Request True Lemon samples and give a soldier a nice care package

Ever since I partnered up with an up-and-coming company called True Lemon in January and brought them on as a sponsor, I have been extremely pleased with the way they conduct their business. From their stellar customer service to their commitment to providing a quality low-carb product to flavor your foods and beverages, True Lemon is indeed the real deal and I’m proud to be working with them to get the word out about their products.

True Lemon has teamed up with Operation Gratitude

Today, I am so thrilled to be able to share with you a new joint venture that True Lemon is doing with a non-profit group called Operation Gratitude. As our brave men and women in the armed forces serve our country so valiantly in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are people here in the United States putting together some amazing care packages for these soldiers willing to sacrifice so much. To date, around 320,000 of these packages have been placed in the hands of troops who have desperately needed to hear from home.

But now Operation Gratitude is getting ready for their big Patriot Drive in May 2008 and here is where YOU can help. It won’t cost you a a single dime of your money, but all you need to do is REQUEST YOUR FREE TRUE LEMON SAMPLES and 10 packets of True Lemon/True Lime will be provided to Operation Gratitude. Yep, that’s it! Sign up for samples and tell all your friends and family to do the same and you will receive two packets of True Lemon, a packet of True Lime and a packet of True Orange along with a coupon. In turn, you will be sending 10 packets of True Lemon products to our fine servicemen in a care package.

Click here to find out how you can order your FREE True Lemon samples and invite everyone you know to do the same for the sake of the troops!

My latest sponsor, True Lemon, stands ready to serve you

Starting on January 1st, I was very proud to introduce you to a brand new sponsor at my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog called True Lemon. This company creates some pretty amazing crystallized lemon, lime and orange substitutes that contain ZERO calories and ZERO carbs along with NO artificial sweeteners in them whatsoever. As I am quoted as saying in the banner ad at the top of my blog, this product really is “a low-carber’s dream come true” since you’re not allowed to have those citrus fruits on your low-carb lifestyle. And I’m very proud to be affiliated with True Lemon.

Whenever I share with you about a new product like True Lemon and partner up with a company like them in telling you about their products, one thing I demand of them before they’re even considered becoming a sponsor here is a 100% commitment to customer service to YOU. That’s been my underlying philosophy from day one here at my blog to provide my readers with the information they need in a timely manner with a smile on my face doing it. It’s the very least you deserve for allowing me to play a small role in your life day in and day out. I guess it’s all those years of working in retail and marketing having that customer service message hammered into my skull hard that I just EXPECT it now from whoever I work with.

Thankfully, I’m proud to say that True Lemon is indeed devoted and committed to their new “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” customers because they have immediately addressed some concerns that a few of you have expressed to me about the quality of their product after purchasing it at your local store (it’s literally found EVERYWHERE in grocery stores and Wal-mart usually next to the Splenda).

The following e-mail is an example of the problem that was shared:

Hi Jimmy! I have a question about the True Lemon. I bought some but it’s all clumpy and stuck together in the packets. Is it supposed to be that way or did I get a bad/old batch?? I made your cheesecake recipe with it and it tasted fine to me so i just wanted your input since you’ve used it for a while. Thanks so much!

Interestingly, this same issue was echoed by a few others and I’ve even got a box of True Lime with the “clumpy and stuck together” products right now, too. See for yourself:

As my reader pointed out, this does not impact the flavor of the True Lemon products in any way (although if you bite into one of the clumps, it’s one of the most intense flavors you’ll ever put on your tastebuds–I found out the hard way!). But even still, that’s not the way the product is supposed to look like and True Lemon stands ready to take care of anyone who has “clumpy” product that they purchased.

Company Vice-President Heidi C. Carney said their stand behind the quality of their products fully with a complete customer satisfaction commitment.

“True Lemon, True Lime and True Orange should always be free-flowing crystals. While the True Lemon you bought is completely safe to use, it’s not at it’s best,” Carney reported to the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog. “We always have a 100% guarantee of satisfaction so I would be happy to send anyone a replacement box. As a small company, we really appreciate having you as a customer and your complete satisfaction is most important to us.”

If you have any True Lemon products that are of poor quality like me and several other readers have experienced, then please do the following:

1. E-mail True Lemon at customercare@truelemon.com.
2. Provide the name of the store where you purchased True Lemon.
3. If you still have the box, provide the embossed numbers under the UPC code.
4. Give you name and mailing address where they can ship replacements.

Plus, just for doing that, you’ll receive some complimentary True Lemon coupons as well as FREE samples of all three flavors–True Lemon, True Lime, and True Orange. I appreciate your enthusiastic response to these truly amazing products for your low-carb lifestyle and encourage you to continue using them to enhance the foods and beverages you consume while livin’ la vida low-carb. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns about True Lemon or any of my sponsors. THANK YOU for your continuing support for me and the sponsors who make the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog possible!

Six months after getting my iPhone, it was stolen from me

Can I whine just a bit for a moment? WAH!

I’m just a little bummed out right now because earlier today my beloved iPhone was stolen. Yep, right from under my nose, the dad-blamit thing just disappeared on me. What makes it worse is that it happened at the gym likely while I was using the abdominal equipment to do my 150 crunches (as part of my new commitment to resistance training). Double whammy! UGH!

I know, I know, some of you are laughing hysterically right now because you feel utter glee that I would allow myself to lose something like an iPhone which I paid $600 for back in August 2007 (they’ve since dropped the price to $400). Alright, got that out of your system now? Good. For the rest of you without iPhone envy syndrome, I have to tell you that little gizmo was one of the best business investments I’d ever made. Besides my computer, that phone was my lifeline to so many facets of what I do. And it had EVERYTHING about me on it (but I’m not worried about identity theft since I got LifeLock four months ago to protect me).

But now my iPhone is gone in the blink of an eye. Shoot!

Click here for all the sordid details about what happened and all that I had to go through to resolve this missing iPhone dilemma.

Olivia Brown takes advantage of the new video review format at Amazon

You really have to admire the marketing brilliance of a company like Amazon.com. They are true innovators and undeniable leaders in their industry because they never just settle for the amazing success they have been able to achieve. Instead, they keep improving and improving by offering their customers unique features that keep them coming back.

The latest such improvement is the addition of a brand new feature that allows for video reviews of the products on Amazon. Yep, now not only can you WRITE about what you think of your favorite CD, book, electronic device or whatever else you purchase on their site, but you can also TELL everyone by making your own video reviews. It’s the new wave of technology in product reviews and I think it adds a personal touch to their web site.

One of the most enthusiastic reviewers on Amazon who has taken this new video review format and run with it is Top 1000 Amazon Reviewer Olivia Brown. What a spunky woman this is and she’s a self-described “a voracious reader and consummate blogger.” Her blog is Happy Luau and I’m impressed by how elaborate it is because she has a lot to say. In fact, Olivia reads MY blog and has commented there quite a bit lately.

Because of her prestigious position at Amazon as a highly-respected and prolific reviewer, Olivia’s opinions carry a lot of weight. So when she started video reviewing beginning a couple of weeks ago when Amazon rolled out this new format, people began taking immediate notice. And when she reviewed what is arguably the most compelling book about diet and health in the last century, I took notice.

Check out Olivia Brown’s video review of Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes to see how detailed she gets with her reviews. This woman is absolutely amazing and thorough in her analysis of the books she reads and I was impressed with what she said about the Taubes book. It sounds like that book has genuinely changed her life.

But Olivia didn’t stop with Good Calories, Bad Calories for her video reviews. She also did an awesome one for Jonny Bowden’s classic book Living The Low-Carb Life which compares the various low-carb plans and gives an overview of each one to help you decide which diet is best for you. I reviewed this book and have spoken very highly of it for anyone who is livin’ la vida low-carb. Olivia was inspired by this book to continue her new low-carb lifestyle journey.

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised to see Olivia’s video review of my book Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb. She was very kind in her remarks about the book I wrote about my low-carb weight loss journey. And she saw EXACTLY what I was attempting to do with my book: help motivate others in their own journey to lose weight and get healthy. THANK YOU Olivia!

Check out more from Olivia Brown as she is adding lots of new reviews–both the “old school” written ones and the hip new video ones, too! GREAT JOB, Olivia! Keep ‘em coming!

As more and more Americans make a point to steer clear of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) because they believe that it’s unhealthy for you, more and more manufacturers are responding to consumer demand by bumping the sweetener from their foods and drinks.

Companies are increasingly touting the fact that their products are “HFCS-free” in order to position them as healthy, a phenomenon observed by NutraIngredients.com, which learned about this trend from market researcher Datamonitor.

In fact, Datamonitor found 146 new foods and beverage products worldwide that claim to be free of the corn-based sweetener, which has been linked with obesity and other health issues.

Read more here.

Livin’ la vida low-carb is STILL haunting Krispy Kreme doughnuts

One of the most difficult guessing games that happens behind the scenes of the American economy is figuring out how to create a product that people will want often enough to turn a consistent profit. It is this decision-making process that will either make or break a company.

You hate to gloat when a company has to file for bankruptcy (although the media certainly didn’t mind doing it when Atkins Nutritionals did in 2005 but then they completely ignored it when they emerged from bankruptcy stronger in January 2006). But when that company is Krispy Kreme doughnuts and they continue to struggle to remain viable promoting high-sugar, high-carb products as their mainstay, it’s hard to feel sorry for them.

I first blogged about Krispy Kreme closings in June 2005 and then again in July 2006 when it placed the onus on “the low-carb Atkins diet fad for its troubles.” Hmm, it seems that darn low-carb “fad” is still haunting them in September 2007 with store closings, bankruptcy, and a crashing stock to contend with. Awww, poor Krispy Kreme! NOT!

Click here to read the details about this dismal economic news for Krispy Kreme and why I believe that “fad” they keep referring to is the key to their ultimate success or failure as a company.

Chick-Fil-A and Coke want to give YOU some free food!

Whenever I see a deal that will benefit people who are livin’ la vida low-carb, then I like to pass it along. And when we’re talking about Chick-Fil-A chicken (the BEST in the world, IMHO, and it’s REAL chicken–not that “fake” stuff) and a cold, refreshing Diet Coke, you run as fast as you can to get in on this while it lasts.

Mmm mmm, this is about as easy a freebie you’ll ever see and I encourage you to take advantage of it before 11:59pm on September 29, 2007. But don’t wait until the last minute because only one million of these coupons will be distributed and then they are gone!

Here’s what you need to do to get your chicken and Diet Coke coupon:

1. Go to FreeChickenAndCoke.com.
2. Click on the Click Here To Enter button.
3. Fill out the address you want your coupon shipped to.
4. Wait 6-8 weeks for your coupon to arrive.

Easy peasy and it’s FREE FOOD! If you ask for the chicken to be chargrilled without the bun, then they’ll give you plenty of greens to wrap it in. And the Diet Coke can be replaced with unsweetened tea if you’d like that better.

This is a rare freebie from a major restaurant chain that’s actually low-carb friendly, so take advantage of it while you can. ENJOY!!!

Low-carb has got to be dead now since all those low-carb products that were on supermarket shelves a few years back are gone. I guess this just proves that low-carb has finally been proven to be the dangerous and unhealthy diet that it is.

Have you heard this line of reasoning from anti-low-carb people before?

Well, in Episode 81 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” today I talk about a very important distinction between low-carb the business and low-carb the diet. When you remove the vitriol hatred for the Atkins diet and other low-carb plans from the equation, this just makes sense. Click on the “Play In Popup” link below or download it to your iPod to hear today’s podcast show:

Livin’ la vida low-carb as a healthy nutritional approach has erroneously been thrown into the discussion about the low-carb business failures. There are good reasons why so many of those “low-carb” products that came out a few years back failed that has absolutely nothing at all to do with the low-carb diet. When you merely look at the economics of it, then you are being blinded by the reality–that real people all around the world are losing weight and getting healthy eating this way.

Get the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb with Jimmy Moore” podcast by:

1. Listening at the official web site
2. Going to iTunes
3. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via Podlinez
4. Subscribing to the RSS feed

Do you believe the financial woes of so many businesses that created “low-carb” products back in the hey day of low-carb dieting has anything at all to do with low-carb the diet? Some would say that it is indicative of this diet’s demise. And how do you explain the seemingly constant obsession by the media and the so-called health “experts” on this low-carb “fad?”

Let us hear all about it as you share what’s on your mind regarding this topic. Everyone has their own opinions, so let’s hear YOURS!

Tune in to “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” on Thursday as we discuss whether frequency of meals consumed is more important than the traditional three-meals-a-day we’ve all grown accustomed to. You’re not gonna believe what a graduate student in Biological Science had to say about this subject, so be sure to check it out!

Have you ever tasted fresh American-made lamb before?

I have to admit, before yesterday I had never in my entire life tasted lamb before. I don’t know why other than the fact it’s just not as prevalent in our culture as chicken, pork, beef, and fish. But I gotta tell ya, I’m HOOKED now!

Thanks to an organization called The American Lamb Board, I was able to see, prepare, cook and eat lamb when I otherwise would have never even given it a second look. The fine folks there sent me this very nice lamb goodie kit shipped overnight with cold packs:

The American Lamb Board Summer Lamb Grill Kit is quite a catch!

This incredible kit includes:

- 6-8 lb. prime cut boneless leg of American lamb
- Recipe cards with exclusive lamb recipes
- Fresh pre-packaged herbs needed for the recipes above
- American Lamb Board meat thermometer
- Set of (4) 12″ stainless-steel skewers from Outset Inc.

Why am I telling you about this kit? Well, TWO of my LUCKY READERS will win this EXACT SAME KIT that I received today in the mail on July 18, 2007. That’s right, you have the chance to win that attractive kit just because you are a reader of CarbWire and the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog.

Aren’t you just so special?

Click here to find out how you can enter to win this special prize package from the American Lamb Board and see my mouthwatering pictures of grilling and eating lamb for the first time ever!