Product Review + GIVEAWAY!! Tiny Bites Food Shears

I've had many friends comment that I'm always so prepared for things when I go out with the kids.  Usually this is because I have some kind of product that really makes my job as a mom easier.  When I worked in the corporate world, one of the things we'd rate our job satisfaction on every year was whether we "had the tools we need to do our job."  Well, being a Mom is a job, and just like any other job, it really does help to take advantage of the tools that are available for you, created to help make your job easier, quicker, and more efficient!

One of the many repetitive job tasks of the "professional mom" is to cut up food for the kids to ensure that they don't choke.  So, a few weeks ago I did a Google search to see if anyone had come up with a product for cutting up your kids' food that would travel well.  I'm always cutting up Toby's and Sammy's food, but it's always a challenge to locate a knife and cutting surface when we are out and about.  I don't want to just toss a steak knife in my bag as it could shred my bag, not to mention my hands while digging for it, or Sammy's hands while looking for a snack or toy.

I thought maybe I could find some kind of small knife with a cover over it, so I could toss it in my diaper bag and not worry about it getting dirty or slicing up my bag.  In my search I was happy to come across something even better: Tiny Bites Food Shears...little food shears with a plastic sheath over the blade, designed for this very purpose by parents Ed and Anila Nitekman from New York.  When I saw that they were looking for people to review their product, I contacted them and they offered me a set to try.  They were even kind enough to offer a set of shears as a give-a-way to one of you lucky readers!!  Read on to hear more about this fun product and how YOU can win your own set!

I was excited to return home from our Thanksgiving travels to find my set of shears.  One red and one blue, which in our house is known as "Blue like Thomas" and "Red like James." (Thomas the Tank Engine references, for those of you who don't have train-obsessed boys...)

My first impressions... 

Great idea to have a set of two...this way I can keep one in my diaper bag and one in the kitchen.

The sheath that slides over the blade snaps on for a nice, snug fit, so there are no worries of it falling off in my bag.  It keeps the bag protected from the blades, and keeps the blades clean and ready to use...exactly what I was looking for!

At first I was confused as to what the little yellow "arm" was that swings out between the handles.  After reading "comfort cutting spring" on the package, I figured out that once it's rotated inward all the way, it does function as a spring that makes the blades spring open again after each cut.  I like that this little feature is totally optional...you can cut the food with or without it.

I also noticed that there is a ruler etched in the cutlery-grade stainless steel blades.  This is a nice little feature if you know what size is best for you child's age.  It might be nice to have a note on the package, on the sheath, or on the ruler itself telling you what size is appropriate for what age.  But, I think it was a nice way to customize the product for it's specific purpose.  (This made me also think that this product would pair up really well with the Safe Sizer anti-choking plates that I helped design graphics for, which help illustrate the correct food size.)

Trying it out...

I'm constantly cutting up food for my 10 month old, especially now that he is eating more and more of our regular table food and less "baby" food.  I used to rip up a slice of bread into tiny pieces, but it was much quicker to cut strips and then little cubes with the Tiny Bites!

 At the same time, it worked great even for this super thick Texas toast grilled cheese sandwich that I cut into strips for my almost-3-year-old.  Sometimes just cutting a sandwich into "sticks" makes it more interesting and fun for him to eat, not to mention easier to bite into smaller pieces.

Being an artist, I was also excited to try out the other creative benefits of cutting my kids' food with scissors...the post card that arrived with my shears had ideas such as cutting pancakes into letters, trimming broccoli into lollipops, etc... When Sammy wanted a piece of Toby's bread, I tried cutting him an "S" and he loved it...

In the week or so that I've been using these, I've used them at home, in restaurants, and at a couple people's homes and they work great.  I love that I don't have to seek out some flimsy plastic knife at fast food restaurant to cut, and I don't have to ask the host/hostess for a knife and cutting board when we eat at someone's house.  Another benefit of using scissors rather than a knife, is that there are no cut marks from trying to cut on his plastic plates, and no extra item to wash (the cutting board/surface). 

Having the two blades cut against each other (as opposed to a knife on a board) works much better when cutting through foods with a "skin," like hot dogs and grapes, with a blade on both sides at once. (prevents you from smooshing the food and squirting juice everywhere!) I used these to cut up orange slices into little bits for Toby yesterday and they worked like a CHARM.  A knife would have yielded a pile of mush, but the sharp blades cut perfect little pieces.

It would be nice I think if the blades separated like kitchen shears to ensure that they get really clean, however, they are dishwasher safe which makes me feel better about getting them well sanitized!
The blades are made from cutlery grade stainless steel, and the handles/sheath are BPA free plastic.

I certainly will be keeping these in my diaper bag all the time!!  Huge thanks to Anila and Ed for giving me the opportunity to review these! (and no, I was not paid for this review in case you're wondering)

Wouldn't they make a great stocking stuffer or gift to your friends with little kids?  They also work well to cut Christmas trees too (above)!  Hey, lucky for you, you have a chance to get a set for FREE!

ENTER TO WIN a set of Tiny Bites Food Shears!

Here are the rules:
1. Entrants have until end of day (11:59 pm, CDT) Friday, December 10, 2010 to rack up your entries in the drawing.
2. Each entrant can earn up to 9 entries, as outlined below.
3. Each entry requires a separate comment in this post to be counted separately.
4. Your email/contact info must be either included in your comments or visible in your blogger profile for me to contact you as a winner.
5. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing and announced on Monday, December 13, 2010.
GOOD LUCK!

How to enter:
REQUIRED ENTRY:
1) All entrants MUST become a fan of Tiny Bites via their Facebook page.  Thank them for the contest and tell them ID Mommy sent you.  Leave me a comment here that you became a fan, and let me know your Facebook name. (1 entry)

ADDITIONAL (optional) ENTRIES:

1.  Visit the Tiny Bites website and leave a comment here on this post about your thoughts on their product. (1 entry)

2.  Blog about Tiny Bites and leave a link to your post here in a separate comment. (2 entries)

3.  Blog about this contest with a link to this post, and leave a comment with the link to your blog post. (3 entries)

4.  Become a follower of the ID Mommy blog and tell me in a comment.  If you're already a follower, just leave a comment here to be counted! (1 entry)

5.  Become a Facebook Fan of ID Mommy and tell me in a comment. If you're already a fan, just leave me a comment here to be counted! (1 entry)