Product Reviews

You all are well aware that I love to cook and eat great food. But you also know that I occasionally like to go out to eat as well. I am not averse to date night with my husband at a great restaurant or even taking my daughter out for lunch after swimming class. I mean, just because I like to cook doesn’t mean I cook every meal a day, seven days a week. However, when we do eat out we won’t eat out just anywhere. I like to patronize the restaurants I know serve good food and care about quality and customer service. There are certain, a-hem, drive-through style establishments that I wholeheartedly boycott. Someone even took my daughter to one recently and she refused to eat anything they offered her. Guess I taught her early!

One of the places we happily eat regularly is Panera Bread. It has a great selection of food and beverages, is clean, kid-friendly and is generally pretty efficient. Being a carb junky I usually order one of the paninis. When we went the other day it was the ideal lunch because it was so cold outside. I also got a lemonade for the kiddo and I to split, as well as a hot chai to go for me. My daughter got a grilled cheese – her favorite – and chips. Her to-go treat was a giant chocolate chip cookie the size of her head. As a mother I will take this moment to ask the Panera management to consider making smaller chocolate chip cookies for kids so we don’t have to spend and hour policing our child as they work their way through a mountain of sugar and get chocolate all over the car. But that’s another story.

When I was there on my most recent trip I did notice that there were some great new items on the menu I want to try when I go back soon. I think I might go for the Thai Chopped Chicken Salad or the Breakfast Power Sandwich. It will most likely be the former, it is rare that we are out early enough to pick up breakfast.

I am working with Panera on a project for the rest of this winter and into the spring. I look forward to sharing more of my Panera adventures with you. I also have to share some of the recipes I made with the bread I brought home, that’s a whole different post in itself!

*This was a compensated post which is why it appears on my ad-free Products Review Page

What exciting news to report, Anne is the winner of the $100 Visa Giftcard giveaway. And, I won the Rice Krispie Recipe Box Holiday challenge. My Rice Krispies Winter Wonderland Trees will be featured on the Rice Krispies website and Facebook page in early January. Stay tuned and I’ll let you know when it is up! Congratulations Anne and thank you everyone for your comments. Happy Holidays!

I love the holidays and everything about it. As you can see by my homepage, I’ve been doing lots of Christmas cooking and baking. The season puts me so in the mood for sweets and over the top fun treats.

Earlier this month Rice Krispies and The Motherhood contacted me about participating in the Rice Krispie Treat Recipe Box Challenge and generating a Rice Krispies Holiday Themed treat. I jumped at the chance since I love working with both companies. I was even more excited when they told me I could giveaway a $100 Visa Gift card, see official rules below. My goal was to do something create something fun and wintery, but make it manageable enough for me to do with my daughter.

Since we decorated our tree last week it seemed fitting that we do a tree themed treat. I made some cone shapes out of heavy construction paper and stuffed them with the warm Rice Krispie treats. Then I let them cool into shapes before setting them up in a field of marshmallow snow. Then we used some tubes of icing to make green stripes and decorate them with cinnamon candies. It was a simple and fun project that made a delicious wintery treat for the whole family.

How will you get creative with Rice Krispie treats this season? Do tell. Share a comment below and follow the rules below to enter to win a $100 Visa Gift Card courtesy of Rice Krispies!

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite ways to get creative with Rice Krispie treats.

2. Contest runs from December 15th at 10:00am ET through December 21st at 11:59am.

3. You may only enter the contest once.

4. Winner will be selected by Random.org on December 22d.

5. Winner has 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.

6. THEMOTHERHOOD HOLIDAY RICE KRISPIES TREATS EXCHANGE BLOGGER GIVEAWAY

Abbreviated Rules. No Purchase Necessary. Begins no earlier than 12:00:00 AM (ET) on 11/29/10 and ends no later than 11:59:59 PM (ET) on 12/21/10. For complete Official Rules, go to http://web.mediacdt.com/docs/motherhoodholiday
Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Subject to complete Official Rules. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: TheMotherhood; www.TheMotherhood.com

I was compensated to participate in this challenge by The Motherhood and Rice Krispies.

I was recently invited to work with Hunt’s Tomatoes and The Motherhood on a program regarding the role of tomatoes in heart health. I immediately agreed since I am a big advocate of anything related to the promotion of eating well to keep your body strong and healthy. I eat tomatoes all summer long when they are in season and often turned to the canned variety during the colder months. Hunt’s is one of the brands of canned tomatoes I buy and I was so pleased to learn they’ve been participating in research projects beneficial to the greater good.

In college I remember learning about the relevance of heart disease in women, it is so much more common than you think. When talking with my mother I learned that my grandmother was under the care of a cardiologist to manage her symptoms and it inspired me to start looking after my own heart health, even at the ripe old age of 20 . Since then I’ve taken notice when I read anything related to heart health, I want to eat well as a preventative measure, and help my family eat well, too.

Hunt’s and ConAgra provided some really interesting statistics about tomatoes that are testimony to their efficacy in preventing heart disease:
– Recent studies have suggested that the distinct combination of nutrients found in tomatoes may have a measurable impact on heart disease prevention.
– A press release announcing the study findings can be found here in this article.
– According to a study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, lycopene absorption is 2-3 times greater in canned tomato products than raw tomatoes.
– Using Hunt’s tomatoes is a great way to get a significant source of fiber, Vitamin C and the antioxidant lycopene into your diet.
– Hunt’s tomatoes are flash-steamed to help them keep their backyard-garden-fresh taste, are 100 percent natural and contain no artificial preservatives or ingredients.
– For more information about Hunt’s tomatoes and the FlashSteam process, some recipe inspiration and the latest news and promotions, visit www.hunts.com

When it comes to eating well with tomatoes there are a zillion ways to go about it. In the winter I like to add tomatoes to my soup, it ramps up the health factor and creates an amazing flavor. Plus, like all my soup recipes, I make it during naptime and reheat it for dinner. Here is a great recipe I’ve made in the past that I think it worth revisiting. Each cup is hearty and healthful.

This was a compensated review in conjunction with Hunt’s Tomatoes and The Motherhood

Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of decorating snowflakes at the 77 Kids store in Danbury Connectictut, with some fellow bloggers and friends, to support the local childrens center at Danbury Hospital. We are all busy this holiday season but there is always time to help those less fortunate.

In honor of helping children in need 77 Kids has commenced the holiday program Wishes 4 Snow. Visit this site to design a digital snowflake, it is a lot of fun and takes less than three minutes. If 100,000 people design snowflakes 77 Kids will donate $25,000 to select children’s hospitals around the country. How great is that! The best part is that you can do everything right from your computer, no purchase necessary. We all have to the time to help others and this is a great way to do it, ask your kids to help you, too!

To thank you for helping them with their mission 77 Kids has generously donated a $50 giftcard to one lucky winner to help out with your holiday shopping.

To be entered to win a $50 77 Kids giftcard courtesy of 77 Kids please follow these steps:

1) Visit Wishes 4 Snow and design a digital snowflake

2) Follow 77 Kids on Facebook

3) For an extra entry follow 77 Kids on Twitter and tweet why you love their store using the hashtag #77kids

4) Leave a comment here telling me about your favorite way to helps others over the holidays.

5) Contest runs from November 15th at 9pm ET through Monday November 22nd at 11:59am.

I was compensated to attend this program by 77Kids and The Motherhood.

When I received my very own Masterbuilt Turkery Fryer in the mail this week I was initially skeptical. Would it make my life easier, not harder? Would it produce the moist, delicious turkey I love, without making a huge mess and burning my fingers in the process? The answer? Yes. I kid you not, this machine is quite the thing when it comes cooking turkey this year. When I tried it this week the turkey came out perfectly cooked and tender. Best of all, I was able to cook the entire thing while my daughter was at school. Doing it for the first time while she wasn’t underfoot was helpful, though now I’ll be able to do it with her in the kitchen with no problem. It is that easy to use.

We all will be tackling a lot this Thanksgiving and I want to help make your cooking responsibilities easier. Fry up a turkey with this piece of machinery, Naptime Chef your Twice-Baked Potatoes and bake a nice big batch of Pumpkin Bars. That’s all you need for a great family meal!

To give you a quick summary, the Butterball Turkey Fryer from Masterbuilt has the following features:

•                     The fryer is retailed at $159.96

•                     Adjustable thermostat temperature control

•                     Stainless steel construction

•                     Porcelain-coated inner pot

•                     Digital timer

•                     Folding lid with window and filter

•                     Cooking basket with drain clip

•                     Drain Valve for easy cleaning

•                     Saves on oil – uses 1/3 less than conventional turkey fryers

•                     It can feed up to 8 people when frying a 14 lb turkey

Don’t believe me? Check out this fun video on how to use it.

To celebrate my newfound appreciation for this piece of machinery I am giving one away courtesy of Masterbuilt! The winner will also receive a $15 coupon for a Butterball Turkey and a copy of Dadgum That’s Good! A cookbook from John McLemore, the CEO of Masterbuilt.

To Enter For Your Chance to Win here are the rules:

1. Sign up for my newsletter on the upper left side of this page (I’ll be checking!)

2. Be a fan on my Facebook Fanpage here (I’ll be checking!)

3. Tell me how you think this Masterbuilt Butterball Turkey Fryer will help you this holiday season!

4. Contest runs from Monday November 8th through 11:59pm ET on Monday November 15th.

5. Winner will be selected by Random.org and has 5 days to claim his/her prize. After that the prize will be awarded to another person.

Happy Thanksgiving!

With all that’s been going on this fall I have had to make more time to be with my daughter. Before the blog started it was just the two of us all day long with no obligations. But now we have school (her), work (me), swimming lessons (both of us), and a whole host of playdates. In short, we are busy. The most important thing for me is to make the times between all these activities that is just for us.

My daughter is about to turn three and I find our time together is best spent doing fun, easy activities. We love to color, read and take walks. She also has started to ride a bike with training wheels so I can jog, or ride my own bike, alongside her. These moments where we are both engaged in the same activity are priceless. I also make a point of eating meals together whenever possible.

Breakfast is one of our favorite meals to eat side by side. We both love to eat cereal (Cheerios or otherwise), or waffles or pancakes. Eating breakfast together is the calm before the storm of the day. We talk about our schedule and who we might bump into along the way. I take this time to set her expectations about what will happen at school and after I pick her up. I think she likes this as much as I do, lately she’s taken to asking me what will be happening that day the moment I start pouring the milk.

As you’ll see below, Cheerios made this fantastic video with several Good Bite bloggers about ways they spend time with their children and nourish their mind and body. I love hearing all the ways Moms spend time with their children. The theme here is universal, time together doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. It’s the laughter and enjoyment that counts.

As part of the Mom’s Breakfast Club I recently hosted a brunch for Kellogg’s new Love Your Cereal initiative. Seven women, all busy moms, gathered at my house one morning to discuss the merits of a healthy breakfast, daily routines and why we care about feeding our children well. I provided several sweet baked goods and a nice fruit platter, and the women provided fascinating conversation.

Two weeks ago I participated in a fabulous trip to Portland Oregon to tour the Willamette Egg Farms. My Farm to Table Tour was sponsored by The Good Egg Project. This is an effort by America’s egg farmers to educate people about where eggs come from and encourage them to join America’s egg farmers in the fight against hunger by pledging to “Eat good. Do good every day.” For each pledge made on GoodEggProject.org, America’s egg farmers will donate one egg to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief charity, up to one million eggs. Since 2009, America’s egg farmers have donated more than 28 million eggs to food banks and charities across the nation.

Joining me were some great friends and bloggers, Jennifer from Savoring The Thyme, Amy from She Wears Many Hats, Michelle from Gourmet Mom on the Go, Lynn from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures, Erin from Prudence Pennywise, Kristy from The Wicked Noodle, Dara of Cookin’ Canuck, and Susan of She’s Becoming Doughmesstic.  We had the pleasure of being taught and accompanied by Howard Helmer, the World’s Fastest Omelet Maker (no joke!), Chef Jeffrey Saad upcoming star of the Cooking Channel’s new show The United Tastes of America and Mary Donkersloot, RD. Needless to say, it was quite a crew.

This is a sponsored review by BlogHer and Newman’s Own.