AND THE WINNER IS...

12 entries, 5 people. 2 people did not complete the mandatory entry and had to be disqualified, so after subtracting the five entries that were ineligible, I went to random.org and fed it 1 for the lowest value and 7 for the highest value. Random.org then generated a random number. The lucky number is 3. Using a spreadsheet to keep track of entries, lucky number 3 is Rebecca! Congratulations Rebecca! I will send you an e-mail to verify your mailing information right now and you will have one week to confirm. The prize will have three coupons, each for one FREE Rudi's gluten free bread item. Enjoy!

Rudi's Gluten Free Multigrain Sandwich Bread Review and Giveaway

When I asked Rudi's if they work with bloggers who want to write reviews on their products, the response was greater than I imagined! They not only offered to send coupons for me to get the bread that I choose to review, but they even offered to work with me on doing a giveaway on the blog!

Due to a computer glitch, I ended up with two sets of three coupons sent to me, so this round of the giveaway, the winner will receive the coupons directly from me.

But before I dive into a run through of the rules which were stated in a prior post and post the trivia question, I want to tell you that the reception to this particular bread is tremendous!

I chose for the first review to try the Multigrain Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread. I am a skeptic with multigrain and I have had other brands of gluten free bread that have not been very impressive to me, so I was hesitant. But I decided to try this bread out with homemade egg salad.

From the first bite, I was in heaven! Every bite was just as good as the first bite. The bread is moist. It has texture, and not a grainy one like one might expect with traditional multigrain bread. It even brought out the flavors in the egg salad! My second sandwich with this bread was yet another egg salad sandwich. I have a confession. I usually throw the heels of a loaf out because they tend to be dry and crusty. But I tried the heel of this loaf and I LOVED it! It tasted no different than the main loaf. I still have enough of this loaf to make a few more sandwiches or slices of toast, but I am so excited about the prospect that Rudi's has created that I want to make sure to go ahead and give one lucky reader a chance to also try it out.

When I contacted Rudi's about the extra set of coupons they had sent, they told me that it might be possible that I might be able to have another giveaway and with that one, a winner would receive the coupons directly from Rudi's. But I will post more about that should that come up.

For this first giveaway, I wanted things to be as easy as possible. So this giveaway will be quite basic.

Here's the first request, but as I have no way to verify age, I will ask you to just be honest. I would prefer that the winner be of the age of majority in his/her state of residence.

The first requirement is that you live in the United States. All 50 states are eligible.

The second is that you leave a valid e-mail address. I have posted a form that is supposed to accept e-mail addresses, but not knowing for sure how it will work, this is what I suggest to deter someone from just copying it without some work involved. You may leave it in this format: susanelizabeth31 [at] gmail [dot] com.

The third and final requirement is that you correctly answer one question that can be found if you read the Rudi's Gluten Free site. The question is:

How many formulas did Rudi's test before landing on a recipe?

If you go to the Rudi's web site, you have an opportunity to download a coupon for $1 off.

Here are some things you can do for EXTRA entries:

1. Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect or NetworkedBlogs.

2. Follow Rudi's via Twitter.

3. Like Rudi's on Facebook.

4. Like this blog on Facebook.

5. Blog, tweet, or share about this giveaway, and leave a link for each thing you do to spread the word.

The required entry may be one comment. Please leave separate comments for each additional entry.

The giveaway goes live as soon as the post is live and will run through midnight September 30, 2011. The winner will be announced after going through random.org by October 7, 2011 and will have one week to confirm after receiving his/her e-mail.

Let's keep it clean and keep it fun!

Upcoming Rudi's Gluten Free Coupon Giveaway

Here are the basics:

1. You should be of the age of majority for your state of residence and must reside in the United States to be eligible. Please be honest on this one and use your best judgment.

2. There will be one question posted that I think will make a great trivia question that can be found on Rudi's website. Answering this correctly will let me know that you have been to their site before entering.

3. I don't know how the comment form actually works in terms of allowing me to see your e-mail address in order to contact the winner, so if you can leave it in the following format (I am providing my e-mail address so you can contact with me with questions): susanelizabeth31 [at] gmail [dot] com in order to make it more difficult to copy, that would be a great backup plan.

4. For extra entries, you may choose to like the blog on Facebook; follow the blog via Google Friend Connect; follow the blog via NetworkedBlogs; subscribe to the blog; like Rudi's on Facebook; follow Rudi's on Twitter; Tweet about the giveaway; Share the giveaway; or even tell about it in a blog post on your own blog (if you write one). These will be optional.

5. I will use a random number generator in order to choose the first winner who will have one week to confirm before an alternate will be chosen. There will be a maximum of two winners.

6. The giveaway will run as soon as the post goes lives on Monday, September 12, 2011 until the end of the day on Friday, September 30, 2011. All necessary links will go live at that time as well.

7. A winner will be announced sometime on or before (if possible) October 7, 2011.

8. Most importantly, I want this to be fun and exciting, and hopefully helpful as well.

Rudi's Gluten Free Multigrain Hot Dog Rolls

Rudi's has a line of gluten free breads and buns that so far is to die for. I have tried other varieties of gluten free hot dog buns but was nowhere near as pleased with them as with the Rudi's multigrain hot dog rolls. These were just the right amount of bread for the dog and usually I have cheese with my hot dogs, but I did not feel the need to do so when I used these. They had the right amount of moistness.

All this to say that I am looking forward to trying my first loaf of Rudi's gluten free bread and reviewing it for anyone out there who will read the post which will also gear this blogger and any of its readers up for My Gluten Free Life's first ever blog giveaway.

It is my intent with the upcoming giveaway to have two winners. One will receive their coupons directly from me and the other directly from Rudi's. I am exploring Rafflecopter as an option and will definitely utilize a random number generator site to choose the winner(s) and alternate(s). As we get closer to the big date of opening the giveaway, all the details will be provided. The only four requirements I have is that the winner/alternate must reside in the 50 continental United States and be of the age of majority within their state, they must either subscribe to or follow this blog, they must leave their e-mail address so I can notify them should they be chosen, and I will encourage extra entries via following on Twitter, liking this blog's Facebook page, Tweeting about the giveaway, Sharing the giveaway on Facebook, liking Rudi's Facebook page, and posting about the giveaway on their own blog (if they write a blog). I want to make this upcoming giveaway as seamless and fun as possible and since it is my first time that I will be running one, I want it to be as easy as possible.

I ask anyone reading this that has experience running blog giveaways to consider providing their input on how best to conduct this one.

Stay Tuned for My Gluten Free Life's First Ever Blog Giveaway

More details will follow after I have a chance to work out some of the logistics, but as it stands now, there may even be a possibility for not just one, but TWO giveaways! See, part of the background on that is because Rudi's had a little bit of a technical glitch and instead of one set of coupons for me to get some free Rudi's gluten free bread loaves for blog reviews, I ended up with two sets. Now I have the media packet with my coupons and an additional set which will be the first giveaway. But I will take TWO winners and TWO alternates, and proceed to also contact Rudi's for the second prize winner.

Here are the preliminary rules: Winner MUST reside in the United States. Winner must be at least the age of majority in their state of residence (which is 19 in Alabama). All entrants will need to be following my blog via Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs or subscribe. All entrants will be required to leave an e-mail address in their comments. Friend request or request to follow me on Twitter if you would like. My blog syndicates with both, and this will be optional. Sharing on Facebook or Twitter will earn extra entries as well. All entrants will be asked to go to the Rudi's website and answer one question based on something from their website. I haven't decided yet what it will be.

The giveaway will be announced as soon as the first product review of my first loaf of bread has been published and will be open for two or three weeks depending on what day of the week the review is posted. The giveaway will close on a Friday to allow the entire weekend to try to determine the winners from all entries. The winner will be announced by the following Wednesday and have one whole week to reply before an alternate will be chosen.

The approximate retail value of the three coupons that the winner(s) will receive varies according to sales, stores and other factors, but is estimated around 15 dollars.

Just keep your eyes open for more announcements as the big giveaway approaches in the next few weeks (it may be after Labor Day). Please consider sharing with any and all friends and family you know that would benefit from this giveaway. It will be more fun than it sounds so far, but these are just the preliminary logistics.