Recipes From The Kitchen Of A City Raised Mom

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Don’t you hate when you go to open your lunch and you have damaged fruit? I have packed many lunches throughout my years and know that some fruit needs a little protection. If you LOVE bananas, you will want a Banana Guard.

This Banana Guard allows you to enjoy bananas without worrying about them getting smashed. The Banana Guard fits over 90% of commercially grown bananas. If you have a highly curved banana, it can be straightened slightly to fit unto the upper curve of the banana. If you have a straight banana, it can be bent slightly to fit into the guard as well. I think this gadget is AWESOME because I am picky about my bananas and like them at least “almost” perfect. The only thing a smashed banana is good for is Banana Nut Bread!

On the Banana Guard website, you can also buy guards to protect your other fruit and even sandwiches. Don’t let your precious fruit go unprotected.

Used for larger fruits like apples and oranges.	Used for smaller fruits like plums and nectarines.	Used to protect your yummy sandwiches

You can buy the Banana Guard, Froot and Swich Guards at: http://www.bananaguard.com

I received product samples to provide you with this review. I was not paid any monetary compensation to publish this review. This review is my personal opinion only and receiving the sample has no impact on my opinion of the product.

I enjoy dinner time! It is a time when my family gets together around our dinner table to share stories about what happened that day or whatever else we want to share.  We might not eat breakfast or lunch together at one table, but dinner time is something we eat together almost every night!

My youngest child is Christopher who is 2 1/2. He sometimes likes to make dinner time interesting. Since he is just learning what the whole world of food is, he sometimes likes to “play’ with his food instead of eating it. I offer him utensils that are suited for his age as well as the eating utensils the other kids are using. It is fun to watch him used forks and spoons to eat with from learning from all of us.

Christopher has recently been using a set of the eating utensils from Trebimbi. Each box of Trebimbi Puppet cutlery has a spoon, fork and a kid-friendly knife. These neat eating utensils are made in Italy and have a stainless steel body with a colored polypropylene handle. Each of the pieces snap together like a string of paper dolls to rouse your child’s imagination. They are also dishwasher safe but I wash our set by hand.

Buy Them: You can buy these neat utensils as well as other cool products from Trebimbi on Amazon as well as many other online stores.

I received a product sample to provide you with this review. I was not paid any monetary compensation to publish this review. This review is my personal opinion only and receiving the sample has no impact on my opinion of the product.

A favorite thing I like to have in my fridge at all times is yogurt. I find when I have a sweet tooth, a simple container of yogurt can satisfy those needs. One kind of yogurt that you will probably find in my fridge at all times is the Brown Cow Fat Free Greek Yogurt. I admit that when I first heard of “greek yogurt” I turned up my nose. I don’t know why, but it just didn’t sound good. I like Greek food, but I am one that is picky about anything dairy related. I stick to what I know and (Greek + Yogurt) just never came to mind.

So what is the difference? To me the texture and overall taste. The Brown Cow Fat Free Greek Yogurt has a more thick and creamy texture compared to the regular yogurts I am used to eating. It also comes with the fruit in the bottom. I am one that LOVES to stir my fruit to watch the colors flow. It only comes in three flavors right now (Strawberry, Vanilla and Blueberry). I am hoping to see some new flavors in the future!

I now prefer greek yogurt over the old fashioned kind!

I found this YUMMY yogurt at Walmart. Be sure to look in your dairy isle to see if your store carries it too! Be sure to get your Brown Cow coupons on their website too!

I received a free coupon to purchase a product to provide you with this review. I was not paid any monetary compensation to publish this review. This review is my personal opinion only and receiving the sample has no impact on my opinion of the product.

I have found my  new favorite potato chip. I now have this thing for sea salt & vinegar potato chips. I remember when I first seen these types of chips on the shelves at the store and I thought “Yuck”. Then one day a friend had a bag and offered me some. I didn’t want to be rude so I grabbed one and to my surprise, it was really GOOD.

Below are a few benefits of these yummy chips:

• 0 Trans Fat
• Gluten FREE
• MSG FREE
• Onion FREE
• Kosher OU

I normally will just grab a bag at the gas station of whatever brand they might have. I had no idea that Lay’s had come out with their own version until this last weekend. I was complaining to my husband they didn’t have any of the salt & vinegar chips and he spotted the Lays chips. These might not be the perfect chip for those on low sodium diets, but they are SO good. I normally watch my salt intake so I only spoil myself with these every once in a while because I can’t just eat a couple. These are the kind of chips where you end up eating the whole bag yourself!

I have always wondered the difference between table salt vs sea salt. I have been tempted to buy kosher sea salt to cook with because I have heard good things about using it. I would love to hear your opinions. Which type of salt do you prefer?

Have you ever used coconut oil to cook with? If you have not, you MUST try it out. I have been using the Living Foods Extra Virgin Coconut Oil for the past few months and am in heaven. I like fried foods but don’t like the taste that vegetable oil gives some foods when you cook with it. When I first thought of cooking with coconut oil, I thought it would turn my food sweet. I started using it with my pancakes and then moved on to potatoes and everything else I cook or bake that needs vegetable oil.

Not only is this stuff taste BETTER than the vegetable and other cooking oils I have used in the past, it is a “more healthy” way to go. It is also 100% Organic!  I wrote a review of Living Foods Extra Virgin Oil on my blog on Mommy Enterprises if you are interested in finding out more about this awesome stuff. I am definitely going to be a return customer!

I received a product sample to provide you with this review. I was not paid any monetary compensation to publish this review. This review is my personal opinion only and receiving the sample has no impact on my opinion of the product.

Just in the last few months have I been using non-stick cookware. I have been one of those that have been using their old skillets, pots and pans for the last 10+ years. For Christmas I received a set of non-stick cookware and I fell in love. The only thing that worries me is the bad stuff that I have heard from books I have read regarding non-stick cookware. While there are advantages to using non-stick cookware, there are also the down sides to using them as well.

I want to share some information with you about non-stick cookware:

Traditional non-stick is achieved by coating the fry pan with PTFE (PolyTetraFluoroEthylene); a waxy, synthetic substance. PTFE has well-documented disadvantages in practical household use. Above 260° C/500°F, this PTFE coating starts to decompose. The released fumes are proven to be lethal to small pets like birds! On humans, these fumes can potentially harm the respiratory tract and cause nausea and headaches. So, when you overheat your pan you damage not only your pan but possibly also your health.

I recently was able to review one of the cool fry pans from GreenPan™. These pans use a non-stick technology, but they do not use PTFE. These cool pans use Thermolon™ that is safe for the environment. The Thermolon™ is heat resistant up to high temperatures. Thermolon™ is a better heat conductor than traditional coatings. This results in superb searing and crispy frying! I tested out my new pan making grilled cheese sandwiches. It worked like a charm! These are definitely my favorite pans to cook with.

The Green Pan offers a whole line of environmentally safe cookware. Their non-stick pots and pans are the first to be made with a non-stick coating made of minerals instead of plastics. From pans, pots to accessories, you will find something to help you prepare meals for your family. They also have different collections to match your needs. I received a pan from the Todd English Collection. I can’t wait to try using it with eggs!

You can find out more about Green Pan and their products by visiting their website at:

http://green-pan.com/cookware/intro.asp

I received a product sample to provide you with this review. I was not paid any monetary compensation to publish this review. This review is my personal opinion only and receiving the sample has no impact on my opinion of the product.

Okay, these are not homemade. I actually had a coupon for these and thought my family would go ahead and try them. These little gems are the Pillsbury Savorings.  They are bite-sized pastries that are stuffed with yummy filling. We bought the Buffalo Style Chicken and Mozzarella & Pepperoni. My kids tried both and liked the Mozzarella & Pepperoni bites. They did not care for the chicken bites, but the box says that this products is sure to satisfy your adult tastes and they are not adults.  If you like Buffalo Style Chicken Wings, you might actually like the Buffalo Style Chicken bites because they are definitely full of flavor.

What I liked most about these little bites was the crust. They actually came out flaky like it says on the box. I didn’t think it tasted like something that came frozen in a box.  If you want to try these, you can still print a coupon for $1 Off or $.55 cents off.

Enjoy
Stefani

When I was young, I would watch my mom and my Nana make my meals. I lived with my mom, but I would often visit my grandparents on the weekend where I have a ton of memories of my Nana’s cooking. One of my favorites is my Nana’s Cowboy Stew. I think I finally figured out how to make it when I was recently making chili. Anyhow, cooking was something I enjoyed doing at a young age. I try to get my daughter’s involved in my passion for cooking now.

We recently were given the opportunity to review “Kitchen Basics: Rules, Tools and Etiquette“.  This is a book by Ginger Kids that you can give to your child and read with them. My daughter who is now 13 will benefit from this book more than my 5 year old. IT is something I have added to my cookbook collection to save for all my kids. This book is not really a cookbook, but a book about the kitchen and cooking. My daughter’s favorite part of the book was the recipes though. As soon as she seen a recipe for one of her favorite chicken dishes, she was totally interested in checking the book out.  Some of the features of this cook cooking book for kids is:

• ABC’s of Cooking In The Kitchen
• Ginger Kids Nutrition Check
• Healthy Bodies
• Cooking Terms
• Tools Of The Kitchen

You might also want to check out the Passport Club from Ginger Kids. It is a monthly kit that is delivered to your home each month for your child. It has a mission to educate and inspire children to gain appreciation of other cultures. You can find out more about this club on their website at: http://www.gingerkidsfun.com

Enjoy
Stefani

I was sent a complimentary copy of this book  for this product review. I was not paid any monetary compensation to publish this review. This review is my personal opinion only and receiving the sample has no impact on my opinion of the product.