BETTER MADE SNACK FOODS

Thanks to Better Made Snack Foods for sending a sample box my way filled with potato chips as well as a bunch of other stuff to try out from this Detroit-based business lineup of products.

Generations of Detroit area families have enjoyed snacks from Better Made. They have been making snack foods in Michigan since 1930. I grew up eating Better Made potato chips and over the years they've expended their snack food offerings to include popcorn, pretzels, and tortilla chips too. So, while many people associate their vintage Miss Better Made logo with potato chips, the brand has a whole lot more to offer. My kids love Better Made Snack Foods popcorn for example ... Better Made Old Fashioned Movie Theater Gourmet Popcorn is my family's go to snack for our family movie nights!

Better Made Snack Foods popcorn styles include Detroit Mix (Caramel & Cheese), Red Hot Cheese, White Cheddar, and Movie Theater Gourmet. Better Made is most known for their potato chips which are available in a wide variety of textures and flavors including krinkle cut, wavy, honey bbq and salt & vinegar to name a few. They even have pork rinds and cracklins for those looking for a zero-carb snack!

Don't live in Metro Detroit where Better Made Snack Foods are easily available at local grocery stores? You're not out of luck! You can order Better Made Snack Foods on Amazon.com! 

Better Made has a variety pack that includes both its potato chip and popcorn flavors available through Amazon. They also have a 50 count potato chip cases you can buy in a variety format or choose your own flavors. You can even buy Better Make pork rinds products from Amazon!

Better Made Snack Foods has earned a Geek Daddy nod of approval because generations of Detroiters have been delighted by the brand and my family wants to support local brands like Better Made, Faygo and Sanders that have remained connected to the local community through good and bad times. Plus, their snacks are tasty! If you haven't had Better Made snacks, give them a bite and you'll be hooked.

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Organic Nearly Naked Popcorn

The annual NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball Championship Tournament in March is always one of my favorite sporting events of the year.  I always block out my schedule so that I can watch as many of the opening round games as possible.  Grab some snacks, plop on the couch and be absorbed by some intense basketball matches for four days straight.  That's the life!

Unfortunately, while these games are always great for boasting my spirit out of the Winter doldrums this time in March is always maddening for my waistline.  While enjoying watching basketball on TV, I also tend to overindulge in snacks that aren't very healthy for me to eat.  Not this year though as I'm snacking on Popcornopolis' Organic Nearly Naked Popcorn that is now available at Costco stores while enjoying the big basketball tournament.

Organic Nearly Naked Popcorn has everything you want in a healthy snack and nothing you don't.  Only 33 calories per a cup sized serving it has all natural ingredients and is USDA certified organic.  It is also certified gluten free and Kosher by Orthodox Union.  This popcorn naturally has no cholesterol and is lightly salted to be low in sodium which also contribute to it being a great treat to enjoy while watching college hoops or staying in for a family movie night.

You can pick up a huge bag of this organic gourmet salted popcorn from your local Costco for $5.39 or order a case of 5 bags online from Popcornopolis which will be delivered directly to your front door.  I found Popcornopolis' Organic Nearly Naked Popcorn to be very tasty and it is nice to feel guilt-free when opening a bag of something to snack on.  Try out Organic Nearly Naked Popcorn and if you like it stock up when Costco will be having a special promo price of $3.49 per 14oz bag from April 19 - May 13, 2018.

DON'T FORGET POPCORN FOR YOUR SNACK BOWL

Heading out to the grocery store to pick up snacks for when you have people over to watch the big game on February 4?  No matter if you are a New England or Philly fan your party is sure to be a winner if you include G.H. CRETORS Popped Corn in your snack bowl.  Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks to enjoy while watching movies and sporting events so of course we'll be including it in our snack bowl while viewing the big game.  Of course while watching this year's best football teams compete on the field, we'll be eating some of the best popcorn you can get by having G. H. Cretors at our big game party.

Each popcorn variety from G.H. Cretors is made with high-quality, real ingredients like premium aged cheddar cheese at the Eagle Foods facility just north of Chicago in Waukegan, Illinois.  Just in time for the big game, G.H. Cretors is releasing two new flavors of popped corn ... Buffalo & Ranch Mix and Cheese Lovers Mix.  They kindly sent us some samples of these new mixes for my family to try out and they are great!

Buffalo & Ranch Mix:  This popular chicken wing flavoring also tastes great as a popcorn flavor.  It is a no-brainer for football fans to include this new G.H. Cretors mix in their tailgate and viewing party spread.  It is a little out of the ordinary for a popped corn flavor which really makes it stand out as a delicious treat.

Cheese Corn Mix:  While Green Bay might not be playing that doesn't mean you can't include cheese as part of your big game festivities.  G.H. Cretors ups the ante when it comes to cheesy popcorn by mixing up multiple flavors of cheese together.  This is a wonderful combination of flavor that cheese lovers won't want to miss out on.

While Detroit's team won't be in the mix for the big game it is nice to know that we can enjoy G.H. Cretors' The Mix Popped Corn on game day.  This classic blend of caramel and cheesy corn is always a fan favorite! It is so good The Mix is sure to be a highlight of any big game party.

Remember it is a football foul not to include G.H. Cretors Popped Corn in your game day snack bowl. You want the brand that has 125 years of experience crafting popcorn and only uses a special mushroom kernel combined with just the right temperatures and techniques to pop them to perfection. That is G.H. Cretors!  For more information about their flavors and where you can purchase these popcorn mixes, visit ghcretors.com

Give DAD a treat for Fathers Day from GourmetGiftBaskets.com

** A Geek Daddy received the featured products for free**

As Fathers Day approaches, it was nice of GourmetGiftBaskets.com to send some special treats our way out of respect for A Geek Daddy being one of their favorite dad blogs.  The Belgian chocolate-dipped Oreo® cookies they surprised me with were delicious and what father wouldn't appreciate that they spelled out #1 DAD.  Neck ties are a popular Fathers Day gift, but take my word on it after having devoured a yummy box of Oreo Cookies for Dad from GourmetGiftBaskets.com, one of these decorated cookies is the type of "tie" I'd prefer to get. This gift pack includes 12 classic Oreo cookies each individually dipped in gourmet chocolate and are decorated to let the dad in your life know how special he is to you.

GourmetGiftBaskets.com also sent us a Deluxe Meat & Cheese Sampler to try out which was simply delicious.  I enjoyed this assortment of artisan meats, cheeses and crackers along with a Strongbow Hard Apple Cider while lounging on the back deck enjoying listening to a Detroit Tigers baseball game on the radio.  Enjoying this gift basket, that included applewood smoked garlic summer sausage along with Chipotle Cheddar, Jalapeno Jack and Wisconsin Swiss, while listening to a ball game made for a wonderfully relaxing weekend afternoon.

Fathers Day is June 19th and GourmetGiftBaskets.com has a huge variety of present ideas to select from.  From golfing to fishing and barbecuing to gardening, GourmetGiftBaskets.com has something that will appeal to all interests and tastes!  Summer Seasonal Beer Bucket, Caught the BIG One - Fishing Gift Basket, Hole in ONE Golf Gift Pack, Gardening Gift Basket, and Barbecue Enthusiast Gift Basket and the Gourmet Breakfast are some of the most popular Fathers Day gift suggestions available.

I love popcorn!  So  I have to say I'd be delighted if my wife and kids surprised me on Fathers Day with the Backyard BBQ Popcorn Sampler.  HINT! HINT!  This gift pack is one of my favorites from the Fathers Day Gift Idea List at GourmetGiftBaskets.com as it contains a variety of interesting and unique flavors of popcorn Honey Mustard, Hickory Maple Bacon, BBQ Ribs, Chipotle BBQ, Cajun, Buttered Corn On The Cob, Dill Pickle, Zesty Ranch, Sun Dried Tomato, and Watermelon.  Each flavor is packed in its own sealed bag for freshness and contains two cups of popcorn.  Oh yeah! I want to try this out!

 

What dad wouldn't appreciate being surprised by finding a tasty treat at his door step?!  Don't get your dad a tie, socks or underwear for Fathers Day! Show him you care by sending something special from GourmetGiftBaskets.com.

Say CHEESE! Our Most Recent Family Movie Night Selection Was THE BOXTROLLS

 This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Universal Pictures, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BoxtrollsFamilyNite http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

Friday Night is Family Night at our house.  We always spend the evening having fun as a family either playing board games or watching movies.  With all the hustle and bustle throughout the week with work, school and the children's extracurricular activities, it is a nice night to stay at home, decompress from responsibilities, and enjoy some quality family bonding time.  For our most recent Family Movie Night we picked out THE BOXTROLLS to watch over a big bowl of Pop Secret Popcorn.

THE BOXTROLLS is really unique for today's movies because instead of relying on computer animation it was filmed using stop-motion techniques featuring elaborate props, sets, puppets and models.  This technique sets the movie apart from many of today's animated feature films and enhances the fairy tale tone of the film. The Boxtrolls is worth watching just to appreciate the stop-motion animation featured in it.

THE BOXTROLLS are underground dwelling creatures who go above ground at night to secretly collect trash and other items that they recycle into creations used to build  a marvelous lair.  They wear cardboard boxes for clothing and camouflage that they acquire during their gathering binges in the town above their underground  home.  The plot of the movie involves a young orphan boy named Egg, based upon the egg image on the box he wears, who has been raised by these creatures and must try to save them from an evil exterminator that is focused on eradicating The Boxtrolls.  This movie from the creators of the film Coraline does have a similar dark flair to it but is also the telling of a family friendly fairy tale filled with adventure and hijinks inspired by the children's novel "Here Be Monsters" by Alan Snow.

To get ready for our Family Movie Night we swung by Walmart to pickup the Blu-ray of THE BOXTROLLS from their movie aisle.

Of course, you need popcorn to go along with your movie so we also picked up a 10 count package of Pop Secret Home-Style Popcorn while we were at Walmart.  Of course if you are watching The Boxtrolls you need to have some CHEESE! so we grabbed Bacon Cheddar, Garlic Parmesan, Cheesy Jalapeno, and White Cheddar Kernel Seasons for our popcorn.

To have some extra fun for our The Boxtrolls Family Movie Night we let the kids create their own boxtrolls costumes to wear while we watched the film.  With some help from my lovely wife, I believe their boxes turned out pretty darn good.  Since The Boxtrolls is a stop-motion film, we did a fun spoof off of that and played a few rounds of stop-and-go musical chairs with everyone wearing boxes before we watched the movie.  Then we grabbed a big bowl of CHEESY Pop Secret popcorn (we mixed together Bacon Cheddar and White Cheddar seasonings) and enjoyed the film.  I will brag that I was the only one brave enough to eat the Cheesy Jalapeno popcorn which was put aside for me in my own small bowl.  Pop Secret is a great treat for our family not just because popcorn goes with movies like hotdogs with baseball but also because with our kid's severe peanut/tree nut food allergies we know that not only does it taste great but it is also safe to eat.

Our The Boxtrolls Family Movie Night was a great evening.  Stop by Walmart while supplies last to pick up THE BOXTROLLS and some Pop Secret for your own special family movie night.  Remember children grow up really fast...enjoy the time you have while they are young and want to spend time with mom and dad!