End of January Blow Out Sale

Help me end January with a BANG!  I am currently working on earning a fabulous trip to the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun.  I earn points based on my sales, and in January, Tastefully Simple is giving consultants a boost with Double Points on our sales this month!

I set a goal for myself for $3000 in sales for January (which would be 6000 points!), and currently I'm at $2,123 in sales with a week to go in the month.  So, I'm calling on all of my loyal customers to stock up and get some great savings and help me reach my goal!

Here's how this will work: Place an order with me between now and January 31 and save:

• Any order with retail price total up to $50 will be 15% off
• Any order with retail price total between $50 and $100 will be 20% off
• Any order with retail price total over $100 will be 20% off plus FREE shipping.

This applies to any available items, including sale and clearance items, as well as our Delicious Done Light collection, which is already 20% off this month.  Anyone who makes a purchase during this sale will be entered into a drawing to receive a $20 gift certificate good on their next order.

To take advantage of these specials, you cannot order online.  You can browse the online catalog and pick out what you'd like to order, then you need to either email your order to me at tastefullysuek@gmail.com, or call me at 978-549-2019.  I will send you an invoice to pay by credit card, or if you're local I can arrange to pick up a check.

As a special bonus to my February hosts, all orders placed for this special will be added to one of my open parties.  Thinking about hosting a party in February and earning 50% more free products?  Contact me ASAP to secure one of my few open dates.

Making Mealtime Easy

I used to dread 4PM, because everyday, at 4PM on the dot, my son would ask me what we were having for dinner.  Unless for some reason I had planned out meals in advance (which was far more the exception rather than the rule), my answer was "I don't know", and then we'd get into this discussion about what he wanted, and what we wanted, and half the time, he'd be upset about what I finally chose.  I have a picky eater in my house, so meal planning could be stressful.

Even if you don't have our products on your shelves, Tastefully Simple has a bunch of resources for you to draw on to help answer the question of "What's for dinner?"

Our recipe database has thousands of great recipes for appetizers, main dishes, breads, desserts, and drinks that work for everyday meals or entertaining.  You can search by Tastefully Simple product, or by ingredient,  so if you have chicken, or black beans, or diced tomatoes, you can search for those products and get ideas for new recipes.

If you prefer having hard copy recipes on hand, check out our Recipe Booklets and Cookbooks.  Our booklets have different themes and are very inexpensive, so you can mix and match based on what you like!

Our two meal preparation collections, Fix it Fast and Tastefully Simple Tonight each give you ten meal options using seven Tastefully Simple products.

If you have a special occasion to plan for, check out our Special Occasion Assortments which include recipes to make your party planning easy.

And don't forget to "Like" my Facebook Business Page, where I share tips and recipes regularly!

How You Bean? Brownies

I recently ordered Tastefully Simple's Delicious Done Light collection, which is a special host and client collection for January 2013.  The collection comes with Mama Mia Marinara Sauce Mix, Roasted Onion Warm Dip Mix, Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix, Truffle Fudge Brownie Mix, and a recipe booklet showing how you can prepare many Tastefully Simple products in light ways.

So I was flipping through the recipe booklet, and one caught my eye: How You Bean? Brownies.  This recipe starts with our Truffle Fudge Brownie Mix, but instead of adding eggs and butter, you add pureed black beans.

That's right.  Black beans in the brownies.  So, I was curious, and decided I needed to try this out for myself.

The recipe calls for one box of Truffle Fudge Brownie Mix and one can of black beans.

Open the can of black beans and pour the whole thing into your food processor with blade attachment or a blender.  Pulse and blend until smooth.

Combine pureed beans with brownie mix in a bowl, and mix until smooth.  The batter is drier than a standard brownie batter, so it might take a little longer than expected to blend.

Spread batter into a greased 8x8 baking pan and put into a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  When it's done, take the pan out and let cool completely.  I noticed that the baked brownies had a more "matte" surface than traditional brownies, likely because of the lack of fat provided by the butter and eggs.

So, time for the moment of truth!  Cutting and tasting!  

My husband had one and decided that while it tasted good, it didn't taste as sweet as he expected.  But since there was no change in the sugar content, he thought maybe the beans counteracted some of the sweetness.  I tried one, and I liked the dense texture.  I thought the taste was just fine.

Now, comparing the nutritional information (Note: this is based on my math using the nutritional labels on the products.  I rounded to the nearest 0.5):

Brownies made with butter and eggs (1/16th of package): 170 calories, 9 grams of fat, 1 gram of fiber, 1.5 grams of protein.  Under the current Weight Watchers calculations, that's 5 PointsPlus.

Brownies made with black beans (1/16th of package): 130 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of fiber, 2.5 grams of protein.  Under the current Weight Watchers calculations, that's 3 PointsPlus.

Using the beans definitely reduced the calories and fat while increasing the fiber and protein.  They taste like brownies, which is the important part.  They don't have a shiny top, like regular brownies, but I can live with it!

If you'd like to order one of the products mentioned here, check out these links:
Delicious Done Light Collection (Limited Time availability!)
Truffle Fudge Brownie Mix
Delicious Done Light Recipe Book

Host your way to a Tastefully Simple business in February!

Have you thought about how you can add some additional income to your family finances?  Tastefully Simple is a great company to work with, and you are in control of how much you earn!  A little effort gives you a little extra cash, while the sky is pretty much the limit.

Normally, you just need to invest $170 to get your Business Blast Off Kit (BBOK), but one of the cool things that Tastefully Simple lets you do is use host rewards to offset some or all of this investment.  So, if you had a $500 party and earned $65 in host rewards, you could subtract that from the $170 and only have to invest $105.  If you had $1200 in sales (or $1100 in sales with 15+ individual orders), you'd have $180 in host rewards, so you could get your BBOK for FREE!

In February, Tastefully Simple is having a special host reward offer that will knock your socks off if you were thinking about becoming a consultant.  In February, hosts earn 50% more host rewards than usual!  This means that if you have a $500 party in February, you'll earn an additional $32.50 in host rewards, for a total of $97.50.

So what does this mean if you're thinking of becoming a Tastefully Simple consultant?  The extra host rewards mean that you could easily offset some or all of the cost of your BBOK.  Here's how it works:

1. Host a party in February - It could be any kind of party: an in-home tasting party, a catalog party, or even a fundraiser.
2. After the party is over, use your host rewards towards your BBOK.  You only need $800-$900 in sales in a February party to get your BBOK for free! (Any remaining host rewards can still be used for free products.)
3. Start your Tastefully Simple business in March with our brand new Spring Summer catalog!  I'll provide you with training and mentoring every step of the way.
4. All bookings from your party are yours to keep to get your business moving.

If you have been thinking about Tastefully Simple, but the investment cost has been holding you back, February is an awesome time to host your way to a Tastefully Simple business!  If you have any questions, please call me at 978-549-2019 or email me at tastefullysuek@gmail.com.