This deal was too good not to post. Tanga has an offer for a one-year subscription to Every Day with Rachel Ray magazine for $4.99 with code FOOD. Mine just ran out so the timing is perfect. I really enjoy this title. It's one I seem to copy recipes out of quite frequently. The September issue had a whole month of make ahead meals. I hope they start to include more columns like that, especially articles along the lines of 'what to make when chicken breasts are on sale.'

Meredith Corp. just bought Rachel Ray and I wouldn't be surprised if free digital subscriptions become a perk of being a print subscriber. They already offer that benefit for BH&G, Parents and Fitness. There are so many things publishers can do with a digital subscription, especially ones for titles that are product heavy in the editorial.

I see (hopefully) using this on my iPad for cooking demos and clips to Rachel's shows. The 'click to buy' options for her cookware, cookbooks and other items featured in the magazine plus a 'click to donate' option for her Yum-O foundation make it seem like a no brainer for the publisher to convert the magazine to digital. At least, that's my opinion. Fingers crossed that I'm right!

Fine print: Deal is only good for today 1/26. Please allow 8-14 weeks for your first issue to arrive. This magazine has 11 issues per subscription and you can buy up to a 4-year subscription. *affiliate link used

Magazine Subscriptions on the iPad | Things iLove Thursday

I've already written about reading books on the iPad so I thought I should talk about magazines as well. I LOVE reading magazines digitally. I currently have Cosmo, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, All You, Wired and Martha Stewart Living. With the exception of Cosmo, I am a print subscriber to those titles, too.

Publishers are putting really awesome touches to their digital editions. Elements on some of the pages move (snow falls, lighbulbs glow for example), music plays, you can watch video tutorials, listen to interviews and lots of the ads are interactive. The video below is from Wired's site*. It shows the process of putting a digital issue together and some of the features of the app. My inner nerd loves behind the scenes stuff like this.

All of the digital magazines I have were free with my print subscription except Cosmo, which was a free deal I found on a blog. My Wired print subscription only cost $10 for the year and my Martha Stewart print was a freebie I found online too. Free magazine deals pop up all the time online.

As more and more companies offer the digital bundled with the print, you could be able to score some really great deals that will give you access to both if you keep your eyes open. If you have an iPad but someone you know does not, split the subscription cost. My mom has been wanting to subscribe to All You and I only have one issue left. Perfect timing.

Do I need both a print and digital copy? Not really. But, I usually leave a few magazines in my car for waiting in the car pool line, my ortho appointments or Tyler's hockey practice. I don't always take my iPad with me. I can read the digital copy in bed without needing a reading light and without the page turning keeping Phil awake. So far, I have had few problems with the apps crashing. The issues  download quickly and the features are easy to use.

Now, I'm more inclined to buy a print subscription if I know I'll have digital access for free. I'm hoping to renew Real Simple for just this reason. I do think there's a market for print and I hope the industry sees the wisdom in offering both formats to consumers. I see the future of digital copies being that we'll be able to share articles over different platforms.

Here's a list of magazines that offer a free digital subscription with a paid print:

InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, Wired, Martha Stewart, People, Time, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, Fitness, Business Week, Fortune, All You, Health, Southern Living, Cooking Light, Sports Illustrated Kids, Essence

For those with an iPad are you reading magazines on it? Do you like it? If you don't have a tablet, do you see yourself using this feature?

Find out what other bloggers are loving this Thursday 

with Jill over at Diaper Diaries.

Edited 7/10/14: The video has been removed but, for reference, Wired Magazine's first iPad issue came out in 2010. Read about on Wired.com and NDTV.com. 

O Magazine $5 | Mamapedia Deal

I love it when magazine subscriptions drop down like this! My current subscription total is up to 16. 18 if the freebies I found this week go through. What can I say, I'm addicted! 

Mamapedia is another site offering daily deals (current subscriptions to those sites about the same as my magazines!). One of their current Sweet Deals is a one-year subscription to O Magazine for $10. Code OPRAH5 should take $5 off at checkout (please let me know if the code isn't working). The deal is on the right sidebar.

I definitely want to keep up with this subscription since her show is ending. I like OWN but not as much as The Oprah Show. Are you watching OWN? What do you think so far?

*Offer fine print: Valid for 1-year subscription only. Valid for new subscriptions and renewals. Limit (1) per household. May purchase as gifts. Offer valid Feb 11-14, 2011 only. Will automatically receive subscription in 4-6 weeks after order placed. Affiliate link.

Redbook, Food Network: Cheap Magazine Subscriptions

Good deal alert: Amazon has a few good offers on magazine subscriptions. Right now it's only $5 for a 2 year subscription to Redbook and 1 year of Food Network Magazine for $10 with an instant $5 credit at checkout. There are a few other titles that also offer the $5 credit.

I like Food Newtwork Magazine but still prefer Taste of Home and Rachel Ray. Taste of Home is a Best Deal Magazines - Deal of the Day Offer for $4.69 for one year.

When my Gramma was here we made chicken noodle soup and ranch mac and cheese from Taste of Home and both turned out really well. I've never thought to add ranch to mac and cheese. Tyler loved it.

Taste of Home 30 Minute Chicken Soup

* 4 cups water

* 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth

* 1-1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast

* 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

* 3/4 cup sliced celery

* 3/4 cup sliced fresh carrots

* 1 small onion, chopped

* 1-1/2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

* 1 teaspoon reduced-sodium chicken bouillon granules

* 1/4 teaspoon pepper

* 3 cups uncooked egg noodles

Directions

In a Dutch oven, combine the first 10 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in noodles; cook 5-7 minutes longer or until noodles and vegetables are tender.

Taste of Home Ranch Mac and Cheese

* 1 package (16 ounces) elbow macaroni

* 1 cup 2% milk

* 1/4 cup butter, cubed

* 1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

* 1 teaspoon garlic salt

* 1 teaspoon garlic pepper blend

* 1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning

* 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

* 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Colby cheese

* 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

* 1/2 cup crushed saltines (I left this out*)

* 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine the milk, butter, dressing mix and seasonings; heat through. Stir in Monterey Jack and Colby cheeses until melted. Stir in sour cream.

Drain macaroni; stir into cheese sauce with the saltines. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

*We tried breadcrumbs so the mac and cheese would have a browned crust. I mixed crumbs, butter and Parmesan and sprinkled it over the top. I baked it for awhile but it didn't brown. I'm not sure what I did wrong but it still tasted really good.

(affiliate links used)

O Magazine for $5 at Amazon!

I've never seen an O Magazine offer this low and I've been a subscriber for 2 years. I just called customer service (O Mag, not Amazon) and asked if I purchased two separate offers would that give me 2 years. The woman told me I'd more than likely get double issues for one of the months but if I call back they could blend the two subscriptions together. Woot!

*The offer ends this Saturday 12/19. Affiliate link.

$5 Magazine Sale at Amazon

At last count, my magazine subscription number has risen to 22 (it's a sickness). Many I'm getting, like Shape and Woman's Day, are free but I've taken advantage of so many deals I've found online. I've been earning Amazon gift certificates through a web panel I belong to and these $5 subscriptions* have been great for renewing the freebies.

I'm using them as holiday gifts too since we're on a pretty strict budget this year. I'm going to print out the cover of an issue and tie it with a bow to give to the recipient. Hope this helps you guys too!

*It's an affiliate link

Kudos to Maybelline

Flipping through the April issue of Glamour magazine this morning I saw something in an ad that made me happy. Thank you Maybelline for offering a full range of skin colors in your liquid mousse foundation samples. I've always been turned off when I see the ads with samples attached that are of zero use to me.

If I can't try something before I buy it, I'm not going to bother. I've been there, done that with buying makeup, trying it at home and getting frustrated when it doesn't match my skin tone.To be perfectly honest, I don't wear "drugstore" cosmetics like Maybelline and Covergirl is for this exact reason. I have a feeling I'm not alone. So kudos to you for at least giving me the option.


I shouldn't have to subscribe to Ebony or Essence magazines to find the latest trends in skincare and makeup and try them on. It's exclusionary, plain and simple. I get that magazines spend thousands of dollars in research to determine who their target audience is. And, I get that makeup companies want to put their product samples into the hands of someone most likely to buy them. But, perhaps cosmetics companies should spend some of those dollars to find out who's NOT buying, and why.

Sometimes All You Have to Do is Ask

This is so minor, but I'm pretty proud of myself. I got an email from O Magazine about my auto renewal. Since I love magazines, especially this one, I was all set to pay up until I noticed the rate.



I called customer service to verify that I have always paid a lower rate. The woman (we'll call her Dee 'cause I can't remember her real name) confirmed that yes, in the past I've only paid $18.

Me: Thanks, Dee. I have to pinch pennies wherever I can, being displaced an all.

Dee: I totally understand, I work and have to pinch them too. Do you want me to re-invoice you for the $18 or pay now?

Me: I can pay now [running upstairs for debit card]. Is the $10 rate still going on?

Dee: You have the lowest rate available.

Me: Oh, well, OK. I saw that rate offered by Redbook but maybe it's expired.

Dee: I've never come across it before.

Me: Yes, I see it all the time when I enter the sweeps on the Redbook site [frantically clicking]. Usually, after I enter it comes up as a special 'thank you' offer... [entering spa sweeps] Yes, here it is. [reading] "Thank you for entering, as a special 'thank you' get either 12 issues of Cosmo for $10, 12 issues of O for $10 or both together for $20.

Dee: I've never seen that rate come through before. Is it O Magazine or O At Home?

Me: It's for O. I can take a screen shot and email you.

Dee: [laughing] No, I trust you. I'll adjust that down to $10.

Me: Great, thanks! I have my card when you're ready.

It never hurts to ask!

Strained Wallets and Waistlines

I read an article in the June/July issue of Cookie magazine. The author, Sally Schultheiss, and her husband were fighting about food. Specifically, she wanted their family to be all natural, all organic all the time.

He saw nothing wrong with the occasional bowl of Cocoa Puffs. He wants Duncan Hines, she wants made from scratch with Valrhona chocolate ganache. He wants American cheese slices, she wants blocks of goat's milk Camembert. Reading the article, my thoughts kept straying to "how can they afford all that organic food?!"

I don't think it's speculation, conjecture or marketing hype that our society is getting fatter. Our weight and our health is a pressing issue, particulary for our children. Personally, I would love to include more organics into our diet but honestly, I just can't afford it.

Which makes me wonder, when is the cost of food and the strain groceries can create on the family budget going to be touted just as heavily as a reason behind American's expanding waistlines as fast food?

The cost of living is going up. Housing, utilities, gas, health care and everything else associated with running a household is rising. And I would argue that one of the things most families find it easiest to cut back on is their grocery bill.

But, on our most recent trip to the grocery I noticed something. The boxed, pre-packaged, preserved, unnaturally colored unhealthy stuff? Some of which I have in my pantry right now? The prices haven't really gone up that much since the first time we were buying it as broke newlyweds.

Consider this: on our last major grocery run (6/14) I bought three boxed "Helpers" for .90 each and I used an in store coupon for .75 off three. The three packages of ground beef were $1.69, $1.71 and $1.73. That's three meals (more if there are leftovers, not including sides) for $7.08.

If a family is on a budget (and who isn't?!) the financial benefits to shopping in the center aisles, rather than the perimeter as the health experts advise, is pretty clear. At least to me.

But all that stuff in the center of the store is generally the unhealthiest. Yesterday at Henry's, I saw a package of organic lunch meat for $6.79. I'm sorry but that's just insane.

However, I don't know anyone who, could they afford it, would say "nah, organics are great and all but I think I'll stick to the high sodium stuff."

Now, I realize no one is holding a gun to my head. We don't have to buy pre-packaged. The same goes for fast food. No one made me go to El Pollo Loco for lunch (BRC burrito and quesadilla for $1.28 each).

And I know there are places I can shop where the prices are reasonable and the food is healthy and high quality (Trader Joe's and Henry's are my two faves). But I wonder if the same is true in other cities?

While I believe everyone needs to make informed choices, read labels, have a balanced diet and excercise, I don't believe poor impulse control and fast food are the sole reasons people have ballooned.

I don't have any answers and I'm not really sure what the solution is. What's happening in your family? Are groceries a big strain on your budget? Have you had to compromise on the things you buy?

What I Subscribe To

I love books, and I love magazines. I'm not sure what it is about them that has me so hooked. Maybe it's my way of clinging to my college dream of moving to New York and writing for one.

[Remembering what it's like to be young and naive]

Anyway, when I open my mailbox and see the new issues arrive I get giddy.

I subscribe to so many it's hard to keep up. My newspaper rack is usually full and I can't get rid of a single one until I've made sure to review all my dogears. As I read, I fold over a corner of the pages that have something I want to look into later like a recipe, book suggestion or product I might want to buy.

Before I take all the issues to the library bookstore I grab a pen and paper and make notes from the dogears, then use my printer to copy the recipes or articles.

In no particular order, the contents of my mailbox:

Parents
Parenting
Working Mother
Black Enterprise
O
O at Home
Cookie
Lucky
Domino
Inc.
Family Fun
Real Simple
Good Housekeeping (got this one free from AdPerk)
Redbook
All You (sold at Wal Mart)
Pink