Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 10:09 AM
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This fun holiday is one of my favorites. A couple of years ago, I decided to throw a “Green Party” and it has become an annual event. While both my husband and I have just a smidgin’ of Irish in us, it wasn’t the dominant heritage we celebrated growing up. Maybe it’s all that Celtic Woman you see on PBS or the fact that our daycare would have the leprechauns “visit” the night before St. Pat’s, leaving little green footprints everywhere that gave me the idea to start celebrating this holiday in fun, family-friendly manner. It certainly is something that the kids look forward to and if you plan it right, it’s easy on the hosts. So here is my Guide to How to Throw a Green Party.
Step 1: Send out an Invite (or Evite)
Invite your friends or family and tell them the rules of the Green Party. Basically, your job is to make some corned beef and cabbage. Your guests’ job is to be creative and make some green foods and wear some fun green costumes. So, I tell my guests that “green hors d’oeuvres and desserts are welcome”. Also, we have contests for the following:
- Best Green Outfit
- Outfit Incorporating Most Clashing Shades of Green
- Most Creative Use of Green in a Culinary Way
- Most Likely to Be Mistaken for a Leprechaun
I buy some fun green prizes (St. Pat’s t-shirts, green kitchen gadgets, a green water bottle) to award to the winners. I have some pretty competitive friends and family, so my guests bring the entertainment.
Step 2: Get some Irish music
Speaking of entertainment, make a playlist of good Irish party tunes for your Ipod. I highly recommend you check out your local library to see what they have in this department. Some favorites on my St. Pat’s playlist include:
- Tessie by the Dropkick Murphy’s
- Paddy’s Green Shamrock Shoreby the Young Dubliners
- The Rocky Road to Dublinby the Young Dubliners
- Riverdance from The Celtic Album (The Boston Pops)
- Anything by Celtic Woman, Loreena McKennit or the Cheiftains
Step 3: Decorate – and don’t be afraid to be tacky
You can’t get all Martha Stewart about it. I don’t think you could if you tried for St. Pat’s! The greener and gaudier, the better!
4. Make some corned beef and cabbage.
Longtime readers of A Better Bag of Groceries have probably heard me moan about my tiny kitchen. Space really is tight and entertaining in the cold weather if difficult at best. So this where I get creative. I make corned beef 3 different ways:
- In my slow-cooker, I made Guinness Braised Beef Brisket, a Cooking Light recipe
- In my oven, I make Corned Beef Special in my Schlemmer Topf – a clay pot (recipe below)
- On my stovetop, I make Irish Boiled Dinner, using a recipe found on allrecipes.com
I would have to say that the Guinness recipe is my favorite. In addition to the Guinness, the recipe calls for a lot of dill, an herb that just tastes like spring time to me.
The Schlemmer Topf recipe is also a big favorite among our party guests.
Corned Beef Special from The Complete Guide to Claypot Cooking
1 large onion, sliced
4-lb piece rolled corned feef or beef brisket
salt and pepper
1 T. pickling spice
1 c. red wine
4 bay leaves
4 springs parsley
1 small green cabbage, cut in wedges
6 carrots, sliced
6 large potatoes, halved
Separate the onion slices into rings and spread them over the bottom of the soaked clay pot. Place the chosen cut of beef on top. If using brisket, sprinkle with salt. Add pepper and the pickling spice, then put in the wine and 1/2 cup water. Add the bay leaves and parsley springs, tucking them around the meat.
Cover the pot and place in the cold oven. Set the oven at 450 degrees. Cook for 1 1/2 hours. Arrange the cabbage, carrots and potatotes in the pot. Pour in 1/c cup hot water. Cook, covered, for a further 1 hour, until the meat is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Transfer the meat and vegetables to a serving platter. Carve the meat into thick slices to serve. Offer the cooking juices separately.
5. For one day, try not to think about the NuVal scores of what you’re eating.
Corned beef, with a score of 23, is one of the lowest scoring meats out there. Only bacon and spare ribs score lower. That’s why we only do this once a year!
6. Make some space for the green food that’s coming.
Everyone coming to our party hopes to win the prize for Most Creative Use of Green in a Culinary Way.
7. Feed the kids first so you can enjoy a Guinness
And, no, sorry NuVal has not scored Guinness!
8. Get ready to be entertained!
I did mention that my family and friends are quite competitive, didn’t I? The costumes are always great!
My Mother and my Sister usually vy for ”Best Green Costume”
Our friend Scott always wins “Most Likely to Be Mistaken for a Leprechaun”
Usually, one of the guys takes home the prize for “Most Clashing Shades of Green”, although I thought my husband’s “Go Green” costumer was particulary creative. That’s him on the right with the reusable shopping bag, LED light bulbs, picture of a Prius and a turbine.
And this year, my son really did make me laugh!
9. Make some memories
As soon as we start seeing the St. Patrick’s Day decorations in the stores (like December!!), my kids already start asking about our Green Party. It’s low-cost, easy on the hosts, and it’s a hoot. So, no matter what your heritage, try having a Green Party. It’s something your kids will remember.
Question of the Day
What is your favorite low-stress “fun” holiday?
Winner of the Snack Bar GiveAway
Congratulations to Commenter #112, Blair! You’ve won yesterday’s giveaway! Lots of Larabars, Luna Bars, Clif Bars and a NuVal t-shirt coming your way! Email me your address and t-shirt size @ abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com.
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Dinner Recipes
Tags: corned beef, St. Patrick's Day
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 06:54 AM
It’s Trade-Up Tuesday, the day when I blog about a Trade-Up I’ve made since learning about NuVal and I give away free stuff. Today it’s all about snack bars, one of the world’s greatest inventions!
I must admit, I don’t typically eat snack bars on a daily basis. I’m more likely to pack small snacks, like some almonds (NuVal score 81) or a banana (NuVal score 91) to get me from one meal to the next. But when life gets tough, these bars can really do the trick. I rely on them for business travel, personal travel, and even just busy Saturdays where I’m driving kids from ballet to basketball to a birthday party, with no time for a healthy lunch in between. They also are just the right strategy for parents who want to stay healthy when faced with a nutritional wasteland. We recently attended our son’s YMCA basketball banquet where each person got a hot dog and a bag of chips and there was a pitcher of soda on the table. Yuck! We kindly asked the wait staff to bring us a pitcher of water and I skipped the meal. Next time I will know to eat a snack bar on the way there!
My favorite snack bar is Clif Luna’s Smores bar. Yum! I’m a chocolate fanatic and nothing gives me a boost quite like a Smores bar with a cup of coffee. On the NuVal scale, it scores a 26 out of 100. That’s not bad for a snack bar. The scores for snack bars and granola bars range from 2 – 57 and the median score is a 19. So, a Smores bar gets a better than “average” score. But I was curious to see if I could do better.
Could I do better? Yes. Would it still have chocolate in it? Um, no.
The highest scoring snack bar that we’ve scored at NuVal is LaraBar Apple Pie. No chocolate, but it gets a 57 on the NuVal scale.
Today’s GiveAway is a bunch of Snack Bars, all with scores above the median, and a NuVal t-shirt! Here’s how the snack bars score:
- Kashi Go Lean Chocolate Caramel: 25
- LaraBar Chocolate Coconut Chew: 28
- LaraBar Apple Pie: 57
- LaraBar Cashew Cookie: 32
- Clif Bar Oatmeal Raisin Walnut: 29
- Luna Bar Iced Oatmeal Raisin: 27
- Luna Bar Peanut Butter Cookie: 27
To Enter
Just leave a comment below and tell me your favorite snack bar and when you’re likely to eat it. I’m keeping the contest open until Wednesday March 17th at 10 am EDT at the request of some of my West Coast readers who get their blog posts a little late. Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: snack bars
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 07:06 AM
Meet today’s Guest Blogger, Wendy!
Wendy is a wife and stay-at-home mom to two children: a boy (age 4) and a girl (age 1). She resides in Vancouver, British Columbia where she writes the blog Give Love, Create Happiness. Wendy’s blog focuses on how to spread love and joy to her children and to others. In her own words, Wendy tells me:
I truly believe NuVal is an amazing tool to help Mom’s/parents make good choices, and can motivate them to make good choices. It is also an easy way to teach children to make good food choices. So thank you for being a part of that and spreading that much needed help to all of us!
And now, heeeeeeeere’s Wendy!
You have arrived at the grocery store. You fumble through your bag for that quarter you need for the shopping cart, and the crumbs (what are those crumbs?) end up under your nails. One by one you take the kids out of the car and place them into the shopping cart. The first 2.2 minutes go off without a hitch, and then it begins…
You are so excited about making healthy choices for your little ones. It makes you feel proud as a parent when you feed your children good foods, and that little bit of self gratification is just what you need to make it through the day. After all, you haven’t slept once through the night in how long has it been? 1 year at least!
Starting at the fruits you pick up some apples (96), bananas (91), tomatoes (96), melon (93), avocado (89), shallots (96) and yam (96), for those delicious cinnamon yam bites you make that your toddler just loves and go nice on your salad too! You make your way through the aisles trying to avoid as many as possible, when you start to notice something slimy and sticky oozing under your boots, but you are too distracted to completely notice because your littlest one is trying to climb out of the cart.
You glance down at your list, and it only says cereal. With one hand on your daughter’s leg you peruse the shelf wondering which cereal should you buy? Bob’s Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli (87) or his Organic Regular Rolled Oats (57)? Honey bee Cheerios (27) (as your son has now named them), or Post Raisin Bran (26)? Thank goodness for NuVal you think to yourself, so you can make the best choice and move on quick!
What is that mess you’re still stepping in? Back to your list, what else do you need? You’re trying to stay with it and not spend all your green. It is too late, you can’t read it. One big scribbled-out mess. In TRYING to avoid the candy/treat pitfall and keep your kids happy, you’ve given them the pen and the list is half gone. Did she eat it or rip it? You think to yourself. Whatever it’s GONE!
You know you need finger foods, and what’s better than beans? The Eden organic red kidney beans, pinto beans (100), or chickpeas? You take one of each. Don’t forget about those Birds Eye Frozen Sweet Peas (96) they’re a quick finger food too!
Then all of a sudden it hits you like a ton of red bricks! That ooze you’ve been sliding in all along. Your son has opened the dish soap so quietly and discreetly, turned it upside down and ever so slightly squeezed it down the aisles one by one.
You’re EXHAUSTED, and trying to decide do I laugh or do I cry? Is it wrong to just leave him outside? Can I pretend it didn’t happen? No, you have to get help. What if that cute little old couple slips and it’s your fault? Now in the middle of all your fury you’re side- tracked and headed to customer service for a cleanup in aisle 4, 5 …6? Hey, you might want to check them all!
Next back to the cheese, your kids love cheese, and really who doesn’t? Should you get Lisanatti Fresh Mozzarella (76), or the Cheese Head String Cheese (21)?
Darn, you forgot the bread! Back 16 aisles you trek, when your kid yells at the top of his lungs “Mom look! It’s Tiger Woods!” You blush and bury your head. It’s their father’s fault you say to yourself. Who lets their kids watch that garbage; it couldn’t possibly be your fault?!
Your shoulder is killing. That bag is too heavy! Diapers, bottles, snacks, extra cloths and that’s only the top. But you know you don’t dare leave the bag in the cart. Who knows what will be missing and where your expensive lipstick stashed.
Wonder Bread 100% Whole Wheat (34) or should you choose Wonder Kids Bread (38)? Thank goodness for NuVal your decisions are made! You are ready to leave; now you just have to pay.
When your kids are back in the car and the shopping cart unloaded, you take a deep breath and think to yourself, I made it! Just 6 hours and 22 minutes till bed, not that you’re counting. Inside you’re happy with your informed NuVal nutrition score choices. No time to read all the labels, NuVal saved you again.
On the way home you dream up NuVal the Nutrition Super Hero. Wouldn’t that be great to teach your kids to make smart choices? You’ll work on it someday, a day in the far future. Who are you kidding; at this point they couldn’t pay you to take the kids with you again. Till next week, when there’s no way around it…
*Note – Story based on true events. None that I am admitting to!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Guest Bloggers
Friday, March 12, 2010 at 06:45 AM
Happy Friday! I like to keep the posts light for TGIF, so today a fun “Cart Confession” seemed to be in order.
These Scrabble Junior Cheez-Its are the hot new item in our house these days. How did they end up in my cart? Well, they actually did not end up in my cart. I did see them on the shelf at Stop & Shop, but I resisted them. My mother, however, could not resist these cute Cheez-Its with letters printed on each one. So she purchased them and brought them over to our house. You see, her one and only Grandson is a First Grade Big Time Reader and she will do anything to promote that!
I have to admit, I too am sooooo proud of him.
My son is addicted to books.
And newspapers. Here, he is dressed as one of his heroes, Abe Lincoln.
He also loves word puzzles, word searches, and word games. He’s actually a lot like his Mom! I hear myself saying, “Put the book down and go play!” and I have to laugh.
Now, most Moms will tell you that we are usually bombarded by silly characters when it comes to marketing to children in the grocery stores. SpongeBob is on everything from crackers to soup to macaroni & cheese. When the Monsters vs. Aliens DVD was released, B.O.B, Dr. Cockroach Ph. D., and Ginormica graced packages and signage in every aisle. I went grocery shopping sans kids that week. Character marketing is everywhere and it’s blatant. For most moms, it’s easy to shrug off these products as gimmicky attempts to get your kids to whine ask for stuff.
But the idea of using the popular board game Scrabble to promote a product to kids is new – well, at least it is to me. The people at the Sunshine Biscuit company, who make Cheez-Its are smart. They know that moms (and Grandmas) will eagerly choose a snack that might help promote reading and/or spelling.
Are Scrabble Cheez-Its a “sin” to be confessed? They score a 15 out of 100 on the NuVal scale. Since the median score (half are above it, half are below it) for crackers is a 14, that is actually better than your “average” cracker. Still, as you may remember from my Cracker GiveAway, there are other kid-friendly crackers out there that score better:
- Wheat Thins: 24
- Triscuits: 32
- Pepperidge Farm Goldfish: 24
But you can’t make words out of those crackers!
I’m not going to lose any sleep over Scrabble Cheez-Its – at least not for now. As I mentioned, they are the Most Requested Snack in our house these days and hey, you look like Smart Mom when you send them in to school for snack. There’s even a little game board on the back of the box so that you can play. Next week, I will be throwing them into my cart. Thanks for the suggestion, Grandma!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Cart Confessions, Crackers
Tags: Cheez-Its, Crackers, Scrabble Cheez-Its
Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 07:46 AM
Let’s give it up for the Spud!
I love a good old-fashioned baked potato topped with sour cream. I like them toasty hot on the inside and a little crunchy on the outside.
I was so happy to learn that potatoes get an amazing NuVal score of 93!
I have two secrets to this tasty treat.
- I have figured out how to make them really quick.
- I have traded up my sour cream for a higher scoring topping.
Speedy Baked Potatoes
Preheat oven to 45o degrees. Rinse the potatoes with water and scrub well to remove the dirt. Pierce the potatoes two or three times on each side with a fork. Microwave each potato for 4-5 minutes. Flip them, microwave for another 4-5 minutes. (I have the oldest microwave in the world so I zap them one at a time). Once the potatoes are tender through (I check with aforementioned fork), place them in the oven for about 5-10 minutes (depending on how crunchy you’d like the skin to be).
A Better Baked Potato Topping
What’s a baked potato without a little dollop of sour cream on top? My favorite brand is Breakstone’s and I usually opt for the reduced fat version. Check out these scores:
- Breakstone’s regular sour cream (NuVal score of 25)
- Breakstone’s reduced fat sour cream (NuVal score of 29)
- Breakstone’s fat-free sour cream (NuVal score of 26)
Yes, it’s true. The reduced fat sour cream actually scores higher than the fat free.
However, since discovering Greek yogurt, I’ve acually tossed my sour cream and moved on to topping my warm & toasty baked potato with non-fat plain Greek yogurt. Check out these scores:
- Chobani non-fat plain 94
- Fage non-fat plain 94
- Brown Cow 0% fat plain 94
- Oikos plain non fat 94
Since they all get the same fantastic score, I just buy the brand with the lowest price.
Such a yummy treat and I feel so virtuous eating my doubly high-scoring concoction!
Question of the Day
What do you like to put on top of your baked potato?
BuiltNY Lunch Bag GiveAway Winner
Congratulations to Commenter #38 Lisa P! You’ve won the cool new lunch bag and a NuVal water bottle. Thanks to everyone who entered!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Uncategorized
Tags: baked potato, Greek yogurt
