Showing posts with label win. Show all posts
Showing posts with label win. Show all posts

Friday, February 3, 2012

Tips For Cooking At Home

     I have recently started eating healthier and exercising.  I want to set an example for my children that I can be proud of.  Cooking at home is part of my family's normal everyday routine.  Home cooking gives me and my family complete control over what goes into our recipes and the way we cook it.  Eating healthy at home is so much easier and cheaper than eating out. 

Here are some facts about cooking at home for you to consider.

  • Buying food and cooking it at home saves you money.
  • You can plan your menus to include all the food groups and the correct servings of each of the food groups.
  • You can season your meals as you like it and control the amount of processed foods your family eats.
  • You can accommodate each member of your family's eating preferences when you cook for them at home.
  • You can keep your children away from foods that contain chemicals and additives that are found in some foods from restaurants.
  • When you cook at home it's so much easier to control portion sizes.  
  • Eating out is considered to be a major cause of obesity in America, according to a recent report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  • Preparing meals at home gives your family quality time together, it's fun and a learning experience for all involved.
Here's a recipe you may want to try.

Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry with
Whole Grain Brown Rice

Yield: 4
Total cook time: 30min
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup UNCLE BEN'S® Fast & Natural Whole Grain Brown Rice, dry
  • 1 3/4 cup water
  • Non-stick cooking spray
  • 1 pound beef sirloin, thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced (approximately 2 tablespoons minced garlic)
  • 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  • 4 whole green onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 cups broccoli florets (approximately 1 head), blanched or partially steamed

Instructions Kid Friendly Step

  1. Gather all equipment and ingredients.
  2. Prepare and measure all ingredients. Tip: cut all vegetables before cutting meat to maintain proper sanitation, or wash cutting board in between tasks.
  3. Prepare rice according to package directions.
  4. While rice is cooking, heat a large (10") sauté pan with just enough non-stick cooking spray to coat. Add beef, and sauté until browned.
  5. Carefully add garlic, green onion, blanched broccoli, and soy sauce to sauté pan.
  6. Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
  7. Once rice is cooked, serve beef & broccoli over rice.

Tips

  • For crispy beef, coat beef strips in about 1 tablespoon of corn starch before sautéing. Prepare remainder of recipe as listed.
  • For saucier recipe, consider finishing dish with a commercially prepared teriyaki glaze or stir fry sauce.
  • For a spicier recipe, sprinkle 1/2 - 1 teaspoon red chili flakes as garnish.
  • For a sweeter recipe, add 1 tablespoon orange juice with soy sauce, and garnish with 1 tablespoon orange zest.

To empower and encourage parents to connect with their kids, one meal at a time, Uncle Ben’s has launched an exciting national contest called Ben’s Beginners! By entering the contest, you could win $20,000, along with a $50,000 grant towards a cafeteria makeover for your child’s school. In addition, you will have a chance to appear on The Rachael Ray show! Uncle Ben’s is calling for parents with children ages 5-12 to submit a 2-3 minute video of you cooking a rice-based dish with your children. For more info on the contest, please check out Ben’s Beginners on Facebook!


About Uncle Ben’s
Uncle Ben’s®, the number one rice brand in America, is proud to offer a wide range of rice dishes with flavors and textures that will help bring more to your meals, both for convenient side dishes and savory main courses. Uncle Ben’s® offers a wide variety of white, whole grain brown, and flavored rices in cook times ranging from 30 minutes to 90 seconds, as well as rice for food service operations such as restaurants, schools and hospitals. The first mass-produced parboiled rice, Uncle Ben’s® is the top-selling branded rice in the United States and products can be found in more than 100 countries worldwide. Uncle Ben’s® Brand products are manufactured by Mars Food NA, part of Mars, Incorporated. For more information, visit www.UncleBens.com.

More info on Uncle Ben’s: http://www.unclebens.com/

Uncle Ben’s on Facebook

Check out recipe ideas from Uncle Ben’s.
I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Uncle Ben’s blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Friday, August 12, 2011

SnackAisle Review & Giveaway Ends 8/22/11 at 7 PM EST

SnackAisle.com sent me a wonderful selection of their snacks to sample and review.  Before I tell you about what I tried, I wanted to tell you about this really cool Snack of the Month Club they have.  There are several different subscription options to choose from.  They have one called the Starving College Student Box which would be an amazing gift for a college student.  I know that I would have loved it when I was in college.  I just think the Snack of the Month Club is a neat idea.

Pretzel Crisps Original - I love Pretzel Crisps.  Original is one of my favorites.  I like to have these with salsa on them.  They are so crispy and with just the right amount of salt.  I am a big fan of the pretzel crisps.

Pretzel Crisps Deli Style Everything - These are really tasty, they are good  just out of the bag.  I haven't found a topping that I like with them.  They are so full of flavor it's hard to combine all those flavors with something else.  I enjoyed these as well.

Route 11 Dill Pickle Potato Chips - I didn't know if I was going to like these or not because dill pickle potato chips sounded funny to me.  I loved these chips.  The dill pickle flavor is so good.  I had to put the bag down before I consumed the entire bag in one sitting.  These chips are delicious, a new favorite for me.

Route 11 Sweet Potato Chips - I recently discovered that I like sweet potato fries, so I couldn't wait to try these and see if I like them as well.  Sure enough I am a big fan of the sweet potato chip.  They are wonderfully tasty. 

Seapoint Farms Dry Roasted Edamame Lightly Salted - I had not ever heard of Edamame, so I really had no idea what to expect.  I did enjoy a few of these but they are not my favorite.  I passed them along to my husband who ate the rest, he loved them.

White Mountain Kettle Corn - I took this with me to work for an afternoon snack.  I really enjoyed this kettle corn.  It was sweet and salty the perfect combination.

KIND Plus Cranberry & Almond - This KIND Plus Cranberry & Almond bar is a mix of tangy cranberries & crunch almonds PLUS enhanced with antioxidants such as Vitamins A, C, & E which fight free radicals. This bar is all-natural, gluten-free and dairy free. This healthy snack bar is a rich source of fiber, low in sodium, and no trans fat.  Let me just say that this bar is amazing.  I have not ever had a KIND bar before, but I am impressed and can't wait to try all the different flavors. 

WINETIME Dark Chocolate Dates & Almonds - WINETIME Dark Chocolate Dates & Almonds Bar are a healthy indulgence that contain more of the anti-aging compound Resveratrol than 50 glasses of red wine and the antioxidant power of dark chocolate. Also filled with 7 super fruits including Blueberry, Goji, and Acai, vegan, dairy & gluten free.  This bar is great also.  I love that it has all those super fruits in it. 

SnackAisle.com has offered one of my readers a $15 gift card to their store.  If you would like to enter to win see the giveaway below.  The gift card does not cover shipping.

Giveaway: (you must follow my blog publicly on google friend connect, put your email in your comment if it's not visible on your blogger profile, leave a separate comment for each entry you complete, the first entry is mandatory, you must do it for any other entry to count, contiguous US only, no PO boxes)

Mandatory Entry:
Go to SnackAisle.com and sign up for their enewsletter (on the home page, on the right side of the page).  Leave a comment here letting me know you signed up and what email address you used.

Extra Entries: 

Like SnackAisle.com on facebook, leave a comment with your facebook name letting me know you like them on facebook. 


Follow SnackAisle.com on twitter, leave a comment with your twitter name letting me know you follow them on twitter.


There are three possible entries.  Only the first is mandatory.  I will email the winner once a winner is selected using random.org.  Giveaway ends 8/22/11 at 7 PM EST.  Winner must respond to my email within 72 hours to claim the prize, otherwise I will have to select another winner.  Thank you for reading my blog and participating. 

tia said... 17
Signed up to get snackisle newsletter tmoyer6980@charter.net

Monday, June 20, 2011

Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Review & Giveaway Ends 7/1/11 at 7:00 PM EST

Recently I received a box from Tropical Traditions.  It contained a Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil Certified Organic 1 Quart (32 FL. oz.) glass jar.


Characteristics of Our Gold LabelTM Virgin Coconut Oil

This Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is a truly unrefined coconut oil. This coconut oil is made on Mt. Banahaw and surrounding areas from organic coconuts. Coconuts are used fresh (within 24-48 hours of harvest) from small family farms on Mt. Banahaw and other rural places in Quezon Province, the coconut capital of the Philippines. Only the highest quality coconuts are hand-picked from each harvest. The volcanic soil of Mt. Banahaw makes these organic coconuts some of the most nutritionally rich coconuts in the world! Testing done in independent laboratories reveals higher levels of phenolic antioxidants than other coconut oils. The fresh coconut meat is shredded (wet milled), and then cold-pressed using the water from inside the coconuts to make coconut milk. The milk is then allowed to sit for about half a day, while the oil naturally separates from the heavier water. The oil is then filtered from the curds (coconut solids). No chemical or high-heat treatment is used, and this oil contains no trans fatty acids. We do NOT mass produce this oil. It is made by families who are coconut farmers using old-fashioned traditional methods that have been used in the Philippines for hundreds of years. Our coconut trees and family producers are certified organic according to strict USDA standards. The families who produce the oil are also trained according to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards and re-certified each year. This high-grade Virgin Coconut Oil has a long shelf life due to the high antioxidant properties. The Gold Label Standard is our highest standard for Virgin Coconut Oil. Read more.

I used the Virgin Coconut Oil to make a chicken stir fry.  This Virgin Coconut Oil is amazing.  It smells great.  I love how it heats up and cooks.  I  really never even knew about coconut oil before.  I will use this from now on, it is much more stable than other vegetable oils.  I am very impressed with the quality of customer service that I received from Tropical Traditions.  They have sponsored a giveaway for the same quart of virgin coconut oil that I received.

If you can't wait to try it out, you can buy it here:

<a href="http://tinyurl.com/63zu6cj"><img src="http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/image/products/thumb-gold_32oz.jpg" align="right" border="0" style="float: left;margin: 4px;">32-oz. - Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil - 1 quart</a>

Giveaway

Mandatory Entry:
You must be a follower on my blog to enter.  Go to Tropical Traditions and choose another item that you would like to try.  Come back here and post a comment with that product and your email if it's not visible on your blogger profile.

Extra Entries:

Sign up for their newsletter, come back and leave a comment that you subscribe to their newsletter and the email that you subscribe with.

Check out their coconut recipes section and tell me a recipe that you want to try.  Leave a comment with the link to the recipe.

Like my facebook fan page for another entry, leave a comment with your facebook name.

There is a total of four possible entries.  The mandatory entry must be completed in order to enter.

Giveaways ends on July 1st, 2011 at 7:00 PM EST.  I will use random.org to select the winner from all eligible entries.  I will email the winner and give them 72 hours to get back to me with their mailing address.  If I do not hear back in time I will have to choose another winner.  The prize will only be shipped within the USA. 

Thank you for reading and thank you for participating.

Tropical Traditions sent me the product to review and will provide the same product to the winner.  The opinions expressed are mine.


BethElderton said... 11
I get the Tropical Traditions newsletter bethelderton59 at gmail dot com