Food Archives - MomStart

3 Ways to Enjoy Craft Beer

September 11, 2019 by Beeb Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post.

Craft beer has enjoyed an explosion in popularity – especially here in the Pacific Northwest. But for the uninitiated, it can be tricky knowing what to order. If you’re interested in exploring what the craft beer world has to offer, here’s three great ways to get started enjoying it:

1. Tour a Brewery

If you want to learn about a subject, go straight to the source! Taking a tour of a brewery is a great way to learn about the process of brewing beer, learn common terminology, and ask questions. Just as a sommelier can educate you about wine, a brewmaster can help you learn your IPA from your stout. Not only is touring a brewery a fun – and delicious! – activity, but it will give you a good foundation for understanding what goes into the flavor profiles of different beer types, which will make it easier to order beers that you know you’ll enjoy. Plus, you’ll probably have already tasted a few new beers during the tour that you like! Which brings us to:

2. Attend a Beer Festival

Beer festivals are the perfect opportunity to sample a wide variety of beers from different breweries. Every year, the Pacific Northwest Brew Cup takes place in my area right around my birthday – talk about great timing! It’s so much fun – I really love to try new beers and flavors, and I’m the adventurous type who will try a beer simply because I like the name. Beer festivals are a great way to explore without having to commit to a full glass of something. I’ve tasted all kinds of different beers at these type of festivals, including the time I tried a bubblegum flavored beer! It’s great fun, and a perfect place for craft beer newbies to learn more about what they do and don’t like – you’re sure to be introduced to a few new favorites, so make sure you write down the specific breweries and beers that you liked for later! Plus, beer festivals usually have food, music or other activities going on, so you can make a day of it – date night, anyone?

3. Taste While You Travel

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to experience local food and drink. When I’m visiting a restaurant in a new location, I’ll look for local beers on tap and ask the staff for recommendations. This is a really fun way to try new things and get a taste for the area! And if time allows, you can explore even further by building in a visit to a local brewery during your trip. This is a fun way to make memories and a learn a lot about a place while enjoying beer at the same time! During my first-ever press trip to Wyoming for MomStart, I visited a local brewery in Cody and had so much fun. The next time I’m in the state, I want to head down to Alpine and visit Melvin Brewing to try some of their ExperiMENTAL Series brews. I definitely recommend adding a brewery to your itinerary when planning a vacation!

Are you a craft beer fan, dear reader?

Sugar Free Keto Chocolate: ChocZero

August 16, 2018 by Momstart Leave a Comment

We received samples.

ChocZero KETO BARK is this new found to us, chocolate that is sugar free and Keto friendly. It’s full of fiber and just amazing. We received two different flavors and I love both of them. I love the dark chocolate flavor (Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt) more but I do love both of them (Milk Chocolate). I even shared them with family and noticed how quickly they ate them as well. SO So good. I’m going to have to go out and get some more for myself now that they showed me how amazing it is.

ChocZero uses a zero-calorie, low carb natural plant called monk fruit to create delectable chocolate that’s low carb and sugar-free. Don’t settle while eating healthy!

ChocZero is a gluten free, soy free, and sugar alcohol-free company. They are also Kosher certified.

The ChocZero team consists of people who have friends and family living with diabetes and a sugar-free lifestyle. This motivated them to create a product that minimizes an aftertaste while providing a decadent treat!

I also just found out about ChocZero’s delectable Honest Syrups.

These sugar-free and alcohol-free syrups are perfect for topping a warm beverage, drizzled over ice cream or even pairing with morning pancakes and waffles.

With flavors blueberry, strawberry, chocolate, maple, and more – there’s a flavor for every occasion!

I think these products would make a great gift basket for any occasion. With fall coming up, putting together the syrups and the chocolates in a basket would make a great gift to take to someone’s house for any party. Probably would make a great teachers gift as well. Just something you might want to think about.

Summer Fun at The St. Regis Atlanta: Tacos, Cocktails & More

June 9, 2018 by Beeb 1 Comment

Enjoy tasty eats by the pool at The St. Regis Atlanta all this summer

This week, I came up with a new pulled pork taco recipe that was sooo good. I’m thinking that “Taco day” needs to happen with much more regularity around here because it was such a hit! Well, if you’re in Atlanta, you have a very compelling reason to make tacos a weekly occurrence, because The St. Regis Atlanta is offering a rotating taco bar now through Labor Day featuring a different mouthwatering taco each Saturday!

This taco bar will be available at the hotel’s Pool Piazza, so you can enjoy a relaxed poolside summer lunch with the whole family. Tacos and Jacuzzi? Perfect afternoon! Here’s the taco schedule, so you can plan accordingly:

Week 1: Buttermilk Fried Chicken Tacos served with red peanut mole, apple and cabbage slaw, and guajillo chili infused Georgia honey
Week 2: Al Pastor Pork Tacos served with charred pineapple pico de gallo, queso fresco, and cilantro lime aioli
Week 3: Grilled Mahi Tacos served with green papaya slaw and chipotle aioli
Week 4: Skirt Steak Arrachera Tacos served with pickled red onions, guacamole and Oaxaca cheese

This menu was created by Chef Jordan Barnett and will be available from 1:00 PM through 4:00 PM each Saturday for $12 per order. And to wash it down, Mom and Dad can choose from craft cocktails such as a Frozen Watermelon Margarita or their signature Peach Frosè, made from Rosè, Grapefruit Bacardi Rum, frozen peach puree, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and simple syrup. And to entertain you while you dine, DJ Tron will also be performing from 12:30 PM through 7:00 PM on Saturdays and Sundays.

Which one of these tacos would you try first? The Al Pastor Pork is giving me inspiration for the next time I make pork tacos!

Healthier Food Options for Kids

January 16, 2018 by Momstart 1 Comment

Have you tried to get your family to eat more healthily, namely your kids to eat healthier, only to be met with complaints and wasted, uneaten food? That can be very discouraging, but it may have been due to making too many big changes too fast. It’s worth it to give it another go – try transitioning to healthier food options for kids slowly in small steps. Here is a handy, step-by-step guide on transitioning to healthier food options for kids. Maybe try one of these changes per week or even month. The point is if you’re making any change to the foods your kids eat, you’re going in the right direction!

Healthier Food Options For Kids

Replace Sugar with Raw Honey and Stevia

You can get away with this one pretty easily! Try raw honey on plain yogurt, oatmeal, or baked into muffins and breads in place of sugar. You can replace nearly every recipe calling for sugar with raw honey – just decrease the amount of liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup per cup of honey. And yes, raw honey is different; sources say it has more nutrients and no additives.

Stevia is a natural sweetener that you can use to sweeten just about anything you’d sprinkle sugar on or stir sugar into, such as hot or iced tea, cereal, smoothies, fruit, etc.

Replace Sugary Drinks with Healthful Teas and Juices

Those sugary drinks are often a target of health advocates. Instead of powdered drink mixes and sugar, try brewing up some fruit-flavored herbal tea and sweetening it with stevia. Juice can be watered down in increments (use carbonated water for fun), and stevia stirred in to make up for some of the loss of sweetness. Always use unsweetened juice, say experts.

Replace Cookies with Granola Bars

Like any transition, make it gradually – if you have cookies three times a week, replace them with low-sugar granola bars once a week. Then slowly increase the granola bars while decreasing the cookies.

Sneak in Whole Grains

Now you can sneak some whole grains into your regular family dishes. One thing you can do is begin to replace refined grains with whole ones. Try these methods:

* Replace 1/4 of white rice with brown rice, and increase the proportion of brown rice gradually until it’s all brown rice.

* Replace semolina pasta with whole wheat/whole grain pasta, using the same method as with the rice.

* Mix whole grain cereal in with sugary cereal in a ratio of 1 to 4 with the goal being the reversal of that ratio.

* Replace white, store-bought bread with “white wheat” store-bought bread; then move to “brown” store-bought bread. Finally, move into homemade, whole wheat bread…when you begin making it yourself, use 3/4 white flour and 1/4 whole wheat, and gradually increase the whole wheat.

* Sprinkle wheat germ and/or ground flax meal on cereals, into peanut butter sandwiches, in baked goods, and anywhere else you can sneak it in or on!

* In baked goods, begin replacing white flour with whole wheat flour and/or flax meal. Again, do it gradually.

* Use whole wheat tortillas, bagels, and pita bread – you can hardly tell the difference.

Remember, sometimes it takes repeated exposure for kids to get used to a new food! Hang in there and keep doing what’s best for your kids.

Keeping Your Resolutions Just Got Easier Thanks to Sandwich Bros!

January 9, 2018 by Beeb 5 Comments

This is a sponsored post with Sandwich Bros and BraVoMark. All opinions are mine.

We are nine days into 2018! How are your New Year’s Resolutions going? I always like to set health and fitness goals in the New Year – there’s always room to improve, whether you want to run a 10k race or just eat a little better. I feel like I could always use a reset after the never-ending parade of candy and treats over Christmas! I always find that the biggest challenge to eating a balanced diet is a lack of time. When you’re working long days and exhausted, it’s hard to pluck up extra motivation to cook a healthy meal at the end of the day. I try to head this off by planning in advance, but when this isn’t possible, I need something easy I can grab that won’t blow my diet totally out of the water. That’s why I’ve been delighted to discover Sandwich Bros. of Wisconsin®!

Sandwich Bros. are the sister brand of Kangaroo Pocket Bread® and are one of the fastest-growing retail sandwich brands in the USA. I wasn’t familiar with Sandwich Bros. until they reached out with some coupons to sample their offerings, and I knew this must be an up-and-coming brand when I did a quick search with their store locator and found that every store in my area carries them. This small town is usually the last place to get new products, so I was already impressed by how easy these were to find!

Sandwich Bros. frozen sandwiches pack local Wisconsin meats and cheese into flatbread pockets for a meal on the go that only clocks in at 160 calories. Each sandwich is ready to eat in 40 seconds or less in the microwave – it doesn’t get much faster than that! I had the chance to try their Gyro Sliders made with 100% Angus Beef and their Chicken Melts made with all-white meat chicken, and now I understand why their taglines is that they’re “Really….Really Tasty!®”

These sandwiches were a huge hit in my house – my husband and I thought they were absolutely delicious! Even our pet bunnies were begging us for a bite when we walked by their hutches, so I had to remind them that rabbits are herbivores. 😉 But even more important to me than the tasty flavor was how satisfying they are. The sandwiches are fairly small, so I assumed we would devour the box and still want more. I was surprised to notice that one sandwich was actually quite filling, and I felt satiated. I think the lower carb ratio and protein in the sandwiches is what makes them feel more satisfying to me. Did I go back for seconds just because they tasted so good? Well, that’s another story altogether. 😉

Sandwich Bros. have presented the perfect solution for what to eat when I travel. Since I live on the coast, it’s very common for me to leave at 2 or 3 AM in order to get to the Portland airport in time. And when my alarm is set for 1 AM, you can bet I’m not going to set it an extra half an hour early to just to cook breakfast! This is when pre-packaged healthy options fail me, because trail mix and granola bars are not enough to fuel my tired brain during a long day of travel. This is when I typically stop at the drive-through for a breakfast biscuit or grab a bagel and cheese at the airport. I have to have some form of carbs and protein to function in these situations, and those are usually the best options. But now that I know about these sandwiches, I have a lower-calorie, less expensive option! I could microwave an entire 4-count box and toss them into a brown bag for the road in less than 5 minutes, and have a satisfying breakfast for both Jai and I to eat in the car en route to the airport. That’s faster than a drive-through!

And to help get your New Year off to a strong start, I wanted to share this quick and easy low-cal weeknight dinner recipe for those days when you have no gas left in the tank!

Gyro Sliders & Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 ct. box Sandwich Bros. Gyro Sliders
2 C brown rice
4 C water
1/2 chopped onion
Garlic & herb seasoning (To taste)
4 Campari Tomatoes

Directions:

Add the rice, water, onion and seasoning to rice cooker; cook until done. Slice the tomatoes and arrange on each plate. Microwave the sliders, dish out the rice, and enjoy!

The rice comes to approximately 349 calories per serving; each slider is 160 calories, while the tomato should add 10 calories.

Coupon

If another one of your resolutions is to be more frugal this year, then you’re in luck! Click here to snag a printable coupon for $1.00 off, plus sign up to receive more perks in your email!

How are your New Year’s Resolutions going so far?

Snikiddy Snacking Made Easy

December 18, 2017 by Momstart Leave a Comment

we received samples.

The holidays are upon us and snacking doesn’t have to be all homemade to be amazing. It’s a time for good food, friends, family and giving thanks! I work with Snikiddy, a family-friendly snack brand with a mission to deliver great taste and ingredients you can feel good about, and we want you to know that it’s easy to entertain. Here are some Snacking Made Easy items from Snikiddy.

Organic Baked Cheese Puffs – Tasty puffs inspired by one of kids’ favorite snacks, these delicious and ultra-cheesy snacks are USDA Certified Organic and also nut-free so all kids can enjoy.

Baked Fries – Crafted with 70 percent organic ingredients like organic corn and sunflower oil, these snackable baked fries are a better-for-you alternative to greasy French fries that leaves snackers feeling happy and satisfied!

Already known for their Cheese Puffs and Baked Fries, the company now offers a veggie chip that is living up to its promises. Snikiddy Eat Your Vegetables ™ contains a full serving of vegetables in every ounce (approximately 13 chips). They also come in four scrumptious flavors: Sea Salt, Sour Cream & Onion, Jalapeno Ranch and Italian Herb & Olive Oil.

Eat Your Vegetables ™ are made with a unique blend including sweet potatoes, carrots, and navy beans. The snacks offer an excellent source of Vitamin A and more fiber and protein than most other snack products.

These snacks are also cholesterol free, gluten and wheat free and only have 130 calories a serving.

The line of snacks also continues Snikiddy’s tradition of bringing great-tasting snacks to store shelves with four popular, contemporary flavors: Sea Salt, Sour Cream and Onion, Jalapeno Ranch, and now Italian Herb & Olive Oil.

About Snikiddy:

Snikiddy was founded by a mom, Janet Owings and daughter Mary Schulman because they are passionate about good health and creating delicious fun foods. The Snikiddy line are made from simple wholesome and real products. They insist on only the best all natural ingredients and take pride in knowing that all of our tasty morsels will pass the real test of our families.

Blogger Bonding Over Bagels!

December 15, 2017 by Beeb 2 Comments

Information and gift cards have been provided by Einstein Bros. Bagels.

I love bagels – so much so, I even served them at my wedding this summer! In addition to being delicious, bagels are also a go-to easy meal when I’m in a hurry – and during this season, I’m always pressed for time! So when Einstein Bros. Bagels reached out to me about their Bulk Bagel offerings, I thought it was the perfect meal solution for holiday gatherings. A Baker’s Dozen Box at Einstein Bros. Bagels comes with 13 Bagels with 2 Shmears, while a Half Dozen Box includes 6 Bagels and 1 Shmear, making it easy to feed a crowd during parties, family events, business meetings, or just catching up with old friends!

Yesterday, I headed down to Portland to meet up with my friends Jana and Amber. Since we’re all bloggers, we wanted to catch up, hang out, and talk shop. To fuel us up for a productive afternoon, we stopped by Einstein Bros. Bagels to pick up some bulk bagels for our gathering!

Einstein Bros. Bagels have a bagel for every taste and preference, from classic plain bagels to loaded, cheesy bagels topped with everything from hash browns to spinach Florentine! They also have amazing bagels for your sweet tooth, including chocolate chip and French toast. My husband’s favorite cookie is Snickerdoodle, so I made sure to bring him home a Snickerdoodle bagel, which he inhaled!

We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch! Having a bulk assortment from Einstein Bros. Bagels made it so easy to set out a delicious spread that we enjoyed while we chatted about our blogging goals and made vision boards for what we want to achieve in 2018. It was so good to get some girls’ time and connect during the always-hectic holiday season. And bonus? When Jana’s children came home from school, we had lots of bagels left for them to grab an easy after-school snack – timesaver for mom and kid-approved? Win-win!!

Click here to find an Einstein Bros. Bagels store near you, and gather ’round with some bagels this holiday season!

Recipe: Zombie Cookies With Pumpkin Spice “Blood” Icing

October 30, 2017 by Beeb 1 Comment

Product & gift card provided.I love Halloween and pumpkins, so naturally, I’m a big pumpkin spice fan. As fate would have it this year, I even got a big box of pumpkin spice baking supplies in the mail the day before I made my annual pumpkin patch trip – is that good timing, or what?!

This package of goodies came from Krusteaz, makers of delicious baking mixes. I’m a big fan of their products, so when I found out that they had a nice line of pumpkin spice treats, I knew I had to try them out. The new PSL-inspired line includes Pumpkin Spice Muffins, Pumpkin Spice Cookies, and Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread. I have been enjoying these mixes all month, whipping up delicious seasonal treats in no time flat. The cookies, muffins and bread are all super fast and easy to make, and are incredibly delicious – these treats disappear fast around here!

Krusteaz challenged me to use one of the new pumpkin spice mixes to create a spooktacular Halloween recipe. If you’re as busy as I am this year, then you’re going to love what I came up with – adorable zombie cookies that you can make in a hurry!

Yum

Zombie Cookies With Pumpkin Spice “Blood” Icing

Ingredients

1 box Krusteaz Pumpkin Spice Cookies Mix
1 egg
1 stick butter or margarine
4 tsp. cold water
6 drops of red food coloring
Gummy zombie hand lollipops
Cooking spray

Instructions

In a large bowl, stir the cookie mix, butter, and egg together with a wooden spoon. Using butter gives the cookies a richer flavor, but margarine works also. You may need to use your hands to fully knead the butter into the mix.
Cover a baking sheet with foil and spritz with cooking spray. Use an ice cream scoop to measure out the dough onto the sheet - you want to make the cookies a little extra large to provide a deep base for the gummy hands, so you should end up with around 9 cookies total.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 16 minutes or until done. Remove from the tray and onto a cooking rack.
In a small bowl, whisk together the spiced vanilla glaze packet (included in the Krusteaz mix) with the water and food coloring. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies so that it resembles blood. (Tip: Place a cutting board or foil underneath the cooling rack to catch the drips from the glaze.) Allow the glaze to harden for a few minutes, then stick a gummy hand into each cookie to complete the look. These lollipops are specifically designed to decorate cupcakes and other baked goods - look for them in the Halloween display at your local grocery store, or online. Mine were by Candi-Fetti and came in a package of 8, but there seem to be a few brands in the gummy-zombie business these days!

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Zombie Cookies With Pumpkin Spice Blood Icing

If you’re looking for a frightfully easy dessert to whip up this Halloween, be sure to grab one of these delicious new pumpkin spice mixes from Krusteaz!

Enjoy a 5-Course Dinner to Benefit Mexico Earthquake Relief

October 18, 2017 by Beeb Leave a Comment

If you’re planning a night out this weekend, consider heading to Hudson’s Bar and Grill at The Heathman Lodge in Vancouver and enjoy a 5-course dinner to benefit relief efforts for the devastating earthquake that hit Mexico back in September. This special dining event will take place on Sunday, October 22nd, with 100% of the proceeds from this wonderful dinner being donated to rebuilding efforts in the community of Santa Cruz Cuautomatitla. Here are all the details:

To help rebuild infrastructure damaged by the Mexico earthquake in September, Hudson’s Bar and Grill along with Heathman Helping Hands, the company’s non-profit community fundraising organization, is hosting a 5-course charity dinner from 4:00pm – 8:00pm on Sunday, October 22, 2017.

“As soon as I heard about the devastation, I knew I had to help,” said Hudson’s Executive Chef, Ray Delgado, who grew up in the outskirts of Mexico City. Delgado organized the event efforts, working with vendors to donate product and staff to donate their time, so that 100% of sales for the dinner can be donated directly to construction efforts in the community of Santa Cruz Cuautomatitla.

The community of Santa Cruz Cuautomatitla, suffered heavy damage during the earthquake including the loss of the community’s school, church and over 250 homes. There is currently no shelter available for those affected during the quake, leaving many families homeless during the country’s rainy winter season.

The five course menu crafted by Chef Ray includes roasted turnip soup with black beluga caviar and toasted pine nuts, butter basted large scallops and seared foie gras with apple-fennel relish, forest mushroom stuffed pheasant, double RR ranch filet mignon and chocolate espresso cake, all paired with top regional wine selections.

To learn more, sign up for the dinner or to make a donation for the Mexico earthquake relief, please contact Marketing Manager Leah Sarkkinen at (360) 816-6138 or leah.sarkkinen@cohoserv.com.

Popcorn Flavors Galore: Pickle Popcorn Taste Test

October 1, 2017 by Momstart 4 Comments

We received samples:

Popcorn is my favorite snack to give my kids. It’s such a healthy low calorie snack. When hunger strikes, popcorn is one of the best bites to have on hand (or in your hand!) to satisfy tasty cravings. It’s good whether you’re in the mood for salty, sweet, or even a summertime staple like dill pickle, which happens to be our favorite flavor. But honestly it’s hard to choose a favorite because we love all of them. G.H. Cretors Popped Corn rises above the competition in its commitment to quality ingredients and artisanal craftsmanship, which is why its popped corn is nothing short of incredible.

Obsessively delicious flavors include:

The Mix
Just the Cheese Corn
Organic White Cheddar
Organic Salted Butter Kettle Corn
Organic Salted Butter
Organic Dill Pickle

You see why it’s so hard to pick, look at all those amazing flavors. And watch as Zoe does a taste test of the Dill Pickle.

We have popcorn for family movie night, midnight snacks and for after school snacks. It’s a fantastic snack. I think we’ll have to even use it to make a popcorn ball.

The ingredients they use today are all natural: basically popcorn, sugar and sunflower oil – free of GMO’s, artificial colors and flavors. Bonus for me and my family is that there are no gluten ingredients either. And made by hand in copper kettles!