Roadtrips, Fundraisers and a Giveaway!

(This has been moved from NerdFamily Food)

So who loves Sweet Tomatoes or Souplantation (depending on location;)? And how does helping support Boys and Girls Clubs of America? Me too!

Sweetie, the beloved mascot of Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation, recently kicked-off a Great American Road Trip to help raise money for Boys & Girls Club of America. In each tour city, 20 percent of the entire day’s sales will benefit the local chapters of the Boys & Girls Club! And, Sweetie will be making special guest appearances at select restaurant locations in each market. Guests located outside one of the 12 tour stops can still celebrate May’s Great American Road Trip in stores and follow Sweetie online throughout his travels via a map that will show him moving across the country.

Here is the schedule of the remaining stops!

May 20 – Downtown San Jose, CA restaurant location from 4-5pm

May 20 – Fremont, CA restaurant location from 6-7pm

May 20 – Pleasanton, CA restaurant location from 7:30-8:30pm

May 24 - Los Angeles – TBD

May 25 - Orange County – TBD

May 26 – Encinitas (San Diego area) location from 4-6pm

May 26 – Mission Gorge (San Diego area) location from 5-7pm

They are even going to have some featured dishes for Sweeties Trip!

- California Cobb Tossed Salad

- Chesapeake Corn Chowder soup

- Texas Longhorn Beef Chili Soup

- Neighbor Joe’s Gumbo Soup

- Orange Creamsicle Lava Cake

- French Quarter Praline Muffin

But if you are going to miss out on this charity promotion you can join them to help support Easter Seals in June! From June 1-30, guests who visit any restaurant location in the Pacific Northwest will have the option to donate $2 to Easter Seals, raising money and awareness for children and adults with disabilities in the community. In exchange for the $2 donation, guests will receive a bag of cookies and a coupon for their next visit to Sweet Tomatoes. In addition to the Pacific Northwest, this will also be available in restaurant locations in the following areas: Chicago, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado and Utah.

Win it!

Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes have given me some dining passes to giveaway to my great readers! I am going to give 2 winners 3 dining passes each!

To enter:

* Just leave a comment telling me your favorite dish at Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes!

* A random winner will be selected and notified on June 3rd.

* The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

* Subscribe to my feed (if you already do, that counts).

* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.

* Subscribe to my Twitter and then Tweet about this!

* You can tweet everyday for an additional entry, just make sure to leave a comment for each time!

If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday

Frugal Homeschooler: Science

The Exploratorium has put up a great site based on the science of cooking! It has eggs, pickling, and all kinds of food on it. They look at all the components and reactions. It even has activities and recipes. Go check it out! Who says science has to be pricey or hard?

Sunsweet Giveaway!!!

I hadn't had a dried plum since I was a kid. My mom hated them and prejudice me against them so it was great when I got a chance to try them again. I love raisins and plums so it would make since that I would like them. So when I unwrapped the first Sunsweet Ones individually wrapped dried plum it was like a piece of candy! My kids don't have all the old people stigma that went them so they were clean slates. They also liked them! These are great snacks. The kids feel that they are getting a treat and it is really good for them. How good???

* Antioxidant rich. Prunes have a high antioxidant (ORAC) score. Antioxidants help to slow the oxidative damage to our bodies, and many researchers believe that antioxidants slow the aging process.
* Potassium punch. Move over bananas! Ounce for ounce, prunes have more potassium than bananas. Studies have shown potassium helps prevent hypertension and stroke.
* Bone health. A handful of nutrient-rich prunes a day may help bone metabolism and the reversal of bone loss for people with osteoporosis. They may also lead to improved bone formation.
* Low Glycemic Index (GI). Prunes are a low GI food, and therefore help to contribute to a low Glycemic Load diet and can aid in preventing and managing conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and obesity.
* Heart health. Prunes can help play a role in preventing heart disease and chronic diseases because they’re rich in antioxidants, which slow the chemical process of oxidation and protect key cell components from damage.
* Prebiotic power. Prunes naturally contain prebiotics, which stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria in the large intestine. This helps dietary fiber perform well and promotes immune system and digestive health.
* Weight loss. Prunes are a good source of fiber, and this can help keep hunger pangs at bay. As a food component, fiber isn’t absorbed, so it doesn’t contribute calories that’s why high-fiber foods are included in weight loss diets. Plus, four prunes have just 100 calories!

Win it!

Five (5) NerdFamily Things Readers are going to win a Sunsweet reusable shopping bag and a Sunsweet VIP Coupon, which is good for ANY Sunsweet product up to $5.50 in value.

To enter:

* Just leave a comment telling me either your favorite healthy treat to eat!
* A random winner will be selected and notified on December 7th.
* The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

* Subscribe to my feed (if you already do, that counts).
* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.
* Subscribe to my Twitter and then Tweet about this!
* You can tweet everyday for an additional entry, just make sure to leave a comment for each time!

If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday

This post was written as part of a program for Family Review Network and Sunsweet Ones, who provided the product for review and giveaway. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary product."

Celebrate Truffles

I recently got to try some truffles from Celebrate Life. These are not only good truffles they also help suppress your appetite. They work best if eaten 15-20 minutes before a meal or whenever you are hungry. These were really tasty! I am a huge snacker in the afternoon and, while a serving is actually 3, I ate 1 and was totally satisfied. They have a variety of flavors and styles. I got the classic sampler and the fruit/nut sampler. They have a great chocolate taste. If you don't like real chocolate, ie lots of cocoa, they may not be for you. But most women, this will be right up our alley. Would you like to try these?

Win it!

How would you like to win some of your own of Celebrate Truffles? The winner will receive the same 2 packs that I got!

To enter:

* Go bookmark the Celebrate Life site and tell me 1 health fact you find!
* A random winner will be selected and notified on Jun 15th.
* The winner will then have 2 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

* Subscribe to my feed (if you already do, that counts).
* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here and to Celebrate Truffles.
* Subscribe to my Twitter
* Tweet about this!

This giveaway is open to addresses within the US and Canada. Please leave a way to contact you in case you win.

If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday!

(This is a FRN review)

(A warning: the pictures on the Celebrate Life Nutrition site are a little racy, nothing beyond the pale but racy. I promise, all I see them selling is food)

Silicone Muffin Cups

I was trying to come up with something I own that truly makes my life work better and I came up with Silicone Muffin Cups. I know that seems indulgent and silly but they have improved my life greatly. If you optimize your oven with large sheet pans you can put all of the muffin cups free standing them. I make 48 at a time (24 on each sheet pan). This works great for my Sweet Corn Muffins. I just multiply the recipe by 4 and cook them at once. This way I get everything dirty at once and yet I just have to go through one cooking cycle. Everything cools very quickly in the silicone so I just pop them out. Nothing sticks and I am not pulling paper off either. I even use these for Individual Egg Quiches. When I did this will the old fashion tins everything stuck:(. Then I just stack them up in a small little pile and don't have to figure out where to store clunky muffin pans. You do have to wash them by hand but you get a 99 cent toothbrush and just scrub on them a little (the brush is more to get in the crevices than for scrubbing) and you are done! So there is one of my favorite things!

A New Milk!

Recently Stemicks Heritage Foods came out with Little Einsteins milk that is rBST hormone-free and enriched with Omega-3 DHA and I wanted to share a link for a $1 off coupon. What makes this different is the Omega-3 DHA that is also found in baby formula. DHA is important in the development of the brain, especially from birth - 5 years of age when the brain increases approximately 3-1/2 times in mass. DHA is the primary fat in both the brain and retina, and ensures that cells in the brain retina, heart and other parts of the nervous system develop and function properly. Each eight ounce serving providing up to 32mg of DHA. Disney Little Einsteins milk is available as a 64-ounce package in low fat 1% and reduced fat 2%. So go, take the coupon and try it;).

(this is a sponsored post)

Free Tacos Anyone

One of my favorite fast food places is Taco Bell. Now here is your opportunity to get some free! Due to the first Stolen Base in the World Series Taco Bell will be giving away 1 crunchy beef taco to each person who comes in Tuesday Oct 30, 2007 between 2pm-5pm.