Summer Salads--It's Too Hot to Cook
SOUTHWEST TUNA SALAD
Ingredients
1 bag (10 oz.) washed salad greens
1 can (15 ¼ oz.) Whole Kernel Sweet Corn , drained
1 (7 oz.) pouch or 2 (3 oz.) pouches Tuna, (Chunk Light or Albacore)
1 can (15 oz.) 50% less salt black beans , rinsed and drained
½ cup low-fat ranch dressing
½ cup mild or medium salsa
Directions
Place salad greens in large bowl.
Top with black beans, corn, and tuna.
Drizzle with dressing and salsa. Toss before serving.
 BLUE CHEESE GREEN BEAN SALAD
Ingredients
1/3 cup blue cheese or gorgonzola cheese
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Cut Green Beans , drained
1 cup red and yellow cherry tomatoes , halved
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sliced green onions
Directions
Mash cheese with oil and vinegar in bowl.
Toss with beans, tomatoes, walnuts and onions.
Serve on a bed of Romaine lettuce, if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if desired
HEALTHY SALAD TIPS for a slimmer summer
- Limit extras like croutons and bacon bits
- Use a variety of greens like spinach, leaf lettuce, arugula, dandelion greens, kale, watercress and basil leaves - full of flavor and nutrition!
- Don't pile on fried meat - use heart healthy tuna -- a quick, easy protein (much lower in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than many other protein choices) that works for lunch or dinner.
- Keep your pantry stocked with salad-friendly canned veggies to add pizzazz (and extra nutrients!) to your salad
- Try squeezing some fresh lemon and olive oil on your salad, or use salsa, instead of drenching your salad with dressing
Recipes courtesy of Star-Kist and DelMonte
... Continue reading Summer Salads--It's Too Hot to Cook.
Want to Go Back to School?
ProjectWorkingMom is a scholarship program that provides college funding for working moms and dads. To date, the program has awarded nearly $6 million in scholarships. This year, the program is awarding another $5 million in full-ride scholarships. The program is made possible by its sponsors, including The Tyra Show.
You can learn more and enter your application for a scholarship to earn an online degree.
... Continue reading Want to Go Back to School?.
Healthy Summer Sweets--Peach Yogurt Pops
Bypass the usual sugar-laden, fat-filled desserts this summer and try something ompletely different!
Ingredients
1 can (15 oz.) Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches or Peach Halves
1 ctn. (8 oz.) low-fat vanilla yogurt
8 (4 oz.) plastic or paper drink cups
8 wooden sticks or plastic spoons
Directions
1. Pour undrained fruit into food processor or blender container. Cover and pureé.
2. Add yogurt; blend until smooth.
3. Pour into cups; freeze until partially frozen.
4. Place stick in center of each cup.
5. Return to freezer and freeze until firm. (several hours/overnight)
... Continue reading Healthy Summer Sweets--Peach Yogurt Pops.
Lake Fun & Safety
It's that time of year--time to head out to one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes (or to one of umteen thousands of lakes all over the country). Before you go, check out the downloadable guide below to safe swimming, boating and fishing from Conservation Minnesota. If you're worried about water pollution and contamination, you can go to CheckMyLake.org to find out whether lakes have been tested and what the results show.
Parent's Guide to Safe Recreation
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Single Moms, Single Dads
Do you think single moms are glorified and single dads fall into the Mr. Mom caricature? Read what a real single dad has to say about all this in William McCloskey's guest appearance on Lisa Belkin's Motherlode blog at the New York Times.
... Continue reading Single Moms, Single Dads.
Restaurant Owner Teams Up With Make-A-Wish to Help Excelsior Boy With Leukemia Attend 2010 World Cup Soccer Games
Four Twin Cities Restaurants Hope to Raise $20,000 to Grant Child's Wish
Guests enjoying "Wish List" items to earn stamps for their Passports can help a 16-year old boy from Excelsior, Minnesota realize his dream of watching games at the 2010 World Cup, simply by visiting one of the four locally-owned Cara Irish Pubs between now and April 18, 2010.
Twin Cities restaurateur Kieran Folliard, an avid soccer fan himself, turned his personal disappointment that Ireland will not be represented in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Tournament into a personal mission to help a local child who is battling Acute Myelocytic Leukemia attend the pinnacle of all soccer tournaments. "If Ireland can't go to the World Cup, then at least we can send someone from Minnesota who is passionate about soccer," said Folliard, owner of four Twin Cities' pubs.
A portion of revenues from Kieran's Pub, The Local, The Liffey and Cooper will be donated to Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota to fund this unique soccer wish now through April 18, 2010.
"We have been able to secure some donations on travel expenses, but Make-A-Wish's resources only go so far - we need the community's help to make this wish happen," said Tom McKinney, executive director of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota.
The focus of this effort is to help Nathan* and his family travel to South Africa for some of the 2010 World Cup games. The tournament runs from mid-June to mid-July and will be held in Cape Town. All his life Nathan has loved sports, especially soccer. He has been able to play soccer nearly every year but his illness kept him off the field recently. Not long ago, Nathan underwent a stem cell transplant in hopes of improving his health.
*The family name is withheld to protect the family's privacy.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation® grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. It is the largest wish-granting charity in the world, with 66 chapters in the United States and its territories and 28 international affiliates spanning five continents.
Founded in 1982, the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Minnesota has granted nearly 3,000 wishes to children across the state. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Minnesota has been reviewed by the Charities Review Council and is proud to have met its Accountability Standards. To read the charity review report, visit the Charities Review Council at www.SmartGivers.org. For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Minnesota, please call 612.767.9474 or visit the web site at www.wishmn.org.
... Continue reading Restaurant Owner Teams Up With Make-A-Wish to Help Excelsior Boy With Leukemia Attend 2010 World Cup Soccer Games.
'Harriet the Spy' on Disney Channel
If your kids love the book Harriet The Spy, they'll want to tune in to the new Disney Channel television movie, "Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars," starring Jennifer Stone ("Wizards of Waverly Place"), on Friday, March 26 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT). Based on the popular books by Louise Fitzhugh, the movie is a contemporary twist on the iconic character, as Harriet "The Spy" Welsch vies to become the official blogger of her high school class.
The film was written by mother-daughter team, Heather Conkie and Alexandra Clarke. Internationally acclaimed writer, Heather Conkie, gave her daughter, Alexandra Clarke, Harriet the Spy when she was a child and it represented a huge turning point in her life. She bought a notebook like Harriet and started writing everything down; from that point on she aspired to be a writer. Writing the film has been an incredible bonding experience for them and the adaptation has brought them full-circle.
In addition to the mother-daughter relationship that brought the film to fruition, there is an ongoing theme in the film about the often-difficult relationship between teenagers and their parents.
Speaking of difficult, Harriet's signature tomato sandwich is a source of contention in the film. Harriet eats a tomato sandwich at the exact same time every day (when she gets home from school). Their chef reluctantly prepares the same, ordinary sandwich for her every day but not without a fight. He attempts to create a gourmet, culinary masterpiece instead and she refuses to eat it. For those of you who face similar culinary struggles, here are both the kid-friendly (ala Harriet) recipe and the grown-up version:
Harriet the Spy's Tomato Sandwich: brown/multigrain bread, sliced tomato, and light mayonnaise
Chef's Signature Tomato Sandwich: toasted rye bread topped with a bruschetta mix including heirloom tomatoes, olive tapenade, and a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette.
... Continue reading 'Harriet the Spy' on Disney Channel.
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