PB&J sandwich!

Danielle said... 101

My favorite lunch is a spinach salad with diced chicken breast and raspberries.

The Happy Wife/Danielle Garcia
Ldsmom2201 (at) yahoo (dot) com
http://juanshappywife.blogspot.com
Twitter: The_Happy_Wife

Marilyn said... 102

PB&J sandwich and banana

tosra55@yahoo.com

Unknown said... 103

peanut butter & nutella sandwiches and grapes

Taylor W said... 104

Spaghetti and garlic toast for a SPAGHETTI SANGWICH!

Anonymous said... 105

My kids love pb and j, bananas, pretzels, grapes

Kate said... 106

Well, I have an 8 month old (who would be getting this as a gift next spring), who loves any fruits, veggies, and banana bread!

Tamar said... 107

cheese sandwiches. all day, everyday.
Tam Sweeps RC/FB

Nikki said... 108

My daughter loves cheese packed in her lunch! ngiraldi at gmail dot com

oceanrena said... 109

my son likes grapes
oceanrenaatyahoodotcom

Unknown said... 110

Grapes or bananas

Cassie Eastman said... 111

My favorite is a Turkey Sandwich & my son's favorite is a Peanut Butter & Honey sandwich with carrots, broccoli and ranch to dip them in!

calabaza said... 112

a tortilla roll up sandwich.

Melissa Shirley said... 113

Carrots and ranch. My son is a veggie eater.
melissalucky43@yahoo.com

Valerie Taylor Mabrey said... 114

Cheese or peanut butter with crackers

Priscilla said... 115

My favorite packed lunch include, hummus, carrots, and tortilla chips.

Sarah Hall said... 116

Baby carrots and ranch dip.

sgregory0714 said... 117

Celery and peanut butter

Karen F said... 118

cheese and crackers

Teresa Thompson said... 119

Pb&j, strawberries and chocolate milk.

Unknown said... 120

My daughter likes frozen grapes.

ltlbitone said... 121

We do sliced turkey, apple slices, and baby carrots with ranch..

A Roach said... 122

PB and nutella sandwich!

Anonymous said... 123

Ham and Cheese; Apples

Sonya said... 124

PB&J, cheese and edamame are his favorites!

Unknown said... 125

Grapes, cheese, yogurt, baby carrots

Kristie said... 126

My daughter like a peanut butter sandwich, string cheese and raisins.

khmorgan_00 [at] yahoo [dot] com

susansmoaks said... 127

i pack blueberries, cottage cheese, turkey on sandwich thin and pretzels for lunch!

susansmoaks at gmail dot com

Tylerpants said... 128

My son likes ham & cheese sandwich, some goldfish crackers and strawberries in his lunch. tylerpants(at)gmail.com

Unknown said... 129

she loves a bologna sandwich and string cheese.

sarahyurga@yahoo.com

ninamcclain93 said... 130

I like grapes in mine.

yyeres said... 131

cheese sandwich and an apple

Kim said... 132

Pb &j and grapes!

won said... 133

Meat and cheese.

laurasloves said... 134

They love Peanut Butter and Jelly and apple slices.
lauraemerson17 at yahoo dot com

cman said... 135

Cheese n cherries.

Anonymous said... 136

hummus & veggies

juliaphatch at gmail

Unknown said... 137

ham sandwich, cheese, and some veggies!

amy beth marantino said... 138

PB&J, a green apple, and chocolate milk

Marissa said... 139

My kiwi loves apple slices