PSCPets Daily Enzymes and Prebiotics - Review

I'm a big believer in probiotics, prebiotics, and enzymes.  I make sure my family gets plenty of all of these things.  But I didn't think of my dog needing them too.  I was pleased to learn about this product and get a chance to try prebiotics and enzymes for dogs.  Emily is a rescued Jack Russell Terrier and she has brought us a lot of happiness.

The first thing I checked was to see where it was made, and the bottle indicates it was made in the US.  That's a big plus right there.  I always check that for food and treats for my dog.

Then the taste test was important to see how these would go over in our house.  My dog Emily LOVES them.  When this jar comes out, she forgets how to "sit" and just dances around trying to get one.  Very cute!  So that's another big hurdle that it passed.

As a plus for me, the chews have a mild and not unpleasant scent.  I hate opening a container of soft chews that have a strong awful order.  Yay!

Looking at the ingredients, it shows the first two are Dried Poultry Liver and Molasses.  Both are healthy for her and tasty!  It also includes inulin, ginger, protease, cellulase, lipase, and alpha-amylase which assist with digestion and use of nutrients.  It contains calcium carbonate which is a calcium supplement helpful in maintaining bone strength.  I was interested to read that alpha-amylase can help dogs maintain a healthy weight by reducing the amount of carbohydrates that are stored as fat.

One thing I've noticed after just a week is that she is having less gas and her digestion seems to have improved.

The full name of the product is PSCPets Daily Enzymes and Prebiotics and it's available at Probioticsmart.com.

Disclosure:  I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Chickens in Five Minutes a Day - Book Review and Giveaway!

Murray McMurray Hatchery's Chickens in Five Minutes a Day: Raising, Tending and Getting Eggs from a Small Backyard Flock Made Easy

by Farmers at Murray McMurray Hatchery

176 pages

I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of Chickens in Five Minutes a Day to review and giveaway.  I've been raising chickens for seven years and I still love to read about chickens and how to care for them.

This book is meant for those getting ready to start raising chickens for egg production.  The idea is to set things up in such a way that in general the chicken chores can be cared for in five minutes a day.  However, as the book points out you'll probably spend quite a bit more time enjoying watching them.

Too cute!

I found the book to be easy to read.  It wasn't dry or boring.  The illustrations are both cute and informative. I was impressed with how thorough the book was and I wish I had it before I started raising chickens!   There were many important points that I thought the book needed to make and they hit on all of them (e.g., what NOT to feed chickens, checking for pasting up, etc).

I also learned some interesting facts about hatcheries and the history of Murray McMurray Hatchery in particular.

I found that in the few cases where I disagreed with the book it was simply a difference of opinion rather than any lack in the book.  For example, the book suggests to add sugar to the chicks water and I chose not to.  

I like the use of safety gear!

I was glad to see the book recommend the use of diatomaceous earth as a natural way to reduce parasites in the flock.  However, I would have liked to see them warn against using the kind that is sold for pool filters.

I highly recommend this book for those who are looking into or planning on raising chickens for egg production.  It's an excellent place to start.  

The book is being released on 5/14/13 and it's available for preorder at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.  I noticed that the e-reader copies are currently being sold at about 50% off of the listed price of $19.99!

The Giveaway:

One of my readers will receive a copy of this excellent book!  The giveaway is limited to readers in the US and Canada.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book to provide a review. No compensation was received for this post. My opinions are my own and may differ from yours. This giveaway is NOT affiliated with Facebook or any other social media networks. City Girl Bought the Farm is not responsible for shipment/prize fulfillment. There will be no monetary value given instead of products.

Fun Bento Lunches

Lunches I made for my children a few days ago.

Pinwheel sandwich with black olives, fruit, and cheese butterflies

Curried chicken and rice with black olives and fruit

Pinwheel sandwich with black olives, fruit, and cheese mickey mouse in a Laptop Lunches box.

Rainbow Cupcakes and Cutie Marks

We were inspired to make My Little Pony rainbow cupcakes by Ro at Nerdy Nummies.  See her video here.

We used the Pillsbury Moist Supreme cake mix following the directions for the egg white only recipe.  Leaving out the yolks allowed the colors of the batter to be more vibrant.  Especially since our "home grown" eggs have such bright yellow yolks.

Then we split the batter into six bowls and colored each one with food coloring.  About one half spoonful of each color went into each cupcake wrapper.  

After baking and cooling it was time to decorate.  See below for the results as well as the MLP cutie marks created by my 10 year old son.

My oldest (19) colored and decorated these.

Here come the MLP cutie marks!  I was impressed my son decorated these completely on his own, frosting, cutting out the shapes and all.

Rainbow Dash's cutie marks

The 3 diamonds is for Rarity; the blue star is Twilight Sparkle; and the three orange "apples" in the upper right is for  Apple Jack.

Apple Jack

Pinkie Pie on the lower left

Fluttershy 

One of the proud bakers

My 12 year old colored her own icing to make these lovely pastel creations

The one in the lower left is SO HAPPY to see you!  

Greek Orzo and Grilled Shrimp Salad

Here's what we had for dinner tonight.  The orzo salad is very tasty.  I also served it with a Greek picnic that I had last Summer.  

It was very fast and easy to put together.  I'm still feeling under the weather from the flu so it was a group effort.  My daughter (12) chopped the vegetables and my husband grilled the shrimp.


Greek Orzo and Grilled Shrimp Salad with Mustard-Dill Vinaigrette
Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/greek-orzo-and-grilled-shrimp-salad-with-mustard-dill-vinaigrette-recipe/index.html

Ingredients:
3/4 pound orzo, cooked al dente
1 large cucumber, seeded, quartered lengthwise, and sliced
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, plus extra for garnish
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil, plus additional for brushing shrimp
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled
16 medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined

Directions:
Combine orzo, cucumber, green onions, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Place dill, vinegar, and mustard in a blender and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and blend until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the vinaigrette over the orzo mixture and stir well to combine. Gently fold in the feta cheese.

Heat grill to high. Brush shrimp with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill for approximately 2 minutes per side or until just cooked through. Divide orzo salad among 4 take-out containers or plates and top with 4 shrimp. Garnish with additional dill.