This Mama Cooks! Reviews

Thanks to Hersey's my kids still believe in the Easter Bunny

As a healthy lifestyle blogger, you’d think I’d be totally against candy - but I’m not. I believe a little indulgence is healthy for your soul, if not your waistline. I try to avoid sugar when I can, and keep my sweet treats to a minimum. Still, a little chocolate in my life makes me oh so happy.

Alsok I find that it’s impossible to ban candy from my kids’ lives. Instead, I try to show them that an occasional ice cream cone or piece of candy is fine when they’re eating healthfully the majority of the time, making good choices, and keeping portions under control.

So when the folks at Collective Bias sent me a gift card to shop at Walmart for Hersey’s Easter chocolate, I literally felt like a kid in a candy store. I have a nostalgic fondness for Hersey’s and insist on using their bars for s’mores when we go camping. “Better” chocolate just doesn’t quite work in a s’more, you know?

Here’s my chocolate shopping adventure on Whrrl. It was my first time Whrrling a shopping trip and proved to be a lot of fun. I was a little disappointed that Walmart wasn’t carrying the big chocolate Hersey’s Easter bunnies like I saw at my grocery store. Still, they had a fabulous variety of chocolaty goodness.

More check-ins at Wal-Mart

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Dreamfields Pasta review: Rotini with Ground Beef and Spinach recipe

My friend, Michelle, and I were talking about healthy meals the other day. She mentioned that she’d like to use whole wheat pasta but that her husband hates the taste and texture. I know a lot of kids who feel the same way.

So what’s a mom to do on spaghetti night? Well, she can try a high fiber pasta like Ronzoni (see my Ronzoni pasta review here) or a low carb one like Atkins (see my Atkins pasta review here). Or even better, a high fiber pasta that has fewer digestible carbs and a lower glycemic index than regular pasta like Dreamfields. It’s a great pasta for diabetics or anyone who is trying to get more fiber in their diet or eat products with a low GI. (Go to the Dreamfields Pasta Healthy Nutrition FAQs page for more information.)

Dreamfields Pasta review

I’m no stranger to Dreamfields having reviewed it back in 2007. But since it had been awhile, I was happy to try the sample box of Angel Hair their PR person sent out. I wondered if such a fragile, thin noodle would cook up as well as regular pasta. It did!

But what about the “if your grandmother didn’t cook with it, don’t eat it” test? Well, it does have inulin, a natural fruit and vegetable fiber found in foods like artichokes, asparagus, garlic and raisins. It’s a prebiotic fiber, which means it has “good” bacteria (bifidobacteria and lactobacilli) that could help to improve digestive health and promote a healthy immune system. (Learn more about inulin on the Dreamfields website.) So definitely more processed than standard or whole wheat pasta, but with some additional health benefits. You decide if it’s worth the tradeoff.

Rosarita salsa comes to Denver, Colorado

Since the 1940’s, Rosarita has offered authentic Mexican-style refried beans and become the number one selling brand in the United States. I’ve been a big fan of their no fat refried pinto and black beans for years since both are high in fiber, low in Weight Watchers POINTS and delicious. Needless to say, Rosarita products are a staple at my house.

Rosarita has now added a salsa line of three authentic flavors Mild Salsa Mexicana, Medium Salsa Verde and Hot Salsa Taquera. The new salsas are only be available in four cities — LA, Dallas, Phoenix, and Denver — at select Walmart and grocery stores. (Use ConAgra’s product locator to find a store near you.) In my area, they’re available at Albertson’s, which is a shame because Albertson’s is starting to close most of their Colorado stores. I know Rosarita products are sold at Safeway, so I’m crossing my finger that the salsas will be available soon in their stores.

I’m not much of a hot salsa kind of gal, so I would normally choose their Mild Salsa Mexicana. But I do like a good salsa verde, so that’s what I chose when making some pork soft tacos for lunch today. (Pork and salsa verde are a great combination.)

I took some leftover Christmas pork loin roast, diced it up and heated it up in a pan with some salsa verde while I warmed up a few corn tortillas. After placing the pork in the tortillas, I added cherry tomatoes, cilantro, avocado slices and a bit more Rosarita Salsa Verde – yum! You could do something similar with leftover turkey, chicken, beef or even scrambled eggs or stir fried tofu.

The nice thing about Rosarita salsas are that they jazz up a plain meal and are very low in calories. If you’re doing Weight Watchers, salsa has ZERO POINTS. And they’re perfect with chips for your Super Bowl party, too! 

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Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Rosarita and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Hanging out at Safeway's Leftovers Lounge

I will always be thankful to Safeway for being the first major supermarket chain to build a store in my town. Before they did, I had to drive 25 minutes into the next town to go grocery shopping. Since I had a infant at time, you can imagine what a big production – and headache – that was.

Now Safeway is an easy 5 minute drive away and I still love shopping there for the good prices, their very reasonably priced green and organic store brands, and the friendly cashiers. However one thing I have not done, is use their website to do everything from checking out Safeway’s weekly sales, finding new recipes, or getting some healthy living inspiration.

This holiday season, Safeway.com featured a holiday section, which included recipes, festive projects, decorating tips and even a game of Build your Own Gingerbread Man which you could feature on Facebook. However, one section I found will be particularly helpful in the days ahead is the Leftovers Lounge since I have about four pounds of leftover pork from Christmas dinner. The leftover lounge features some pork, beef and chicken recipes but leans heavily towards turkey – perfect for after Christmas too or to give you some ideas for Super Bowl Sunday.

Cooking and shopping made easy

Here are two recipes I’m thinking of trying. Not only can you print out recipes from the Safeway website, you can add them to an online shopping list and print it out before you head off to your neighborhood store. It’s what I’ll be doing before I go to the store tomorrow. (Now if only my local Safeway offered delivery service…well, maybe Santa can bring that for me next year.)

Asian Pork and Rice Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Safeway Long Grain Rice
• 4 tablespoons Safeway Canola Oil
• 3 Safeway SELECT® Large AA Eggs, beaten
• ½ head green cabbage, cored and shredded
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 3 tablespoons Safeway SELECT® Spicy Ginger Dip and Grill Sauce
• 2 cups cooked pork loin, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1 cup Safeway SELECT® Petite Peas, thawed and drained
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

Directions:

1. Cook rice according to package directions. While rice cooks, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small skillet and scramble the eggs until firm; set aside.
2. In a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, add the remaining oil then add cabbage and carrots; cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes (stir occasionally during cooking).
3. Add the cooked rice, stirring to break up any clumps. Stir in the cooked pork and the ginger grill sauce, cover, and cook 3 minutes.
4. Add peas and egg and stir, breaking egg into smaller pieces, then add green onions and soy sauce and cook briefly until heated through.

Easy Pork Tamale Pie

Ingredients:

• 2½ cups pork, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
• 1½ cups Safeway Steams In The Bag Frozen Corn, thawed and drained
• 2 cups Safeway SELECT® Three-Bean Salsa
• 2 teaspoons Safeway Ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoons dried chipotle chili
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 6 oz package corn muffin or bread mix (plus ingredients for making muffins)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray, and place over medium heat. Add pork, cumin, chili, and salt and cook until spices become fragrant (about 4 minutes). Add salsa and corn; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until flavors blend (about 5 minutes more).
2. While pork mixture simmers, mix corn muffin mix according to package directions. Coat a 1½ -quart heatproof casserole with nonstick cooking spray; add pork mixture, then roughly spread muffin batter on top (it’s okay if it doesn’t cover completely). Place casserole in preheated oven, and bake until muffin topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

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Disclosure: Safeway sent me a grocery gift card to compensate me for my time and shopping experience.

Fish tonight? Win a Bonefish Grill $25 gift certificate

With this winter weather I wish I was someplace warm. Sounds like a good time for a little culinary escapist entertainment with Bonefish Grill's founder Tim Curci. He and some friends venture out in the Gulf of Mexico, discover the secrets of oyster farming, and prepare several grilled feasts. You can watch the new series of five webisodes  along with other videos from Bonefish Grill’s Video Channel on YouTube.

One of the videos on their channel features a demonstration of plank grilling Wild Alaskan Salmon and a fish called Arctic Charr. I’m glad to see that they’re featuring wild caught fish as it’s so much better for you than farm raised salmon, which are not sustainable. No surprise that Bonefish Grill is dedicated to the responsible management of our ocean fisheries.

Find the recipe for Wild Alaskan Salmon Cedar-Plank Style with Mango Rum Sauce & Arctic Charr Cedar-Plank Style with Chorizo here.

Win a $25 Bonefish Grill gift certificate

I hope watching the videos have given you an appetite. If so, how about entering my giveaway for TWO $25 gift certificates? These would make a nice present for friends, families or teachers. Or keep it for yourself and take your sweetie to dinner.

Congrats to my winners:

• Denise at Eat Play Love
• Tuesday Girl at A Girl and Her Life