Honey-Blackberry Greek Yogurt Dip Recipe by Chef Jody Denton plus Learn Which is the SMARTest U.S. City

Thank you to Frito-Lay for providing the prize pack, video, and images for this contest post and for sending an additional prize pack to me as a thank you for taking the time to participate in this campaign.  3G2S is the sole sponsor for this giveaway.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Last month, Smartfood brand and SELF magazine announced their picks for the 10 SMARTest cities in America.  How do they define SMART? . . . (S)avvy, (M)otivated, (A)ccomplished, (R)esponsible, and (T)houghtful.  Watch the video above to learn more about how to eat smart and live well, which city was named the SMARTest in the U.S., plus how you can nominate someone you know (even yourself) to be named the SMARTest person and be eligible to win $10,000 and be featured in SELF magazine from Chef Jody Denton, Executive Research Chef at Frito-Lay’s Culinary Innovation Center.  Chef Denton also shares with us some of his favorite recipes for this summer.

Smartfood is doing its part to help you eat smarter with several new varieties of all-natural Smartfood Selects popcorn, popped chips, and puffed corn.  One of my family's favorites is the Sour Cream and Onion Puffed Corn.

Want something fresh and easy-to-make to serve this summer? Checkout this super-easy recipe created by Chef Jody Denton . . .

Recipe:  Honey-Blackberry Greek Yogurt Dip

INGREDIENTS:

3 Cup(s) Greek yogurt

1/2 pint(s) blackberries, fresh or frozen

3 Tablespoon(s) Honey

2 Tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice

1 Pinch(s) Salt

Step 1. In a mixing bowl, smash the blackberries with a fork.

Step 2. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, honey, lemon and salt.

Step 3. When ready to serve, spoon the blackberry mixture into the center of the yogurt.  Gently fold the blackberries into the yogurt, but don't mix completely.

Step 4. Serve with Smartfood Cinnamon Brown Sugar Multigrain Popped Chips

This recipe serves 6 to 8 people.

To learn more about the SMART campaign, visit Smartfood on Facebook.


The prize for this giveaway is the SMART Prize Pack shown below . . .

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. A random number drawing will be held shortly after the contest closing. The winner will be announced here and will be contacted via email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Giveaway: Healthier Snacking with Orville Redenbacher's SmartPop! Popcorn (10 Winners) [CLOSED]

When I was pregnant with our first son, I remember making my husband pull into a movie theater we were driving by because I had a sudden craving for popcorn.  I have always enjoyed it, pregnant or not.  In fact, I have been known to eat a whole full-size bag of microwave popcorn on my own.  Yes, I felt guilty about it, but that did not stop me from doing it again.

I am so thankful that I was introduced to Orville Redenbacher's SmartPop! popcorn.  I could not wait to try it because this popcorn is 100% whole grain, has zero grams of trans fat, and it is only 100 calories per 6 cups of popcorn!  Have you ever tried the many 100-calorie snacks out there?  The portions are usually tiny and you are rarely satisfied after finishing it.  One 2.7oz Pop Up Bowl of SmartPop! makes approximately 7.5 cups of popcorn.  Since I have begun to replace my usual snacks with SmartPop! as part of a "Healthy Snack Challenge", I was actually surprised to find that I have been eating less than 6 cups of popcorn, which means that my snacks have been less than 100 calories each.  And because SmartPop! is a good source of fiber and is 94% fat free, I probably would not feel guilty even if I do finish the whole bag by myself.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

One thing that is especially cool about the SmartPop! is that it is available in these Pop Up Bowls.  Our children love watching the popcorn pop through the translucent top and bottom of the popping bag.  Although it takes a little finesse to pull the plastic off the top without spilling the popcorn, these bowls make it much easier to share.  I do like the healthy snacking aspect of this popcorn, but I have loved sitting down and sharing a Pop Up Bowl of popcorn with my oldest son.  We would eat and talk with just the two of us and those moments just do not happen often enough.

I should mention that each kernel pops up big and fluffy and there were hardly any unpopped kernels at the bottom of the bag.  As instructed by the packaging, we did not use the Popcorn setting on our microwave.  We tried the Butter variety of SmartPop!, which our son, who is not a fan of extra butter, thought was perfect.  I think I personally would like a tiny bit more butter flavor.

To learn more about Orville Redenbacher's SmartPop!, visit Orville.com and Orville Redenbacher's on Facebook, where you can snag product coupons and play a super-fun game called Pop Cam where you use your webcam to munch on the falling popcorn on your computer screen.


I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Orville and received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

Holiday 2010 Giveaway: Gift Baskets & Goodies from 1-800-Baskets ($50 GC) [CLOSED]

For friends and family that live far away, I have always loved to order gourmet foods and gift baskets that the whole family can enjoy. 1-800-Flowers, 1-800-Baskets, and The Popcorn Factory is all on one website, so you can order from all three and only have to checkout once. Take a look at some of the gourmet food gifts my family received to sample from this trio . . .

Let us start with my absolute favorite . . . the Fannie May Mint Meltaways! These delicious mint chocolates really do melt in your mouth. I have not decided yet if the milk chocolate coating is my favorite or the pastel. I think I am leaning towards the creamy pastel. The box is nearly empty, so I will need to make up my mind soon.

Everyone in our house just loved the 3-way popcorn tin from The Popcorn Factory. How can you go wrong with popcorn, especially in a household with children? I actually do not see this Poinsettia 3-Way Tin on the website any longer, but there is a 4-Way Holiday Popcorn Tin available.

The Cheryl's Frosted Holiday Cut-out Cookies is ideal for sending to anyone who is on-the-go, whether it is a family with children or a busy office. Cheryl's cookies are decadently delicious and individually wrapped for freshness. They can be packed in a lunch box or in a briefcase to put a smile on someone's face in the middle of the day.

The Comfort & Joy Sweet Treats Gift Basket (pictured at the top) is perfect for an individual. There is a sampling of popular gourmet sweets, such as Guirardelli chocolate squares, a Harry London chocolate-covered pretzel, toffee, a jumbo hand-pulled candy cane, and more. I seriously have not opened this basket yet because I need to figure out how to share it with the other four members of my household. Maybe if I hide it, everyone else will forget about it after awhile. Then I could have it all to myself!

1-800-Flowers, 1-800-Baskets, and The Popcorn Factory offers expedited shipping nationwide for your convenience. Visit any of these sites to see the full line of gourmet gifts and holiday floral arrangements while you are considering what to send your friends and family this year.

Thank you to 1-800-Flowers for sending us complimentary product samples to base this review upon and for providing an additional product for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a $50 gift card to spend on one of the following items or anything you like . . .

• Fannie May Mint Meltaways
• 3-Way Popcorn Factory Tin
• Cheryl's Frosted Holiday Cut-out Cookies
• Comfort & Joy Sweet Treats Gift Basket
• Frosty the Snow Plant

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Visit

1-800-Flowers, 1-800-Baskets, or The Popcorn Factory

. Then leave a comment telling me the name of one item you would most like to send as a gift to a friend or family member. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, download the free Mobile Flower & Gift Center app to your iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, Android, or Mobile Web accessible phone. Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments telling me you did.

4)

For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry each, follow 1800Flowers on Twitter and/or "Like" 1-800-Flowers.com on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.

6)

Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)

Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)

Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)

Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10)

Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Thursday, December 16th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!