The Zeer Blog

For some of you, snacking isn’t a handful of Lay’s during a Project Runway marathon - it’s a part of your continual effort toward a healthier and happier life.

As many dietitians will tell you, you should eat more frequently, not less frequently when trying to lose weight. By having several mini meals several times a day you can help manage your hunger and keep yourself from getting seconds and thirds at lunch and dinner.

In the Fitness Fans community, Patti S. and Or M. tackle the tough question of “What do I eat before working out?” Both recommend snacking throughout the day, but holding off right before a workout since eating before leaves new and undigested food in your stomach. Instead, rock your work out first, then eat a light and savory snack while you prepare your dinner — veggies and a light dip or a half turkey sandwich should do the trick. But, Valerie T. prefers munching Edamame on some  with Kosher salt as a post workout reward.

What about those pesky chocolate cravings? Cara P. snacks it out with the chocolatey taste of Luna Nuts Over Chocolate which she claims stomp out a craving and fill her until the next meal. Meanwhile, you’ll find Weight Watchers champion Bill S. with a Vitalicious Deep Chocolate Vitatops stashed in his cycling jersey, a morning treat that easily turns into mock Brownie Sundae at night when topped with a little low fat ice cream.

Mom on the go, Tracey N. happily kicks hunger pain butt with Keebler’s Fudge Shoppe grasshopper Fudge Dipped Mint Cookies but what quick and healthy snack will keep your kids bellies happy? Ex-babysitter, Molly P. recommends giving toddlers Stonyfield Farm Banana, Vanilla Organic Yogurt, an instant favorite that will keep kids happy until dinner time. Hey, don’t deny yourself either, if you’re like Molly, you’ll get to sneak a taste, too.

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From the Zeer Better Buyer, September 9, 2008

The Better Buyer is a newsletter that brings the best advice found in Zeer reviews straight to your inbox. With Zeer’s Better Buyer, you can see what products are buzzing in the Zeer community, check out the newest Zeer members, and glimpse a smorgasbord of new reviews. To make sure you receive Zeer’s Better Buyer, sign up for Zeer and double check that the newsletter box is currently in the “checked” position on your email settings page here.

It seems like everyone has a twitter account these days, I know I do, and Mike Putnam, CEO of Zeer, does too. We like to keep our finger on the pulse of the social world and get the word out about everything that is going on with Zeer.

Since people can opt in to following us, it’s a great alternative to traditional marketing – we can have a conversation, site users can choose to talk back, follow or unfollow us if we become boring or outdated (hopefully we’re not) and it’s a great repository for finding new blog content.

However, recently, I’ve been using twitter not only to communicate what is going on with Zeer, but I use it as a tool to find out what’s going on with my favorite blogs, news sources, and heck, even brands.

Twitter Empowers Consumers

As the USA Today reported in July, Twitter has become a powerful tool for brands to reach out to their customers. Big companies like Comcast, Whole Foods, and Zappos are tweeting and tweeting well.

There are already tons of fantastic food bloggers sharing their juicy recipes and blog posts online, but now that brands are invading the twitter space, the birth of a new kind of “tweet” has been born. Consumers can actually talk to a brand (as long as it’s within twitters limited 140 characters) and that brand can well… talk back.

So far, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen brands promote contests, new products, and publicly show off their customer service skills. I’ve seen them respond to the public conversation about their product (a task made easier with tools like Summize or Tweet Beep) And, I’ve seen them be friendly, helpful, and informative when Twitter users have questions or concerns. If a brand you’ve used is on twitter and you want to reach someone who cares, Twitter is a great way to put pressure on a brand publicly to fix it fast.

And the best part is: You can follow or unfollow whoever you’d like. As long as their tweets are public, there is no need to “join in” on the conversation unless you want to. I can go days without saying anything on twitter, but when a brand things they have something newsworthy or interesting to say, you better believe they’ll be tweeting it.

If you’re following only people you care about (and not following just anyone who comes along) you usually can stay informed on issues you like and care about without having to read extra long blog posts.

Twittering About Food

So what food companies are on twitter? There are a lot of lists out there, like this great one called Social Brand Index but I’m making one here that’s food-centric. If you want to follow food throughout your day, then this is the blog post to reference.

Food/Specialty Products

Dewmocracy http://twitter.com/Dewmocracy
Elanas Pantry http://twitter.com/elanaspantry
M&Ms http://twitter.com/msgreen
The Organic Dish: http://twitter.com/theorganicdish
Pangaea Organica http://twitter.com/PangaeaOrganica
Popeyes Chicken http://twitter.com/PopeyesChicken
QinoOneVodka http://twitter.com/QinoOneVodka
Templeton Rye http://twitter.com/templetonrye
Vinquire Wine Search http://twitter.com/vinquire
Whole Foods http://twitter.com/wholefoods
zSweet Sugar Substitute http://twitter.com/brianazsweet

Brewing

21st Amendment http://twitter.com/21stAmendment
BridgePort Brewery http://twitter.com/bridgeportbrew
Flying Dog Ales http://twitter.com/flyingdog
Magic Hat http://twitter.com/magichat
Open Source Beer http://twitter.com/opensourcebeer
Scmaltz Brewing http://twitter.com/ShmaltzBrewingW
Lift Bridge Brewing http://twitter.com/LiftBridge
Deschutes Beer http://twitter.com/DeschutesBeer
Marin Brewing Co http://twitter.com/MarinBrewingCo
Moylans Brewery http://twitter.com/MoylansBrewery
Hooker Beer http://twitter.com/hookerbeer

Wine/Wineries
Wine Enthusiast http://twitter.com/WineEnthusiast
Cult Vines Winery http://twitter.com/cultvines
American Winery http://twitter.com/americanwinery
Don Giovanni Winery http://twitter.com/DonGiovanniWine

Am I missing a brand that twitters? Comment below with your best food brand bets!