Hillshire Farm’s Turkey Lil’ Smokies

One of our favorite party snacks is Lil’ Smokies baked in Pillsbury Crescent rolls, they are really yummy and highly addicting! The downside, they are really fattening.  As part of my new commitment to my health I am always looking for healthier alternatives to some of my favorite food items.

Hillshire Farm recently sent me samples of their new Turkey Lil’ Smokies and Turkey Smoked Sausage for my family to try out and I was pleasantly surprised!  There was practically no grease when I cooked up the sausage and the kids devoured the Lil’ Smokies.  Not only do they taste really great but the fat and calorie content is MUCH lower than the traditional products.

Here is the breakdown for a 5 link serving of Lil’ Smokies

Turkey Lil’ Smokies     fat     4g     calories     80

Regular Lil’ Smokies    fat     14g   calories     160

Big difference huh?  I love food, I love to eat and that has been the hardest part of my Your Shape Challenge, however finding great products like this make it much easier to enjoy my favorite foods without all of the guilt.

click here to see some great recipes featuring Turkey Lil' Smokies

Recipe Round Up ~St. Patrick’s Day

I searched the web and found some great recipes for your St. Patrick’s Day entertaining. Enjoy!

Rainbow Cake

 

 

Directions for this yummy cake can be found at Twist Entertaining

click here for more yummy St. Patrick's Day sweets

February is National Hot Breakfast Month

I am heading to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration tomorrow thanks in part to the generous folks at Sara Lee Foods.  As part of my sponsorship arrangement with them they have asked me to help spread the word about National Hot Breakfast Month and some of their great products that make it easy to have a great hot breakfast every morning.

Most people will agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, yet many people skip this meal.  To raise awareness of the importance of starting your day off right, February was named National Hot Breakfast Month.

The literal meaning of breakfast is “a break from the fast.”  Your body is fasting while you sleep and the first meal of the day breaks that fast.  Breakfast is the first chance your body has to refuel its blood glucose levels. Glucose is the main energy source of the body and helps fuel the muscles needed for physical activity throughout the day.

Here are a few recipes from the Jimmy Dean site sure to make a hot breakfast a hit in your house. (I have tried each of the recipes I am recommending)

Low Fat Breakfast Burrito

 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Jimmy Dean® Reduced Fat Pork Sausage (browned, drained, and chopped)
• 1 whole wheat flour tortilla (10–12 in.)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 whole egg
• 1/8 cup low-fat cheddar or part-skim mozzarella, shredded
• 3 tablespoons pico de gallo
• 4 slices fresh avocado
• 2 tablespoons black bean purée (optional)
• Shredded lettuce
• Salt
• Pepper
• Non-stick cooking spray

click here for more great Jimmy Dean Recipes

Celebrate National Brownie Day With Cheryl & Co.

In case you need a reason to have a brownie, today is your day.  December 8th is National Brownie day.

Here are some fun facts I dug up about brownies:

• The first know recipe published for brownies was in the 1897 Sears Roebuck catalog
• It is believed brownies were “invented” by a careless cook who forgot to add baking powder to her homemade chocolate cake.
• Okmulgee, Oklahoma holds the world record for the largest pecan brownie
• A brownie topped with hot fudge and vanilla ice cream is the most popular dessert menu item on American restaurant menus.

click here to see how I like my brownies

Kellogg’s Apple Jacks and Fruit Loops with Added Fiber

In this day of trying to get more good things into my children’s bodies without them knowing, I’m open to whatever comes along.  Granted my children probably shouldn’t be eating sugar cereal at all, but I am not gonna ban sugar from my house.  If they are gonna eat sugar foods, I would much rather them eat cereal than cookies or candy.

Kellogg’s recently came out with a new formula for Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks with added fiber.  Better for you = yucky right?  Wrong, I did a taste test with my kids and they could not tell the difference between the regular Fruit Loops and the Fruit Loops with the added fiber.  Personally I think the ones with the added fiber were a little crunchier but the taste was the same.

So if you are looking for a way to add some more fiber to your diet without giving up the great taste that you love then give these a try.  Kellogg’s has some great information on their nutrition site if you would like to learn more about food and nutrition.

~Kim

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Kellogg’s and received boxes of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks and a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate

Get Your Creative Juices Flowing With Genesis Today and Help Me Find An Awesome Smoothie Recipe

As I mentioned before I had the pleasure of meeting Dr.Lindsey, the creator of Genesis Today, at Blog World Expo last month and I was very impressed by his vision and his company.   The reason Genesis was at BWE was to launch their Genesis of a Great Idea Contest.  The company is looking for a great social media idea to help engage consumers online. If you think you have a great idea click here and you could win $10,000 for your idea!  The contest is completely anonymous and ends on November 15th so hurry!

One of the things I don’t like about Genesis Today is the taste, and that can be a big problem if you want to reap the benefits of the juices!  I’m turning to all of you to help me with my problem.  I am challenging you to get creative with Genesis jucies in your  kitchen and create your best smoothie made with the Genesis Juice of your choice.  Get out your blenders, your food processors, your mixers or whatever you need to start experimenting and enter to win a 3 month supply of Genesis Juice (12 ~ 64 oz bottles).

click here to see how you can win a 3 month supply of Genesis Today Juice!

Genesis Today and Genesis of a Great Idea

I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t take care of myself like I should.  I know I should eat better (and less) and cut back on my Pepsi but I don’t.  When I found out one of the companies that I was going to meet at Blog World Expo was Genesis Today I was very excited about the prospect of filling my body with good stuff! That prospect was squashed when I tried the juice and didn’t like it. Now what?

Genesis Today is a leader in the industry of superfoods that was started by Dr. Lindsey Duncan in 1988.  Here is an excerpt from the website

Back in 1988, a young Naturopathic Doctor and Certified   Nutritionist named Lindsey Duncan quietly began practicing his life’s work: Teaching People How to Heal Themselves. He discovered that if his clients followed his health protocols, they would improve. Stories of his ability as a healer traveled the country. His clinic became one of the most renowned in the world and he has since accrued over 40,000 clinical hours of research, one person at a time.

In the 1990’s, Dr. Lindsey embarked on a quest for a potent, bitter fruit from the South Pacific Islands: Noni.  Story after story of a “miracle fruit” had reached his clinic and he wanted to learn more.  After spending time studying with the shamans, he returned with a few bottles of a 100% pure, dark, robust juice, made according to local tradition. Its powerful flavor overpowered some, but most understood that this was an “old medicine.” The attributes of the humble Noni fruit awakened in him the search to find other hidden gems among the folktales of the ancient healers from all corners of Mother Earth.

click here to read more about Genesis Today and see how you can win ,000

More on BlogHer ~ The Ragu "Wedding"

So have you ever wondered if Ragu Pasta Sauce threw a wedding what it would be like? Well wonder no more! Ragu was the sponsor of lunch the first day of BlogHer and WOW, if they threw a wedding I am sure it would be just like this:

click here to see more photos of the "Ragu Wedding" and get some great recipes too!

Pittsburgh TasteCasting in the Newspaper!

Pittsburgh TasteCasting was featured in today’s Tribune Review! Click here to see the article. I have never been in the newspaper before, this is exciting!

Pittsburgh Tastecasting at Melange Bistro

Pittsburgh Tastecasting has begun! In case you haven’t heard about Tastecasting here is a little about the program straight from their website:

WE EAT, TWEET AND REPEAT!
Networked People Using Social Media To Help Business Owners

TasteCasting combines socially networked people and the social media platforms and applications they use to help establishments build awareness, announce grand openings, introduce new menu items, distribute special offers and encourage people to visit the establishment.

Our Purpose

At TasteCasting, we view this effort and our purpose as a way to help restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries and other food service businesses grow their business. Who knows, we might even positively contribute to our country’s economic recovery.

Our Teams Are Connected

We have a growing team of socially connected bloggers, twitter users, flickr, and youtuber’s who share words, video, and photographs of things they enjoy to thousands of people across the social media platforms they use daily.

click here to hear about the great food Chef Noxon prepared for us.

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