Food — MomStart

How Miles and I Celebrated Valentine’s Day The Krispy Kreme Way

February 9, 2011 By Momstart 13 Comments

Go now to Krispy Kreme and you can enjoy one of the best doughnuts that I have ever tasted. I was lucky enough to spend a morning with my son at the well known doughnut shop Krispy Kreme. We had a blast trying out the Dark Chocolate filled doughnuts and their hot chocolate.

The Hot chocolate was so yummy, of course it is filled with calories but it’s ok to indulge every once in a while. I found it to be worth the calories and even though it’s been two weeks since we tested this rich goodness of hot chocolate and dark decadence of a doughnut I can remember the taste and how much I enjoyed it. I know that if I ever have a doughnut craving again, we’re heading down the street to Krispy Kreme. In fact, I almost wish they weren’t so close. Krispy Kreme is dangerously close to my house.

The best part of all of this was spending a morning with my son. We talked we laughed and he had a great time. He talks about how much fun it was to go to the doughnut shop with mommy all the time now. He loves to tell his dad, I went with mommy to the doughnut store and it was fun. He doesn’t beg to go back, he just talks about his memories with mommy. I just loved having this mommy moment with my son and it inspires me to go exploring Washington more.

Now through February 14, Krispy Kreme is offering three delectable goodies:

∙The delightful Sprinkled Heart doughnut is covered with white icing and Valentine’s sprinkles.

∙A Chocolate Iced doughnut with Valentine’s Sprinkles featuring an Original Glazed® doughnut dipped in delicious chocolate icing, then covered with festive sprinkles.

∙The Chocolate Iced Heart with Red Drizzle is a heart-shaped doughnut covered in yummy chocolate icing and red drizzle decoration.

To spread the love to family and friends, customers will receive 12 Valentine’s Cards, each with a coupon for one free doughnut, one free small hot chocolate or small hot coffee, for each Valentine’s Day dozen purchased.

What is your favorite Food You can’t Live without? Monday Mingle

January 31, 2011 By Momstart 10 Comments

Happy Monday Mingle:

Welcome to Monday Mingle, where we chat over video answering questions. It’s fun and the more video you do on your blog the more comfortable you will be in front of the camera. Want to participate? Monday Mingle is a Meme over at Eighty MPH Mom. Go over to her site, find the questions, take a video of the answers and post them to share. Then visit everyone that linked up and have fun getting to know each other.

Current questions {week of 1/24/11}:

1. What is one food or drink you cannot live without?
2. Are you a foodie? Do you like to cook or are you a food blogger?

3. What is your one easy family friendly recipe, or amazing supersecret recipe that you are known for? Share it here if it isn’t a closely guarded family secret.

So I said that chocolate is the food I can’t live without, if you know me then you guessed it right off the bat. I love to cook and I’m not a food blogger but I do blog about food. And my recipe is one that I cook a lot.

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: favorite food, Food, Monday Mingle, monday moment

Understanding Organic and Nature’s Path Organic Ancient Grains with Almonds

December 27, 2010 By Momstart 135 Comments

By Summer:

The rage these days seems to center around organic and natural products including food. I’ve never heard a parent say, “I want my family to eat poorly.” You’d laugh, right? But our food has become more processed and a far stretch from its original form. If you’re getting hip on health in the New Year, you might think of streaming these movies on Netflix: Super Size Me (PG-13) (2004) and Food, Inc. (PG)(2008). Lunch Line is another health film I’d recommend and is now in select theaters. These flicks will help you become a dietary advocate for your family if you’re thinking of ways to improve your family’s health in 2011.

Remember, just because an item claims to be organic or natural on the packaging doesn’t mean it’s good for you or better for the environment. Watch out for trick phases and claims as “made with organic ingredients,” as these products are not organic products but may just contain two organic ingredients or may not be certified organic. Look for the USDA Organic seal! Organic foods with the USDA seal are grown and processed without synthetic pesticides, herbicides or GMOs — genetically modified organisms (an example of a GMO is seedless grapes).

One boxed food I’d recommend to help your family improve health and get the whole grains and fiber needed in a day is Kirkland Signature Nature’s Path Organic Ancient Grains with Almonds.

Kirkland Signature Nature’s Path Organic Ancient Grains with Almonds is a granola made from rolled oats, spelt, Kamut® Khorasan wheat, quinoa, and amaranth. No those are not a foreign language … well, they kind of are as these grains have their origins from around the world. These are the grains that make up the 6g of fiber and 31g of whole grain you’ll get in one serving (3/4 cup) of Ancient Grains. I needed to break it down so I could understand this product, and here’s what I found out (if you too need a lesson): Rolled oats are just like your standard oatmeal and originate from the “Near East”. Spelt is a type of wheat grown in Central Europe. Kamut® is a brand name; Khorasan is a region of land called Middle Persia, which was pieces of today’s Middle East; and like its name says it’s wheat. Quinoa pronounced KEEN-wah is a seed native of South America. Amaranth is an African weed which we use for its seeds. However, with all the information and knowledge we now possess in agriculture, these grains are not grown only in their native lands but have been brought to North America for growing and harvesting.

So as I look at the ingredients list the only other thing I was left scratching my head about was inulin. Inulin is an ingredient which is a natural preservative made from root. All the ingredients are natural and/or organic. I was so satisfied to find that I could read the Ancient Grains’ ingredient list! And since it’s only 15 ingredients long, you should have no problem deciding if Ancient Grains is right for your family too.

My husband and I have been using Kirkland Signature Nature’s Path Organic Ancient Grains with Almonds as an add-in to a snack of yogurt. We measure out ¼ cup and stir it into the yogurt. This is very satisfying as a snack; it rejuvenates my energy, sustains my appetite, and offers a sweet taste which I seem to constantly crave.

One last thing I’d like to mention is I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE independent companies. Many brands are owned by parent company and smaller brands sell out to these big corporations to go national, international, or just make the big bucks. Nature’s Path Organic is owned by themselves, Nature’s Path Foods Inc. They started in 1949 and have continued to be independent; their company’s vision since 1985 has been “To be a trusted name for quality organic food in every home; socially responsible, environmentally sustainable & financially viable.” Well, they’ve earned my trust and I hope yours too. Invite them into your home for a healthier 2011.

Kirkland Signature Nature’s Path Organic Ancient Grains with Almonds can only be found at Costco. Check the cereal aisle. Don’t see it? Ask your Costco customer service about it, item #526528. Costco also offers other great Nature’s Path Organic items: Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola, and Toaster Pastry combo boxes of Brown Sugar Cinnamon Frosted and Cherry Pomegran^TM Frosted.

You can also find Nature’s Path Organic on Facebook and Nature’s Path Twitter @naturespath.

Enter to Win:

A Box of Nature’s Path Ancient Grains with Almonds

To Enter:

Leave me a comment telling me what you think of Nature’s Path Organic and what you would like to try!

Extra Entries:

Become a fan of Nature’s Path Organic on Facebook
Follow @naturespath on twitter

Tweet: RT @MomStart: Understanding #Organic and Nature’s Path Organic Ancient Grains with Almonds http://bit.ly/fgMyIs #Giveaway

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Leave a comment for every entry, This giveaway ends January 10. Summer received products mentioned above to facilitate this review. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway, green, Summer Tagged With: Ancient Grains, Ancient Grains with Almonds, Food, GMO, green, Inc. Lunch Line, nature's path, organic, Super Size Me, USDA organic

The Great Stuffing Debate Giveaway

November 23, 2010 By Momstart 604 Comments

Today I was sitting around the table with my neighbors and this conversation actually came up. My neighbor was asking me if I had ever heard of The Great Stuffing Debate, and I smiled because I knew I needed to write this post.

How do you cook your stuffing? Do you cook it inside the bird or outside of the bird? One of my neighbors actually cooks it in the turkey and then takes it out and cooks it even more outside of the turkey. They claim that you can’t get the right flavor without cooking it inside of the bird. Oh, and to top that off, what do you put in your stuffing? Mine changes from year to year!

EVERYONE AGREES that it’s not a proper holiday without stuffing. But EVERYONE DISAGREES about what should be in that stuffing. Bread crumbs or cornbread? Dried fruit? Nuts? Sausage? One person’s “yum” is another’s “yuck!” And where there is conflict, there is wicked comedy just waiting to happen.

I like to make my dressing outside of the bird and I make a lot of it separately. It all starts with a package of corn bread mix and changes every year. I put different stuff in my dressing depending on what I have on hand and what sounds good to eat. Last year I put pecans in it and this year I will not. It’s crazy because I know two years ago I loved pecans in the dressing and then last year I thought it was AWFUL. So yeah, I see why there is a great stuffing debate, since I can’t even keep one recipe straight.

My Stuffing Recipe

Package of corn bread

egg
milk

Package of stuffing mix
Swanson Chicken Broth
2 cups cooked Sausage
1 pkg fresh Mushrooms
3 Hard Boiled Eggs

Directions:

Make the corn bread, Boil The Eggs, Cook the sausage, or use already cooked sausage

Crumble up the corn bread

Pour out the dressing into a bowl, add 1 package of mushrooms, add 3 diced hard boiled eggs, add the crumbled corn bread, add the sausage and gently stir

Place it in a 9 by 12 pan

Pour 2 to 3 cups of Swanson Chicken Broth over the mixture, making sure everything is moist, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

I’ve never written the recipe down, and I wish I had my grandmother’s recipe. She makes the most awesome dressing including parts of the turkey, and celery and onions. I just LOVE it, but I make something closer to what I hope my husband will eat, even though he doesn’t like it very much.

What I really Question is, do you even have stuffing with your Turkey. My husband doesn’t like it because he doesn’t like what most people put in it.

Find even more information at The Great Stuffing Debate!

The Debate Center – Weigh in on questions that gauge stuffing preferences and other related topics.
In the Kitchen – Use the stuffing spinner to find the perfect stuffing – from traditional to adventurous and everything in between – as well as other holiday recipes, cooking tips and techniques, substitution solutions, and leftovers ideas.
Stuffing Skirmish – This humorous video shows what happens when good people do bad stuffing. Watch the family dynamics unfold as two very different sides of the family – with equally different views on stuffing – come together for the holiday feast.
Fun Stuff – Get ready for the Turkey Dance! The Swanson CGI turkey does the tango, dances like Elvis and takes a trip to the 70s. Choose a favorite and share with friends and family via email, Facebook or Twitter.

Enter to Win:

150.00 Visa from Swanson in celebration of the Great Stuffing Debate

To Enter:

Leave a comment here telling me what you like in your stuffing.

Extra Entries:

Follow me on twitter & Follow Swanson on Twitter & Tweet: The Great Stuffing Debate Answer: What do you put in your stuffing? for 150.00 #Giveaway http://bit.ly/gTfXRb PL RT

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This giveaway ends December 13th. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

M80 contacted me on behalf of Swanson Broth they provided me with a gift card to cover the costs of Thanksgiving and are providing the gift card for the winner.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: family eating, Food, giveaway, stuffing, swanson, Swanson Broth, the great stuffing debate