Get A Catalyst iPhone Case For Your Summer Adventures! (Giveaway)

School is officially out for the summer in most parts of the country, and the weather is already beach/pool friendly. Many of us are hitting the road looking for adventure this summer. Of course, you can't go anywhere without your trusty iPhone! Even when you are on the sandy beach, hanging out on the lake in a boat, hiking on dusty mountains, or just chillin' poolside, you have to keep an eye on your phone so you don't have an unfortunate accident.

Water, dust, dirt, snow, moisture, and general accidents can destroy your phone. How many times have you 'fatally dropped' your phone? I think I do this daily! Good news, Catalyst cases for the iPhone 7 are made to withstand all of the elements. When you invest in such a great phone (especially for the camera like I did), you want to get the most out of it. It's important to also invest in a good case to protect your precious phone. My theory is if you invest in quality, you won't have to buy it again any time soon.

Why choose Catalyst? It's simple. You can drop your phone on the ground, drop it in water, and get caught in the rain and your phone will be safe. Catalyst cases are waterproof to 10m (33ft)! This means you can take your iPhone under the sea or pool to record your scuba diving excursion or cool underwater pool tricks.

Why do we like this case? It has a clear front and back to show off your phone's color. So this means that pretty silver, black or rose gold color can still be seen. The sides are all shock-proof and the case in itself fits really snug and slim. I like that since I am not a fan of bulky phone cases. Also, if you need to take it off, you don't need the jaws of life to do so. I once had a phone case that got permanently stuck on my phone! The Catalyst case is easy to remove.  Another great thing is you can still hear phone calls clearly as well as listening to video or music. The charging port is easy to get to with no obstruction.

The directions to install your case is done with not only with text, but photos. It makes it a lot easier! There are simple steps to water test it. Check out these videos for details.

The Catalyst case is a must have for summer travel and would make a great Father's Day gift to the dad who lives an active lifestyle. Or if your husband is like mine, he might simply be careless with his phone. You can get full details about the Catalyst case and purchase one here for $79.99. It comes in two colors: Stealth Black & Alpine White. And don't forget a case for your Air Pods! They start at $24.99. The ones pictured below glow in the dark. Catalyst makes other products for your Apple devices as well.

Giveaway: One lucky reader will win a Catalyst Case for the iPhone 7! Enter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents only and will end on June 18, 2017. Please follow all rules in the Rafflecopter widget and be sure to use a valid email. One winner will be selected and contacted via email to claim prize. Please be aware that Mom Files is not responsible for any lost, stolen or damaged prizes. Good luck!

Disclosure: We received products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% our own. 

Perfect Turkey Meatball Recipe

I was talking with a good blog friend of mine the other day and she was telling me how she drools when she looks at my Insta feed. I am always in the kitchen baking or cooking up something. Today I made some super simple turkey meatballs and they came out perfectly seasoned and not dry like turkey tends to get. Since I get asked for recipes all the time, I decided I better get busy and throw them on the blog as often as I can. Check out the recipe below.

Ingredients:

• One pound of ground turkey (I use the less lean variety since I don't want dry meatballs)
• finely minced onion, garlic, herbs (I use thyme, rosemary, and parsley), and jalapenos 
• 1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
• assorted dry seasonings (here are my staples) 
• Olive oil
• Cookware: a cast iron skillet or heavy skillet, tongs, spatula, flat tray lined with parchment paper

What to do:

Simply add all of the fresh ingredients into a bowl with the ground turkey. Add desired seasonings. I like to add a few shakes of red pepper flakes for added spice. Throw in the Parmesan and mix everything together with a fork. Use a spoon to help scoop even amounts of turkey and roll into balls. Place them on parchment lined tray as you roll. Place tray in freezer for about 5-10 minutes so they can firm up a bit. Heat skillet on medium-high and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Gently, but quickly place meatballs in hot skillet and let them start browning without moving them for a few minutes. Carefully use tongs to flip them. If they start to fall apart, you can use a spatula to help keep them together. Let them get brown and crispy all over. That's it! 

I like to serve these meatballs with sides like smashed sweet potatoes, regular mashed potatoes, asparagus, broccoli, or any vegetable my family likes. You can also add them in your favorite pasta sauce for spaghetti and meatballs, or eat them as is. They are the perfect protein-packed snack! 

I hope you will try this recipe soon. Thanks for stopping by xo 

New Baby Dove Moisture Rich Product Line (Giveaway)

Did you know that Dove makes baby products? I did not know until recently and thought, it's about time! Dove has been a reliable household favorite for decades. You can't beat that gentle clean with powerful moisturizers. Now you can give that same thing to your baby or little one. The new Baby Dove Rich Moisture product line offers a tip-to-toe wash, baby lotion, baby bar, shampoo, and baby wipes.

Each product is made with your delicate baby's skin in mind. All products are dermatologist and pediatrician tested. Here is a little information on each product:

• Rich Moisture Tip to Toe Wash - As gentle as water, tear-free, hypoallergenic, pH-neutral baby wash and shampoo in one. It contains super mild cleansers for baby's skin and helps more moisture and nutrients stay in the skin. Retails for $5.99 for 13oz or $7.99 for 20oz. 
• Rich Moisture Baby Lotion - Soothes dry skin and leaves baby's skin extra soft and delicately scented. Retails for $5.99 for 13oz or $7.99 for 20oz.
• Rich Moisture Baby Bar - This is like junior version of the adult bar and retails for $2.49 for 3.17oz. 
• Rich Moisture Shampoo - Unlike regular baby shampoos, this one contains 1/4 moisturizing cream. Retails for $5.99 for 13oz.
• Rich Moisture Baby Wipes - As gentle as water and effectively removes impurities while moisturizing baby's delicate skin. They are hypoallergenic and alcohol-free. Retails for $4.49 for 30 wipes. Great for travel! 

Although my son William is no longer a baby, I still have to use gentle products for his skin. The Baby Dove Rich Moisture Line is excellent and I suspect will last for a long time. I confess, I love the very light scent that is reminiscent of a freshly bathed baby. There is also a sensitive skin version of these products as well. This is one of those times I wish I had these skin care items for all of my babies when they were babies. 

You can find Baby Dove products at Walmart, Target, Walgreens, and Amazon. If you are looking for a great baby shower gift, I suggest this entire product line. I know that the recipient would love it! Of course, I know you will love these products for your own baby. For more details on these products, visit the Baby Dove site. 

We have great news! One very lucky Mom Files reader will win the entire Baby Dove Rich Moisture product line. Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents only and will end on June 16, 2017. Please follow all rules in the Rafflecopter widget and be sure to use a valid email. One winner will be selected and contacted via email to claim prize. Please be aware that Mom Files is not responsible for any lost, stolen or damaged prizes. Good luck! 

Disclosure: We received products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% our own. 

Celebrate Your Graduate Safely: Tips on Hosting a Foodborne Illness-Free Party

The final exams are taken, the diploma is framed and the cap is thrown in the air. Now it’s time to celebrate your graduate’s latest major life milestone! For those hosting large parties, preparing large amounts of food for friends and family is hard enough but ensuring food is safe and pathogen free can be downright stressful.

"Hosting parties take a great deal of work and we often focus so much on preparing and serving food in a timely fashion that we don’t think about preparing and serving food safely," says Deirdre Schlunegger, CEO of Stop Foodborne Illness , a national, nonprofit, public health organization dedicated to preventing illness and death from foodborne pathogens. To help ensure you are serving food that won’t spread foodborne illness, Stop has put together a list of food safety tips to help party hosts put out their best and safest food when celebrating their graduates.

For hosting a party, Stop Foodborne Illness suggests:

• Have a plan! Cooking such an important meal for a large gathering of friends and family can be stressful and lead to subpar approaches to handling food. Think about your refrigerator, freezer and oven space, and how you'll manage to keep hot foods at 140 degrees or higher and cold foods at 40 degrees or below. If you need to use coolers, make sure you have plenty of clean ice. Whatever you do, don’t rely on the natural outdoor or indoor temperatures to keep foods at proper temperature!
• Wash your hands. When preparing food, Stop Foodborne Illness emphasizes the importance of washing your hands thoroughly and keeping all surfaces you’re working on clean.
• Wash produce. Stop Foodborne Illness recommends washing even prepackaged greens, to minimize potential bacterial contamination.
• Keep cooking surfaces clean and sanitized. Preparing raw meat and poultry on the same surfaces as food that does not get cooked could lead to cross-contamination. Make sure kitchen counters, sponges, cutting boards, and knives are all well-scrubbed.
• Defrost Safely. Properly defrost meat by allocating 24 hours per 5 pounds to defrost in the refrigerator. If you need to defrost quicker, place the meat a large bowl filled with cold water and change the cold water bath every 30 minutes.
• Cook to proper temperature. And use a thermometer to ensure food has been cooked enough to kill bacteria. Find out more with this safe food temperature guide.
• Food brought by party guests. While help is always appreciated, remind guests to transport cold foods in a cooler below 40 F and bring hot foods in an insulated carrier to ensure the temperature stays at or above 140 F. Prepared foods must be refrigerated or thrown out after two hours.
• Refrigerate leftovers. Many people don’t think twice about leaving food out on the counter all day. Two hours is the limit. Allowing food to sit out longer is one of the easiest food safety mistakes to make since food left in the danger zone—above 40 degrees and below 140 degrees–facilitates bacterial growth. To avoid this, Stop recommends storing leftovers in 2-inch deep, shallow containers within two hours of serving.

Remember, practicing safe cooking procedures is not just for the host. For those attending graduation parties as guests, bring dishes, not pathogens. Here are a few things guests can do to help prevent the spread of foodborne illness:

• Wash your hands. Even if you don’t prepare food you should still wash your hands before you eat.
• Pack hot foods while hot. If you’re preparing a hot dish at home and bringing it to the party, pack it right away! Don’t wait for hot foods to cool down before packing. If you reheat at the party, remember to check the temperature with a thermometer.

About Stop Foodborne Illness

Stop Foodborne Illness is a national nonprofit public health organization dedicated to preventing illness and death from foodborne pathogens by advocating for sound public policies, building public awareness and assisting those impacted by foodborne illness. For more food safety tips please visit www.STOPfoodborneillness.org/awareness/. If you think you have been sickened from food , contact your local health professional. You may subscribe to receive Stop Foodborne Illness e-Alerts and eNews here: www.STOPfoodborneillness.org/take-action/sign-up-for-e-alerts/ and follow their news at their newsroom here: http://www.newsline360.com/stopfoodborneillness.

Replenish Your Aging Skin With DerMend Mature Skin Solutions

Although I have been blessed with good genes, there are some things that are inevitable. You can have the best genes on the planet, but you will age along the way. Of course aging is an absolute blessing and I'm sure we all desire to live a long life. I have noticed so many changes in myself ever since I hit 40. One thing that is really starting to show is a difference in my skin. My face still maintains its firmness and shows little signs of wrinkles. I think that because I wear a daily sunscreen on my face year 'round, it has halted the normal aging process. The rest of my body is a different story.

My arms and legs seem to be less radiant like it was in my 20's or 30's. I feel like I have tried every product there is! I even did the whole coconut oil thing and feel like it made my skin more dry and scaly looking. I was recently introduced to the DerMend line of skincare products made specifically for aging skin for the over 40 crowd. I was low-key sad at first, but realized that having skincare products targeted to help specific issues is not a bad thing.

Here is a little info on each product:

DerMend Moisturizing Anti-Itch Lotion
If you suffer from frequent itchy, dry mature skin, use this gentle moisturizing lotion to relieve the itch effectively with its safe, steroid-free formula. The formula goes on easily and absorbs instantly. It is recommended to use up to 3 or 4 times a day. I guess if you suffer from very dry, itchy, sensitive skin this would make sense to have to use it more than once. I find that 1-2 times works for me. It really feels like smooth with no stickiness whatsoever. It is unscented which is good. Most scented products are very drying to skin. It retails for $19.99 for an 8-ounce bottle.

DerMend Moisturizing Bruise Formula Cream
If you experience chronic, frequent bruising, use this cream to help improve the appearance of bruises and replenish your skin’s protective barrier. This cream is super emollient, while keeping your skin feeling smooth and not sticky. It feels like you have a protective barrier on your skin in a good way. You have to be careful using this product if you are going to be exposed to the sun since it contains alpha hydroxy acid. It retails for $29.99 for a 4.5 ounce tube.

DerMend Fragile Skin Moisturizing Formula Cream
If your skin is thin, crepey and damages easily, use this cream to help restore, rejuvenate and repair thin, fragile skin. As we mature, our skin loses elasticity. Many factors, including repeated sun damage, cause elastin and collagen under the skin’s surface to break down. The protective fatty layer of tissue also depletes, making skin much thinner and more fragile. This can cause skin to tear easily and also appear wrinkled or crepey, especially areas that have been exposed to the elements more frequently.

DerMend Fragile Skin Moisturizing Formula Cream provides targeted care to help restore thin, fragile skin with rejuvenating ingredients and enriching moisturizers. It retails for $29.99 for a 4.5 ounce tube.

You can find these DerMend Mature Skin Solutions products at CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Meijer locations nationwide. You can also grab a coupon here while supplies last. If you or a loved one have concerns about aging skin, be sure to check out these resources full of valuable information. Also, be sure to "like" DerMend on Facebook for the latest product offerings and skin care tips.

Many thanks for DerMend for providing these products for review. As always, all opinions are mine.