I spent the morning on the phone! Never fun, but I made a lot of progress with a few things that have been on the burner for a while now.
1) Kitchen Aid Customer Service rocks (and they have cute southern accents!) ;)
They are sending me a brand new blender even though I don’t have the receipt anymore! The only snag is I have to send back my broken blender, so I will be out of a blender for 10-14 days. I almost had a heart attack! I might use this as an excuse to buy a juicer with one of our wedding gift cards and do 2 weeks of juicing for fun! :) That would be fun to blog about.
I also broke my Kitchen Aid Food Processor the first time I used it (in June!). Don’t ask! bahahaha. I was trying to puree dates and let’s just say the inner spindle thing melted! I finally got around to finding the receipt today. I had to fax it to KA and they will be sending me a shipping label so I can mail it back to them, and then they will be sending me a new one.
So hopefully within a few weeks, I will have some new machines. Hopefully they don’t break again! I’m cursed! lol
2) I contacted Vita-Mix
I pitched an idea for Vita-Mix for the Green Monster Movement. I told them that I’d love if they could offer their mixers at a discounted rate to readers. They are so expensive and I know I can’t afford one, so hopefully they are willing to give a huge price cut. I’m talking HUGE price cut here. We’ll see if they bite. I guess it depends if they want to be affiliated with the GMM or not. Time will tell!
My Packaging contact and I had a lengthy discussion about packaging for my Glo Bars. He told me all about the printing process and how I would have to purchase approx. 32 plates for printing. There is so much involved in it, but I think I have a good understanding now. I told him that I have 15 flavours now (and growing!) so I need a way to colour differentiate each flavour (sort of how Larabar does, but I don’t want the package to be opaque).
We discussed the Biofilm, which is completely biodegradable packaging. I don’t know about you, but if my bars could be in environmentally friendly packaging I would be over the moon excited. As you know it is my dream to have a biodegradable package. He said the only problem with biofilm is that the shelf life is reduced (typically around 6 months) and it can’t be in direct sunlight or the cellophane will dry out. Not a huge issue at this point though. He is sending me a bunch of samples to review, so I will of course be blogging all about it!
The other day, I tried out a couple new Glo Bar flavours.
1) Peanut Butter and Jelly
Two words: It Bombed
The jelly made it way too sticky and the bars fell apart. I am now using it as a topper for my cereal. :D
Onward and upward!
2) S’moore
This first attempt wasn’t bad, but it isn’t the final one yet. I have a cool idea that I will be trying out today.
Thanks for all your help with suggesting names for the bars on Twitter! I will be doing a poll shortly.
Lunch was delicious and easy and satisfied my wrap addict self!
Ingredients:
- High pro + high Fibre pita
- 1 Money’s Veggie Burger
- 1/2 avocado
- Kraft Light Balsamic
- tomato
- Hummus
- Orange pepper
Still going strong!
Sketchie Spotting!
Well folks, back to it.
I’m going to hit the treadmill in a bit. It is STILL raining outside. Grrr. The good news is, the rest of the week’s weather is supposed to be fabulous!
Ciao!
Today’s question:
What are your biggest pet peeves when working out at the gym?
Mine were always:
- Gross hair in the change room
- People who didn’t clean off their machine
- Grunting muscle men
- People changing the TV that I was watching (without asking)
You? :)
{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Angela!
That’s a great idea to try and affiliate Vita-Mix with the GMM! My blender died last week also (and I’ve been without one since!- it’s really hard!! I looked forward to my daily GMs – life is NOT the same w/o them) I would love to purchase a Vita-Mix blender but like you stated they are way too expensive for my budget right now. I’m hoping this works out!!
xo
Jocelyn
your lunch looks so good. i have another hour and a half til mine and i’m starving!
that’s so exciting you get new appliances. i love new kitchen stuff.
biggest pet peeve for the gym? definitely the hair thing. bleh!
Your new bar ideas sound fantastic! Your original attempts at creating the GloBars were my inspiration to try my own in the kitchen. Portable snacks that are healthy and budget friendly are really hard to come by and finding your blog has made bar making a regular thing in my house. I love trying new things with new ingredients and I’m looking forward to sharing them, all while giving proper kudos to you of course! I’m just starting out with my blog and added you to my little blogroll list I hope that’s ok! Thanks for all your positivity and for all you share with your readers!
A Vitamix rebate would be totally awesome! Looks like you had a really productive morning!
My gym pet peeves:
-people talking on their cell while working out
-the person on the machine next to me trying to read my magazine (creeps me out haha)
-unfriendly front desk people!
oo good luck. i wish i could afford a vita mix even with a discount :(
-muffy
Mine peet peeve is when people (usually men) ask to cut in on my sets on weight machines. I mean, of course I say yes, but aren’t there enough other machines that they could wait the minute or two until Im done? lol
Also, I have never understood the women who just stand there naked in the locker room……..That is a whole other topic in itself! I mean, be proud of your body and all but geez! lol
I love KA customer service, they were awesome with our mixer mishap. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about VitaMix, but very pricey! That would be awesome :) Good luck with your bar experiments, send some rain our way please!!!
I agree they are very pricey…I’m asking for a HUGE price cut. So we’ll see. Never hurts to ask, right? :)
The tv channel-changing thing drives me NUTS, too! Another is talking to me when I have headphones on. I clearly don’t really want to talk plus I CANNOT HEAR YOU when I have them on.
Oh, good luck with VitaMix! I debated and debated whether or not to buy one, and last month I just said, “To heck with it!” and took the plunge. I was reading all kinds of reviews for cheaper blenders that break after a year or so, and I just decided it’s better to spend the money upfront for something that works well, than to wittle away the same amount of money over 10 years, with nothing to show for it but a bunch of sub-par smoothies and a whole lot of broken blenders.
Sketchie looks like you caught him doing something naughty!
OMG I have been DREAMING of a Vita-mix! If you can get them to agree to a huge price cut, I would so buy one!!!
Most people don’t realize how helpful some customer service reps can be. It’s always worth a shot!
I hate when people look at my stats on the treadmill or talk on their cell phone. I also hate when people have horrible BO. How do they not notice??
The entire gym is my pet peeve. That’s why I work out at home ;)
People not cleaning machines nauseates me. Also, I get so grossed out when people are barefoot in the locker room, especially in the showers. I had foot problems in the past from this, and would NEVER go barefoot now, and it makes me sick!
Ooooo…I hope your Vita Mix pitch works out! That would be very cool!
My biggest peeve at the gym was NOT cleaning the machines after use!! BLECH! I LOVE being able to workout at home now..it rocks!
My pet peeve is when people rest on the machines between sets and won’t let you cut in for a set. That’s bad etiquette.
I also hate when a bench or machine is left sweaty and stinky eeewwww!
Biggest pet peeve? Girls who wear next to nothing, spend their whole level 1 elliptical session adjusting their botty revealing, camel toe shorts, then glaring at anyone who happens to glance their direction (females included).
Phew rant over. Loving how creative you are getting with the GLO bars :)
I think I’m still new enough to the gym scene (I usually work out at home or outside) that I’m more likely to be intimidated by everyone else than have pet peeves! Eeek! hehe
Wow, I can’t wait to hear more about your packaging. Biodegradable packaging would be amazing!! One thing to consider is what might happen to the packaging in transit. I live in FL, and if you ship it to me anytime between March and October, it is almost guaranteed to be hot. And although I wouldn’t leave the bars in the sun, the box might be in the mailman’s hot truck, or he might leave it sitting in the sun on someone’s doorstep. The issue might be with direct sunlight, not heat, but just something to keep in mind! I’m sure that any packaging company you are considering would figure out a way to give you some samples before you actually purchase mass quantities!!
I actually broke my blender a few days ago too. The little spinner on the top of the blender that goes underneath the blender jug just broke off in mid-blend!!! I need to call them to see if I can get it fixed.
OMG if you could swing a VitaMix discount for us, that would be AWESOME! I want one so bad but they are just too darn pricey. In this economy, they might just go for it…good for you for pitching the idea.
I have so many gym pet peeves…I don’t like when people talk to me while I’m working out (I’m not there to make friends), when people just sit on a machine forever and don’t use them, when boys yell and grunt and try to be heroes when really, they are just going to hurt themselves, when people next to me on the cardio machines smell like cigarettes (nasty!), and probably more things too. I’m particluar about my gym time, haha!
love the new flavors you are trying to create! Exciting news regarding packaging and vita-mix! ;)
I don’t like it when people talk on their cell phones at the gym, people that are only there to pickup the opposite sex, and people that smell REALLY bad (is it that hard to put on some deodorant before you leave? or NOT douse yourself in cologne/perfume). I also don’t like it when people camp out on machines/benches and just sit there….usually that goes along with the picking up the opposite sex….
There’s a good reason I often go to the gym at 5:30am….
I would TOTALLY buy a Vitamix if it was dicounted! My blender started leaking today so that would be perfect timing!
Our gym has a pool, so the floor of the locker room and bathrooms are always wet, creeps me out! I also hate funky smelling people on the machines next to me, and machine hogs! So annoying! Sometimes I leave in such a bad mood from that place!
My biggest peeve are the people that go to the gym to look pretty and not sweat. The spend more time chatting rather than working out. It drives me bonkers!
People talking on their cell phones on the cardio machines drives me NUTS. I literally almost punched someone once because the one time I forgot my iPod and earbuds the girl next to me was yakking away the whole time. And having to wait for machines…the gym at my school is pretty small and ALWAYS overcrowded.
Oh I dream of the day I own a VitaMix, a discount would be awesome!
My pet peeve is overly competitive poeple. Running next to me so that you have motivation to keep going is one thing, but constantly looking at my speed and always upping yours so that you’re always going faster is just lame and distracting! I’m not there to race you…
I hope they give in to the discount idea– that would be great!
A Vita-Mix discount would be great! I would be all over that. I have really wanted to buy one but, as stated, they are a bit out of my price range currently!
Gym Pet Peeve: People who talk loudly on their cell phones while on exercise machines. In my opinion, if you are able to carry on a lengthy conversation, then you aren’t working hard enough!
My gym pet peeves are: when people don’t put things back where they belong, when people are on their cell phones, and guys acting like the gym is a night club instead of a place to sweat and work out, lol! Oh, and for some reason, someone’s been spitting out their gum all over the weight room at my gym lately – guh-ross!
Anyway – love the VitaMix idea! They’d totally turn a profit on that, even with a deep discount!
I hate when people don’t put hand weights back where they belong!
Okay, I have wanted a Vitamix for years…finally for my birthday this year, decided it was time…
Ended up getting a BlendTec Total Blender instead. Same thing, but cheaper (still $379-$399). I’d read a few reviews of them both, and one woman in particular had both and said the BlendTec never broke. Never. I *love* it.
So you might try BlendTec if VitaMix isn’t interested. FWIW, I’ve seen both on sale at Costco (with the demos) in the last month. Even the Blendtec was $20 cheaper! But I got mine at Amazon and didn’t pay sales tax…
My biggest pet peeve at the gym. Well, today, it was the 5 people working out on the weight “circuit” who weren’t doing “circuit training”. There are signs that CLEARLY say to yield to those doing the circuit (i.e., me), but they didn’t. So I had to jump around machines and wait awhile for the last four as people sat for 3-4 sets.
Yay for Kitchen Aid
OMG I want that VitaMix thing to happen sooooo badly… yes yes yes
I hope the bar packaging will work that sounds awesome…
P.S. USA, USA, lol
I also just got a BlendTec and I love it! I got it at Costco with a 7 year warranty. I have been making green monsters for a few days now and the blender works wonders!
I have so many gym pet peeves. Social hour at the machines and smelly people have to be the worst.
Good luck with the Vitamix people!! I’d love to have a juicer. Sorry your PBJ bars bombed :(
I’m dreaming of a Vita-Mix as well. If you got the discount for us, that would be amazing! And I think they’d get a lot of business from all of us buying with the discount.
Ange:
I bought my Vitamix through a friend of mine who has her own raw show and is an affiliate with them got free shipping (as opposed to a discount), but considering it’s $25 that was a big save! Also, you can buy reconditioned ones (which is what I did) to save some $$.
I haven’t tried your bars yet, but given how good they look I don’t think you’ll have any trouble using the biodegradeable packaging – those bars will be gone in 6 minutes, nevermind 6 months!! :)
So much exciting stuff – new packaging, new bars, your blender is getting fix, possibly a Vitamix discount – how wonderful! :)
It’s funny how you don’t go running in the rain but use the treadmill instead. I had that bastard and I can’t wait for the summer to be over and be able to run outside in nice and cold temperatures and most of all RAIN! Lots of it! PLEASE :-) I love rain on my face when I run!!! Sometimes I hadn’t planned on running but then it starts raining and I’m out there in like 10 minutes :-)